“Qiuli, Qiuli…”
In the haze, it seemed someone was calling her. Was it Song of Parting?
Come to think of it, Song of Parting really went through a lot to help her join The Association later on.
It was said she even argued with the Tianqi Church, all out of sympathy for a corpse collector like her? Was it really worth it?
“Qiuli…”
But even now, she still didn’t know what exactly she was supposed to steal from the Tianqi Church back then.
The Leader only ever assigned her tasks, never explaining anything further. Maybe, in the Leader’s eyes, she was just a handy tool.
And to make sure that tool worked exactly as desired, she had to endure so many punishments growing up.
The pain from whippings and electric shocks had become the deepest source of fear in her childhood heart.
“Qiuli!”
Qiuli suddenly realized—wait, that didn’t sound like Song of Parting’s voice… That’s right, Song of Parting was already… Other than Song of Parting, who else would call her by name?
She was supposed to be carrying out a mission just now, so why did she suddenly think of all this for no reason?
The last thing she remembered was seeing a deep, mysterious mirror…
Qiuli opened her eyes. In front of her, Xiaoxi, who had already returned to [Sirius Form], was carrying her away from that small, isolated Mirror Space.
All the pain her body had just endured seemed to have vanished as if it had been healed.
“Phew… Good, you’re awake. I need to go help Xinglan now, so protect yourself!”
Qiuli raised her head blankly, and the scene before her was so strange that for a moment she thought she was still stuck in a dream.
Wait, was that the Blood Moon Witch? Or rather, two of them?!
But one of the Blood Moon Witches looked especially upset, relentlessly attacking the other two, who seemed almost unable to defend themselves anymore.
Before Xiaoxi could join the fight, the entire Mirror Space let out an unstable “ka-da” sound.
The next second, a glowing window nearby was suddenly shattered apart—a Heavy Sword wrapped in silver flames smashed through, forcing its way inside.
Xiaoxi raised her eyebrows. It seemed she wouldn’t need to get involved in the fight after all.
Qiuli, who invaded Mirror Space using her ability, was a different kind of Monster.
But the one arriving now was a pure powerhouse, capable of tearing apart space magic by brute force.
No wonder the Astrologer had promised her so confidently that this mission wouldn’t be dangerous.
Turns out, they brought Ling’er along as a bodyguard—then it really was safe.
A silver figure rushed inside. The silver flames quickly engulfed the two recreated enemies.
The Heavy Sword struck their bodies, making a sound like shattering glass, and in no time, the enemies dissolved into fragments and faded away.
Yexinglan put away her scythe. She knew it wasn’t real, but watching someone identical to herself be finished off still felt disturbingly strange.
The Silverflame Dragon Princess’s majestic golden vertical pupils turned toward Yexinglan.
Xiaoxi hurried forward to block between them, though given her size, she was at best a speed bump in front of the Silverflame Dragon Princess.
“This one’s a teammate, one of us!”
The Silverflame Dragon Princess nodded. “Mm, Miss Astrologer told me already. You’re Miss Yexinglan, right? Leave the rest to me. Which direction did the enemy escape in?”
Thankfully, the Silverflame Dragon Princess hadn’t attacked them straight away. After pointing out the direction, Xiaoxi finally relaxed as she watched her chase off after Jingtong.
“Xiaoxi! It’s finally over. Are you alright?”
Yexinglan ran over. She clearly wanted to hug Xiaoxi right away, but when she caught her own reflection in the nearby mirror, she hesitated.
The image in the mirror was of the red-eyed, black-haired Blood Moon Witch. Y
exinglan’s outstretched hand shrank back, and her eyes on Xiaoxi were filled with concern and a hint of caution.
Xiaoxi’s heart clenched painfully. She couldn’t help but want to slap herself—and that Third Divine Envoy too…
At this moment, she really had the urge to chase after them with the Silverflame Dragon Princess and chop that person into mincemeat.
Damn it, if you want to unleash your ultimate move, just do it! Why did you have to explain the move’s effect and drag out the fact that I’m afraid of my wife for all to see?!
So, Xiaoxi hugged Yexinglan tightly around the neck. The little rich girl’s body carried a faint scent of blood, but this time, Xiaoxi didn’t hesitate at all.
“I’m fine, Xinglan. I’m sorry…”
“There’s nothing to apologize for, Xiaoxi. Let’s talk about this later. We still have company.”
Qiuli had already sensibly closed her eyes to rest. Xiaoxi, for a moment, didn’t know how to apologize or comfort Yexinglan. In the past, the little rich girl had never cared about what others thought when outside.
Qiuli wasn’t in much danger. Her injuries had already been secretly healed by Xiaoxi when she transformed into [Polaris].
After helping Qiuli out of Mirror Space, Xiaoxi found that the outside was already surrounded layer upon layer by people from The Association.
Even the Astrologer had shown up. Xiaoxi had thought that bigwigs like the Six Seats would never appear in person at a scene like this.
The Astrologer said that the Logistics Department had found the missing Monsters on other floors.
Only then did Xiaoxi finally breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed there was nothing left for them to worry about now.
“When we found the victims, they were all caught in some sort of hallucination. While none of them suffered any physical harm, all of them had some degree of psychological trauma. Each said they saw the thing they feared most in the mirror.”
Xiaoxi nodded slightly. Was the Third Divine Envoy capturing these people just to help Jingtong hone her ability? No wonder only Monsters were targeted. It must be that Monsters with magical circuits resonated more easily with Jingtong’s power.
“Never thought the remnants of the Divine Summon Order would show up in North Blossom City. That’s much more troublesome than a disappearance case. You all should rest for now—leave the rest to The Association. And don’t forget about the matter I asked you to investigate.”
The Astrologer lowered her voice for the second half, then winked and walked away.
Xiaoxi turned and saw Qiuli walking towards them, instantly understanding the Astrologer’s hint.
“Is your body alright?”
“Yeah, but it seems I owe you another favor,” Qiuli sighed. “I don’t like owing people, especially such a precious favor. If I don’t repay it, my conscience will never be at ease.”
“So that’s why you said you stayed with The Association to pay back Song of Parting’s kindness? After all, she did save your life.”
Qiuli was silent for a moment, scuffing the ground with her shoe.
“Actually, you and Yexinglan were sent by The Association to secretly investigate whether I was the one who killed Song of Parting, right?”
“It’s fine, I’m not blaming you. It’s normal for The Association to suspect me. But you already have your answer in your heart now, don’t you, Xiaoxi?”
Qiuli had already pieced together what had happened in Mirror Space just now.
With that, what Xiaoxi needed to know was clear, and there was no need for her to hide anything anymore.