The golden sun rose, bathing the dew-covered grass in gold. Frosty mist in the cave slowly took on a golden hue.
Ice Bear let out a long snore. Jiang Han, lying on Ice Bear's back, rubbed her sleepy eyes and woke up, then yawned and glanced at the clock beside the cave's temperature gauge.
It was just past seven thirty—perfect. Today she had to meet her substitute tutor, Cen Jing, at the tutoring center. Even if she was only filling in for three days, it was best not to be late.
When she returned home from the garden, the house was unusually quiet.
Her little sister, Jiang Zhenling, was still in her pajamas, yawning as she made breakfast in the kitchen. When she saw her older sister come in from outside, she tilted her head, gave a soft hum, pointed upstairs, then pointed outside. "Were you sleepwalking?"
"..." Jiang Han wondered how she was supposed to explain that she hadn't been able to sleep and had gone to the garden to pet a bear.
Before she could think of an answer, her sister suddenly realized something. "Oh, you were sleep-petting a bear?"
Are you hinting that I'm short, or that I'm dark-skinned?
Jiang Han looked down at the back of her hand. It was snow-white, almost bright enough to reflect the light. So her sister definitely wasn't hinting that she had dark skin. That meant it had to be the other thing.
"Comrade Zhenling, you've been so sarcastic lately." Jiang Han felt that her sister was on the verge of switching from witch to Onmyoji.
"Yes, little sister. You're such a good little sister." Jiang Zhenling touched her lips and smiled. "By the way, Han, I measured 175 centimeters at my checkup."
Damn it, in my previous life... I was 170...
Jiang Han's expression stiffened. She decided not to argue with her Onmyoji sister and hurried upstairs to grab some clothes and a towel, then went to shower.
By the time she'd washed up, breakfast was ready. Jiang Zhenling had made a simple Magic Potion Porridge—the kind of green gel you simmer in a cauldron. After their simple breakfast, her sister took a shower too. Then they got dressed and headed out.
When Jiang Han arrived at the tutoring center, she saw her sister's tutor at the entrance: a tall, purple-robed witch with a bob cut. After chatting with Zhen Ling for a while, the tutor went into the library. Before leaving, she glanced curiously at Jiang Han.
Jiang Han found a seat in the lobby. Every so often, she saw witches arrive, then quickly form teams and head into the library. They often came in yawning, most dressed in stylish, elegant clothes. None of them looked poor. That was probably because Dream Garden was an expensive tutoring center, and most of the witches who could afford it came from middle-class families.
Jiang Han, by contrast, was terribly poor. She had only fifty yuan in her pocket, and that was a recent increase in her allowance. If she wanted more, she'd have to figure out a way to earn it herself.
The lobby also had a stall selling spell study books. When she went to take a look, she was startled to see that a rare level-two spell cost five thousand yuan a book. Anything labeled rare cost at least ten times as much, which put an end to her idea of buying books to study on her own.
Maybe I can find a way to get the tutoring center to give me a few books.
She didn't have to wait long before Li Li arrived. After greeting Jiang Han, she sat down on a bench with her eyes closed to rest. Her golden fox ears drooped limply atop her head. Jiang Han had always been a little curious about whether they were real. If they were, did that mean Li Li could hear in four directions? And what was her species? Was she a pure-blooded witch? Or could witches develop physical mutations that were passed on to their children...
As she was sneaking glances, the witch named Cen Jing arrived.
The beautiful, elegant witch didn't seem to be very popular. After entering, she greeted another witch who seemed to be a tutor, but the other woman responded with displeasure on her face. Cen Jing didn't seem to care. She saw that Jiang Han and Li Li were already waiting, so she quickened her pace and came over, smiling as she greeted them. "Good morning, ladies."
After greeting them, Cen Jing smiled and explained the day's plan:
"Unlike Tutor Cheng Yu, I prefer hands-on practice... So today's lesson is about identifying intermediate-level materials and their properties. We'll go to the materials market for a field study."
