"See, this is the framework of this secret art. There are far too many redundant nodes."
The Archmage walked her through the logic step by step, tweaking the model as she went.
"With the original art, the aggregate born from female ghosts tops out at Sequence 4, and it's constantly at risk of spiraling out of control or collapsing... But with this revision, there's no problem at all. You could use it up to Sequence 3, at least."
That plane's ceiling is Sequence 4. How could anyone develop a Sequence 3-level secret art in the first place...
She understood none of the theory, but Li Fei kept her sitting posture prim and obedient as she listened to Mama Nicole's lecture.
Ten minutes later, a brand-new secret art, [Soul Gathering: Nicole Edition], was unveiled.
Efficiency hadn't improved much, but a huge number of hidden hazards had been eliminated, the aptitude requirement and study time were lower, the ceiling had been raised from Sequence 4 to Sequence 3, and the way it operated had changed considerably.
Before, "every time you take a beating, a few female ghosts die." Now, when attacked, [Soul Link] lets the female ghosts share the damage, so losses are much harder to come by. Of course, Nicole sincerely advised purifying the female ghosts as soon as possible and turning them into Sequence 7 wraiths.
Second, the old Ghost Giant was led by a handful of the highest-cultivation-base female ghosts, but in practice every ghost still held a measure of control, which was exactly why the Ghost Giant moved so clumsily. Now a single female ghost, or even some other Death school creature, could sit at the center as the core and hold absolute control. The boost to combat power was self-evident.
You could put it this way: the "Ghost Giant" had been officially upgraded to a "Ghost Gundam." It was no longer that goofy aggregate but a powerful Transcendent being in its own right.
From the style of the revision alone, you could tell Nicole valued stability over efficiency, which was worlds apart from Tingbao's approach.
And that brought problems with it.
There were three core ones.
One: a secret art refined by the noble Archmage naturally demanded a noble cost.
Two: she'd have to support a horde of wraith subordinates. A single [Gourd of Ten Thousand Ghosts] certainly couldn't hold a Sequence 3-level Ghost Gundam... And then there was loyalty. There was no way to break them in fast enough, and even if she wasn't ground to bits herself, a Charm Marks balance in the five or even six figures might set off certain ladies. At best, a seat in the basement lounge. At worst, knives sharpened and pointed at Fei-bao, and a woodcutter's cleaver at that.
Three: she needed a Ghost Gundam pilot who had mastered the [Soul Link] spell...
Take it slow.
With the serious business done, Li Fei let out a breath and tossed her worries to the back of her mind for now. Her snow-soft toes gently stroked the mage robe draped over her legs, and every so often she playfully pinched the fabric between them and tugged.
"Mama, you said earlier you're going on a business trip? Where to?"
Unfortunately, the refined Dean had refined tastes. Unlike a certain trash fox, she was a pure face-lover, and Li Fei's little tricks barely stirred her aura.
Nicole gently held Li Fei's tootsies, her expression soft. For once she actually looked a little like a mother.
"It's nothing. I'm just going to collect some materials. I have to leave this afternoon."
"What kind of materials?"
Li Fei asked curiously.
"I told you I once extracted a witch's spine. Afterward I discovered that materials taken from witches are exceptional. Even dragons of the same Sequence level can't compare."
Nicole's smile turned kindly. "Right now, a witch is trapped in a life school fortress. Flushing her out won't be easy, but high-Sequence powerhouses have sealed off the city. She can't escape, even with wings."
"If things go smoothly, I might get a complete witch specimen..."
Her tone stayed unhurried, but something scorching was clearly burning in those starry eyes. The palm holding Li Fei's feet tightened, passing warmth through their pressed skin, as though she were closing her hand around a witch's throat.
A deep, freezing killing intent surged up from the depths of Li Fei's soul.
It was a witch's instinct to protect her kin, roaring.
But looking at Nicole's kindly smile, that killing intent very sensibly shrank back.
"You seem... a little nervous?"
Sensing the arches of her feet curl without her meaning to, Nicole spoke in a devil's murmur.
"How could I not be?"
Li Fei bit her lower lip and pouted aggrieved. "I'm so pretty. Those wicked witches would definitely lust after my beauty... If they took me alive, I'd have no choice but to die to keep my purity intact. Bad Mama, using me as bait."
"I told you, you have the right to refuse."
Nicole chuckled. "Besides, you're safe in Loxibrook."
