Chapter Thirty: It is over, you have been tainted by the Demon Ash.

"Hey guys, let me ask a quick question. What do you all think about the fact that Cat Toys still hasn't caught the elementary school kid?"

"Asking again? You just have a good memory, don't you?"

"They even posted a call for clues on their official account. Seems like they're really dropping the ball this time."

"Those who know, know. Why are you still asking? Are you a spy sent by Man Wenjun?"

"Okay, okay, let me just ask one more thing. Can I ask one more thing? If I can, let me ask one more thing—am I being too talkative?"

Fu Linxing closed the browser on his phone and sighed at the ceiling.

He really couldn't rely on the people on this anonymous forum. All they did was speak in riddles and endlessly repeat nonsense. If not for the occasional piece of useful information he couldn't find anywhere else, he would have deleted the app long ago.

He Yue walked past him and shoved a stack of clothes into a vacuum storage bag. "Homework finished? Nothing to do? Fine, go mop the floor for me."

"Why do I have to mop again?"

"It’s only once a week; basic hygiene requirements. Look at how idle you are—it’s a mercy I haven't sent you off to remedial classes."

Fu Linxing listlessly grabbed the vacuum cleaner to clear the house, then started filling a bucket to wash the mop.

Was it just a law of nature that women couldn't stand seeing others idle? Back when his father, Old Fu, was home, he’d barely have his back against the sofa or his phone out before being chased off to do chores.

He used to stand up for his dad, but now that his dad was gone, he had become the next victim.

However, Fu Linxing didn't dare say that out loud. He also understood that his mother, He Yue, wasn't actually that mean; she just liked to do a deep clean whenever she was troubled, and he happened to be in the line of fire today.

He Yue vacuum-sealed the bag and moved the seasonal clothes into the closet.

She passed him again, stopped, and scrutinized his half-hearted mopping technique. "Sigh, forget it. If you don't want to do it, don't. Go out and play; having you here is just annoying."

Fu Linxing carefully gauged her expression. "Really?"

"Go if you want." She didn't seem particularly angry.

But then she suddenly remembered something, and her expression shifted. "By the way, why haven't you gone to your dad’s place to play games? It’s been two weeks. Weren't you the one begging for a scheduled day to go there every week?"

Fu Linxing scratched his head, unsure how to explain.

Ever since he tore up that painting, he hadn't spoken to Fu Lan. Mainly, he didn't know how to start, and Fu Lan rarely reached out unless necessary. Meeting under these circumstances would be awkward, to say the least.

He Yue sensed something was off between father and son. "Did you get scolded when you went over last time?"

"No, why would he scold me for no reason?"

"Then..." He Yue’s eyebrows twitched. "Did you see someone else there?"

"How could that be! Old Fu wouldn't find a new flame that quickly!"

He Yue narrowed her eyes. "I didn't say it was a woman. With a reaction that big, did you actually see something?"

Fu Linxing quickly waved his hands. "No, no! Don't misunderstand! If I caused a mix-up like that, I’d be the eternal villain to both of you!"

"Hmph, you little ingrate. Your mother spends so much effort on you, only for you to be lured away by your father with a few games. If he really were doing something shady behind my back, you’d definitely take his side and cover for him."

Fu Linxing cried foul. "If you think like that, you’ll twist anything I say to fit that narrative. That’s like drawing a target after shooting the arrow! Who could handle that?"

He Yue’s attitude softened slightly, but she still insisted, "You were just so eager; it made me feel like you were hiding something."

*Was I eager?*

*Maybe a little... mostly because the old man really is up to something behind the scenes, and I can't help but feel guilty!*

*Old Fu, oh Old Fu,* Fu Linxing thought bitterly, *how could you end up screwing your own son over like this...*

***

His silence made He Yue suspicious again; she tilted her head and leaned in closer.

Seeing things going south, Fu Linxing hurriedly countered, "I think you’re the one who’s eager. Last week when Aunt Xiaohan called you, you left the house the moment you mentioned Old Fu."

He Yue pressed her lips together tightly, then took a deep breath.

"Why were you eavesdropping on my phone call?" she asked calmly.

The calmer she was, the more afraid Fu Linxing became. "I... I wasn't eavesdropping, your phone volume was just too loud."

"Fine." She remained calm. "I accept your explanation."

*That’s it?* Fu Linxing blinked at her, unable to stop himself from asking, "And then?"

"There is no 'and then'." He Yue thought for a moment and said earnestly, "Xiaoxing, I thought you had come to terms with your father and me getting a divorce, but it seems it’s still affecting you. Tell me honestly, do you not want us to divorce anymore?"

"Maybe... just a little bit..."

He Yue nodded, as if she had figured something out. "Do you think I was in such a rush to go out because I still have feelings for your father?"

"Isn't that the case? You clearly said on the phone..."

"That’s right, Aunt Xiaohan saw your father out shopping with another woman. But I didn't go over because I cared about him; I just didn't want things to get ugly at the very end. We’re getting a divorce, so who he sees is none of my business, but he absolutely cannot be 'seamlessly transitioning' to someone new before the divorce is final. It tarnishes my reputation," He Yue explained sternly.

Fu Linxing, however, caught the keyword first. "He was really shopping with another woman?"

"Just a little girl." He Yue tried to appear indifferent. "Xiaohan said it was one of your father’s former students, whom he happened to run into. As if he’d be with someone that young—the things she comes up with..."

*A former student...*

*Holy crap!* Fu Linxing exclaimed in his heart. *Could it be the girl I saw at the library?*

Once could be a coincidence, but twice was suspicious.

