110. An Unknown Plan / 111. The Essence of Heaven and Earth, the Spirit of Plants and Trees...

Ye Xiaoying crossed her arms over her chest, extremely dissatisfied with what this little girl Ling Wanqing had said.

"So you admit it?"

Ling Wanqing truly lived up to her reputation as a top student. Her response was incredibly clear-headed, nearly angering Ye Xiaoying to death.

"Y-you-you... Hmph!"

However, Ye Xiaoying had not forgotten the objective of this mission. She needed to gather information about Luo Xiyan, and the organization had specifically noted that it would be best if she could bring her back. The reward was so high it was ridiculous. Once she pulled this off, she could retire for good! Hehe!

Ye Xiaoying gripped her Dark Angel Staff and immediately began chanting a spell.

She knew Luo Xiyan was strong and had an accomplice, so she directly adopted a plan of striking first before the enemy could react. No, wait, it was supposed to be a surprise attack!

Yet no matter how perfect Ye Xiaoying's plan was, she never expected that she would fail to cast even a single spell before inexplicably falling to the ground the very next second.

Ling Wanqing was momentarily stunned by the sight, while Luo Xiyan had apparently transformed at some point. She was now dressed in the robes of a magical girl, leaving Ling Wanqing speechless.

"Xi Yan, are you a Magical Girl?!"

Ling Wanqing said in surprise. Still, she generally did not pay much attention to such things about people around her, so she was not overly shocked. After all, there were quite a few Magical Girls in her own class.

Anyway, anyone around Brother Ling Feng had to be a good person. She could not just be suspicious of everyone.

Luo Xiyan glanced at Ye Xiaoying, who was sprawled on the ground, then stepped forward and walked straight toward her.

Seeing Luo Xiyan's calm expression, Ye Xiaoying could not help feeling a chill in her heart. What kind of magic was this? She only felt as though an invisible force had bound her entire body, leaving her almost completely unable to move.

But from an observer's perspective, there was nothing on Ye Xiaoying at all. It was as though she had been restrained by the air itself.

"Hmph! Even if I lose, I won't give you any points! Kill me or torture me however you want! A great fallen angel will never submit to you!!"

Ye Xiaoying pursed her lips. Though she desperately tried not to cry, tears kept welling in her eyes.

"Wait, what are you doing?!"

"Y-you, don't come any closer!"

"N-no!!"

"Don't~"

"Wuwuwu~"

Ye Xiaoying suddenly remembered certain rumors she had heard about Magical Girls and Astral Mark Girls.

In the end, she could not hold it in any longer and burst into tears. Large teardrops streamed from her eyes along with soft sobs.

Ling Wanqing was still standing beside the stone table, watching. She only found Ye Xiaoying somewhat pitiful and suddenly began to sympathize with her.

"I-I know I was wrong. Please let me go. I-I won't do bad things ever again... Uh, no, wait, what I did wasn't bad!"

Ye Xiaoying was so flustered that even her thoughts had become a mess. Yet afterward, she did not suffer the abuse she had imagined.

"The magic will automatically wear off in two hours. Don't worry."

Luo Xiyan spoke indifferently, reached out and dragged Ye Xiaoying beneath a pine tree. The glow faded as she undid her transformation, then she left without looking back.

She could not even be bothered to look at Ye Xiaoying again. She had not taken this matter seriously in the first place, only finding it a little regrettable that she had missed hearing some things.

"Wan Qing, let's go."

"Mm-hm!"

An Unknown Plan

"Xi Yan, why do you want to know so much about my brother?"

After leaving the park, Luo Xiyan went with Ling Wanqing to a milk tea shop by the street at Ling Wanqing's request instead of returning to the esports arena.

First, Ling Wanqing wanted milk tea. Second, Luo Xiyan could not help wanting to ask about Ling Feng, so the two of them coincidentally entered the shop together.

There was still some time before the match ended, and it would be close to noon by then, so neither of them was in a hurry to return. They sat together at a table beside the glass window.

