The correct way to open the magical girl

Just when Li Xuan was confused, Liaoying had already walked away.

In Yakutsk in winter, night comes especially early and it is dark in a short time.

Liaoying came to the corner of a park where there were many fitness equipment such as steppers, parallel bars and parallel bars, as well as a few benches, but they were now covered with snow and no one was interested.

However, the fact that no one was around was actually good news for Liaoying. She cleared a space in the snow, placed the cardboard box on the ground, with the opening facing the wall, and then curled up and crawled inside.

Li Xuan heard a rustling sound coming from the cardboard box. He looked over and saw Liaoying grabbing a handful of snow and stuffing it into her mouth, then tearing open the package and nibbling on the bread.

When a magical girl transforms, she can survive solely on magic power, but she still has a normal appetite. If she does not eat or drink water for a long time, she will feel uncomfortable. This discomfort will become more intense as time goes by, so the transformation time of a magical girl usually does not exceed twenty-four hours.

But it was obvious that Liaoying couldn't undo her transformation. For someone who was so frugal even when buying a loaf of bread, she couldn't possibly afford expensive furs and down jackets. If she undoes her transformation, she'll quickly freeze to death in the snow in her bare clothes.

"This is fucking awful..." Seeing this shabby scene, Li Xuan couldn't connect her with the killer who massacred the city. Didn't Filia say she felt no guilt even when she killed people? If she was so hungry, why didn't she just use her magical girl abilities to steal some food?

After swallowing the dry bread with snow water, Liaoying curled up contentedly in the cardboard box and began to sleep. It seemed to be a cardboard box for electrical appliances, because Liaoying was so petite that even if she tucked herself in, she would not feel crowded. She looked like a stray cat sleeping in a cardboard box, resting her head on her arm, and soon fell asleep.

"If a copper smelter had passed by, the little match girl would not have frozen to death." Li Xuan stood up angrily. Although there might be a risk of exposure if there was any contact in advance, Li Xuan still could not ignore this tragic situation.

Because Nanamiya Maya was also a master of space magic, he did not teleport directly, but hitchhiked to the vicinity of the park.

Although the park had long been deserted in the severe winter, this was an urban area after all. Li Xuan walked around for a while and found a hamburger restaurant.

He bought two delicious double beef burgers, a bag of freshly fried French fries, and a cup of hot coffee, and strolled to the park where Liaoying was resting.

He pretended to clear the snow and sat on the bench, talking loudly on the phone while chewing on a hamburger. The noisy sound and the aroma of beef quickly attracted Liaoying. She felt that the charming meaty aroma was like a pair of big hands pulling her up.

Li Xuan glanced sideways, and Liaoying noticed his gaze and immediately shrank back, looking like a frightened cat.

"The legendary killer actually has such a lovely side? Could it be that she's actually a very thin-skinned girl, only cold and ruthless in battle?"

Thinking this way, Li Xuan ate the first burger, then pretended to argue with someone on the phone and left the table cursing. He took only one bite of the second burger and set it aside, leaving the fries and coffee untouched.

A few minutes after Li Xuan left, Liaoying slowly poked her head out. Seeing the "abundant" food on the bench, her mouth was watering.

While she was in the box, she was seduced by the aroma, but after she poked her head out, there was an additional layer of visual attraction.

Chapter 523 This killer is a little hungry

Look! This golden bread! It's dotted with white sesame seeds. Sandwiched in between are cheese slices, onions, pickles, lettuce leaves—and a double beef patty whose aroma can't be dampened even by the freezing temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius!

Liaoying couldn't help but swallow. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten meat, and she hadn't even had a chance to eat vegetables. The city was completely blocked during winter, and fresh vegetables were a luxury. People's side dishes often consisted of easily preserved ingredients like potatoes and radishes.

There are also those golden and crispy French fries, and that cup of steaming hot coffee - how warm your stomach would feel if you took a sip of it!

The petite Liaoying couldn't help but crawl out of the cardboard box. She climbed to a high place and looked around vigilantly: Li Xuan should have gone far away. She could neither see his figure nor hear his voice.

