The Magical Girl's "Final Disciple" Saintess

"Three."

Kabi floated into the air and held up three stubby fingers.

"I can pick up three faint resonances right now. They're all in the city, and none of them have awakened."

She flipped her little hand and produced a palm-sized silver disc. Star trails were engraved across its face, and three dim markers flickered at its center.

It was called the Star Compass. Kabi often used it to find Magical Girls on the verge of awakening.

"Unfortunately, the Star Compass can only give us a rough area, with a margin of error of at least two kilometers. But the moment they awaken, I'll definitely pinpoint their locations this time."

"The last one you told me about was in the water. By the time I got there, the girl was nearly drowning."

"Master! That wasn't my fault. Who sleeps in the water...?"

Su Bai pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't be bothered to argue.

Three unaffiliated Magical Girls were wandering around the city, and he didn't even know their names.

"Fine. We'll deal with them when the time comes." He stood up. "First, sleep."

The next morning, Su Xiaoxiao went out.

Her fan club was meeting in person to discuss celebrating Lady Ziwei's birthday. Nobody knew when her birthday was, so they had voted on a date.

With a rare bit of free time, Su Bai sprawled on his bed and scrolled through short videos.

As he scrolled, a promotional video caught his eye.

Onscreen, a veiled woman sat on a cushion before a cheap purple-and-gold backdrop. A row of glass bottles stood on the table in front of her, their contents glowing an eerie violet.

"Everyone, I'm Lady Ziwei's personally taught final disciple, the Saintess."

"Last night, she appeared to me in a dream and commanded me to descend into the mortal world to save its people."

"This bottle of Starlight Holy Water was condensed from magic power she shed in battle. Drink it, and even an ordinary person can awaken magical aptitude."

"The original price is eight million. Today's special price is eight hundred thousand a bottle. Only ten available."

Su Bai stared at the screen for a full ten seconds.

"Kabi."

"I saw it too!" Kabi's voice rose an octave. "Master, they've restocked those 'only ten available' eight times in half an hour!"

The comments had already piled up into the thousands.

"Bought two bottles. I felt warmth flowing through me after drinking them. The Saintess says I'm about to awaken!"

"My dad owns a mine. I ordered three bottles so the whole family can drink them!"

"It hurts my wallet, but becoming a Magical Girl is worth it!"

Payment screenshots came one after another. Eight hundred thousand. One million six hundred thousand. Two million four hundred thousand.

"There are more than a dozen buyers," Kabi said, clinging to the screen as she counted. "Wealthy businesspeople, office workers—they're all adults, and every one of them is throwing money at this."

Su Bai did a quick calculation. They had taken in more than twenty million.

"Great. Just great."

He tossed his phone onto the bed.

"I stay up half the night risking my life against Lord-Class Monsters. I earned that reputation one slash at a time."

"These people draw a magic circle, hang up some rag, and swindle more in one night than I make killing Monsters in a month."

"Master, calm down! Your heart's racing!"

"I'm perfectly calm."

Su Bai sat up and flexed his wrists.

"Find their hideout. If they're going to cash in on my name, I'll take that money back in the name of justice."

Soon, he had sent a string of instructions to the Xinghai Squad group chat on the Star App.

Mint, a Magical Girl, came through as usual. She quickly tapped into the Xinghai City Magic Communications Network.

The data showed that their target knew what she was doing. The transaction account routed through seven or eight layers of intermediaries, making it hard to trace.

But the fake holy water contained powdered Spirit-Breath Stone. When buyers paid, a faint pulse of magic power traveled back to the account.

An ordinary person couldn't catch that pulse.

But Mint wasn't human.

"Got them!"

Half a minute later, Mint sent a voice message. "Big Sister! South of the city—the Third Cotton Mill Warehouse!"

"There are seven people at the source. They're all moving around. Looks like they're packing!"

"Packing?" Su Bai narrowed his eyes. "They're planning to run after this haul."

"Big Sister, should we head out now?"

"No. Stay on standby."

Su Bai lay back down, picked up his phone, and reported the video.

"Let them count their money for another day. The happier they are now, the louder they'll cry tonight."

Eleven that night.

The abandoned Third Cotton Mill Warehouse, south of the city.

In the makeshift workshop, seven fully armed women stood around three long tables. Bundles of cash were stacked into walls, boxes of fake Origin Stones had been sealed, and two Abyssal-Energy Rifles lay on a table.

The woman in charge had a buzz cut and a black snake tattoo behind her ear. Her magic power measured eighteen hundred on the Magic Power Scale, and she bore a Two-Star Star Mark. Of the other six, four were High-Tier Buds, while two had barely reached the threshold of gaining a Star Mark.

For unaffiliated Demon Hunters, that was an impressive lineup. Even at the Monster Hunting Bureau, they could have formed a special operations team.

"Boss, are we really quitting after this job?" a woman with a ponytail asked, patting a cash box.

"We are." Black Snake sealed the last box of goods. "Twenty-six million is enough for us to move to another city and live it up for three hundred years."

