Chapter 229: Before the Review

Isn’t this the woman who was with Bai Kai the other day? The other day, she was dressed like a prostitute, and today, she’s wearing a school uniform… That pervert! Bai Kai should be locked up…! Why is she here? And… why does she have the stench of a Witch on her?

When she saw Bai Kai’s former companion appearing in front of her as a Witch, and claims to know her, Jiangli was slightly shaken.

Quickly brushing away her panic, she calmed down and tilted her head, “Do I know you?”

The Witch pondered for a bit, and Jiangli broke the silence again, “Have we met somewhere?”

“No, no,” the Witch waved her hand. “Uh, well, I know you, but you don’t know me.”

Lu Yibei walked forward and sat down next to Jiangli, despite how cold she was being, “You’re Mew Mew, the cosplayer! How could I not recognize you? I love your cosplays! That cosplay you did of Bai Xiaohua? Chefs kiss – the resemblance was uncanny! Well, save for the breast size.”

…seems like she knows the owner of this face of mine, Jiangli thought inwardly. Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have copied the first face I found online! It might have been safer to pick a random passerby on the street, and now, I’m talking with a weirdo… a weirdo-Witch.

Jiangli’s initial plan for the review was to immediately split up, find a safe place, and stay there until dawn.

However, looking to her side, this strange girl now had her hand on her shoulder, chatting away.

Tsk, hard to act alone now.

Jiangli gently pushed the girl’s hand away and murmured, “I’m not Mew Mew. You’ve got the wrong person.”

However, the girl only slung her arm harder around her shoulder, and sighed emotionally, “I 100% get it! Many cosplayers don’t want to be tied to their persona – I get it, I truly do! You are you, even though I don’t know you. However, I just want to say that I’m a big fan… I bought a lot of your photosets, like that Belfast dress set, or your female Jotaro cosplay…”

What is she yapping about? Jiangli wondered.

“…and, and…” the girl before her continued. “That swimsuit set of yours? My god! Your curves were unbelievable! How did you get your ass to look like that in the photos? And those legs! Seeing them right here in person, I can’t help but want to touch them!”

…touch me? Jiangli was stunned and tried scooting over to the side, but the girl was locking arms with her.

“Let go of me!” Jiangli pushed, cheeks turning slightly red. “I’m telling you – I’m not Mew or whatever her name is! You’ve got the wrong person!”

Damn it, why is this girl acting like a guy? I never knew Witches were this annoying! Worst thing is, this little Witch reminds me of that annoying little Lu Yibei…

Wait…

Glancing at the girl, she peered at her curvy body that pressed against her school uniform, and shook her head.

No, this isn’t him. If it is him, it would be impossible for him to enter and exit the Night Division without ringing any alarms.

Jiangli recalled back to when she first became an Operator, and a member of the Eclipse Society tried sneaking into the Night Division.

Before he could pass through the courtyard, he was immediately transformed into a pile of mushrooms, and Bai Kai picked up his remains to boil into a mushroom chicken dish.

“…are you not Mew Mew?”

“No.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care. I am not her.”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter if you’re not her,” the girl nodded as she produced a banana out from her pocket, handing it to Jiangli. “You’re here for the review, correct? We’re friends now, and we can look out for each other later.”

Jiangli darkened her gaze, stepping back coldly.

Why does a Witch have a banana with her?

“Oh, my bad… I know what you’re thinking,” the girl scratched her head as she glanced at the banana. “I stole a bunch of them from a taxi driver just now… it was on the passenger seat.”

A cheap Witch… interesting.

Seeing that the girl beside her remained silent, Yibei simply unhanded the banana and peeled it off to eat for herself.

To be honest, coupled with that disarming smile and how cold the girl was being, Yibei thought that the girl right beside her was none other than Jiangli, who decided to infiltrate into this review for an investigation. If it really was her, she would’ve killed her by now by how much she was annoying her.

However, Yibei was fully intact, and it seemed that her personality was different, so this shouldn’t be Jiangli.

I can’t rule it out though. I have to trust my instincts!

…

When Yibei had finished her fourth banana and Jiangli herself reluctantly accepted one, the third person to be reviewed appear before them.

He seemed rather handsome, but he dressed extremely shabbily.

As he walked, he held a selfie stick as he recorded a video on his phone, mumbling, “Today, we will be visiting the legendary Southern Suburbs Slaughterhouse. Type “666” in chat if you’re listening!”

Before the two girls could speak, he saw the two beautiful girls, like manifestations of black and white, from a distance. They flashed disarming and forced smiles as he walked closer to them.

“I didn’t expect to be accompanied by two beautiful ladies tonight, how wonderful! But, I am a decent man,” he pointed to his phone camera as the two approached him. “Good evening, ladies, I am Li.”

“…Li Sang Hyuk*?” Yibei titled her head.

*[t/n: could refer to either Faker, the League of Legends pro, or a footballer.]

“Well no, but with me around, the two of you ladies will leave this place unscathed.”

