The Heart of Magic shimmered with a faint blue glow.
When it touched Yang Nini’s palm, she felt a current-like, mystical sensation sweep through her entire body, as if this thing wasn’t just making contact with her flesh, but merging with her very soul.
Although it felt a bit strange, Yang Nini still chose to hold it tight and press it to her chest. Just like that, the Heart of Magic fused with her, without much resistance.
Blessed be.
“You did it!”
Xia Xue clapped her hands.
“As the saying goes, everything is hard at the beginning. Many newcomers struggle with this step, but you really are talented!” Xia Xue squeezed Yang Nini’s hand, congratulating her.
“Thank you for the compliment, Senior Xia Xue,” Yang Nini said happily.
“Next, we’ll take you newcomers to the Magical Power Test!”
“Ma…gical Power Test? What’s that?” asked the girl named Zhang Pei.
“It’s a test to check the strength of your magical power as a magical girl, as well as to understand any special abilities you might have. It’s the very first thing every new magical girl must do,” Xia Xue explained.
Zhang Pei just shook her head.
“I’m from the countryside, I don’t get it.”
Xia Xue was a little speechless.
“Well… never mind. You don’t need to understand the principles, just do as I say.”
Xia Xue took Yang Nini’s hand and led her to the next location.
When they arrived, what greeted their eyes was a strange object floating in the air, covered in densely packed glowing patterns. It didn’t look like something made by humans.
“Watch your step! Don’t step on the places with red lines, or it’ll mess up the test results.” Beneath the floating object was a giant magic circle, its patterns marked with red lines.
“We’ll go one at a time. Whoever’s turn it is, just place your hand on the floating thing. That’s all, you don’t need to do anything else,” Xia Xue said from the front of the group.
One by one, the girls followed the process, and before long, it was Yang Nini’s turn.
At first, she was a little nervous, but with Xia Xue’s encouragement, she walked step by step to the center of the testing field.
She reached out and touched the wondrous object floating in the air. As soon as she made contact, she felt certain forces within her start to surge… as if an invisible energy was gathering in her palm.
Yang Nini’s intuition told her this power was very strong, but it was hard to control.
Suddenly, something completely unexpected happened: it felt like a mechanism within her body had been triggered, and the intensity of her magical power rapidly weakened, nearly fading away in no time.
She tried to summon the same strength again, but to no avail, as if there was a valve inside her, limiting the production of her magic.
“No, how could this be…”
Yang Nini pulled her hand back, staring doubtfully at her palm and clenching her fist, but she couldn’t awaken her magic that way.
“Yang Nini! You’re done, come back quickly!” Xia Xue called to her.
“Oh… okay!”
Yang Nini was puzzled, but in the end, she thought maybe it was just an illusion. After all, how could such powerful energy really be inside her? So she didn’t dwell on it and left the testing field.
While waiting for the test results, Yang Nini was thinking about what her magical girl codename should be.
She glanced at Zhang Pei, who was daydreaming nearby with nothing to do, and asked out of curiosity, “Zhang Pei, what will your codename be?”
Suddenly being asked, Zhang Pei almost didn’t react.
“You’re talking to me?”
“Yes,” Yang Nini nodded.
“Codename? I don’t want any fancy nickname. My mom taught me to live simply, so I don’t care about a codename—just call me Zhang Pei.”
“I see.”
Yang Nini agreed a bit with her reasoning; it did feel strange to suddenly change names and she probably wouldn’t get used to it.
“If I really have to pick a new name, I think I’d choose something I like the most. For example, my favorite is stewed potatoes, so maybe I’d just call myself Potato. Sigh, I wonder if they have potatoes to eat here, I’m so hungry…”
Yang Nini pondered, “Something I like the most… I get it.”
Just then, Xia Xue came over holding the test results.
“Senior Xia Xue! How did I do on the test?” Yang Nini asked eagerly.
“Little Sister Yang, for you… it’s pretty average. No special abilities detected, about the same as most girls.”
