Chapter 36: Candied Hawthorns and Combat Combos

“Alright, Qizai, be good now,” Su Liyue said with a smile, her tone akin to coaxing a small child. “Later, I’ll take you for candied hawthorns, and we can even go back to catch up on new anime episodes~”

Despite this, she and Ye Xingchen weren’t even married yet.

“Really?!” Qizai instantly transformed back into her human form, her eyes sparkling as if brimming with stars, and the immortal qi swirling around her shifted into cheerfully dancing pink light.

“Of course, it’s truer than pearls!” Su Liyue playfully winked.

“Pinky promise!” Qizai eagerly extended her little finger, having mimicked the gesture so perfectly that it was the spitting image of the Yaochi Saintess being coquettish.

“Pinky promise~” Su Liyue suppressed a laugh as she completed the childish pact.

It seemed communication truly was easier between girls. Had Ye Xingchen, in his male form, uttered those words, Qizai would undoubtedly have been clamoring to see the Yaochi Saintess by now.

“Candied hawthorns?” Mu Wanqing tilted her head, and Jiuwu, perched on her shoulder, mirrored the gesture; both person and phoenix wore identical expressions of confusion. “Yueyue, is that another one of your… dark dishes?”

‘Dark dish, my foot! Are you two perhaps addicted to ‘dark dishes’?’

Su Liyue nearly choked on her own saliva.

“Our region isn’t some realm of dark cuisine! It’s simply fruit skewered and coated in glistening rock sugar, making it wonderfully crunchy when you bite into it~ It’s even better if you use hawthorns!”

“Hawthorns?” Mu Wanqing and Jiuwu simultaneously shook their heads, resembling two utterly curious children.

“It’s a kind of fruit from my homeland, sour and sweet…” Su Liyue explained, gesturing toward Qizai, who had already reverted to her human form, eagerly swallowing her saliva, her usual aloof persona, reminiscent of the Yaochi Saintess, completely shattered.

“Mmm… it sounds absolutely delicious! Though I can’t quite imagine the taste…” Mu Wanqing murmured, cupping her face in a daydream.

“When the opportunity arises, I’ll take you to try some~” Su Liyue promised with a smile, while Ye Xingchen, observing from a distance, wore a helpless smile on his lips.

Qizai suddenly blurted out, “Then I want strawberry-filled ones!”

“Alright, alright~”

“And double the sugar coating!”

“As you wish~”

“Oh, and bring a portion for Saintess Yaochi too!”

“……”

Su Liyue’s smile instantly froze on her face.

‘Bringing one is fine,’ Ye Xingchen muttered to himself, ‘as long as she doesn’t follow the trail to find and beat me up.’

Still, that was a concern for another time.

Observing the heartwarming interaction between Qizai and Su Liyue in her female form, he couldn’t help but reflect on his years of alchemy research.

He mused that if he could locate plants in this world similar to hawthorns, he might be able to replicate candied hawthorns and a variety of other seasonings by combining his biological knowledge from his previous life with alchemical refinement.

This way, they would no longer be confined to eating bread every single day.

After all, the scope of alchemy extended far beyond mere physical and chemical transformations; it should surely excel in food processing as well.

“Come on, Qizai, let’s see if your sword can resonate with my magic,” Su Liyue said, extending her hand with a gentle smile.

“Here I come~” Qizai chirped, cheerfully settling into her palm. The sword hilt perfectly nestled against Su Liyue’s slender, jade-like hand, and the sword tassel even brushed affectionately against her wrist.

As magic flowed into it, Qizai’s blade shimmered with a lustrous glow, and the patterns along its spine flickered as if drawing breath. Su Liyue then let out a soft cry:

“Fireball!”

“Boom—”

A colossal fireball, easily three meters in diameter, whistled forth, instantly reducing trees ten meters away to ash. The residual force even carved a charred gash into the very earth.

“Heavens! This power… it must already be on par with a seasoned mage, right? And Yueyue, you can actually cast spells with a sword?” Mu Wanqing gasped, taking an involuntary half-step back.

“Just so-so,” Su Liyue replied, though a faint frown creased her brow.

