Chapter 14: This is the Innate Brick-Moving Physique

"Don't worry, this place is completely enclosed. Even if you scream at the top of your lungs, no one outside will hear you, so there's no need to be so restrained."

Susan picked up the water cup beside her and poured a glass of hot water for Jiang Si. "However, it's still a bit surprising to me that Lord Bingtang recruits men. I thought the Qingyun Sect only had magical girls."

In truth, she wasn't entirely wrong.

But he couldn't explain anything, so Jiang Si simply picked up the cup and took a sip.

He wasn't actually the one managing the Qingyun Sect; Bingtang managed most of the organization's affairs.

Although most people within the sect knew that Ziyuan was the true Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect—and many had even seen her—very few knew that he was Ziyuan's transformed persona.

Similarly, Jiang Si did not know most of the lower-level members.

For instance, this mole from the Disaster Strategy Bureau held a low position within the Qingyun Sect, so there was no way he would have met her.

Jiang Si studied Susan for a moment. "Miss Yinluo said you can no longer transform into a magical girl."

"That is the case within the Disaster Strategy Bureau." Susan's originally cold expression softened slightly. "But Ziyuan and Lord Bingtang have helped me resolve this issue. Lord Ziyuan and Lord Bingtang are the true sanctuary for all magical girls."

As the Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect, Jiang Si—or rather, Ziyuan—rarely appeared in public. However, many knew that Ziyuan was the Sect Leader, and Bingtang made sure to promote this fact.

She also educated them to maintain loyalty and awe toward the Sect Leader.

For Jiang Si, the establishment of the sect was primarily to facilitate his own pursuit of the supreme power that could dominate eternity.

The so-called cultivation sect existed solely to serve him, monopolizing most of the resources in the cultivation world. The value of low-level disciples was to collect resources and funnel them to the high-level practitioners, who would then trickle down a bit of surplus as rewards for their promotion.

It was essentially a system of "promotion driving further promotion."

"Did you steal the Miracle Seed?"

Jiang Si had no intention of discussing the internal affairs of the Qingyun Sect, nor was he interested in how Bingtang had helped her reclaim her magical girl powers. "Ziyuan and Bingtang's mission for you was likely to steal the seed, wasn't it? Did you succeed?"

"Watch your tone." Susan frowned. "Lord Bingtang might not care; she doesn't mind such trivialities. But show more respect to Lord Ziyuan. She is not someone whose name you can call out so casually."

"...Have you met Ziyuan?"

"The Sect Leader is occupied with countless affairs of state. Someone of her status is not someone a minor figure like me can meet. Such trivial matters should not trouble her; Lord Ziyuan considers matters of great importance concerning all magical girls and the safety of the world! The affairs she considers and handles are far beyond the imagination of outer disciples like us. You are not a magical girl, so I will forgive your failure to understand Lord Ziyuan's greatness this once, but there will not be a next time."

Looking at the murderous intent in Susan's eyes, Jiang Si shrugged. "Have you secured the Miracle Seed? Lord Ziyuan and Lord Bingtang sent me to collect it from you."

Titles were ultimately trivial, and Jiang Si didn't want to waste time on such things.

Hearing Jiang Si change his manner of address, Susan's expression softened slightly. "I did indeed receive orders to take the Miracle Seed, and I was fully prepared. According to plan, I should have been able to deliver it this morning."

"Judging by your tone, something went wrong."

Stifling a breath, Susan took a sharp inhale. "I knew the Disaster Strategy Bureau was full of holes, but I didn't realize it was this bad! I discovered traces of the Witch Society. They infiltrated the Bureau and stole the Miracle Seed before I could."

"Is the Disaster Strategy Bureau a public restroom or something?"

Jiang Si couldn't help but press his hand to his forehead. "Were all the Miracle Seeds taken?"

"There were three Miracle Seeds in total in the Bureau, all distributed by the headquarters. To prevent the birth of magical girls from being insufficient and allowing Disaster Beasts to run rampant, these three seeds serve as a safety net, and each possesses the power of full bloom. Under normal circumstances, they aren't used because they cause irreversible damage to a girl's body."

"The Witch Society didn't leave a single one; they stole them all!" A murderous glint appeared on Susan's cold face. "They will absolutely not be spared!"

"Then you'll be the one writing the mission failure report."

The Qingyun Sect operated on a points system. Every failed mission required a detailed post-mortem report and resulted in a deduction of points. Points were tied to salary—yes, the Qingyun Sect paid salaries, and Bingtang handled all the disbursements. Although Jiang Si wished he could call them "sect stipends" and change "points" to "contribution values," Bingtang insisted on the current terminology.

