Chapter 287 Family Event III: Witch Night (I)

On October 26th, there are five days left until the arrival of "Witch Night".

Ke Mingye opened his eyes and slowly woke up from the bed.

The morning breeze blew gently, and the shadows of the curtains swayed on the wooden floor. From the street near the apartment came the shouts of a tofu pudding vendor, mixed with one or two dog barks. This morning, it seemed as pleasant as every other day.

He rubbed the Tianming acupoint and lowered his eyes slightly. He could vaguely see a black cat behind the curtain.

Yuriko had slipped into the room at some point, and was now lying on a mat in the corner of the bookshelf, snoring loudly.

Ke Mingye stared at Yuriko, yawned, and released the "Animal Communication Technique".

Then I asked it, "Can you please stop sneaking into my room to sleep? I really want to kick you away."

Yuriko licked her paws and lay still on the mat, "I have to hide from that psychopath named Kobe. It's your honor to sleep here."

"Yes Yes Yes……"

Ke Mingye muttered nonchalantly, lowered his head to put on his slippers, and opened the door with his messy hair.

When I looked up, I saw Bai Qiuwu standing outside. Her right hand was suspended in the air, and it looked like she was about to knock on the door. Her expression looked a little strange.

"What's wrong, sis?" He scratched his head.

"Dad...he hasn't come home since last night, and I can't get through to him on the phone."

"Dad?"

Ke Mingye tilted his head.

He thought to himself: If there is anyone in this world who can force Dad to be unable to return home, or even have the time to make a phone call, it can only be the watch maker.

So he yawned and said in a lazy tone, "Looking at my dad's personality, he probably accidentally drank too much during a social event. He must be resting at his colleague's house. I'll call him on his phone in a few hours. Is there any need to worry so much?"

Bai Qiuwu shook his head, hugged his right elbow and whispered, "Dad never drinks. Every time he can't come home at night, he will report to Mom instead of disappearing without saying a word. I'm worried that something has really happened to him."

"You and mom are just overthinking. Dad has always disappeared inexplicably since I was a child, and this time is no exception."

As Ke Mingye spoke, he put his hands into the pockets of his cotton-padded jacket, exhaled a breath of white air, and rubbed his palms, "I'm going to have breakfast. You can see if what I say is correct later."

After saying that, he closed the door behind him.

Just as she was about to move past Bai Qiuwu, she called out to him.

"I didn't think it was a big deal if Dad was the only one there, but this morning when Mom knocked on the door to wake Xiaoni up for dinner, she found that Xiaoni's room was locked and couldn't wake her up no matter how she called. Finally, she used the key to open the door and found that Xiaoni was not in the room."

Hearing this, Ke Mingye was stunned for a moment, then slowly stopped, as if he was falling into an icy cave.

Soon he turned his head and met Bai Qiuwu's gaze.

"Then where could she be... The door to the room on the second floor can't be locked from the outside."

"When Mom entered the room, the French window was open."

At this time, Bai Qiuwu was also a little worried. She had heard from the strange thing that there was a group of witches eyeing Xiaoni, but there had been no movement for so long, so she didn't pay much attention to it. If the two were connected, it would be troublesome.

Ke Mingye stood there in silence for a moment.

"I'll go ask my mom."

Having said that, he went downstairs without even washing his face, and tilted his head to look at a corner of the living room.

Bai Wenna was holding the phone receiver between her shoulder and ear, mumbling something to the other end of the phone. When she saw Mingye, she quickly let go of the receiver and asked Mingye loudly: "Mingye, did you see Xiaoni today?!"

"No." Ke Mingye shook his head, "But she couldn't sleep last night and chatted with me on the rooftop." He paused, "Dad hasn't come back yet?"

"Stop talking! Your father didn't come home last night. I don't know how many times I called him from last night to early this morning, but he didn't answer. What do you think has been going on all day long?" Bowenna sighed.

Ke Mingye looked at Bai Wenna, his mouth twitching slightly, and he said inwardly, "Then you have to ask yourself. Your mind is full of your alien colonization mission. With your ability, how could you not know that Xiao Ni sneaked out alone in the middle of the night, and how could you not know where Dad went..."

Thinking of this, he felt a little annoyed.

"What about the eldest and second brothers? Have you asked them?" He took a breath and continued asking.

"I called and asked, but they all said that Dad and Xiao Ni had not contacted them."

"I see... then don't worry, Mom. I'll go out and look for it."

As Ke Mingye spoke, he walked quickly to the entrance, leaned against the shoe cabinet to change into his sneakers, then turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.