“How sure are you?” Yibei interjected coldly. “What if the two of us kill ourselves right now?”

“Oh, uh…” Li stared at her, speechless.

Why can’t you just play along?! If you’re here, you’re already not planning to leave this place alive, correct?! He thought to himself.

“Aha,” he adjusted his mood, smiling as he squeezed himself between the two of them. “You’re eccentric, I like that.”

Jiangli frowned and opted not to respond, but Yibei pinched her shoulder, egging her to respond.

“…and I think you’re weird. And disgusting.”

She then glanced at the girl across the man’s shoulder. Don’t you worry about me, I can handle things myself.

“Aha,” Li awkwardly laughed towards his camera. “Beautiful women with beautiful words. It’s almost as if I can feel my heartstrings softening.”

“Oh, I’m sure something else is softening.”

“Well,” the atmosphere became awkward, and Li pointed his camera towards the sky. “Isn’t the moonlight beautiful tonight? And it’s slightly chilly too.”

Let’s see how much garbage can come out of your mouth versus mine, Yibei thought.

Yibei simply rolled her eyes, “That’s what a raccoon stealing a watermelon would think before they succumb to a farmer’s rake.*”

*[t/n: ‘raccoon stealing a watermelon,’ is a Chinese saying about how thieves will eventually get caught, hence ‘succumb to a farmer’s rake.’ Yibei was implying that Li was going to die tonight since he was admiring the moonlight, much like the a hitman saying ‘just look at the flowers,’ before shooting their victim in the head.]

It was awkwardly silent after she implied that he was going to die tonight. Li didn’t want to talk to Yibei anymore, and turned his head towards Jiangli.

However, before he could speak, Jiangli grinned at him with a malicious smile, and he couldn’t help but tremble.

“You’re Li, correct? Full name, Li Daqiang, male, 27 years old – you know a few electricity based spells, but nothing special; streamer with 327,000 subscribers. A few years ago, you molested a girl in the name of exorcism, and you were arrested for two years and seven months; two years ago, you bewitched a businessman and extorted him of tens of millions of dollars; earlier this year, you came in contact with people from the Sect of Light…”

“And,” Jiangli scoffed. “You’re living in paranoia because you’re being hunted, helplessly running away for your life.”

How does she know so much? Yibei wondered.

Li broke into a cold sweat and turned around, “I… repented. I’m a good guy now, I swear.”

He untangled his arms that were around the girls’ arms and found a stone to sit on alone, glaring at the two girls from a distance.

He performed a divination earlier today, and it mentioned that things were going to go his way, so why did he bump into these two women?

Soon, a loud noise came close by.

A jet-black eagle cawed in the sky and crashed straight into Li’s motorcycle close by. Just as Li was about to curse and yell, he saw a giant man climbing over his motorcycle.

A bald man over two meters tall, wearing a dark jacket and sunglasses. He exuded an aura that could only be described as ‘invincible’ by the three of them, and he had dozens of heavy copper rings that cupped his thick forearms.

He strolled over to the gate of the slaughterhouse, and he took off his sunglasses, “Are we all here? If we are, let’s discuss our abilities.”

His voice was powerful and deep, and he continued, “The slaughterhouse may be dangerous tonight. If we communicate well before going in, we have a greater chance of making it out alive tonight.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Yibei.

Their eyes met, and Yibei frowned, unsure of whether to launch a fireball straight towards him. However, the bald man simply said, “Not bad!” and glanced at Jiangli next.

Jiangli flashed a sinister smile, and he nodded, “Good, good,” and looked at Li.

Meeting his eyes, Li was stunned, but pointed at him and started shouting, “What the hell? All she did was smile! And why should I listen to you? I’m warning ‘ya, you don’t wanna mess with me!”

“Ah, young man,” the bald man interrupted with a sneer as he pointed at Jiangli. “You don’t know what’s behind that smile. That’s a smile that has killed millions of people.”

Jiangli was speechless, and so was Yibei. If only I could have expressions…

“Is that so? You’re telling me somebody like her has ever killed someone?” he sneered.

The bald man laughed, “Kid, you don’t know what you’re dealing with here. Go home.”

Li was startled and blushed heavily. “Kid? Oh, now you’ve done it, I’ll have you know that I’m…”

At this moment, their mobile phones suddenly vibrated at the same time.

Taking out their phones, they read the message, and everyone looked at each other. It was silent and knowing.

[100 2/3 CATS: @everyone, everyone has arrived at the review location. You may enter in advance, or enter at midnight. Before entering, there are rules to be followed:

1. Enter before midnight. Once you enter, you are not allowed to leave before 8am. If you leave before then, your review is considered as a failure.

2. After entering, you must move around continuously. Standing still is grounds for failure.

Enjoy the thrilling review tonight!]

It was silent.

Li looked up shakily and was the first to speak, “I… I think something is wrong. Something m-m-must be inside.”

“See? Just a kid after all,” the bald man snorted, running towards the giant iron gate and kicking it open with a single kick.

