Chapter 156: Meeting on a Narrow Path

"Tang Changpu?"

In the empty reception room, a voice with a faint mechanical static came from the magic mirror in Senior Cuique's hand: "Are you sure about this codename?"

In the mirror's surface, a round doll was struggling to hold the magic mirror with its paws, speaking to Senior Cuique to confirm.

As for Senior Cuique herself, she leaned against a closed wooden door, expressionless, gazing at the magic mirror in her hand, and nodded, her sapphire-blue hair swaying:

"Yes, that's correct. Can you find out? I cannot confirm if this codename is real; I only judged from the information the other party revealed that she might be from Claw Mark, but apart from some unverified statements, there is currently no other substantial evidence."

After leaving the dinner table, unable to suppress the Heart Gem, Senior Cuique rushed at top speed to an empty reception room next door, then locked the door behind her.

Since the Heart Gem's loss of control temporarily prevented her from undoing the transformation, she took out the magic mirror she carried and contacted Emerald.

There was no other reason; currently, only Emerald in Fang Ting City could handle this matter.

She did not know what strength this self-proclaimed "Tang Changpu," suspected to be from Claw Mark, possessed, but she had a clear understanding of her own current level—even if Sparrow came again, she would not gain the upper hand, let alone this person who was clearly stronger than Sparrow.

"Let me see... wait a moment, I need my assistant to contact a friend at the Magical Affairs Bureau."

Emerald's voice sounded slightly distant, probably because her true form far away in the Realm was doing something else, but she still emphasized the word "friend": "You might need to wait two or three minutes."

"Alright." Senior Cuique nodded expressionlessly, "Thank you for your trouble."

"It's a small matter; we are still some distance from trouble."

The doll in the mirror waved its paws: "But what exactly happened on your end? A Claw Mark magical girl directly infiltrating the Special Strategy Bureau is not a common occurrence. As far as I know, Bai Lang and her group of subordinates always avoid contact with ordinary people."

Senior Cuique hesitated for a long time, but finally stated the fabricated reason of "being arrested on the street for eating without paying" to explain the sequence of events. She added at the end: "This is the process I have heard so far; the facts still need verification."

"Although it sounds a bit strange... it doesn't seem impossible."

Emerald's reaction was remarkably calm; not only did she not question what Senior Cuique said, but she seriously began to analyze: "Although most magical girls in the Material Realm are familiar with human cities, the natives of the Realm and the old veterans who have lived in the Realm for too long are not clear about these things. There was even an incident where one of my researchers got lost in the Material Realm; when they were found, they had been wandering, exposed to wind and dew, for half a month."

"Are the people of your Realm really okay?"

"I said, here you must say 'our Realm'! Show your sense of unity, youngster."

Emerald spoke with deep concern: "You see, your current predicament is the result of not listening to elders. I have been urging you to accept treatment earlier, but you questioned and delayed; now that something really happened, you still have to ask for my help. Shouldn't you reconsider the deal I proposed?"

"I will consider it after the fact." Senior Cuique replied expressionlessly, "So, have you found the other party's information?"

"Don't rush; in such a short time, it shouldn't have been found yet... Ah, found it, Tang Changpu."

She suddenly changed her tone mid-sentence, accompanied by the sound of flipping pages, and said thoughtfully: "Hmm, there really is such a person."

"Is it a fake?" Senior Cuique asked next.

"Probably not."

The voice on the other end of the communication slowed slightly, obviously because Emerald was reading something: "The results I found here show that 'Tang Changpu' is indeed a magical girl who defected with Bai Lang over ten years ago. Before the defection, she was an arbitrator at the Treasury and also a Flower Card, and it seems she knew Bai Lang very early on."

"... She didn't lie?" Senior Cuique was somewhat confused.

"Not everyone is a deep-thinking brat like you, youngster."

The doll in the mirror shook its head: "Magical girls are synonymous with purity and kindness; young girls are so, and I, a Venerable and respected elder, also possess noble and Beautiful quality. Among the defected magical girls, there are quite a few with simple minds."

On Senior Cuique's already expressionless face, even the last trace of emotion vanished.

"I am willing to believe your words, Chief."

