The night was deep.
Hong Huang stood on the rooftop of the main teaching building at Beijiang University, her red trench coat flapping loudly in the night wind.
She had combed through the entire Beijiang University from top to bottom, practically turning over every stone, short of digging into the ground itself.
The result, however, was unexpected.
There was nothing.
It was clean, without even a trace of magical residue.
She had thoroughly checked all three suspected vertices of the sacrificial array, only to find that the members of Guixu Zhiying had likely injected some kind of blood, transforming themselves into half-human, half-Shadow Beast creatures with extremely strong regenerative abilities.
Although it greatly amplified their desire to kill, it preserved a certain degree of personal will.
The only gain was the corpses she had roasted into charcoal.
The researchers could only say they were truly a bunch of lunatics…
‘Could it be a diversion?’ Hong Huang muttered to herself.
Perhaps the words spoken by the robed figure before his death were just meant to scare her.
Maybe those three vertices were simply used to confuse their attention.
But Changmeng appeared at that dilapidated factory, Guixu Zhiying members showed up at Beijiang University, and that robed figure was willing to turn into a monster to complete the mission—if it was just a diversion, wasn’t that a bit overkill?
Forget it, if she couldn’t figure it out, she wouldn’t dwell on it.
Hong Huang simply took out her phone and dialed Eri’s number.
“Hello.” Eri’s voice came from the other end, “How did it go?”
“Nothing,” Hong Huang said, “I checked all three vertices. No traces of any array, no abnormal magical fluctuations. It’s completely clean.”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.
“Could it be hidden too deep to find?”
“I practically turned the ground inside out,” Hong Huang replied, “Doesn’t seem like it. I suspect it might be a diversion to draw our attention… but these three locations couldn’t possibly be completely useless to them. We just don’t know their purpose yet.”
“Then where would the real array be?”
“I don’t know,” Hong Huang said, “But there’s no need to worry too much. I’ve already had an audience with the Empress.”
“Oh? What did she say?”
“The Empress said nothing.”
The Empress saying nothing meant that the actions of Guixu Zhiying and the Filth Demons would either fail or the resulting consequences wouldn’t be particularly severe.
In that case… she had nothing to worry about.
She just needed to do what she was supposed to do.
Hong Huang hung up the phone and looked at the myriad lights of the distant city.
‘Hah… After all this is over, I’m definitely applying for a two-month vacation to travel and relax.’
***
Meanwhile, at a hotpot restaurant near Beijiang University, steam rose in clouds, and the place buzzed with noise and activity.
Lin Lu and the others sat around a large round table, the pot of spicy red oil bubbling and filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma.
Not long after the piano competition ended, with winter break approaching, Su Tang had suggested holding a celebration party—to congratulate Lin Lu on her victory and also to celebrate the start of the holiday.
“Come on, come on, cheers!” Su Tang raised her glass, “Congratulations to Little Lu for taking first place!”
“It was just luck,” Lin Lu smiled.
“But it’s still first place!”
Su Tang clinked her glass against Lin Lu’s and downed her drink in one go.
Chen Xingye, sitting beside them, was busy stuffing food into her mouth.
With a mouthful of tripe, she mumbled, “Little Lu’s performance was amazing. I even cried listening to it.”
“Give me a break. That piano piece was like playing music to a cow for you. It’s a miracle you didn’t fall asleep,” Lin Shuiyue mercilessly exposed her.
“Nonsense! Little Lu’s skill is so high that even someone like me who doesn’t understand could feel how incredible it was!” Chen Xingye glared at Su Tang.
“Su Tang, can’t you cook your own tripe?! Why are you stealing mine?!”
Lin Lu smiled and put a piece of meat into her mouth.
The group chatted and ate noisily.
Su Tang said she planned to travel after the New Year, Chen Xingye said she would lie at home for a month, and Lin Shuiyue said she wanted to read books at the library.
Lin Lu listened quietly to their plans, thinking to herself about how to get along with her parents when she went home for the holiday and what New Year goods she should bring back…
After the meal, the group walked out of the hotpot restaurant.
The sky had completely darkened, streetlights flickering on one by one.
The night wind carried a slight chill of winter.
They walked along the street.
As they passed by a high school, Lin Lu seemed to hear something.
“Huh? Did you guys hear something?” she asked, stopping.
“Sound? What sound?”
Chen Xingye scratched her head in confusion; she hadn’t heard anything.
Su Tang, however, frowned, “I think I heard something too. It seems to be coming from… over there.”
Su Tang carefully identified the source of the sound, then pointed toward an alley next to the school, “It’s coming from inside.”
Lin Lu walked over and peeked into the alley.
Inside, five or six girls in school uniforms stood in a circle, bullying two people in the middle.
A ponytailed girl was holding a short-haired girl, using her own body to shield her.
Their school uniforms were covered in footprints.
The ponytailed girl had injuries on her face, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but she held onto the girl beneath her tightly, refusing to let go.
“Sis…” the short-haired girl’s voice trembled, “Sis, let me go… it’s okay…”
“It’s okay,” the ponytailed girl said softly, “It’s okay, sis isn’t hurt.”
