Ji Lingyuan’s sudden appearance caught everyone off guard.
Especially Bai Miao.
Although she couldn’t see Ji Lingyuan’s face, she recognized that cold, elegant fragrance.
‘It’s her…’
Ji Lingyuan’s domineering voice echoed in her ears.
At this moment, Bai Miao’s heart was filled with a mix of emotions—resentment tinged with a hint of envy.
She was still too weak. She couldn’t even protect her favorite sister.
In Ji Lingyuan’s arms, Su Ling’s mind was a complete blank.
‘Her embrace is so soft and fragrant. Why? Why is she here?’
“…”
The thugs were also intimidated by Ji Lingyuan’s aura.
The leader looked at her with eyes full of wariness.
She glanced at S and Z standing beside Ji Lingyuan and recognized them immediately.
They were two Automaton Maids.
Even in the Upper City, not many witches could afford an Automaton Maid, let alone two.
To some extent, these maids were symbols of immense wealth and status.
“Miss, we are only following the rules.”
The leader of the thugs took a deep breath, trying her best to remain calm.
Of course, she wasn’t wrong.
From the beginning, whether it was using the sister to pay the debt or herself, it had been Su Ling’s own decision.
They had… only pushed things along a little.
“Rules? Whose rules? The laws of the Witch Empire certainly don’t allow you to break into private residences, do they?”
“Debts must be paid. Miss Su Ling’s mother owes us so much money…”
“There is 500,000 on this card. I’ll pay off a portion for her first.”
Before the thug could finish, Ji Lingyuan flicked a card toward her.
The thugs looked at one another in surprise.
This was unexpected.
“In that case, our mission is complete. Miss Su Ling, we won’t disturb you any further.”
Upon receiving the money, their attitudes did a total 180-degree turn.
In truth, they were terrified of Ji Lingyuan.
Since they had received the payment and even exceeded their mission goals, they decided to quit while they were ahead and get out of there.
After all, they were just drudges working for a living.
It wasn’t worth making an enemy out of an influential figure from the Upper City.
The thugs quickly disappeared, and the house fell silent once more.
“Tsk.”
Ji Lingyuan pouted.
If she hadn’t been in such a hurry, she wouldn’t have brought only 500,000.
She looked down and met Su Ling’s gaze.
Su Ling’s face instantly flushed red, and she scrambled out of the embrace.
As the warmth left her arms, Ji Lingyuan couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
“Thank you so much.”
Su Ling bowed repeatedly.
Though she was confused about why Ji Lingyuan was here at this specific time, the woman had indeed done her a massive favor.
And…
Su Ling bit her lip.
500,000…
She wasn’t narcissistic enough to think Ji Lingyuan had fallen in love at first sight and wanted to play the hero to win her heart.
That 500,000 would have to be paid back one way or another.
All that had changed was the creditor.
“It’s nothing,” Ji Lingyuan said, shaking her head.
She walked into Su Ling’s home and twitched her lips at the sight of the dilapidated environment.
‘Can people even live here?’
She glanced behind her and paused when she saw Bai Miao and Su Yao.
Su Yao, who exuded an overwhelming maternal charm, immediately hit Ji Lingyuan’s type.
Su Yao and Su Ling looked as if they were cast from the same mold—one mature beauty and one younger beauty.
Ji Lingyuan’s perverted mind immediately went into overdrive.
‘Heh heh heh… A mother-daughter sandwich… heh heh…’
*Cough, cough.*
S and Z, noticing Ji Lingyuan’s dazed expression, used their high processing power to immediately deduce what she was thinking and let out a warning cough.
Snapped out of it by the reminder, Ji Lingyuan felt a bit embarrassed.
Her gaze swept over Bai Miao.
‘A black-haired, red-eyed little brat… Tsk, get the brat out of here.’
At that moment, Bai Miao felt a slightly disdainful gaze sweep over her.
A flash of resentment crossed her dull eyes.
“Miss Ji Lingyuan…”
“From now on, you have to call me Boss.”
Ji Lingyuan took the tea cup Su Ling handed her, a slight smirk playing on her lips.
“Bo—Boss?”
Su Ling tilted her head, confused by her meaning.
“That 500,000 counts as a loan to you. Hmm, we’ll stick to the previous rate…”
Ji Lingyuan looked at Su Yao and Bai Miao, suddenly feeling a bit awkward herself.
“Ahem, you know what I mean.”
She winked at Su Ling.
Su Ling understood immediately.
500,000 at the previous rate—10,000 a day to be her girlfriend…
That meant she had to be Ji Lingyuan’s girlfriend for fifty days.
