Chapter 356

Page 164 One Hope Remains

“Everything that Qianxia heard from Sister Hai was just this! Sister Hai also said that the possibility of finding Sister Lingmeng back was very small, but she would make long-term efforts in this regard… But don’t have too much hope.”

When Zhu Beihai appeared on the staircase at the entrance of the temple, Qianxia had already informed us about Xiao Kai’s situation. Although it sounded quite hopeless, it was better than having no hope at all.

“Qianxia?”

With Brother Zhu’s call.

“Oh! Dad!”

Little Qianxia also noticed Zhu Beihai. She wriggled out of her grandmother’s arms and ran barefoot toward her father…

Unfortunately, she turned into light just as she reached Zhu Beihai.

“Ah…”

The touching reunion script became Zhu Beihai holding a human-shaped lamp, bewildered.

I glanced at Grandpa, whispering, “Little Qianxia is also part of Grandpa’s bloodline and will be affected by the random transformation curse.”

Sister Lei supported me under my armpits, lifting me effortlessly.

“To say small, Sister Ying is also quite small now! Unlike Linhua, who has grown very big!”

Hard appendages extended from behind her clothes, like Dr. Octopus, supporting the ground and then knocking Sister Lei’s forehead while hanging in mid-air.

“Fool! I’m not Xiao Kai, don’t be so rude to me!”

“Sorry! Sorry!”

But Linhua indeed grew very “big.”

Perhaps due to her inner desires being answered by Heavenly Path, almost every time she randomly transformed, her cup size increased by three levels. She rather enjoyed this curse, despite having to take off her bra.

This time, Linhua had double eyelids, beauty marks at the corners of her eyes, brush-like eyelashes longer than before, black straight hair, and was a very charming quiet beauty, suitable for being a librarian.

At this moment, Linhua and Zǐjiàng were standing together, seriously discussing the clues brought by Little Qianxia from Lord Hai.

“Zǐjiàng, what are your next plans?”

“Xiao Ying can’t feel Lingmeng through the restraint either because he is no longer alive, but if we could break through the barriers between worlds, maybe we could contact him again through the restraint. I want to work in this direction, even if we can’t bring him back, at least we need to confirm his safety.”

They were discussing their next plan.

I wasn’t trying to dampen their spirits, but I decided to tell them the reality.

I stepped forward and said, “To break through the barriers between worlds, not only do we need exaggerated divine power, but also extremely high mastery of techniques. Lady Hai’s divine technique level is second to none, and it’s already difficult for her to send Qianxia back. You might not be able to do something nearly impossible.”

“Impossible? Xiao Ying, you’re more pessimistic than Xiao Kai.”

But Zǐjiàng pinched my round face and said, “Don’t deny hastily. I might not be able to do it alone, but with the whole institute working together, there must be a solution. After all, we still have Teacher Xiaoxue.”

Is this the confidence of a genius?

On the other side, the light around Little Qianxia dissipated. She completed an evolution from elementary school student to college student. Luckily, I shrunk myself, saving enough black material for her clothing changes.

“Dad, Mom…”

Holding such Little Qianxia, Zhu Beihai came to the altar and called a seventeen-year-old girl “Mom,” making his emotions very complex.

“Qianxia is back, then what about Ning Ying and Xiao Kai…”

“They won’t come back now, at least not yet. But they are said to still be alive. We still have a chance!”

Only Grandpa answered his question, explaining it very vaguely, leaving Zhu Beihai puzzled.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain to Uncle later. What we should do now is send Qianxia to see the Boss, right? They haven’t seen each other for so many years.”

Grandma asked, “I also want to help with this. Can you teach me about spells, Cang’er?”

Grandma took the initiative to speak, which was a great opportunity for Grandpa to mend their relationship, but he shook his head reluctantly.

“No! I can teach you how to refine magic energy within your body, but I can’t teach you the theory of these techniques!”

“Oh? You can teach Bi Fang but not me?”

Grandpa’s answer made Grandma’s fist harden.

“Bi Fang did it to save you. She knew the cost of using spells…”

“Uh, I wanted to ask this before!”

Sister Lei suddenly raised her hand and interrupted, “What exactly did Boss pay for using spells? Is it just physical weakness?”

Zǐjiàng replied, “How could it be? Boss used the transformation technique too often, causing health issues. Although it doesn’t show externally, internally it’s a mess. Before performing surgery on Grandma Yuehua, she rarely used spells herself. Today, she didn’t come along because she’s not feeling well.”

Lu Bibang never mentioned these things.

She silently paid a lot for Grandma due to decades of love, more commendable than Grandpa.

Grandpa said, “The cost Bi Fang has endured has reached its limit. She can’t use spells anymore to save her life! But she has excellent successors. In the future, Xiao Luzi will become the new director, inheriting Bi Fang’s work.”

