Li Fei opened her eyes to a ceiling composed of enormous mirrors.
This place… looked oddly familiar.
"You're awake."
A warm, magnetic voice reached her ear — husky, with a hint of something smoky.
That line… also felt strangely familiar.
She turned her head, joints stiff. The woman who had left such a deep impression despite their single meeting came into view. Li Fei's gaze drifted downward — and sure enough, the expanse of those round, snow-white thighs was covered in writing.
Oh no. This is Bai Mansion.
Li Fei instinctively reached under the covers to check herself.
Nothing. She was bare.
"Ugh…"
In an instant, her pupils lost all light. She looked like a bride who had woken in the bridal chamber, only to find that lying beside her wasn't the adored young lady of her dreams — but two mothers-in-law and several dozen maids.
Tears began to fall.
Farewell, my innocence.
Lady Annie, Zhihua, Teacher Melodia… I'm sorry. I'm not pure anymore.
Apparently having guessed Li Fei's train of thought, Kalida smiled with mischievous delight:
"Don't panic. If you get too emotional, it might affect our child."
???
A child?
Impossible!
Bai Mengtian had severed her Red Dragon for her — without a medicinal restorative or a Transcendent's natural regeneration, she couldn't even have her monthly cycle, let alone conceive!
Oh, right. She was a Witch now. And Bai Mansion would never lack for medicine…
Li Fei's eyes went blank. Her voice trembled: "H-how many months…?"
Hm?
She's this gullible? The side effects from the soul damage really are showing…
Kalida had been planning to tease her a little longer, but the sound of rapid footsteps interrupted her — and then a wave of perfume swept across the room.
"Fei-bao!"
Bai Mengtian launched herself at Li Fei in textbook diving form. Thanks to the [Empathy] effect, the astounding elasticity of four generous curves sent Bai Mengtian's body bouncing nearly ten centimeters into the air before she dropped back down.
"Ow…"
Li Fei let out a startled cry, then grabbed Bai Mengtian's face in both hands, eyes shimmering: "You — did you — to me — did you…"
Bai Mengtian's pitch-black eyes rolled with lazy mischief. The corner of her mouth curled up with absolute, righteous confidence:
"Of course! And I took lots of photos."
Li Fei went pale — but then something clicked, and her intelligence reclaimed its throne.
She furrowed her brow, her tone turning serious:
"What happened to me? Are Zhihua and the others alright?"
"They're fine, they're fine."
Bai Mengtian kicked off her shoes, wriggled her warm, soft, silk-clad feet, burrowed under the covers, and found a comfortable position nestled against Li Fei before answering:
"You were unconscious for nearly a week. Once I finished repairing the teleportation corridor, I brought everyone back."
"Your soul took serious damage. I repaired it — but, well… the soul is an extraordinarily complex thing. A perfect repair requires deep, meticulous work, and that inevitably brushes against your memories. Since I deliberately avoided the memory region, there's a lingering 'soul imbalance' aftereffect."
"The aftereffects aren't that serious, honestly — just intermittent dulling of the mind, occasional drowsiness, coughing up a little blood, that sort of thing. And a Transcendent's soul has a natural self-healing function, so… barring complications, the symptoms should ease within a year or so. If you advance your Sequence in the meantime, the recovery will be even faster."
"Of course, if you don't mind me seeing your memories, I could fix it properly in one go."
"I'll heal on my own!"
Li Fei didn't hesitate for a single second.
Absolutely not. The number of times she had used Bai Mengtian as a prop during her off-hours self-entertainment sessions — if those memories got exposed, their friendship was finished.
And that wasn't even counting the System — the most earth-shattering secret she had.
"Keep your hands to yourself."
Li Fei puffed her cheeks and swatted Bai Mengtian's wandering little claws away. "I'm hungry."
"Fine."
Bai Mengtian rolled out of bed and tossed her a white silk sleeping robe.
Li Fei slipped it on, smiled at Kalida in farewell, and padded barefoot across the soft, warm Phoenix-down carpet. She passed through a long corridor lined on both sides with maids, and arrived at the resplendent dining hall.