Remembering yesterday’s scene where Ji Lingyuan made her wear Fairy Makeup and do that “Ohohoho!” laugh… Su Ling covered her face, her ears turning bright red.
However, she didn’t feel much repulsion.
Instead, she felt relieved.
‘Phew, that’s fine.’
She could only accept this kind of transactional relationship.
She was truly afraid that Ji Lingyuan would try some cliché “love over time” or “love at first sight” plot on her.
It wasn’t narcissism; she simply knew that she didn’t deserve it right now.
She was trash, a rat in the gutter, only fit to be a plaything…
Ji Lingyuan deserved better, not someone like her.
If Ji Lingyuan hadn’t come to her rescue, she might have actually signed that contract and become a Fuli Ji for Shao Nian You.
To be honest, she didn’t mind that part.
The thug was right—it was her best option.
But her one worry was that if she went to Shao Nian You, she would lose her freedom. What would happen to Miao Miao? Who would take care of her?
And would Shao Nian You really let Miao Miao go?
Cases like hers were common in the Lower City.
Usually, the entire family—mothers, sisters, and daughters—would end up at Shao Nian You, falling into darkness forever as part of some “Family Package.”
She was already a rat in the dark, but she could never let Miao Miao become like her.
That was her bottom line.
“Sister?”
Bai Miao helped Su Yao onto the sofa and looked at Su Ling, not understanding what was happening.
Su Ling felt a pang of heartache as she wiped the grime off Bai Miao’s face.
“Miao Miao, it’s okay. She’s just… the boss I do weaving for…”
As she spoke, she gave Ji Lingyuan a pleading look.
Ji Lingyuan understood and rolled her eyes.
‘Weaving? Ha, you really have the nerve to say that.’
Still, she didn’t expose her on the spot.
“…”
Bai Miao bit her lip.
‘A boss for weaving? What kind of boss makes her employee smell like her from head to toe?’
But she didn’t say anything. After all, this boss had just saved their family.
“Ji… Boss, about that…”
“S told me.”
Ji Lingyuan knew what Su Ling wanted to ask—why she had suddenly appeared in the Lower City.
Ji Lingyuan looked at Bai Miao and Su Yao, then back at Su Ling, her expression turning serious.
She suddenly grabbed Su Ling by the wrist.
With a soft cry of surprise, Su Ling was pulled into the bedroom.
S followed closely behind.
“Sister!”
“Don’t worry. My Master means no harm. We just want to confirm Miss Su Ling’s condition.”
Z quickly calmed Bai Miao and Su Yao.
“Mgh!”
Inside the bedroom, Ji Lingyuan pushed Su Ling against the door in a forceful “wall-slam” pose.
Such a shameful position put Su Ling’s figure on full display.
“Ar—Are we doing it here? Miao Miao and Mother are still outside…”
Su Ling thought Ji Lingyuan couldn’t wait any longer, and her face turned crimson.
To her surprise, S followed them inside as well.
‘Th—Three of us? This… this is…’
“Tsk, what are you thinking?”
Ji Lingyuan looked at her with an exasperated expression.
“Last night, S analyzed you and found that you seemed to have a mental illness. She told me, and I was worried, so I had her observe you for a while.”
Su Ling realized what was happening.
No wonder Ji Lingyuan had shown up in the Lower City.
“Last night, did you drink the wine I gave you?”
Ji Lingyuan let go of her hand. Su Ling rubbed her wrist, her eyes darting around.
She knew she might not be able to hide her transmigration any longer.
After her behavior earlier, which was like a completely different person, anyone with eyes could see something was wrong.
Unfortunately, her situation was worse than being sick.
She was a transmigrator.
She didn’t know how witches felt about transmigrators like her who “stole” someone else’s body.
Even if it was the Original Owner who had forced the life-swap.
“Yes.”
“So, what’s the story?”
Ji Lingyuan’s brow furrowed.
Su Ling looked at her deeply, then, as if making a decision, she went to her desk.
She pulled out the Original Owner’s diary and flipped to the last page.
It was the letter the Original Owner had written to her.
“I’m not sick. The one with schizophrenia is her—the original owner of this body.”
Su Ling showed the letter to Ji Lingyuan.
Ji Lingyuan scanned it, her frown deepening.
Su Ling looked out the window, her gaze drifting.
“My name is also Su Ling. I share the same name as the original owner.”
“I am a transmigrator from a planet called Earth.”
“The original Su Ling used magic to summon me here and forcibly swapped our lives.”
Su Ling flipped through the earlier parts of the diary, explaining that the original owner had used a type of Forbidden Magic to swap lives.
That magic seemed to have been left behind by the original owner’s missing mother.
