When Xiaoxi returned home, Yeli Lan had just finished unpacking her delivery.
The life-size Eternal Star Pillow she’d ordered online had finally arrived.
“Finally! I haven’t slept well these past couple of nights without it~”
If an outsider heard this, they might sigh and think Yeli Lan really was a diehard Eternal Star fan—so much so that she couldn’t sleep at night without hugging her pillow.
But Xiaoxi knew what Yeli Lan really meant: she couldn’t rest easy at night unless she practiced a set of Wing Chun against the Eternal Star Pillow before bed. It was her nightly exercise.
Now that she no longer had to hide her identity as the Blood Moon Witch, Yeli Lan was even less restrained.
So, when Xiaoxi pushed the door open, she saw Yeli Lan using her tentacles to suspend the pillow, hammering it with left and right hooks like a punching bag.
Xiaoxi: “…
It was obvious Yeli Lan was going hard—every punch landed squarely on Eternal Star’s face, making it quite the workout.
Xiaoxi let out a helpless sigh. “Xinglan, maybe you shouldn’t keep bringing this stuff home to mess around with lately. I just feel like…
“Why, huh? Wasn’t it like this before, too?” Yeli Lan followed with two straight punches.
“Oh, I get it, after you found out I’m the Blood Moon Witch, Xingxiaozhi just can’t help herself, right? 666, Xingxiaozhi is protecting her Xingdie again…”
With a loud “smack,” Xiaoxi karate-chopped Yeli Lan on the head, and a big “井” character popped up on Xiaoxi’s head.
“Stop learning all that nonsense online! Seriously, you’re never picking up anything good. I’m going to make dinner, you tidy up these packages and get ready to eat in a bit.”
Thinking about Yeli Lan’s obsession with online games and all the strange things she picked up online, Xiaoxi was even more convinced that, in some ways, Yeli Lan was really just like a child.
Yeli Lan clutched her head, pitifully. “Oh… If you don’t like it, I’ll just practice in secret where you can’t see next time. It really hurts, you know.”
On her way to the kitchen, Xiaoxi made sure to avoid Yeli Lan’s tentacle—this was exactly the feeling…
Now that “Ye Xinglan” and “Blood Moon Witch” existed side by side, Xiaoxi sometimes felt a strong sense of disconnect.
Maybe if Ye Xinglan didn’t use her tentacles around the house so much, things would be better?
But since Ye Xinglan said her tentacles were a part of her body, hiding them all the time before had probably been a little stifling for her.
Xiaoxi didn’t want to bring up any sensitive issues that might touch on Ye Xinglan’s identity now.
Ah, it’s fine. They’re just tentacles, after all. She’d just have to get used to them.
It’s not like she wasn’t already intimately familiar with those tentacles at night…
While Xiaoxi was still trying to talk herself around, messages from Miss L and the Astrologer arrived at the same time.
She glanced at them, her expression turning serious.
Was the Council finally about to make a move?
“Xinglan, come take a look at this—”
“What is it… huh? The Council wants to talk with us tomorrow?” Ye Xinglan’s expression grew worried.
“What should we do, Xiaoxi? Is it because of me? Are you getting dragged in because of my identity?”
“It shouldn’t be because of that. Honestly, if the Council didn’t want to talk to us and ask some questions, that would be the real problem.”
When it came to something as big as the Blood Moon Witch, even if the Council fully trusted Xiaoxi, they’d at least have to speak with her.
Xiaoxi had been waiting for this chance to talk.
She’d expected it to be a tense negotiation, but she hadn’t expected the Astrologer to suddenly step in.
Since their last meeting at the Black Market, Xiaoxi hadn’t been in touch with her at all.
“Here, take a look at this.”
Xiaoxi opened the Astrologer’s message and showed it to Ye Xinglan.
The Astrologer was also a member of the Council.
Today, she’d messaged Xiaoxi to give her a heads-up—she’d revealed in advance some of the questions the Council would ask tomorrow, and told Xiaoxi and Ye Xinglan roughly how they should answer…
In other words, she’d leaked the answers to the test.
“…That’s it. When the Six Seats question you tomorrow, just answer like this. You don’t need to use my exact words, just get the general direction right. I’ll handle the rest.”
Xiaoxi could guess why the Astrologer was doing this.
Clearly, she’d been helping behind the scenes these past few days.
If the Astrologer wanted to convince the rest of the Six Seats, she needed Xiaoxi and her to coordinate and give the answers she needed.
Only then would her argument hold water, right?
Xiaoxi looked over the questions—the Astrologer’s answers were all flawless: standard, safe, and left the Council with nothing to use against them.
“Whoa, the Council, huh? You can even get connected with someone that impressive? I knew it—there’s no way those Association folks would’ve let me off so easily. Turns out it’s you who negotiated for me, huh~”
“Ahem, I don’t have what it takes to get in with the Six Seats. This is… Ministry Head L got Eternal Star to pull some strings.”
Xiaoxi had a sudden idea, thinking maybe she could earn some points with Ye Xinglan by saying this, but instead, Ye Xinglan just pursed her lips.
“Tch, that damned jerk… She must be trying to use this to make me owe her a favor and disgust me! Who knows what outrageous demands she’ll try to use this to threaten me with later!”
“It’s no surprise Eternal Star can mingle with the Council’s big shots—they’re all cut from the same cloth… Tch, don’t worry, Xiaoxi. If that jerk Eternal Star tries to make trouble in the future, let her come at me. I won’t let her give you a hard time!”
Xiaoxi: “……”
Well, thanks for that. Really chivalrous of you, offering to shield me from that jerk Eternal Star.
“Wait, so Xiaoxi… does this mean you’re my guardian now?”
Ye Xinglan’s tentacle coiled mischievously around Xiaoxi.
“So you’re responsible for overseeing my life, and you have to provide Magic Power to make sure I don’t lose control, right? I think that’s what Ministry Head L meant.”
A faint sense of foreboding welled up in Xiaoxi’s heart.
“…That’s not wrong, but wait, what are you up to?”
“Hiss… Oh no, Xiaoxi, I suddenly feel like I’m about to lose control—I need to replenish my Magic Power immediately…”
Ye Xinglan suddenly covered one eye with a hand, striking an “Amaterasu” pose.
“Who are you kidding! I know you don’t need to recharge Magic Power unless you actually use it, and it’s not like you’re that easy to lose control, right?”
“I don’t care. Isn’t it your duty to help me recharge? What, are you going to refuse when I need to replenish Magic Power?”
“I…”
Now Xiaoxi really was at a loss for words, because Ye Xinglan was right.
Normally, if Ye Xinglan tried to pull her aside for a round, she could barely refuse.
But now… as the Blood Moon Witch’s guardian, she really was responsible for helping Ye Xinglan restore Magic Power.
The problem was, this scheming Blood Moon Witch obviously had something else in mind!