“Teacher Aya!?” the four exclaimed in unison.
Big White, deeply enveloped by the crowd, a serene smile still gracing her features, heard someone call out “Teacher” and turned to locate the sound. Sure enough, she spotted four female students on the periphery, anxiously trying to catch her attention.
‘These must be the students my master mentioned, the ones coming to see me,’ Big White mused inwardly.
She then gently addressed the surrounding crowd, “My apologies, everyone, but I must depart.”
“No!”
Upon hearing Big White’s intention to leave, the women encircling her let out a collective wail of reluctance.
“Now, now,” she soothed, “I know you’re reluctant to see me go, but I’ve already taken up a good deal of your time. Don’t you all have matters to attend to?”
Big White recalled the moment she had stepped into the guild hall; the once bustling scene, where people had been engrossed in forming teams, had instantly fallen silent, their tasks forgotten. For a moment, an absolute hush had descended upon the guild, followed by a deafening roar of cheers. Big White, utterly bewildered, had found herself encircled by the masses, their fervent gazes leaving her utterly helpless.
‘Such blind idolization simply won’t do; it will surely disrupt their lives,’ she had thought. So, after gently parting the crowd, she had calmly offered them some psychological counseling. The entire time, she had subtly admonished them for their irrational behavior. ‘Yet now that I’m leaving, why are they so unwilling to let me go? Humans truly are peculiar…’
Big White’s tone, laced with a hint of reproach, brought the fervent excitement of everyone present to an abrupt halt.
‘This feeling… how strange. This esteemed Witch before us seems like a completely different person. Unlike the youthful version who’d run errands for us, this is more like a mature, steady mother! That’s right! Big White’s instructive tone was akin to that of a doting mother, her scolding imbued with an unwavering tenderness. Every word, every nuance, revealed her genuine care for their well-being. Still… it doesn’t seem so bad…’
“Mom!”
As the first person unconsciously uttered that single word, the entire guild hall instantly transformed into a massive family reunion scene. This left Lin Ling and her three companions utterly dumbfounded.
Ultimately, it was only after Big White’s gentle reassurance that everyone quietly dispersed.
“Hello there,” Big White greeted politely, having threaded her way through the crowd to stand before the four girls.
“Are you… Teacher?” Having witnessed firsthand the almost cult-like tactics just moments ago, even someone as oblivious as Lin Ling could sense that something was amiss. Although the person before them bore a striking resemblance to Teacher Aya, there were significant discrepancies, both in personality and in chest circumference. Moreover, the aura of maturity emanating from her was distinctly different from the unreliable Teacher Aya. ‘Could they be twins?’ Lin Ling narrowed her eyes, her brow deeply furrowed. She couldn’t grasp it, nor could she comprehend it.
“I am not,” Big White admitted directly, confirming she was not Aya Tone.
“Then Teacher Aya, she…” Big White’s frankness brought a touch of disappointment to the girls. They had traveled all this way to find their teacher, only to be… seemingly ignored by her. ‘Such a slight…’
“Don’t be sad.”
Big White stood on her tiptoes, gently stroking their heads. “Your teacher has urgent matters to attend to and couldn’t make it, which is why I’ve come in her stead. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am a part of your teacher, and you may call me Big White.”
‘My body is constructed from my master’s magic as its foundation, so saying I’m a part of my master isn’t really a lie, is it?’ Big White mused.
“Really?” Their disappointed eyes held a glimmer of inquiry.
“Of course it’s true,” Big White affirmed, nodding earnestly. In Big White’s eyes, the little master’s affairs were paramount. Her master accompanying the little master was, in essence, being busy. This was precisely why she had agreed to meet her master’s students on her behalf.
“What do you mean, ‘a part of Teacher’?” Suddenly, a rare spark of insight struck Lin Ling, prompting her to voice the question on everyone’s mind. Before Big White could explain, Lin Ling seemed to have an epiphany and began to answer her own question.
“Is it something akin to a Guardian Spirit?”
