Chapter 44
The winter raid ended with the monsters’ hasty retreat. The story of the witch and her half-beast familiar, along with a mysterious great magician, saving the town, spread throughout the Sigrid Continent with the bards’ songs.
“It was an incredibly powerful magic circle! No chanting, no cumbersome scrolls, just a small, shiny object! With a flash, the black panther appeared!”
“The paladin saw with his own eyes that Witch Maureen didn’t use a wand, she just pointed her finger, and the monster’s head exploded!”
“And that familiar named Pipi! He’s the bravest little wolf, he saved twenty-three children, the temple should build a statue for him!”
Maureen had never expected to become so famous, and more importantly, the townspeople accepted Pipi, the half-beast, even awarding him a hero medal.
Every day, children would wait patiently at the door, waiting for the little wolf, who had finished his magic lessons, to come out and build snowmen with them.
When the Magic Association sent people to inquire about the mysterious young magician, Maureen knew what they were after, so she showed them the magic polish and the enchanted nail tips Ning Zhixia had made.
Although Ning Zhixia didn’t know magic, the runes and patterns he had painted on the nail tips were so delicate and precise that the magicians present were stunned, passing them around to examine.
An elderly magician, renowned for his magic circle drawings, sighed, if this small nail tip could summon a giant panther, then what was the point of him painstakingly carving large magic circles on the ground with an obsidian knife?
Maureen smiled silently, you poor soul.
A sharp-witted magician asked urgently, “What materials are these nail tips made of?”
A glint flashed in Maureen’s eyes, and she presented an exquisite box, opening it with her wand: “Of course, it’s the magic polish I personally made!”
The crowd was silent for a moment, under the witch’s gentle, harmless smile, as they all foresaw the gold coins in their pockets flying away.
Maureen successfully reached a collaboration agreement with Ning Zhixia, selling the magic polish while he designed the colors and patterns.
She sent the first two nail tips to the temple for safekeeping, and the Magic Journal naturally wouldn’t miss such a momentous event.
Not only did they create a special column for the enchanted nail art designs, but they also publicized it extensively, and the new issue quickly sold out, the magic polish Maureen launched also becoming a sensation on the continent.
The magicians discarded their heavy, cumbersome scrolls, and the nobles and commoners found their own ways to use it.
Magic apprentices and junior magicians now had a new way to earn money. Making enchanted nail tips was much easier than taking monster hunting commissions.
They only needed to invest in the magic polish and other tools and accessories, and customers would come flocking.
When they woke up and prayed to the God of Light, they would always include Witch Maureen and the great magician, thanking them for creating a path to riches for poor magicians!
These nail tips were both beautiful and convenient for emergencies. Not everyone could afford a storage ring to carry a bunch of scrolls, and moreover, they were created by a mysterious great magician and a witch.
Even ordinary people, when faced with a monster attack, could simply utter a short spell and cast a powerful magic.
Because the nail tips were so exquisite, their prices, based on the strength of the magic circle and their magic storage capacity, started at one gold coin, more cost-effective than single-use magic scrolls. However, most people didn’t need such powerful magic and simply wanted to buy a beautifully crafted nail tip to wear as an accessory.
“If this continues, won’t it affect sales?” Maureen, visiting Ning Zhixia’s shop to urge him to design the next batch, muttered worriedly.
With reusable enchanted nail tips, who would buy new ones?
“Don’t worry.”
Ning Zhixia flipped through the magic book and quickly had an idea. “We can create a series, then release special editions, limited editions, and even luxury versions, letting the nobles know that there’s always a prettier nail tip waiting.”
Maureen’s eyes lit up: “Yes, yes, yes, drain their wallets!”
Qu Banqing was shocked. The dragon-slaying hero had become the dragon. He saw through the facade and immediately turned to ask Audrow, “What have you been teaching him lately?”
Audrow casually snatched a wafer cookie from a fox cub and glanced at him indifferently: “Do I need to teach him how to fish?”
Qu Banqing cowered, carrying the aggrieved fox cub away, muttering, “You’ve been doing a lot of fishing yourself lately…”
Audrow clearly didn’t care. He licked the cookie crumbs from his fingertip and said softly, “Mermen usually just capsize the boat.”
Ning Zhixia, completely oblivious, was like a little fish swimming happily in a sea of money, on his way to riches.
Just buying one nail tip, huh? That’s fine too!
He chose a long stiletto nail tip, applied a magic polish base coat, then blended it with dark purple pearlescent watercolor, and for added effect, sprinkled some fairy powder.
He painted half of a butterfly-shaped summoning magic circle, then, instead of finishing it, he used a diamond-shaped crystal as the butterfly’s body and picked up a piece of plastic film as a palette.
He dipped his brush in sculpting gel and drew two layers of butterfly wings on the film, then used silver-purple cat eye polish to create a gradient effect in the gaps, attaching the three-dimensional wings to the other side of the crystal.
It was as if a fairy butterfly had landed on the fingertip, so dreamy that even Maureen was mesmerized.
But Ning Zhixia wasn’t finished yet. He used silver glitter to outline the edges of the three-dimensional wings, and as his brush completed the last curve, the nail tip instantly gained an exquisite, cloisonné-like texture.
