"Awoo!" The burly man cried out in pain, clutching his crotch as he fell and rolled around. Then, as he rolled, he suddenly splashed into the lake.
Luckily, the burly man could swim. He soon crawled back out, dripping wet, bent over with one hand covering his crotch and the other pointing at Li Xuan as he roared, "Get him! Tie that brat up and throw him into the lake to feed the fish!"
The men onshore rushed to the cars, grabbed their weapons, and charged forward. Li Xuan was startled to see gleaming machetes and long batons in their hands. Only then did he realize he had provoked people from the underworld.
If he used the abilities granted by the system, he could deal with them using a single finger. But the Witch Band member was right beside him. The moment he used even a trace of Evil Energy, she would immediately notice his identity.
Although Black Cat currently looked obedient and adorable, magical creatures and magical girls were sworn enemies. There was no guarantee she would not turn hostile on the spot once she learned who he was.
That left only one solution.
"You give road oil~" Li Xuan abandoned the bucket of plump mackerel, scooped Black Cat into his arms, and turned to run.
"Hahahaha! Big brother runs, bad guys chase! This is so fun!" Black Cat spread her arms and laughed merrily in Li Xuan's embrace, as though she were having the time of her life.
"If we don't run, we're dead!" Li Xuan panted desperately. Fortunately, he had trained in long-distance running and knew the roads around here well enough to escape the Life-Release Society's pursuit even while carrying a little girl.
After escaping danger, Li Xuan set Black Cat aside and dropped onto the curb, panting heavily.
"Hahahaha! That was so fun! Big brother, you're such an interesting person! I've decided that from now on, I'll allow you to call me Black Cat!" Black Cat said, dancing around excitedly.
"Black Cat, you really... have no sense of danger at all," Li Xuan said between breaths.
"Not dangerous, not dangerous. Big brother is here." Black Cat spread her arms and spun around happily.
After resting for a while, Li Xuan was about to call Lilika and ask her to pick Black Cat up. But the instant he raised his phone, a blazing set of high beams stabbed into his eyes.
"Don't let that brat get away! He kicked our boss in the balls!"
Several black sedans came speeding over with their horns blaring. They drove over both road and grass, circling around until Li Xuan was trapped in the middle.
"Damn it, you think you can run after offending our boss? Not a chance! Kill him! Kill him!" More than a dozen bare-chested burly men climbed out of the cars.
The middle-aged woman also got out and stood behind the group, pointing at Li Xuan as she shrieked, "Get him! Send him to hell! Make him suffer retribution! Scum who shows no respect for living creatures doesn't deserve to live!"
Li Xuan looked at the burly men surrounding him with weapons in hand and was momentarily at a loss. If he did not use Evil Energy, he would probably fall into their hands today. But if he used it, Black Cat would immediately discover his identity. Even if he escaped afterward, she already knew about his connection to Lilika. She might even drag Lilika into trouble.
Had he escaped the Witch Band only to be driven into a corner by a pack of street thugs? That was impossible to accept...
Wait, perhaps this was not a dead end after all! Li Xuan suddenly remembered that he still had Mind Interference. Like opening a passage to the Delusive Badlands, it only consumed mental power and required no Evil Energy.
If he used it to make them turn on each other, perhaps he could fool Black Cat while resolving this crisis at the same time!
"Stop! You bad people!"
Just as Li Xuan was about to use Mental Domination to make the burly men slaughter one another, Black Cat unexpectedly stepped forward, spreading her arms in front of him.
"There's a little one too? Boss, what do we do?"
Because Black Cat wore a black hooded pajama suit, the burly men had only just noticed the inconspicuous little girl beside Li Xuan.
"She was with that man. The brothers who went to release those creatures saw them together. Kill her too! Don't leave any witnesses," the man called Boss said as he staggered out, bent over in pain.
"Wait, this little girl's fair and pretty. Her figure looks pretty nice too! Boss, kill the guy, but let us have some fun with the girl first..." A burly man shone his flashlight over Black Cat's face and revealed a lecherous smile.
"Do whatever you want. Just not in front of the old woman..." the boss muttered, clutching his balls.
Li Xuan frowned. He had not expected these people to be so brazen. From the sound of it, this did not seem to be their first time doing something like this.
"Black Cat, get behind me and close your eyes. I'll handle them." Li Xuan had already made up his mind. Even if it exposed his identity, he would deal with these bastards. But when he reached out to pull Black Cat behind him, she stubbornly shook his hand away.
