Chapter 104: Back Then… Still Young

“This… is truly marvelous!” Zheng Yichen stared in astonishment at the reactivated ‘Miku’, almost biting the fake tongue of the alchemical body he was currently using. She was not being controlled by anyone now, but was genuinely moving on her own. “How was this done?”

“By giving her sufficiently intense emotions.” Qin said simply. Seeing Zheng Yichen’s confused reaction, she only had the mind to explain further after her mood had reached its peak of delight. “You can understand it as a kind of false life. This is a side product brought about by my power as a Witch.”

The smile hanging on Dan Marina’s face, who was sitting to the side, faded a little. The scheming had started already. Qin spoke lightly and naturally, even calmly revealing her identity as a Witch without changing expression. This seemingly unwise move was actually a trick aimed at Dan Marina. By marking her own identity, she incidentally brought out Dan Marina’s identity as well. Even if Zheng Yichen didn’t think of it, Qin would use her own actions to make him realize it next!

Besides, her being able to say this also carried another layer of meaning: trust!

Gaining the trust of a Witch… was not difficult. But elevating that trust to a level where a Witch would voluntarily reveal her identity was extremely hard. Counting the time, Zheng Yichen had been active in Kaja for at most no more than two months, yet he had somehow managed to win Qin’s trust within that short period.

“Aside from her abnormal body, she is not much different from a human now. She can continue living in this state.” Qin said with a light laugh. As long as she herself was fine and could maintain the power of false life, Miku could indeed go on like this. “I got a little too excited. Let me introduce you now. This is my friend, Dan Marina.”

“Oh… My name is Connor.” Zheng Yichen nodded somewhat oddly. A friend of a Witch… most likely another Witch. At the very least, Zheng Yichen had never heard of Loris having any friends. Even asking the most senior Ghost Maids, they had neither heard of nor seen Loris having any friends. All along, she had lived and acted alone.

“Hehe, I’m Dan Marina. I’ve been looking for you recently, you know.” Dan Marina gave a soft laugh. An inexplicable look in her eyes made Zheng Yichen’s heart jump. Witches were never simple beings. Even though his own strength had increased greatly now, he still felt insecure facing a Witch. Even a Witch not suited for combat would have off-the-charts fighting power when it came to a fight!

“Looking for me… for what? Delivering someone?” As Zheng Yichen spoke, he glanced toward Petty.

The smile on Dan Marina’s face grew even wider. “So fond of joking. I’m looking for you, of course, because I’m interested in you.”

Zheng Yichen’s expression shifted slightly. He considered whether to have his main body move and change locations to avoid being found by this woman who smiled normally yet made his hair stand on end when he looked at that smile.

“Relax. I mean no harm.”

Lacking malicious intent didn’t mean she couldn’t trick someone. Zheng Yichen sensed a kind of darkness from Dan Marina… like the black-hearted, scheming type from anime.

He glanced inadvertently at Qin, but her expression was calm, and Zheng Yichen couldn’t read anything from it. In the end, he could only… make his exit first!

“Petty, what are your plans after this?” Thinking this, Zheng Yichen no longer cared about politeness and simply stood up.

“…I want to continue following Sister Dan Marina for a while longer.” Petty said, lowering her head. During her time with Dan Marina, she felt she had gained more than she would from several years of studying at school. Although Zheng Yichen could provide her with an ‘external aid’ for daily full cultivation, things like ‘realm’ required knowledge and other factors to accumulate, and these were things Zheng Yichen couldn’t provide.

“Well then, good luck.” Seeing she didn’t seem at all reluctant, Zheng Yichen shook his head. Everyone had their own choices. Since Petty now chose to side with Dan Marina, Zheng Yichen wouldn’t feel displeased about it. After all… strictly speaking, aside from that one contract, his connection with Petty wasn’t as deep as one might think!

Back then, making the contract with her was just for the convenience of understanding the human world. Now, as he had mastered Alchemy and Engineering, he already had an alchemical body that could move freely in the human world. Because of such factors, his connection with Petty had naturally faded.

Zheng Yichen’s departure drew no further comment or even any attempt to stop him from Dan Marina. If she had tried to stop him, Zheng Yichen could have organized words to respond, but she did nothing at all, and that was the most unsettling part…

“Aren’t you going to ask him to stay?” Watching Zheng Yichen leave the bar, Qin rested her hands on her folded legs. This alchemical body was more mature and more suited to such a sitting posture.

“Why ask him to stay? Finding him is enough.” Dan Marina said with a smile. “Don’t be so resistant to me. You’ve also realized how his ability affects Witches.”

“So what? Any other Witch discovering it would be better than you discovering it!” Qin snorted lightly. “The Sanctuary Church knows about this too, right!”

The Sanctuary Church had always focused on eliminating Witches. They collected anything and everything that could counter or affect Witch power. If Zheng Yichen’s power could conceal Witch power, then using it to affect Witch power wouldn’t be difficult either. An existence capable of affecting Witch power to such a high degree… if the Sanctuary Church knew, how could they pass it up?

“They do know about this matter, but they cannot act openly.” Dan Marina said directly. “You know, I cannot hide from the Sanctuary Church the things they wish to know.”

She didn’t finish speaking outright; saying this much was the limit. But for Qin, having the words put this way was enough for her to infer some information. For example… why couldn’t the Sanctuary Church act openly? The Sanctuary Church in this world was not some place universally hated and reviled. Many people even supported the Sanctuary Church. If they acted openly and the reasons and motives were good, they might even receive additional assistance.

But this time they couldn’t act directly. That must mean they were wary of something. Once they acted openly, they might miss the chance at a special existence like Zheng Yichen, who could affect Witch power!

There weren’t many things the Sanctuary Church would be wary of… So Dan Marina’s statement itself was a kind of pointing out of Zheng Yichen’s identity.

“Hmph, those who play with fire get burned. If you had known restraint back then, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.” Qin said disdainfully. Dan Marina’s ability was very special and very powerful, but it was precisely this specialness and power that made her past behavior particularly reckless and unrestrained, doing as she pleased!

“Can’t resist bringing up my past failings already?” Dan Marina gently shook her head. “Back then I was less than two hundred years old… clearly so young.”

Beside them, Petty was listening with sweat beading on her forehead. Less than two hundred… and still young!? No matter how much green paint you slapped on an old cucumber, it couldn’t compare!