This means that she can legally possess these delicious foods!

This thought made Liaoying excited all of a sudden. She rushed towards the hamburger like a hungry cat, opened her mouth wide and took a big bite.

Unfortunately, her mouth was very small. Even if she opened it as wide as possible, she could only bite off a small piece of the meat patty. Most of what she ate was dry bread.

Even so, Liaoying showed a happy expression. After chewing the juicy beef, the aroma of meat filled her mouth. The salty beef flavor mixed with the sweetness of the salad dressing, coupled with her long hunger, made her feel as if she had arrived in heaven.

Unlike the clearly organized church, the Hunter's structure is loose and informal, serving more of a basic purpose, such as exchanging intelligence and finding teammates. While some matters are coordinated, everything is guided by the principle of hunting first.

In times of danger, they could call for reinforcements; when injured, they could call on companions with healing magic. Adding a supply of magical items for battle, this was practically all they needed for logistics. The church's logistical capabilities, arranging everything from food and lodging to travel expenses, subsidies and allowances, and even family support, were beyond their comprehension—of course, the vast majority of them were orphans, so family issues were largely nonexistent.

So even though he is one of the top three hunters, Shitonye Ryoying is still very poor, so poor that even Teacher Daxiang can't help but want to donate money when he sees her.

Like most magical girls in the Hunter world, she was an orphan, naturally without any family support. Her constant work as a monster hunter meant she had no chance of receiving the government subsidies for the poor. Aside from the occasional odd job, she had virtually no income, and when she was starving, she even ate the greenbelt.

Unfortunately, there isn't even a green belt in Yakutsk, so unless she uses the magical girl's power to make a profit, she won't be able to support herself.

But for the extremely paranoid Shishiya Ryosakura, this was absolutely unacceptable. The identity bestowed upon her by the world was a sharp blade of revenge, and even more so, divine redemption. She could not accept the desecration of revenge, just as she could not accept any monster living within her perception.

Therefore, she can only rely on the transformed state of a magical girl to maintain her life and hunt day after day in this snowy city.

Li Xuan observed carefully through the hunting radar: Liaoying was obviously very hungry. Her transformation must have lasted for several days. She ate the food very voraciously. The greasy white salad dressing stuck to the corners of her mouth and was soon frozen into ice by the cold wind.

Because she ate too fast, Liaoying soon choked. Fortunately, there was a cup of hot coffee next to her. She hurriedly took a big sip, allowing the bitter yet sweet liquid to fully lubricate the food in her mouth, allowing them to pass smoothly through the esophagus and reach the empty stomach.

Liaoying then grabbed a few more fries and stuffed them into her mouth without dipping them in sauce, beginning to chew them with a crunchy grin. Li Xuan noticed that the way she ate was quite interesting—she didn't just take a bite and swallow it, but instead chewed and stuffed it into her mouth at the same time, until her mouth was full, then she stopped and chewed again, finally washing down the large mouthful with coffee before repeating the cycle.

Although Li Xuan expressed doubts about the efficiency of this eating rhythm, Liaoying's expression was clearly filled with happiness. If things had ended here, Li Xuan's actions would have been considered a great benefactor. Not only did he provide food to the down-and-out magical girl, he even considered her dignity, allowing her to not feel like she was being given charity. This thoughtful act of kindness could practically be used as fodder for an article.

However, Li Xuan was not so kind. He would not eat his food for free.

Seeing that Liaoying was about to finish the food he had left behind, Li Xuan suddenly walked quickly to the bench. Looking at Liaoying who was swallowing the last bite of food, he said, "Little girl, did you see the burger I left here? There's also a cup of coffee and fries, right on this chair. Strange, how come she's gone in the blink of an eye?"

"!!!" Liaoying widened her eyes and looked at Li Xuan in panic.

Having embarked on the Shura path since childhood, she had little social experience. Unless she had to work or buy food, she rarely interacted with others. Even if she did work, she would try to choose jobs that did not require interaction with others, such as washing dishes in the kitchen.

In other words, she is a girl who seriously lacks social experience and even has some social anxiety.

