Chapter 75: Divine Favored and a Witch’s Despair

“Hmph! You’re the one bullying our Xiao Yu!”

Lu Xingyao quickly pulled Bai Yu into a tight embrace, burying her face in Bai Yu’s silvery hair and inhaling deeply.

****

Mo Lan stared at Lu Xingyao with an expression usually reserved for perverts, surprised to find her among Bai Yu’s “little girlfriends.”

“However…”

Mo Lan suddenly conceived a playful idea.

“Oh, Bai Yu, you wouldn’t want to…”

“Wait, wait, wait!”

Bai Yu quickly interjected, struggling. ‘It would be disastrous if Lu Xingyao found out about Cecilia and me so soon…’

“What’s wrong, Bai Yu?”

Lu Xingyao, bewildered by Bai Yu’s intense reaction, couldn’t fathom any connection between Bai Yu and Mo Lan.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Bai Yu quickly explained, scratching her head, “I was just surprised to learn that Mo Lan is actually your aunt, Xingyao.”

She didn’t forget to give Mo Lan a meaningful look.

Watching Bai Yu’s exaggerated winks and gestures, Mo Lan stifled her laughter.

She was a professional; she simply couldn’t laugh.

“Xiao Yu, you’re talking about that,” Lu Xingyao patiently clarified for Bai Yu. “While Mo Lan is indeed my aunt, we don’t belong to the same family.”

She elaborated that Mo Lan was from her mother’s side, the Mo family in the capital, whereas she belonged to the Lu family.

“Is that so? They both sound incredibly powerful…”

Bai Yu, having never heard of such things, wondered if this was what people meant by accidentally stumbling into a divine household.

“So how did Xiao Yu meet her? Did she save Xiao Yu?”

Lu Xingyao inquired.

“Not at all. Rather, it was little Bai Yu who saved us!”

Mo Lan then recounted the entire situation to Lu Xingyao.

Although such information was classified externally, Lu Xingyao was not an outsider, and the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau already had a record of it, so there was no need to worry.

‘So that’s it. Xiao Yu is a Divine Favored?’

Lu Xingyao, astonished, gently pinched Bai Yu’s soft, tender cheek.

She had initially thought it incredible enough that Xiao Yu had awakened a Witch’s spiritual core, yet now she learned Bai Yu was also a Divine Favored, blessed by a deity and wielding divine power.

However, Lu Xingyao felt no jealousy, only genuine happiness.

After all, it was her Xiao Yu, and excellence was simply her nature.

She didn’t inquire about the specific deity that favored Bai Yu, as such matters were usually forbidden to ask.

Moreover, as long as it wasn’t an Outer God, it was virtually impossible for a deity to harm their favored.

Indeed, Outer Gods had no favored ones; they only had expendable sacrifices.

Just like Robert and his ilk from the Source of Dreams, who, for generations, sought Morpheus’s descent, yet all their efforts proved utterly farcical, serving no purpose beyond providing sacrifices as anchors.

“Hehe.”

Bai Yu merely nodded awkwardly.

She had expected Lu Xingyao to press her on why she hadn’t revealed it earlier.

It seemed Xingyao truly cared about her feelings.

The more considerate Xingyao was, the more imperative it became for Bai Yu to keep her relationship with Cecilia a secret for a while longer.

A pang of guilt stirred within Bai Yu; she felt a little unworthy of Lu Xingyao’s trust.

“Alright, let’s head back. Auntie arrived home ahead of us, which is why we’re a bit late.”

Bai Yu nodded, already aware that her “bargain” mother was perfectly fine.

“Wait, little Bai Yu!”

Mo Lan quickly hurried over.

Although she wasn’t much older than Bai Yu, she shamelessly tried to get Bai Yu’s contact information.

“What is it, Bai Yu?”

Bai Yu turned around, wondering if Mo Lan still had something to discuss.

“Nothing, I just…”

Mo Lan realized asking for Bai Yu’s contact information was indeed a bit much.

“Hmph! What in the world, you old hag! What are you trying to do to our Xiao Yu?!”

Lu Xingyao immediately bristled, stepping protectively in front of Bai Yu, her face contorted with furious indignation.

“What are you thinking? I merely want to exchange work-related information with Bai Yu!”

Mo Lan stated sternly, a declaration Bai Yu utterly refused to believe.

“Work-related information?”

“Exactly. Bai Yu is now an honorary investigator. Although there’s no immediate work, as a partner of the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau, there’s no harm in me getting to know her better, right?”

Lu Xingyao was left speechless.

She decided to let it go, reasoning that Bai Yu was always by her side; how could some wicked woman possibly abduct her?

Such a thing was impossible.

“Fine, take it, take it. Xiao Yu, let’s go.”

After Bai Yu reluctantly gave Mo Lan her contact information, Lu Xingyao swiftly ushered Bai Yu into the car.

****

On the main road, within the shadows of a dark alleyway, an old woman shuffled forward with faltering steps.

“Damn… damn it all!”

It was none other than the Principal of Xian City International High School.

Her face was currently marred by horrifying scars, as if branded by a searing hot iron.

“Argh! Damn the Hunter Guild! Damn the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau!”

The old woman frantically tore at the peeling skin on her face, ripping off charred fragments and casting them to the ground.

She howled with heart-wrenching anguish in the alley.

She refused to accept this fate; she had been cunning her entire life, lurking within the Dragon Summer Nation, all for the day of her rebirth.

“But why? Why?!”

Everything had failed!

She couldn’t comprehend why, at this precise moment, everything had gone awry.

And why had that woman returned now, of all times?

Perplexed, she had believed that, according to her plan, once she obtained the nascent Witch’s spiritual core, she would achieve rebirth.

It wouldn’t have mattered even if she had offended the Hunter Guild, as she would become their sworn enemy once she transformed into a Witch anyway.

As for the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau, she had originally intended to leave the Dragon Summer Nation immediately after this operation, using her accumulated funds over the years to start anew.

Yet, everything had ended.

The course of events had irrevocably changed; the moment the Outer God successfully descended, her plan was utterly shattered.

The Outer God’s act of plunging everyone into slumber had ironically granted her a brief window of escape.

Otherwise, the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau alone would have been enough to eliminate her.

With her identity fully exposed, she could no longer remain in the Dragon Summer Nation.

Subsequently, Xian City International High School would also be shut down and disbanded.

She painstakingly leaned against the nearby wall, but her emaciated muscles could no longer support her weight.

“Hahahahaha!”

Lying prostrate on the ground, she furiously pounded the dirt, overwhelmed by helplessness, rage, and a profound sense of injustice.

But everything was drawing to a close; she was going to die.

Even if she somehow survived this ordeal, her aged body could not escape the relentless march of time.

Her gaze, fixed upon the dark alley, slowly blurred.

Just then, a dark silhouette appeared before her, granting her a fleeting spark of vitality.

With great effort, she lifted her head, only to see a young woman in a hooded cloak looking down at her, a mocking expression on her face.

“Do you wish to live? Do you desire revenge?”

Her voice, like a demon’s, enticed the old woman lying on the ground.

This woman was none other than the one who had spoken with Kareila.

She had originally intended to observe the child after she transformed into a Witch, but instead, she had stumbled upon something far more intriguing.