Volume 1 Chapter 23: A Relationship Bound by Black-and-White Words
“I have heard of similar cases before. Those monsters disguise themselves as urban legends or internet stories, then slowly lure ordinary people step by step into traps they prepared...”
Completely not noticing the twitching corner of Kaguya’s mouth beside her, Shen Jingyi cast aside her usual quiet nature. She lowered her eyes and seriously analyzed the matter by herself.
“If what you met back then was something similar... then how did you escape?”
Hey, hey...
Looking at Shen Jingyi, who seemed to be getting deeper and deeper into her own theory, Kaguya helplessly covered her forehead.
As expected of a dedicated magical girl. She had only felt emotional after seeing a familiar place, yet Shen Jingyi could seriously turn it into a full investigation.
Honestly...
Usually she was cold and quiet, only saying “mm,” “ah,” or short replies, barely speaking at all. But the moment this kind of topic came up, she became unbelievably excited!
Kaguya curled her lips and secretly complained in her heart.
“How old were you when you saw that light?”
But Shen Jingyi clearly had the spirit of not giving up until she got answers. She stared at Kaguya’s pretty face and asked seriously.
“Huh?”
Kaguya blinked blankly, and her tone became a little unnatural.
“Well... probably eleven years old. Why?”
“Eleven...”
The girl thought for a moment, then continued asking,
“Then, besides that light and those flowers, was there anything else different from usual?”
“Uh...”
Twisting a strand of hair around her finger, Kaguya guiltily avoided Shen Jingyi’s eyes.
Actually, when this happened, I was not eleven at all... I was already in my thirties...
The girl turned her face away and secretly stuck out her tongue.
And the story she had just told was not even her own experience...
It was Tang Xingwan’s.
Back then, Tang Xingwan did not come home after school. Her teacher said she had already left earlier, which nearly scared Kaguya to death. That night, she and many relatives and friends searched almost all of Wangdu. In the end, they found the little girl completely unharmed at the entrance to the outskirts.
After that, the child told her this magical and unbelievable story.
At the time, Kaguya only thought it was enough that the little girl had returned safely. As for the story itself, she did not take it seriously and simply treated it as a child’s wild imagination.
So now, since she only retold it because the scenery reminded her of it, how could she possibly remember any details...
“Can’t remember? What about those iris flowers that guided you home? How were they different from normal iris flowers?”
Meanwhile, Shen Jingyi was still fully showing her professional spirit and continued pressing for answers.
“Mm...”
“Was there anything special around you? Do you remember?”
“Ugh...”
Please stop. I’m begging you, please stop talking...
Please turn back into the cold and quiet Shen Jingyi!
Completely unable to handle her, Kaguya felt sweat running down her back. Being totally trapped by the questioning, she desperately searched her mind for suitable words.
“I see... Well, it happened so long ago. It’s normal if you don’t remember the details.”
Seeing Kaguya stay silent, Shen Jingyi thought Miss Bai simply could not remember clearly but was too proud to admit it. So she took the initiative to end the topic and lowered her head to think again.
“But if a monster really was behind it, there should have been magical energy at that time… Sadly, after so many years, there would be no traces left now...”
Wait, speaking of that...
When the words magical energy flashed through Shen Jingyi’s mind, she paused slightly and suddenly thought of something else.
As far as she knew, the magical power used by magical girls was actually the physical form of positive emotions such as hope, optimism, kindness, and many other good feelings.
For example, the element she could turn into reality was lightning. There also seemed to be magical girls whose elements were fire or wind...
But Kaguya was different. In the battle just now, she had shown at least two elements, ice and fire.
Shen Jingyi could feel the huge amount of magical power coming from Kaguya, but somehow... Kaguya’s magic felt different from her own magic and also different from the magic used by monsters.
The strangest part was that Kaguya had no markings on her body that showed a magical girl’s remaining magic power. Even after all this time, she was still able to stay transformed...
Shen Jingyi pushed all these questions back into her heart. She shook her head, returned to her usual cold expression, looked at Kaguya, and softly sighed.
“Sorry, I got off topic just now.”
Shen Jingyi had no plan to ask directly. After all, Kaguya had willingly shared a childhood memory, which meant she did not mind Shen Jingyi knowing it. But how Kaguya became a magical girl was private. Since Kaguya did not bring it up herself, Shen Jingyi would not ask either.
“It’s fine.”
Kaguya still wore her small smile on the outside, but inside she truly let out a huge sigh of relief.
So you do know you went way off topic!
She quickly changed the subject, covered her mouth, and pretended to yawn, acting as if she was already bored.
“Forget it. Staying here longer is meaningless. Let’s go.”
This place is dangerous to stay in. Retreat first, retreat first!
Shen Jingyi did not object and simply nodded lightly.
However, when Kaguya carried Shen Jingyi and flew over the outskirts, a trace of light flashed in her eyes again.
‘That magical power just now definitely belonged to that blonde bat woman. Why did it disappear after I followed it all the way here... What are they planning?’
Kaguya lowered her eyes and carefully hid the light in them.
After returning to an empty alley near the Disaster Management Bureau, Kaguya canceled her transformation and quickly made a call to confirm Tang Xingwan’s safety.
That little girl had rushed out while saying strange things... Although the disaster beast’s attention had been focused on Kaguya and Shen Jingyi at the time, so she was probably fine, it was still better to check.
And during the time Kaguya had been flying around with Shen Jingyi, calls and messages had kept coming one after another, almost filling up her phone.
But Bai Muxue could understand.
After all, the noble young lady of the Bai family had gone to attend a funeral, then ran into a disaster beast, disappeared, and did not answer calls. Anyone would panic.
Especially the Disaster Management Bureau. Those leaders were probably sweating heavily right now. Haha.
Sure enough, after Bai Muxue contacted the bureau and confirmed Tang Xingwan was safe, several high-ranking officials immediately called her. They expressed concern, apologized for failing to help Miss Bai evacuate in time, and promised they would improve management in the future...
At the same time, they politely hoped Bai Muxue would attend tonight’s funeral again, so they could apologize to her in person.
“My, my...”
Thinking of those usually arrogant old men now acting frightened and careful, Bai Muxue felt quite pleased. She hummed an off-key tune and casually said without turning around:
“The leaders at the bureau still want to see me tonight. How about I take Teacher Shen to buy some clothes again?”
Her tone did not sound like a question. It sounded more like a notice.
But after waiting for a while, she heard no reply from Shen Jingyi.
Bai Muxue turned around and saw Shen Jingyi still standing where she was. Her white dress wrapped around her slim body, making her look cold and lonely.
Bai Muxue raised an eyebrow.
“Teacher Shen?”
Shen Jingyi quietly looked back at her.
“I’m not going tonight.”
“Hm?”
Shen Jingyi slowly clenched her hand into a fist. Looking directly at the girl in front of her, she stiffly repeated,
“I still have overtime work tonight, so I can’t go.”
After everything they had gone through this afternoon, facing life and death together, and hearing Miss Bai take the initiative to share her childhood story, Shen Jingyi had suddenly felt that maybe the relationship between them had changed in some subtle way.
But now...
As they returned to ordinary daily life, Shen Jingyi realized that the relationship between her and Bai Muxue would return to what it had always been.
A relationship bound by black-and-white words on paper.