"Big brother gave me fish. Big brother good! You caught big brother. You bad!" Black Cat said, staring at the approaching burly men with her vertical pupils beneath the flashlight beam.
"Big brothers can give you fish too~" A bald burly man stepped forward with a lewd grin. He clearly did not take Li Xuan seriously at all as he reached for Black Cat's arm.
"Awakening! Cat Tale!" Black Cat cried out. Towering magical power immediately blossomed around her, spreading across the surrounding area. The already dim night sky grew even darker, as though heaven and earth had been covered by frosted glass.
Her appearance changed drastically as well. Her cat pajamas vanished, replaced by a black one-piece short dress. She wore a pair of stockings patterned with cat paws, one black and one white, with the paw prints colored in complete contrast.
But what interested Li Xuan most was that fluffy cat ears had miraculously sprouted atop Black Cat's head, while a black cat tail swayed beneath her skirt.
"Awesome! A catgirl!"
After a brief burst of excitement, Li Xuan suddenly felt a little frightened. He was glad he had not tried to make a move on Black Cat. Even without magic, that overwhelming magical power alone would have been enough to crush him to death.
The burly men also broke into a commotion. Ordinary people could not feel the pressure of magical power, but they could still notice that the surrounding environment had clearly darkened.
"Why did it get dark? Did we provoke something unclean?" the burly man who had intended to grab Black Cat asked blankly, looking up at the sky.
"Dark my ass! Get moving!" the boss behind him urged impatiently.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" The burly man hurriedly reached for Black Cat, but his hand fell just short. So he stepped forward a few paces and reached again, but he was still a few centimeters away.
"That's weird. She's right in front of me, so why can't I grab her?" The burly man ran forward in confusion, only to slam headfirst into a tree.
"Er Lai! Why the hell are you walking toward the lake? That pretty little girl is right ahead of you!" Another burly man cursed and stepped forward himself, only to trip over something. When he opened his eyes, he found his upper body lying on a car hood while his lower body hung from a tree by the roadside.
"What's going on?" Li Xuan was shocked. Even though he was witnessing it firsthand, he still could not understand what had happened. Neither Tang Xi's Awakening nor Wu Yan's Awakening could produce such a horrifying effect.
"Big brother, don't move. Not even one step. Hold on tightly to me like this. Only by staying beside me will you be safe." Black Cat stared wide-eyed at the helpless crowd before her.
Chapter 105: Rejoicing in Praise
"Okay, I'll hold on tight. But can you tell me what happened? I'm feeling a little scared."
Pretending to be frightened, Li Xuan wrapped his arms around Black Cat's waist from behind. Only then did he realize that Black Cat's figure was far better than he had imagined. The curve from her waist to her hips was exceptionally beautiful, but it had been hidden beneath her loose pajamas before.
"Don't ask. You'll forget soon anyway, me included." Black Cat looked back at Li Xuan, deep loneliness hidden in her eyes.
"I won't forget you," Li Xuan said softly.
By now, the burly men around them had fallen into complete chaos. They had no idea what was happening and instinctively tried to flee, only to find themselves unable to run in the direction they intended. Every time, they would hit something or trip before getting far. Some ended up bloodied and battered, while others were torn apart.
Meanwhile, Black Cat kept her vertical pupils open, staring fixedly at them. More than ten minutes later, the burly men had been almost completely wiped out. Only the middle-aged woman remained, sitting on the ground, too terrified to move.
"She isn't moving either. What should we do?" Li Xuan asked.
"Sister Felia won't let me kill people, so you kill her," Black Cat said.
"Me? Kill someone?" Li Xuan deliberately made his tone sound shocked.
"It's okay. No one will know." Black Cat's words were now well-organized, completely unlike her muddled state when they had first met.
"But if I walk away, won't I end up broken like those people?" Li Xuan asked worriedly.
"It's okay. Hold Black Cat's hand. Around Black Cat is safe." As she spoke, Black Cat offered Li Xuan a slender hand painted with black nail polish.
"Fine! I'll do it!" Li Xuan took Black Cat's hand and walked toward the middle-aged woman, pretending to tremble.
"What are you doing? Don't come over! If you hurt me, you'll all go to hell!" The middle-aged woman was terrified into paralysis, yet she still muttered curses through trembling lips.
"Whether you go to paradise or hell is Buddha's business. My job is to send you to meet Buddha." Li Xuan approached with a cold smile.
