Love, Gun, Cupid

"Nothing."

“Well, I have some personal matters to discuss with you,” Jasmine said.

Mu Mian was somewhat surprised: "I thought you hated me even more than Lin Jiade."

Jasmine put on a cold expression: "When it comes to interests, I will try my best to set aside personal feelings."

“Indeed, although you are obedient and honest in front of Lin Jiade, you are a foreigner and always look at this society with vigilance and wariness,” Mu Mian said. “Tell me, let’s see what we can exchange.”

“I may have run into some trouble recently, and I don’t want Lin Jiade to know. He’s already very busy, and I want to handle this on my own,” Jasmine said.

Why not look for Jianlan?

“Jianlan has been acting coldly towards me at times and friendly at others lately. She’s hiding something from me, while she’s been getting very close to Dujuan. I suspect they’re plotting something behind my back.”

"So, you need to find outside help." Mu Mian took a bite of braised pork with preserved mustard greens. "What will I get in return?"

What do you want?

“I want Lin Jiade, can you give him to me?” Mu Mian asked.

"What you want is not Lin Jiade, but Lin Jiade to turn you back into that androgynous state, and then go back to the way things were before with him."

Jasmine shook her head. "You can never go back to the way things were. From now on, you can only live as a woman. I really don't understand. You have such an enviable body, why don't you make good use of it?"

"If you were treated as a tool for procreation by your parents from a young age, and spent all your time scheming to marry some powerful and wealthy fat man, with those decrepit old men who could be your grandfathers leering at you... you would also feel disgusted with your own body."

Kapok has long since broken free from her fate as a reproductive tool, but the scars remain in her heart, and no one can heal them. Jasmine said, "What I can offer is support when you encounter difficulties, and help you in your reconciliation with Lin Jiade."

"What's this? The first wife agrees to her husband taking a concubine?"

“At least not for the next few months. Lin Jiade’s fixed deposit is mine, and your body is what tempts him to commit crimes.”

“I have no objection in principle,” Kapok said.

After the two reached an agreement on their alliance, they had a casual meal and happened to run into Lin Jiade and... a woman they didn't recognize.

Jasmine saw that the woman was dressed in a flashy outfit, as if she were cosplaying a magical girl, while Kapok looked thoughtful at the other woman's face.

The two women squatted for a while, watching him chat and laugh with the strange woman. When he was about to leave, they came out and blocked his way.

Lin Jiade introduced them somewhat awkwardly: "These two are Kapok and Jasmine, they are my close friends. This lady over here is Ice Cave, she is my collaborator in this investigation of the Black Cat clue."

Using him as a boundary, the two sides sized each other up. Kapok checked the magic household registration department and whispered to Jasmine, "He is an unregistered superhuman."

Jasmine's gaze turned even more serious. Lin Jiade, wanting to ease the tension, briefly explained his mission. Mu Mian said, "In that case, I might be able to help."

“That’s good,” Lin Jiade said. “This way, our combat strength will be guaranteed.”

Unfortunately, the ice cave had reservations about this. She tugged at Lin Jiade's clothes from behind, not wanting the secrets of the sacred place to be spread.

“They are not from the Magic Registrar’s Office. If you are worried, we can use Oath Keeper magic together to keep the secret between us.”

Ice Cave reluctantly agreed, and Kapok's involvement provided convenient transportation. She drove her own car to take Lin Jiade to the vicinity of Teacher Yang's house.

"What did she say?" Kapok asked.

"Teacher Yang said she's outside."

“It’s convenient to visit her home,” Jasmine said.

“Hey, trespassing… never mind.” Lin Jiade sighed. “Molly and I don’t have the ability to disguise ourselves, so we’ll stay here to meet you. Are you two okay?”

Kapok and Ice Cave wouldn't back down in front of Lin Jiade. Despite not trusting him, they got out of the car. One used confusion magic, and the other used the power of the Holy Land. Under the watchful eyes of the security guards, they swaggered over, broke the lock, and entered Teacher Yang's house.

The moment she entered the ice cave, she sensed the intense dark aura emanating from the monster she had been fighting for so long. She waved her wand, and a series of light projectiles shot toward the windowsill, illuminating the figure of the black cat crouching there.

Touched

Chapter Sixteen Ragnar

“The guardian of the holy land, and a swordsman.” The black cat spoke in a human female voice, “I really thought I could hide safely for more than a year.”

“Unfortunately, it’s over tonight. Throughout September, you caused a total of seventeen victims, sixteen of whom died. The only survivor brought us here to settle accounts with you. This is fate,” Kapok said.

"There is no such thing as fate in this world; everything is the result of those in high positions."

Mumian opened Lin Jiade's chat interface on her phone and typed "Pao Wang" (炮王), which signaled that she wanted him to bring Jasmine to attack.

The ice cave approach was even more direct and brutal. She poked the ground a few times, and mysterious symbols rose up, each one emanating the power of the guardian of the sacred land.