Somehow, she found it, tried it, and it actually worked.
“I am a transmigrator. This diary proves it.”
The original Su Ling’s diary was filled with resentment toward her reality and family.
Every line revealed a desperate desire to leave this suffocating home.
Ji Lingyuan flipped to the entry detailing the Forbidden Magic.
“Witch Era 6067, June 1. Haha! I actually found the life-swapping magic in that bastard’s notebook! I can finally be free! I can’t stand this shitty family for another second! I’m going to that world to be a high-class person! Hopefully one with a perfect family—and no sister! The Primordial Wisdom Tooth; I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to be stuck with that money-draining brat. And most importantly, there must be money!”
Below the entry, a sequence of obscure Forbidden Magic incantations was written in jagged, messy handwriting.
Su Ling had tried to read it before, but she couldn’t understand it at all.
The incantations looked like the scribbles of a madman, uglier than a child’s drawings.
To Su Ling’s surprise, Ji Lingyuan fell silent.
She handed the diary to S. A faint green light flashed in S’s eyes, and a very human-like look of shock appeared on her face.
“What is it?”
Su Ling couldn’t help but ask.
“Miss Su Ling…”
“It’s nothing.”
Ji Lingyuan interrupted S.
She gave S a look.
S looked confused at first, then fell silent.
“So, in my situation, how do you witches handle it? Are you going to lock me up?”
Su Ling asked cautiously.
At the end of the day, she was an outsider.
She wasn’t a witch.
The Witch Empire was a god-level civilization spanning three main universes with countless supernatural sequences.
They must have seen transmigrators before.
She just didn’t know what her ultimate fate would be.
“Transmigration cases from other worlds aren’t unheard of… Don’t worry. You’re a victim, after all. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see a professional. She’ll have a way to fix this.”
A small smile curled on Ji Lingyuan’s lips.
Su Ling let out a long breath of relief.
‘Does that mean I can go back?’
Yet, for some reason, she felt a strange sense of loss in her heart.
“Sister! Sister!”
Bai Miao’s voice called from outside.
Su Ling stood up instinctively.
She looked at Ji Lingyuan.
“It’s fine. Go.”
“Thank you.”
Su Ling gave her a grateful look, then hurriedly opened the door and walked out.
Watching Su Ling leave, S could no longer restrain herself.
“Master, those incantations…”
The incantations were completely fake!
They were just the random scribbles of a lunatic.
And “Earth”… that name was incredibly common.
The Witch Empire’s territory covered three main universes, containing countless planets.
The names of those planets were varied.
Some used names from original civilizations, but most were just ID numbers or names given on the spot.
As long as a planet was made of rock and was spherical, it could be called “Earth.”
In the Witch Empire, planets named Earth were everywhere.
When Su Ling said she had transmigrated from Earth, even an automaton like S had nearly glitched.
“What were the scan results?”
Although S was a household-model Automaton Maid, she possessed all the necessary features, including the ability to scan and analyze a witch’s health.
[Conclusion: Schizophrenia. The primary personality is in a deep sleep. The split personality possesses its own independent consciousness and memories.]
[The new personality was split out of ‘love.’ The primary personality desired a perfect family and a life without a sister. Thus, the Miss Su Ling we know appeared.]
[However, due to the limited knowledge and perspective of the primary personality, she could only construct a background based on information she already knew.]
That was why she “transmigrated” from Earth.
Because the name Earth was so common, even the original Su Ling in the Lower City had heard of it.
“However, what is unexpected is that this new personality seems to have a core logic of loving her sister.”
S followed Ji Lingyuan’s gaze toward the living room.
Su Ling was patting Bai Miao’s head with a gentle expression.
“That is also why the primary personality is sleeping.
As long as Miss Bai Miao needs this personality, she will exist.”
S recalled the moment Su Ling switched personalities earlier.
It was Bai Miao’s final cry that had brought back the Su Ling they knew.
Ultimately, this was just the result of a Lower City girl, living in darkness and despair for too long, finally going insane.
Last night, Su Ling had drunk the wine brewed by a Great Witch.
Its “Clear Heart and Soothe the Spirit” properties had briefly awakened the primary personality.
However, the primary personality clearly despised the real world, which was why the new personality regained control so easily.
“But, Master, why did you…”
“Heh, I want *her*, not that original crazy woman.”
Ji Lingyuan stared intently at Su Ling in the living room.
“Besides, she’s just a toy I bought. Wouldn’t it be a waste if I didn’t play with her a little more?”
‘A toy? Is she really just a toy?’
S looked at Ji Lingyuan, whose gaze was practically melting as she watched Su Ling, and couldn’t help but wonder.