"Great merciful Bodhisattva!! Buddha! Arhat! Come save me! I've offered so much incense money! Released so many living creatures! You... you can't take my money and refuse to do your job!!!" Sensing the chill in Li Xuan's smile, the woman burst into tears and hurriedly clasped her hands together in prayer.
"Black Cat, can you take me to the lake? I just thought of something fun." Watching the woman's ridiculous expression, Li Xuan suddenly turned and asked.
"You can, but you can't leave Black Cat's side for even one step! And you have to keep holding my hand," Black Cat reminded him.
"No problem." Li Xuan nodded, stripped off the woman's coat and tied her up, then dragged her with one hand while holding Black Cat's hand with the other as they returned to where he had been fishing.
The night was hazy, and Black Cat's Awakening made it even darker. Li Xuan took out his high-powered fishing flashlight and shone it over the lake. There, a wide patch of pale dead fish floated on the surface.
"Ah! The fish are all dead!" Black Cat said in surprise.
The sight of the dead fish drifting on the lake filled Li Xuan with rage. As an angler, he could spend an entire day working at it and still fail to catch a single fish, yet there was now such a huge patch of dead fish on the lake! What a waste! What utter squandering!
Furiously, Li Xuan grabbed the middle-aged woman and forced her head toward the lake.
"Open your eyes and look! You old hag! Those fish are all dead because of you! I don't know whether releasing animals earns merit, but releasing them like this earns you absolutely none! It should even count against you!"
"How could that be? How could that be? You must have used poisoned bait while fishing! How could I have killed the fish?!" The middle-aged woman trembled all over, but still shifted all the blame onto Li Xuan.
"Bullshit! Who the hell uses poisoned bait to fish? Fish won't eat it! I told you, these are saltwater fish. They can't survive in a lake at all! You released them blindly without even understanding that. You're the one who deserves retribution!" Li Xuan berated her.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How can fish die in water? You're lying! You have to be lying! Even if I made a mistake, I meant well! I didn't kill them!" the middle-aged woman screamed shrilly.
"Big brother, stop wasting time. I still need to go back and find Mommy," Black Cat said, covering her ears.
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Li Xuan stuffed a clump of dirt into the woman's mouth, then found a suitably heavy stone and wrapped it in her clothes before tying the clothes securely around her feet.
"You old witch, I'm releasing you now too. I don't know whether you can survive in water, but I definitely mean well. I'm absolutely not trying to hurt you on purpose~" With that, Li Xuan kicked the middle-aged woman into the lake.
After a burst of bubbles, the woman quickly sank beneath the surface.
"Rejoicing in praise!" Li Xuan clasped his hands together, imitating the woman.
"Glub glub~~~" Black Cat expressionlessly imitated the sound of the woman drowning, seemingly utterly indifferent to death. At the same time, she canceled her Awakening transformation and returned to her lazy appearance in cat pajamas.
Li Xuan felt much more satisfied as well. He picked up the fish bucket and prepared to leave, but then he suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice in the distance.
"Black Cat! Where are you? Stop playing hide-and-seek! I can sense your magical power! If you don't come back, Felia will get angry! We won't be able to perform the new song either!"
After thinking it over, Li Xuan quickly realized it was the delinquent girl who had slashed him that day. He did not know whether she would remember his face, but if she discovered him, he would be in serious trouble.
"Black Cat, it sounds like your companions are looking for you. Hurry and go back with them! Big brother is going home to eat fish~" Li Xuan hurriedly coaxed Black Cat.
"Okay! Big brother, take care. Even though you'll forget soon, I was really happy today!" Black Cat said before skipping toward the voice.
Watching Black Cat's departing back, Li Xuan let out a long breath. This encounter had truly been unexpected. He had failed to kidnap a band member as he had hoped, but it had not been entirely fruitless. At the very least, he had witnessed Black Cat's Awakening ability. Although he did not understand its principles, he could at least be prepared.
More importantly, as Black Cat left, Li Xuan had secretly placed a Hunting Mark on her. Although he had already opened a passage to the Delusive Badlands and prepared to flee, Yao apparently had not noticed anything.
It seemed that even her perceptive abilities could not detect the marking function of Hunting Radar. As expected of the basic skill the system gave him at the start—it was simple and practical.
Li Xuan rejoiced inwardly.
Chapter 106: Food and a Date
Early the next morning, Li Xuan arrived at the gates of Clear Lotus University carrying his fish bucket. To keep the mackerel fresh, he had stuffed quite a few ice packs inside.
