Chapter Thirty-One: I Do Not Understand

Jiang Si regretted that he could no longer find his cassette player.

It had been lost during his fight with Dujuan yesterday. Although the bell chimes it played during his transformation were perfectly timed and satisfied him greatly—fitting his fantasy of the background music for a celestial being’s entrance—it was a shame he couldn't actually appear as a celestial being, but only in his magical girl form. It felt like a bit of a waste, and in the end, he had completely forgotten about the device when he left.

The player itself wasn't expensive—he’d picked it up at a two-dollar shop—so losing it wasn't particularly painful. What pained him was the recording of the chimes. They were the most perfect chimes he had ever encountered, so perfectly aligned with his aesthetic. Losing them was a genuine pity; he might never be able to record such a sound again.

After searching for a while longer and confirming it was truly gone, Jiang Si gave up. He looked up toward the direction of the Disaster Strategy Bureau. He didn’t know why Susan had come, but Yin Luo’s intentions were clearly hostile. Ever since he had jumped six meters high at the Bureau, they had likely been on guard against him.

Jiang Si had done that on purpose, of course. As Keke’s brother and a member of a magical girl’s family, he would inevitably have to face disaster beasts and various other enemies. He had never hidden his daily training; if they were diligent enough, they would eventually notice something. But that was merely power gained through pure physical training. There was no need to hide it; all his growth was traceable, and investigations would yield nothing. An upright man has no reason to fear a crooked shadow; Jiang Si had a clean conscience and nothing to hide.

However, judging by Yin Luo’s attitude today, the Bureau seemed to have developed suspicions about him. This suspicion likely wasn't about his strength, but something else. Was it because of last night’s battle? Their "Heavenly Eye" shouldn't have been able to see him, nor Ziyuan... Wait, they couldn't see him?

Jiang Si suddenly realized he only deactivated his "Barrier Leaf" when he was at school or home—places without any suspicious elements. In his daily life, or before transforming into Ziyuan, he always kept the Barrier Leaf active to hide himself. The six-leaf ability was quite convenient, and those protected by the leaf could also toggle it at will. Although no one had ever investigated him before, Jiang Si had maintained this good habit to prevent exposure should someone ever decide to look into him.

The problem was that if they kept watching him, it would be easy to spot the discrepancy. Last night, the Bureau had been searching for him, and that Mudan was likely using the Heavenly Eye. If they couldn't see him, it was only natural for them to grow suspicious.

"Sigh, as expected, the Barrier Leaf is just a minor trick; it's far inferior to the 'Knowledge-Barrier' methods of the Immortal Sect," he thought. "It only blocks but cannot mislead or interfere; its limitations are too great. I must develop the six-leaf ability further and help her touch the realm of the Knowledge-Barrier so that the Qingyun Sect can operate more easily in the future."

The most convenient aspect of a magical girl’s power was precisely this: as long as a sub-ability was related to one's original power, one could develop various branches through a heart of belief and persistent training. For example, a magical girl who used water, if she could truly believe that water could burn, could turn her water into "Sea Heart Flame." If she believed ice could burn, she could turn it into "Bone-Chilling Cold Fire." Of course, the power depended on the girl’s rank and magical energy level; it probably wouldn't compare to true "exotic fires." Furthermore, most magical girls possessed basic common sense, making it hard for them to believe in things that violated physical laws. He had conducted many such experiments with Bingtang; a heart of belief was a magical girl’s most powerful weapon.

Thus, all that remained was to make Six-Leaf firmly believe that her ability could advance toward the realm of the Knowledge-Barrier. Children were highly impressionable; as long as the reasoning was sufficient, it was easy to make them believe it. Making children believe was a long-term plan for a magical girl.

Jiang Si never begrudged developing his disciples' abilities. Some developments even provided him with new ideas, making it possible for him to replicate them. However, abilities like Four-Leaf’s divination were mostly flawed: either the threshold for use was too high, requiring specific environmental conditions that made real-time calculation impossible, or the backlash was severe, requiring a long recovery period after a single use. Some even had a limit on the number of uses before the ability disappeared forever. Four-Leaf belonged to the category with severe backlash, so Jiang Si wasn't interested—it was cumbersome and hindered combat effectiveness.

As for Six-Leaf’s ability, it was only at the Foundation Establishment level before, which he looked down upon. If it could be developed to the level of the Knowledge-Barrier, Jiang Si would have to steal the "Dao Fruit" and replicate it.

His thoughts then turned to Yin Luo, who had approached him earlier. She was likely just a pawn of the Witch Association. Not worth fearing; he’d let Bingtang handle her. He had no interest in tangling with ordinary people who didn't even have transformation abilities.