Seeing that both of them were calling for reinforcements, the black cat knew it had to finish the fight quickly. It nimbly dodged the light bullets from the ice cave, and in the now dark room, it stretched out its body, transformed into human form, and disappeared into the floor, then emerged from behind the ice cave.

Kapok thrust her sword diagonally, blocking the black cat's attack, but the black cat's fingers pierced through Kapok's weapon, heading towards her throat. Ice Cave waved her wand, and a golden light shield rose. The black cat's fingers retracted the instant they touched the shield.

“I’ll hold it back, you go find Teacher Yang!” Ice Cave said.

Kapok turned and ran to the second floor. The guardian of the holy land took a deep breath, and light surged from beneath her feet. In an instant, the space on the first floor was filled with light, leaving no room for shadow.

The black cat let out a scream and ran out the window. A few seconds later, Mu Mian found Teacher Yang's room and discovered her curled up in bed, looking pained.

Mumian reached out to hug Teacher Yang, but the darkness emanating from near the single bed forced her to jump away first, watching as a humanoid black cat appeared beside Teacher Yang.

"Don't touch her!" said the black cat.

"Of course it wasn't me."

Kapok opened the window to the side, and Ice Cave, riding its magic wand, stormed into the room, dispelling the shadows with light for the second time. At the same time, Kapok sensed an aura similar to Ice Cave emanating from the lower level.

Soon after, magical girls... no, women of all ages, from young magical girls to middle-aged magical women, joined the attack on the black cat, dressed in flashy outfits.

They subdued the monster almost instantly... until flames burst through the window and Lin Jiade rolled in, carrying Jasmine.

As time moved forward, Lin Jiade and Jasmine, who were waiting in the car, received a summons from Kapok and were about to head to Teacher Yang's house when their hands, which were on the car door, froze at the same time. Lin Jiade sensed a murderous aura, while Jasmine sensed the presence of someone of the same kind.

They simultaneously ducked, and the square pieces of paper on Jasmine fluttered and stuck to the inside of the car. The next second, a hail of bullets flew towards the car, each one leaving ripples on Jasmine's barrier.

White patterns lit up under the car, and a pillar of fire propelled the car into the sky. The car disintegrated in mid-air, revealing an orange spherical barrier amidst the flying debris, inside which Lin Jiade and Jasmine remained unharmed.

As they landed, they saw a leather shoe emerge from the darkness. In the blink of an eye, a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman appeared before Lin Jiade and Jasmine. His face was indistinct, and the moonlight reflected a cold gleam on his gold-rimmed glasses.

He was wearing a black suit and trousers, with a scarf around his neck embroidered with a white dragon emblem. Jasmine's mind went blank the moment she saw him.

Jasmine's horns and tail emerged, and flames poured from her open mouth. She was furious, and Lin Jiade had not seen her like this in a long time.

Jasmine roared, "Ragnar Sigurdsson, how dare you show your face here!"

Faced with the enemy who massacred her family, Jasmine had many solid plans for revenge, even going so far as to join forces with the despised Kapok. But when she actually encountered her enemy, she forgot all her careful plans, her mind filled only with the thought of killing him.

She raised her hand to activate her lightning magic, and the exorcising spell transformed into a dazzling lightning serpent that rushed towards Ragnar. Ragnar had one hand in his pocket, and the flame in his other hand transformed into a battle axe. He swung his arm and tore the lightning that was heading towards his body to shreds.

Then, what came into his view was Lin Jiade's figure wielding a sword. Ragnar parried with his battle axe, but Lin Jiade's celestial weapon advanced with overwhelming force, first destroying the weapon in Ragnar's hand.

Ragnar leaped back, and Lin Jiade stabbed at thin air. The latter raised his hand, and magical light gathered at Lin Jiade's feet. At the same time, Lin Jiade reached out, and the Thunder spell struck first, interrupting Ragnar's casting.

Jasmine attacked from behind Lin Jiade, and Lei Fa used his skill again. Lin Jiade also circled around and rushed towards Ragnar's side. While Ragnar was facing Jasmine head-on, his sword stabbed towards Ragnar's ribs... but was entangled by a tail covered in white scales.

"Young man, you don't even know who I am or why I'm here, yet you're willing to fight me to the death?"

Ragnar's mysterious aura faded, and his emerald eyes conveyed a cold and authoritative gaze to Lin Jiade. Lin Jiade felt as if he had been struck in the chest with a hammer, a sharp pain that left him speechless.

"If you are Jasmine's enemy, then you are my enemy," he thought to himself.

Ragnar raised an eyebrow, surprised that this weak human hadn't had his ribs broken by his eye technique. And because Lin Jiade wielded a celestial weapon, he couldn't help but look at Lin Jiade with newfound respect.

Ragnar flung Lingard, sword and all, away with his tail, the flames in his hand transforming into various weapons which he hurled at the young man in mid-air. Lingard activated a spell at his waist, helping him regain his balance in mid-air while dodging most of the thrown weapons, the rest being absorbed by his shield.

