The setting sun painted the sky red. Holding Xiaoxi’s hand on the way to the subway station, Ye Xinglan spoke thoughtfully under the orange glow of dusk.
“Xiaoxi, I think our mom is actually a very gentle person.”
“Really?”
Thinking back on her mom’s devilishly cheerful face while tormenting her earlier, Xiaoxi just pursed her lips.
“Mom must have specially ordered the takeout for lunch today, right?” Ye Xinglan pondered seriously.
“When I helped clean up the table, I noticed that the kitchen utensils were all frequently used and tidied up so neatly. No matter how I look at it, Mom doesn’t seem like someone who’s bad at cooking.”
“She was probably worried that if she cooked, I’d feel awkward, so she used the excuse of ordering takeout instead?”
“And during our conversation, too. She didn’t ask for any personal information, probably so I wouldn’t get nervous. Instead, she talked to me a lot about you. When I asked for photos, she very generously sent me a bunch…”
“What photos?”
Realizing she’d let something slip, Ye Xinglan clamped her mouth shut. Xiaoxi instantly became alert, reaching out to snatch Ye Xinglan’s phone.
“Don’t grab, don’t grab… Don’t tickle me! Seriously, you’re so cute—what’s wrong with letting me take a look?”
“That’s not the point!”
Xiaoxi sighed, blushing. Her mom, honestly, just because Xinglan was her girlfriend, how could she sell her out like that!
Ever since she was little, Su Yuening would buy her lots of little dresses to play dress-up, which gave Xiaoxi quite a psychological shadow regarding girls’ clothes.
Thanks to these special “punishments,” Xiaoxi had always been an obedient child.
But now that she’d grown up and was working, Xiaoxi was used to wearing a maid uniform, so her aversion to wearing skirts wasn’t as strong anymore… In the end, everyone’s bottom line is just waiting to be broken.
“Really, I’ve seen every part of you, okay? It’s just a few pictures of you in little dresses—what’s there to be shy about?”
“Fine, then I’ve decided: I won’t let you look tonight.”
“Eh—how could you!”
“It’s your fault for not knowing restraint! Because of you, Mom found out about us today, didn’t she? If you’d been gentler, those marks wouldn’t have lasted so long. As punishment, you’re not allowed to sleep with me tonight!”
Ye Xinglan’s aggrieved voice echoed along the street, but Xiaoxi was unmoved.
That night, Xiaoxi kept her word and didn’t share a bed with Ye Xinglan… instead, she went to sleep on the sofa.
There was no helping it—she couldn’t bear to let Ye Xinglan sleep on the sofa, after all.
Only after making sure Ye Xinglan was asleep did Xiaoxi tiptoe up and start a video call. On the other end, the Astrologer wore that usual, polite, smiling expression.
“Enjoyed your vacation already? I didn’t expect Miss Xiaoxi to be so passionate about work.”
“Let’s get to the point,” Xiaoxi cut straight to the chase. “The Divine Summon Order—how’s the investigation going?”
Soon, Xiaoxi got an update on the investigation from the Astrologer. The Association hadn’t found any large-scale activity by the Divine Summon Order in North Blossom City, but they had discovered a newly risen cult called the Seeking Truth Society, which seemed to have appeared after Wange Yue’s murder.
This group’s slogan was “Seek the truth within, discover your true self.” In both actions and style, they were very similar to the Divine Summon Order. Thus, the Association suspected that the Seeking Truth Society might actually be the Divine Summon Order’s new face.
As for the confirmed members, only two senior Divine Summon Order figures had infiltrated North Blossom City: the Third Divine Envoy [Nixian], and the newly emergent Artificial Witch, Jingtong.
Looking at the data—the Third Divine Envoy’s youthful, childlike face—Xiaoxi frowned.
There was pitifully little information about this Third Divine Envoy.
Back in the Great Chaos, this person always worked from behind the scenes.
Now, the Association could only speculate that the Third Divine Envoy’s ability was related to healing or turning back time on the body.
In terms of Magical Girls, this should fall under the [Coordination] attribute.
The problem was, the Third Divine Envoy’s power far exceeded that of an ordinary healing Magical Girl.
For instance, back in Summersea City, she’d been literally torn to pieces by a rampaging Ye Xinglan, yet now she was perfectly fine, appearing before everyone once more.
Even magic can’t bring people back from the dead—no matter how unreasonable.
Even Mu Xingge, an S-Class Magical Girl with [Coordination], couldn’t pull off such an overpowered healing feat, right?
As for Jingtong, who had never appeared in the Divine Summon Order before, the Association speculated she was an Artificial Witch created after the Great Chaos, with abilities related to mirrors and spatial magic.
Xiaoxi felt a headache coming on. Just these two known enemies were already a real handful.
“According to the Association’s investigation, the Seeking Truth Society was already active in North Blossom City before you and Miss Xinglan arrived. So this time, the Divine Summon Order probably isn’t targeting the Blood Moon Witch.”
Xiaoxi let out a sigh of relief. What she feared most was the Divine Summon Order eyeing Ye Xinglan—so long as Xinglan wasn’t their target, she was content.
“Currently, both the Association and Tianqi Church are searching for the Seeking Truth Society’s strongholds in North Blossom City. As soon as we find them, we’ll act immediately.”
“I want to join the operation against the Seeking Truth Society,” Xiaoxi said after a pause. “But don’t involve Xinglan. I’ll go alone.”
“Oh~ Protecting your precious girlfriend so carefully?”
The Astrologer’s voice was full of teasing, but Xiaoxi didn’t budge.
The whole reason she’d arranged to speak to the Astrologer behind Ye Xinglan’s back tonight was for this.
She knew the risks of living with a tiger—regardless of the Divine Summon Order’s real target, she couldn’t rest easy without joining the operation herself.
“But you have another mission, don’t you? The Divine Summon Order investigation can be handled by others in the Association. But the case of Wange Yue’s death—only you can pursue that. As for Qiuli…”
“There’s no need to investigate further. Qiuli is definitely not the one who killed Wange Yue.”
Xiaoxi stated this decisively.
“Come to think of it, it’s all thanks to Jingtong. When I saved Qiuli and entered the depths of her fear, I briefly entered a state where our hearts were connected—words can lie, but the heart never does.”
“I didn’t learn the whole truth, but from what I saw in Qiuli’s heart at that time, she absolutely wasn’t the one who killed Wange Yue.”
The Astrologer nodded thoughtfully. Xiaoxi continued,
“Also, I’ve developed a new suspicion about the murderer—I now suspect the Divine Summon Order was behind Wange Yue’s death.”
“Oh?” The Astrologer perked up. “What makes you say that?”
Xiaoxi pulled out the files related to Wange Yue, which included crime scene photos.
While lying on the sofa earlier, she’d been studying them intently.