However, just as Irina was about to secure her victory, an extremely ominous premonition surged into her heart, causing her breath to hitch and her hands to freeze mid-air.
‘Something was wrong.’
Irina frowned deeply, searching for the source of this unease.
In theory, her plan should have been flawless—she had already scanned Edma’s condition.
Recalling the information she had just seen, a flash of insight surged through Irina’s mind like an electric current.
Edma’s body still retained traces of Ning Xi’s magic—magic that contained the essence of freedom…
The next moment, as if sliced by a blade, the threads binding Edma all snapped simultaneously.
Irina’s control over Edma was severed in an instant.
Without time to think further, Irina sprang to her feet and retreated cautiously, keeping a vigilant eye on Edma, who was still lying on the ground, watching her every move.
“No, how could I let you trample me…” Edma murmured, her crimson dragon eyes flickering with a strange, eerie blue light.
A certain unfettered power surged through her body, fiercely clashing and dissolving Irina’s magic.
It was this mysterious force that shielded Edma from Irina’s control, allowing her to regain consciousness.
Although it lasted only a moment, Edma’s awareness broke free from the suppression and reined in the uncontrolled magic.
Moments later, the overwhelming dragon aura once again radiated from her.
But when she locked eyes with Edma, Irina quickly realized that Edma had not completely escaped the hypnosis.
Even though Irina had dropped her disguise, reflected in Edma’s eyes was still Motes—but not the Motes Irina knew.
Draped in a snow-white robe that shimmered with a sacred, angelic glow, Edma tightly gripped a blood-red scythe, its blade exuding a terrifying blood aura that made Irina’s heart tremble.
‘Shining Form?’
“Not over yet!” A deafening roar exploded from Edma, snapping Irina out of her daze.
In the blink of an eye, Edma had almost fully transformed into a dragon, her body rapidly swelling in size.
The shadows cast by her enormous form blocked out the sky, enveloping Irina within.
Each diamond-shaped golden scale on Edma’s body seemed to resonate with her presence, sizzling like a searing iron plate.
Condensed magic seeped from her skin as pale golden steam, the intense heat warping the surrounding air, causing the scenery to waver.
“This is bad.” Irina gritted her silver teeth.
Just moments ago, she had already exhausted a great deal of magic trying to dispel Edma’s Dragon Phantom.
The price she paid was far more than the slight nosebleed she appeared to suffer.
In fact, she had consumed magic equal to the amount Edma had lost.
For Edma, such a loss was acceptable.
But for Irina, who had only recently stepped into B-rank and had relatively limited magical reserves, it was an enormous strain.
If not for trying to confuse Edma and prevent her from reconsolidating that troublesome phantom, Irina would never have chosen such a method.
But now, it seemed the phantom was no longer the threat.
Tilting her head back, Irina stared at the golden dragon that blotted out the sun.
She did not try to flee.
There was no way she could outrun it; its mobility was too poor.
Clenching her fists, she pondered her next move.
‘Damn it, I originally wanted to put on a show in front of Little Edma, but now I have to resort to some unconventional tactics.’
“Come quickly, Little Ye.”
Suddenly called, Ye Wanqing flapped her Fire Wings and flew over.
She swallowed nervously when she saw the imposing Edma Dragon.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ll count to three, then we scatter and run separately. How about that?”
“Huh?”
Looking surprised, Ye Wanqing blinked at Irina.
Irina smiled lightly.
Running on foot definitely won’t outrun flying, especially when Edma is keeping a close watch on us.
But as long as she can get far enough away, it’ll be fine.
***
My name is Luo Jialan, and I’m five years old this year.
The small blue-haired girl who looked painfully thin as if malnourished sat on a straw mat, nibbling on a crushed ice pop.
The kind you can split into two halves from the supermarket freezer for one yuan each, just enough for two people.
The other half was being held gently in the mouth of another blue-haired woman who looked strikingly similar to Luo Jialan.
In fact, she looked like a minor—at most a high school student.
Sitting together, they easily could be mistaken for sisters.
But actually, she was the little girl’s mother.
“Finished eating?”
“Not yet.”
“Not enough? Okay, I’ll get another one.”
Luo Jialan’s eyes widened as she looked at this person who clearly craved more but tried to blame it on her daughter.
You can’t eat more; you’ll get a stomachache at night!
Luo Jialan quickly stretched out her small hand, grabbing the hem of “Luo Linglan’s” clothes.
“Oh? So you mean one each originally?”
Of course not!
Luo Jialan glared at the woman who left her speechless, then sighed.
‘Why did I have to get a mother like this?’
‘Uh, calling her ‘mother’ still feels kind of weird.’
At this moment, the woman calling herself Luo Linglan had already dragged Luo Jialan over to the freezer.
When the freezer door was opened, a rush of refreshing cold air flowed out.
Inside, what caught their eyes was—
Ice pops, lots of them, piled high like the pine cones squirrels hoard for winter.
Round and stacked one on top of another, the slightest touch caused a few to tremble and fall, as if the whole pile might collapse at any moment.
After entering Luo Jialan’s dreamscape, the first thing Ning Xi did was to acquire these…
Not really acquire—she had used magic to conjure this pile of crushed ice.
Though the original intent was to help break the Shackle on Luo Jialan, she was now enjoying it immensely herself.
As for why she appeared here as Luo Linglan, it was a decision made after fully recalling all of Luo Linglan’s memories.
She intended to remove this Shackle.
Although sharing the same memories, Ning Xi made a completely opposite choice.
Perhaps that was why she initially diverged from Luo Linglan.
But now, dwelling on those things was meaningless.
With her B-rank strength, Ning Xi had smoothly drawn Luo Jialan into the Dream World without her noticing.
But when she entered the Shackle and saw this scene, she was still somewhat surprised.
Whether it was the effect of her intrusion or the Shackle itself, Luo Jialan had reverted to her five-year-old self—the point when her memories began.
At that time, Luo Linglan hadn’t yet indoctrinated her with those rules.
Now, Ning Xi appeared at the start of Luo Jialan’s memories, replacing Luo Linglan.
That meant some outcomes would change.
“I’m hungry.”
Almost simultaneously, Ning Xi’s stomach grumbled.
But hadn’t she just been eating ice pops?
‘And if you’re hungry, why are you asking me? I’m only five years old, remember? Five!’
Luo Jialan looked up at Ning Xi.
The latter just gazed at her earnestly.
‘Don’t look at me like that. What exactly are you expecting…’
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