524. Squeezing into Small Shoes
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In the courtyard, a dozen or so pursuers from another world were bustling about, some already retreating to their rooms to grab their weapons, shouting to k*ll the Witch.
However, the Witch, Lilith, was sitting on a small stool nearby, grinning as she watched them like they were a pack of idiots.
Her adopted son, Kang De, had just brought out a platter of roast duck, staring at them blankly as they yelled about killing the Witch, completely lost on what to make of it.
At that moment, Li Na returned.
She looked a bit worn out, frazzled, her magical energy depleted by over half.
Upon seeing her, everyone rushed over, faces painted with shock and alarm.
“I’ve temporarily driven the Witch back… but I’ve taken heavy injuries.” Li Na looked up at their panicked faces, smiling helplessly, “You all guessed right; the Witch has regained her peak power in this magic-less world.”
“Impossible?!”
“Then what are we supposed to do? Walk to our doom?”
The place erupted in chaos. This group of middle-aged folks believed Li Na without a doubt, after all, she was the highest-ranking Saintess and the top combat force in their interdimensional world.
Thoughts about whether the Saintess might be deceiving them didn’t even cross their minds.
Li Na’s eyes glinted with a crafty spark.
“The Witch has set up a magical array capable of covering the city, masking our magical perceptions to hide her movements. This was her contingency plan when she just revived. It’s why I couldn’t find her when she was weak, causing us to waste almost a year.”
Li Na continued to spin her tale, “Even though this is her territory, we’re both hiding in the dark now. With the Witch’s power so immense, if we step out into the light, I’m afraid…”
“We’ll be detected by our magic and ambushed?!” an old mage finished her sentence, “Here is actually safer.”
She smiled bitterly and nodded at the mage: “She has unknown methods to replenish her magic in this world and is growing even stronger, while we cannot.”
“Now the roles have switched; we are truly the prey.” Li Na shook her head and sighed, “The few brave souls who left here are probably dead by now.”
Kang De, who had quietly served roast duck to two tables, nodded in agreement. They had indeed been taken down quietly by him and Li Na, with no sounds left but one pretender who had backstabbed Lilith and attempted to backstab Lin Nan—where he had vanished to now was anyone’s guess.
But most likely, he had returned to this city.
The crowd was struck with horror, having believed the Witch could not regain her strength here and that her injuries were severe. They had reluctantly accepted the mission, thinking that with almost twenty of them plus the Saintess, they could successfully surround the Witch and, as a bonus, tour this new world for free.
But now it seemed…
“The movies are pretty good too.” The old mage turned his head to look at the sci-fi film playing on the screen, appearing quite intrigued.
Going back was out of the question; they weren’t the Saintess. A failed mission meant heavy penalties at the very least, and no way were they going out to find the Witch, looking at how flustered the Saintess was—they were probably just walking into a d*ath trap.
Staying put in this little courtyard seemed pretty good; at least they had the Saintess’s protection, plus there were movies to watch, and they heard they might be able to get internet soon.
Though they had no idea what “internet” even was.
“We’ve been discovered by the Witch…” someone looked at Li Na with concern.
“Don’t worry; this is a demi-plane, and I’ve shifted the entrance outside.” The Saintess grinned. “She won’t find us in the short term.”
In the corner, Lilith rolled her eyes. Demi-plane? Where’d you get that power from?
Hearing they were temporarily safe, the interdimensional visitors anxiously returned to their seats but then nervously proposed, “I think we should shift the entrance every three days.”
“That’s only natural, but don’t leave this place. While we can’t sense magic in this city, the Witch’s minions are searching for us everywhere. If you encounter one…” Li Na said, worry etched on her face.
“Understood! We’ll stay right here!”
They were all old codgers, the longer they lived, the more they wanted to live. Hearing the Witch was lurking outside, they certainly had no desire to leave.
…
Chen Yao noticed that Lin Nan had been looking rather down since returning from her trip, looking gloomy for several days.
She also cast him the occasional eerie glare, making him feel cold and bewildered.
Plus, she started pushing herself into crowds when going to and from school. Lin Nan used to hate noisy places filled with people, but suddenly she turned over a new leaf.
During outings, she was wearing a mask again—a sign she had long since discarded—no matter the weather, she’d raise an umbrella and wear sunglasses, all bundled up tightly.
But the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching.
Not sure if it was the collective activity from last weekend getting everyone restless, but on the suggestion of the class president and vice president, a majority of students raised their hands, allowing Zheng Qian to decide to host a Dragon Boat Festival event using the leftover funds from their last trip.
Two days before the festival, Chen Yao was sitting in class, propping his chin with one hand, attentively listening to the teacher while taking notes, sneaking glances at the gloomy Lin Nan beside him, unsure how to cheer her up.
Lin Nan had her head down on the desk, her brows furrowed. She had considered many spells these days, but the magic inside her wasn’t her own. Even if she unlocked high-level or powerful spells, she couldn’t use them.
Most of the useful spells were too embarrassing, making it hard for her to commit.
She had learned a few rather strange spells from Li Na, but after several days, she could barely use them.
She didn’t know many spells, but she had plenty of theoretical knowledge from Lilith, which made learning quicker—only, she needed Li Na’s guidance along the way.
But these spells were indeed bizarre; Li Na didn’t tell her their specific uses at all.
“Lin Nan, here comes Zheng Qian.”
Chen Yao gently nudged Lin Nan with his elbow, and only then did she lift her head to look at Zheng Qian, who had taken over the teacher’s desk.
“What does he want?” Lin Nan asked, looking puzzled at Zheng Qian up at the front, “Is it about the Dragon Boat Festival event?”
Sure enough, as soon as Zheng Qian spoke, he mentioned the Dragon Boat Festival.
“The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and tomorrow at 2 PM, our class will hold a zongzi-making activity.” Zheng Qian wore a smile, but he was quite anxious inside. “We’ll need to procure glutinous rice and other ingredients in the meantime.”
Lin Kexin immediately raised her hand: “I’ll do it!”
“No, I’ll handle it personally,” Zheng Qian replied without hesitation.
Though this activity was merely reserving an empty classroom for the event, the most critical part was still the ingredients.
Who knew what kind of situation might arise if the ingredients got handed to the students? If they ended up buying stale items that caused students to have stomach issues, he would be the one taking the blame.
After all, after last weekend’s incident of students collectively going bungee jumping, Zheng Qian completely lost faith in this group.
Caution! Be cautious!
“Chen Yao, you’re in charge of the boys’ dormitory. Gather up pots, pans, and an electric stove. We’ll cook and eat them fresh.”
To prevent any student from bringing things back that would go bad and cause stomach problems.
“Lin Kexin, you’re in charge of the girls’ dormitory, same deal.” He said, then turned his attention to Lin Nan.
“Big Dog, Li Long is in charge of borrowing the classroom and setting it up.”
“Lin Nan, Tu Junhui is going with me to procure supplies and carry things.”
These two troublemakers from the bungee incident would be squeezed into doing the hard work.
