Jiang Si regretted that he could no longer find his recorder.
It had fallen out during his fight with Du Juan yesterday. Although it had played the tolling bells at just the right moment when he transformed, an effect Jiang Si was extremely pleased with.
It perfectly matched the entrance music he imagined an immortal would have.
Unfortunately, he could not make his entrance as an immortal, only as a magical girl, which rather wasted it.
When he finally left, he had forgotten all about it.
The recorder itself was not expensive. He had picked it up at a two-yuan store, so losing it was no great loss. What hurt was losing the recorded bells.
Those bells had truly been perfect. It was the first time Jiang Si had encountered bells that suited his tastes so well, and now they were gone. He might never be able to record them again. What a shame.
After searching a while longer and confirming that he could not possibly find it, Jiang Si finally gave up and glanced toward the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau.
He did not know what Susan had come for, but Yinluo had clearly been somewhat hostile.
Ever since he had jumped six meters into the air at the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau, they should, in fact, have grown wary of him.
Naturally, Jiang Si had done that deliberately.
As Keke's older brother, a magical girl's family member, he would inevitably face Calamity Beasts and all sorts of enemies in the future.
He had never concealed his everyday training, either. If they paid attention, they would eventually notice something unusual about him.
But that was simply strength he had trained to acquire.
So there was no need to hide it. Every increase in his strength could be traced, and no investigation would uncover anything.
An upright man need not fear a crooked shadow. He, Jiang Si, was completely innocent and had nothing to hide.
But judging by Yinluo's attitude today, it seemed that people within the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau had begun to suspect him.
That suspicion probably stemmed not from his strength, but from something else.
Was it because of last night's battle?
Their heavenly eye should not have been able to see him, nor Shion...
Wait, they could not see him?
Jiang Si suddenly realized that he only deactivated the Obscuring Leaf in places that raised no questions, like school and home.
Whenever he was going to fight or transform into Shion, he would activate the Obscuring Leaf to conceal himself.
Six Leaves' ability was quite convenient. Those protected by the Obscuring Leaf could also turn it on and off themselves.
Although no one had investigated him before, Jiang Si had always maintained this good habit, lest someone with nothing better to do investigate him one day and expose him.
The problem was that if someone kept watching him, they could easily notice something amiss.
Last night, the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau had been searching for him the whole time. That Peony had most likely been using her heavenly eye to look, too. It was only natural to grow suspicious when she could never see him.
Ah, the Obscuring Leaf was merely an unorthodox little trick after all, nowhere near an immortal sect's Cognitive Obstruction.
It could only block observation, not interfere with it or mislead it. Ultimately, its limitations were too great.
He needed to properly develop Six Leaves' ability and let her touch upon the realm of Cognitive Obstruction, so the Azure Cloud Sect could operate more conveniently in the future.
This was the most convenient thing about magical girls' powers.
As long as a branch ability related to their original power, a believing heart and tireless training could develop all sorts of different branches from it.
For instance, if a magical girl who used water could truly believe that water could burn, she could turn her water into Sea Heart Flame.
If she believed ice could burn, she could produce Bone Chilling Flame.
Of course, its power would still depend on the magical girl's own level and magical power. It probably would not measure up to a true Heavenly Flame.
Besides, most magical girls still possessed basic common sense, making it difficult to believe in something that violated the laws of physics.
He and Bingtang had experimented with this many times. A believing heart was a magical girl's most powerful weapon.
So all that remained was how to make Six Leaves firmly believe that her ability could advance toward Cognitive Obstruction.
Children were highly malleable. Give them sufficiently convincing reasons, and they would easily take them as truth.
Having children become magical girls truly showed foresight.
Jiang Si never begrudged helping his disciples develop their abilities. Developing some abilities also brought him new ideas, creating the possibility of copying them.
However, abilities such as Four Leaves' hexagram divination mostly had flaws. Either their requirements were extremely high, with environmental restrictions that prevented calculations in real time, or their backlash was severe, leaving the user unable to recover for a long time after one use. Some even had limited uses, after which the ability vanished forever.
Four Leaves fell into the severe-backlash category and needed a long rest after each use, so Jiang Si was not particularly interested. That thing was troublesome to use and compromised combat strength.
As for Six Leaves' ability, it had previously only been at the level of a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator, beneath his notice. If she could develop it to the level of Cognitive Obstruction, however, Jiang Si would need to steal the fruit of her Dao and copy it.
Then he thought of Yinluo, who had approached him.
Most likely a Witch Association pawn.
Nothing to fear. He could just have Bingtang deal with her.
He had no interest in tangling with an ordinary person who could not even transform.
With that thought, he continued his morning run toward the city while taking counter-surveillance measures along the way. He even covertly used magical power to sweep his surroundings. Only after confirming no one was following him did he take a few turns and enter the Azure Cloud Sect under the Obscuring Leaf's cover.
