My back and legs ached, my spirit felt sapped, as if my body had been hollowed out. My kidneys were probably overworked again. Ugh. My head throbbed.
“Big White, you should hurry. We can’t keep them waiting any longer,” Aya Tone urged, forcing himself to appear energetic.
‘If you don’t go soon, Aya Jiu beside me will fall back asleep.’
As he spoke, he reached out and gently nudged the small Aya Jiu, whose eyes were already closed, her body seeming ready to slump at any moment.
‘Aya Jiu, you have to hold on a little longer. Just a bit more, and we can go back to sleep. You can do it! Victory is within reach!’
“Master, do you really want me to leave so soon?” Big White asked, unperturbed, a knowing smile playing on her lips as she regarded her master’s ill intentions.
“No, no, no, cough, cough!”
‘Damn it, I spoke too fast and swallowed toothpaste. Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey. Ugh, the feeling of foam stuck in my throat, bleh…’
Watching her master retch repeatedly over the sink, Big White offered a faint smile. “Then I’ll be off.”
‘How could she not know what her master was planning? It was nothing more than waiting for her to leave, then rushing straight back to bed for a long nap. Even though it was a bit early for the appointed time, her little master not getting enough sleep could affect her health. This once, she would indulge them. As for why Big White had dragged them out of bed so early? Heh… it was simply retaliation for her master dumping the task of welcoming the students onto her. A rather childish act of revenge, just like her master.’
“Bye-bye, Big White, have fun!”
Hearing the click of the door closing from inside, Aya Tone discreetly glanced at the figure in the doorway with his peripheral vision, and only after confirming she was truly gone, he quietly urged Aya Jiu, “Aya Jiu, quickly spit out the bubbles in your mouth.”
“Ah, pubu-pubu…” Aya Jiu, eyes still squinted, wobbled as she followed her papa’s voice, gurgling and spitting out the water from her tiny mouth.
As the last bit of water came out, Aya Tone immediately picked up his daughter, rushed back to the room, and drew the curtains that Big White had pulled open earlier that morning.
‘Yoo-hoo! Time to sleep, time to sleep! Indeed, one mustn’t stay up late. Waking up so early in the morning, my eyes ache so much, it feels as if someone is poking needles into my eyeballs for acupuncture. It hurts!’
*Phew*, Aya Tone, having returned to his ‘seal,’ let out a long sigh of relief. ‘I survived…’
What he failed to notice was that, unlike usual mornings when breakfast would be laid out on the table, today it was conspicuously absent. Even the slightest crumbs remained exactly as they had been last night.
****
Yan’an City, Vermilion Bird Guild.
After politely paying the driver, Big White stood before the grand entrance of the guild for the first time. She hadn’t used teleportation magic directly like Aya Tone, opting instead for the most unassuming mode of transport. Of course, it wasn’t that Big White didn’t want to; it was simply because her internal magical energy wasn’t as abundant as Aya Tone’s and couldn’t withstand the drain of long-distance teleportation. Nor was she like Li Jia, a natural spatial magic user for whom opening a teleportation gate was as simple as drinking water. Furthermore, she didn’t possess the spatial coordinates for the Vermilion Bird Guild.
By eight o’clock, the guild was already bustling with people, mostly female students on holiday, eager to learn about the guild’s operations. After all, this was the headquarters of the Vermilion Bird Guild.
‘Who knows which old geezer established the rule that the headquarters only recruits females? Isn’t that blatant gender discrimination! But then again, on such a hot summer day, with all those dazzling long white legs swaying, it’s not entirely incomprehensible why that old geezer made such a rule. Ahem, I’m getting sidetracked.’
Dismissing those irrelevant thoughts, Big White lifted her short legs and ascended the steps. What she failed to notice was that the moment she stepped out of the car, dozens of predatory eyes were fixed intently upon her.
In the shadows, whispers murmured.
“It’s been two months! Do you know how I’ve spent these two months?! Do you know!?”
“Hehehe, aren’t we all? Hehehe… a casual long dress, so adorable.”
“I want that leg to stomp all over my face!!!”
“Uh… don’t you guys remember that Witch-sama’s bust seems to have gotten quite a bit bigger?”
“Bigger? No, that’s your illusion. This size is just perfect, *hiss*…”
“…”
At this moment, Big White remained unaware of what awaited her, innocently and defenselessly heading towards the ‘demon’s den.’ If Aya Tone were here, he would surely shout loudly at her, “Stop! That’s a fiery hell ahead!”
‘Oh my god!!’
****
“Everyone, hurry, hurry!” Lin Ling exclaimed, practically skipping up the steps, covering three at a time. In no time, she was standing at the guild entrance, calling out impatiently to the three behind her.
“Lin Ling, slow down, it’s still early,” Ye Liu said helplessly from behind.
‘How can Lin Ling be so energetic in such hot weather? They had arrived in Yan’an City last night, solely to meet their teacher at the guild bright and early. But it’s not even nine yet; would their teacher really be up this early?’ Ye Liu sighed inwardly. ‘Their teacher had a history of being late in the afternoon even after a nap. And it was the weekend, no less…’
“Oh, even if the teacher isn’t here yet, we can go visit Wushuang’s older sister!”
“Right, Wushuang~” Lin Ling said with a beaming smile, looking at Huo Wushuang, who was slowly ascending the steps with an expressionless face.
‘Hehehe, she hadn’t forgotten that older sister who could produce S-rank dungeon items. She wondered what kind of person Wushuang’s sister was. If only she’d acknowledge me as her little sister, hehe…’
Thinking this, drool almost dripped from the corner of Lin Ling’s mouth, pulled down by gravity.
“…”
Huo Wushuang ignored her “scum” roommate, who was constantly thinking about her older sister. With an expression that clearly said ‘I don’t know this person,’ she walked directly past Lin Ling and entered the guild.
“Wushuang! Why are you ignoring me?!” Ignored by Huo Wushuang, Lin Ling felt her innocent heart struck by lightning.
‘Pain! Too much pain! I absolutely must have Wushuang’s older sister properly soothe my wounded heart!’
And so, shamelessly, she followed behind Huo Wushuang, attempting to brainwash her “adoptive sister.”
“Let’s go too…” Liu Fei said, holding an umbrella in one hand, then took Ye Liu’s hand, and together they walked inside.
But the moment the two of them stepped into the Vermilion Bird Guild, they witnessed a sight that would forever be etched in their memories. In the vast guild hall, not a single person was near the quest board; everyone was crowded into the nearby lounge area. This wasn’t even the strangest part. What was truly eerie was that, with so many people gathered, there was no noise, only expressions of piety and serenity. Their bizarre demeanor made one suspect that this wasn’t the Vermilion Bird Guild at all, but rather a cult stronghold.
“We didn’t come to the wrong place, did we?” Lin Ling, who had entered first, secretly poked Huo Wushuang’s exposed skin.
“No, it seems the teacher is already here,” Huo Wushuang replied calmly, leading the others forward.
This scene was nothing new to her. She had seen plenty of similar ones in her cousin’s photo album when she returned home previously. And the culprit behind all this…
As the four girls moved closer, they finally caught a glimpse of a silvery strand amidst the crowd.
“Teacher Aya!?” the girls exclaimed in unison.