The group stepped through the large doors. Using the faint light filtering in from outside, they could vaguely make out that this was a grand hall.
As usual, Lu Yinxi lit the torches along the surrounding walls, illuminating the entire hall.
As everyone looked around, Xiaotuan suddenly emerged from Su Xiaocheng’s body and perched on her shoulder.
“Xiaotuan? Why did you come out?” Su Xiaocheng asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know, meow, but I just wanted to come out, meow!” Xiaotuan didn’t understand his own impulse either.
A green light also wrapped around Xiaotuan. Su Xiaowei said, “It’s okay. If you run into danger, remember to hide back inside.”
“Got it, meow!”
“Your contractor really is quite spirited. There aren’t many contractors that can speak to begin with, and this is the first time I’ve seen one as lively as this.” Even Li Yanyan sounded a little envious.
Who wouldn’t want a contractor they could carry around with them, pet whenever they felt like it, and that was so lively and adorable?
“Thank you, meow! Have some dried fish, meow!” Xiaotuan pulled out a packet of dried fish and offered it to Li Yanyan.
Li Yanyan took the packet and examined it. “Spicy flavor? You have good taste!”
After putting away the dried fish, Li Yanyan continued, “Although the bronze guardian statues seem to have been taken care of and there probably isn’t much danger inside, we should still remain vigilant.”
“Let’s head out and find the ultimate treasure!” Li Yanyan waved her hand grandly and stepped back behind the group.
“Yeah! The ultimate treasure!” Lu Shiyuan, encircled by a string of meteors, was the first to cross through the bronze doors.
Contrary to what everyone had imagined, there were no piles of treasures inside the grand hall—only a single empty altar.
“It looks like… there’s nothing here?” Su Xiaocheng glanced around, clearly disappointed.
“These murals on the walls do seem to hold some value,” Lu Yinxi said as she examined the ancient paintings covering the surrounding walls.
The murals had existed for countless years and had grown somewhat faded, making them difficult to discern clearly.
The first mural depicted only two streams of black and white qi intertwining with each other, forming an inseparable ring.
The second mural was a simple sketch that roughly outlined the heavens and earth, the sun and moon, mountains and rivers.
The third mural showed various animals, with human figures beginning to appear, seemingly representing the birth of life.
In the fourth mural, the original black-and-white ring had shattered, transforming into a black figure and a white figure who were now confronting each other.
The fifth and sixth murals had been deliberately destroyed by someone, rendering their contents completely unrecognizable.
The final mural appeared to have been created in a different era from the previous ones. Its colors were far more vibrant, and it was much better preserved.
In the image, the black figure dominated most of the composition. She held a white heart in her hands, while the white figure opposing her lay fallen on the ground, a massive cavity in its chest.
“Looks like this story doesn’t have a very happy ending,” Li Yanyan remarked critically.
As Su Xiaocheng stared at the final mural, an inexplicable sadness welled up in her heart.
“I’ll record these first,” Li Yanyan said. “We can take them back to headquarters and see if they can uncover anything.”
“Let’s search around some more to see if there are any other valuable items,” Lu Yinxi suggested.
The group split up and began searching separately.
Xiaotuan also jumped down from Su Xiaocheng’s shoulder to join the search. Unknowingly, he wandered right into the center of the altar.
Just as Xiaotuan was examining the altar, it began to tremble violently. An incredibly pure surge of magic power erupted outward.
Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn by the commotion.
“Xiaotuan? Come back quickly!” Su Xiaocheng called out anxiously.
Xiaotuan stood motionless at the center of the altar, his eyes unfocused.
Su Xiaocheng was just about to cast a spell when the altar’s anomaly suddenly ceased. The pure magic power vanished into thin air as if it had never existed.
Xiaotuan snapped back to his senses and scrambled back onto Su Xiaocheng’s shoulder in a flash.
“Xiaotuan, what just happened?”
“I don’t know, meow. I just went over to take a look, meow.” Xiaotuan looked innocent. He had simply been passing by, yet the altar had started acting up on its own for some reason.
“Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?” Su Xiaocheng asked with concern.
“Nope, meow. I don’t feel any changes at all, meow.”
Li Yanyan squatted down to inspect the altar herself but found nothing.
“Forget it. We probably won’t be able to figure anything out. We’ll wait for the experts from headquarters,” Li Yanyan said, abandoning the investigation.
“Does headquarters even have experts for this sort of thing?” Lu Shiyuan asked, doubtful.
“Probably… they do?” Li Yanyan replied uncertainly.
Although she had never heard of any, the Magical Girl Alliance was enormous. They couldn’t possibly lack researchers in this field, right?
After another thorough search that yielded no further finds, the group exited through the bronze doors.
No one noticed the extremely faint, complex pattern that flashed across Xiaotuan’s forehead for a brief moment.
……
In the Witch Church, the black cat was sprawled comfortably on a coffin, sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, it sensed something and jolted awake, its fur bristling slightly.
“Holy Envoy?” Lust asked, looking at the black cat in confusion.
The black cat glanced at her, then walked into the darkness by itself.
“Has it finally appeared? It seems I wasn’t mistaken after all,” the black cat thought to itself.
Shortly after the black cat left, the Witch Deacons appeared one by one in their seats.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Lust spoke. “I’ve called everyone together because I’ve received information that the Security Council’s chief researcher will soon appear in Chaos City.”
“Chaos City? Isn’t that place out in the northwest great desert? What is she doing going there?” Sloth asked.
“What she’s doing there isn’t important. What matters is that she’s finally left the protective perimeter the Security Council established for her.”
“This is an excellent opportunity to eliminate her. Thanks to her, the Security Council’s power has been growing far too quickly lately.” Lust glanced at Greed with displeasure.
“Why are you looking at me?” Greed spread her hands. “I should be thanking her.”
Lust felt a headache coming on. These people were becoming harder and harder to lead.
Especially Greed. In order to embezzle some funds, she had gone off to find a little girl to appoint as chief researcher, and she had actually found a genuine talent.
She had skimmed quite a lot of funding, but in recent years, the Security Council’s scientific achievements had come one after another, causing their overall strength to increase rapidly.
The Witch Church’s operations within the Security Council had become increasingly difficult. By now, they had almost entirely withdrawn from the Council’s sphere of influence, leaving only Greed still stationed there.
“We must take her out this time. Jealousy, Wrath, you two will go together. Greed, be more careful when choosing people next time.”
“Sigh, she’s really perfect for making money for me.” Greed’s voice was full of reluctance.
Lust glared at her fiercely, then said in the gentlest tone, “If you insist on keeping your opinion, this one will take all the money from your little treasury, buy toys with it, and use them on you.”
“I have no objections. I’ll listen to you.” Greed shivered and immediately gave in.