At one end of the long dining table sat two steaming bowls of noodles, garnished with scallions and topped with double-yolk fried eggs that looked gloriously golden and crispy. Alongside them were vibrant red-and-green pickled vegetables and braised sides with a rich eastern character — not lavish by any grand measure, but Li Fei was already salivating.
She rushed to her seat. Before she could even pick up her chopsticks, several breathtakingly beautiful ladies drifted over, smiling with coy, suggestive intent. They swept their long hair aside, bent at the waist, and prepared to duck under the table. Li Fei knew perfectly well what they had in mind, and hurried to wave them off:
"Please, ladies, not necessary — I'm just here to eat…"
The beauties shrugged their elegant disappointment, then dispersed with perfect grace, leaving the two of them to their meal undisturbed.
Bai Mengtian had already lifted her bowl and was slurping contentedly. Li Fei — who hadn't eaten in days — dove in without ceremony, biting off half a runny-yolked fried egg in one go, then added a splash of vinegar and a lethal quantity of chili oil to the broth, gave it a quick stir, and attacked the noodles with vigorous, unrestrained appetite.
The broth was rich and savory, the noodles springy and firm. In almost no time at all, the bowl was empty.
Li Fei wiped a light sheen of sweat from her forehead, set down her chopsticks with a satisfied sigh — and then remembered: she was a distinguished Transcendent now!
No need to worry about getting fat!
"Another bowl… no, make it two."
Paired with sweet roast duck, crispy duck intestines, and spicy red-dressed vegetables, and under the warmly indulgent gazes of the maids, Li Fei proceeded to inhale enough noodles to fill three grown men, plus roughly two catties' worth of sides, before finally collapsing against her chair in a blissful sprawl and letting out a heartfelt sigh:
"Authentic."
A thoughtful maid produced a cigarette and lit a match for her. Li Fei closed her eyes in contentment, and all the psychological pressure left over from the desperate battle on Turtle Island floated away with the curling smoke.
Bai Mengtian plucked the cigarette from between Li Fei's fingers, her voice languid and unhurried through the haze:
"Just say what's on your mind. It's only us here."
"Tell me about Witches."
"Witches, hm…"
Bai Mengtian curved her lips, apparently recalling something entertaining. "Witches are an extraordinarily powerful and unique Class… Beauty, wickedness, and solidarity — those are traits all Witches share. The deeper one develops the Witch Class, the more pronounced those traits become… Do you know what a Lineage is?"
"No."
Li Fei, abandoning all pretense of decorum, scooted her chair until it bumped against Bai Mengtian's, rested her head on Bai Mengtian's shoulder, took hold of her wrist, and bit down on the cigarette — still warm and faintly damp — tilting her head back so the warm exhalation of smoke and breath drifted directly against Bai Mengtian's neck.
The maid watching this scene of exquisite, decadent, dangerous beauty quietly pressed her hand over her own nose and mouth.
"Nicole's really not a great teacher, is she?"
Bai Mengtian gave a soft laugh. "A Lineage can be understood roughly as a kind of additional, extraordinarily high-potential Class. Certain skills and items can only be mastered by those who possess the corresponding Lineage; certain Innate Talents and Specializations can only awaken if you have one… Take Grace, for example — she possesses the Chaos Marksman Lineage. Its defining trait is, roughly, 'the luckier you are, the stronger you become.' Then there's the daughter of the Mercenary Guild's leader — Leona — whose Lineage is 'Spirit of Ash,' tying her combat power directly to her Charisma…"
"As a general rule, Lineages are unique — powerful, exceedingly rare, and obtainable only by satisfying very strict conditions. That means almost every Transcendent who possesses a Lineage can be considered the protagonist of their own story. Absurdly blessed by Fortune, extraordinarily talented, or both."
Li Fei immediately recalled Grace's devastatingly powerful archery, and that other woman who radiated an air of elegant lethality. She finally understood why Leona insisted on wearing black stockings and red heels even into battle.
That's incredible. If only I had a Lineage like that… wouldn't I be practically invincible?