The witch wore a traditional black witch's robe, though hers was much shorter and trimmed with lots of pink frills. She had on short lace stockings and black-and-pink platform shoes. A silent bell hung from the left side of her witch's hat. Her robe had no collar, revealing her snow-white neck and collarbones. One look at her was enough to make your head spin.
But... could a witch like that have been a man before?
Jiang Han shook her head hard. She noticed Li Li's lips curl slightly beside her.
"Oh, right." Cen Jing smiled. "You don't need to bring your brooms. I'll give you a ride."
So she was one of those people who owned a car.
"A Griffin Carriage?" Li Li seemed quite interested. She was a car enthusiast too. In her previous life, would she have been the sort to collect motorcycles or sports cars? Tsk, an expensive hobby. It was expensive in both her previous life and this one.
The day before, Jiang Han had discreetly asked her sister about Griffin Carriage prices. A carriage for 200,000 yuan didn't come with griffins; one for 300,000 came with two. No wonder witches who used their family car as a taxi were considered rich. Griffin Carriages were fast and stable, and could make about fifty trips a day, bringing in around 700 yuan. After expenses, that came to about 15,000 yuan a month. They'd earn back the cost in about two years.
"Nope." Cen Jing kept smiling as she led them outside to see her vehicle.
When Jiang Han saw it, she finally understood why Cen Jing was beautiful but unpopular.
Cen Jing's vehicle was a standard one for the Witch World: a slab of floating earth, a creature capable of pulling it, and a control panel fitted with all sorts of spells. The floating-earth section of her carriage was designed like a birdcage. It was lined with cushions that looked incredibly soft, and a ring of bookcases about half a meter tall formed the cage's base. Above them were exquisitely carved bars, and at the very top inside the cage was an "artistic little house for birds to climb around in."
It was basically a cage for keeping a canary.
The animals pulling the floating earth weren't griffins, either, but four canaries slightly smaller than griffins.
The whole carriage gave off a faintly erotic vibe, like something from a fantasy world meant to carry cute slaves around for their owner's amusement...
Jiang Han stared for a moment, then said sincerely,
"Um, Tutor, I think I'll just ride my broom instead?"
Li Li asked almost the exact same thing, just as sincerely.
But the two of them still climbed into the birdcage. Despite looking like some kind of bedroom accessory, the cushions inside were actually quite comfortable.
Jiang Han sighed, then suddenly noticed something was off—why were there several thin golden chains in the carriage?
"Those are seat belts. Would you like to put them on?" Cen Jing asked with a smile.
...What the hell kind of seat belt was that?
Jiang Han and Li Li both politely refused to fasten the seat belts around their ankles or necks.
But even Jiang Han found it hard to believe: the thin chains really were seat belts... They were enchanted with a constant levitation spell. If a strong force struck them, it could instantly make a person weightless and cancel out their weight, making it almost impossible for them to be injured in a collision. So... even though they looked like chains meant for... certain unmentionable purposes, they really were seat belts.
And the books in the circle of bookcases were unexpectedly wholesome.
Titles like Getting to Know Spells: Using Magic Scientifically, Twenty Ways for Witches to Improve, You Can't Just Shout to Cast a Spell, and A Hundred Ways to Grind Tofu.
Most of them were about spellcasting or witches.
It was just that Jiang Han couldn't figure out why they needed to learn to grind tofu by hand when they had magic...
Jiang Han blushed and glanced at Li Li. Li Li's face was a little red too. It seemed neither of them knew.
Gulp—
They both swallowed and furtively glanced at Cen Jing, who was outside steering the birdcage carriage. Then they looked in unison at the book about grinding tofu by hand.
Eighteen really was a youthful age.
Jiang Han gave a quiet cough and discreetly pulled the book out. Li Li leaned over willingly, and the two of them coughed softly in unison before opening the book, whose cover showed a beautiful witch wearing an apron and nothing else.
Jiang Han realized this was the first time she'd seen this kind of book in this world.
Before you continue