Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 20 Autumn Outing

In early September, the temperature dropped a bit.

As we left the Qixin District, the large screen by the roadside was still displaying the daily price of Magical Girl Coins.

Xiaoyue's crescent-shaped hair seemed to be trembling in the wind, and her energetic little face was cycled through at least three times in five seconds. The top three most watched stocks on today's gainers and losers list were scrolling on the marquee: [Zhenyue -0.9%], [Guyan -7.8%], and [Chiguang +9.9%].

Gu Bai drove and looked into the distance. The last line of large characters that appeared caught his attention:

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It seems quite a few people are paying attention to this pair of twins.

At this point, the mountain road gradually narrows, and the car's speed naturally slows down.

"Drive carefully," Gu Bai turned his gaze back to the road.

In the back seat, Tao Zhuo leaned against the car window, staring at the increasingly thin signal bar on her phone screen, and let out a deep sigh.

"They've really gone missing!"

"I did say that." Dongchun sat on her other side, holding a booklet whose title she couldn't make out, her voice calm: "The signal here isn't good, so you can read a book."

"I'd rather die than look at any health and wellness guides. I'll live to ninety-nine—no, I mean until I don't want to live anymore, then I'll start over!"

Tao Zhuo locked her phone and put it in her pocket, then turned to Gu Bai: "As for 'saying it before,' well, firsthand experience is a completely different matter, teacher, don't you agree?"

How should I put it? If Gu Bai were to tell the truth, no signal is actually the more common situation on this continent.

But he couldn't be bothered to respond.

My gaze was fixed on the mountain line outside the car window, slowly shifting backward as the car sped up.

Occasionally, a patch of dry land with bamboo poles tied to it is placed at the foot of the slope. Most of the poles have a faded red cloth tied to the end, half of which is buried in the ground. It looks like some kind of simple marker, or like some kind of scarecrow left over from long ago. In any case, no one cares about it anymore.

Like most things that remain in the past, they are permanently abandoned due to the changing times.

"Teacher, teacher, are you alright?"

"Mm." Gu Bai turned around and nodded to Tao Zhuo, which was his way of responding.

"Haha, it's good that you're alright. I was worried you might get hurt after driving all day, especially since you're not a strong and healthy magical girl like us!"

Tao Zhu stared at Gu Bai for two seconds, then began to circulate her magic, casting some kind of spell to confirm the situation.

After navigating a sharp bend, the car's navigation system issued a warning:

[The current time is 11:26 AM. You are extremely fatigued while driving. There are still 3 kilometers to your destination. It is estimated that you will need to drive for another 10 minutes to reach your destination.]

"Shut up, we don't need you anymore!"

Tao Zhuo was about to kill Qi, but as soon as he stopped, the car body shook violently.

"Damn it, is Qi Xinming setting me up again?!"

Tao Zhuo gripped the armrest tightly, her face undergoing a standard transition from normal to deathly green within two seconds, and she began to chant in a low voice:

"Magical girls don't get carsick, magical girls don't get carsick, magical girls..."

"Motion sickness magic?" Gu Bai asked.

"There's no such magic, this is some kind of super powerful psychological suggestion magic—ugh!" Tao Zhuo's face turned ashen, and she quickly shut her mouth.

"It doesn't seem to be of much use."

"…Teacher, talking at this time will affect your concentration!"

Gu Bai didn't say anything more and silently slowed the car down by two gears.

There was silence in the back row for about a minute. Tao Zhu covered her mouth and stared at the windshield with difficulty, fighting against motion sickness with an indomitable spirit.

Dongchun tucked the bookmark into the booklet, placed it on her lap, glanced at her sideways, and then silently handed her a bag of hawthorn candy from her bag without saying anything.

Tao Zhuo glanced at the bag of candy, then at Dong Chun.

"Little Winter, you were prepared!"

Dong Chun said calmly, "This road is indeed difficult to travel."

Tao Zhuo took the fruit, popped two into her mouth, chewed them a couple of times, remained silent for a while, and finally uttered a few words:

"I love you, Winter Sister."

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Once the mountain town came into view, Gu Bai parked the car on the side of the road.

Tao Zhuo practically leaped out the moment the car door opened:

"vomit--"

Then, with remarkably professional efficiency, he finished speaking fluently and efficiently.

Gu Bai got out of the car and stood beside it, handing over the water bottle as he went.

Tao Zhuo took it and rinsed her mouth.

She looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and slowly stood up while holding onto the car door.

"You're back."

Dongchun got off the bus from the other side. She seemed unaffected, looked up at the mountain line, and then took a deep breath.

The air carried the unique dampness of the mountains, mixed with the smoky scent of firewood, like the faint fragrance of some kind of spice wafting through the air. It wasn't pungent, but rather seemed to be hidden behind other smells, adding an extra touch of tranquility to this area.

After a short break, we continued into the town, which wasn't very big.

Looking along the main road, there are low brick and tile houses and a few handwritten signs on both sides. There are a few vegetable vendors and vendors selling local produce. The vendors look up and glance at the cars that are coming in. Their eyes fall on the cars and they pause for a moment.

It wasn't the car model, it was the license plate.

The license plate markings of Qixin Hospital are commonplace in Qixin District, but here they are quite conspicuous, like an exotic bird whose bright plumage clashes completely with the gloom of the place.

Gu Bai took in all the gazes from that group without making a sound.

"...Sister Dong."

Tao Zhuo was so carsick that her vision was blurry, but she still noticed the oddity: "The people here don't seem to welcome us?"

"It's not that you're not welcome."

Dongchun glanced out the window: "It's more of a mixture of caution and anticipation."

"I guess they're hoping we're some rich relative coming back? Haha, what an awkward feeling!"

Tao Zhuo teased, seemingly wanting Dong Chun to answer more questions.

However, Dongchun didn't continue the conversation: "Teacher, we can stop now. The road back to my village is difficult to drive on; let's walk."

So the car stopped by a side road.

Gu Bai got out of the car first, stood by the roadside to stretch his legs, and looked around again.

There's a square nearby, and it's close to lunchtime, so it's not crowded, which saves time.

Upon closer inspection, the square is not large.

But in the center stands an ancient tree as thick as a person's embrace, with two old paper lanterns hanging from its trunk. The colors have faded completely, but the outlines are well preserved. A golden diagonal line divides the surface into two sections, clearly distinguished by the shades of color.

The paper lantern has simple lines and exquisite workmanship, and it doesn't look like something that was just casually pasted together.

Beside the tree roots stood a stone tablet with neat inscriptions; a right-slanting line crossed the four large characters carved on it:

[The pen was not yet finished]

"The Ximing Cult?"

Such a symbolic four-character rumor made Gu Bai immediately make a judgment.

He had also had contact with this church in the past.

It's not many, but I really didn't expect to see him in such a small place these days.

"Yes."

Dong Chun followed, glanced in the direction of Gu Bai's gaze, and explained calmly:

"And as things stand, Ximing's grasp of the grassroots level is probably better than Qixin's."

"Huh? No way." Tao Zhuo leaned in at this moment, with a mischievous grin on her face.