I said to Zǐjiàng, “You shouldn’t overexert yourself. Xiao Kai’s matter can’t be rushed. This will surely be a long battle.”

“I won’t act rashly. If I do it, I must succeed.”

To become the director of the Magic Research Institute, one’s own abilities must be strong. That’s why Zǐjiàng is so devoted to studying spells, otherwise, how could she gain the trust of other researchers?

Fortunately, her intelligent mind is suitable for research, skipping the trial-and-error phase. Her progress is much faster than other witches, at least keeping up with the theory, while refining and operating magic power requires more practice.

“Wow! It’s already past 1 PM!”

Linhua looked at her phone and jumped up from the ground.

Although she was wearing thick winter coats, her upper body was still eye-catching.

She didn’t seem to care.

Or perhaps pretended not to care, asking, “Should we go eat lunch soon?”

—

Today wasn’t a wasted trip. We not only learned that Xiao Kai is still alive (at least in a positive sense), but Qianxia also returned from being missing. The only regret was not being able to contact Lady Hai… Sigh, she really dislikes Grandpa, doesn’t she?

Compared to the previous oppressive atmosphere, the current environment was much lighter, to the point where some small animal started causing trouble. Just returning from the altar to the living room of the underground temple, it clung to me, demanding divine power to transform.

“Even though there are so many people today, do you have to turn into someone and sit at the table?”

“If I don’t turn into someone and sit at the table, am I supposed to be served as food?”

Grandpa didn’t consider that one day there would be so many people eating at home. Usually, it was just her and Sister Dog. Now with Mumuxi, there were only three people, so the dining table in the temple wasn’t large.

Even if a round table was set up, it could barely fit ten chairs in a circle, but today there were twelve people. If Yuzu didn’t turn into someone, and Dog Sister released her clone to share a mouth with Mumuxi, they could barely fit…

“There’s no way, Yuzu, stop fooling around.”

“Just squeeze in a bit, I also want to eat with everyone! Or, shall I hold you and eat?”

My current height sitting on a chair meant I couldn’t see the table, let alone pick up food. Indeed, someone needed to help… But why does it have to be this small animal? Right now, Linhua’s pillow would be much more comfortable!

“Sister Ying!”

After changing into fitting clothes in Grandpa’s dressing room, Little Qianxia returned to the dining room and hugged me from behind, startling Yuzu who jumped off my arm. Little Qianxia used to have hyperactivity tendencies, and after returning from the dream, her energy was even more abundant.

After all, she was a body crafted by Lady Hai, and her post-transformation physique was superhuman. My current body couldn’t escape, so I reluctantly adopted a lecturing tone.

“Alright, alright, stop being childish, quickly put me down!”

But she ignored me and, mimicking what I did earlier, kissed me on the cheek, saying, “Qianxia heard everything! Let me hold Sister and eat with her! I’ll feed you too!”

“You little thing, you’re not worried about your Sister Lingmeng anymore?”

“…Hmm.”

Her lips pouted immediately, and she muttered softly, “I worry, but Qianxia wants everyone to smile! And, Lady Hai and everyone are working hard. I believe Sister Lingmeng will come back.”

“What a strong self-regulating child!”

Yuzu climbed back, tugging at my arm and urging, “Alright, Xiao Ying, quickly turn me into human form!”

“But there really aren’t enough seats! Foolish badger!”

Hearing the commotion, Grandpa rushed out of the kitchen, wearing an apron. “Don’t worry about the seats. Beihai and I will cook today. Subtracting our two seats, there should be enough, right?”

Dog Sister mocked, “Cook? That’s cooking? Mumuxi’s instant noodles are better than your dishes. Don’t talk nonsense. Quickly take your seats, Grandma and I will handle the kitchen.”

Though Dog Sister’s words weren’t polite, she meant to take care of Grandpa. She reached for Grandpa’s apron.

“Oh! Let me help too!”

Seeing Dog Sister head to the kitchen, Mumuxi stood up and rushed over.

Just as Grandma was carrying two dishes out of the kitchen, she was sent back out.

“You two kids are too polite. You’ve taken good care of this old man before. Today, rest well… Cang’er! Go serve the dishes!”

“Okay—”

Pathetic. At Grandma’s roar, Grandpa lowered his head and ran back to the kitchen.

Still, they seemed to regain some默契 as an old couple… At least, that’s how I felt.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Ying? Why are you staring at me like that.”

Grandma turned back, looking at me in confusion, her silver chain dangling from her glasses and silver hair swaying in front of her eyes.

“Nothing, Grandma, it’s good that you look young…”

Before I finished speaking, Grandpa’s cry came from the kitchen.

“Beihai? Ah! Hurry, hurry, help!”