Bingtang claimed she was simply copying the regulations of her own enterprises, following the "ancestral laws." Since she was the one providing the funds, Jiang Si could only yield.

As the Sect Leader, Jiang Si was different from the other disciples; he received no salary.

According to Bingtang, the entire industry belonged to him. If he wanted something, he could take it directly from the sect; if all else failed, he could ask Bingtang, as she wasn't short on money.

But Jiang Si wasn't actually that brazen. The sect's funds were meant to better construct the path toward his own transcendence; depleting the foundation was out of the question.

As for asking Bingtang, that was even less likely. Aside from last year when Keke needed tuition money urgently, he generally disliked borrowing money from Bingtang to avoid owing her a favor.

The Qingyun Sect's pursuit of the path of magical girls was inherently beneficial to Bingtang; whether in terms of increasing her strength or her direction of advancement, the sect provided her with significant help. Her spending within the sect was essentially a mutually beneficial arrangement.

But using her for his personal life was a different matter entirely.

Back when his relatives were chattering incessantly at the funeral, they seemed to be considering the well-being of the siblings and mourning their parents, but in reality, they were just discussing how to divide the family estate.

He had managed to retain half of his parents' inheritance through sheer effort. Three years had passed, and he tried his best not to seek help from his relatives, as favors were expensive.

This led to the family money becoming increasingly insufficient. Whether it was Keke or himself, they both worked part-time jobs during holidays to supplement the household income.

Jiang Si had once asked Bingtang if her company had any job openings, but Bingtang felt that the Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect could not possibly work a job.

Sometimes, communicating with Bingtang was quite difficult.

Hearing that she had to write a failure report, Susan immediately clutched her head. "Lord Ziyuan and Lord Bingtang will surely be disappointed in me... There is still room for salvage in this mission. I don't want to write a failure report so soon."

*Ziyuan isn't even close to you, what is there to be disappointed about?*

Jiang Si took a sip of water. "What's the situation?"

The girl produced a photograph. "The Black Magical Girl, Hyacinth. The third magical girl of the Disaster Strategy Bureau and the former captain of Yinlian. She is seventeen and a senior in high school. She had contact with the Witch Society in the past and once allowed some of their members to escape. Many suspect she is affiliated with them. Later, she resigned from her captaincy, and Yinlian took over. She hasn't been to the Bureau in a long time, but this morning, she showed up to report for duty."

"Oh, then she's a prime suspect."

"But she hasn't approached the security room. Many people in the Bureau are watching her, so it would be difficult for her to do anything here. However, the timing is too coincidental—she showed up today, and the Miracle Seed was stolen."

Jiang Si suddenly remembered. "The Black Magical Girl? I remember the Disaster Strategy Bureau held a retirement ceremony. The 'Black' one... was that her?"

"It was her." Susan nodded. "Because of her contact with the Witch Society, the Bureau held an unauthorized retirement ceremony for her. Although Hyacinth cooperated to save face, she has insisted ever since that she has not retired and refused to hand over her Miracle Seed."

"The other person is A-Qin, who manages the security room. She happened to be absent this morning, claiming a family matter. It's an unreasonable coincidence. And the last person is you. Before Bingtang notified me, I truly thought you were part of the Witch Society..."

"When did Bingtang notify you?"

"Just as you and Yinluo were coming downstairs."

Susan tossed her blonde hair with a sense of confident bravado. "As long as you keep an eye on Hyacinth and I keep an eye on A-Qin, even if the Witch Society has heaven-defying abilities, they won't escape! This time, we must catch them and—"

"I didn't say I would help." Jiang Si shook his head. "My mission was only to collect the Miracle Seed. Everything else is irrelevant to me."

Susan was stunned by his refusal. "You are a disciple of the Qingyun Sect! How can you lack even this much spirit of dedication? This concerns the future development of the sect! As disciples, we should take the initiative to resolve Lord Bingtang's troubles..."

"Don't joke. I joined the Qingyun Sect for the salary; I don't work overtime for free." This was a catchphrase used by a certain member who was very close to Bingtang, and Jiang Si had borrowed it. "Our Qingyun Sect doesn't have a 'wolf culture.' Bingtang said she doesn't advocate for 'involution'."

"This isn't involution; this is rectifying a work error."

"It wasn't my error, so why should I rectify it?"