The weather around Beijing in October was terribly cold. Just by opening the door a little, the chilly air rushed in. The walkway was covered with snow, and the few potted plants that the neighbors had left unattended were almost buried in the snow. The cold wind was howling over the old Jingmai Street District.

"Don't worry about Dad for now... He is absolutely safe with his strength. Think about where Bai Zini went first."

Ke Mingye did not wait for the elevator to go up, but walked quickly down the emergency stairs, thinking in his mind.

"Anyway, ask those magical girls first."

At this moment, on the second floor, in Ke Xiaomo's room.

Listening to the noisy voices coming from downstairs, Shi Naian and You Minglu looked at each other.

Shi Naian raised his hand and rubbed the dark circles under his eyes, "So, the senior is really gone?"

"Well, do you have any idea?" You Minglu stared at the phone, his eyes reflecting fluorescence.

She put down her phone and continued, "I sent many messages to my senior, but she didn't reply to any of them, and her phone was unreachable."

Shi Naian hugged his knees, shook his head and said, "Neither do I. Maybe he's just upset and wants to go out for a walk. Don't make a fuss."

You Minglu said expressionlessly, "I heard from them that it seems that Senior's father is missing, and Senior has been missing since he woke up early this morning, so Senior's mother is a little worried."

Shi Naian said gloomily, "This kind of thing happens all the time, family quarrels or something like that. My parents quarrel all the time."

As she spoke, she yawned, tears of fatigue welled up in her eyes, and her hair was messy. "Why don't we ask Teacher Xiziyue? I feel like they might have gone to a meeting secretly."

You Minglu shook his head, "I've already asked, but Teacher Xi Ziyue didn't reply to me."

"That means he hasn't woken up yet."

"Let's go downstairs and take a look."

"Ah."

The two looked at each other and went downstairs.

Seeing the two of them, Bowenna immediately asked, "Hey classmates, have you heard anything about Xiaoni?"

They shook their heads.

You Minglu thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, Auntie. Let's go to the school and ask. She should be fine."

"Then you go ask and tell me when you have news." Ke Mingye said, "I'll look for it somewhere else."

Hearing this, You Minglu and Shi Naian nodded, and the two of them left the house, took the elevator to the bottom floor, and then transformed into magical girls and came to Yandai Primary School as quickly as possible. After walking for a while, they entered the classroom on the fifth floor of the teaching building.

At this time, except for Lingzhong Tongzi, all the other magical girls who came from foreign countries have gathered here.

Little Red Riding Hood and Schnaian looked at each other, then introduced the situation to the several magical girls who were waiting in the classroom.

"Teacher Huijin is missing, at this time?" The magical girl Kunou Sakura slightly raised her eyebrows, obviously very worried.

"Don't worry, young lady. Maybe Teacher Huijin just suddenly had something on his mind and went to be alone to be quiet." The magical girl Ryukako said lightly while eating a rice ball.

"Little Red Riding Hood...how about you accompany me to the amusement park before the Witch Night comes?" The magical girl Yuya whispered in Icelandic close to Little Red Riding Hood's ear, pointing her finger at the Ferris wheel outside the window.

Little Red Riding Hood declined: "Sorry, I don't have time."

Qili lowered the brim of her cowboy hat and said in a deep voice, "I have contacted Xiziyue, but she didn't reply."

"Is Teacher Xiziyue sleeping now?" asked the magical girl Hong in a low voice.

"At this point, I think so."

Feng beside her nodded.

Jiuzhongying shook her head. "No, Teacher Xiziyue just sent me a message telling me that she is currently in a meeting at the Tongmenghui building. A 'big shot' came to visit her, so she is not available to meet us for the time being. I..."

Hearing this, Qili raised her eyes from under the brim of her cowboy hat and stared into Kunezakura's eyes.

She asked, "Big shot? What kind of big shot? Xiziyue didn't even inform us."

"I don't know either." said Kunezakura.

"I don't know the specific situation, but do we need to go there now?" Yu Ya lifted her light golden hair and asked expressionlessly.

"No..." Kunou Sakura whispered, "Since Teacher Xiziyue didn't call us, it means we don't need to be here. We can just wait here for a while."

Hearing this, Little Red Riding Hood and Schnaian looked at each other secretly.

"Then we can only wait." Shi Naian said in a low voice.

"Hmm..." Little Red Riding Hood thought for a moment.

At the same time, in the central conference room on the 30th floor of the Magical Girls League building.

The Black Judge walked slowly into the conference room, and the metal door behind him closed. He lowered his face slightly, and a malicious red light flashed above his V-shaped mask.

After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his eyes and looked at the three figures sitting at the conference table.

