Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Watching her change her hairstyle, she blended into the unfamiliar environment of the Moon Forest.

Watching her gradually mature from being unfamiliar with things, and then become completely at ease.

Watching her go from being invited by Xiangzi to join Crychic, to the point where there was no one left in Crychic.

Su Shi is still trying to mend past relationships.

I will find a way to bring everyone back.

We can definitely go back to the way things were before, believe me.

I'd like to meet Xiangzi. Can Xiaomu help me?

......

Mu viewed these things again from an outsider's perspective. Unlike when she looked at Xiang's memories, this time, she was looking at her own.

Xiao Mu, you always do things I don't want you to do. You never do the things I ask you to do.

It's all Xiaomu's fault that things have turned out this way.

Please, just this once, help me.

......

Mu did not go to see the final result.

She was originally just an observer and didn't want to see what happened that night again. Besides, to her at the time, it had only happened a day or two ago.

The memory is clear enough, unforgettable enough.

Even now, Mu still feels that Su Shi's dejected appearance kneeling on the ground is right before his eyes.

Mu tried to reach out and grasp that sorrowful figure. But when she reached out, it was like trying to catch the moon's reflection in water; she shattered the image.

She snapped out of her reverie and found herself still standing in the center of the Su family's living room.

Distracted.

Mu blinked and continued his investigation.

There's a family gathering coming up, and even her chauffeur is waiting downstairs, so she can't stay here too long.

Mu ran his finger across the coffee table, leaving a faint mark on the glass, and rubbed the dust that stuck to his fingertip repeatedly.

Traces of dust. It hasn't been cleaned for a while, at least seven days.

Mu walked around again and found that it was the same everywhere. The dust piles were of different sizes, but they all looked like they hadn't been touched for more than seven days.

I went up the stairs to the second floor, sat on Su Shi's bed, and lay back.

She stared at the ceiling, her mind wandering.

But... I saw Su Shi yesterday.

In other words, that "Su Shi" has not been home during this period.

Su Shi's mother was also away on a long business trip and was completely unaware of what had happened to Su Shi.

If Su Shi really hasn't been home for at least seven days, does that mean...?

When Mu Yi thought of this possibility, she pursed her lips and felt that it was difficult for her to breathe.

It's possible that Su Shi had already become a witch before they left the Reed Plains and boarded the Scroll. And none of them knew this.

At that time, Su Shi was still on sick leave, having only been on sick leave for less than two days.

Prior to this, Mu had been observing Su Shi within her reach, but at that time she did not notice anything abnormal about Su Shi.

To be honest... Su Shi was indeed in low spirits, and with her magic, it would be difficult for her to act alone. However, after Mu saw Su Shi go to the board to find a temporary team, he felt relieved and stopped worrying about it.

Something must have happened during the two days Su Shi took leave.

Mu hugged Su Shi's pillow to her chest and curled up in a ball on Su Shi's bed.

The pillow and bed still retained a faint scent of Su Shi's pleasant fragrance. Mu hugged the pillow tightly, but felt empty inside.

Why did I miss something so important?

It was indeed my own negligence that led Su Shi down this path of no return. If I had noticed Su Shi's abnormality earlier, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way.

Mu leaned out the window, looking out at the reed field through the floor-to-ceiling window.

The top floor of the apartment has a great view, offering an unobstructed view of the outside world. However, Su Shi lives alone in this drab and empty room every day, watching the bustling traffic and neon lights outside the window. Won't she become even more lonely?

Mu couldn't help but think that way.

This scene is so lonely.

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 303: The Tracking

【睦】：That's about it.

Mu told Xiangzi everything he had discovered at the Su family's house.

"I haven't been back for at least seven days..." Xiangzi murmured.

That means before they left the reed plains...

Hey.

Xiangzi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"What is the little master saying?" Ai Yin twitched her ears and turned her head.

“A friend of mine said yesterday…” Xiangzi looked up at Aiyin, unsure whether he should continue.

"Little Master, please tell me, I'm fine." Ai Yin saw Xiangzi's concerns, cheered herself up in her heart, and put on a seemingly sunny smile.

When Ai Yin laughs, she shows her little tiger teeth, which makes her look especially sunny and cute.

"...Never mind, it has nothing to do with you." Xiangzi sighed, and finally swallowed back what he wanted to say.

For some reason, she didn't want to see the dejected look on Aine's face after hearing the truth; it made her feel guilty.

"Huh?! Why?" Aine

"It's nothing important." Xiangzi shook his head, focusing his gaze on the school gate ahead. "Let's keep an eye out for our target, so we don't miss them."

They are currently squatting opposite the school gate. It's dismissal time, and students are gradually coming out of the school.

One of the students who sent the distress message that Rinrinko mentioned is from this school.

"Yes, yes, otherwise skipping class would be a waste." Ai Yin nodded.

Hayashi Umi, a second-year high school student at an ordinary girls' high school, was the last person to send a distress message to Rinrinko. She attends the same private high school where Shoko is currently staying.

