"You know, there's a possibility — just a possibility — that instead of breaking the window, we could have opened it first and then flown out."
The courtesan queen planted both hands on her hips and delivered a thorough scolding to her companion.
"Mm."
The reckless little angel accepted the criticism with humble sincerity.
"Hmph. But it's everyone's first time skipping work, so a little slip-up is perfectly normal."
Li Fei's expression shifted quickly from storm to sunshine. She looped her arm through Chloe's and led her into a treasure trove of a women's clothing boutique that her sisters at the tavern had recommended.
It was common knowledge that angels could conceal their wings and halos — they simply didn't like doing it. It wasn't difficult, but it produced a sensation roughly equivalent to having your hair yanked into a tight high ponytail: tolerable for a short while, unbearable over time. Besides, wings were an angel's natural weapons in both battle and courtship, and a proud high-ranking race had absolutely no intention of hiding what made them superior.
Still, for the sake of shopping for the perfect dress with someone important, tucking them away for a little while was no great sacrifice.
"Chloe really is a born clothes hanger, isn't she."
Li Fei finished knotting the black necktie at Chloe's collar, stepped back to survey the result, and couldn't help but clap her hands in admiration.
A figure that put supermodels to shame, paired with a flawless face — the combination meant that Chloe looked fashionable and stunning in absolutely everything. Even something as simple as the Makima-inspired look of a crisp white button-down, black tie, and tailored trousers was blazingly beautiful on her, with a dash of sharp, commanding elegance.
Li Fei casually picked up a pair of gold-wire spectacles, swept the long hair back from Chloe's ear, and settled them into place. Paired with that naturally reserved, expressionless face, the effect was startling — she looked exactly like the archetypal "refined scoundrel": outwardly distinguished, inwardly dangerous.
"Very nice. Not quite as good as the dress just now, but… what do you think?"
Faced with Li Fei's question, Chloe turned to look at the slightly unfamiliar reflection in the full-length mirror beside her. A flicker of confusion passed through those golden eyes. Then, after a moment, she gave a small nod.
"Then we're buying this one too."
The courtesan queen snapped her fingers, took a quick photo, and then pulled Chloe into the fitting room.
Originally she had only intended to buy one dress. But the feeling of personally dressing the little angel was simply too enjoyable — it was like a small, insignificant human playing with a tall, noble angel doll… ah, no, like a little girl dressing up a life-sized super-luxury doll. And so Li Fei found herself feeling uncharacteristically generous.
In the end, Chloe changed back into the grey-white full-length gown that read as "half angel, half succubus." The left side was poised and proper, carrying a quietly elegant beauty; but following the diagonal neckline, the right side gave way to a bare shoulder and a high slit, revealing exquisitely pale collarbones and the faintest glimpse of those impossibly long legs — a testament to her race's natural advantages. It earned Li Fei's highest possible rating.
"Hmph. Changing clothes in the same room is a required course in any true friendship, you know."
The courtesan queen made no move to leave the fitting room. Instead, she produced a small list she had dashed off earlier, and struck through "go clothes shopping together" and "change in the same room" in quick succession.
"This is the "Friendship Cultivation Handbook" — it contains 99 things that true sisters do together."
Li Fei handed over the pink notepad printed with little hearts on the cover and smiled warmly. "Once we finish this list…"
"We'll be friends?"
The little angel's voice held a note of hopeful anticipation.
"Non non, darling~"
Li Fei wagged her index finger with a smile that reached her eyes. "We already are. Finishing the list is how we become best friends."
Chloe was quiet for a moment. Then, carefully, she extended one index finger of her own:
"Then… does this count too?"
"Hm?"
Li Fei's eyes flicked to the pale, luminous fingertip hovering toward her lips. On pure reflex — and with practiced ease — her soft pink lips parted.
The fingertip slipped in, gentle yet tentative, into the warm, faintly damp space within. Taking full advantage of a reach that most human women couldn't hope to match, it gave her throat a small, exploratory poke.
——Margaretkins, and this is supposed to be an airtight Magic Academy? You can't even block Petrification-level peeping? Or is Chloe just… a special case…
Li Fei snapped back to attention immediately.
Apparently, the sheltered and naïve little angel had encountered one too many precious intimate moments between others rather too early in life.
The courtesan queen pressed her lips firmly shut, cheeks puffing out, and fixed Chloe with a pointed stare.
After leaving a neat set of tooth marks, Li Fei raised a hand and ruffled Chloe's hair:
"Good girl, don't pick up habits like that."
