Investigation Mission

The golden sun rose, dyeing the dew-kissed grass a brilliant gold, while the frozen mist in the cave slowly faded under the golden touch.

The Ice Bear let out a long snore, and Jiang Han, lying on the bear's back, rubbed her sleepy eyes and woke up. She yawned and glanced at the clock next to the temperature gauge in the cave.

A little past seven-thirty, just right. She had to go to the tutoring center to find the substitute tutor, Cen Jing. Even though it was only for three days, it was best not to be late.

Returning home from the garden, the house was exceptionally quiet.

Her younger sister, Jiang Zhenling, was in the kitchen making breakfast while yawning in her pajamas. Seeing her older sister walk in from outside, she tilted her head, hummed softly, and pointed upstairs before pointing outside, "Were you sleepwalking?"

"..." Jiang Han wondered how she should explain that she couldn't sleep at night, so she went to the garden to pet the bear.

Before she could think of an answer, her sister realized something and said, "Are you 'petting bears in your dreams'?"

Are you implying I'm short, or are you implying my skin is dark?

Jiang Han looked down at the back of her hand; it was snow-white, even reflecting light. That definitely wasn't an implication about her skin color, so it must be the other thing.

"Comrade Zhenling, you've been acting like an Onmyoji lately." Jiang Han felt her sister was on the verge of transitioning from a Witch to an Onmyoji.

"Yes, sister, hello sister." Jiang Zhenling touched her own lips and smiled, "By the way, sister Han, my physical exam says I'm 1.75 meters tall."

Damn it, in my past life... in my past life I was 1.70...

Jiang Han's expression stiffened. She decided not to bicker further with her sister, the Onmyoji, and trotted upstairs to grab her clothes and towel before heading to the bathroom to shower.

After she finished washing up, breakfast was ready. Jiang Zhenling had made a simple Magic Potion Porridge—the kind of green gel boiled in a cauldron. After a simple breakfast, her sister also took a shower, and then the two changed into their outfits and headed out.

Upon arriving at the tutoring center, Jiang Han saw her sister's tutor at the entrance—a tall Witch in purple robes with ear-length hair. After chatting with Zhenling for a while, the tutor walked into the library. Before leaving, Jiang Han noticed the woman glancing at her with a curious look.

Finding a seat in the lobby, she occasionally saw other Witches arrive and quickly form small squads to head into the library. They often arrived yawning, mostly dressed in exquisite, beautiful clothing. They didn't look poor, likely because the Dream Garden training institution charged high fees; most who came here were Witches from middle-class backgrounds.

On the contrary, Jiang Han was too poor. She only had 50 yuan in her pocket, and that was temporary pocket money; if she wanted more, she would have to find a way herself.

There were also spell study books for sale in the lobby. When she went over to look, she was shocked by a rare Level 2 spell marked at 5,000 yuan. Anything labeled "rare" saw its price jump at least tenfold, which dashed her hopes of buying books to self-study.

Perhaps I can find a way to get the tutoring center to give me a few.

She didn't wait long before Li Li arrived. After greeting Jiang Han, she sat on the bench with her eyes closed to rest, her pair of golden fox ears drooping listlessly on her head. Come to think of it, Jiang Han had always been curious if those ears were real. If they were, didn't she hear in quadraphonic sound? And was her race purely Witch? Or did Witches sometimes experience physical mutations that were passed down to the next generation...

While she was secretly observing, the Witch named Cen Jing arrived.

This beautiful and refined Witch didn't seem to be very popular. After entering, she greeted another Witch who was likely also a tutor, but the other woman responded with a look of displeasure. Cen Jing didn't seem to care. Upon seeing Jiang Han and Li Li waiting for her, she quickened her pace, walked up to them, and greeted them with a smile, "Morning, young ladies."

After the greetings, Cen Jing smiled and explained the day's agenda:

"Compared to tutor Cheng Yu, I prefer practical work... so today's lesson will be on identifying intermediate-level materials and their properties. We're going to the material market for a field trip."

