Late night snacks are delicious

“The Frost-Core of the Nine Heavens—Lin Youning?”

Yi Ziling scoffed. “A name like that… hmph. Is it supposed to be famous?”

“Loli Heroine”—no, she should be called Lin Youning now—smiled with a face full of pride. “If you knew just what a formidable figure that name represents, you’d hurry up and greet me with the utmost respect.”

After searching her mind for a long while, Yi Ziling finally said, “A name I’ve never heard of. Is it really that famous?”

“Huh?!! You’ve actually never heard of my name! That’s impossible! You must be an ignorant little fry! Wait…”

It was only then that Lin Youning noticed the decorations and environment around her seemed vastly different from everything in her memory.

“Where is this place?” Lin Youning asked anxiously.

“My home, located in City D of the New United Alliance.”

“New United Alliance? City D? What are all these?” Flustered by the string of unfamiliar names, Lin Youning quickly realized a critical question. “What time is it now? Be specific—the year, the month, the day! Tell me, quickly!”

Seeing Lin Youning’s sudden state of extreme agitation, Yi Ziling answered timidly, “It’s September 22nd, 2036. Is something wrong?”

“…2036…”

As if the strength had been drained from her entire body, she murmured in a hollow voice, “It’s already been over two hundred years later.”

As if remembering something, Lin Youning floated in front of Yi Ziling and questioned her sharply: “Why do you have this ring! This isn’t something you should have! What did you do?!”

“…This, this was a birthday gift from my parents. I don’t know where it came from either.”

Lin Youning pointed at the jade ring and demanded loudly, “And that jade bangle? Who gave that to you?”

“…It, it was a birthday gift from Brother Dashan and Sister Ran.”

Looking at Yi Ziling’s weak and timid appearance, Lin Youning immediately realized that she likely knew nothing at all. But after a moment of careful thought, Lin Youning’s angry expression instantly transformed into one of joy.

“Hahahahaha! I see! So you are this generation’s Sect Leader of the Frost Plum Valley! Little fry, tell me, what is your name?”

“Ah, this… I’m Yi Ziling.”

“Very well, Yi Ziling.” Lin Youning pointed at Yi Ziling’s nose with an air of self-importance. “From now on, you are my disciple. Now, tell me, in the two hundred years I’ve been asleep, what has happened in the world!”

Yi Ziling said blankly, “Be your disciple? That’s not very good… Can I just be your friend?”

“You little fry, you dare to bargain with me!” Lin Youning said haughtily. “No one talks terms with me, especially not a fry like you.”

She had intended to say that, but looking at Yi Ziling’s pitiful yet cute face, she couldn’t bring herself to finish. She could only change her tune: “Fine, fine, friends it is. Now hurry up and tell me what happened!”

After a lengthy explanation, Lin Youning finally understood what had transpired over the last two centuries.

“So you mean to say the old dynasties are gone, replaced decades ago by a country formed from a mix of various factions called the New United Alliance.”

“Meanwhile, technology has advanced tremendously over these two hundred years, and many strange new gadgets have appeared.”

“Finally, this country doesn’t have many ‘Heroes’ left. The heavy responsibility of protecting the nation and exorcising monsters is mostly left to Magical Girls… and you are a member of a Magical Girl team.”

“I don’t quite understand what a ‘Magical Girl’ is, but based on your description, they must be a type of Hero.”

Yi Ziling nodded. “Yes, Sister Lin, you summarized it very well.”

“But, Xiao Yi, have you really never heard of the Frost Plum Valley sect? Not even a rumor?”

“I’ve really never heard the name Frost Plum Valley. And I just checked online; there are a few sects with similar names, but none of them fit your description, Sister Lin.”

“Is that so… Frost Plum Valley has vanished.”

Hearing Yi Ziling say this, Lin Youning couldn’t help but hang her head in loneliness. Even her figure began to turn transparent.

Turn transparent?

As if realizing something, Lin Youning shouted anxiously at Yi Ziling, “Quick, quick! Pour your magic power into the ring!”

Not quite understanding why Lin Youning was saying this, Yi Ziling did as she was told anyway. After channeling a large amount of magic power into the ring, Lin Youning’s figure became solid once again.

Patting her chest, Lin Youning breathed a sigh of relief. “Whew, that was close, that was close. I almost disappeared.”

That said, she immediately resumed her haughty demeanor and said to Yi Ziling, “Listen well. From now on, you must pour magic power into this ring every day. You cannot let the ring’s power run dry.”

“Otherwise, what would happen?” Yi Ziling asked curiously.