“Is that so…”
Seeing Yang Nini a bit down, Xia Xue quickly tried to comfort her: “Ah, don’t be upset. Magical ability can always be strengthened later.”
Yang Nini sighed, “Sigh, this is good enough. I’m not asking for more. Becoming a magical girl was my greatest wish, and now that it’s come true, I have no complaints. Senior Xia Xue, you don’t need to worry about how I feel.”
“Mm! Having a good attitude is the most important! By the way, Little Sister Yang, have you thought of a codename yet? It’s almost time for official magical girl registration. You need a codename for that.”
“I… have decided. I’ll be called -Xingluo.”
Qixing knocked on the door.
There was no response from inside.
After waiting a moment, she knocked again, harder.
“Come in.” The reply echoed in her mind.
Qixing pushed the door open and entered Yandong’s hospital room, seeing Yandong lying on the bed with a poor complexion. She felt heartbroken.
Qixing had been hand-picked and trained by Yandong herself; to Qixing, Yandong was like a senior family member—though Yandong might actually be younger than her.
“Lady Yandong, are you feeling any better?” Qixing asked anxiously.
“At least I’m not in pain anymore.”
Qixing held Yandong’s hand.
“Lady Yandong, I can’t lose you! Please hold on!”
“Thank you for your concern… but you’d best accept the fact that I’m destined to leave. My injuries can’t be healed…” Yandong said with effort.
“Sigh… After toiling in this position for four or five years, I’ve seen a lot. Qixing, I know you’re not here just to worry about my health, are you?”
Qixing nodded.
“Of course, Lady Yandong, you always see further than anyone. I came to ask you something, I…”
Yandong cut her off.
“I won’t tell you anything.”
“…Why?”
Yandong looked at Qixing’s confused eyes, unwilling to explain, but knowing that if she didn’t give an answer, Qixing might do something reckless.
She parted her lips slightly and said, “Qixing, you’re actually not that old yet. You need to understand, governing society should be the business of adults. Many things are complicated. You’re too young, you don’t understand.”
Qixing objected, “I…I can learn! You can teach me! Lady Yandong, as long as you don’t leave, I’ll study humbly!”
Yandong shook her head.
“It’s not the same. This isn’t something I can teach you… The world is too complicated, and the rules behind reality are like a maze you can’t escape at your age. Headless impulsiveness solves nothing… Only time is the best teacher…”
“Lady Yandong!” Qixing bent over, pressing close to Yandong, feeling her weak pulse.
Qixing didn’t understand why Yandong wouldn’t say a word; her reasons seemed far too forced. Maybe there was some other pain…
“Magical girls must bear responsibility—that’s what you taught me: with great power comes great responsibility. I’m already the one you designated as the next Governor.”
“I will shoulder this heavy responsibility, but there are some things you’ve always borne alone and refused to give to me. Why? Don’t you trust me?”
“No…” Yandong objected reluctantly, but she had no strength left to explain further.
Qixing remembered what Li Tian said at the meeting: “When people are dying, they will not let the truth be buried.”
She made up her mind—even if it meant threatening her respected Yandong, she had to get the truth.
For the truth, she was willing to give everything.
“Lady Yandong, I’ll accept your departure.”
Qixing stroked Yandong’s smooth face and ran her fingers through her pink hair.
“But… have you really decided to abandon me? To take that intangible responsibility with you to the underworld? I’ve always been your most trusted junior, but just like this, you won’t entrust the entire cause to me?”
Qixing noticed Yandong biting her lip. Their clasped hands tightened.
“You’re about to depart from this world! But when a person dies, things aren’t over. Regrets remain—that must hurt far more than bodily pain, right?”
“Don’t worry, Lady Yandong, I won’t let you be left with regrets or pain. Please, just tell me the truth—about the reason for the Wings of Freedom attack.”
Yandong looked away, refusing to meet Qixing’s gaze. She was still struggling inside.
“It’s been a long time since Wings of Freedom launched such a large-scale attack. Was it because of the military’s secret cargo? You must know what that cargo was, right?”