"Mm…"
Chloe felt inexplicably deflated. She couldn't understand why that full, pleasant warmth that had bloomed inside her had suddenly vanished, leaving behind a sensation like her heart slowly sinking.
Clearly, Li Fei had no intention of exploiting the little angel's innocence to trick her into bearing her a child. Not that the outcome was in any doubt — the little angel was fated regardless, destined sooner or later to be carrying a human woman's baby. All the more reason to use cheap, low-grade deceptions as sparingly as possible. It simply wasn't befitting of the courtesan queen's caliber.
"But good girls deserve candy too."
The courtesan queen smiled, circled an arm around the back of Chloe's neck, tilted her head up, closed her eyes, puckered her lips, and rose onto her tiptoes.
As the item "kiss on the cheek" was crossed off the list, that full, blissful warmth flooded back into Chloe's heart — so much so it nearly spilled over.
"Once we finish all ninety-nine… we can do some even more interesting things…"
The ambiguous whisper lingered in the air. Then the courtesan queen demonstrated the fundamental technique of any seasoned player — the classic "catch and release, seven times over" — and pivoted smoothly, flashing a bright, sunny smile. She laced her fingers through Chloe's and stepped out of the fitting room, calling out cheerfully:
"We're paying."
...
By the time ninety items remained on the friendship list, Li Fei had wrapped up her work for the evening on the early side.
Back at the tavern, the courtesan queen leveraged Lady Gneia's fondness for her — a little pouting and coquettish pleading later — and got the window replacement fee waived entirely. Not that any of the other girls would have been charged either, if she was being honest. Li Fei knew better than anyone how much connections mattered. Gneia, as the tavern's boss, was no fool herself: a Vice Dean of the War Academy who willingly smashed through a window and bolted with her sisters — that kind of goodwill was worth far more than the price of a pane of glass.
In fact, Lady Gneia had already arrived at a rather significant conclusion: if the Witch Coven had a few more public relations talents of the courtesan queen's caliber, it might not be many years at all before the Coven could openly challenge the six major factions on equal footing…
After purchasing some mana crystals from her sisters in the lounge and exchanging them for Witch Coven points, Li Fei headed home with a fresh set of ritual knowledge and materials in tow.
"Young Mistress."
Greeted by the chorus of fairy voices, Li Fei kicked off her heels and stepped onto the soft carpet, her tired feet sinking gratefully into the cushioned warmth.
Qin Zhihua's long hair was draped loose over her shoulders, still faintly damp, and she wore a plain sleeping robe — she had clearly already bathed. Never mind that she had long since developed a constitution that produced no grime; she still kept the nightly habit of soaking in the wooden tub before bed.
She was in the middle of teaching Su Ling'er something. At the sight of Li Fei coming home, Su Ling'er — looking rather pained — threw her a desperate plea for rescue with her eyes.
"Zhihua-jie~ It's so late, aren't you going to rest?"
Li Fei walked over and looped her arms around Qin Zhihua's neck, pressing her nose into the slightly damp hair and breathing in its fragrance.
"Eat first. Your bath is ready."
Qin Zhihua reached up to pat Li Fei's face, but showed no sign of getting up.
Throwing Su Ling'er a sympathetic "I can't help you" look, Li Fei buried herself in her bowl of rice, then retreated to the bathroom.
The oversized wooden tub steamed with fragrant heat. Qin Zhihua had prepared it herself, blending her own custom medicinal formula into the water; flower petals drifted across the surface, making it look like a carefully brewed pot of floral tea.
The fairies helped her undress. Li Fei tested the temperature with one toe, let her skin slowly adjust to the heat, and then eased herself in completely, closing her eyes to savor the deep satisfaction of warmth seeping through every layer of her body.
The medicinal soak was already taking effect. According to the cascade of benefits listed on her System Panel, basic fatigue relief was the least of it: if an ordinary human woman kept this up for a few years, not only would her Charisma Attribute climb by an entire tier, but it would nourish her blood and qi, strengthen her immune system, and extend her lifespan.
Beyond that, this particular formula also possessed an exceptionally potent fortifying and consolidating effect — essentially Serpent Woman's Scales: Plus Edition. Used regularly, it could coat a Glass Cannon with a proper protective layer, so she wouldn't shatter at the first touch. How wonderful. Truly, how wonderful.
"Some of these effects are completely useless to me, though…"
The thought had barely formed when two hands settled on her shoulders and began gently working her acupoints with a precise, practiced massage. She didn't need to open her eyes to know it was Qin Zhihua. Li Fei leaned back against the edge of the tub and let out a contented hum.