"Told you using Ziwei's name would work! Last time we called it 'Star Saintess,' nobody bought a bottle at eighty thousand. This time we used Ziwei's name, and bottles at eight hundred thousand sold out instantly!"

"Of course. Have you seen how popular she is? Every woman in the city dreams of becoming her."

"But what if... she actually comes after us?"

Black Snake scoffed.

"Comes after us? She can meddle in whatever she wants, but is she really going to care that we're selling sugar water?"

"We're twenty meters underground. The dome is made of alloy that can withstand an Enforcer-level strike, and there are three hidden doors at the entrance."

"Even if she turns Xinghai City upside down—"

Boom.

A muffled impact sounded overhead.

The alloy dome, supposedly capable of withstanding an Enforcer-level strike, caved in at its center. Metal tore, rivets flew, and a hole three meters wide burst open.

Purple-gold light poured through it, illuminating the entire vault.

All seven women looked up at once.

A tall figure stood at the edge of the opening, bathed in light. Long purple-gold hair fell down her back, and a Dark-Gold Scythe rested on her shoulder.

"Zi... Ziwei?!"

"Impossible! How did she—"

Ziwei said nothing.

She drifted down through the hole and touched the toe of her boot to a safe. The half-inch-thick steel plate buckled beneath her.

She gave the Dark-Gold Scythe a casual swing.

There was no flash of light, no incantation—only a savage blast of wind that swept across the floor.

All seven women, weapons and all, were hurled into walls, cash boxes, and table corners. Bones cracked in rapid succession, and cries of pain filled the room.

Black Snake struggled to reach for a gun. The instant her wrist moved, the tip of the scythe stopped three inches from her throat.

"Who said you could move?"

Her cool voice betrayed no emotion.

Black Snake froze. Cold sweat trickled down the snake tattoo behind her ear.

"Accounts. Passwords. Hideouts." The scythe tip edged half an inch closer. "Then each of you will record a confession. Tell me exactly how many people you swindled."

"Dream on! The people backing us—"

The scythe blade pressed down beside her ear and sank into the floor.

A crack half a meter deep split the ground.

"My patience is limited."

Ten minutes later, all seven confessions had been recorded and the account records copied.

Ziwei looked around. Walls of cash, sealed cash boxes, and more than a dozen bottles of unsold fake Starlight Holy Water.

She raised a hand. Her Storage Magic Device opened, and the cash, bonds, and even the boxes of fake Origin Stones all tumbled inside.

"Master, we're rich!" Kabi bounced on her shoulder. "There must be ten million here! Those fake Origin Stones contain powdered Spirit-Breath Stone. Even melted down, they'd fetch tens of thousands!"

"Mm."

After putting away the last box, Ziwei's gaze fell on a corner of the room.

A security camera was still showing a red light.

She walked over and leaned toward the lens.

"Listen carefully."

"You think you're worthy of using my name to make money?"

The tip of her scythe lightly tapped the camera, sending spiderweb cracks across its alloy casing.

"This is what happens."

Two in the morning, Monster Hunting Bureau headquarters.

A call from the officer on duty dragged Liang Bing out of her dorm.

When she reached the bureau entrance, she found seven women bound in magic bands and lined up neatly below the steps. Each had a printed sheet stuck to her forehead, complete with wanted number, name, and charges.

A data disk sat squarely on the chest of the woman in the middle.

The Technical Department read it on the spot. It contained the gang's accounts for the past three months, transfer records, hideout locations, and a video of all seven women confessing in turn. They had even given up the recipe for the fake Starlight Holy Water.

"Enforcer Liang, all seven are on the Monster Hunter Wanted List," the officer said, swallowing. "Their bounties add up to more than eight hundred thousand."

"Who brought them here?"

"All the cameras are broken. They only... only caught a blur of purple light."

Liang Bing stood on the steps, staring at the seven women in silence.

The night wind rustled the sheets of paper.

She rubbed her aching temples and forced the words through clenched teeth.

"Magical Girl..."

"No matter how high you fly, one day I'll drag you down myself!"

The underground vault at Manor One on the back mountain.

Su Bai stacked the last cash box in the corner and set his Storage Magic Device on the table.

All he wanted now was a hot shower and a long sleep until noon tomorrow.

"Kabi, don't wake me in the morning. If my sister asks where I am, text her back for me and say I'm out delivering food."

"Got it—"

Kabi broke off.

In her hands, the Star Compass suddenly lit up. Its face trembled, emitting a high-pitched hum.

"Master!"

"What now?"

"A resonance! The second resonance just moved!"

Su Bai leaned in.

Of the three dim markers at the center of the Star Compass, the second was flashing violently, growing brighter with every pulse.

The pointer quivered a few times, then settled firmly toward the north of the city.

Tianqiong University.

The direction of the women's dormitories.

"That pulse frequency..." Kabi flew a circle around the Star Compass. "Master, she's about to awaken!"

"In the next day or two!"

Su Bai stared at the marker for three seconds.

"Tianqiong University. Women's dormitories."

His hand stopped midway through loosening his tie.