He went straight to Bingtang to discuss how to clear the suspicion surrounding him. His earlier movements had overlapped too much with Shion's appearances. If the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau investigated seriously, they could easily notice something amiss.
He had to ensure they could not guess that he was Shion.
And when Jiang Si reached the sect and told Bingtang his thoughts.
Bingtang, who had just received Susan's message, immediately said as though it were obvious, "Then just have Jiang Si and Shion appear at the same time, right?"
Jiang Si was filled with respect. This really was the simplest and most efficient solution.
"The Disaster Countermeasures Bureau already knows you have an ability that blocks the heavenly eye. So this time, let them see you meet Shion, and act a little familiar with her. That'll explain why you can block the heavenly eye while also preventing them from guessing you're Shion. Hehe, as for why you're acquainted, Lady Shion wants to personally learn about and recruit little sister Keke through big brother Jiang Si. That's a good enough reason, isn't it?"
"I said I didn't want her."
"Hasn't Keke demonstrated astonishing potential now? Who says Lady Shion can't change her mind, hmm?"
Jiang Si fell silent for a while, then asked, "Won't the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau turn against us?"
"You're connected to little sister Keke, so they have to consider the repercussions. Besides, although the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau talks tough, they've actually been avoiding Shion all along." Bingtang smiled. "They won't truly offend us. They still depend on us to help deal with Calamity Beasts. They won't turn hostile unless things reach a critical point. You're only acquainted with Shion, not the Azure Cloud Sect~ Of course, there's no need to rush. Let's wait and see what the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau does next before making plans."
"All right. Also, Bingtang, there's someone I need you to deal with. Yinluo from the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau..."
Finally back in her room, Oleander took a deep breath, switched off the lights, and took out her crystal ball.
Compared with before, the brightly lit crystal ball looked much roomier with only three people on display.
"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
As their captain coughed violently in the center, Oleander and the other female member remained silent, waiting until he finished.
"What's wrong?" the girl who had never given her code name asked in a puzzled tone. "Been feeling weak lately?"
"Cough, cough... Ran into Winter Lord."
"Lady Winter Lord again, huh?" The girl giggled. "No surprise, then. You're lucky to be back alive. Oh, I'd love to see the captain getting beaten so badly by Lady Winter Lord that he pissed and shit himself."
"Shuangsheng, watch your wording."
Oleander had to speak up. "Don't use honorifics for the enemy, and show the captain a little more respect."
"You're new here, and you're already lecturing me? Mind your own business." The girl sneered, then asked the captain, "Where were you hurt? How strange. Lady Winter Lord might not be as cruel as Shion, but she doesn't usually like leaving survivors either."
"I wasn't hurt. Her cold air just chilled me."
The captain coughed twice more and cleared his hoarse throat. "Heh, I wasn't injured, but I caught a cold from the chill. I've already bought cold medicine. Don't worry."
Both girls were momentarily speechless.
"Can Winter Lord spread viruses?" Oleander asked offhandedly. "Did she develop a new ability? Her abilities have always been highly varied. Even though the information is public, no one knows what other abilities she has."
"That's unlikely, right? Lady Winter Lord's only ability is low temperatures. All her other abilities were developed from that. The captain's just too frail. This is the first time I've seen someone catch a cold from Lady Winter Lord's ability."
"Well, most Witch Association members who encountered her before died," the captain said, as though defending himself. "Besides, Winter Lord wasn't the only one I encountered this time. Shion and Dandelion were there too."
Shuangsheng immediately grew respectful. "And you still made it back alive? I'm utterly convinced you deserve to be captain."
"Just a bunch of little girls."
Naturally, the captain would not admit that he had never gone over at all. He had merely sent down a few token lightning strikes before Winter Lord blew a breath of cold air along the wind and gave him a cold.
Ultimately, Witch Association members like them, who had not undergone Calamity Beast transformation, had little capacity to fight magical girls head-on.
When he discovered that Du Juan had been surrounded by Azure Cloud Sect members, the captain had only dared to watch from afar and provide a little support.
Of course, this was only temporary. Once the plan succeeded, things would be different...
"I remember she went to find Jiang Si, didn't she?" Whenever the discussion strayed, Oleander would speak up at the right moment to steer it back. "How did the Azure Cloud Sect discover her? Did Mist fail?"
Mist was the Witch Association's means of specifically countering precognition and detection abilities.
It was also the main reason they had evaded pursuit by the Azure Cloud Sect and the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau for so many years.
The captain immediately shook his head. "Impossible. Mist was active the whole time. I've already asked the Pen Spirit. It couldn't see how Du Juan was discovered by the Azure Cloud Sect at all."
This was the drawback of countering precognition and detection abilities. It was not just the Witch Association's Mist; the Azure Cloud Sect's Obscuring Leaf and the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau's wristbands actually prevented their own organizations' precognition and detection abilities from working as well.
They could only communicate through other means.