Then a second pair of softer hands joined in, touching lightly at her neck — slightly cool.
Hm?
Li Fei opened her eyes to find Su Ling'er, face flushed, carefully and nervously searching out one acupoint after another under Qin Zhihua's quiet guidance. Her technique was still a bit clumsy.
"Zhihua-jie, are you planning to take Ling'er as your personal disciple?"
Li Fei laughed.
"Yes. But it's not only that."
Qin Zhihua, now fully inhabiting her Head Madam mode, replied with perfect composure: "Ling'er will come with me when I marry."
Su Ling'er's face turned even redder.
Qin Zhihua had spoken with her privately, making clear she was offering Su Ling'er a choice.
And Su Ling'er, as if possessed, had said yes.
Really, though — who could possibly refuse the prospect of attending personally upon an incomparably beautiful young madam and mistress of the house?
"Ah, well…"
Li Fei understood the implication instantly. Words like "chamber attendant" and "bedwarmer" floated up in her mind. "That's… not entirely appropriate, is it?"
Then, caught in Qin Zhihua's all-seeing gaze, Li Fei slowly sank lower in the tub until half her face was submerged, blowing a lazy stream of bubbles. She underwent a fierce internal debate that lasted approximately two full seconds.
——I am a proud champion of twenty-first-century feminism, and feudal thinking is my sworn enemy!
——Wait. The "young madam" in question is me? Then never mind.
She surfaced, grinned sheepishly, and said: "But… it's not like I'm against it, either."
Hearing Li Fei agree, Su Ling'er's heartbeat kicked into overdrive, her mind going nearly blank.
Despite having grown up steeped in feudal ideas since childhood.
Despite having taken first place in that initial short sprint.
Despite having already steeled herself for a lifetime of running alongside the person she loved on a different track — one with no finish line.
Qin Zhihua still couldn't help letting out a quiet, private sigh. She reached out with gentle fondness to touch Li Fei's cheek, then produced a thick, tightly rolled bundle of fabric.
Unrolled, it revealed a long strip of cloth lined with needles of varying lengths — the sort of thing that looked disturbingly like an instrument of interrogation.
Had she just been lured into a trap?
The courtesan queen went pale, gave a little shudder, and felt her knees go rather weak.
"What on earth are you imagining."
Qin Zhihua swatted her with a mix of exasperation and amusement. "I'm regulating your body."
At that instant, she realized she was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain her usual image around Li Fei — that impeccable, dignified composure she'd always presented to the world.
——But wasn't that… perfectly fine, actually?
Watching that suspicious, guilty little expression cross Li Fei's face, Qin Zhihua finally let the corner of her mouth curve up.
Massage. Acupressure. Acupuncture.
The kind infused with True Qi.
True Qi, gentle as flowing water, moved through her muscles — profoundly, indescribably comfortable. Li Fei could almost faintly sense her internal organs vibrating at some steady frequency; her circulation grew smoother and freer, and even her metabolism seemed to be accelerating.
With a Witch's understanding of the body, Li Fei quietly calculated that if she kept receiving this kind of treatment over time, she might be able to freeload a few attribute points just like that…
As a bonus, this session carried the same fortifying, consolidating effect as Serpent Woman's Scales — making it, officially, a double-layered protective coating.
"Ow!"
Li Fei let out a sudden yelp.
"Oh, I slipped."
Su Ling'er's slightly apologetic voice drifted over.
Qin Zhihua was a master of medicine and possessed formidable martial cultivation — her acupuncture was naturally flawless. But this session also had a distinct teaching element to it…
"Ling'er, that is a fatal acupoint."
Qin Zhihua said gravely: "With anything involving acupoints, there is no margin for even a hair's breadth of error."
"Zhihua-jie, please don't terrify me…"
Li Fei whimpered pitifully.
"It's not serious."
Qin Zhihua pressed the pad of her finger gently over the misplaced spot and rubbed it in small circles. "You do have cultivation to your name, after all, and Ling'er hasn't yet mastered True Qi. At worst, it'll just sting a little."
"Mm…"
Li Fei puffed out her cheeks and began to think.
Su Ling'er, after intensive tutoring from Qin Zhihua — memorizing theoretical knowledge, reciting every acupoint on the human body until she could recite them in her sleep — had still made an error even with a master supervising her hands-on practice.
Which raised an interesting question:
Xiao Huohuo — with shallow cultivation, rough control, no systematic study, no expert guiding her, sneaking into a little girl's room in the middle of the night to "warm and nourish her body" using combat qi of a far more violent and explosive nature — was that actually not attempted murder?
