The Walking Book and a Desperate Plea

Zhuang Xun stood by the classroom window, her gaze fixed on the library below.

Before the library’s entrance stood a monster. It resembled a walking book, adorned with peculiar, square-rimmed glasses resting where a title would typically be inscribed. Its left hand clutched a colossal ballpoint pen.

From its mouth spilled a torrent of jumbled knowledge and facts. These points manifested as physical text, emblazoned across the surrounding buildings, while its voice resonated with extreme aggression.

Zhuang Xun observed that the nearest individuals, upon hearing the sound, began to slump, mumbling phrases like, ‘Life is so boring,’ and ‘I wish I could turn into a bird.’

‘This fellow…’

Her gaze immediately snapped toward Shen Xian, whose expression mirrored her own seriousness.

The next second, a figure burst between them. Ji Xiao exclaimed in a fit of impotent rage, “Ahhh! My books are still in the library! It’s almost finals week! Don’t do this to me!”

Ji Xiao’s words instantly shattered the tension between Zhuang Xun and Shen Xian.

“Save my books, Shen Xian, my dear!” Ji Xiao pleaded earnestly, clutching Shen Xian’s hand. “I… I don’t want to fail! Boohoohoo…”

Shen Xian nodded. “I know.”

Zhuang Xun and Shen Xian’s eyes met, communicating an unspoken agreement.

Shen Xian offered a calming assurance. “Xiaoxiao, you should leave this teaching building first. Organize the students to evacuate and stay far away from this area.”

Ji Xiao nodded rapidly. “Okay! My final grades are all in your hands!” Before Shen Xian could add anything further, Ji Xiao’s figure vanished down the hallway.

Zhuang Xun’s peripheral vision caught the monster outside. At this moment, it remained still, quietly flipping through the book in its hands. The sight of a book flipping through a book was utterly bizarre.

“Is Senior Ji going to be alright?”

Shen Xian rolled up her sleeve, revealing a magical girl’s transformation device on her left wrist. “She’ll be fine. This is your first time meeting her in this capacity.”

Shen Xian closed her eyes and kissed the transformation device. Immediately, her clothes transformed into a light pink, action-ready magical dress.

Upon seeing this, Zhuang Xun slowly lowered her head and kissed the transformation device on her own wrist. The next second, she looked down at the blue skirt and light blue staff on her body, still feeling a trace of bewilderment.

Even after transforming five or six times, she still couldn’t quite adapt. Compared to her, her senior’s outfit and colors seemed perfectly tailor-made.

Shen Xian lightly flicked her hair and added, “Xiaoxiao hasn’t visited the magic department much this month because of finals week. She’s… the vice-head of the magical girl logistics department.”

Zhuang Xun’s eyes widened slightly. This was the first time she had heard such a thing.

“Enough about her. Contact Ning Qi,” Shen Xian ordered, leaning against the wall and observing the monster’s movements.

Zhuang Xun shifted her gaze from Shen Xian back to the monster outside. “I’ve already contacted Senior Ning.”

“Good, let’s go.” Shen Xian gripped the window frame, half-leaning out. “Your body should be fine now, right?”

Zhuang Xun followed Shen Xian’s gaze to her own arm. She nodded, a slight curve gracing her lips. “No problem.”

“That’s good.”

“Senior.”

“Hmm?”

“If there’s ever any situation you’re dealing with… please, you must tell me.”

Shen Xian tilted her head slightly, the gentle breeze from outside rustling her hair. Her confident and radiant demeanor in that moment etched itself into Zhuang Xun’s mind.

“Alright.”

The words had barely left her lips when she leaped out the window alone.

Zhuang Xun stood at the ledge, taking a deep breath. She was, in fact, afraid of heights. But at a time like this, there was no room for hesitation; her senior was waiting for her. She pushed her fears aside, followed the wind, and leaped down right after Shen Xian.

Zhuang Xun landed softly beside Shen Xian. A distance of several hundred meters separated them from the monster.

Shen Xian whispered, “Do you remember the spatial blockade magic you learned when you first joined the department?”

Zhuang Xun nodded. She had learned it, but she had never actually used it.

“Then, this time, why don’t you cast it?”

“…W-wait a moment.”

“Can’t you?” Shen Xian blinked, looking at her junior.

Zhuang Xun pursed her lips. She had never used spatial blockade magic, especially not when facing a live monster. Moreover, her magical fluctuations had been unstable lately.

Shen Xian spoke slowly, “Little Zhuang Xun, are you nervous?”

Zhuang Xun instinctively apologized. “I’m sorry.”

Shen Xian did not reply. The next second, the hand holding her staff was gently lifted and grasped by her senior. Shen Xian pressed close, her firm, powerful voice reaching Zhuang Xun’s ear.

“Don’t be nervous.” Shen Xian’s warm palm covered her cold hand. “Focus on the target. Use it as the origin, expand the radius, and imagine the time-stopping range.”

Zhuang Xun’s gaze fell upon Shen Xian’s hand, and she took a deep breath.

“You can do it, Little Zhuang Xun.”

Those words intertwined with memories from her past, a time before she was a magical girl, when Shen Xian had saved her. Zhuang Xun concentrated, her gaze fixed on the monster, finally calm and collected.

She chanted, “Eternal Heart, heed my prayer—may the dancing dust remain, may the bustling world fall silent. Here, oh Time, at this moment—freeze!”

The instant her words fell, a transparent layer of magic shot from her position toward the monster, spreading rapidly outward. Birds in mid-flight froze in the air, and the swaying trees were locked in the posture of being swept by the wind.

After casting the spell, Zhuang Xun’s hand instinctively lost its strength.

Shen Xian, standing beside her, spoke proudly, “As expected of my Little Zhuang Xun. For a novice, achieving such a range is something many can’t do!”

“Senior…”

Just as Zhuang Xun was about to reply, a sharp gaze swept toward them.

“Although I wanted to praise you a bit more, it seems we’ve been discovered by the enemy,” Shen Xian noted. She tightly clutched her magic staff and dashed out from behind the trees.

Zhuang Xun followed closely.

“Monster! This is not the place for you to commit your evil acts…”

Shen Xian’s prepared, dramatic words were barely out before the monster completely ignored her. It stood still, merely glancing at them indifferently before resuming flipping through the book in its hands. It continuously mumbled something under its breath, and the malevolent gaze it had cast upon them vanished entirely.

Shen Xian massaged her temple with a finger. “How should we handle this kind of situation?”

Zhuang Xun lowered her staff and quietly asked, “Senior, if we forcefully attack it, will something happen to the person inside?”

This was her first time encountering a situation where a human had transformed into a monster. They had discussed such possibilities during training, but such “human-origin” monsters accounted for ten percent or less of previous cases.

“Their true form is human, so a purification protocol is necessary. However, the purification staff requires two or more people to operate.”

Zhuang Xun fell into thought. As a newcomer, she hadn’t yet learned human purification. At a time like this, she couldn’t help her senior at all.

“Little Zhuang Xun, has Ning Qi replied to you?”

Zhuang Xun shook her head.

Shen Xian stretched her arms. “In that case, let’s make some noise to get her to hurry over.”

“Senior…?”

Shen Xian looked at the monster and inhaled gently. “Ning Qi must already be on her way. Time blockade magic has a time limit and drains a lot of your magical power. It’s safer to make a scene so she can pinpoint our location faster.”

Then, without waiting for Zhuang Xun’s reply, Shen Xian continued, “After all, we can only return to headquarters after defeating this monster so they can install the purification core into your staff.”