With that in mind, he continued his morning jog toward the city, performing counter-surveillance along the way. He even surreptitiously used his magic to scan the surroundings. Once he confirmed he wasn't being followed, he took a few turns and used the Barrier Leaf to enter the Qingyun Sect.

He went straight to Bingtang to discuss how to resolve the suspicion surrounding him. His actions and Ziyuan’s appearances had overlapped too much; if the Bureau investigated thoroughly, they would easily find clues. He had to ensure they couldn't guess that he was Ziyuan.

When Jiang Si arrived at the sect and explained his thoughts, Bingtang, who had just received a message from Susan, said naturally, "Then just have Jiang Si and Ziyuan appear at the same time, right?"

Jiang Si was impressed; this was indeed the simplest and most efficient method.

"Since the Bureau already knows you have the ability to block the Heavenly Eye, let them see you and Ziyuan meet and appear familiar with each other. This explains why you can block the Heavenly Eye while preventing them from guessing you are Ziyuan. Hehe, as for why you’re familiar? Our Lady Ziyuan wants to personally understand and recruit Sister Keke through Brother Jiang Si—that’s a sufficient enough reason, isn't it?"

"I said I didn't want her."

"Keke has shown amazing potential, hasn't she? Who says Lady Ziyuan can't change her mind, right?"

Jiang Si was silent for a moment before asking, "Won't the Bureau turn hostile?"

"Because of your relationship with Sister Keke, they have to consider the impact. Besides, although the Bureau talks tough, they’ve actually been avoiding Ziyuan all along," Bingtang laughed. "They won't truly offend us. The Bureau still relies on us to help deal with disaster beasts; they won't flip unless it's a critical moment. You’re only an acquaintance of Ziyuan, not someone from the Qingyun Sect anyway~ Of course, there’s no need to rush. Let’s wait and see what the Bureau does next before we make our plans."

"Alright. Also, Bingtang, deal with someone—Yin Luo from the Bureau..."

...

Back in her room, Oleander took a deep breath, turned off the lights, and took out her crystal ball. In the bright crystal ball, the scene, which previously only showed three people, suddenly seemed much more spacious.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The captain in the center was coughing violently. Oleander and the other female member remained silent until he finished.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl who had never revealed her code name, her tone full of confusion. "Have you become frail lately?"

"Cough, cough, I ran into Winter."

"It's Lady Winter again," the girl giggled. "That's no surprise. It's a miracle you came back alive. Oh, I would have loved to see the captain get beaten to a pulp by Lady Winter."

"Twins, watch your language." Oleander had to speak up. "Do not use honorifics for the enemy, and show the captain more respect."

"You're a newcomer and you're lecturing me? Mind your own business," the girl sneered. Then she asked the captain, "Where were you hurt? That's strange. Although Lady Winter isn't as cruel as Ziyuan, she never likes to leave survivors."

"I wasn't hurt, just frozen by her cold air." The captain coughed a few more times and cleared his hoarse throat. "Heh, I wasn't injured, but I caught a cold. I’ve already bought cold medicine, don't worry."

The two girls were speechless for a moment.

"Does Winter have the ability to spread viruses?" Oleander asked casually. "Did she develop a new ability? Her powers are always variable. Although the intelligence is public, no one knows what other capabilities she might have."

"That's unlikely. Lady Winter’s ability is only low temperature; all her powers are developed from that. It’s just that the captain is too weak. This is the first time I've ever seen someone catch a cold from Lady Winter’s ability."

"After all, the Witch Association members who met her in the past basically died," the captain said, as if defending himself. "Besides, I didn't just meet Winter this time; Ziyuan and Dandelion were there too."

Twins immediately sounded respectful. "To come back alive from that... I have to admit, you deserve to be the captain."

"They're just a bunch of little girls." The captain naturally wouldn't say that he hadn't actually gone near them, but had only symbolically struck a few bolts of lightning before being caught in a cold draft blown by Winter, which gave him a cold. After all, their group of Witch Association members who hadn't undergone "disaster beast transformation" didn't have much ability to fight magical girls head-on. When he discovered Dujuan was surrounded by the Qingyun Sect, the captain had only dared to watch and support from afar. Of course, this was only temporary. Once the plan succeeded, the situation would be different...

"I remember she went to find Jiang Si, right?" Whenever the topic drifted, Oleander would steer it back. "How was she discovered by the Qingyun Sect? Did the Mist fail?"

The "Mist" was the Witch Association’s specific method for countering precognitive detection. It was also the main reason they had been able to evade the pursuit of the Qingyun Sect and the Bureau for so many years.

The captain shook his head immediately. "Impossible. The Mist was still active. I’ve already asked the Spirit Pen; it couldn't see how Dujuan was discovered by the Qingyun Sect."

