"The sect master asked us where people usually went on dates?"
The conference room in the Azure Cloud Sect's Illusory Moon Cave Abode was next to the main hall and normally kept locked.
A curtain screened it off from outside. Without looking closely, one would not even notice there was a conference room here in the Illusory Moon Cave Abode.
Converted from a former underground storeroom, the conference room was fairly spacious, with a massive table in the middle that could seat over a dozen people along its two sides.
At the very front of the long table stood an incense altar the sect master had made himself.
Back then, he had carried those pieces of wood around and started working on the altar every day after exercising. After nearly half a month, he was only halfway done. Unable to watch any longer, Bingtang had gathered up his lumber and everything else, tossed it over to the factory along with the plans, and had them make the altar and bring it back.
Many spirit tablets sat on the altar, each engraved with a name. Jiang Si said they were all predecessors of the Azure Cloud Sect.
Gui Li, Xiao Yan, Tang San, Klein, Ye Fan...
Bingtang recognized none of the rows of names. The mixture of Chinese and English left her wondering just what backgrounds the Azure Cloud Sect's predecessors had. If these people were not actually dead, would it be a little inappropriate when they found out the Azure Cloud Sect had put up spirit tablets for them...?
At the moment, Bingtang was wiping the spirit tablets clean while asking, "Have any of you ever been on a date?"
Four Leaves, Six Leaves, and Yumo, seated at the conference table, exchanged looks. None of them spoke.
Then Six Leaves suddenly raised her hand. "I know, I know! Blue Flower has definitely been on dates!"
Never mind Four Leaves and Yumo-even Bingtang froze for a moment. "How do you know?"
"She told me loads about dating before!" Six Leaves declared smugly. "She said she'd dated several people. They went to amusement parks, cafés, and, and aquariums and zoos."
As she listened, Bingtang sighed. "Since when did Beihai have a zoo? The aquarium and amusement park are on the west side of the city. Even by car, it takes an hour or two. A lazy homebody like Blue Flower, who loves staying home every day, would go that far?"
"It was in a game, wasn't it?"
Four Leaves said casually, "I've seen her play it before."
Yumo hugged her rabbit and giggled secretly.
Bingtang abandoned her plan to call Blue Flower out of confinement.
Besides, she was concentrating on making Shion right now, so it would be better not to disturb her for a while.
Then Bingtang felt she was being a little silly herself. Six Leaves was only in sixth grade, while Four Leaves and Yumo, though in middle school, were not very old either.
How could they have any dating experience?
If they did, that would be cause for concern instead. Dating too young was no good. What if some wild boy from who knew where tricked them?
"Have you never been on a date, Lady Bingtang?"
All three girls looked over at once. Bingtang turned her head aside. "Of course I have."
"Wow, amazing! Who did you go on a date with, Lady Bingtang?" Six Leaves's eyes sparkled. "Was it fun? What yummy food did you eat? Did you kiss?"
Four Leaves immediately tugged at her younger sister again. "Six Leaves!"
Only after her sister scolded her did Six Leaves shrink back and sit down obediently.
Bingtang coughed. "It wasn't that fun. Just walking around, eating some desserts, holding hands."
Her date had been Jiang Si, of course.
Of course, it was actually rather hard to call it a date...
When the Azure Cloud Sect had first been established, the two of them often went shopping together for decorations. Sometimes, when it got crowded, Bingtang would take Jiang Si's hand so they would not get separated.
Naturally, she bought the desserts herself. Jiang Si did not eat desserts, nor did he have money to buy them for her. Basically, their shopping trips never lasted more than twenty minutes. They had clear objectives and left once they had bought what they needed.
In terms of universal rationality, it was hard to call that a date.
But to Bingtang, it was a date. She had never gone out to have fun with a boy in her life, and she had gone shopping with Jiang Si, eaten something, and even held hands.
How was that not a date?
Besides, even if she really did enter a relationship with Jiang Si and went out on a date, this would probably be as far as they could go...
"So, so where would be a good place for a date?"
Yumo, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke timidly. "Where do you go on dates, Lady Bingtang?"
If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you.
Sighing, Bingtang finished wiping the spirit tablets and sat at the head of the table. "Usually, we just walk around the shops. There isn't any fixed place."
"Isn't that a little too casual?" Yumo lowered her head, the hood of her pale green cloak covering her eyes. "Usually, usually, you go to an amusement park, an aquarium, have something to eat, and then, then go to a hotel..."
"Wow, a hotel." Four Leaves could not help exclaiming. "How bold."
Bingtang was a little puzzled too. "Do you go to hotels on dates?"
