Miss Jiang Han's Law

After getting permission to enter Dream Garden, Jiang Han registered her name on a form with Cen Jing.

Holding a pen, Jiang Han rose onto her tiptoes and leaned toward the form on the wall.

Scritch, scritch—

After a few strokes, she wrote down her name.

Cen Jing, a beautiful witch in a dark gray robe with her hair tied in a side ponytail, smiled as she signed her own name, then shook Jiang Han's hand. "Although I can't share Mentor Cheng Yu's honor, at least now I can share her friendship with you."

Judging by their love of handshakes, Dream Garden had actually become quite Westernized... Jiang Han glanced at the beckoning cat by the door of the teachers' office. Just like the one at home, it was a black cat beckoning cat.

She smiled and shook Cen Jing's hand. Then, lowering her voice, she asked:

"Um, Miss Cen Jing?"

"What is it?" Cen Jing said with a joking air. "Actually, you can call me Jingjing. That way, you'll always feel my presence when you're in the library."

Jingjing? All right, Jingjing. Do witches and mages really not think black cats look a little too skinny to be beckoning cats...? Jiang Han fell silent for a moment, then pointed at the beckoning cat and asked in a whisper:

"Are all beckoning cats black cats?"

Cen Jing tucked her hair behind her neck and smiled gently.

"Miss Jiang Han, an orange cat sells for 120, while a Black Demon Cat goes for 2,900—and the price is still rising. Which one do you think brings in more money?"

Black cats were more expensive, so they were used as beckoning cats. All right, that was very much like the foodie nation... The corners of Jiang Han's mouth unconsciously lifted a little.

Only when orange cats could sell for over 3,000 would they have a chance of reclaiming the beckoning cat's place.

Cen Jing smiled again and lowered her voice as well.

"Want to go see a puppet show tomorrow?"

Jiang Han lowered her voice too.

"Sure, though I might sneak in a little nap."

Since they were brazenly discussing slacking off in the teachers' office, they both instinctively lowered their voices, as if whispering.

"I guarantee you won't fall asleep. Puppet shows are wonderful," Cen Jing said in a tone that made her sound like she was luring away a child.

What would a witch's puppet show be like? Jiang Han found it hard to imagine. Weren't puppet shows a kind of peep show? Or maybe puppet shows in an Eastern setting, against a fantastical backdrop, had the eerie feel of ghost-story performances?

Footsteps approached. The two glanced over, then simultaneously fell silent.

The tall Cheng Yu walked over. Her desk was right beside Cen Jing's—incidentally, Miss Cen Jing's popularity really was inexplicably terrible. Her desk was in the last row by the window, with no one in front of her, just a bookshelf. In other words, only Cheng Yu's desk was next to hers. She was quite the loner.

Cheng Yu searched through the teaching materials on her desk as she asked:

"Were you two talking about puppets just now?"

Cen Jing replied with a gentle smile:

"Constructs. I was explaining to Miss Jiang Han that puppets are a type of construct, and some highly skilled witches use them as familiars."

"Mm, yeah! I was thinking of having someone make a puppet for me to use as a familiar," Jiang Han said, going along with her explanation.

Cheng Yu pulled out a book and stuffed it into her pocket, then nodded to them both.

"Puppets are nice, but expensive."

With that, she hurried out of the room.

After she left, Cen Jing gave a faint smile.

"Miss Cheng Yu has always been rather impatient. She tends to do whatever comes to mind right away. She's incredibly passionate, and she's looked after me a lot as a colleague."

Given your popularity, Miss Cen Jing, it really does seem like Mentor Cheng Yu is the only one looking after you... Jiang Han quipped to herself, then said sincerely:

"I feel like you've looked after Mentor Cheng Yu a lot, too. I'll have to ask you to look after me from now on."

After chatting and exchanging a few pleasantries, Jiang Han said goodbye to Cen Jing and left Dream Garden. She headed straight for the witch market. It wasn't time for work yet, but she had some spare change in her pocket, so she could go have a glass of juice at the Witch House—and tease her coworkers who were on the job while she was at it...