“Otherwise, I will disappear,” Lin Youning replied without thinking, revealing her weakness. “I am currently existing as a spirit within this ring. If the magic power in the ring is exhausted, my soul will dissipate. In other words, I’ll die.”

“Eh! It’s that serious!” Yi Ziling said in shock. “Then I will definitely give you magic power every day. If you don’t have enough, Sister, you must tell me!”

Lin Youning nodded with satisfaction. “That’s more like it. This is the attitude my disc—friend should have.”

“Not a disciple, a friend,” Yi Ziling weakly reminded her.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s basically the same thing.” Lin Youning waved her hand, seemingly unconcerned. “Anyway, don’t worry about that. I’m hungry. I want to eat. Do you have anything to eat here?”

“Food?”

Looking around, Yi Ziling saw the large gift box. If she remembered correctly, Liang Jiuyi should have put the food she cooked inside.

“There is, but Sister Lin, in your current state, how are you going to eat?”

What was floating in front of Yi Ziling was merely a projection Lin Youning created with magic power. A projection couldn’t eat food.

Regarding this, Lin Youning naturally had a way.

“In this form, I can’t eat, but you can.”

“?”

Before Yi Ziling could grasp her meaning, Lin Youning’s projection vanished, and Lin Youning’s voice rang out inside Yi Ziling’s mind.

“Heh! I’ve temporarily attached my consciousness to your body. This way, I can share part of your senses with you—including the sense of taste.”

“That’s incredible.”

“Hmph, of course it is. And as long as there’s enough magic power, I can do even more incredible things. Let’s not talk about that yet—hurry up and find something to eat! I haven’t eaten anything for over two hundred years!”

“Okay, Sister Lin.”

Yi Ziling opened the gift box sent by Liang Jiuyi.

The inside of the box was divided into many layers by cardboard, and the dish on the first layer was Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, meticulously prepared by Liang Jiuyi. The pale red ribs were glossy and plump; even from a distance, they looked mouth-watering.

Because of all the troubles during the day, Yi Ziling had eaten very little. Seeing such a delicious dish now, her appetite was stirred.

Under the cover of the quiet night, Yi Ziling snuck out of the room, briefly heated the Sweet and Sour Pork in the microwave, swiped a pair of chopsticks, and snuck back in.

“Mmm~ Delicious! So good! This is truly delicious!”

Feeling the flavor melt in her mouth, Lin Youning couldn’t help but exclaim, “This is wonderful! Even though I’ve tasted many delicacies, the flavor of this dish can rank in my top ten.”

“Hey, hey, don’t stop! Have another bite! Mmm… such a tasty dish. Who made this?”

As Yi Ziling ate, she replied, “Sister Ran made it. She’s a Magical Girl just like me.”

“Sister Ran?”

“Sister Ran’s full name is Ran Jiu. she only recently came to our place. Unlike us rookie Magical Girls, Sister Ran is a very, very strong Magical Girl. If my strength is a blade of grass, then Sister Ran is undoubtedly a giant tree.”

To this, Lin Youning said disdainfully, “You think she’s strong? That’s only because you haven’t met me before. Once you’ve seen my strength, you definitely won’t think she’s strong anymore.”

“Really?” Yi Ziling asked with some disbelief. “Are you really that strong?”

“Of course! Much stronger than you can imagine!” Lin Youning said confidently. “If she had been born two hundred years earlier, I guarantee you’d hear news every week about me defeating some wicked master or wiping out some bandit gang.”

“If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve become this bodiless shadow, I would have shown you what real power looks like long ago.”

Hearing this, Yi Ziling couldn’t help but ask, “Then Sister Lin, why did you become like this?”

“This… uh, it’s a necessary step one must go through to inherit the position of Sect Leader!”

Yi Ziling asked again, “Then why does inheriting the Sect Leader position require doing this?”

“Oh, why are there so many ‘whys’? Children shouldn’t pry so much; just listen to what adults have to say.”

Yi Ziling said uncertainly, “Is that so? But Brother Dashan said we should keep thinking for ourselves, and only do things after we’ve thought them through.”

“Just listen to me for now; I won’t lead you astray,” Lin Youning said. “Besides, I haven’t had enough yet! After finishing this dish, try the next one.”

“But if I eat too much, I’ll get fat.”

“If I tell you to eat, you eat! Why so much talk? Besides, I can feel it—you actually really want to eat too.”

“Ugh.”

Lin Youning laughed triumphantly. “I hit the mark, didn’t I? Anyway, just listen to me today. Once I’ve finished enjoying today’s feast, I’ll tell you all about the history of the Frost Plum Valley in detail.”