"But what makes Witches truly special," Bai Mengtian continued, "is that a Witch is simultaneously a Class, a Lineage, and a bloodline. Imagine a cohort of beautiful, depraved, aggressively fanatical Witch-supremacist madwomen — every one of them a protagonist in her own right — all gathered into a single Witch faction… You know how the countless peoples of Enlos form the Six Great Factions? Well — sooner or later, the Witches will have the strength, as a single clan, to become the Seventh."
Are we Witches really that impressive?
Li Fei's eyes lit up. In her excitement she coughed up two mouthfuls of blood in rapid succession — and then her face crumpled.
Bai Mengtian snorted with poorly concealed glee:
"Don't worry. A Witch's survival capabilities are even greater than a warrior's. High-Sequence Witches can regenerate severed limbs without breaking a sweat. A little blood is nothing."
She produced a ruby and held it out. "Keep this on you at all times. When the aftereffects flare up, this gem will glow."
"Ugh, I've never lost this much blood during my own cycle…" Li Fei muttered darkly, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
"One more thing — don't let anyone know your Class."
Bai Mengtian's expression turned slyly serious. "Nicole personally participated in multiple operations to suppress and exterminate Witches, and beyond her, there are many who have sworn undying enmity to Witches — people who would gladly die alongside a Witch if it meant taking one down, even in the middle of a city."
"I know, I know."
Li Fei yawned — and then several small fairies came fluttering into the room.
Apparently, the Nature Goddess had not let her unconsciousness go to waste, and had continued producing daughters at her usual diligent pace.
Li Fei rallied herself with a smile and gathered her daughters into her arms. Then Bai Mengtian's voice reached her:
"I brought Li Yue's body back — ah, the name was told to me by Miss Zhihua… She lost her head, but with Maria's abilities, resurrection is possible."
Li Fei's smile faded. Her mind returned to that image of the sacred, radiant priestess who had allowed her to cultivate and grow — and to the tiny fairy who had flown straight into the flame.
The mother with a Morality score of -17 immediately began calculating how to sacrifice herself to save her daughter.
Looks like I need to secure the Priestess first. Otherwise I can't afford the resurrection fee…
No, wait — even for a high-Sequence life-aligned mage, resurrection exacts a heavy price. If the Priestess would genuinely follow my lead, I'd be better off just opening a clinic and offering paid resurrection services. Using her miraculous spells on one little fairy seems rather wasteful…
Just as Li Fei was wrestling with this dilemma, Bai Mengtian added as an afterthought:
"Oh, I also converted her soul into a Wraith."
Before the words had fully landed, a small, semi-translucent fairy peeked out from behind the door. That timid, frightened little expression nearly melted Li Fei's heart on the spot.
"Come here. Let Mama hold you."
Li Fei opened her arms, and Li Yue broke into a brilliant smile and came drifting toward her mother.
At Sequence 7, a Wraith already possessed the ability to float — yet Li Yue still kept her old habits from life, her nearly translucent butterfly wings beating with gentle persistence.
The touch was cool and soft — like a dollop of fruit jelly just taken from the refrigerator.
Truly my most beloved, my dearest friend, my sister in arms… I'm almost tempted to give myself to her entirely.
Li Fei turned a deeply moved gaze on Bai Mengtian. Sensing the moment was ripe, Bai Mengtian pressed her advantage:
"And there's one more piece of good news."
"Congratulations — you're going to be a grandmother."
Li Fei: ???
A tall, Blood Clan woman in a Constable's uniform walked over, visibly nervous and flushed. She took hold of a fairy's hand and bowed her head demurely:
"Mama, I will take full responsibility for her."
Li Fei: …
The smile on the virgin mother's face slowly disappeared. A vein pulsed at her temple. She pressed the lit cigarette against her best friend's silk stocking — a quiet, precise little sizzle — and said coldly:
"They are my daughters. They are also your nieces… You kept them at your mansion for a few days, and this is what happened? Is this how you look after your nieces?"
"Well — your daughter is quite spirited, you see. She flew out of Bai Mansion on her own, and Sofia — following her principle of service to the public — personally escorted the lost little fairy home, and then, somehow, one thing led to…"
Bai Mengtian laughed sheepishly and launched into a string of words that made very little sense: something about "love at first sight," something about "free love," and so on.
But the predatory gleam in Li Fei's eyes only intensified.