“Is this place safe?” Jiangli whispered to herself as she got up and followed the man into the slaughterhouse.

Soon, only Yibei and Li were left. Li shakily turned to Yibei, “Hey, um… you’re beautiful… so…”

“Who are you calling beautiful? Keep that dirty tongue of yours inside your mouth!” Yibei interrupted, pointing a finger. “You don’t have the right to talk to me, and you will never beat me in anything. If you keep talking, I’ll make sure to annoy you until you kill yourself.”

As she spoke, she opened up [Love and Magical Girl] and played with Bai Xiaohua on her phone.

Like hell I’m going in early. I’m spending eight hours inside the slaughterhouse – nothing more, nothing less, she decided.

The corners of Li’s mouth twitched, Don’t be angry. It’s not good to be angry at women…

But she’s looking down upon me… I’ll make her eat her words in the future!

He silently tapped on his mobile phone and started his stream, “Hey, it’s Li here again! You must have seen the preview video I posted just now, correct? What’s this? Oh, why am I alone, you ask? I had the pleasure to deal with three fuck-ass review mates earlier, so I decided to explore alone. Now, chat, let us go explore the slaughterhouse together.”

…

Li was chatting away with his stream, walking alone along the path to the slaughterhouse.

The grass around the trail was tall and undulated with the wind, but it was eerily quiet. If somebody were to hide within the grass, they wouldn’t be found.

Where is that strange man I saw earlier? He must be hiding somewhere.

Strangely enough, the crescent moon above them seemed to dim gradually, and it became darker.

Li’s figure gradually blurred in the darkness, as if he had strayed into a portal.

Yibei looked away and continued fiddling with her mobile phone, only for Li’s loud shouts to be heard.

“What the hell, chat? Look what I found – a dry well! Anyone wanna see what’s down there! Gift two subs, and I’ll head right down!”

A dry well… Yibei was stunned as she heard this, and her expression changed as she realized where Li was heading to.

It is the direction of the seal where she discovered a destroyed manhole cover! She hurriedly kept her phone and trotted into the grounds.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She was familiar with the winding roads of the slaughterhouse, and passing through the tall grass, she quickly came to the manhole cover.

However, Li was nowhere to be found. The only trace of him left was his mobile phone that fell on the edge of the manhole, emitting a faint light, with a few drops of viscous liquid stained on the screen.

A person disappearing in a matter of seconds…

Staring at the manhole, she felt strange – after dark, it seemed that everything was different.

The manhole was like a big mouth that was ready to devour anything that entered. And yet, it seemed to exude an aura of temptation, alluring the curious to explore within its maw.

Pausing, she walked up to the edge of the manhole and stared into the darkness before snatching Li’s phone off the ground, running away.

The moment she turned around, a strange sigh could be heard deep within the cellar.

Li may not be a good person, but this phone is pretty good… and he has an EhPhone 12 Plus Pro… I wonder if it can withstand high temperatures…

And I’m not taking advantage of him to steal his phone! I’m… keeping it for him, yes! I’ll give it back to him when I see him! Promise!

TRANSLATOR NOTES

Hello, slicedbread here! I am a freelance translator who has been translating for about two years now, and I am fluent in both English and Chinese. I got the green-light from NightcoreJack, so I will be taking over as this novel’s new TL! ^_^ First off, I have a couple of things to address. Since I’d like to keep things as transparent as possible, below are the lists of concerns ranging from most important to least important:

❀ Release Schedule – Tentatively, I’m thinking of a twice-a-week release schedule on Tuesday and Friday. I am still a university student, and my schedule is pretty packed as it is. Hopefully, I will be able to stick to a twice-to-week schedule, though that is always subject to change.

❀ Old Readers – I do not (currently) have a Disqus account, so I would greatly appreciate it that if you stumbled upon this that you inform the old readers on NightcoreJack’s website to read the new and updated TL here. ^_^

❀ Archiving – If you’ve been keeping up with NightcoreJack, there is a possibility that they might not continue TLing due to their health in addition to not renewing their plan of renewing the website next year. Fret not, I have the entire archive of I Became A Witch translated from Volume 1 Chapter 1 up to the current chapter, though I am unsure exactly when I’ll re-upload the old chapters since it will be a hassle uploading over 200+ chapters to this site ToT. When the time comes, I’ll definitely get to it.

❀ Communication – I am still human, so if there are any translating errors or mistakes, please do nothesitate to point it out in the replies – I will fix them as soon as possible. If you’d like to discuss or ask questions about the story, I’d be happy to discuss them with you ^.^ (e.g., the subject on Yibei’s parents, urban legends, etc.)

❀ Ko-Fi – #shamelessplug; I am TLing this for free, so if you’d like to support me you can commission your very own freshly baked translations on my Ko-Fi or just donate me any amount you’d like as motivation. /slicedbreadsbakery)

Thank you for reading through the notes, and thank you for sticking around this novel! Also, make sure to send your good wishes to NightcoreJack, and wish him the best in his recovery.