"Why?"

"I'm about to start university, and it's not convenient living at home recently."

"You can still come home to live even while attending university..."

"I won't be coming back to live. Call me if anything comes up." Jiang Si placed the chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic into a bowl. "You're pretty much independent enough by now, and you have friends around you..."

"I, I don't!"

Keke suddenly raised her voice, cutting off her big brother's words. "I'm not independent! I'm still just a middle school student! I just turned twelve!"

"Didn't you always want to live independently before?"

"That... that was before." Keke immediately rejected her past self. "I don't want that now."

"Even after starting university, we'll have to live separately eventually." Jiang Si didn't argue with her, just spoke calmly. "After university ends, we'll have our own lives, jobs, families. We can't live together forever."

Putting down the spatula in her hand, wiping the cutting board, Keke stood in front of the stove. "Why can't we live together forever?"

She kept emphasizing, "We're family. Family should always live together, shouldn't they?"

"You'll understand when you grow up."

"You just said I'm pretty much independent enough, which means I've already grown up. But I don't understand!" Keke sniffled; it was a bit irritating. She rubbed her nose again. "I don't understand, Brother. I don't want to be apart."

Jiang Si finally understood how parents felt about rebellious teenagers.

Back then, he had quite a few criticisms about the older generation's "spare the rod, spoil the child" education methods.

Now, he felt the older generation's fists back then weren't fast enough, nor were they ruthless enough.

He thought for a moment and said, "Don't be willful."

"I'm not being willful." Keke picked up the spatula and vigorously stir-fried the vegetables in the wok, as if trying to shred them. "I don't want to live apart from my big brother."

"The university city is very far away."

"I can transform and fly there! I'm very fast! I can also live in a rented place with you, Brother. I can just fly back for school myself." Keke plated the stir-fried vegetables, put down the wok, and said firmly, "I definitely won't cause any trouble."

"It's not convenient."

"I'll sleep on the floor, you take the bed. Just like before. It's not inconvenient..."

"No."

"Why not?" Keke's voice carried a hint of tears. "Why not? I won't be a burden, I promise I'll be good, I won't fall behind in my studies, I'll do my Magical Girl work properly, I'll give you my salary..."

"I want to live alone." Jiang Si, truly out of options, told the truth. "You don't need to worry about my money."

After all, with Keke around, doing anything at home was inconvenient. Plus, there was the issue of unstable transformations now.

Later, he'd have to go to other worlds. Who knows if they'd ever meet again.

She needed to get used to it early.

The previously stubborn Keke suddenly fell silent.

Silently, she brought the dishes to the table and served rice for all three.

She started sulking.

Jiang Si was familiar with this too. Just ignore her.

According to the routine, after eating, she'd just hide in bed, become a little coward, shed little pearls of tears, cry until she fell asleep because the blanket was too warm.

Once she woke up, it'd be over.

Of course, he didn't discover this routine himself.

His parents from back then discovered it and told him.

So Jiang Si didn't take it seriously.

Eating a bowl of rice with his head down, Keke probably wanted to eat two bowls while angry, but after one bite of the second bowl, she couldn't eat anymore.

She could only look longingly at her big brother.

Jiang Si naturally took care of the leftover rice. White Fox very conscientiously picked up the bowls to wash.

After all, just eating without working wasn't acceptable. And, the current atmosphere felt a bit heavy with pressure.

It was easier to just obediently go wash the dishes.

Jiang Si didn't think much about it. After eating, he went out first.

Keke glanced at him, seeming to want to say something, but ultimately didn't. She held it in well and went back to her room.

After going out, Jiang Si headed straight for the suburbs.

Morning in Beihai was no different from usual. Even though the recent commotion looked big, even reaching space.

Actually, in the entire city of Beihai, forget people, barely any buildings collapsed.

As he passed a few construction sites, he saw Magical Girl Mochi's usually miserable face, this time smiling so brightly, constantly praising the sun to the sky.

After all, these minor repair jobs were easy and paid well. It was hard not to smile.

In between, he also saw Silver Lotus and an inner sect disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect flying elsewhere.

Bingtang worked fast. The Beihai Disaster Control Bureau should soon be under the Azure Cloud Sect's control.

But with Susan as the foundation, the impact wasn't that big anyway.

Not sure if Bingtang had been working on this all night without sleep, but her efficiency was truly impeccable.

