"What's so impressive about that? For me, at least finding someone anywhere in Heixia isn't difficult at all."
Li Wei softly closed her novel, crossed her legs with a graceful stretch, and let out a light yawn. Perhaps she meant to subtly show off her alluring curves, yet she deliberately avoided Lin Xiu's gaze.
A witch's shyness always slips out inadvertently, blooming like an epiphyllum's fleeting beauty.
"Since you have that kind of ability, why not expose them? At least the police in the First Ring are armed security; they surely have ways to deal with them."
"I knew it, you still don't understand Heixia City's administrative system," Li Wei said, rising to walk over to the washbasin and looking straight into his eyes.
"Could it be... birds of a feather?"
It had to be. "Yuyu Yiyi" and "Heixia Special Security" were merely two sides of the same coin—one black, one white.
"Not bad, you catch on quickly. As expected, the people I take an interest in are smart."
Though Lin Xiu didn't quite grasp what she meant by "take an interest in," hearing it from her lips certainly boosted his spirits.
"In that case, it looks like this is going to be a tough fight... But neither Li Wei nor I know any magic... Doesn't this feel a bit like biting off more than we can chew?"
"That's true... But I'm still bringing quite a few weapons."
The Pupil Master and the Witch deceived each other, pretending to be ordinary humans. For a witch who already knew the truth to play along with the charade was perhaps a unique "romance" between the magical and pupil-bearing races.
The "weapons" Li Wei spoke of looked like ordinary short blades on the outside, but were actually "tools" capable of concealing magic.
"It seems our young lady is quite confident."
"Didn't I tell you not to call me young lady? It makes me sound like some good-for-nothing who only cares about money..."
"I'm sorry, Li Wei."
***
After finishing breakfast, the two hailed a cab and headed straight for the cluster of commercial buildings in downtown Heixia.
At ten in the morning, the city center was a rush of hurried crowds, with high-rises standing shoulder to shoulder. Even though Lin Xiu knew they were sharp blades, he couldn't deny this was modern art.
The intermittent blinking traffic lights looked like flickering chemical instruments, and the cold wind blowing in through the car window acted as an intoxicating catalyst, sparking a faint flame between the two who should have had no reaction to each other at all.
As for why the window was open—
The car's heating system was acting up, and for ventilation, the driver had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure, offering an apologetic sigh.
"It's... it's so cold..."
The words spoken by the already icy witch seemed to make even Lin Xiu, who usually paid no mind to temperature, feel the chill.
"Hiss... Should've... worn more clothes."
Lin Xiu pulled the zipper of his blue-and-black jacket all the way up past his neck, huddling into himself.
Li Wei tried to cover her exposed thighs with the hem of her short skirt, but even her white tights could hardly fend off the biting wind.
"Winter is almost here, you'd be better off wearing thick pants," the boy said, glancing at the slightly uncomfortable girl before rolling up the window.
"I don't like bulky pants. This outfit fits my style."
Not only because it was loose and free, but adolescent girls always harbor a desire to display their feminine charm, whether consciously or not.
Looking just as she had when they first met, Li Wei was dressed much like a budding white rose—an adorable style the boy greatly liked.
With a smile, Lin Xiu pulled a square cloth pouch from his pocket and handed it to the girl, who was rubbing her hands together.
"Here, hold this and you won't be cold. Any colder and my poor jacket's going to suffer..."
For a witch, warming herself up was as simple as casting a spell. Yet she gazed into the boy's eyes for a second, then stared down at the square object for another.
It was a hand warmer.
And so, she chose to clutch it tightly.
Not just because she couldn't risk performing magic in front of him and blowing her cover, but because the thing the boy had given her warmed her heart far more than magic ever could.
The answer in the girl's heart—"He" was clearly her own magic, after all.
"So, you're telling me that mob's lair is actually right in the middle of the bustling city center?"
Lin Xiu found it hard to believe.
"Don't rush. Just follow me after we get out of the car, and you'll understand."
Though she spoke quite naturally.
The boy still felt this wasn't a good omen, and feared a sudden emergency might pop up at any moment.
Holding the hand warmer, Li Wei pulled several "short blades" from her portable bag.