This was Li Xuan's first time visiting Clear Lotus University. Though its name sounded unremarkable, it was one of the country's top ten institutions of higher education, an ivory tower that countless people traveled thousands of miles to attend and an ideal peak beyond the reach of even more.
Clear Lotus University's buildings truly lived up to its status in the academic world. Every building he saw was distinctively styled and clearly carefully designed, giving the entire campus an almost sacred feeling.
For a moment, Li Xuan regretted not dressing more formally.
But as he watched the sun climb higher, he could not be bothered to go back and change. The weather was far too hot. He did not want to sacrifice comfort just for appearances. Besides, he was only here to eat today, not to go on a blind date.
Most areas of Clear Lotus University were open to the public, so Li Xuan easily entered the campus. Standing beneath a patch of shade, he called Li Sijie.
She picked up as soon as the call connected. Li Xuan asked, "Hello? I'm at your school entrance now. This place is huge. Where am I supposed to find you?"
Li Sijie's deliberately lowered voice quickly came through the phone. "You really came to see me?"
"Didn't you say you were going to cook fish for me? Of course I came to keep our appointment."
"Hehe, I thought you'd be too busy to get away right now. I can't talk anymore. I'm in class, and I won't be out until around noon. Wait for me on the second floor of Canteen Five. If you're bored, you can wander around."
"Okay, but if I wait too long, the fish won't be fresh anymore..." Li Xuan checked the time. It was only a little past nine, so he really had arrived too early. He could not delay her classes just to satisfy his appetite, so he asked around and made his way to the Canteen Five she had mentioned.
The second floor of the canteen was bright and clean. Since it was already past mealtime, there were very few students inside. The stall workers sat there engrossed in their phones, and no one noticed Li Xuan's arrival.
Waiting was always especially boring. Li Xuan took out his phone and asked whether Lilika and her mother were doing well. After receiving a reply that everything was fine, along with an utterly heartless complaint from Lilika, he turned off the screen again.
Lilika clearly did not know Black Cat had come by. She thought he had simply left without saying goodbye afterward. But perhaps that was for the best. For a woman who cared so much about her dignity, having that kind of thing done to her was probably an extremely humiliating experience.
After putting down his phone, Li Xuan looked through the window at the gentle sunlight outside. The view from this spot was beautiful, but the quiet, peaceful atmosphere instead gave him an inexplicable sense of oppression.
After two encounters, Li Xuan had come to deeply understand the power of Grade A magical girls. Black Cat had shown him her Awakening ability and even clearly stated the safe range, yet he still had no confidence that he could break through it.
Not to mention that Black Cat certainly would not hold back against magical creatures as she did against humans—even if she merely stood still with her Awakening activated, he had no means of approaching her.
He desperately wanted to do something to change the situation, but there was nothing he could do. Anxiety kept washing over Li Xuan, to the point where he lost even the interest to admire the female college students passing by outside.
Just then, something soft struck the back of his head. Though it came at him fiercely, it was as soft as an airbag and easily absorbed the force. The impact was perfectly transformed into deformation, sinking Li Xuan's head deep into a gentle cushion of flesh.
Before he could savor that excessive softness, the light before him vanished. A pair of warm, soft hands covered his eyes from behind, leaving him able to see only faint light through her fingers.
"Guess who I am?" the person behind him asked in a deliberately gruff voice.
"First, I can rule out Li Sijie from the photography department." You've already shoved those massive headlights against my head. If I still can't recognize you, I might as well castrate myself on the spot and start practicing the Sunflower Manual.
Li Xuan grabbed Li Sijie's wrist and turned around, only to have his vision immediately obscured by a pair of breasts—and his ability to breathe taken away as well.
"Correct! Your reward is a delicious meal~" Li Sijie said, taking half a step back to avoid creating a horrifying campus breast-murder case.
With his vision restored, Li Xuan looked Li Sijie over. Her style on campus today was completely different from usual.
She wore a loose T-shirt on top. Perhaps because she was afraid of the heat, she had not tucked its hem into her skirt. Instead, she had tied it at her side, turning it into a short crop top that exposed her waist.
On the bottom, she wore a medium-length blue floral skirt. Below its hem, a stretch of round calves and white ankle socks wrapped in sneakers showed. Both her demeanor and outfit suited her student-like air.
"Didn't you still have class? Why did you come out now?" Li Xuan asked curiously after appreciating Li Sijie's outfit for the day.
Before you continue