After reaching the Beihai suburbs, he tried contacting Xilan.

He had also sent a message to Xilan earlier, trying to get in touch, but found no response from her side.

Not sure if she had already been captured by the Prince.

Hopefully, the Prince would spare Xilan's life for his sake.

After all, when you beat a dog, you have to consider its master.

If she really killed Xilan, it wouldn't just be killing a lackey; it'd be slapping Jiang Si's face again.

If she didn't give Jiang Si face, he'd kill her entire family.

Although the Prince's entire family seemed to be just one person, so the threat wasn't that scary.

But it represented Jiang Si's attitude and protectiveness.

In our web novel world, someone who doesn't protect their own isn't worthy of being a protagonist.

Let alone a mere witch like Xilan from the Witch Association.

The protagonist of *Sword Coming*, as a rare saint in the world, a young man with a Pure Heart, in the Book-Simple Lake, still had to protect the evil-doer who was his benefactor.

Even to the point of shattering his own literary courage.

This is the Heavenly Will and Great Dao of web novels.

Moreover, Xilan, being this pathetic, hasn't really done anything bad. How could I, Jiang Si, not protect her?

He shattered his literary courage; I, Jiang Si, can also shatter my martial courage Miracle Seed...

Furthermore, Jiang Si really did fancy Xilan.

A loyal subordinate... a trusted aide with unwavering faith, who never forgets their original intention, is hard to find.

"Xilan is dead!"

The moment the call connected, he heard Jialan's tragic report.

"You killed her, Simo Tu!"

Jiang Si just replied calmly, "If she's dead, I'll kill all of you."

"She's not dead yet. Currently frozen by the Prince. If you don't go save her, she'll really die."

Always causing me trouble, this pathetic woman.

Jialan, who had been wailing like a ghost and howling like a wolf, immediately became serious. "Absolutely true. But because of her commotion, the Prince's posthumous marriage with your ashes has been postponed."

Well done, Xilan!

I knew you wouldn't disappoint me!

Thinking his broken engagement might still have hope, Jiang Si couldn't help but sigh slightly in relief.

He had prepared for the worst, but who would have thought... Xilan always manages to surprise him...

"As long as she won't die for now, it's fine. Let her stay frozen for a bit."

Jiang Si leaned against a nearby wall and continued asking, "The disaster-human realm Magical Girl who stole the Prince's Full Bloom technique was killed by Shion. Does that count as a failure for the Vice President's task?"

"Otherwise?" Jialan spread her hands. "Your task was to protect her safety and escort her to the Witch Association."

"What you wanted was just the Prince's Full Bloom technique, right?"

"You could say that, but the Full Bloom Magical Girl from the disaster-human realm was also very important." Jialan said with a look of regret. "If we could have brought her back to the Witch Association, we could have avoided many detours and directly created multiple Full Blooms."

"Did you... know about the disaster-human realm world bubble from the beginning?"

"Who knows." Shan Lan lay down on a bed. "Who could have guessed a Dream Incubator would be so desperate, scheming against our great Magical Girl Shion, using her mana to achieve Full Bloom to save the world bubble they loved? Even though they were inevitably beaten to dust in the end, they managed to involve the Magic Kingdom and Chongxu to take action. Now both sides have earned Shion's attention."

"One could say this Dream Incubator single-handedly changed the world."

This former Vice President sighed as she spoke. "Now Chongxu is in chaos. Not just Chongxu, the old world and the Prince's alliance are also in chaos. Shion's strike didn't just split the sun and moon; it split the Witch Association and the old world alliance apart too."

"Why?"

"Why? You should have been nearby at the time, right? That kind of majestic power." Jialan couldn't help but sound heavy when talking about it. "Who isn't scared? Both the Witch Association and the old world have seen many surrender factions appear. Everyone is truly terrified. In short, everything is in chaos now. Many people from the old world are preparing to flee."

Jiang Si wasn't surprised his strike had that level of influence.

But he wasn't very interested.

"I just want to get to Chongxu quickly."

"I know, I know. But currently, you don't have Vice President qualifications yet. You can't go for now."

"I can transfer the Prince's Full Bloom technique to you. Count it as me completing the Vice President task." Jiang Si looked up at the planes coming and going in the sky; they were probably from the Central Bureau.

During this period, the Disaster Control Bureau Central Bureau should have a lot to discuss with Bingtang. Jincha would probably be staying in Beihai for a while.