Susan was momentarily speechless. *True, it really has nothing to do with him.*

Because they were both Qingyun Sect disciples, she had subconsciously assumed the failure of this mission was a shared responsibility.

But in reality, stealing the Miracle Seed was her mission alone.

Jiang Si waved his hand. "No matter what you say, I won't work overtime. My mission is over. I'll just go back and report to Bingtang. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."

"Wait."

Susan gritted her teeth. "I'll waive my bonus for this mission; it's all yours. And this month's salary—both the Bureau's and the Sect's—I'll give you half. Please."

But then again, the mission to take the Miracle Seed from the Bureau was something he had requested from Bingtang himself.

It was intended to better facilitate his own advancement; there was no reason not to act.

Jiang Si sat back in his chair. "As a fellow disciple of the Qingyun Sect, I am not a cold-blooded person. Since you are so sincere, it would be unseemly of me to refuse again."

Susan let out a cold snort, but since he was willing to help, she didn't dare mock him, lest he get angry and refuse the money as well. "Hyacinth is a senior this year and will be heading to college soon. She spends most of her time at school, so she won't be hard to find. Follow her and investigate if there are any traces of her contacting the Witch Society. If you find even a shred of evidence, contact me, and I'll handle the rest."

*Too much trouble.*

Moreover, surveillance and investigation were never things Jiang Si excelled at.

He would outsource this to Bingtang and then give half of the salary Susan gave him to Bingtang.

When it came to high school students, Bingtang was the most knowledgeable. Many magical girls emerged from middle and high schools, and she kept an eye on all the girls in BH City's middle schools, occasionally monitoring promising young men as well.

After all, with an anomaly like Jiang Si appearing, no one could guarantee there wouldn't be another male magical girl.

Susan clearly had no idea that the serious-looking, nodding youth before her was already planning to dump her assigned task onto her most respected person, Lord Bingtang...

"That's all I have to say. Currently, the entire Disaster Strategy Bureau is in a state of emergency investigation. Perhaps you won't even need to investigate Hyacinth to find the Witch Society and recover the stolen Miracle Seed. But if that happens, I won't be able to split my salary with you, because salary is for those who do the work, don't you agree?"

Looking at the visibly disgruntled Susan, Jiang Si merely nodded, pretending not to understand.

As long as there was money, he didn't care about her grievances. He was still short on funds for the renovation of the Phantom Moon Abode, and he planned to buy some supplements recently to improve his fitness results.

After exchanging information, the two stood up to leave. "Oh, right, regarding the clouds outside—they are actually just an illusion. Beneath them is a bridge constructed of magic. However, this magic has a specific reaction to the magic of Disaster Beasts, causing it to neutralize and vanish. So, when you step down, you just need to use your magic to plug the gaps... Do you have magic?"

Jiang Si's expression remained unchanged. "Not at the moment."

"Earn more performance points in the future. The sect has magic bracelets that even ordinary people can use. Exchange for one; it will make future missions easier. Has Lord Bingtang not told you? Oh, I suppose someone of your low status would find it hard to meet Lord Bingtang, let alone Lord Ziyuan. You probably won't have the chance in this lifetime. Heh, my apologies for being rude."

She couldn't help but throw in a bit of sarcasm before pulling out a bracelet.

On it sat a pure white seed.

With a shake of the seed, a magic wand appeared in her hand.

Generally, magical girls can only use magic and mana after transforming, but once they reach the "New Sprout" stage and practice diligently, they can use a portion of their magic even without transforming.

It was also highly discreet.

She tapped the wand against Jiang Si's shoe, and he felt a sensation of something cold adhering to the sole.

It felt as if he were walking on ice.

"I've condensed a portion of magic under your feet so you won't have any issues walking on it. This will clear your suspicion. Though, after my interrogation, no one would have suspected you anyway. This is just to be safe."

Clapping her hands, Susan put away the seed, and the wand vanished with it. "The duration is about forty minutes. Note that it will expire after forty minutes."

She had originally intended to teach him a lesson by lowering the temperature, but Jiang Si seemed completely unfazed. He merely tapped the ground with his toe and said, "Thank you."

For a moment, Susan felt quite frustrated.

She hadn't gotten her revenge, and instead, she felt a bit of guilt.

She secretly took the seed, hid the wand behind her back, and lowered the temperature slightly before walking to the door. Her face returned to its previous icy, disdainful expression. "Let's go. What are you still loitering for?"

Her acting was a bit too realistic; she was well-suited for the film industry.