Guardian Spirits are a branch of the Heroic Spirit system, also known as its mutated form. Unlike Heroic Spirits, which merge with their host bodies, Guardian Spirits exist outside the human body. Their cultivation path is similar to that of the Heroic Spirit system. However, the focus of cultivation shifts from oneself to the Guardian Spirit. It’s truly a remarkable ability.
“Hmm, something like that,” Big White replied vaguely. However, she showed no desire to delve deeper into the topic, so she proposed, “It’s still early. Would you like to go out and explore a bit? Having come out, there were indeed some places she had wanted to visit for a while, but due to her identity and lack of time, she hadn’t been able to. This is a perfect opportunity; it wouldn’t be a wasted trip for these students, would it?”
“Go out and play!? Yay!” Upon hearing she could go out with this older sister who resembled their teacher so much, Lin Ling instantly forgot their previous conversation and enthusiastically raised her hand in agreement.
“Sister Big White, my name is Lin Ling! You can call me Ling Ling too!”
Lin Ling leaned down slightly and affectionately hugged Big White. The same height as their teacher, the same silver hair—she had wanted to hug her for a long time. ‘Even if Sister Big White isn’t Teacher, it’s still fine. So small, so soft to hug, hehe~’ Lin Ling unconsciously let out a lecherous giggle.
“Mmm, hello, Ling Ling.” Big White, seemingly oblivious to Lin Ling’s ulterior motives, gently reached out and patted her head. Lin Ling bending down conveniently spared Big White the effort of standing on her tiptoes. Seeing this, the other girls’ eyes immediately lit up. Even in Huo Wushuang’s typically calm gaze, a flicker of desire appeared. However, the desire in her eyes was to tie up the loli before her, then do ‘this and that,’ followed by ‘Ora Ora Ora.’
*Cough, cough…*
****
In the dim room, a pair of dark eyes suddenly snapped open.
“Hungry…”
The intense hunger gnawing at his stomach was akin to a volcanic eruption, relentlessly tormenting Aya Tone’s nerves. He picked up his phone and glanced at it.
“…”
1:00 PM.
Precisely one o’clock in the afternoon, no more, no less. ‘So it’s already this late… Such a long stretch of time, missing both breakfast and lunch. No wonder my stomach is sounding the alarm. Big White isn’t home, and I’ve been far too indulgent with myself.’ Aya Tone rubbed his head, which felt a bit dizzy from sleeping too long. ‘It seems I need to go to bed earlier next time. Ugh… no more staying up late…’
“Aya Jiu, wake…” Aya Tone was about to call his daughter to wake up when he noticed the baby bottle by the bed, a trace of milk still clinging to its interior. ‘Hmm? Well, I’ll be. My little traitor has sprung a leak. She’s learned to eat all by herself, keeping it a secret. Poor old dad here, sleeping on an empty stomach.’ With a calm expression, he used one hand to brush the stray hairs from Aya Jiu’s face, then opened the surveillance footage on his phone. ‘He wanted to see just where this “little padded jacket” had started to leak!’
After they had fallen back asleep, about an hour later, a tiny figure pushed open the room door and emerged. She peered around, looking like a miniature adult, then walked straight towards the door. Her destination was clear, and she showed no hesitation. Seeing this, Aya Tone’s heart tightened. ‘Aya Jiu couldn’t have run outside, could she! No, that’s not right!’ He reconsidered. ‘Big White must have anticipated I’d go back to sleep when she left, so the door is locked! Aya Jiu doesn’t have a key; she shouldn’t be able to get out at all.’
The next second, Fire Finch walked in from outside, instantly resolving Aya Tone’s confusion.
“Guild Leader?” he murmured softly. ‘If it was the Guild Leader, then it’s not hard to understand why Aya Jiu could open the door. But why would the Guild Leader come?’ The video on his phone continued. Fire Finch picked up little Aya Jiu, and after a moment of affectionate interaction, carried her to the living room. She expertly turned on the television and set the channel for little Aya Jiu. Just as Aya Tone was wondering what Fire Finch would do next, she actually waved goodbye to Aya Jiu!? ‘She came all this way just to turn on the TV for Aya Jiu? Huh?’ Suddenly, Aya Tone felt as though his brain wasn’t quite keeping up; he needed to connect to the Morpheus Network!
Oh dear