*First the magical girl in the painting isn't sorted out, and now a female student pops up. Has my dad been possessed? He usually seems like such a decent guy, so why is he suddenly drowning in romantic entanglements right before the divorce?*

To be honest, Fu Linxing had initially been able to accept his parents' divorce.

Even after finding that painting in the study, he had spent some time thinking it wasn't a big deal. He assumed Old Fu preferred her in her transformed state; otherwise, he would have kept a photo of the Stringheart Stone itself, not a painting of the transformation.

And since there was an age limit for magical girls, if Old Fu had fallen for her when he was young, she would have long since been unable to transform, becoming a true "white moonlight" he could never reach.

It wasn't until he discovered the Stringheart Stone could still transform that Fu Linxing felt a true sense of crisis.

If she could still transform, it meant the connection wasn't severed, and there was still a possibility between Fu Lan and her.

If that were the case, he had to do something to stop his parents' divorce.

He could accept them parting ways peacefully after their love had truly run dry, but he couldn't accept their relationship breaking down because one of them had been hiding something—that a marriage that shouldn't have ended would finish in deception.

Now, with the painting torn, he had no way to intervene on that front, yet another suspicious female student had dropped from the sky...

*Could she be the Stringheart Stone itself?*

*But the age doesn't match. Didn't the experts on the anonymous forum say the Stringheart Stone must be at least thirty-five?*

Fu Linxing had even more problems now, and with his parents heading to the Civil Affairs Bureau next Monday, how was he supposed to fix this in such a short time? He felt like just giving up.

After a long while, he snapped back to reality.

Just as he was worried about He Yue noticing his distraction, he looked closely and saw she was lost in thought too. It seemed this matter had hit her harder than she let on.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time here." He Yue picked up the mop and started scrubbing. "If you really have nothing to do, just pack your things and go straight to your father's house after your tennis lesson this afternoon. I have to go out of town to take photos."

"Huh? Staying at the old man's again?" Fu Linxing almost refused, but realized it would look too suspicious, so he corrected himself, "Another business trip?"

He Yue didn't bother to answer. She had been running a photography studio for years; her son was used to this work rhythm, and she didn't know what was wrong with him today that he wouldn't want to go to his father's.

She was already feeling irritable and had no energy to probe further. She just reminded him to bring his keys and continued mopping with vigor.

Fu Linxing packed his bags with a bitter face, knowing there was no way He Yue would let him spend the night alone at home. He had to accept reality.

After his tennis lesson that evening, he wandered absent-mindedly to his old apartment complex. It was only when he took out his keys at the door that he remembered he’d forgotten to tell Fu Lan he was coming to stay. *Whatever, He Yue probably notified him.*

With that thought, he headed up the stairs.

***

***

Fu Lan pulled the curtains shut and sat cross-legged on the living room floor, a reflector with a drawn magic circle laid out in front of him.

He took out a crystal of Magic Ash, scraped some powder onto the circle, and stared at it with a frown.

Nothing happened. Without transforming, he had no magic power, so it was naturally impossible to activate the circle through concentration alone. He was just trying to figure out where the problem lay.

Black Coral had brought two pieces of news last night. He wasn't particularly worried about Lily’s movements; what concerned him more was that Shi Ningyu was investigating him.

Black Coral hadn't shared specific details, just as he had asked, but the seed had been planted. He couldn't help but wonder how much information Shi Ningyu had actually dug up.

Black Coral always liked to do this—plant a seed and let others water it with suspicion and worry until it bore bitter fruit, as if none of it were her responsibility.

There was one thing he was certain of: Shi Ningyu had started to catch on a long time ago.

He always avoided using magic in front of her. Once or twice was fine, but as time went on, it became harder to justify. He had to find a way to solve this dilemma.

Right now, he was trying to create a self-activating magic circle.

Such properties were usually found in trigger-based traps and had no precedent in the refining of Magic Ash.

The theoretical knowledge required for such circles couldn't be mastered overnight. While Fu Lan could solidify some simple magic and improve the efficiency of refining circles, his talent wasn't enough to support such major modifications to a refining circle on his first try. Therefore, he decided to start with a heating circle.

Even with a magic trap, one needed to inject magic power into the drawn circle beforehand. But he didn't want to transform frequently for this, and preparing the circle in advance wouldn't alleviate Shi Ningyu’s suspicions.

It would be best to complete the spell right in front of her.

So, how could he use magic without transforming?

Fu Lan thought of Magic Ash. It was a storage medium for magic power, or, in other words, another form of its existence.

Since mages could replenish their magic by consuming or inhaling Magic Ash—and even Snow-grade Magic Ash could be absorbed just by contact with human mucous membranes—wouldn't a sufficiently high-purity substance activate a circle just by touching it?

He was trying to do this with the crystals he had crafted, but unfortunately, he hadn't succeeded yet.

Fu Lan twirled the crystal between his fingers, lost in thought. Suddenly, he remembered that he had never consumed Magic Ash in his untransformed state.

When transformed, he could naturally absorb the magic within it. If he took the Magic Ash now, would he experience hallucinations like an ordinary person, or would it take effect normally like it did for a mage?

Perhaps by making such an attempt, he could understand exactly what happened when an ordinary person used Magic Ash, thereby exploring a brand-new path to wielding magic as a mortal. Moreover, only someone who could freely switch forms could conduct this experiment.

Having decided, Fu Lan pinched a small amount of Magic Ash and licked it off his fingertip.

At the same time, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the other side of the living room.