He landed smoothly and stood next to Jasmine, watching Ragnar raise his hands and push forward, unleashing a wave of flames that scorched everything in its path.

Lin Jiade turned around with Jasmine in his arms. He stepped onto a telephone pole, and the next foothold was the fence in front of Teacher Yang's house. As he jumped again, he was hit by a spell from Ragnar in the back. The shield shattered, and he changed his trajectory, landing directly in Teacher Yang's bedroom.

His appearance drew most people's attention. The black cat, which had been restrained, broke free from the guardian's control and jumped out of the window, carrying Teacher Yang with it.

Lin Jiade stood up. A large hole was burned in the back of his clothes, and the bronze color adhered to the back, slowly fading to flesh color.

"There was an attacker, and he was a very powerful person."

After explaining the situation, he looked at the ice cave: "You guys go chase the monster and bring Teacher Yang back. We'll deal with the attackers."

Ice Cave nodded and, along with the other guardians of the holy land, jumped out of the window to give chase. Kapok, Lin Jiade, and Jasmine jumped out of the window to escape. The next second, a pillar of fire rose up where they had been standing just a second before.

Chapter Seventeen: The Kapok Dog

After jumping out of the window, Lin Jiade quickly said, "That man's name is Ragnar Sigurdsson!"

"Who?"

"The head of the White Dragon family, among all dragon species, the White Dragons are renowned for their fire-based shaping skills and reproduce more easily than other dragon species. Therefore, they are the most numerous and powerful dragon species within the empire," Jasmine explained.

“A normal adult dragon would be at least a top-tier professional, and the three of us wouldn’t be a match for him,” said Mu Mian.

"That's it."

Ragnar's voice rang out above the three of them. Lin Jiade and Mu Mian turned around at the same time, their swords clashing. Jasmine's eyes reflected an X shape, as well as the fiery palm blocked by the X shape.

Jasmine turned and ran away, while Lin Jiade and Mumian withdrew their swords and fled to the sides. The fiery palm slammed into the ground, and Ragnar reshaped it, turning the flames into urchin-shaped spikes that shot out in all directions.

Most of the spikes were aimed at Jasmine, so a red rain of death brewed above Jasmine's head. Kapok chanted a spell to activate her weapon and simultaneously activated her overtime magic, accelerating her way to Jasmine's side.

Lin Jiade's method was even more brutal. He used the skills he had learned from the qualifying matches, pointing the tip of his sword diagonally at the ground. The burst of energy sent him flying in a parabola through the air, landing in front of Jasmine.

Needle-like flames fell, crimson fury clung to Lin Jiade's blade, while a flowing wind swirled around Mu Mian's blade. The two clashed, wind and fire merging to clash with the attack falling from the sky, a dazzling display like fireworks bursting into everyone's view.

The fireworks' brilliance lasted only a few seconds before Jasmine's Thunderfury tore through the falling sparks and hurtled towards Ragnar.

Ragnar jumped down from the roof, dusting off his suit. Each pat sent sparks flying, each pat sounding like a war drum pounding on Lin Jiade's chest.

Lin Jiade turned around and saw that Jasmine and Kapok also had sad expressions on their faces. He began to feel dizzy, and soon after, he heard a clapper sound in his head.

Under the mental attack, Lin Jiade and his companions lost their footing. Several magic circles lit up beneath their feet, the most under Lin Jiade's feet and the fewest under Jasmine's. They had sensed their own danger, but the intense mental attack left them powerless.

Just then, a gray phantom descended from the sky, shielding Lin Jiade behind her. With a wave of her hand, the magic circle beneath Lin Jiade and the others was silently erased.

“Korobochka?” Ragnar’s voice was tinged with surprise. “After playing with so many souls, have you finally turned yourself into an undead?”

"Thanks to this, I have found a new life."

Ragnar seems to be an old acquaintance of Korobochka. Lin Jiade thought, however, he could see that the current Korobochka was a necromancer, but he couldn't see that Korobochka was replaced by Jianlan, so it seems that their relationship was only so-so.

The two old friends exchanged pleasantries while engaging in combat, their incantations mingling with their words. To onlookers, the clash of ice and fire filled the space, and the aftershocks of the energy collision caused the power distribution room to explode, plunging the surrounding area into darkness.

Lin Jiade had called for reinforcements when he arrived, and he was now very glad he had made the decision to call on his trusted lieutenant. Jianlan turned her head and said, "Let's go, you can't help here."

Her breath, carrying a chill, sprayed onto Lin Jiade's face. Lin Jiade felt that she was different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it... He had never seen Jianlan fight with all her might before. Perhaps this unfamiliar Jianlan was the way she should be when she was fighting.

"You be careful too."

After Lin Jiade finished speaking, he picked up Jasmine and ran away, with Mu Mian following behind. An icy blue line started from her fingertip. The young man knew that this was the magic Mu Mian used to track enemies. He asked, "Who?"