As Jiang Si considered suggesting to Bingtang that she recommend Susan for a career in acting to earn more money for the Qingyun Sect, he walked out of the interrogation room.

The entire second floor had been cordoned off by the soldiers Susan brought, so Yinlian and the others could only peek in from the first-floor staircase.

When Jiang Si emerged, they all wore expressions of joy. Yinlian immediately asked, "That old witch Susan didn't lay a finger on you, did she?"

"Who are you calling an old witch?"

Following closely behind Jiang Si, Susan immediately retorted. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an inherent authority. Yinlian immediately shrunk back, hiding behind Yinluo.

Yinluo patted her sister's head and smiled. "She's just a child being impetuous. Please excuse her, Miss Susan. Is Mr. Jiang Si alright?"

"I am fine. Miss Susan did nothing out of line; she was simply following regulations and has cleared my suspicion..."

Before Jiang Si could finish, Susan interrupted him. "I didn't clear your suspicion; I just haven't found evidence yet. The fact that you fell through the clouds remains unchanged. If you come back another day and still can't walk on the clouds, I will arrest you again."

Susan added with a chilling tone, "Don't think you can get away with it."

Hiding behind Yinluo, Yinlian immediately whispered, "See? If she isn't an old witch, then what is..."

With a cold snort, Susan didn't bother to argue. She simply looked at Yinluo and said, "Get him out of here within thirty minutes. Don't let me see him again."

"There's no need for you to say so. Forget thirty minutes; I'll have him out in three."

While Yinluo replied politely, Yinlian added like a sidekick, "He won't be coming back ever again!"

"It had better be so."

Only after Susan left did the heavily armed special forces blocking the second floor depart as well.

For a moment, it felt as if a massive mountain pressing down on them had vanished, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

It was a feeling of profound liberation.

Then, Yinluo looked at her sister and Keke, and the three of them began to laugh.

Yinlian was the first to speak after laughing. "Finally, he's gone. Everywhere she goes, the atmospheric pressure drops."

Yinluo flicked her sister's forehead and then looked at Keke and Jiang Si. "Ever since Miss Susan lost her magical girl powers, her temper has been terrible and her personality quite volatile. No one in the Bureau dares to provoke her. But don't take it to heart; although she's unpleasant, Miss Susan is impeccable when it comes to fairness. She follows regulations strictly. As long as you haven't broken any rules, there's nothing to fear from her."

Yinlian commented from the side, "I think she's the type who would give people the cold shoulder just to be petty."

"That's not quite the case," Yinluo shook her head. "At least, I haven't seen it."

Jiang Si looked down at his shoes, thinking that Yinluo didn't seem to understand Susan very well either.

She might not give people the "cold shoulder," but she certainly gave him "ice shoes," and they were right under his feet.

"One minute has already passed," Jiang Keke suddenly interjected gloomily. "Two minutes left. Is that enough time to get out?"

Yinluo felt a bit embarrassed as she pulled the two girls toward the exit. "Right away, right away."

"But Keke, you are an official magical girl now. Should you meet your other companions? It's best to get to know them..."

"Let's just get Jiang Si out of here first."

Yinlian said helplessly, "Why do you sound like you're about to cremate your brother?"

Keke turned her head away. "After all, isn't the reason we've wasted so much time in the Bureau because of him?"

"Well, you can't blame your brother for that, can you?"

Walking at the very back, Jiang Si felt the chill, which didn't seem as intense anymore. He wondered if it was because the magic was running low.

He doubted it would last the full forty minutes.

As they walked through the corridor, one of the portraits of a magical girl even gave them a little wave goodbye.

Reaching the clouds, he tested them out. Just as Susan had said, he could indeed step on the clouds without falling.

It was a method intended to clear his suspicion, something he had originally wanted the Bureau to see.

Then, he discovered that after only a few steps, he actually began to fall again.

Just as Jiang Si was attempting to jump back onto the Bureau's marble floor while wondering why Susan had set him up, he realized that Keke and Yinlian were also falling!

Massive wings flapped gently in the sky, nearly blowing the clouds away entirely. A crimson body, bright as the sun, radiated terrifying heat, accompanied by a long cry that nearly caused one to faint.

A Disaster Beast—and a B-rank one at that. Without a magical girl to oppose it, it could destroy a city within three days.

For one to appear here in the Bureau, this place must truly have been infiltrated like a sieve...

In the next second, the Disaster Beast charged straight toward the four of them!