These three people are Xiziyue and Lilai, two of the three magical girls, and Yuffie from Denmark.

Xiziyue was still wearing a light blue cheongsam. Today, she did not tie her hair into a bun, but instead had her hair down in clear black medium-length short hair.

Lilai was wearing an ice-blue pleated skirt, her right hand resting on her cheek, her ice-blue eyes looking down thoughtfully.

Yufei still had dark purple medium-length hair and a dark purple long skirt. She lowered her head slightly, her hands intertwined, her eyes flickering, as if she had something on her mind.

The moment he saw Youfei, there was a hint of surprise in the Black Judge's eyes, as if he didn't expect to see her here.

The moment she looked up and saw the Black Judge, You Fei was not surprised, but her eyes lit up as if she had been expecting it for a long time. She stared at the Black Judge for a while, then slowly lowered her head, her face slightly flushed, like a frightened deer.

She raised her head again and opened her mouth to say something, but the Black Judge had already shifted his gaze away from her and looked at Xiziyue.

Xiziyue took a sip of hot tea, lowered her eyes, and her face reflected in the tea was obviously a little absent-minded. She asked, "Mr. Judge is so anxious to meet us that he even booked a flight from New York. Why?"

"I came to your place to find someone... Magical Girl Ashes."

The Black Judge pulled up his gloves, and a very magnetic voice came from behind the V-shaped mask.

As soon as he finished speaking, the metal door of the conference room suddenly opened and someone came in.

Looking sideways, it was a uniformed staff member. The staff member was obviously a little nervous, and said tremblingly: "Ms. Xiziyue, the popular superhero wants to see you recently, and said that if he can't see you, he will make a scene."

Xiziyue raised her eyes from the tea and remained silent for a while.

Lilai, who was standing by, raised her icy blue eyes and said calmly, "Please ask him to come up. The Judge is here too. I want to hear what he wants to do."

Black Judge tilted his head, with a hint of impatience in his tone, "If it were any other time, I would be very interested in interrogating these unruly superheroes, but I don't have time right now."

Lilai looked directly at his V-shaped mask and said coldly, "You just heard it, this is an emergency. If we don't deal with it immediately, do we have to let that superhero cause a big fuss here?"

The Black Judge remained silent as he sat on the swivel chair beside the conference table, his elbows resting on the chair handles. The coldness in his eyes behind the mask deepened.

Not long after, the metal door of the conference room opened again.

Black Judge tilted his head slightly and glanced at the superhero who came at the wrong time. If necessary, he would use his authority to make the superhero go away temporarily, or use a more direct way to make him "shut up."

However, after seeing the uninvited guest clearly, Black Judge was slightly stunned - he saw that the visitor was wearing a red and blue combat uniform with a very metallic texture, a bird-beak mask on his head, and the eyes behind the lenses were filled with undisguised hostility.

Blue Owl and Black Judge looked at each other.

The Black Judge remained silent.

The blue owl was also silent.

The two looked at each other, and then Black Judge was the first to look away, and for some reason he sighed softly.

“…Who is this person?”

As Blue Owl walked forward, he raised his finger and pointed at Black Judge, then asked the three magical girls.

Xiziyue and Lilai were about to answer, but they were beaten to it by another magical girl.

"He is the 'Black Judge' of the Control Bureau, and also my boyfriend." Yufei said, her cheeks slightly flushed, "To be precise, we will confirm our relationship in a year."

Hearing this, Black Judge raised his hand slightly to adjust his mask, took a breath, and seemed not to want to respond.

Xiziyue put down the teacup and looked at the blue owl calmly.

She asked, "I know you, Mr. Blue Owl. May I ask what is so important that you need to come to our side?"

Blue Owl stared at her through the lens, "I'm here to find someone... Magical Girl Ash."

Lilai frowned slightly, looked at the Blue Owl, and then looked at the Black Judge.

Blue Owl's statement was exactly the same as Black Judge's, and his tone was just as cold, just like a pair of brothers who grew up together.

Xiziyue was silent for a moment, then said, "Although I don't know what your relationship with Huijin is, there is one thing I can tell you."

She paused for a moment and said, "I left two cards in the magic book of Magical Girl Ashes. The first card can tell me where she is, and the second card can save her life 100% if she encounters life-threatening danger."

"So where is she now?" "So where is she?"

Blue Owl and Black Judge asked in unison, and after they blurted out the questions, they looked at each other strangely.

Xiziyue said: "Unfortunately, I tried to sense the first card I just mentioned, but that card did not tell me where the ash was... This is the first time I have encountered such a situation."

Blue Owl was silent for a moment, and his tone was slightly gloomy: "In other words...even you don't know where she is?"