Now, this had also resulted in Du Juan being surrounded and killed by the Azure Cloud Sect without understanding what was happening, while they still did not know why.
"Could the Azure Cloud Sect have found a way through Mist?"
The captain immediately rejected Shuangsheng's suspicion. "If that were true, Oleander would've been exposed first."
"It was probably just a coincidence." Oleander toyed with her crystal ball. "Azure Cloud Sect members sometimes like wandering around the city, too. There are so many of them that an accidental encounter wouldn't be strange."
"Then she really was unlucky." Shuangsheng gave a pleasant laugh. "Women who don't like smiling tend to have bad luck. That includes you, Oleander. Better be careful."
"That's none of your concern."
"Oh dear, what a cold tone. Do you have something against me?"
"I just dislike people who aren't serious. It's nothing against you."
"But I'm the only one here who isn't serious. How is that not directed at me?"
The captain coughed violently again, interrupting the girls' conversation. "Cough, cough. This isn't the time to argue. Du Juan and Jackal are both dead. We need to be more united..."
"Old geezer, your ideas are long outdated. You talked about making the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau and the Azure Cloud Sect fight so we could profit. Where exactly are these two fighting?"
Shuangsheng's tone was mocking. "You said we had people higher up in the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau who could ease the pressure on us. But aside from shouting loudly, has the Bureau launched a single official encirclement operation against the Azure Cloud Sect so far? Fierce condemnation, not an inch of movement. I'd like to know where this reduced pressure is. As far as I can see, the Bureau's magical girls haven't eased their pursuit of us either."
"The Disaster Countermeasures Bureau does have complicated relationships," Oleander offered in support. "It's not that easy to maneuver, unlike the Witch Association's simple structure. Besides, Beihai's Bureau is short-staffed and mostly relies on the Azure Cloud Sect to clear out large numbers of Calamity Beasts. They probably can't do anything to the Azure Cloud Sect in the short term."
"My ears have grown calluses from hearing that. They're just a bunch of wine sacks and rice bags. Either wipe out the Witch Association or destroy the Azure Cloud Sect. At least accomplish one thing! Since the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau set up in BH City, has it achieved anything at all?"
"Show some respect." Oleander looked coldly at Shuangsheng. "If the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau truly wanted to act, an ant like you would be crushed within a day. The Azure Cloud Sect has survived this long because they know their limits. They know what to do and what not to do. Otherwise, headquarters has plenty of Full Blossom magical girls."
"Oh, they're certainly good at scaring people, just like you." Shuangsheng was not angry and merely grinned. "A traitor's getting all high and mighty now. What, do you still feel a sense of belonging to the Bureau?"
"Compared with me, isn't a certain little girl who still calls Winter Lord 'Lady' more attached to the Azure Cloud Sect?"
Shuangsheng's expression abruptly turned cold. "I really should've agreed with Du Juan back then and killed you first."
"You're welcome to try now..."
"Enough!"
The captain, who had endured this for some time, finally slapped the table, anger in his voice. "Do you think I'm dead just because I'm not speaking? Cough, cough, cough! At a time like this, you're still fighting among yourselves!"
After coughing, the captain said indignantly, "The Azure Cloud Sect and the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau haven't started fighting, but you defectors from those two organizations are about to fight over their relationship! We'd be a laughingstock if word got out!"
Shuangsheng, who had been radiating killing intent a moment before, immediately became all smiles again. "I was just teasing her, Captain."
"I was the one teasing you, brat."
"Shut up and listen." This time, the captain finally stopped letting them talk. "Don't force me to turn you into Calamity Beasts."
Shuangsheng shrugged and quieted down. Oleander stopped speaking as well.
"I originally hoped you could send out all the seeds, but with things having reached this point, I know it isn't that simple."
As he spoke, the captain took out a metal test tube. "I'll have the potion delivered to you. You have my permission to use one Miracle Seed first. Oleander, if nothing else works, forcibly break away from the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau and bring the seeds out."
Oleander lowered her eyes slightly and nodded. "Understood. Thank you for your trust, Captain."
"I look forward to your results, Oleander. Don't disappoint me."
Only after Oleander disconnected did Shuangsheng drawl, "Is this really a good idea, Captain? She joined us to get that potion, didn't she? Now she has both the seeds and the potion. Whether she's willing to come to us, whether she wants to bring out the Miracle Seeds, depends entirely on her loyalty."
"This is a test for her, and an opportunity."
The captain said leisurely, "Hopefully she won't try to be too clever. Otherwise, that would truly be a shame."
Shuangsheng immediately raised her hand. "Captain, I'd like to accept the organization's test too. Give me one."
"Get lost."
"Tch." Shuangsheng clicked her tongue. "Then I'll just wait to have a laugh at your expense."
The captain waved his hand. "Whatever the case, in this operation, the enemy is in the light while we're in the dark, and we're prepared while they're not. The advantage is ours!"