The time she interacted most with other humans was probably when she accidentally killed monsters while slaughtering them. In this case, she didn't feel any guilt, because it was a necessary price to pay. But outside of combat, it was a different story.

Faced with Li Xuan's question, she felt humiliated and ashamed. Eating food left behind by the original owner without their permission was stealing. The food was right there on the bench, not in the trash can! In other words, as a magical girl, she had actually committed theft!

Liaoying stood there in a daze, unsure how to face Li Xuan. Of the three principles of magical girls, the combat type leaned more towards justice. Unlike the fantasy type, they tended to focus on achieving "result justice." Now, according to this philosophy, no matter what the reason for her actions, the end result was just stealing someone else's food!

It was very dark at this time. Li Xuan turned on the flashlight and took a closer look. Liaoying's lips, which were covered with ice, were covered with salad dressing and various food residues, and the aroma of coffee was coming out of her little mouth.

"Could it be that you stole the food I put here?" Li Xuan deliberately paused for a few seconds before saying with a look of shock on his face.

"No...it's not like that! I just...I...I...wuwuwu..." Facing Li Xuan's questioning, Liaoying first denied it, and then suddenly felt that as the third person in the hunter, she had to steal the leftovers left by others. She felt wronged and covered her face with her hands and sobbed softly.

Chapter 524 Tears Turn into Ice

"Don't cry first, don't cry. Where do you live? I'll take you home." Li Xuan pretended to be soft-hearted and comforted her in a gentle tone.

Liaoying pointed at the cardboard box covered with a thin layer of snow without saying a word.

"Cardboard box? Wait, do you live in a place like this? Where are your parents? Do they not care about you?" Li Xuan said in surprise.

Li Xuan's words completely broke through Shishiye Liaoying's psychological defenses. Thinking of her parents and family members who died tragically at the hands of monsters, the pain in her heart immediately burst out, and her sobs turned into loud tears.

The temperature of minus forty degrees Celsius was low enough to turn water into ice. Liaoying's tears turned into ice beads and froze on her delicate little face.

"Don't cry yet, poor child. You are wearing too little. You will freeze to death. Come with me, I will take you to warm up." Li Xuan saw Liaoying crying loudly and knew that this was the time when the girl's psychological defense was the most vulnerable and she was most likely to trust others. So he picked up Liaoying in a very forceful princess hug and took her to his residence.

At this moment, Liaoying thought of the grievances she had suffered and the death of her family members. Her defenses had long been broken, and she subconsciously needed someone to rely on who could give her a sense of security. Li Xuan, as an adult male, had a solid and reliable heart, which undoubtedly met her needs.

So, with just the price of a fast food meal, Li Xuan lured this little Lolita who killed people as easily as drinking water to his residence.

Hotel registration and other matters were naturally handled by spiritual intervention. Li Xuan directly carried her to his room, first wiped her miserable face with a wet towel, then ran hot water and let her take a bath to warm her body.

"Don't worry, I'll be reading here before you get dressed." Li Xuan took out a work by a great writer from the Country of Mianxue and said politely while sitting at the table.

Li Xuan's gentlemanly behavior undoubtedly touched Liaoying. She nodded shyly, then opened the sliding door and entered the bathroom.

In order to be less conspicuous, the room where Li Xuan lives is very ordinary, and the bathtub is also relatively small. It is a bit difficult for a tall person like Li Xuan to lie down in it, but for a little loli like Shishiye Ryoying who is less than 1.6 meters tall, it still seems very spacious.

Liaoying quietly took out a magic item: a small Si Nan (compass) spun around, then pointed south. There was no interference, which meant there were no monsters around. Liaoying finally let down her guard and temporarily lifted her transformation.

"That's too easy to fool..." Li Xuan thought. Even the magical girls from the Novice Village he'd dealt with initially weren't nearly as gullible. Qi Mo and Tang Xi were his trusted advisors. Even Bing Rui, who was relatively easy to fool, was still wary.

Compared to them, Liaoying was as pure as a blank slate. Although she possessed the power to annihilate cities and nations, her dedication to "justice" and her reckless attitude towards killing only revealed her childlike immaturity and simplicity.