Or perhaps… the wine wasn't the point, and the true goal all along had been tempering… heh heh.
"All the materials you asked for, I've brought back."
Qin Zhihua's soft voice drew back her wandering thoughts.
The treatment was finished. She was carefully and deftly withdrawing the fine needles from Li Fei's skin. She turned to Su Ling'er: "Memorize where each needle was placed. Not a single position can be wrong. The regimen is once every three days — if I'm not free, remember to do it in my place… I'll find a suitable cultivation method for you as soon as I can… Now get some rest."
After wishing a red-faced Su Ling'er good night, Li Fei turned back to Qin Zhihua and gave her the sweetest of smiles:
"Thank you, Zhihua-jie."
"You…"
Once Su Ling'er had left, Qin Zhihua's brow furrowed slightly, her expression turning serious. "Are you preparing for the Ascension Ritual?"
"Mm-hm."
"The things you asked for — at their core, they're all quite sinister in nature…"
Qin Zhihua's voice carried a thread of genuine concern. "You've truly decided to walk this path as a Witch all the way to the end?"
"Yes."
Li Fei nodded, her expression turning equally serious. "I'm sorry, Zhihua-jie. My ties to the Witches run too deep now. There's no turning back."
"Does Bai… know about this?"
"She and the Witches are cut from the same cloth."
"Then that's good. At least you won't have any safety issues in the city."
Qin Zhihua let out a quiet breath of relief, though the feeling in her chest was difficult to name.
Qin Zhihua — the eldest Qin daughter, sharp-witted and long accustomed to the scheming intricacies of inner-household politics — had sensed it from the very first moment the three of them had been in the same room together: the others would always be concubines in the end. But if Bai Mengtian's goodwill ever soured into something else, the situation would be far harder to predict.
Yet whether it had been fleeing to her in desperate straits back in Viranean, or now here in Loxibrook, for Li Fei's safety, she had no choice but to rely on Bai Mengtian's protection.
This unwilling dependence — laced with wariness — lodged in Qin Zhihua like a splinter beneath the skin. Her True Qi surged instinctively through her meridians at full speed, and in that moment a flood of inspiration broke through: another gap in her self-created cultivation method had been filled in.
In that instant, Qin Zhihua understood — from now on, she would need to devote far more effort to her True Qi cultivation. She could not keep entrusting Li Fei's safety entirely to an outsider.
"Also."
Li Fei seized the moment to come clean. "The Sequence 8 Ascension Ritual involves… spreading the Witch's Curse once."
The Witch's Curse — medical name: Witch Dependency Syndrome — was incurable by any known remedy. On the Continent of Enlos, it had earned an infamous reputation. Its most common symptom: weeping as you told your wife, husband, or lover: "I'm sorry… there's no going back now…"
An Ascension Ritual that could only be described as dreadful. The slender silver needle held between Qin Zhihua's fingertips gave the faintest tremor.
"I happen to have access to a Secret Garden…"
Li Fei's heart was hammering. She watched Qin Zhihua's expression with the utmost caution.
Having learned the nature of the Ascension Ritual, the first person to flash through the courtesan queen's mind had been that imperious, classically beautiful lady — all Eastern antiquity and magnificent bearing — the one who had once tried to forcibly separate the lovebirds: Qin Lan.
But out of consideration for Qin Zhihua's feelings, and in the interest of ascending to Sequence 8 as swiftly as possible, Li Fei had no choice but to — temporarily — spare that particular victim.
"Cultivation must not be delayed."
Qin Zhihua gave a nod, her tone going quieter. The force with which she was drawing the needles from Li Fei's skin, however, increased by a tangible and entirely unmistakable degree.
——Zhihua-jie, you are so gentle.
Seeing that Qin Zhihua had tacitly consented, Li Fei breathed a sigh of relief — then, emboldened by affection and pushing her luck further, added: "There's also one more thing…"
"Go ahead."
Qin Zhihua's voice was unreadable.
"Well, there's an exchange event at the Academy — you draw random lots to get matched with two teammates. To build team cohesion, I was thinking of inviting my teammates to stay at our place for a while… Oh, and Grace is one of them — we survived life and death together back on Turtle Island, and somehow by a twist of fate she ended up as my teammate again. Can you believe the coincidence…"
"OW!!!"
A tremendous cry of anguish rang out as a silver needle — carrying a distinctly shark-like intent — landed with surgical precision directly in a fatal acupoint.
Not the longest needle. Which was more than enough to prove the extent of Qin Zhihua's love and tenderness.
____
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