"Can you promise not to tell anyone else?"

After thinking for a while, Luo Xiyan still insisted on asking.

Although she had not known Ling Feng for long, she seemed to see a shadow of her former self in him, carrying a faint sense of solitude and sorrow. Though she still did not know much about him now.

But it did not matter if she did not understand him yet. There would be chances in the future.

"Mm-hm, go ahead, Xi Yan."

Ling Wanqing nodded seriously, looking as if she would not reveal a secret even if someone held a knife to her neck.

Only then did Luo Xiyan calm down a little. When she thought of what she was about to say, she found it somewhat difficult to voice.

A blush spread across her face as she lowered her head slightly. Her hesitant appearance made Ling Wanqing anxious for her, but she did not know how to comfort her.

"It's okay, Xi Yan. You're so pretty, my brother will definitely agree to anything you ask. Just look at that guy at the counter—his eyes haven't left you since we came in~"

Who knew how Ling Wanqing's train of thought worked? She flashed a bright smile and immediately teased Luo Xiyan.

That made Luo Xiyan feel inexplicably flustered, as though she had done something wrong.

But Ling Wanqing was indeed right. Because the two of them were such beauties, the milk tea shop had gradually become much busier. There were far more people around, most of whom had come to look at pretty girls.

Even the female employees at the counter were overwhelmed. As for the young man at the counter who had been staring at Luo Xiyan's face, he was now busy to death as well.

"No, your brother isn't that kind of person," Luo Xiyan said seriously.

"Oh? You understand him so quickly?" Seeing Luo Xiyan speak, Ling Wanqing smiled slyly and teased her again. "Are you that impatient? You're already speaking up for my brother?"

No one would believe it if she told them, but Ling Wanqing had learned all this from Ling Feng in the past. Although Ling Feng had tried his best to quit those habits now, Ling Wanqing had not forgotten their essence.

"I..."

Even Luo Xiyan could not keep herself under control now. Whenever the topic involved Ling Feng, she felt unable to think things through carefully.

"Alright, Xi Yan, just trust me. I'm worthy of your trust," Ling Wanqing assured her, puffing out her small chest at just the right moment.

"Th-then, alright. Actually, I-I want to pursue your brother."

Ling Wanqing:??

After saying it, Luo Xiyan herself felt it was strange. She had blurted it out in fragments, completely stunning Ling Wanqing. She had never expected such a beautiful girl to say something like that. It was simply absurd.

However, Ling Wanqing quickly calmed down. After all, she had long grown accustomed to the girls at school who wanted to pursue Ling Feng.

So Ling Wanqing truthfully answered the questions Luo Xiyan wanted to know next.

A plan was even inadvertently born from their conversation, though no one knew what it involved~

If Ling Feng knew Luo Xiyan wanted to pursue him, he would probably be even more surprised than the person involved.

The Finest Things of Heaven and Earth, the Essence of Plants and Trees

"B-boss, my plan failed."

Beneath the pine tree, Ye Xiaoying carefully held her phone in both hands and spoke hesitantly.

Not long ago, Ye Xiaoying had finally waited for that damned unknown binding magic to wear off and regained her freedom. The first thing she did was hurriedly call to report the situation.

"Oh, it failed? It's fine. The boss expected this. You have a new mission, and you can come back now."

The man on the other end of the call sounded somewhat impatient, as if he did not care much about the matter.

He was mainly responsible for handling handoff tasks, such as the newest potions and secret reports. Anything requiring combat was Hell Girl's responsibility and had nothing to do with him.

He was usually happy to have an easy job, but if the person he was coordinating with made a mistake on a mission, he would be implicated as well.

More importantly, this test had not required much in the first place. They only needed to probe their opponent's strength.

"B-but..."

Although the man said that, Ye Xiaoying was still worried. She felt vaguely uneasy, wondering whether there would be any punishment.

The older sisters were all so scary, wu~

"Alright, alright. That's it for now, Xiaoying. I've got things to do, so I'm hanging up."