Yumo tugged hard at her hood, but the little of her face still showing had gone completely red. "That's how it always goes in manga."
"What kind of manga are you reading?"
Four Leaves said quietly beside her, "Shoujo manga. Yumo often carries them in her schoolbag. I've read them."
Bingtang rubbed her forehead. "If you really do go on a date with someone in the future, you mustn't go to a hotel, Yumo."
The girl immediately buried her entire face behind her stuffed rabbit. "I-I wouldn't."
Then Bingtang took out a map of Jianghai City and spread it across the conference table. "Anyway, let's decide on a street first. It should be somewhere around here."
Bingtang picked up a pen and drew a horizontal line across East Street on the map. "East Street has plenty of shops. Whether it's milk tea, coffee, or a meal, there's no problem. There's also an arcade. I've seen quite a few couples there before. Two-player dance machines, claw machines, and those large-space VR games that have been popular lately-they're all great for dates."
The three girls nodded repeatedly as they listened. Four Leaves said softly, "And if you go this way from East Street, there's a park. As a dating spot, it has very few people, so if the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau comes looking, it'll be easy to confront them too."
At those words, Yumo and Bingtang both glanced at her.
Four Leaves paused, a little puzzled. "What is it?"
The two girls looked away. Bingtang coughed. "Nothing. I'm just a little surprised you thought so far ahead, Four Leaves. That makes a lot of sense."
Hearing Bingtang's praise, Four Leaves smiled too.
Although she seemed steadier and quieter than Six Leaves, Four Leaves was still a child, after all. A single word of praise from Bingtang left her barely able to hide her happiness.
"We'll do as Four Leaves suggested and make the park our final destination. We can warn the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau there, and that will wrap things up perfectly."
Clapping her hands, Bingtang looked around at the other three girls. "Any other questions?"
When all three shook their heads, Bingtang smiled lightly. "Good, then it's settled. I'll tell the sect master the plan."
She picked up her phone and sent him the route. Jiang Si replied immediately.
Bingtang stared at the message for quite a while before Yumo asked quietly beside her, "What is it, Lady Bingtang?"
Rubbing her forehead, Bingtang wore a complicated expression. "Does anyone go to the gym on a date?"
The three girls looked at one another.
"Never heard of it."
"Never seen it..."
"How do you have a date at a gym? There isn't any yummy food, is there?"
With a bitter smile, Bingtang put down her phone, her voice taking on a resentful edge. "The sect master says he wants to go to the gym for his date."
"A gym is p-pretty nice too," Yumo immediately said. "Lively."
"The sect master really does march to his own drum..." Four Leaves remarked. "But if the sect master is going on a date, a place like that really would be appropriate, so the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau won't get suspicious."
Hearing Four Leaves's words, Yumo nodded immediately.
Though somewhat reluctant, Bingtang still added a gym to the route.
"That's that, then. Once Blue Flower finishes molding Shion, I'll head out first to check things out and make sure there aren't any problems with the route. I can get used to Blue Flower's magic puppet while I'm at it."
In fact, Bingtang had wanted Blue Flower to make one for a long time.
Although Blue Flower's ability was not much use in combat, in everyday life, she could use other magical girls' magic to mold magic puppets identical in form to them. It was extremely useful.
However, making one perfect required a great deal of the other person's magic to fill in the details. Even a perfect magic puppet would gradually break down over time.
The longest one could last was roughly seventy-six hours, but that was under ideal conditions, without moving at all.
Once it moved, its magic would collapse faster. It would be doing well if the puppet could hold out for a day without disappearing.
So, although Bingtang really wanted Blue Flower to make one, she knew there was little point. Having Jiang Si expend a vast amount of magic to make a false body to keep her company was really a little too pathetic...
But since she had a legitimate reason this time, she could not let it slip by.
Besides, she could even use Shion's magic puppet body to go on a date with Jiang Si...
"Wait, Lady Bingtang."
Unexpectedly, Yumo suddenly raised her head and called out to stop her, standing up as well. "The sect master never said Lady Bingtang should be the one to use the magic puppet, did he?"
The conference room fell silent for an instant. Bingtang narrowed her eyes. "Oh? Do you have an objection, Yumo?"
Though she exuded pressure that would normally have made Yumo curl into a ball long ago, this time, from somewhere, Yumo found the courage. Hugging her stuffed rabbit tightly, she squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to look at Bingtang. "I-I want to use the magic puppet to go on a date with the sect master too!"
Before Bingtang could reply, Six Leaves suddenly jumped up and raised her hand. "Me too, me too!"