Speaking of which, eating and drinking at a friend's workplace was especially satisfying! Especially when you watched them serve you with humiliation written all over their faces. It was enough to make you want to scream with joy.

As satisfying as a bowl of rice.

Her leisurely day had put Jiang Han in an even better mood. She even had enough left over to buy two bags of roasted chestnuts at the Transfer Station. They were sweet and tasted good. She also picked up a newspaper and read it at a relaxed flying speed.

The good thing about the Witch World was that when you were flying through the sky, you wouldn't crash into anything unless you'd really offended the Goddess of Luck and her mother.

You could read the newspaper or a book while flying to your heart's content, as long as you didn't go too fast.

The newspapers of the day were full of slogans and business "miracles," such as "A Certain Witch Invests in a Factory, Set to Become a Millionaire" and "A Distillery in XX Region Produces a Star Product; XX Leaders and Officials Visit to Inspect and Offer Their Support." There were plenty of unconventional and bizarre ways to get rich, of course, along with the legendary brainwashing ads for health supplements...

Maybe it was because Archwitches in this world were genuinely formidable. Whether someone was an Archwitch could be settled with a fight.

So health supplement companies hadn't come up with slogans like "Even Archwitches Drink Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle Essence."

And in the Witch World's version of China, turtle essence specifically meant the heart blood of a Dragon Turtle. Dragon Turtles were ferocious monsters capable of beating the crap out of most witches who could only cast level-six or level-seven spells. Even the most shameless health supplement merchants wouldn't dare provoke them.

Even Ice Bear couldn't beat a Dragon Turtle. Quite a few true dragons couldn't, either.

The newspaper Jiang Han had read earlier had even carried a story about a "Blue Dragon Forced to Mate with a Dragon Turtle," prompting the reaction, "Ah Long, so it's finally your turn."

She arrived at the witch market, left her broom at a storage office, and wandered down the street. Suddenly, a sign caught her eye:

"Yingjie Doll Shop"

Hmm, a doll shop. Interesting... Since she had time to spare, and wasting time was a sin, Jiang Han decided to find an interesting way to waste some time.

She went inside. It was a rather impressive shop, but its style wasn't quite what she'd expected. Instead of a Western look, it had an Eastern style.

Pretty, exquisitely crafted dolls sat in glass display cases, with all kinds of clothes beside them: the foodie nation's Hanfu, Eastern Isles kimonos, and Southeast Asian butterfly dresses. Most were Asian styles, with only a few British suits and dresses.

Jiang Han stepped closer and quietly checked the prices. She was taken aback: the dolls cost over ten thousand, and their clothes over a thousand. These dolls dressed better than she did. She glanced at her own witch's robe and curled her lip.

A witch in a dark red robe nearby glanced at her, her gaze lingering on Jiang Han's eyes.

The witch's stare gave Jiang Han the creeps, so she put on an awkward but polite smile.

As she spent more time in this world, Jiang Han grew more accustomed to other witches' first glances settling on her face or eyes. She'd even come up with a rule and named it "Miss Jiang Han's Law."

Those who stared at her face were ordinary witches.

Those who stared at her eyes were badass witches.

According to that rule, the witch staring at her eyes in a daze might be an exceptionally badass witch.

The other witch made an apologetic gesture and looked away, then carried a doll to the counter to pay.

She had that much money...? Jiang Han felt as if she were eating a lemon. It was incredibly sour.

After paying, the witch picked up the little leather case the shop had given her to carry the doll and left. As she passed Jiang Han, she secretly stole another glance at her eyes.

It had to be said: in the month or so Jiang Han had spent in this world, this was the first witch she'd met who was only a little taller than her.

That made her generously forgive the other witch for sneaking glances at her eyes.

Now that she'd finished eating her lemon and looking at dolls, it was time to head to the Witch House and rile up the sisters working there.