"Eh? But what if Tingbao goes somewhere else? And then a witch snatches me up in some dark alley..."
Li Fei analyzed it rationally.
Nicole didn't answer right away. After a few seconds of silence, she glanced, deliberately or not, in the direction of the Bai Manor, and said softly:
"If certain people can't give you enough of a sense of security even on their own turf, then..."
"You can call my name."
"Nicole Elune."
You can call my name... You can call my name...
For a moment, Li Fei's heart froze solid, and a bone-deep chill seeped out of her congealing blood.
The Dean had an authority similar to Bai Mengtian's?
And nobody knew?
Had she seen through my identity?
Bai Mengtian, come save me aaaah...
Her tangled thoughts felt shredded by a thousand blades, and shattered memories flashed through her mind. Li Fei almost burst into tears. Her brain nearly boiling, she raced through every scene in which she'd talked about Nicole. Whatever she privately called the Dean no longer mattered. What mattered was whether she had exposed anything about her witch identity at the same time as she called Nicole's name.
Her pupils quaked and her heartbeat thundered in her ears, yet her emotions cooled at lightning speed. As her scorching brain kept spinning, she also set about managing her expression.
Fortunately, after hearing news this shocking, looking stunned was nothing out of the ordinary. Summoning every ounce of willpower in her life, she suppressed the urge to bolt and the urge to scream "Bai Mengtian, save me!" Both hands covered her mouth, letting a fitting measure of astonishment and admiration show, and her mind gradually cleared.
No, wait, that's not right!
Li Fei finally spotted the blind spot.
It was no secret that Nicole was passionate about hunting witches, and the sisters at the Golden Tangerine Tavern surely would have mentioned her.
If merely calling her name could draw her notice, Loxibrook's Witches' Coven would have been exposed long ago!
Is she lying to me?
Impossible...
Ah, I get it!
Li Fei had found the answer.
If you called Bai Mengtian by her full name, she could "hear" it instantly. But with nicknames like "Tingbao," "Tingting," "Mengtian," or "my Ting," you had to chant them repeatedly before she'd sense anything. Don't ask Li Fei how she knew. Anyway, she hadn't used "Tingbao" to ping her for quite some time afterward.
And Nicole Elune's problem was her name.
Everyone usually called her Dean or Archmage, and "Nicole" or "Mama Nicole" counted as fairly close terms. Who would ever call her by her full name, Nicole Elune?
You could say that if the Dean had only had a Chinese name, Miss Top Courtesan would probably never have gotten the chance to slip up...
Thank goodness it's a foreign name...
Having realized she wouldn't be turned into Transcendent materials by her loving mother for now, a still-shaken Li Fei pressed a hand over her heart, which was threatening to leap out of her chest. Her tone carried a note of reproach.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"The fewer people who know, the better, don't you think?"
Nicole smiled faintly. "A witch who doesn't know is a witch who might give herself away."
"True..."
Li Fei smiled shyly and closed her eyes. "Then please wipe this memory from me with a forgetting spell, so the witches can't pry into it."
"If I didn't want you to know, why would I have told you?"
Nicole lovingly squeezed Li Fei's little foot.
Clearly, Miss Top Courtesan had gotten quite a fright just now. Her soft, slender feet had turned cold, a fine layer of sweat had broken out, and her skin had gone a paler white with a crystalline, translucent sheen.
Even Nicole, who only cared about faces, had to admit this was a pair of exquisite works of art, and she was willing to warm them with her palms.
"I, I'll absolutely keep the secret!"
Li Fei promised, deeply moved. "I might be captured by witches one day, but I'll never let them pry a single word out of me!"
A glint of dark light flashed through her eyes and vanished, and the elegant gray-haired beauty wore a rare, radiant smile.
...
Wind howled, and her skirt snapped loudly in the gale.
Having bolted out of the Dean's office in one piece, Li, Witch Spy, Fei rushed without pause to the Witches' Coven to warn her sisters.
Her eyes scanned warily in every direction so Miss Asuna wouldn't catch her. She couldn't afford a trip to the lockup today.
Luckily, the righteous Constable didn't run into her and missed a golden chance to nab a criminal.
"B-b-b-b-big trouble!"
The tavern was quiet in the daytime. When the Spy came tearing in, Lady Gnaea was pouring herself a drink.
She wore a loose, violet gauze nightgown. In her left hand she held a delicate, slender sky-blue pipe of exquisite design, and she sat at the bar sipping a tequila mixed to an emerald green.