"That's right, but as far as the current situation is concerned, at least I can be sure that the ability of the second card I left with her has not been triggered." Xiziyue said calmly, "In other words, Huijin is not in danger of life for the time being."

"But it sounds like your card can only protect her temporarily, right?" Blue Owl said, "Since we can't know her location, she will still be in danger when the card's effect wears off."

Xiziyue retorted, "No... Once the ability of the second card is triggered, it can also play the role of the first card - no matter where the triggering effect is in the world, I can find the location of Ashes in the first time and then provide support as quickly as possible."

She paused, picked up the teacup, and looked up at Blue Owl: "Please believe me."

The Blue Owl was silent.

The Black Judge looked directly at Xi Ziyue and spoke word by word: "How dare you guarantee that?"

Xiziyue said calmly: "Then I promise you here that if Magical Girl Ashes cannot come back safely, I will immediately resign from the position of President of the Chinese Alliance, and will no longer engage in any work related to magical girls in the future."

Lilai was slightly startled, and her right hand, which was supporting her cheek, drooped down for a moment. But after turning her head to look at Xiziyue's expression, she just withdrew her gaze, frowned and remained silent.

Deathly silence briefly enveloped the conference room. After a while, someone spoke up to break the silence.

"You said..."

Blue Owl spoke slowly, lowering his face with cold eyes, "Say you will definitely protect her."

Xiziyue was silent for a while: "It seems that you have a good relationship with Miss Huijin, otherwise I wouldn't know this from her... I did promise her that I would protect her, and I will do what I say. Although I don't know what your specific relationship is, but-"

"She is... my sister."

Blue Owl whispered, interrupting her.

Hearing this, the three magical girls present were all slightly stunned, only the Black Judge lowered his mask and sighed inaudibly, thinking that this boy is still so impulsive.

The one who reacted the most was Lilai, who held her chin with one hand.

She raised her head, her ice-blue eyes reflecting the figure of Blue Owl, and thought to herself, Xiao Ni actually has a brother who is a superhero?
"Really? No wonder..."

Xiziyue pondered.

She fell into silence for a short while, seemingly unwilling to communicate with the two anymore.

Lilai sighed and spoke for her: "For now, we don't have time to verify the truth of what you said, but no matter what your relationship with her is, the result will not change. I'm betting on the reputation of the three giants of the Alliance, and finally on behalf of Xiziyue, I'll declare that the magical girl Ashes will never be in danger of her life, please rest assured..."

Seeing that Black Judge and Blue Owl did not respond, she continued, "Then we also have our own matters to deal with. This meeting ends here. Please go back. It will only waste each other's time if we continue to linger here."

Lily spoke in an official tone, and the next moment the rumbling sound of the engine tore through everyone's ears and exploded in the conference room.

Xiziyue boarded the time and space train, her black hair fluttering in the wind.

Seeing this, Lilai also stood up and followed her. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly stopped on the gangway.

"Don't you want to leave?" Lilai turned her head and stared at Yufei who was still sitting in her seat, and asked in a cold tone.

Yu Fei looked up at the Black Judge with a shy look on her face, and said softly, "Mr. Judge, see you next time."

Seeing that Black Judge remained silent, she stood up from her seat and boarded the train car with Lily. Immediately, with a loud bang, the train was sucked into a vortex of time and space.

The rift in time and space slowly closed, and deathly silence once again enveloped the only two people left in the conference room.

The Black Judge remained silent.

The blue owl was also silent.

Although the expressions beneath the masks could not be seen clearly, it was obvious that their faces were slightly gloomy.

The Black Judge rested his elbow on the armrest of the chair, thinking: "Even Mingye and Xiziyue don't know where Xiaoni is, so we can only wait and see for the time being... Then where did Dad go? Could he also be involved in the dispute between the witch and the magical girl? He is just an ordinary person, how could that happen?"

After pondering for a moment, Black Judge looked at Blue Owl from the side, and a very magnetic voice came from behind the V-shaped mask.

"She'll be fine..."

After he finished speaking, Black Judge slowly stood up and walked out of the conference room. The tail of his windbreaker dragged a sickle-like shadow on the ground.

Finally, Blue Owl stood alone in the center of the conference room.

He took a deep breath and thought, "Since Xi Ziyue didn't know where Ashes was even after using the location card she left in advance, there is only one possibility. It's just like when I tried to use the anchor sunglasses before. That time, I also couldn't locate the meeting space of the Witch Church, but how could she be there..."

Thinking of this, he slowly raised his eyes, "No matter what, I can only rely on Shi Naian."

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(End of this chapter)