Jingzhe's Troubles

The people of Lungmen were terrified of that penguin.

Based on her observations over the past few days, Jingzhe of the Dali Temple had reached a startling conclusion. Why was this happening? Even Jingzhe was surprised.

She had a rough idea which penguin it was.

They were so frightened that they had begun praying to gods and Buddhas.

Lightning arts were Originium Arts exclusive to Yan Kingdom nobility. They were rare even across the eighteen provinces of Han, much less in the relatively independent Lungmen. Jingzhe had never expected lightning, a force of nature as mighty as heavenly law, to be taken as some kind of [divine revelation] the moment it appeared.

She was just on vacation...

How had she become a holy maiden of lightning sent down from heaven?

She had heard that the penguin's side had also found a Sakura shrine maiden who served the gods. The sights of Lungmen really were different from those inland.

Jingzhe had broadened her horizons.

She remained silent as she watched this farce unfold.

"I hope the Dali Temple doesn't find out... But I'm just on vacation, and I've been following the principle of not asking questions, so there shouldn't be any problem. Besides, I haven't used lightning arts from start to finish, and no one in Lungmen should recognize me... Don't worry, don't worry."

All of that was in Jingzhe's heart.

On the surface, she was still the silent Dali Temple executor, saying nothing at all.

She watched it all coldly.

The tension in her heart turned into electric charge. Her golden hair suddenly fluffed up, pale yellow lightning coursing through the strands with the might of thunder.

That was why she always liked wearing a hood.

Otherwise, others would see Jingzhe's embarrassed state whenever her hair fluffed up.

For a Dali Temple official, that was simply too humiliating. She would rather die than let that happen.

Yet the people below suddenly widened their eyes, their gazes filled with admiration. They were only a step away from falling to their knees and kowtowing. Lightning clearly represented some kind of divine power. Their longing was like beholding the god in their hearts, making Jingzhe even more mortified.

"Could you stop looking at me like that?"

Jingzhe silently chanted in her heart.

Like a mascot poster girl, Jingzhe only had to sit there with her hair fluffed up in an incredibly imposing manner to provide people with endless motivation.

(But she was really embarrassed.)

It wasn't a matter of whether she was impressive or not. Jingzhe really was the kind of person... the kind that was impossible to describe...

(But she was really embarrassed.)

Jingzhe herself felt embarrassed too. She was deeply grateful that her vacation trip had taken her to Lungmen, a place without many colleagues.

"Let this farce end soon."

Jingzhe finally spoke, her tone brief and low.

That imperial air of control over everything, combined with the crackling lightning, made Jingzhe see with her own eyes that someone present had begun to cry. It was the light of conversion. Jingzhe suspected that if she told these people to die right now, they would do so without hesitation, filled with fanatical fervor.

Honestly...

Jingzhe shook her head, inadvertently prompting another round of contemplation among everyone present.

An operation against Penguin Logistics was slowly moving from behind the scenes into the spotlight. A fishing net riddled with holes was gradually drawing tight.

How helpless.

The fanatical believers finally left.

Jingzhe breathed a sigh of relief, looking left and right to make sure no one else remained nearby.

She always felt that this group was incredibly unreliable. Sooner or later, they were doomed.

Her hair was still crackling and standing on end. Anyone who knew their stuff could recognize the White Thunder Orthodox Technique of Yan Kingdom from far away. Jingzhe spent a long time calming herself before completely draining away the charge, allowing her hair to gradually look less explosively fluffed up.

This wouldn't do.

If she got any more emotional, her hair would fluff up again.

Jingzhe rose to her feet, intending to find a hooded cloak to wear and hide the fact that her hair had fluffed up.

While Jingzhe was panicking, the people outside were trying to divine the holy maiden's will.

"What do you think the heavenly goddess means?"

"She sees Lungmen's conflict as utterly insignificant and bluntly called it a farce. She must be tired of it."

"Launch a full-scale attack?"

"But we don't have enough strength, and our men basically have psychological trauma."

"What are you afraid of? We've got a great god leading us."

The only doubts were rudely cut off. This unbreakable alliance, from top to bottom, was filled with blind optimism. Like the setting sun before it fell, it was clearly about to sink into darkness, yet it could still dye half the sky blood red.

Beneath Lungmen's skies, they believed they surely had an infinitely bright future ahead of them.

"Right, with a great god leading us, there's nothing to fear."

"I'll drench that penguin in tequila, toss it into a pizza oven, and preferably sprinkle some mozzarella on it."

"I could swallow that penguin whole!"

Furious cries rose one after another.

They had received intelligence that three Penguin Logistics members, along with that shrine maiden, were driving here at a speed of two hundred and sixty kilometers per hour.

Their enthusiasm for battle instantly surged, like a ladleful of water thrown into a pan of hot oil, bursting into brilliant sprays.

"Prepare for battle!"

"Something feels a little off..."

Texas muttered to herself, but no one responded because the car was moving too fast.

The dark red car raced through the streets, flickering phantoms flashing across the road. It moved so fast that nobody could even see it pass by, while the acrid stench of burning rubber spread through the air.

After chewing down the last bite of Pocky, Texas slammed on the brakes with her right foot and desperately spun the steering wheel.

It was neither a drift nor a sudden stop, but something even wilder than imagined. The car soared into the air, freely spun once in midair, then crashed heavily onto the ground with an explosive boom that shattered the silence.

Hoshino now understood why Croissant had told her to wear a seatbelt.

With this kind of driving, if she didn't wear one, hitting her head against the roof of the car could easily result in her neck being snapped by the tremendous impact.

Getting crippled from street racing would be far too pitiful.

"Normally, Penguin Logistics would all jump out of the car and ram it straight into the bar's entrance. But since you're a newbie, Texas tried to park in the gentlest way possible."

"Thank you, Texas."

Hoshino lowered her head. It was unclear whether she was being sarcastic or genuinely thanking Texas.

Texas didn't care.

She kicked open the door and got out, a blunt wooden sword in hand. Exusiai flipped herself onto the roof of the car, while Croissant slowly climbed out with her shield slung over her shoulder. Everything was understood without words.

What a coordinated group.

Hoshino felt a little superfluous herself. She also jumped out of the car, her gaze passing over the crowd ahead to spot the police officers keeping watch from the rooftop. They had come to prevent casualties in this conflict and to check whether anyone was using lethal weapons.

Hoshino waved up at them.

A loud Lungmen profanity rang out from the rooftop.