After saying that, the man truly did not hesitate at all and immediately hung up.

"Hey, Old Zhang, are you done with your call? We've already won this round."

"Fuck your grandpa! How did you win again? Tell me, did someone cheat??"

"What are you talking about?! I'm just asking if you dare play another round," said a man across the table.

"Hmph, why wouldn't I dare? Watch me squeeze you dry today?!"

After speaking, the man known as Old Zhang deliberately showed off the Patek Philippe on his wrist, worth hundreds of thousands. Everyone around him stared with shining eyes.

Although it was already an Nth-hand item, it still had the proper status. Seeing this, the man casually placed his hand around the waist of the bunny girl he had ordered not long ago, slowly sliding it downward.

The startled bunny girl could not help letting out a coquettish moan, her face flushed red.

"Big brother, you're so naughty~~ I like it so much~~~"

On the other side, Ye Xiaoying could do nothing about it and could only retreat first.

Back in the organization, she had become an easy target for bullying because she was rather adorably foolish. However, Ye Xiaoying only considered it a strict trial for a fallen angel.

At least the organization's atmosphere was harmonious. It was just that the older sisters all had such strange personalities...

Without lingering any longer, Ye Xiaoying tidied up her slightly dirty and messy dress before leaving as well.

Meanwhile, because of Ling Wanqing, Luo Xiyan was still with her in the milk tea shop.

When Luo Xiyan had said she wanted to pursue Ling Feng, she did not really understand her own words either. After all, she knew very little about relationships and had never looked into them before.

The reason she had said it was because Su Xiaoxiao had told her the same thing before.

Luo Xiyan remembered Su Xiaoxiao saying that it represented a symbol of friendly affection between two people.

But Ling Wanqing did not know any of that, so with every sentence she said, Luo Xiyan's face turned a little redder until she finally could not bear it anymore and called a stop.

"Well, I'll slowly learn about it later."

"Huh? Alright, then. It's getting late, so let's head back first. Also, Xi Yan, are you sure you don't want anything to drink? Don't you like milk tea?"

Ling Wanqing suddenly changed the subject and asked with a strange expression. In her impression, girls seemed to all like milk tea, yet Luo Xiyan had not said a single word about it from beginning to end. She had merely sat there.

"I don't know. I've never had it."

"Huh? No way. Milk tea is delicious. Xi Yan, do you want to try some?"

Ling Wanqing was genuinely shocked this time. She had not expected there to be someone in this day and age who had never had milk tea. She even wondered whether Luo Xiyan could not afford it! But Luo Xiyan had refused when she offered to treat her earlier, too.

Milk tea was the finest thing of heaven and earth, gathering the essence of plants and trees.

Yet online, comments like "It's only the price of a cup of milk tea" were becoming increasingly common. Milk tea seemed to have become the latest universal currency, capable of measuring everything, as though everyone had drunk it by default.

"No, thanks."

Seeing her refuse, Ling Wanqing knew she should not say anything more. In a daze, she recalled something Ling Feng had once told her.

"If someone refuses you, don't keep pestering them. Respect others, and respect yourself."

Although Ling Feng had told her that, he simply did not want Ling Wanqing to become like him. He only did not want to teach his little sister bad habits.

A Premeditated Opportunity

Meanwhile, at SK Esports Arena in Linzhou City, the Winter Tournament Finals Cup had reached its most intense stage.

It was almost impossible for Ling Feng's team to defeat such veteran professional players. His teammates were being suppressed at every turn, and if this continued, losing was only a matter of time.

Ling Feng's team did not even have uniforms. To others, they were simply amateurs.

Still, as the dark horse of this competition, making it this far had already exceeded many people's expectations. After all, their opponents were a top-tier team ranked in the top five of the Professional League.

The only way to control one's fate was through victory. Like the plot of a passionate manga, young people constantly improved themselves with burning determination, accumulating the means to face a complicated world.

They loved esports because they admired the way those players seized control of their own fates through hard work.

So, did you believe in miracles?