Speaking of blank paper, Li Xuan suddenly thought of the three principles of magical girls: purity, justice, and mystery. In theory, the more a magical girl adheres to these three principles, the better her talent. Does this mean, then, that the more powerful a magical girl is, the more pure and gullible she is?

Li Xuan thought about it carefully: this possibility does exist. After all, the monsters that have been eliminated so far are basically believers in the power of strength to achieve miracles. Even Wang Li, who is relatively cunning, is just at the level of "beastly cunning" in Tang Xi's eyes. When it comes to playing tricks, humans completely outperform him.

As for the ancient snake Cesia, although he was the "original fraudster" and could be considered the grandmaster of the scam, his deception remained at the level of primitive people, without the iterations of thousands of years of intrigue and deception. In Li Xuan's eyes, that kind of straightforward fraud seemed even purer than Ding Zhen's.

Listening to the sound of rushing water, Li Xuan knew that Shishiye Liaoying had already entered the bath. The book in his hand was the representative work of a famous writer from the Land of Mianxue. It was written entirely in the language of the Land of Mianxue, and he couldn't understand a single word. He had taken it out just to show off in front of Liaoying and create a good persona.

Now that Liaoying has started taking a bath, there is certainly no need for him to act to the empty air.

Li Xuan projected the image of the hunting radar onto the page without hesitation, and enjoyed the image of the loli soaking in the water with relish.

At first, he was a little curious about what Shisonyo Ryosakura would wear when she finished her transformation, but after careful observation, he found that she was not wearing any clothes at all, relying entirely on the magical girl's clothes to cover her modesty. Once the transformation was lifted, she turned into the state of Kozuki Sada.

Considering the Hunter Organization's completely carefree behavior and Liaoying's previous behavior of rummaging through the trash can, it was hard for Li Xuan not to suspect that she had no money to buy clothes at all, so she had been relying on the magical girl's clothes to make a living.

Liaoying's skin is smooth and delicate, probably because she maintains the transformation for a long time and rarely uses her human body.

Crystal clear water drops slid down her shoulders. Although she was a lolita, she unexpectedly had a C cup. Before, when she was wrapped in a tight vest, she didn't feel anything, but now lying naked in the bathtub, she could already see the precious scene of water accumulating on her breasts.

Li Xuan was admiring the Lolita's delicate body, but suddenly he noticed something unusual in the ripples of the water—there seemed to be a deep wound on Liaoying's chest, as if her entire chest was torn open!

Judging from the color of the wound, it seemed to be an old wound from a long time ago, but it hadn't healed yet. Moreover, the gaping wound was still extending in all directions, like an ugly centipede crawling on the loli's chest, which looked very inconsistent.

When Liaoying was washing her body, she would frown whenever she touched a wound - it was obvious that it was a real wound, and it made her feel very painful.

Was she injured before? No, a magical girl's wounds wouldn't last. As a prominent figure in the Hunter Organization, Liaoying might not have much money, but when she was injured, her companions would definitely cast healing magic to help her, healing her own injuries as well.

Unless this wound cannot be healed.

Looking at the twisted and winding wound's strange shape, Li Xuan suddenly recalled the past: he had seen similar wounds on Wu Yan and Tan Xiang. That was a curse set by Yun Ye of the Prayer Department to punish or control the two of them. The name of this curse was called "Holy Mark".

Could it be that Yunye had also inflicted the stigmata on Liaoying? No, no, no, a weakling like her would never dare to humiliate herself before a powerhouse like Liaoying. So the logical explanation is that Liaoying was inflicted with the stigmata by a more powerful magical girl, but considering her already top-tier strength, it's more likely that someone placed the stigmata curse on her before she matured, and it hasn't been lifted to this day.

Chapter 525: The Nameless Stray Cat

"I remember that the treatment for the stigmata is... the original owner has to remove the curse, or go to the Evil Land of Falsehood and isolate themselves from the influence of the world before treatment can begin?" Li Xuan recalled.

"I ve done washing."

Just as Li Xuan was lost in thought, Liaoying's voice came from the bathroom.