"Hmm, a very bold proposal."

Jialan rolled over, then took out a phone and played a video.

The video showed the Prince.

She sat at the head of a conference table, with various old world members on both sides.

The Prince stood up and said, "Our goal is beyond this world! As long as we can go to worlds outside, we won't need to worry about the problem of a single new world. We have countless worlds to go to!"

"Gentlemen, I love war!"

The video ended there.

Jialan peeked out from behind the phone. "That's the current situation, dear Mr. Simo Tu. Your fiancée, Miss Prince, after seeing the world outside, is ambitiously planning to go beyond this world. Although I don't know her specific plan, it seems she's also quite mad."

Jiang Si said calmly, "I'll get it."

"If you get it, of course we'll give it to you. The Vice President position, and Chongxu will also be opened for you. Please do your best, Mr. Simo Tu. We look forward to your performance."

After turning off the crystal ball, Jiang Si thought for a moment, then looked at his Golden Core.

Now, the biggest problem was:

He couldn't use too much Polluted Magic.

He experimentally hunted two or three Disaster Beasts in other cities and found that using large amounts of Polluted Magic would unavoidably trigger the Dragon Lord Shion transformation.

It basically meant he couldn't use the self-generated mana within his body to fight, and could only rely on pure physical strength. And in the world of Magical Girls, physical strength was weak. Unless he could punch a hundred Bloomings with one fist...

It was really too unsettling.

After trying various methods, Jiang Si barely managed to find a way to use Grain Abstention Pills as a Polluted Magic source to avoid the automatic transformation.

Even so, it was enough.

He absolutely would not allow his perfect fake identity to be wasted because of something like this!

Jiang Si, who had started alchemy again, only managed to gather nearly a few hundred more Grain Abstention Pills by evening.

He originally planned to refine the more complex [Minor Foundation Building Grain Abstention Pill].

But since it was too late, Jiang Si didn't continue researching.

On the way home, while thinking Keke should be asleep, he couldn't help but feel fortunate. It's true that having many skills is never a burden.

Every skill always comes in handy eventually. If he hadn't figured out the Grain Abstention Pill and could apply the Flame Emperor's secret technique, Simo Tu would probably be taken advantage of by others when encountering enemies later.

—It is well known that alchemists are the most sinister. When others think they're about to kill you, a single "Medicine, come!" directly starts tormenting the opponent...

As soon as he entered, White Fox was still sitting in the living room reading web novels, like a statue.

Keke's bedroom door was tightly closed. He also breathed a sigh of relief.

After thinking about it, he went to the bathroom first, planning to take a shower.

But just after showering for a while, White Fox actually came over and knocked on the door.

"Do you need help, Sir?"

"No."

"I can scrub your back."

Jiang Si remembered something and immediately sternly shouted, "Have you been reading urban romance again?"

Reading *Becoming the Clan's Guardian Artifact from the Start* was one thing, but she actually dared to read such useless demonic paths!

"It's xuanhuan cultivation, Sir."

"...Skip those kinds of scenes."

"Yes."

When he finished showering and came out, White Fox went into the bathroom next and started taking off her clothes without even closing the door.

Jiang Si didn't pay attention to her and went straight upstairs.

He casually threw the ring that Lu Ya from the world bubble gave him onto the table, then glanced at his mother's bank card.

After confirming nothing was wrong, he lay down.

Tomorrow, see if he could refine the [Minor Foundation Building Pill]. He was running out of Grief Seeds and Calamity Eggs. Ask Bingtang if the sect had any extras. After finishing the [Minor Foundation Building Pill], he could go directly to find the Prince...

As he was calculating tomorrow's plans in his heart, a knocking sound made Jiang Si frown.

What was White Fox up to now?

"Get lost."

"Brother, I want to talk to you..."

A somewhat breathless voice, as if frightened, came from outside.

Hearing Keke's voice, Jiang Si was silent for a moment, then took a breath.

According to the routine, shouldn't she be crying herself to sleep under the covers by now?

Stubbornly staying awake until now was too rebellious, wasn't it?

Keke, how did she become like this?

He pondered what exactly had happened during this period.

That made Keke grow crooked, become like this.

Not long ago, she was still a very good, obedient, sensible younger sister who didn't cause him trouble.

Communication wasn't even difficult.