She nodded: "Putting aside some controversial issues for now, that means the one who came to Fang Ting City is very likely a defected magical girl possessing Flower Card combat power and rich combat experience."

"In other words, this is an enemy whose strength alone is no less than 'Moth', and may even surpass her. The current Fang Ting City magical girl team, even if all members combine, may not be her match. If she wants to do something next, no one here can stop her."

"Then, Chief, what do you think a magical girl from Claw Mark appearing in Fang Ting City at this time, if she really has some purpose, would be for?"

The other party claimed to be "looking for Cornflower," but even if it was just to find someone, there must be a purpose that requires finding that person to achieve. And according to Senior Cuique's own speculation, the other party coming to find her was most likely for nothing other than...

"The Beast Source, right?"

Emerald agreed: "Indeed, if I can think of this, Bai Lang has no reason not to. She betrayed the Realm for two Beast Sources; she has no reason not to be tempted by the one in your hand."

"I may not be able to protect this thing from a Flower Card subordinate in full condition."

Senior Cuique stated the facts in a calm tone: "If the other party uses force, or even uses the safety of Fang Ting City as a bargaining chip to demand the Beast Source from me, I will need your assistance."

"My assistance? You mean you want me to help you defeat that 'Tang Changpu'? Unfortunately, my true form is still in the Realm and cannot come to Fang Ting City."

The doll in the magic mirror waved its paws: "This avatar of mine basically has no combat ability; don't say a Flower Card, even your few juniors could easily defeat this avatar."

It spoke with conviction, as if truly powerless in this matter, but Senior Cuique said nothing, continuing to look at the magic mirror expressionlessly.

The doll in the magic mirror paused for a few seconds, seemingly waiting for something; seeing that Senior Cuique had no reaction, it said somewhat boredly: "You are really an unlovely youngster; couldn't you say a word to support me at a time like this?"

"So?" Senior Cuique nodded, "Do you have any way?"

"You are so confident that I will help you?" Emerald felt somewhat strange instead, "What if I really can't? After all, this matter has nothing to do with me, right?"

Senior Cuique sighed helplessly: "I think a Gem Scepter should not say 'a traitor attacking the city has nothing to do with me'."

"From the morality of magical girls, that is true." Emerald refuted, "But I am also a Gem Scepter; even with noble character, I must consider macro-level interests."

"From the perspective of interests, you should not tolerate anyone laying hands on this Beast Source either."

Senior Cuique analyzed calmly: "You specially rushed to Fang Ting to build a research institute, obviously intending to conduct research here from the start. Even if our deal is successfully reached and the Beast Source is handed over to you, you should also consider the problem of the Beast Source being snatched away."

"Hmm... seems indeed irrefutable. Such clear thinking, truly not to be underestimated, youngster."

The doll in the mirror first struck a thinking pose, then nodded somewhat in agreement: "Then I'll tell you; no need to worry about this. Even if the other party is indeed the defected 'Tang Changpu', next there will be..."

— "Thump!"

Before Emerald could finish speaking, Senior Cuique suddenly felt a strong impact on the wooden door behind her.

The reception room door was pushed open violently, and Senior Cuique, who was originally leaning against the door, was directly knocked down to the ground. The magic mirror in her hand was thus thrown out of her grasp, falling several meters away, leaving only Emerald's confused calling voice from within the mirror.

Senior Cuique got up supporting the ground, turned to look at the entrance, and saw that the magical girl who claimed to be "Tang Changpu" had somehow arrived behind her, looking at her with interest.

"As expected, my feeling was not wrong; it is a magical girl!"

She was still holding the wine glass brought from the dining table, with a slight flush of drunkenness on her cheeks: "Semi, you lost the bet!"

"It really is a magical girl?"

The black cat fairy floated out from behind her, looking at Senior Cuique with some surprise and uncertainty: "Indeed it is... but how strange, why do I feel nothing at all?"

"I told you, your fairies' perception mode is too singular."

The young girl smiled with a touch of confidence: "In this regard, I am more professional than you."

"Are you a City magic girl from Fang Ting? What are you doing here?"

However, the Semmi beside her paid her no further attention, instead tensing her body and looking at Senior Cuique: "Did that man just now notify you to come?"

