Peony had helped the professor administer a round of acupuncture for his back before she carried him up the ladder, much to their surprise. Once up, she set the professor down and summoned a fairy from the waters.
"Milady?" He looked to her in surprise.
"Have the fairies all evacuated safely?" she questioned.
The fairy nodded. "Yes. Only a few guards remain. They're trying to keep back the crimson flowers as we speak."
"I see we're still holding on. Good." She frowned. "Those crimson flowers feed on magic. Using magic is just going to attract more of them. Warn the others and the refugees to avoid using magic as much as possible. Unless it's absolutely necessary, don't use it. There's a group of people already heading for the bell tower. Once the bell is rung, all the flowers will wither from taking in more magic than they can handle. Have all the fire-element fairies evacuate with everyone. Let them know that fire magic will only fuel how fast it spreads. The sylphs should be spreading word right now."
The fairy nodded. "Understood!"
"Another thing," she added softly. "There are a few uncontrollable beasts in disguise hiding amongst the crowd. They've been cornered, so remember to keep your distance and whisper to the wind."
Hearing this, the fairy was horrified and nodded quietly. Once gone, Grim grumbled, "Beasts? What animals are out here?"
Peony smiled. "Let's just say some rather disobedient dogs."
"Dogs?" Yuu tilted his head in confusion. However, the professor was more observant, as he immediately noticed a cold aura around her.
"Yes," Peony chuckled. "You should go help your teacher evacuate the people. Beware not to get bitten by the dogs yourselves. I heard they enjoy hunting in packs."
She conjured up a sylph and said, "I know it's terrifying, but watch over these humans and the familiar. Keep those dogs away from them."
The figure nodded and flew to the professor's shoulder. Peony turned around and disappeared as Grim folded his arms in confusion. "What's up with her? So scary in the beginning, then suddenly so mysterious."
The professor was left in deep thought when a soft whisper came to his ears. "Hurry…"
Snapped back to reality, he nodded. "Come. We're going to the town square first!"
…
She hurried to the rooftops and leapt across quickly. She then leapt down and noticed a number of figures appearing around her. The alley, devoid of flowers, helped add to their conspicuousness as she frowned. So much for warning the others. In the end, she somehow attracted their attention instead!
She was annoyed this happened, but that was about it. Perhaps it was because she was already annoyed and had blacklisted both the headmage and Rollo in the back of her mind, but she didn't pay attention when the figures came at her. Strangely, they were quieter than their comrades from earlier, and she dodged their attacks with ease. They were quite fast, but not as fast as her. Thankfully, training under the old man had helped her learn to adapt quickly and notice her surroundings. She didn't have time for this. She simply turned around before raising her hand and inserting her mana. Suddenly, hundreds of web-like strings appeared around the alleyway, catching her pursuers off guard!
"What?!"
She yawned. "Do you have any idea how hard I've been working from this morning till now? Did you really think I've only been having fun?"
A butterfly fluttered over and landed on her shoulder as she sighed. "Unfortunately for your group, the moment I arrived, your fate was set in stone."
Suddenly, a few bodies fell from the skies as she smirked and strode over to them. One of them gasped with a mix of trepidation and disbelief, "These butterflies…"
Peony's smile widened. "Beautiful, are they not? Crystal and her parade worked hard all day refining their skills. Looks like it all paid off."
She recalled handing Crystal some pills. However, she never did check whether she had run out of them. Perhaps it would be better to check up and see how they were doing.
Her thoughts were interrupted when one of the figures grumbled, "K-Kill me…."
Peony sighed. "I'm not even done with you yet…"
"Master."
Peony turned around to find Zhang Li, who reported, "The assassins took their own lives."
"Really? How boring…" She sighed and looked down. "Now, I can't have some fun…"
"My apologies…"
Peony shook her head. "It's fine. Even if they didn't say anything, I can still gather information from them. Keep their corpses aside for examination. As long as their head is still in one piece, it doesn't matter if they're decapitated or not. Help me gather them all and store them. I'll take a look once I'm done with the hunt."
"Understood." She nodded and quickly began throwing all the paralyzed assassins into her ring. She was surprised by how brutal her master was. Had she begun recklessly taking lives as well, would she have met the same fate as them had she touched the students too? She wasn't sure what her master wanted with the bodies either. For them, they would just dispose of the body or leave it there. Unless they had the ability to read memories, they couldn't really do anything else. However, last she remembered, her master had not learned the skill. She recalled her father and uncle once said the information to learn the skill—which had been a secret of the Hui family—was said to have been lost from the Hui's main house back when the lady's father was still just a child in his Nascent Core stage. Could her master have found it? Why else would she have ordered her to gather them dead or alive? However, the skill was said to be difficult to master without a strong mental fortitude.
When done, Peony turned to her. "How is he?"
"He's still experiencing trauma. However, he's regained the ability to process information calmly when intimidated," Zhang Li said.
Able to process information calmly when intimidated? Peony wore a dry smile. She didn't recall ordering her to intimidate him. Thinking this, she started to question if it was really a good idea to let Zhang Li take care of this matter in her stead. Did she make the right move?
Nervous, she ignored what was said as Crystal relayed a message to her. Peony nodded upon hearing it, then yawned lazily. "I guess it's time… Crystal, call everyone back. The flowers should keep them busy for the time being—"
She paused when she heard Crystal shocked by something and quickly relayed it to her, much to her surprise. She frowned. "Zhang Li!"
"Yes, milady?" she responded.
"The wolves are nearing the bell tower. Keep an eye on the tower. Make sure the wolves don't get to them."
"Understood." She nodded and disappeared.
Peony then took in a deep breath. What a headache. Because of her senior brother's mess, she now had the flame lotus on top of the wolves. Thanks to this mess, the wolves were after the bell. Perhaps they were even after the bell from the very beginning. She could hardly care if that fool got himself killed. However, her master was too emotionally attached to his students most of the time. It was basically impossible not to do anything with his weakness. Though perhaps it was thanks to those weaknesses that he didn't dare raise a hand against her for skipping classes so often. It's no use—she may as well do something about it after all.
"Ahhh! Harold! Harold! Wake up!"
What an ear-piercing scream! She grimaced painfully before rushing toward the sound and found a woman trying to break free from the crowd pushing her back as her home was engulfed with the flowers.