I dug up the magical girl's corpse.

Chapter 49 Victory Celebration Banquet

The spacious dining table was now laden with a variety of dishes:

The steamed sea bass glistened with oil, garnished with vibrant green scallions; the braised pork ribs were an enticing deep reddish-brown, coated in a rich broth; the vegetables were brightly colored; and there was also a bowl of milky white mushroom and chicken soup. Besides these ordinary home-style dishes, there were also freshly opened cooked foods and snacks, steaming hot.

"Wow—brother-in-law! You're amazing!"

Lin Yongxi excitedly held up her phone, circling the table and snapping photos from every angle. "Did you make all of this? No New Year's celebrations?"

Chen Muzheng came out of the kitchen, carrying a bottle of red wine that was not old and two wine glasses.

"We won't slaughter pigs for the New Year; we'll fatten you up and eat you instead."

He didn't really think it was a big deal. After all, with so many years of practice, even the worst chef should have learned something by now, not to mention that his skills were already quite good. Preparing this celebratory feast for Lin Yongxi today was both a reward for her hard work and a way to mark a milestone and celebrate her successful selection in the competition.

He used a corkscrew to unscrew the cork, making a soft "pop" sound, and then slowly poured the deep red wine into the glass.

"Please sit down."

Chen Mu pushed one of the glasses in front of Lin Yongxi:

"Congratulations on successfully obtaining the badge and officially becoming a magical girl."

As you can see, even after changing her clothes at home, Lin Yongxi still couldn't put down the "bud" badge, not only polishing and shining it, but also showing it off every second.

Her pride was reasonable and deserved. Being a magical girl meant having exceptional talent, being officially registered and certified by the Magic Academy, which was equivalent to having a well-paid job. If she completed a task, there would be additional rewards. In terms of social status, she was undoubtedly a person of high standing.

Even if she doesn't participate in that league, a bright future has already opened up for her.

"Hehe, isn't it weird for magical girls to celebrate with alcohol?"

Lin Yongxi took the wine glass, but hesitated before bringing it to her lips, unable to bring them to her mouth: "Mmm..."

"Aren't you an adult?" Chen Mu picked up a piece of food for himself and asked her in return, "Do I still have to toast you?"

He remembered that when the girl first arrived, she said she had come after finishing her college entrance exams.

No, that's not it.

Lin Yongxi said irritably, looking at the red wine in her glass and then at the lavish meal on the table:

"I just feel... is this kind of binge eating not a good idea, the official competition is coming up soon?"

"You have quite the professional ethics of an athlete." Chen Mu laughed, picked up a piece of food for her, and explained, "Don't worry, magical girls don't lose their figure so easily. Magic is constantly tempering the body, converting all the excess heat into the energy needed. Just think of it as satisfying your appetite."

"Oh……"

Lin Yongxi nodded thoughtfully. No wonder the magical girls she had seen all maintained such good figures. She had initially thought it was due to the transformation, but it turned out there was another reason.

With Chen Mu's reassurance, she lifted all her restrictions and began to eat and drink to her heart's content. First, she took a sip of the red wine in her glass, her expression contorted by the strange taste, and she spat it out with her tongue. Then, she devoured the dishes on the table like a whirlwind, forgetting for a moment the proper table manners expected of a young lady.

After all, although Chen Mu cooked every day for the past month, most of the meals were standard meals with fixed quantities and types during training, which was somewhat boring.

Opportunities to feast like this are rare.

"tasty!"

She spared no praise, giving high marks to the celebratory banquet prepared by Chen Mu.

Back when she was at the Lin family's house, no matter how many delicacies the chef prepared, Lin Yongxi only felt bored and treated each meal as a mere formality. But here, she truly felt the emotion that food evoked; perhaps it was only after leaving that she realized how much she valued it.

As she ate, Lin Yongxi's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes became somewhat unfocused, and she chuckled foolishly.

"Drink less, you're a little drunk."

Chen Mu sighed helplessly. It seemed that neither of the sisters had a high alcohol tolerance, which might be related to their genes. Actually, magic could clear the alcohol from the body to a certain extent and restore them to a fully recovered state. Either they didn't know how to use it, or they wanted to get drunk.

"Brother-in-law... listen to me, I was at the Demon Academy today..."

After eating until she was about half full, Lin Yongxi began to murmur about her experiences at the Demon Academy that day.

Chen Mu put down his chopsticks and listened patiently.

Unexpectedly, she got lost in the Demon Academy and even ran into that old fox.

Fortunately, nothing serious happened, and I successfully participated in the certification assessment.

They happened to run into that student from Kapok, and won beautifully.

The magic of [Flash]... It seems there's still room for further development of the Epiphyllum.

She spoke of these things with great pride and boasting, until she mentioned the white-haired girl, at which point Lin Yongxi's expression clearly changed, and she hesitated before saying:

"I saw her inside the glass case. She looked so pitiful, and she called me 'teacher'... Could she be my sister's?"