Call them weapons, but they were really just "controlled cutting tools" that might come in handy for close combat.
"Drop your hand a bit, I'll pass you the gear." Li Wei grabbed Lin Xiu's hand, sliding it beneath the seat, and handed him a retractable tri-facet military dager.
"This! It's illegal for us to use something like this... Where did you even get it, Li Wei?"
Lin Xiu stared at the tri-facet military dagger without a strong reaction; instead, he twirled it around as if he were quite familiar with it.
"I've got plenty of channels. Don't worry, I'll handle the logistics, you just use this knife to protect yourself."
"I said I have to resolve this myself. Unless I truly can't manage it—and even if I can't, I don't want you dragged into this, President. The Anna Family's enterprise..."
Of course, business matters were a blank slate to Lin Xiu. He only knew that magic and commerce shouldn't have any intersection, and it was precisely this misunderstanding that temporarily kept him from harboring the slightest suspicion or wariness toward the girl beside him.
"Enterprise... Lin Xiu, do you really understand any of this? What I want to tell you is that Heixia, and even Anmi, are like the surface and inner worlds found in ghost stories.
The moment you decided to seek revenge, I could no longer sit idly by. Because... never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Li Wei herself pulled a folding dagger from her bag, but it looked much more exquisite than the one she had given Lin Xiu, etched with talisman-like patterns near the blood groove on its side.
It was unclear whether it depicted a silver wolf or a crimson tiger.
The hilt was similarly distinctive, configured less like a self-defense weapon for combat and more like a collector's masterpiece of fine ornamentation.
"Anyway, I suppose I've ruined things for you, haven't I? Having to tie yourself down with me, classmate Li Wei. I'm truly sorry, but I didn't have any other choice."
His words were humble, yet his tone was gentle and resolute. He did not beg for the "witch's" forgiveness, nor was he seeking pity—it sprang purely from an instinctive kindness.
"Heavy words don't suit a moment like this. Besides, I don't think tying myself to you is such a bad decision."
To a hunter, being able to hunt other prey alongside the prey itself was an incomparable thrill.
To hunt and be hunted, to be hunted and to hunt—it was a law of nature, and an intertwining of fate.
Li Wei only felt an unprecedented sensation by his side, too indistinct to tell whether it was peace or happiness.
***
After getting out of the car, Li Wei did not head toward the bustling intersections where crowds gathered.
Crossing several streets, the noisy honking and clamor gradually faded away, and the light grew dim, resembling an open-air airtight chamber draped under a layer of dark clouds.
Oppressive, yet not desolate.
The building in front of them was clearly its back, and the alleys the girl had led him through just now were devoid of human footprints.
Then it was time to understand what Li Wei meant.
"The back door isn't the one right in front of you. In this abandoned building that Heixia City has forgotten, the hidden entrance is somewhere you'd never expect."
An "abandoned building" was a term that was neither common nor entirely rare in a modern metropolis. In Heixia, it theoretically would have been bought out long ago, or at the very least demolished and rebuilt.
Yet it had stood here neglected for ages, and the municipal government had never once mentioned it.
Aside from a few inner grumblings, people didn't give it much thought. Everyone had their own lives to worry about; why care about such trivialities?
"It looks just like... the wreckage of an era."
Lin Xiu's words offered a spiritual echo to Li Wei.
It was as if he were saying—"Heixia has no use for discarded trash like this."
"So—Lin Xiu, I'll be right behind you." Li Wei slowly stepped back, her fingers brushing past that obvious back door and pointing toward the most unthinkable corner of the wall.
"Huh?"
An unexpected answer.
Moreover, Lin Xiu finally felt that Li Wei's mysterious background was perhaps far more than something to be brushed past lightly.
Even the young lady of a commercial conglomerate would find it hard to have such a clear grasp of what "Yuyu Yiyi" controlled.
And if she had intentionally investigated, her motives completely defied any explanation based on her identity.
Who—was she?
Lost in thought, Lin Xiu walked into the corner and discovered a cracked fissure.
"Stick the military dagger I gave you into it," Li Wei said softly, while smoothly shifting to the boy's side to take up a protective stance.
Vigilantly guarding against the seemingly distant buildings surrounding them.