Hearing Li Fei's voice, Lady Gnaea looked back, her eyes half-lidded. Drowsiness filled her soft oval face, along with a faint flush from the drink, and she gave off a heart-stopping mature allure. Her plump, rounded figure, half-hidden beneath the sheer fabric, had a hazy, mysterious beauty that made her look like a bewitching mist, deep, languid, and utterly captivating.
"Relax."
She exhaled a puff of smoke, and its cool, mind-clearing mint scent wafted around Li Fei's nose. "The sky won't fall."
"One of our sisters is trapped in a life school fortress..."
The mint scent flooded her mind. Li Fei's urgency abruptly subsided, and her speech slowed.
"No need to worry."
Gnaea's soft, enchanting lips curved. "We've already sent people to rescue her."
"Ni... the Archmage from the Magic Academy is going to arrest her in person!"
Li Fei tried to stress how serious it was.
"When has she ever let a lead on a witch slip by?"
Gnaea's tone remained unhurried. "Don't worry. Every Witches' Coven has special tricks for dealing with Nicole."
"She has an authority like Bai's..."
Li Fei lowered her voice. "Whatever is spoken shall be known."
True, Tingbao and the Witches' Coven wore the same skirt.
But!
As a master of keeping both sides happy, Li Fei didn't want to sell out Bai Mengtian's secrets as long as Mama Nicole posed no threat to her. It was enough to tell the sisters of the Witches' Coven to be careful.
"Oh? She's come this far already?"
Gnaea's lovely brows rose, and she let out a long sigh. "You've brought back some very sensitive intel, Miss Top Courtesan."
"I hate lies and Betrayal, but for my sisters' safety, I had no choice but to sell out someone who trusts me. My conscience... it hurts so much."
Li Fei clutched her ample conscience and put on a tearful, tormented, fragile look, then showed her true colors: "So how many Witch Points is this intel worth?"
"Intel needs to be verified and assessed, Miss Witch."
Gnaea ruffled the hair on Li Fei's forehead.
"Right... So can our sister still get out?"
Li Fei stuck out her tongue.
"Don't worry, she's in no danger... No, wait, correction: she can't die. I guarantee it."
Gnaea's calm tone was very convincing, a full display of a mature woman's confident charm.
Hiss... The Witches' Coven is that formidable?
Li Fei's little heart fluttered.
She couldn't pin down what "whatever is spoken shall be known" really meant, but a Transcendent with that authority had to be strong, absurdly strong, beyond what most Sequence 2s could reach. Of everyone she knew, only Bai Mengtian and Nicole possessed such outrageous might.
Against such a terrifying pursuer, how had that witch managed to slip through her fingers again and again?
"You'll understand once you reach a high Sequence. Maybe sooner."
Gnaea saw the confusion on Miss Top Courtesan's face and smiled lightly.
"Okay..."
With her warning delivered and the situation not nearly as bad as she'd imagined, the Witch Spy relaxed, pulled out a stool, and sat down beside Lady Gnaea.
It felt a bit cold.
Only then did Miss Top Courtesan realize, belatedly.
Under that enormous terror just now, she seemed to have... leaked a tiny bit.
After all, Lady Nicole's kindly smile had left too deep a psychological scar. If she ever saw through her witch identity... she'd probably suffer some kind of torment that made her cry out very loudly, like being mounted as a specimen and hung in the bedroom as a trophy, taken down to vent on whenever another witch slipped through her hands...
The Spy shuddered at the lingering fear, then cast a cleaning spell and left her body fresh and spotless.
The more than two thousand patterns on her belly were medals from her battles. In those fierce engagements where rivers ran red and the sun and moon went dark, some loss of moisture, in the form of tears, saliva, and so on, was inevitable. So she was calm about it. Honestly, business as usual. Surely nobody thought the only thing that had pickled the wedding photo in Lady Annie's bedroom was orange juice?
Lady Gnaea, meanwhile, showed the care and consideration of a woman older than her, mixing a glass of peach-flavored sparkling water and adding a translucent ball of ice before sliding it over to Li Fei.
"Thank you."
Li Fei thanked her sweetly and meant to toss in a wink, only to find she couldn't get into the mood at all.
Hm?
That's not right?
Wasn't this a thoroughly drilled basic skill?
As Miss Top Courtesan felt the strangeness in her body, the terror that had just faded surfaced once more in the depths of her heart.
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