She had transformed back into a magical girl and tiptoed out of the bathroom.

Perhaps the crying she had just done to vent her inner depression had restored Liaoying's expression to a blank one. She stood at the door, looking as if she was about to say goodbye.

Li Xuan knew that this little favor was not enough to make her dependent on him. He had to go a step further and make Liaoying continue to need him.

"Miss, are you leaving?" Li Xuan asked.

Liaoying nodded, but did not express her gratitude for the hamburger and hot water provided by Li Xuan. Perhaps she rarely received kindness from others, so she did not understand the meaning of gratitude, or perhaps she was simply not good at expressing herself.

"Then at least let me know your name." Li Xuan said.

"I don't have a name." Liaoying shook her head.

"It turns out to be a stray kitten." Li Xuan murmured.

He knew that Shishiye was probably not his real surname, after all, there was no such surname in the New Sun Country. But Liaoying was also not his real name, which surprised him a little.

"Do you have a name?" Liaoying suddenly asked.

"Of course. My name is Li Xuan. I'm an engineer from the Golden Country. I'm here for tourism." Li Xuan nodded.

"Will you stay here forever?"

"Of course not. I'll be returning home in a week."

"How much?" Liaoying suddenly asked without any context.

"How much?" Li Xuan asked with some confusion.

"Hamburgers and the other things I ate. Tell me the price and I will pay you back within a week." Liaoying replied.

It can be seen that after the initial panic, Liaoying had thought of a solution to make herself feel at ease while taking a bath - that is to pay for the food she had eaten and have nothing to do with Li Xuan anymore.

How could Li Xuan allow such a thing to happen?

"Miss No Name, you misunderstood. I am not going to ask you for the money. I am a very caring person and often help homeless stray cats like you. This is out of kindness and not for any reward. Otherwise, I would not have brought you back to warm you up." Li Xuan said with a smile.

"Since you don't want the money, then I'll leave - you said you didn't want it, so don't bother me later!" Liaoying emphasized.

"Don't worry, I won't ask for money later. Also, you can take this coat. Although it won't be of much use in such cold weather, it's at least warmer than the cardboard box." Li Xuan said, taking the expensive fur he had just bought from the hanger and putting it on Liaoying without saying a word.

Li Xuan was tall and Liaoying was particularly petite, so when the coat was draped over her, the hem even dragged on the ground, which was funny yet cute.

"This doesn't cost money either?" Liaoying asked, looking up.

"I don't want money, and I don't want any return from you." After saying this, Li Xuan sat on the bed and continued to read the book that he couldn't understand at all.

"Do you like reading?" Liaoying suddenly asked a question without any context. If she didn't have a physical body, Li Xuan would have suspected whether she was Alice's relative.

"I guess I like it. Reading is a way to relax my mind, and I really enjoy this feeling." Li Xuan said, pretending to turn a page. When he saw the upside-down Arabic numerals, he realized that he had held the book upside down.

Fortunately, Liaoying was illiterate, so she didn't see through Li Xuan's poor acting skills.

"I'm leaving." Liaoying turned around after saying that, but did not leave for a long time.

Li Xuan thought: What a tsundere! She's so ruthless, yet she refuses to leave. Is she trying to repay him with her body? This classic plot twist? Hunter's number three is so easy to capture. Just tie her up with socks while they're having sex, and she'll disappear forever. Wouldn't that automatically put the blame on Maye? After all, she's in charge of monitoring Liaoying, and she's the only one nearby who has the power to make her disappear.

However, Li Xuan seemed to have thought it was too simple. Liaoying stood at the door for a few minutes, then turned around awkwardly and asked, "How do I open this door?"

Li Xuan almost spit out a mouthful of water - what kind of life has this little girl led? She can't even open the door?

However, in order to maintain his gentle and refined personality, he had no choice but to walk forward, gently press the handle, and help Liaoying push the door open.

Liaoying ran out without saying a word. Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a little regretful - when she was crying, Li Xuan thought he could take the opportunity to attack her, but he didn't expect that after crying, she would return to the "three-no" mode. It would be better to take some risks while her defenses were loose and tie her up with socks and take her away.