“Knock knock knock.”
Lu Yuan suddenly lifted her head, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, her heart skipping a beat before pounding wildly.
Someone was knocking? At this hour… who could it be?
Lin Wan? Lian Xue? No, they had no idea I was back. Sister Su Li? No, Sister Su Li was still in Yunjing. Liu Zhe? No, no way Liu Zhe knew my address.
Then who was it?
A thought flashed through Lu Yuan’s mind like lightning, one she hardly dared to believe.
She scrambled up clumsily, stumbling slightly from the sudden movement. Taking a deep breath, her fingers trembled as she pressed against the peephole.
***
Through the small convex lens, under the dim hallway light, a small figure stood there.
Her pale cyan hair was dull and dusty, tangled with leaves she didn’t know where they came from. The once-beautiful ash-gray dress was torn.
Her face was streaked with a mix of dried tears and dirt.
Their eyes met, and the air seemed to freeze.
Qing looked at the tear stains on Lu Yuan’s face and her reddened eyes, growing even more anxious and confused.
She parted her lips, and a few words escaped her throat.
“Sister.”
Like a baby’s first words, Qing called out “Sister” just as she did when she first saw Lu Yuan—not as Lu Qian, but as Qing herself.
She cautiously reached forward with one dirty hand, clutching something tightly.
It was a crumpled, rain-soaked train ticket, the details blurred but the departure station was faintly legible as [Yunjing], and the destination as [Tongmen].
She didn’t know how she got the ticket or how she recognized the direction. All she knew was that Lu Yuan’s home was in Tongmen City, and she only knew she had to return “to Lu Yuan’s side.”
In the clumsiest and most primitive way, she had followed the only clue she had, traversed cities and wilderness, evaded every pursuit, and made her way back.
She offered the ticket—the symbol of her hardship and obsession—as if presenting the most precious treasure to Lu Yuan. Her pale green eyes blinked without looking away, filled with humble pleading and helplessness, as if asking:
[“I’m sorry… I’m back, do you still want me?”]
***
Lu Yuan looked at Qing, utterly disheveled, and at the crumpled ticket in her hand. All her feigned strength crumbled in an instant.
Tears burst forth uncontrollably.
“Sister is here…”
Lu Yuan said as she suddenly reached out and fiercely pulled Qing into her embrace.
“Ugh…!”
Qing let out a muffled sound from the sudden hug, her body stiffened for a moment, then as if finally confirming something, she wrapped her dirty arms around Lu Yuan and buried her face deeply into Lu Yuan’s neck, her body trembling as she let out long-suppressed sobs like a small animal.
All the grievances and fears found release in that hug.
Lu Yuan held her so tightly, as if trying to meld Qing into her very bones, never to part again.
The cold night wind swept down the corridor. Like a lost puppy, with her clumsy yet unwavering love, Qing had wobbled her way back home.
Thank goodness.
***
Lu Yuan was immersed in the peak of emotional release, ignoring everything around her.
At that moment!
A sudden, bone-chilling killing intent appeared, locking onto Qing in her arms.
The hairs on the back of Lu Yuan’s neck stood on end—an instinct honed through countless battles with Rose for detecting mortal danger.
Without hesitation, she held Qing and spun sharply to the side, using her back to face the sudden attack.
“Whoosh!”
The tip of a Scythe, exuding an icy cold aura, abruptly stopped right behind Lu Yuan’s back.
The freezing cold from the blade’s tip instantly frosted the fabric on her back.
Lu Yuan spun around fiercely, seeing the owner of the Scythe.
Holding the Scythe’s handle was none other than Su Li.
She had appeared silently like a phantom in the corridor, her gaze cold and sharp.
“Sister Su Li?! You…”
Lu Yuan’s pupils contracted sharply.
“I’m sorry, Lu Yuan,” Su Li’s voice was low and apologetic, but the Scythe in her hand showed no sign of retreat. “Following you was my plan, to… draw her out.”
She already knew Qing’s true identity and understood Qing’s special feelings for Lu Yuan, so there was no need to capture Qing directly. She just had to wait by Lu Yuan’s side.
“You used me…” Lu Yuan’s voice trembled with anger as she shielded Qing behind her. “She didn’t do it on purpose! She was controlled by Rose! You can’t touch her!”
“Whether it was intentional isn’t for you or me to decide. Her very existence is a huge risk.” Su Li stepped forward, the air around her temperature dropping sharply as tiny ice crystals formed on the ground. “Lu Yuan, step aside. This is an order. I’m taking her with me today.”
“What if I say no?” Lu Yuan stood her ground.
She had already failed as a sister once. How could she let Qing get hurt again?
“Are you betraying the Magical Girls?” Su Li frowned, showing a flicker of hesitation. “Think carefully. You’re a Magical Girl, and she’s a Calamity.”
***
“I…”
Lu Yuan pulled out her Transformation Crystal.
Two powerful magics exploded almost simultaneously!
Su Li’s aura surged with icy chill, her domain expanding, freezing the entire corridor.
Lu Yuan did not hesitate either. Black radiance flowed around her, her torn civilian clothes instantly replaced by the familiar black Lace Battle Suit. Her Black Spear condensed in her hand as she took a battle stance.
“I… never once thought being a Magical Girl was a happy thing.”
“Whoosh!” Both unleashed their power instantly, striking at each other’s vital points.
The black spear’s tip, steady without the slightest tremor, aimed precisely at Su Li’s forehead.
The pure white Scythe blade, elegant like a crescent moon, stopped steadily just before Lu Yuan’s heart.
The spear tip and Scythe point faced off less than half a meter apart, locked in a deadly standoff.
***
At that critical moment—
“Click.”
The door of the neighboring apartment suddenly burst open.
Lin Wan, in pajamas and rubbing her sleepy eyes, poked her head out, complaining discontentedly, “What’s all the noise at this hour… Can people even rest…”
Her complaint stopped abruptly as she stared dumbfounded at Su Li and Lu Yuan nearly fighting in the corridor, their Combat Suits and weapons glaringly inappropriate for a residential building.
“Lu… Lu Yuan?! Captain Su Li?! You…”
Lin Wan’s drowsiness vanished instantly.
Right after, Chen Lianxue appeared at the doorway, clearly more alert and already transformed, but she too was stunned by the scene.
“Sister Su Li? Sister Lu Yuan? What’s going on?”
Lin Wan stared blankly at the two unwilling to let each other go.
What is… happening here?!