“Going to tell the teacher? Go ahead!” One of the uniformed girls kicked them, “Stop pretending to be such loving sisters! Weren’t you so tough? So eager to show off?”
The other girls laughed.
Lin Lu’s fingers clenched.
She never expected to encounter school bullying.
Someone took out a phone and started recording them.
Just as she was about to rush over, a figure brushed past her so fast she only saw a blur.
‘Lin Shuiyue?!’
Without a word, Lin Shuiyue charged into the alley, grabbed the kicking girl by her hair, and slammed her head against the brick wall.
“Thud!”
The girl’s head hit the wall with a dull thud, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
“Who the hell are you?! Looking for a death wish?!”
Seeing their friend attacked, the other girls froze for a moment before trying to fight back.
Lin Shuiyue was, after all, a Magical Girl.
Even without transforming, her body contained real magic power, and her physical abilities in her normal state were far beyond those of an ordinary person.
She turned and grabbed the second girl by the collar, punching her in the face.
Blood spurted from her nose.
The others had never seen anything like this and immediately realized Lin Shuiyue was not someone they could handle.
The third girl tried to run but was yanked back by her backpack strap.
Lin Shuiyue kicked her in the leg, sending her kneeling to the ground.
“Shuiyue!” Su Tang rushed over and grabbed her, “Enough! That’s enough!”
The girl was already lying on the ground in terror, covering her head and screaming.
Lin Shuiyue shook off Su Tang’s hand and walked toward the fourth girl.
“Don’t… don’t come any closer… ahhh!”
“Lin Shuiyue!” Lin Lu rushed over and wrapped her arms around her, “Stop! They’re just students!”
Lin Shuiyue’s foot was raised, ready to stomp down—
Lin Shuiyue frowned.
Her foot ultimately remained suspended in mid-air, not coming down.
“Damn it,” Lin Shuiyue withdrew her foot, looking coldly at the girls who had already abandoned their friends and fled.
“It’s truly hard to imagine a group of people attacking a pair of weak sisters.”
Lin Lu hugged her tightly and sighed, “School bullying is indeed serious, but you could have killed someone…”
Lin Shuiyue said nothing.
Su Tang and Chen Xingye also ran over, grabbing her arms, afraid Lin Shuiyue might take advantage of their inattention to go back and finish the job.
They had never seen Lin Shuiyue like this.
After pulling her out of the alley, they asked if she was feeling unwell or why she had been so impulsive.
Lin Shuiyue hung her head, her expression unclear.
Lin Lu turned to look at the two sisters.
The ponytailed girl was holding the short-haired girl, leaning against the wall, also trembling.
She looked at Lin Lu, her lips moving slightly.
“Th… thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Lin Lu shook her head and crouched down to check their injuries.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
“N-no, we’re fine,” the ponytailed girl stood up, holding her sister’s hand.
“We need to hurry home. Come on, let’s go.”
The two supported each other as they walked out of the alley.
As they passed Lin Shuiyue, the ponytailed girl stopped and glanced at her.
She seemed both shocked and slightly frightened by Lin Shuiyue’s skills, but she still thanked her.
“Um… miss, thank you for helping us.”
Lin Shuiyue looked up at her.
The ponytailed girl smiled slightly and led her sister away.
In the alley, the beaten girls were still on the ground.
The two who hadn’t fainted were about to run when they heard Lin Lu’s voice and immediately froze in place, afraid of being chased down and beaten again.
“Hey! Stop!”
“Wahh… Sis, we know we were wrong… Please don’t hit us anymore?”
Lin Lu glanced at them and sighed, then pointed to the first girl Lin Shuiyue had knocked out, “Alright, take her with you.”
“Thank you, sis! Thank you!”
The two thanked her profusely as they lifted the unconscious girl between them and ran off.
The group walked out of the alley and continued down the street.
No one spoke.
Lin Shuiyue walked at the back, head down, hands in her pockets.
Su Tang, Chen Xingye, and Lin Lu exchanged glances, truly unsure what had gotten into Lin Shuiyue tonight.
“Shuiyue?” Su Tang called softly.
“Shuiyue!” Su Tang called again.
“I’m fine,” Lin Shuiyue finally spoke, stopping and sighing, “It’s just… I got too angry. I lost control of my emotions.”
Lin Lu looked at her, wanting to say something but not knowing what.
“It’s okay. Everyone loses control sometimes,” Lin Lu went over and patted Lin Shuiyue’s shoulder.
“Just… don’t be so impulsive in the future. If something’s bothering you, you can talk to us, okay?”
Su Tang quickly stepped in to lighten the mood, “It’s such a nice day. Don’t let a few delinquent girls ruin everyone’s mood!”
Lin Lu also smiled, “Right. Honestly, I’m kind of glad to see this other side of Lin Shuiyue.”
Lin Shuiyue was silent for a moment, then apologized to everyone.
“Hey! It’s really fine!” Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Chen Xingye joined in.
With everyone chiming in one after another, the heavy mood gradually dissipated.
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