Chapter 58: One Move Short

“One move short.” Bai Ye didn’t pursue. She retreated to Bai Muxue’s side.

“More magical girls will be here soon. Fight or run?” Bai Muxue asked.

“Mm…” Bai Ye hesitated for a moment.

“Let’s gamble. A quick decisive battle. You’re joining me this time.”

“Alright.”

Bai Ye snapped her fingers, and Lueying appeared in Bai Muxue’s hand.

She, meanwhile, condensed a weapon from magic. It looked something like a baseball bat.

“Home run!” Bai Ye appeared before Ye Li again and swung.

Lan raised her rapier and blocked the attack, but still stumbled back a few steps.

Suddenly, she noticed that Bai Muxue was no longer standing where she’d been.

‘Where did she go?’

Before Lan could even think of an answer, she heard air splitting behind her.

She dodged right on instinct, and Lueying slammed down, sinking into the ground with ease.

“Hey” Bai Muxue, who had just launched the attack, greeted Lan.

“The sneak attack failed,” Bai Ye said. “A shame.”

If that strike had landed, Lan wouldn’t have had any fight left in her.

“Damn it…” Lan gripped her rapier tightly.

The situation was dire.

With Lueying, Bai Muxue’s attack power was terrifying. One hit was all it would take to put Lan out of commission.

Not to mention Bai Ye. Her strength was already above Lan’s.

“Sister Ling, hurry up…”

“Sorry, but take a little nap.” Bai Ye appeared behind Lan.

The bat came down, aimed right at Lan’s head.

Lan couldn’t dodge this one.

Bai Ye was too fast. Even if Lan’s mind could react, her body couldn’t keep up.

Just as Bai Ye’s attack was about to land, the tables turned.

A thin vine had coiled around Bai Ye’s magic baseball bat, appearing out of nowhere.

A moment later, the bat shattered into pieces and scattered into raw magic.

“Looks like I made it just in time.” Lian floated in the air above, the other end of the vine in her hand.

The vine that saved Lan was Lian’s doing.

This was Lian’s magic: plant magic.

“Plant magic… pretty average,” Bai Ye said.

“You’re right, plant magic really is average.” Lian walked to Lan’s side.

“But I’m stronger than the two of you, so your chances of winning are looking a bit slimmer.”

The instant Lian finished speaking, several vines appeared and shot in from different angles, cutting off every escape route Bai Ye had.

Even if Bai Ye could fly, she couldn’t avoid this attack.

The instant the vines grabbed her, Bai Ye’s body dissolved into shadow and vanished, reappearing beside Bai Muxue.

“Looks like you called it. Is your magic a jinx? Always right about the bad stuff.” Bai Ye grabbed Bai Muxue and ran.

“How would I know… Hey!” Bai Muxue didn’t even get to finish before Bai Ye yanked her away, and she nearly bit her own tongue.

“After them. Don’t let them get away.” Lian made the call on the spot and gave chase.

Lan nodded and followed behind Lian.

Seeing the two in hot pursuit, Bai Ye looped back around and used magic to hide both their presences temporarily.

But the spell wouldn’t last long. They’d be found soon.

Lan and Lian were still searching the area for them.

“Can we actually get away?” Bai Muxue asked.

It was two on two.

But here was the problem.

Bai Ye and Bai Muxue were no match for Lian and Lan.

If it came to a direct fight, they’d almost certainly lose.

The only option was to run.

“I’m even weaker than I was the last time I fought her.” Bai Ye sounded resigned.

“And even last time, we only got away because of a trick. This time, running is going to be a lot harder.”

Recently she’d burned through too much magic. It was draining faster than it recovered.

“So we’re really going to get caught here?” Bai Muxue’s face stiffened.

If they were thrown into witch prison, being locked up was the least of her worries.

If her identity was exposed, what would Ye Li think of her? What would Bai Yun think?

At the thought, Bai Muxue’s hands trembled slightly.

“The situation is bad, but it’s not time to panic yet.” Bai Ye took Bai Muxue’s hand.

“I have a plan.”

“What?” Bai Muxue hadn’t expected Bai Ye to have a plan at a time like this.

“Have you heard of Tian Ji’s horse racing?”

“…” Bai Muxue suddenly had a bad feeling.

“First we do this, then this, and finally this.”

Bai Ye quickly laid out the plan for Bai Muxue.

“Are you sure this isn’t just throwing me under the bus?” Bai Muxue complained after hearing the plan.

“Don’t worry. All you have to do is run and trash-talk,” Bai Ye said.

“Fine, fine. I’ll do my best.” Bai Muxue sighed.

Meanwhile, Lian and Lan were searching the area for traces of Bai Muxue and Bai Ye, one in front, one behind.

“Could they have already run off?” Lan asked.

“No,” Lian answered. “I can faintly sense their magic nearby.”

The moment Lian finished speaking, she felt a clear witch presence behind her.

She lashed out with vines, only to realize the target wasn’t her. It was Lan, behind her.

The one who’d just ambushed Lan was Bai Ye.

Caught off guard, Lan was sent flying by a single punch from Bai Ye.

“Your magic… it’s weaker?” Lan stood up, staring at Bai Ye.

She could feel that Bai Ye’s magic had dropped significantly.

“Yeah. About the same as yours now,” Bai Ye replied. “And I don’t have a weapon either.”

“But even so, I can still beat you.”

On the other side.

“Taking the initiative, huh? Quite confident.” Lian kept using her plant magic, and vines appeared one after another.

They shot toward Bai Ye at speed.

Shing!

A flash of blade light appeared, and every vine was sliced clean through.

Bai Muxue appeared in front of Lian, holding Lueying.

Lian noticed that Bai Muxue’s magic had surged significantly.

That meant Bai Ye had given most of her magic to Bai Muxue.

But why?

Before Lian could think it through, Bai Muxue swung Lueying at her.

A long blade appeared in Lian’s hand. She blocked Bai Muxue’s attack, then, with a bit of force, sent her flying.

“You want to go help Lan? That’s fine. You just have to get through me first.” Bai Muxue steadied herself and stood in Lian’s way.

“But be careful. You might just lose to me~”

Lian almost laughed at Bai Muxue’s words.

‘I can’t beat her? Ridiculous. Impossible.’

“A kitten that hisses too much needs to be taught a lesson.” A dangerous smile spread across Lian’s face.

“You think you can?” Bai Muxue looked utterly confident, acting as if Lian was nothing.

In reality, she was scared out of her mind.

This was Bai Ye’s “Tian Ji horse racing” strategy. Bai Muxue would hold most of the magic and the weapon to stall for time, while Bai Ye quickly dealt with Ye Li, and then they’d wrap things up.

‘You really know how to make things hard for me…’

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