Jin Ruochu praised while hugging the girl's waist and nuzzling with her face—exactly like a little kitten's behavior.
How did I come as a doctor to treat illness but end up like a mom, Hibiscus thought. Who knew that in the original world line, this child would bear the world's fate, leading a path alone. People's growth often happens in an instant—this kind of unlucky young miss was fine too. Courage didn't have to come from suffering.
"I also came to say thanks this time—you've helped me a lot."
"What are we being polite for? We've already been through life and death together." Jin Ruochu suddenly realized: "How did I help you?"
"Fortune and Misfortune magic users unconsciously give luck protection to people close to them. Thanks to you, everything went smoothly when I started my company, and it's gradually operating now. Incidentally, pay more attention to training magic power usually—otherwise if there's not enough to pay for the magic's passive effect consumption, it'll be life force's turn."
Hearing this, the girl nodded like a pecking chicken.
Everything you say is right.
Seeing Jin Ruochu in her arms with a humble attitude seeking instruction, Hibiscus couldn't help opening up, sharing some intelligence about causal magic to at least avoid detours.
She deliberately avoided the "doing this will improve" parts and instead focused on explaining "don't do this" to prevent pitfalls. After all, there were countless magic development routes—no one dared guarantee it would be the same as the original storyline. There was no best, only better. The intelligence focused on making the girl understand her own situation, plus basic magical girl knowledge. Having taught Nan Zhiyi once made this smooth sailing.
Don't look at her silly appearance—the unlucky young miss actually had quite strong learning ability, excelling at music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Hibiscus was the only poor student.
You're all protagonist material, yet I, a villain, became the teacher.
The two had a heart-to-heart talk with a feeling of meeting too late, a resonance rising in their hearts. Two girls possessing the strongest magic of their series forming friendship would inevitably have profound mutual influence.
For the first time in her life, Jin Ruochu encountered such comfortable communication.
Her brother was always busy abroad, and don't mention dad—that sharp tongue never showed mercy. Can't count on family, and due to childhood illness, no peers. Besides that, she only contacted servants or company subordinates, then those with ill intentions... In the end, the girl had never encountered proper communication environments.
Only "Dr. Mu" chatted with Jin Ruochu without barriers, with no calculations about financial groups or connections in her eyes, even revealing another different emotion:
Hostility.
Her innate sensitivity didn't miss the wariness in the girl's eyes, as if feeling they would be enemies in the future.
How could that be? I said I'd rather give my life.
Jin Ruochu wanted to explain and smooth over suspicions, but on second thought—wasn't hostility good? Hadn't Dr. Mu helped her before? In her life she had seen appreciation, praise, worship, or flattery—few dared show hostility, even those kidnappers did things tremblingly.
Hostility was hostility. At least people wouldn't forget enemies—you would always value me.
From another angle, Dr. Mu could be called a magical girl guide, standardizing Jin Ruochu's path while sharing important intelligence and secrets generously.
Having been immersed in political and business circles since childhood, didn't she understand the value? It was simply a ticket to the new era. How many experiments? How many sacrifices lay behind it to summarize knowledge of magic, techniques, and Origin? Regardless of whether Dr. Mu was the first researcher, obtaining this information definitely came at expensive or even painful cost. Now she was teaching it just by opening her mouth.
Another debt owed.
Jin Ruochu enjoyed being cared for by a gentle big sister elder—she couldn't slack off anymore and had to quickly learn this knowledge to help.
The more Hibiscus spoke, the more she saw the girl's eyes burning with excitement and flushed face—she was probably already imagining the flying experience.
After a moment she said: "That's all... I've basically covered the key points. The focus is practice—magical girls most need pragmatism. Theory at most provides some guidance. You'll have misfortune and good fortune in the future, but always remember: that itself is a miracle. Don't mind it—accept it calmly."
"I've already encountered the greatest fortune of my life."
"Anyway, be more careful. We're destined to be targeted by Disaster Beasts—either die or defeat them to become stronger. In a sense, we really are hunters seeking prey."
"Speaking of that, I might have intelligence to help you."
Jin Ruochu generously shared intelligence about Pasha investigating the Disaster Beast at the experimental building. Since confirming she had special abilities, she had started paying attention to such news. Being within Changfeng Financial Group, she didn't even need to inquire—just using keen senses to catch fragments had sufficient value. Besides, since Dr. Mu killed the Disaster Beast, mentioning this to her didn't count as leaking secrets.
What she didn't expect was that hearing about Cluster Disaster Beasts and the holy relic's eerie performance, the white-coated girl remained calm, only concerned about the coming large-scale attack.
So Dr. Mu should have already known lots of classified information. No wonder—this person seemed ahead of everyone in macro information.
"Thanks for the news."
Hibiscus couldn't sit by and ignore it anymore. Knowing meant bearing fate—unavoidable, since Disaster Beasts would actively seek her out.
From a utilitarian angle, the just-started Five-Color Narcissus trading company needed a suitable market environment. If everything going smoothly currently was destroyed by Disaster Beasts, she'd definitely go crazy.
Had to admit Jin Ruochu's intelligence revelation was perfectly timed. Perhaps she should take a gamble—only through combat could Sands of Time evolve to the next stage.
"...You want to participate in this matter?"
"Many things aren't something we can avoid just by wanting to avoid them. Might as well take initiative."
The girl's face darkened with some regret—perhaps she shouldn't have mentioned this so early, instead forcing the responsibility-conscious Dr. Mu onto the journey. When she felt dejected, she saw Hibiscus stand up and pat her shoulder: "Consider me scouting ahead for you."
"Then hurry and set off. I'm fine here. Don't delay time, right?" Jin Ruochu said meaningfully.
She believed the time magic user could sweep away this obstacle.
"Take care of yourself too."
Hibiscus, who had just arrived, was preparing to leave again. Opening the door, she encountered a tall, imposing suited man—Jin Changfeng, who had put down work to hurriedly check on his daughter's condition. Glancing past the doctor's figure at Jin Ruochu's smile she couldn't quite hide away, he understood.
Normally they should exchange pleasantries, like invitations to stay, but neither was the type for routines.
"Dr. Mu, thank you for taking care of my daughter."
"Just a small favor. Actually she's fine—please rest assured."
After nodding at each other and passing by, before leaving, Hibiscus sensed a powerful magic reaction in the yard. Looking closely, she saw eight nuns sitting uniformly in a pavilion drinking tea. Their gazes met for an instant before separating.
Good thing she had gradually learned to suppress magic reactions through training—otherwise she might have been exposed already.