But in just a short period, she completely changed. Not only did she become rebellious, she seemed to be regressing, growing in reverse.

It couldn't be that he did something wrong. A web novel protagonist cannot make mistakes, so it must be an external cause.

He mentally calculated which culprit had harmed Keke and vowed to take revenge later...

No response for a long time. Keke, who couldn't wait any longer, peeked her head out from behind the door.

Wearing thin pajamas, shivering slightly, perhaps because she was cold.

She looked like her eyes were still a bit red, and said softly, "Brother, I'm coming in."

Jiang Si didn't respond to her either, just turned over, facing away from Keke.

Keke pouted, but still slowly pushed the door open and walked in. If her big brother didn't refuse, it meant she could come in.

Walking to the bedside, she sat down in a seiza-like posture.

Leaning on the edge of the bed, she didn't speak, just gently fiddled with Jiang Si's sleeve with her hand.

Like when she was little, wanting to play with her big brother, this action was to get his attention.

When her big brother was sleeping as a child, she would constantly fiddle with his sleeve or clothes like this until her big brother impatiently turned around and tapped her.

"Don't bother me."

"Big brother, don't go, okay?"

Her voice was soft and sticky like rice cake, as if she was about to cry the next second.

It made Jiang Si want to hit her a couple of times.

She's been a Magical Girl for so long, but hasn't improved at all.

"If I did something wrong, didn't do well, tell me. I'll definitely change. Is it because I've been asking where you're going recently, annoying you? I won't ask again after this. Don't be annoyed with me."

As she spoke, the hand that had been fluttering against Jiang Si's sleeve grabbed onto it.

Holding onto two of Jiang Si's fingers, not letting go. "I'll give you all my salary. I'll study hard at school. I'll do my homework properly. I won't secretly read romance manga anymore. I'll listen to you properly. I won't talk back, and I won't make you angry."

As she spoke, she hugged Jiang Si's hand and pressed her cheek against it.

Her moist cheek, flushed as if holding back, felt scalding hot to the touch, like she had a high fever. "Don't leave me alone, okay, Brother?"

What could he do then?

After all, she was his own kid. Could he just beat her to death?

He could only sigh, turn over, and look at Keke.

He asked one question, "You'll really give me all your salary?"

Keke hugged his hand, wiping her tears on it. "Mhm... all for you..."

The room fell quiet again.

Keke hugged her big brother's hand for a while, then cautiously tested the waters, sitting on the bed.

When her big brother didn't say anything, she gradually lay down, squeezing onto the bed and hugging her big brother's hand. "Stay with me a little longer, okay? When Keke grows up, I'll definitely become properly independent."

She heard the sigh her brother used to make when she was little, when he couldn't stand her pestering but couldn't do anything about her.

Hearing that sigh now, her heart relaxed.

"Mhm."

Only after her big brother's final response did Keke finally break into a smile through her tears.

In her daze, she curled up and murmured, "Big brother is the best..."

Then, overwhelming sleepiness and exhaustion washed over her. She could barely keep her eyes open. She clutched her big brother's hand tightly, her fingers almost digging into his flesh.

The room fell into dead silence.

After who knows how long, Keke, in her daze, saw her big brother and Teacher Shion.

Teacher Shion kept complaining about why he had to keep living with his sister. They were so old already, and she still loved acting spoiled and clinging to her brother. Wasn't she ashamed?

Then Teacher Shion flew into a rage at the silent big brother, twisting his ear.

"Either her or me! You have to choose one today! Either come live outside with me and live a good life together, or break up and go accompany your sister for the rest of your life!"

"Little fool, of course I'll only choose you. I've long found Keke annoying and troublesome."

Then her big brother hugged Teacher Shion and happily left home.

Keke was immediately terrified and screamed:

"Big brother, don't leave me!"

She clutched her big brother's hand tightly, shaking it desperately. "Don't leave me, big brother..."

Shaking and shaking, she suddenly felt the texture in her hand was somewhat off.

Keke opened her eyes. The sunlight outside was a bit dazzling. She was still lying in bed. Her big brother was no longer beside her. What she held in her hand wasn't her big brother's arm either.

It was a dragon horn. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

A smooth, transparent, crystal-like beautiful dragon horn, still somewhat soft and elastic, feeling extremely pleasant to the touch.

Keke stared blankly, then looked down.

Teacher Shion's golden dragon eyes were coldly gazing at her.

"Let go."