This Witch wore a traditional black Witch robe, but it was much shorter and adorned with plenty of pink lace. She wore lace-trimmed short stockings on her legs and pink-and-black platform shoes. A silent bell hung from the left brim of her Witch hat, and her collarless outfit revealed her snow-white neck and collarbones, making one dizzy just looking at her.

But... could a Witch like this possibly be a man?

Jiang Han shook her head vigorously. She noticed the corner of Li Li's mouth curling up beside her.

"Right," Cen Jing smiled, "You don't need to bring your brooms. I'll give you a ride."

She was a car owner, too.

"A Griffin Carriage?" Li Li was clearly interested; this girl was a car enthusiast. If she were in her past life, she might have been a collector of motorcycles or sports cars? Tsk, an expensive hobby, expensive in both the past life and this one.

After returning home yesterday, Jiang Han had asked her sister a little about the price of Griffin Carriages. A 200,000-yuan carriage didn't come with griffins; 300,000 got you two. No wonder they said Witches who used their own cars as taxis were wealthy. Griffin Carriages were fast and stable, capable of about 50 trips a day, earning around 700 yuan daily. After expenses, that was about 15,000 yuan a month, meaning it would pay for itself in about two years.

"Not exactly," Cen Jing kept her smile as she led them outside to see her vehicle.

Seeing her car, Jiang Han finally understood why this beautiful person wasn't very popular.

Cen Jing's vehicle was still the standard for the Witch world: a floating platform + a creature capable of pulling it + a control console enchanted with various spells. The floating platform part of her car was designed like a birdcage, filled with cushions that looked soft at a glance, surrounded by a ring of half-meter-tall bookshelves as the base of the cage. Then came the exquisite carved cage bars, and at the very top of the cage sat an 'artistic hut for birds to climb into.'

It was essentially a cage for a canary.

The animals pulling the floating platform weren't griffins, but four canaries slightly smaller than griffins.

The whole vehicle had a subtly erotic feel, like the kind of carriage in a fantasy world used to transport cute slaves for amusement...

Jiang Han froze for a moment, then said earnestly:

"Um, tutor, I think I'd rather ride my own broom?"

Li Li asked almost the exact same thing with equal sincerity.

But the two of them still ended up in the birdcage. Despite its appearance as some sort of adult toy, the soft cushions inside were actually quite comfortable.

Jiang Han sighed, then suddenly noticed something wrong—why were there several thin golden chains inside the carriage?

"Those are seatbelts. Would you like to buckle up?" Cen Jing said with a smile.

...What the hell, seatbelts!

Jiang Han and Li Li both politely declined the offer to have seatbelts fastened around their ankles or necks.

But even as she said it, Jiang Han could hardly believe it; those thin chains really were seatbelts. They were enchanted with a constant levitation spell. If any massive external force were applied, it would instantly put a person into a state of weightlessness and strip away their weight, making it almost impossible to be injured in a collision. So... even though they looked like chains for intimate or unspeakable purposes, they were indeed seatbelts.

Furthermore, the books on the surrounding shelves were unexpectedly serious.

Titles like Into Spells: Scientific Use of Magic, Twenty Ways to Improve as a Witch, Casting Can't Rely on Shouting, and One Hundred Methods of Grinding Tofu.

Most were related to spellcasting or Witchcraft.

It was just a mystery why, despite having magic, one would still need to learn how to hand-grind tofu...

Jiang Han glanced at Li Li with a flushed face, and seeing that the other girl's face was also slightly red, it seemed neither of them understood it either.

Gulp—

Both of them swallowed simultaneously, stole a quiet glance at Cen Jing who was outside operating the birdcage carriage, and then looked in unison at the book that taught one how to hand-grind tofu.

Eighteen years old, truly a youthful age.

Jiang Han gave a light cough and quietly pulled the book out, while Li Li also leaned in quite proactively; the two of them coughed lightly together and opened the book, which featured a beautiful Witch wearing nothing but an apron on the cover.

Jiang Han recalled that this was the first time she had ever seen this type of book in this world.