Four Leaves knocked her younger sister hard on the forehead, bringing tears to Six Leaves's eyes, then pulled her back and pressed her into her seat. "Don't make trouble!"
She did not want to draw the flames onto herself...
Looking at Yumo, whose whole body was trembling slightly but who still refused to back down, Bingtang smiled faintly. "Fine. Then we'll compete fairly. Sect rules: when there's a dispute, choose any of the hundred arts of immortal cultivation and settle the winner."
After some thought, Bingtang pointed outside at a somewhat dilapidated little pond, where a few malnourished fish fry swam. "We'll fish for fortune in the Fortune Pool. Whoever catches one first wins. How about it?"
Yumo immediately sighed in relief and secretly opened her eyes to glance at Bingtang. Only after confirming that Lady Bingtang was not angry did she say with a determined expression, "I'll definitely win!"
In the pitch-black night, in the woods on North Street in BH City.
A Calamity Beast that was not particularly large had been pierced through the body, and the Grief Seed inside it had been forcibly ripped out.
It now lay on the ground, its body gradually disintegrating.
Jiang Si washed his hands in a small river nearby.
Dealing with small D-rank Calamity Beasts like this basically no longer required transforming. He only needed to borrow a little magic to break through their defenses, then dig out the Grief Seed to finish them off.
In fact, he could suppress low-ranking Calamity Beasts like this even without borrowing magic. It was just too difficult to break through their defenses without it.
He had tried before, beating a C-rank Calamity Beast for six whole hours. By the time Jiang Si himself was growing exhausted and even starting to be suppressed by the beast in turn, the creature still showed no sign of dying.
Only by using magic to break through their defenses could he kill Calamity Beasts completely.
No matter what, beings composed of magic were ultimately beyond the ability of flesh and blood to kill. Even heavy firepower could not kill Calamity Beasts. Otherwise, there would be no need to have magical girls specifically deal with them.
Having washed his hands clean, he looked at the Grief Seed he had dug out of the Calamity Beast.
It contained very little magic, but he had not come looking for a Calamity Beast with abundant magic in the first place.
Even in the middle of the night, if a large Calamity Beast appeared, magical girls from either the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau or the Azure Cloud Sect would quickly arrive to handle it. At that point, it would be difficult to deal with things without transforming.
Using the Miracle Seed's magic, he drew the polluted magic out of the Grief Seed, then let it seep into his skin.
He closed his eyes, recalling Du Juan, that member of the Witch Association.
She had let magic seep into her flesh and blood, and had clearly used polluted magic to strengthen her body. She had also gained the ability to fly.
In other words, using polluted magic to strengthen the flesh was also a viable path.
The Witch Association members he had encountered before had all been ordinary people beginning to turn into Calamity Beasts, or fallen magical girls. This was his first time seeing a Witch Association member manipulate polluted magic with her flesh-and-blood body.
Although he could tell at a glance that there were all sorts of limitations and that her strength was not great, falling far short of her magical girl form.
Still, Jiang Si only needed that possibility.
Polluted magic roamed through his finger as he tried to imitate Du Juan, letting the magic seep into his flesh and blood, and even his marrow and nerves.
Yet his entire finger rapidly began to mutate.
First it swelled, then its flesh twisted amid the polluted magic. The magic kept prying up his fingernail, peeling it back and tearing at his flesh.
Purple flames instantly engulfed his entire finger.
When the flames dispersed, his whole finger was somewhat mangled, but at least the mutation had stopped. Then he took gauze from his pocket and wrapped the injured finger.
Unfortunately, it seemed using Calamity Beast magic to strengthen the body was not so simple.
Still, this was hardly the first or second time. He had experimented many times and had long known that the prospects were poor. This time, seeing the Witch Association's success had piqued his interest, so he had come out to find a low-ranking Calamity Beast and experiment again.
Sadly, his wisdom alone could not successfully uncover a path of body tempering through polluted magic.
But that was all right. Jiang Si knew well that the paths in this world were countless and vastly different, their mysteries and wonders not easily fathomed in a short time.
After all, even heaven-gifted protagonists in webnovels needed opportunities to acquire cultivation methods, or instruction from a master, before they could comprehend and enter such side paths as formations, pill refining, beast taming, and talismans. Few understood them on their own.
And the Witch Association was his great opportunity, one that could guide him toward understanding how to use polluted magic.
Throwing away the Grief Seed, which had shattered from the conflict between the magic powers, Jiang Si headed home.
Tomorrow, he still had to control Shion's magic puppet to stage a date. Even he needed some rest and preparation to divide his attention between two tasks.
Otherwise, the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau might easily notice something amiss.