This was the drawback of countering precognitive detection. Not just the Witch Association’s Mist, but also the Qingyun Sect’s Barrier Leaf and the Bureau’s wristbands prevented their respective organizations' precognitive abilities from working. They had to rely on other ways to communicate. This was why Dujuan had been surrounded and killed by the Qingyun Sect without anyone knowing the reason.

"Could it be that the Qingyun Sect found a way to break through the Mist?"

Twins' suspicion was immediately dismissed by the captain. "If that were true, Oleander would be the first to be exposed."

"It must have been a coincidence," Oleander said, fiddling with the crystal ball. "The Qingyun Sect members often like to wander around the city, and there are many of them. It wouldn't be strange to run into them by accident."

"Then she really was unlucky," Twins laughed melodically. "Women who don't like to smile are prone to bad luck. Oleander, you should be careful too."

"That’s not something you need to worry about."

"Oh my, such a cold tone. Are you dissatisfied with me?"

"I just don't like people who aren't serious. It’s not directed at you."

"But I'm the only one here who isn't serious, so isn't that directed at me?"

The captain coughed violently again, interrupting the two girls. "Cough, cough! Now is not the time for arguing. Dujuan and Jackal are both dead; we need to be more united..."

"Old man, your philosophy is long outdated. You said we should use the Bureau and the Qingyun Sect to fight each other so we could profit. Look, where are these two fighting?" Twins mocked. "You said there were people of ours in the Bureau who could help relieve our pressure. But other than shouting loudly, has the Bureau ever launched a formal sweep against the Qingyun Sect? They condemn them vigorously but never actually do anything. Where is the reduced pressure? As far as I can see, the magical girls at the Bureau haven't reduced their investigation of us at all."

"The Bureau’s relations are complex," Oleander interjected to help. "It’s not as easy to manipulate as the Witch Association’s simple structure. Besides, the Bureau in the North Sea is understaffed and relies on the Qingyun Sect to clear massive amounts of disaster beasts. They likely can't do anything to the Qingyun Sect in the short term."

"My ears are tired of hearing that. In reality, they are just a bunch of useless bureaucrats. Either clean up the Witch Association or destroy the Qingyun Sect—at least accomplish one thing! Since the Bureau settled in BH City, have they ever actually succeeded at anything?"

"Show some respect." Oleander looked coldly at Twins. "If the Bureau really wanted to act, an ant like you would be crushed in less than a day. The Qingyun Sect exists today because they have a sense of propriety—they know what should be done and what shouldn't. Otherwise, the headquarters has plenty of 'Full Bloom' magical girls."

"Oh, you're good at intimidation, just like you," Twins said with a giggle, unbothered. "A traitor acting all high and mighty. What, still have a sense of belonging to the Bureau?"

"Compared to me, a little girl who calls Winter 'Lady' probably has a stronger sense of belonging to the Qingyun Sect, right?"

Twins' expression suddenly turned cold. "As I thought, I should have agreed with Dujuan and killed you first."

"You can try now..."

"Enough!"

The captain, who had been enduring it for a long time, finally slammed the table, his tone filled with anger. "If I don't speak, do you think I'm dead? Cough, cough! What time is it, and you’re still bickering!"

After coughing, the captain sounded furious. "The Qingyun Sect and the Bureau haven't started fighting, but you two, as defectors, are about to fight because of the relationship between them! It’s a joke to everyone!"

Twins, who still had killing intent, immediately went back to her playful self. "I was just teasing her, Captain."

"I think I was the one teasing you, brat."

"Shut up and listen to me." The captain finally stopped letting them talk. "Don't force me to turn you into disaster beasts."

Twins shrugged and went quiet, and Oleander said nothing more.

"I had hoped you could deliver all the seeds, but now that things have reached this point, I know it’s not that simple." The captain took out a metal test tube as he spoke. "I will send the serum to you. I authorize you to use one 'Miracle Seed' first. Oleander, if it really comes to it, you must forcibly leave the Bureau and get the seeds out."

Oleander lowered her eyelids slightly and nodded. "Understood. Thank you for your trust, Captain."

"I look forward to your results, Oleander. Do not disappoint me."

When the communication with Oleander cut off, Twins said lazily, "Is this really a good idea, Captain? She joined us just to get that serum, right? She has the seeds and the serum now. Whether she’s willing to come find us or send the Miracle Seeds out depends entirely on her loyalty."

"This is a test for her, and also her opportunity," the captain said slowly. "I hope she doesn't try to be too clever; otherwise, that would be a real pity."

Twins immediately raised her hand. "Captain, I want to take the organization's test too. Give me one."

"Get lost."

"Tch." Twins clicked her tongue. "Then I'll just wait to see your failure."

The captain waved his hand. "Regardless, in this operation, the enemy is in the light and we are in the dark. We have the advantage!"