Earlier at the dinner table, Yuan suddenly spoke up, saying she sensed the magic of a City magic girl, and then walked straight toward this room. Although Semmi felt such behavior was somewhat rash, forced by necessity, she still followed.

And even after following Yuan into the adjacent reception room, she actually still did not know clearly: Did the City magic girl from Fang Ting come with goodwill or hostility? Did she know that their side came from Claw Marks? With such information unclear, she did not know what action to take for the moment.

To be honest, Semmi did not hope to solve the problem through force.

Because she always worried that the Cornflower of Fang Ting City possessed powerful strength, and a head-on clash would result in losing everything. In her view, the risk of direct combat was far higher than outsmarting, communicating, or trading; combat measures should not be taken until there was no other way.

Precisely because of this, she tried to use dialogue to confirm the other side's attitude, wanting to know if their side had truly been exposed.

"I received a notification that an unknown City magic girl entered Fang Ting."

To this, Senior Cuique avoided the main point and focused on the trivial, not mentioning much of what Lin Yun had done, brushing over her reason for being here, "So I came to confirm your identities and intentions."

"Confirm identities?"

Semmi's ears stood up quite noticeably, but they quickly returned to a relaxed state: "What do you want to know?"

"Your codename, certification number, duty, and mission."

Just like Semmi's thoughts, to avoid escalating the conflict and causing both sides to fight directly, Senior Cuique, after a brief moment of thought, decided to use the same trick again, once more pretending not to know the other side was from Claw Marks: "Perhaps it will be somewhat offensive, but I need to ensure you are truly City magic girls from the Kingdom."

Her attitude also confused Semmi.

She had originally prepared for her side to be exposed, ready for a hard fight next. But the attitude Senior Cuique displayed now seemed to indicate she was not yet certain they were from Claw Marks, which meant there was still room for maneuver.

Should we talk a bit more?

Thinking this, she was about to follow Senior Cuique's words and continue speaking, but she saw Yuan extend a hand to block in front of her.

— "No need to act anymore, little girl."

Her expression was slightly tipsy, but her tone was certain; she smiled and shook her head: "I just heard you say the words 'Source of Beasts' behind the door. You obviously know why we are here, right?"

"Eh?" Semmi turned her head in some astonishment to look at her.

Senior Cuique's originally cold expression grew even more tense.

"Since that is the case, there is no need to hide it any longer. We are people of 'Claw Marks', and we came to Fang Ting City to retrieve the Source of Beasts from Cornflower, and to complete some other missions as well."

Yuan brought the wine glass to her lips and took a light sip: "Are you a City magic girl from Fang Ting? Then you should know where Cornflower is?"

"... Your goal is indeed the Source of Beasts." Seeing her intentions exposed, Senior Cuique no longer pretended. She stepped back a few paces, picked up the magic mirror from the ground, and tucked it into her sleeve. The wide cuff of her Western-style robe acted like a storage bag, hiding the mirror inside, with no trace of bulging visible on the outside.

After doing this, she looked at the combination before her with some caution: "What do you want it for?"

"Want to know?"

Yuan exhaled the scent of wine and stepped closer to Senior Cuique; her height, being more than half a head taller than Senior Cuique, created a sense of oppression: "Then answer my question first, little girl. Do you know Cornflower? Do you know where Cornflower is?"

Senior Cuique raised her head and faced her gaze fearlessly: "I have no obligation to answer your question..."

However, before her words finished, a sudden sense of alarm arose in her heart. She felt a chill down her back, as if some danger was approaching.

Clang!

There was no time for hesitation; Senior Cuique almost instinctively activated her magic armor. Threads overlapped behind her back to form a shield-like masterpiece, blocking this attack from behind.

But that was all she managed to do—block the attack. She couldn't even see what had attacked her.

And worse, when she used her magic armor, she realized trouble was still ahead. Because the Yuan before her looked at the threads surrounding her and revealed a somewhat knowing smile.

"... Although I had a premonition, I still had to test your skills to know it was you."

She gently placed the wine glass on the table nearby, and the tipsy expression on her face gradually faded:

"Cornflower."

(End of this chapter)