Chapter 71: The Kelp-Like Corroder’s Test

As Wutong strummed the zither strings, the golden soundwave blades surged towards the suitcase, slicing it cleanly in half.

Yet, the suitcase was empty.

It was utterly devoid. There was nothing inside.

Wutong frowned slightly.

Soon after, as if provoked, countless deep greenish-brown tentacles surged from the crack, thrashing wildly like startled snakes.

The tentacles were slimy on the surface, their edges bearing fine serrations, gleaming with a slick sheen under the light.

“Clear Melody Lingers, Resound!”

Wutong’s fingertips swept swiftly across the strings, unleashing another attack.

The soundwaves transformed into golden phoenix phantoms, rising from the zither. With wings spread wide, they soared forward, severing the mass of tentacles at their midpoints.

The severed tentacles twitched on the ground a few times, viscous liquid oozing from their wounds.

However, the remaining halves, like a gecko shedding its tail, dragged their mangled forms back into the suitcase’s crack, quickly vanishing into the darkness.

Wutong did not pursue. She knew that the core of that kelp-like entity was connected to something, and she couldn’t rashly destroy it directly.

Her hand rested on the zither strings, watching the severed tentacles disappear into the case. The broken pieces still writhed by her feet, pathetically flopping against the ground like cut fish tails.

A golden Wutong leaf drifted from her palm, sweeping the disgusting remnants into a corner.

Her gaze fell upon the suitcase. Its crack had already sealed, as if nothing had happened.

Yet, she recognized the aura of those tentacles—the coalesced entity, the one lurking beneath the train, had finally lost its patience.

It was testing her strength.

And from its severed remnants, she could deduce its nature: an enhanced “Corroder,” a deeply concealed coalesced form.

****

Soapwort had no idea where she was.

All around her was a profound darkness, not merely the absence of light after a switch was flipped, but a thick, oppressive blackness pressing down on her eyes.

She reached out, touching nothing; she lifted her foot, finding no ground. It was as if she were suspended in a void.

She cried out, but her voice was swallowed by the darkness, without even an echo.

Then, faintly, she heard weeping. It was soft, suppressed, as if fearful of being heard.

“Mama… Mama! Boohoohoo…”

The sound emanated from some corner of the darkness, both very near and very far.

Soapwort fumbled in the direction of the sound, her hand sweeping through the darkness for a long time, yet still encountering nothing.

‘Could it be that someone else was also ‘eaten’ by that monster, trapped in the same dark space as me?’

However, the voice merely cried and called for Mama, over and over.

Still unable to find the person, Soapwort crouched down, placing her hand on the ground—if it could be called ground. It was cold and damp, like standing in mud after a fresh rain.

She wanted to call for Mama too; she was still just a child!

‘…But her Mama wasn’t here.’

Only then did Soapwort realize that the voice crying for Mama moments ago had been her own, the voice of her inner self yearning for her mother.

Just then, something cracked open above her head. A slender slit, like skin sliced open by a knife. Something began to drip down from that opening.

A strong, putrid stench permeated the air, like dead fish long stranded, or rotting seaweed soaking in water.

Soapwort covered her nose. That intense smell reminded her that she was still a magical girl, and she recognized the scent: it was a “Corroder”!

But at this moment, all her strength seemed to have been drained away. Her legs felt weak, and her eyes stung.

Then, a beam of light shone in.

It was light, but not ordinary light; it was soft, goose-yellow, a light she had seen before.

The light seeped through the crack above, gradually widening and dispelling the surrounding darkness.

“Soapwort!”

It was Su Xinxin’s voice. The light was indeed emanating from her.

Soapwort lifted her head, seeing a hand reach out from within the beam of light. It felt so warm.

****

Prior to this, Su Xinxin had stood rooted to the spot, feeling utterly helpless. The monstrous suitcase was gone, and Soapwort had vanished too. She hadn’t known which way to go.

It was then that something on her wrist glowed.

She looked down to see a bracelet. Pale yellow cat’s eye stones, small white beads, and a silver bell dangling at the end. It was the one from the Tulip shop.

She hadn’t bought it, nor had she taken it with her, yet now it was on her wrist, the silver bell gently swaying under the light, emitting a pleasant sound.

She remembered that in the second layer of the dream, she had also worn this bracelet. Now, it had reappeared on her wrist.

Su Xinxin seemed to hear a voice telling her to infuse magic into the bracelet, so she complied.

A goose-yellow light illuminated from within the beads, like a lamp being lit.

“Fragrance Knows Subtlety, Perceive!”

She closed her eyes. The fragrance of flowers diffused from the bracelet, delicate and soft, extending towards a particular spot.

Then, she ‘smelled’ Soapwort’s aura—

Su Xinxin opened her eyes. She saw a shallow crack in the ground. Soapwort’s aura emanated from that crack; she was right there!

Taking a deep breath, she reached her hand into the crack, arriving at the place where Soapwort currently was.

Su Xinxin finally found her, finally grabbed her hand. It was Soapwort’s hand, cold and damp, trembling, but Su Xinxin trusted her.

“Thank you… Pull me out!”

Soapwort’s voice came, thick with tears.

Su Xinxin pulled hard. The crack grew wider, the light brighter.

Soapwort’s upper body emerged from inside, her face streaked with tears.

Su Xinxin pulled her out, and the two of them tumbled onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Soapwort lay on the ground, looking up at Su Xinxin. Su Xinxin’s face was covered in sweat and tears, one of her pigtails had come undone, making her look utterly disheveled. Yet, she smiled.

“And you said you just got promoted to Tier 1?” she asked, her voice hoarse. “Isn’t this quite impressive?”

Su Xinxin also lay on the ground, her hair splayed across her face, too breathless to speak.

She looked down at the bracelet on her wrist; the cat’s eye stones shimmered with a gentle glow under the light, the fine lines of light seemingly flowing slowly.

Senior Tulip had said this bracelet needed time for modification and renewal, yet it had quietly appeared on her hand at some unknown point.

“I…” She scratched her head. “Maybe I’m not that impressive… just lucky.”

“Alright, then you’re not impressive,” Soapwort conceded.

Soapwort pushed herself up, dusting off her skirt, feeling somewhat recovered. Then she continued, “Now we need to figure out how to get back to our carriage.”

“Mm-hmm, let’s go back together,” Su Xinxin nodded.

“Just now, in there,” Soapwort said, her voice softer, “I think I saw… a kelp-like ‘Corroder’.”

Su Xinxin paused. Kelp? She recalled the slimy, deep greenish-brown mass.

“It should be a coalesced form. I sensed it too; it must have been under the train the whole time,” Su Xinxin concluded after sensing for a moment.

Soapwort nodded, then looked around, searching for a way to break through and leave this illusory carriage.

Just then, a swift zither note, graceful as a swimming dragon, washed over them like a tide. Soon, the scene reverted to the flickering static of an old television, returning them to the real carriage.

Wutong watched them return, smiling faintly. Though it had taken some effort, they were all safe.

“That kelp-shaped coalesced form has retreated to the bottom of the train. It won’t move for now.”

Then she turned her head, looking towards a certain spot.

She was still waiting for Daylily’s information from the dream, still waiting for Epiphyllum to awaken.

Su Xinxin and Soapwort had broken the coalesced form’s trick, and only now did time finally begin to flow here.

Outside the window, the twilight scene also began to move; the sun was about to set.

The weather was changing…

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