Secretly comparing it to Ye Xingchen’s casual strikes in his male form, she realized this level of power might suffice against ordinary formal mages, but it was still woefully inadequate against a truly formidable foe.

Nevertheless, this test had confirmed several crucial points:

Firstly, the spirit sword could indeed function as a magic staff, meaning she wouldn’t need to rely on a traditional staff for casting spells in the future.

Moreover, the sword’s melee damage and defensive capabilities vastly surpassed those of any staff.

Secondly, the amplification effects of this spirit sword’s abilities remained potent against this world’s magic, which explained why her basic Fireball spell had unleashed several times the power of a typical one.

Thirdly, whether it was due to the familiar contract or a soul-binding issue, Su Liyue, in her female form, could wield the spirit sword Qizai without any problems.

It appeared far more suitable to entrust Qizai to her female form…

Not only would this bolster her female form’s combat prowess and provide Qizai as a close bodyguard, but most importantly, she would finally be spared from listening to the girl’s incessant chatter about the Yaochi Saintess!

Qizai’s blade suddenly vibrated faintly, transmitting a sword cry audible only to Su Liyue:

‘[Mistress~ How about we try a combo skill? For example…]’

A line of small text suddenly shimmered into existence along the sword’s spine:

[Phoenix Soaring Slash]

[Comes with Chaos Fire Effect]

[Guaranteed to make that Xiao-what’s-his-name]

[Experience a true ass whooping (TL Note: A humorous euphemism for a severe injury to the posterior, often implying an anal fissure or worse.)]

Ye Xingchen’s eyes suddenly lit up as a crucial question struck him: How could he have forgotten the Xuanxiao Divine Phoenix? As the innate lineage of Chaos Fire, its cooperation with Qizai in a combo skill would undoubtedly unleash extraordinary power!

“Jiuwu, come here and help me~” Su Liyue called, waving to the little phoenix.

“Here I come~” Jiuwu chirped, flapping her wings joyfully as she flew from Mu Wanqing’s shoulder.

Su Liyue gently stroked Qizai’s blade:

“In a moment, when I cast Fireball again, try to empower it with your Chaos Fire. What do you say we develop a combo skill?”

“Combo skill?” Jiuwu tilted her small head, her eyes gleaming with interest. “That sounds quite intriguing!” she exclaimed, excitedly circling in the air, her Chaos Fire-tipped tail feathers dancing in response.

Su Liyue’s slender hand swept upwards, and from the tip of Qizai’s blade, a massive, three-meter-diameter fireball whistled forth. The instant the fireball shot out, Jiuwu let out a clear cry: “Chaos Fire!”

In a flash, the crimson fireball transformed into an eerily spectral white, and the very air warped in its wake.

The moment the fireball struck its target, there was neither explosion nor raging inferno. Instead, it eerily transformed into a swirling domain where ice and fire intricately intertwined.

Trees twenty meters away silently dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind only an unsettling patchwork of frost and char marks on the ground.

“This…” Even Su Liyue herself was somewhat astonished.

While her female form’s current strength was limited and Jiuwu’s power hadn’t been fully unleashed, this display of might had far surpassed all expectations.

With such a combo skill, they could now stand a fighting chance even against a seasoned formal mage!

“Heavens, Yueyue!” Mu Wanqing exclaimed, her eyes wide. “This damage is absolutely insane, isn’t it? No wonder you said you wanted to be a 3 6 D…”

“DPS! Not 36D!” Su Liyue quickly interjected, fearing the girl might blurt out something truly scandalous.

“36D?” Mu Wanqing tilted her head, and Jiuwu, perched on her shoulder, mimicked the gesture, tilting her own head.

“Uh…” Su Liyue was instantly speechless, stammering, “It’s… well… bra cup size…”

“Bra cup size?” Mu Wanqing glanced down at herself, then at Su Liyue, before a sudden realization dawned on her. “Oh! Is that the thing you often complain about being too troublesome, Yueyue!”

“Qingqing!!” Su Liyue’s face flushed crimson in an instant.

Qizai suddenly materialized a half-human form from the sword hilt, grinning mischievously as she gestured:

‘[Mistress clearly only has 34B~]’