"I'm not quite sure," Chen Mu answered the question calmly.

"oh oh."

Lin Yongxi nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

She seemed to have thought of something and added:

"Brother-in-law, when I went to the Demon Academy this time, it turned out they might not be such bad people after all... The dean was actually quite nice to me..."

"Is that what you think?"

"Hmm, don't be angry. But I think she genuinely wanted to take me on as her apprentice, and she was also genuinely saddened by her sister's passing. At least she shouldn't be the murderer, right? I think when she gave you a large sum of money to fire you from your job, it wasn't out of bad intentions. She wanted to keep you away from these conflicts and prevent you from taking too many risks. It was actually out of kindness."

Lin Yongxi spoke incoherently, his words somewhat unclear.

"I won't be angry."

Chen Mu smiled and took a sip of his drink: "She's not a bad person, but she's not a good person either. She's like Tide, these magical girls."

His words were somewhat ambiguous and roundabout, and Lin Yongxi didn't quite understand them:

"Oh……"

"However, she might genuinely care about you and recognize your talent."

Chen Mu put down his wine glass and said, "If you want, you can go and become her student now. I have no objection."

I thought she would at least hesitate for a moment.

"No." However, Lin Yongxi quickly replied, "I'm not going."

"Oh? Why?" Chen Mu raised an eyebrow.

"Because, if it weren't for my brother-in-law, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Lin Yongxi rubbed his flushed face, perhaps from being drunk: "I know she wanted to recruit me because of my performance in the ring. If... my [Ephemeral Flower] hadn't shown up yet, how could she have even glanced at me? Only you, brother-in-law, were willing to lend me a hand when I was at my lowest point..."

"It's good that you know."

Chen Mu smiled, not giving those words much thought. He stood up and began clearing the nearly empty plates from the table, lest this girl get drunk and break them. However, when he returned from the kitchen, he found the little girl slumped unconscious in her chair, sprawled out in a haphazard manner.

"He's such a worry."

He sighed, walked over helplessly, and picked her up in his arms.

The girl was very light, her soft body dangling in the crook of my arm, almost weightless.

The familiar face, coupled with the warmth of the hair, made Chen Mu feel a slight sense of déjà vu as he walked through the living room and up the stairs.

His eyes were calm and unwavering. He kicked open the door to the children's room on the second floor and threw her onto the bed.

Now a normal double bed has been installed, and the toys and decorations in the room have been tidied up. It's just an ordinary room now.

As Chen Mu was about to leave, he heard a murmured call from behind:

"Brother-in-law..."

Turning around, I found that Lin Yongxi still had his eyes closed, apparently talking in his sleep.

But the content of his sleep-talking made him pause slightly:

"You know what... I actually lied to you. I didn't come here after finishing the college entrance exam. I didn't take the exam... How could I possibly take the exam after hearing about my sister's death that day? My sister has always been someone I admired. I envied her for being able to escape the control of her family, and I also felt like a jerk for leaving me there alone, but..."

"But when a person dies, everything is gone. I can't even talk to her or talk about all these years... I feel very empty. I feel like nothing I've done has any meaning. I don't dare to attend the funeral and I don't know where to go. I stayed at home for a few days. They said they could arrange a school for me even if I didn't take the exam. In the end, I ran away."

"I don't know if I want to become a magical girl. I'm scared too, brother-in-law. I'm afraid I'll die like my sister, without knowing why. She had you to help her find out the truth, but what about me? Who will take care of me? When a knife was held to my neck, I subconsciously made up this excuse. Haha, how stupid is that? That's how I got to where I am now."

"Now that I have the official identity of a magical girl, even if I go back to Akino City, the Hayashi family shouldn't be able to control me anymore, and I can do whatever I want. But I can't help but think, what if, what if I win and stand on a bigger stage? Would they look at me with even more admiration and recognize me even more...?"

Her indistinct whispers ended abruptly, without a conclusion.

Perhaps this is what real sleep talking is like; it's just a jumble of random thoughts.

"..."

Chen Mu listened from the doorway without saying anything, and quietly closed the door behind him.

He walked to the opposite side, to his master bedroom.

The moment he stepped inside, the slight flush on his face vanished instantly, as if he had removed a mask, his previous expression completely disappearing. He slowly walked to the bedside, looking at the face in the darkness. His wife lay still, fast asleep beside him, motionless. Chen Mu sat down, gently taking her hand and feeling its warmth.

He did a lot of things today and heard a lot of information.

The things the tide said.

Murder? Suicide? Accident?

Either way is fine.

Regardless of the outcome, Chen Mu demands a result; he refuses to accept an ending that fizzles out.

"If we can't find the murderer, I'll resurrect you and ask you the truth myself."

Chen Mu lay down and whispered to the girl beside him.

The moment he closed his eyes, he heard a piercing alarm and the unpleasant smell of disinfectant, which came unexpectedly again.

Beep beep beep beep—!

"Patient! The patient is awake. Be vigilant and don't let her hurt anyone else!"