The Legendary Sweeping Monk

Rob the Monster Hunting Bureau? Su Bai replied to Kabi in his head. Their director could take you out with one finger, and she has hundreds of agents under her. Want to lead the charge?

...Never mind. Kabi wilted at once.

Besides, they offered me the five thousand themselves. It's all aboveboard. Su Bai finished his lemonade and dropped the cup into a roadside recycling bin. Money you steal never sits right. Money you get reimbursed for? That's the good stuff.

Master, your principles are remarkably flexible.

Night fell, and the Fan Festival crowd finally dispersed. The booths began coming down. Core members of the fan club carried tables, chairs, and props back and forth, their shouts and laughter mingling.

After directing the last group, Su Xiaoxiao turned to find her brother already rolling up his sleeves.

The four giant donation boxes were stuffed with fan merchandise, coins, and bills. None was light. Su Bai walked over, swept an arm around them, and stacked all four securely on his shoulder. Hundreds of pounds bore down on him, but his stride never wavered.

"Let's go. Time to load up."

He strode toward the tricycle parked by the road. Coins rattled inside the boxes, and the students helping out stared openmouthed.

"Holy shit, does that guy train as a weightlifter?"

"It took two of us to lift one box..."

Su Bai let the comments blow past him. The load on his shoulder was much lighter than the dumbbells he had lifted before dawn.

In a corner beside the booth, Ye Qingqing was bent over, gathering scattered display stands.

She had spent the whole day helping the fan club. Since awakening, she had naturally joined its patrol team—partly to thank Lady Ziwei, and partly because she wanted to be a little closer to her.

Unfortunately, her beloved Ziwei hadn't shown up...

But now she saw something astonishing.

Four boxes. One person. His shoulder hadn't even dipped.

Ye Qingqing froze. She was at the One-Star Sprout Tier, with four hundred measures of magical power when transformed into a Magical Girl. Her eyes had grown keener.

Even untransformed, she was no longer an ordinary student.

She recognized that lean figure. Su Bai, a student at Tianqiong University and a fitness fanatic whose name had appeared on the forums.

But could working out really do that? He had at least four hundred pounds on his shoulder, yet he walked in plastic slippers more steadily than she did on patrol.

"Is this... the kind of Body Cultivator the textbooks talk about?" she murmured. "The Demon Hunting Bureau textbook said that when the body is trained to its limit, disease can't touch it, and Monsters can't break it..."

She stared at his back for a long while and swallowed.

Was someone who had honed his body to its limit really hiding at their school?

A Flesh Mage... was simply what the Monster Hunting Bureau called someone who specialized in training the body.

"Qingqing!"

Su Xiaoxiao's voice burst out behind her. Ye Qingqing flinched and nearly dropped the display stand.

"Qingqing, are you done packing up? This is my brother!" Su Xiaoxiao caught her by the wrist and dragged her toward the tricycle. "My actual brother!"

Ye Qingqing stumbled over and stood beside the tricycle, at a loss. The club president's brother, a student at the same university, and a monster of a Body Cultivator?

With all three facts hitting her at once, she didn't know what to do with her hands.

"H-hello, Su Bai... I'm Ye Qingqing, from the fan club..." Her voice dwindled with every word.

"Su Bai." He set the boxes in the cargo bed, then turned and gave her a polite smile. "We go to the same university."

"Huh? You know me?"

"Who wouldn't recognize a beauty like you? Behind the teaching building, you were really focused on that steamed bun..."

"Please don't say any more..." Ye Qingqing's face flushed bright red. That had been last week.

"Ha. Well, look out for me at school, then." Su Bai dusted off his hands. "And my sister's a little odd, so take what she says with a grain of salt."

"Hey! Brother!" Su Xiaoxiao exploded. "Who are you calling odd?"

"N-no, she isn't! President Xiaoxiao is amazing! I'm really happy we get to support Magical Girls together...!" For some reason, Ye Qingqing bowed. Only after she straightened up did she wonder why she had done it, which made her even more flustered.

The tricycle rattled down the road.

Su Bai pedaled up front. In the cargo bed, Su Xiaoxiao and Ye Qingqing squeezed between the boxes, and Su Xiaoxiao began talking nonstop.

"Qingqing, you're so good at making props. It'd be a waste for you to stay an ordinary fan." Su Xiaoxiao took a booklet from her shoulder bag and offered it with both hands, her expression solemn. "This is the seventh edition of the Magical Girl’s Ultimate Transformation Guide, revised and recreated by me. Now I pass it on to you."

As the tricycle passed under the streetlights, light flickered across the cargo bed. Ye Qingqing accepted the booklet. The gold-foil stars on its cover glittered so brightly they hurt her eyes.

"Wh-what is this...?"

