Amid the carnival’s glare, a gold glow and a blue shadow stepped onto a modest platform like two lanterns set apart. Fear iced Xiao Qianxue’s spine before her mouth moved. “Hoshina, what is happening?”
Warmth like spring sun softened Hoshina’s voice. “Don’t worry. It’s likely a hiccup. Have Bloo bring you over, and we’ll check you in detail.”
Resolve and worry tangled in Xiao Qianxue’s chest, her hand passing the earpiece back to the blue‑haired youth. “Bloo, I’ll handle my brother’s situation first. I’ll come right away.” Her flawless face held a fragile concern, the kind that stirs a fierce urge to protect.
“Wait at the door.” The words fell, and Bloo blinked out like a drop of blue ink vanishing into air.
Police rolled in like a calm tide, just beat cops in simple uniforms. The troublemakers lay like broken puppets; with their fight gone, cleanup was easy.
“That’s them—picked a fight and disrupted our business.” The ice‑cream shop manager pointed, his finger a spear toward the writhing men on the ground. Carnival staff had gathered, a small storm of witnesses.
“We got reports too—several men wrecking the rides. Must be them.” The manager’s face knotted like storm clouds. With voices aligning, eight brawlers were tossed into police cars for a hospital run. Even a casual brush from Bloo had left them needing a half month to mend.
“Bro! Are you okay?” Near the scene, Xiao Qianxue let speed fall like wind dropping to a jog. She dashed to Lu Ke, who was struggling to push himself up.
“I’m fine. No internal injuries. A few days of rest and I’ll be good.” His tone was steady as stone. “I study medicine. I know my own state. And Gu Wen’s here.”
“Xiaoxue, didn’t you go inside the ice‑cream shop? Why’d you come running back from outside?” Gu Wen arrived, helping lift Lu Ke, puzzlement creasing her brow like ripples on a pond.
“I looked in, saw it got too heated, so I ran out to call people.” The lie slipped out light as paper, and the terror still in Gu Wen’s eyes kept her from probing deeper.
“Um, Gu Wen… could you take my brother home first? I’ve got something I have to handle.” The plea carried the weight of a knot tightening in her chest.
“Xiaoxue, you—”
“Let her go.” Lu Ke’s voice cut in like a clean blade.
Flat on the ground earlier, his angle had been clear: the blue‑haired youth from downstairs moved almost too fast to see, injected something into Xiao Qianxue, and people nearby dropped like wheat before a scythe. Then both figures vanished like shadows slipping behind light.
“But explain it when you’re back.” Lu Ke smiled at his sister, calm as a lantern in rain.
“Mm. Thanks, brother.” Relief bloomed, and her smile turned bright as dawn. She spun and sprinted for the carnival exit, her hair flicking like a comet tail.
Out of sight, Xiao Qianxue slid into a blue Mercedes in the parking lot, the paint gleaming like a lake at dusk. “Hey, Bloo, did you even buy a ticket to get in?”
“If I’d spent time buying a ticket, you wouldn’t be sitting here unharmed.” Bloo’s face stayed cool as steel. He pressed the pedal, and the engine thundered like a storm across the sky.
Before long they dropped into the basement, concrete cool and close like cave air. “Don’t touch me—let me change first…” Xiao Qianxue collapsed onto a sofa, feeling scraped hollow like a shell after the tide.
Bloo could make a car’s speed sing to its limit; with their reflexes, other vehicles were drifting leaves. If a turtle crawled toward you, would you fail to step aside? Still, a driver’s calm isn’t a passenger’s stomach.
“Quit the theatrics, kid. Let’s check your body first.” Hoshina guided a few robots, spider‑arm gentle yet firm, strapping the girl to a bed and sending it rolling into the lab.
No teasing today; Hoshina put Xiao Qianxue straight into the scanner, all clean lines and humming light.
Time slid by like sand, and a whoosh of gas sighed when the pod opened. Xiao Qianxue hopped over, heart tight as a fist. “How is it?”
“Overall, not bad.” Hoshina’s fingers danced across a virtual keyboard like petals in a breeze; she could think it all through, but the show looked elegant. “You’re within controllable range.” With a flick, panels faded like mist, and she turned to the golden‑haired girl.
“When I saw my brother getting beaten, something snapped. An order rose in my head—sharp as a blade—telling me to slaughter everything.” Xiao Qianxue rubbed her chin, memory flickering like sparks. “Then Bloo arrived.”
The thought hit, sharp as a pebble. “Hoshina, did you send Bloo to watch me?”
“Yep. In case this exact thing happened. If you’d gone berserk, few in that area would’ve stayed alive.” Her tone was calm water, the horror stated plain.
“What do I do?” The fear of losing hard‑won strength gnawed like a cold wind through bone.
“Rule your emotions. You slipped because you didn’t leash that surge—call it your inner demon.” Hoshina smoothed her pink hair, silk against silk. “Once you tether that shadow, the problem fades. And it triggers only by chance.”
“Still sounds so mystical! You think this is a cultivation novel?” Frustration flared, wild as fire in dry grass.
“Plenty of energy, I see. Training continues tomorrow. Bloo, send her home.” A crisp snap rang like a chime, and Hoshina burst into rainbow motes, her mischievous smile fading like a fox mask.
“Bloo, let’s go. I need to check on my brother.” Urgency tugged like a hook, and they left the small villa one after the other.
