The broken bell lay on the coffin.
Six Witch Deacons sat upright in their respective seats.
The coffin seemed alive, slowly swallowing the broken bell.
In the center of the coffin, one petal of the seven-petaled flower pattern lit up.
Seemingly hearing some instruction, the one at the head, Lust, spoke.
“Although Pride has forsaken her sin, the Lord is merciful and still accepts her.”
“However.”
Lust’s tone shifted.
“The Lord’s majesty cannot be offended. The Lord has issued a divine decree. Those who killed Pride must be punished. Envy, this one shall entrust this task to you.”
“I couldn’t ask for more.”
***
A week had passed since the battle in Qinghe Town.
Starting today, the Anning City branch chief duties were handed over to Lu Yinxi.
Youzi officially entered retirement.
Seeing everyone looking a bit down, Youzi said helplessly, “It’s just handing over work. Why is everyone so gloomy?”
“Because I really can’t manage anymore.”
Lu Yinxi said with full resentment.
She now had to handle her family enterprise, idol career, and branch responsibilities simultaneously.
She would be busy spinning from now on.
“Let’s all go mountain climbing together!”
Youzi decided firmly. “Consider it team building.”
“When you were the branch chief before, why didn’t you think of doing team building?” Lu Yinxi complained a little.
“Because I didn’t want to return and work overtime after team building.” Youzi replied as if it were obvious.
“Then I do?” Lu Yinxi felt that the retired Youzi was showing her true colors a bit.
No. Later I’ll approve some more funding for the lab and see if they can develop some new drugs.
Lu Yinxi calculated the working capital and thought.
“Just this once. After a while, the Dawn Trial should start too. By then, who knows how long you’ll all be away.”
The Dawn Trial was a training session prepared for newly advanced A-rank Magical Girls.
It was held roughly every three years.
The trial content involved advancing to S-rank and was a rare opportunity.
The duration of each trial was not fixed—short ones lasted one or two months, long ones one or two years.
“Sister, can you really not participate together?” Su Xiaowei said unwillingly. Her contract was special. If she was separated from Su Xiaocheng for a long time, it would be very hard for her to accept.
“It’s not really feasible. The Dawn Trial has never had Magical Girls who haven’t mastered their own domain participate.”
Lu Yinxi was also helpless.
Being separated from Xiaocheng for several months would be difficult for her too.
“We’ll talk about these things later. Now just tell me, are we going mountain climbing or not!” Youzi slapped the table and shouted.
“Let’s go.”
Su Xiaocheng said.
If they really had to be apart for that long, accumulating some memories now would be very meaningful.
“Let’s go.” Lu Yinxi agreed as well.
Once we’re done playing and come back, it’ll be about time for the trial.
The overtime can be left for the next person.
For now, I’ll enjoy playing with Xiaocheng properly. Lu Yinxi calculated in her heart.
***
White Tea Mountain was a famous tourist attraction in Anning City.
Legend had it that a long, long time ago, a Magical Girl once lived here.
She planted a strange flower on the mountain that had the effect of purifying the world’s filth.
The legend could no longer be verified, and no one had ever seen the purifying strange flower with their own eyes.
In people’s minds now, White Tea Mountain was simply a scenic tourist spot with beautiful views.
A van stopped in the parking lot at the foot of White Tea Mountain.
Su Xiaocheng and the other four got out of the car.
After giving the butler a few instructions, Lu Yinxi said, “Let’s go. Climb to the mountain lodge before dark. It’ll be perfect for dinner.”
“Climbing the mountain is so tiring. I want to sleep.”
Xiaobai, in her pajamas-style spiritual outfit, walked down from the car with her eyes closed and promptly fell into Youzi’s arms.
Her head accurately found the soft pillow.
“Xiaobai, you stayed up all night playing games again, didn’t you?”
Youzi helplessly rubbed Xiaobai’s head, then gently smoothed out the hair she had messed up.
“Why don’t you guys take the cable car up?”
Su Xiaocheng suggested, looking at the sleepy Xiaobai.
“It’s fine. She’s just sleeping. It won’t affect the climb.” Youzi said.
“?” Su Xiaocheng and Su Xiaowei were full of question marks.
What did she mean by sleeping not affecting climbing? Sleepwalking?
Soon, they understood the meaning of that statement.
The group arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Today was a weekday, so there weren’t many tourists climbing.
The trail had only a few scattered visitors, making it quite empty.
A subtle flash of magic light passed.
Xiaobai left Youzi’s embrace and climbed upward along the trail with her eyes closed.
“Xiaobai has automatic pathfinding magic, so sleeping doesn’t affect going out.”
Youzi explained.
“Xiaobai is a very talented Magical Girl. Her contract is related to games. Under her adjustments, the world is like a large-scale game to her. That’s why she can stay in transformed state at any time without worrying about insufficient magic power.”
“Can magic be used like that?”
Su Xiaocheng’s eyes widened at once.
According to Youzi’s description, once Xiaobai’s magic system was fully formed, its upper limit would be almost immeasurable.
“It’s very difficult.” Xiaobai murmured in her sleep.
“Xiaowei’s path has already been determined. Although it looks ordinary on the surface, it’s actually a conceptual magic system with promising future prospects. Xiaocheng, you should also think about how to choose the direction of your own magic.”
Youzi said.
In this regard, Youzi had actually done quite average, which was also the main reason she had been unable to advance for so long.
“Magic direction is crucial for building a domain. The essence of a domain is to find an anchor to carry more magic power. A suitable direction makes it easier to find an excellent anchor. For example, my anchor is the influence of being an idol. The more fans I have and the higher my popularity, the higher the upper limit of magic power my domain can carry.”
Lu Yinxi also said.
Su Xiaocheng carefully memorized the two’s words in her heart.
Having guidance from others could save her from many detours compared to figuring it out herself.
At the very least, she could avoid the situation like Youzi’s where an ordinary magic system construction led to being unable to advance for a long time.
Xiaotuan jumped down from Su Xiaocheng’s shoulder and caught up with Xiaobai, who had already walked a distance ahead.
” Catch up, meow. Stop chatting, meow!”
The group climbed upward along the trail.
It was now the end of March, right in the season when tea buds were sprouting.
Standing on the trail and looking out, one could see the lush tea gardens on the mountain.
The air was filled with the unique fresh fragrance of tea leaves.
White Tea Mountain, as the name suggested, had white tea as one of its major specialties.
Now was the time to pick pre-Qingming tea.
The buds and leaves were tender with excellent flavor.
Tourists who came here would seize the chance to taste some.
Becoming a Magical Girl also enhanced their physiques.
The group didn’t spend much time and soon reached the midway point of the mountain.
There was a large platform here for tourists to rest and enjoy the view.
“Come try some. It’s top-quality tea.”
A kind old grandmother greeted Su Xiaocheng and the others.
On the small wooden table in front of her were six cups of tea.
The tea had just been brewed, with wisps of steam carrying the tea aroma spreading out, refreshing the heart and soul.