"The source of Lady Ziwei's power. A secret among secrets." Su Xiaoxiao leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Cultivate according to its instructions, and one day, the Will of the World will hear you too."

Up front, Su Bai heard that and nearly pedaled the tricycle into a ditch.

Pfft— Kabi burst out laughing in his head.

What's so funny? Su Bai ground his teeth inwardly. That little menace has missed her calling. Sell one booklet for the sentiment, another for the merchandise... If she really could transform into a Magical Girl, she could start a whole religion.

Worst of all, Master, you're the sacred icon of your sister's religion!

Enough. Su Bai pedaled harder. She doesn't need to preach to Ye Qingqing. I already guided Ye Qingqing through her awakening. Just last night, she used the Origin Stone I turned in as her "initiation gift."

Hahahaha! She's preaching to an active Magical Girl!

In the cargo bed, Ye Qingqing held the guidebook with trembling fingers. She had no need for it—she was one of the newest awakened Magical Girls herself. But the president was so enthusiastic that all she could do was nod, then nod again.

"President! I... I'll study it carefully!"

Back at apartment 703 in Xingfuli Apartment, Su Xiaoxiao rushed straight into her bedroom before she had even finished taking off her shoes.

Something scraped beneath the bed as she dragged out a large cardboard box. She peeled back the tape. Inside, everything was stacked neatly.

Three copies of the "transformation guide," each gaudier than the last and each with a different cover: one gold-stamped velvet, one waterproof and plastic-wrapped, and one leather-bound with loose-leaf pages.

"The preaching editions," Su Xiaoxiao said, pointing them out one by one. "This is the devotional edition. Keep it by your bed and recite it every night before you sleep. This is the collector's edition. Lock it in a safe so no one can steal it, copy it, or leak it. And this is the carry-around edition—"

She solemnly placed the plastic-wrapped copy in Ye Qingqing's hands.

"Qingqing, a truly loyal believer needs all three. I'll pass the carry-around edition to you tonight. Once you've passed the test, I'll personally bestow the other two upon you!"

Ye Qingqing held the guidebook, her hands trembling.

She turned toward the kitchen and saw Su Bai from behind. He had just tied on an apron and was standing at the cutting board, sharpening a knife. The blade rasped over the whetstone, stroke after stroke, steady and intent.

A Body Cultivator who had carried four hundred pounds as though it were nothing had come home to sharpen an eight-yuan fruit knife.

A Saintess recognized by the Will of the World was curled up on the sofa, solemnly handing "scriptures" to a fan.

These two siblings...

Ye Qingqing searched for the right words. Well... they were pretty... holy.

Neither sibling noticed her strange thoughts. Su Bai had been running around all day, and his stomach had long since started growling.

Dinner? Xiaoxiao had only prepared snacks for the day, and no one had even washed the rice in the kitchen. He had been thinking of making a few of his best dishes.

Wait! He had it—the five-thousand-yuan subsidy Liang Bing had approved!

Su Bai untied his apron and, in a rare burst of generosity, waved a hand.

"Enough with the books. A barbecue place just opened downstairs. You two worked hard today, so dinner's on me."

"What?!" Su Xiaoxiao sprang off the sofa, her eyes lighting up. "Did the sun rise in the west? Or did you finally pay off your student loan?!"

"The subsidy came through. Settle down, or I'm canceling."

"Okay, okay, Brother! You're the best brother in the world!" Su Xiaoxiao instantly behaved herself and stuffed the guidebook into her pocket. "Come on, Qingqing! My brother treats us to dinner once a year at most. We can't miss this!"

Ye Qingqing clutched the guidebook and hurried after them.

The corridor lights glowed dimly. The siblings walked ahead, bickering over whether to order pork belly.

Ye Qingqing brought up the rear, hugging the guidebook as she kept her eyes fixed on Su Bai's back.

The longer she watched, the more startled she became.

Under that worn hoodie, his center of gravity was frighteningly low when he walked. Even his heels touched down more quietly than anyone else's. She had seen her share of experts, yet not even the Night Watchers' members had made her feel this way.

Only Lady Ziwei had ever given her this sense of overwhelming power!

Could it be... Su Bai wasn't an ordinary Body Cultivator at all...?

Maybe he was the legendary Sweeping Monk, one who had trained his body to its absolute limit—the kind who usually swept fallen leaves outside a temple, but could prop up the heavens with a single broom when the temple came crashing down.

"Um... Su Bai?" Ye Qingqing summoned every scrap of courage she had and spoke.

"Hmm...?" Su Bai turned to her, looking puzzled by her unease.

Ye Qingqing clenched both fists. Her flushed face gave away how nervous she was, but she managed to ask:

"Could I... work out with you again sometime?!"