They had been born less than a week ago!!!
You — Constable officers, guardians of the people, paragons of justice — you're this fast?!
Huh?!
Is there no law? Is there no decency?!
"BAI MENGTIAN! I am going to strangle you!!!"
A shriek rang out from somewhere deep within Bai Mansion.
...
Four days earlier.
Qin Zhihua stood before the familiar apothecary storefront, a look of exhaustion on her face, as though she were returning from another lifetime.
She recalled Old Jiang's gentle smile, and everything she and Li Fei had lived through in these past days — it all felt like a dream she couldn't shake free of.
"Miss…"
Su Ling'er took Qin Zhihua's hand with worried tenderness, feeling the dampness on her palm.
"Zhihua, you're finally back — I've been worried sick."
A graceful, elegant woman suddenly emerged from Qin's Apothecary and came hurrying over. Faint shadows lingered beneath her eyes — clearly, the upheaval in Viranean had left her sleepless for days.
"I'm fine."
Qin Zhihua forced a smile.
"Come inside, quickly."
The woman took Qin Zhihua's arm and guided her in with a warm, chattering cheer: "Every day these past few days, I've been in the kitchen making a big pot of sweet-and-sour pork ribs. You loved them so much as a little girl…"
"Sister-in-law is too kind."
Qin Zhihua's shoulders relaxed a little, her smile softening.
They went upstairs. The table was covered in exquisite dishes, and there was a carafe of wine beside them.
"Have a drink or two with me tonight, rest for a few days — don't worry about the shop for now…"
The sister-in-law's voice trailed away, because Qin Zhihua had gone very still. The smile was gone from her face.
The sister-in-law followed Qin Zhihua's gaze through the window, down to the shallow hollow in the back courtyard.
The oak tree that should have been growing strong was gone. Only a few withered, yellowed leaves lay dead in the pit.
"Did Zhihua plant that oak tree herself?"
The sister-in-law smiled. "One of the servants was clumsy and accidentally ruined it… But I remember Zhihua always preferred chrysanthemums? I've already asked someone to plant some for you — by autumn, the whole courtyard will be fragrant."
"And, Zhihua — don't think your sister-in-law is nagging, but a young lady's reputation is more precious than her life. You really should stop seeing that entertainer girl. If word gets around and the Kong family becomes displeased…"
"I already have someone I love."
Qin Zhihua said it suddenly, cutting her sister-in-law off mid-sentence.
The woman stared at her — this quiet, gentle, well-bred girl she had known since childhood — and forced a laugh:
"Zhihua must be shaken from all she's been through. But you mustn't say things like that carelessly — if someone were to hear…"
"I already have someone I love."
Qin Zhihua shook her head slowly and gently removed her sister-in-law's hand.
"Zhihua, your betrothal to the Kong heir is a perfect match. The union of the Qin and Kong families would be a marriage of equals — a power that could sway the court itself."
The sister-in-law's face hardened, and a pressure that was soft yet unmistakable settled over her words: "Your family has placed all their hopes in you. How could you defy your parents' arrangements, the match made through a proper matchmaker — all for the sake of some woman of the pleasure quarters?"
"I already have someone I love."
Qin Zhihua — who had always been meek and deferential before her elders — now held her ground with a quiet, stubborn fire. Her voice climbed higher with each word:
"I already have — someone I love!"
"Enough. Not a word of what you've said today will reach anyone else's ears."
The sister-in-law's expression turned cold. "Su Ling'er — take your mistress to her room to rest."
When Su Ling'er only lowered her eyes and didn't move, the sister-in-law's face tightened. She stepped forward and seized Qin Zhihua's wrist:
"Do you have any idea what the family head would do if I brought this to him? Do not ruin yourself!"
Qin Zhihua wrenched her wrist free. Her breathing came in short, sharp bursts. Tears were shining in her eyes:
"I already have someone I love!"
"I already have! Someone I love!"
"I! Already have someone I love!"
"I! I already have! Someone I love!"
Tears spilled down her face in a steady stream. The bird in the cage threw herself against the door again and again — desperate, breathless, her voice cracking and breaking as the same words rang out over and over, each one louder than the last.
____
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