Yandong only shook her head.
“No, I can’t tell you… cough cough… You’re the junior I care about most. This is for your own good… I won’t tell you anything.”
Qixing turned Yandong’s body straight, staring at her unwilling face, and said, “Lady Yandong, is it because you don’t trust me? You’ve spent a long time at the center of power in Song City, always on guard against everyone. Are you doubting my loyalty?”
“No! Of course not, I’ve always seen you as my successor…” Yandong tried to protest.
“Who knows? Once someone holds high office, they become suspicious. After all, some shady deals and secrets can’t be exposed so easily, can they?”
“You… that’s nonsense… How could I think that about my favorite junior! If there really were such secrets, I wouldn’t hide them from you… really.”
Yandong’s messy pink hair spread out on the pillow. Qixing grabbed a handful and tugged lightly.
“You’re lying!” she shouted.
The words shot through Yandong’s psychological defenses like a bullet. She couldn’t hold back her emotions, gasping for breath, looking extremely pained.
“No, stop!… I won’t say it, Qixing… did you come here to torture me?” Tears welled up at the corners of Yandong’s eyes.
“Don’t… stab at my pain anymore…”
She began to cry, no different from an ordinary girl’s sobs.
“Lady Yandong, please answer my question.” Qixing fought back her sympathy, her voice cold.
“Uuu… I… I did it to protect you!!! Uuu… I’ve been pretending to be an adult this whole time… but I’m just a sixteen-year-old girl… I don’t want to die yet!!!”
“But fate is like this… forcing people of the wrong age to do things they shouldn’t… I’m about to die, please stop torturing me…”
Yandong’s words were mixed with a girl’s sobs, making Qixing’s heart ache like it was being cut. She wiped the tears from Yandong’s face and held the crying Yandong in her arms.
“About to die… right? In that case, cry as much as you want, Lady Yandong.”
Yandong used all her strength to hug Qixing tightly, sobbing into her arms.
“But isn’t it because you don’t trust me? In the end, you still want to leave alone, right? Taking your unspeakable secrets to the grave just to protect someone as unimportant as me, sacrificing the people of Song City and the magical girls, I… I hate you for this.”
Qixing broke free from Yandong’s feeble embrace.
“Don’t go!”
Yandong grabbed her hand. Qixing hadn’t expected Yandong to still have the strength to hold her back.
“You’re right… cough cough… I am a selfish person, so… I beg you, can you stay with me for my final moments?” Yandong pleaded, her voice choked with tears.
Even though she couldn’t get any useful information, Qixing stayed, sitting by her side. Yandong sat up, leaning on Qixing and gently wrapping her arms around Qixing’s arm, not wanting her to leave again.
“Qixing, when did we first meet? That was such a long time ago… I can barely remember anymore. After working so hard most of my life, I didn’t even remember the most important things. I really deserve to die for that… Qixing, do you remember?” Yandong whispered in her ear.
Qixing said nothing, only fell silent.
“Qixing… Qixing? Please don’t make me cry again, okay? Can’t you even fulfill my last wish?” Yandong began to cry again.
Qixing knew that continuing to torment Yandong would get her nowhere. Her heart was already full of guilt, so she gripped the Cross Pendant at her chest, hoping for Yandong’s forgiveness.
“I’m sorry, Lady Yandong, it was my fault. Let me answer—it was four years ago, right after you became Governor, and you met me on the surface while I was on a mission.”
“I see… It’s coming back to me. I remember you were in the Old Song City Ruins, near the area of the Cannon Explosion Point. You were spacing out in a danger zone without protective gear.”
“Mm, I should thank you for reminding me to put on my protective suit.”
“At that time, you were probably mourning the loved ones you lost when the disaster began?”
“Yes, that unprecedented catastrophe took the lives of everyone I knew.”
“Family… I can’t remember anything from before the disaster. I only have the vaguest impression of my parents’ faces, not even a clear memory in dreams—they’ve vanished into an unknowable eternity. And now, even I, their last trace, am about to disappear soon.”