Rinrinko even provided them with ID photos, making it completely clear what was going on, which made it easier for Shoko to find the person. However, the two of them waited at the coffee shop opposite the school gate until the sunlight turned yellow, but they still didn't see their target.

Ai Yin listlessly chewed on a straw, looking at the school gate where hardly anyone was coming or going anymore.

Her phone screen displayed the message "Task complete".

She got bored while waiting and even started playing a game on her phone—the one that's been mentioned a lot lately, *Once Upon a Time*. When Xiangzi looked over, she said she was looking for clues, just like a child whose mother asks what they need money for and who answers "to buy study guides."

She's not a child; she's really looking for clues!

Aiyin exits the settlement screen and returns to the world map.

"I'm still so far from level five... This game level is so hard to level up," she murmured. "And the map is so big, if I really lived in such a big world... wouldn't that be nice?"

No, no, no, what are you thinking about?

Ai Yin mentally slapped herself, turned off her phone, glanced at the school gate where there were hardly any people around, and yawned.

"We haven't missed it, have we? It's been so long..."

"Be patient, wait a little longer," Xiangzi said. "Patience is the first and most important lesson..."

"And it was me who was watching, not you," Xiangzi secretly rolled his eyes.

Just as Xiangzi was about to begin his sermon, a person who met the appearance requirements appeared in their line of sight.

"coming."

"What's coming?"

"The target is here." Xiangzi stood up and followed the figure leaving from the school gate.

"Hey, I haven't finished my drink yet, wait a minute, wait a minute."

Aine hurriedly finished the matcha shaved ice in her cup. The icy shaved ice stimulated her nerves, causing a sharp pain. Tormented by the ice cream headache, she hissed. Then she remembered that they seemed to have ordered but hadn't paid, so she quickly called out to Xiangzi.

"Oh right, I haven't paid yet!"

"I gave it to her." Xiangzi stopped and waited for her, his eyes still fixed on the girl named Lin Hai.

"When was it given to you?"

"This restaurant only serves food after you scan the code to pay." Xiangzi turned around impatiently. "Hurry up, or we'll be late."

"Coming, coming!" Ai Yin hurriedly followed Xiangzi's footsteps.

Hai's figure disappeared just around the corner.

Xiangzi grabbed Aiyin's hand and hurried after her. Only after turning the corner and seeing her back again did he breathe a sigh of relief and slow down.

Xiangzi followed behind for quite a while, but still couldn't find a suitable opportunity.

"How long are we supposed to follow her?"

As Ai walked, she pretended to fiddle with the small commodities on the street stalls, as if only by doing so would the people in front of her not notice her following them when they turned around.

"Follow along first."

Xiangzi raised his hand and tapped Aiyin on the head with a chop.

"Also, there's no need to pretend. Don't you know how conspicuous your school uniform is?"

Generally speaking, sixteen or seventeen-year-olds around a school should be wearing the school uniform and walking to and from school in neat rows like white doves returning to or leaving their nests. But if a gray dove suddenly appears among the flock of white doves... then it becomes very conspicuous.

Xiangzi and Aiyin are undoubtedly the gray pigeons among this flock of white pigeons.

In fact, right at the start of the school dismissal rush, quite a few students were already pointing and whispering about the two of them sitting in the coffee shop.

"Hehe...it seems so." Ai Yin scratched her head.

"Let's go, just keep our distance." Xiangzi continued walking forward, following their target.

"Okay, I know." Ai Yin followed along eagerly. "Is this considered the first lesson?"

“Who teaches stalking as the first lesson…” Xiangzi’s forehead creased with a few black lines. “If that’s what you think, then so be it.”

At that moment, the figure in front turned into a small alley.

Xiangzi quickened her pace, urging Aiyin to catch up. They followed Hai into a narrow alley leading to another main road.

The moment you turn into the alley, the noise of the street seems to disappear, and the surroundings become exceptionally quiet.

"I have a feeling this place might be hiding a witch," Aine whispered to Shoko. "It's eerie."

“There are plenty of alleys like this, Yue—there’s no need to be so suspicious.” Xiangzi quickened his pace again, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the girl.

"(Little Master, weren't you supposed to be following them? You'll be spotted walking so fast!")

Ai Yin was suddenly left some distance behind by Xiangzi, and she didn't dare to shout, so she could only use magic communication to call out to Xiangzi.

"(There's no need to follow to the end; I'm just waiting for a good opportunity to make my move.)"

Xiangzi replied via Magic Communications.

At the same time, she was already very close to the female student.

"Hello."

Xiangzi said.

"Are you Lin Hai, the one who sent the distress signal? I'd like to talk to you."

==========

P.S.: A friendly recommendation for a book! A new book by a member of our group, an original work by Orange, titled "The Witch's Reincarnation in Another World: Survival Story." You might be interested in checking it out!

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 304: Chatting with Socially Anxious People is So Troublesome