“You can still leave your mark on me at the end.”
Qixing still refused to give up.
“Hah… hah, what happened after that?”
You thought I had great potential, so you promoted me specially to your side for training.
“That wasn’t proper, was it? It broke the rules about position changes.”
“Yes, but you were always that selfish—bending the rules to keep me with you.”
“Mhm, you’re right.”
Yandong managed a rare smile.
“And then what happened? Don’t say it, let me think—oh, you felt guilty for treating me specially and wanted to do something to repay me.”
“Just then, there was a huge emergency—a level II beast lost control underground, and you took the initiative to go out alone and solve it. That was really impressive.”
“No, I had a lot of help from my teammates back then.”
“From then on, you became famous, and I could legitimately make you my right hand.”
“I really didn’t deserve so much favor—there were others more outstanding than me…”
Wait… what was Yandong doing? Qixing suddenly noticed Yandong writing something, stroke by stroke, on her arm.
Perhaps this was Yandong’s true feelings. For some reason, she couldn’t say it out loud, so she approached Qixing this way.
Qixing understood: Yandong had always been striving, protecting her while also caring for Song City’s future…
Qixing almost lost control of her emotions, but quickly calmed herself. While feeling what Yandong wrote, she continued chatting as cover.
“But you’re different,” Yandong said.
“The first moment I saw you, I unconsciously liked you. From the bottom of my heart, I always thought you were better than any other magical girl.”
“You’re decisive, clean, and efficient—things most people your age can’t do. And you have a clear understanding of how to use your abilities, knowing what should and shouldn’t be done… You have the ability to see the truth of things…”
Those were her true feelings.
“So, it’s only natural that I’d like you, right?”
It was hard to distinguish what Yandong wrote by feeling alone, but she was patient and wrote it several times, so Qixing could sense the message she conveyed—
[Eavesdropping]
She wrote two characters, meaning someone was eavesdropping on their conversation. But Qixing wasn’t surprised; for Yandong to go so far, there must be someone operating behind the scenes.
“You like me… That’s unexpected, Lady Yandong. I always thought you just thought I was capable, that’s all.”
“That’s not it, I really like you… But I was scared to reveal my feelings, so I could only treat you as a superior. Every time I’m with you, my heart beats wildly—I can’t stand being so close to you. Don’t be fooled by my stern appearance; deep down, I’ve always been a girl just beginning to understand love…”
The next word she wrote was
-[Powder]
She knows about the military’s cargo? Just as expected… there was something behind all this.
“So… is this a confession?”
“I guess… I’ve always seen you as my white knight. Even though you’re also a girl, you really have a heroic presence. Besides, there’s no rule saying magical girls can’t fall for each other, right? So, will you grant me one last, trivial wish? Just one, my final request?”
“What is it?”
“Could you… kiss me?”
After getting used to it, Qixing could efficiently interpret the words Yandong wrote on her skin. She wrote—[Bullet]
She meant that this powder had something to do with bullets?
Qixing recalled the latter half of the attack, when several Wings of Freedom members were killed as if physically pierced through their shields—could this powder produce bullets that pierce magical barriers!?
“Kiss you where?”
“Anywhere is fine.”
Yandong’s face really turned red. Could she really have feelings for Qixing? Qixing could hardly believe it.
“I promise.”
Yandong smiled with true happiness, more than she’d ever shown before.
Qixing leaned in close, hesitating about where to kiss—this was the most indecisive moment of her life.
In the end, she decided to kiss Yandong’s blushing cheek.
“Thank you, that’s enough to satisfy me.”
Yandong suddenly stopped writing. She seemed to hesitate, and Qixing didn’t know what she was about to do next.
“Can I kiss you back? Just let me be selfish once more?” Yandong asked, pushing her luck.
Qixing couldn’t refuse and had no choice but to agree.
“Eh!? Lady Yandong, where are you—?”
“Hehe…”
Before Qixing could react, Yandong kissed her again—this time, on the lips.
[Xinyu]
That was the last word she wrote in Qixing’s palm.