“Oh my god…”
Amidst Maureen’s gasps, he made another half of a cloisonné wing, carefully attached it to a large oval crystal in the center of the nail, dipped his pen in gold magic polish, and drew runes around the crystal as decoration.
These were flashy blessing spells. After casting, fairy butterflies or holy feathers would surround the user. Practical customers wouldn’t buy them, but nobles were a different story.
Maureen returned to the Sigrid Continent, satisfied, sent the design to the journal for the next issue, and sent the nail tips to the auction house.
As expected, after the new issue of the Magic Journal was released, the exquisitely beautiful nail tips instantly caught the nobles’ attention.
However, there were only two, and the rarer they were, the more sensational they became. The auction house witnessed an unprecedented bidding war.
“I must wear this to every ball of the social season!”
“You wasteful nobles, this was made by the great magician himself, it should be reserved for the army’s pre-battle blessing ceremony!”
“Great Maureen, please tell us your friend’s whereabouts, I’m willing to pay a hefty price for a full set of custom nails!”
“No lady can resist being surrounded by sparkling fairy butterflies while dancing!”
“Oh my god, a customer brought the design and asked me to make an exact replica, this is killing me!”
Unlike the excited nobles and commoners, the magicians were tearing their hair out. They had wanted to blame the magician for designing without considering the difficulty of execution, but upon seeing the finished product at the auction house, their competitive spirit was ignited.
After practicing every night, they had made some progress. Although they couldn’t perfectly replicate the original, they could at least achieve 70-80% similarity.
While Maureen and Pipi were in the uptown area, witnessing the lively scene at the auction house, they encountered the beauticians who had previously turned her away.
These snobbish people, having lost the favor of the nobles, put on smiles and approached, bowing slightly: “Respected Miss Maureen, would you like to try our new flower juice?”
“Do you think I still need it?” Maureen showed off her magnificent nails, each finger slender and beautiful, without a trace of scabs or hangnails.
She raised her chin haughtily and called out casually, “Let’s go, Pipi, say goodbye to these leisurely ladies.”
“Okay!”
Pipi replied sweetly, made a face, and with a swish of his tail, walked past the red-faced beauticians.
The auction house was indeed a battlefield for the nobles. Combined with the share of the profits from the design sales in the journal, it amounted to almost two thousand gold coins, a large sum, enough for a minor noble’s expenses for an entire year.
Maureen prepared a set of non-magical nail polish and sent Pipi to deliver it to Ning Zhixia, along with the box of gold coins.
It was Pipi’s first time at the shop. He stood at the door, holding the box of gold coins and a large bag of nail polish bottles, looking around curiously. Fatty Orange, surrounded by the other kittens, approached and blinked at him.
Not long after, Pipi was sitting on the sofa, slurping a bowl of brown sugar jelly, surrounded by curious cats sniffing him. The little calico even climbed onto his head, purring contentedly as it nestled between his ears.
“Oh, you didn’t have to bring so many things…” Ning Zhixia happily pinched his fluffy tail.
Recently, the fox cubs had created a new hair care oil, and he had asked Maureen to take some back for Pipi. The effect was indeed remarkable, his fur shiny and smooth, even carrying a warm fragrance that Fatty Orange couldn’t resist, constantly batting at the little wolf’s wagging tail.
Ning Zhixia watched them for a while, then took the box of nail polish and prepared to make a color chart.
There were five bottles of base coat nudes and five bottles of cat eye polish. He swatched each one, the smooth polish gliding onto the nail tips, surprised to find that they were even better than the expensive, branded gel polishes.
Commercial gel polishes were made of pigments and resin mixed with various chemical solvents. The cheaper they were, the more harmful substances they contained. Even beginners shouldn’t use unknown brands.
Ning Zhixia held the color chart up to the light for a closer look.
Perfect, no bubbles, no shrinkage, not even a single brush stroke. Even without a top coat, the colors were already vibrant and saturated, the best gel polish he had ever seen!
“Sir, do you like them?” Pipi had come to the workstation at some point, his chin resting on the table, tilting his head and blinking. “Master said these are a thank-you gift for our collaboration.”
“Thank her for me, but I think it’s more like a successful sales pitch.” Ning Zhixia knew what the witch was up to, took a nail tip, fixed it to a display, and beckoned mysteriously to Pipi.
“Come, I’ll make you something fun.”
Maureen’s nail polish had a thermochromic effect, so Ning Zhixia chose a short, round nail tip, painted a flame shape on two-thirds of it with dark blue polish, and added a layer of cat eye polish for the flickering flames.
He made the inner flame slightly smaller, creating a layered effect.
He then added two eyes, making it look like a little flame demon with a faint blue glow.
Pipi watched, mesmerized, then saw Ning Zhixia drop the nail tip into a glass of water. Instantly, the cat eye shimmered like stars, gradually warming up and turning into a bright red flame.
“Wow!”
Pipi stared at the flickering flame in the water, exclaimed in surprise, and turned to Ning Zhixia, tugging on his robe, “It changed color! Just like that!”
“Yes, your master made it.” Ning Zhixia, clearly satisfied with the effect, took the nail tip out, dried it, and placed it in Pipi’s cupped hands, sighing in admiration, “She’s really amazing.”
Like a mad scientist.
Pipi nodded proudly, poked the flame nail tip, which was gradually turning blue, and asked, “What’s the name of this little flame demon?”
“Calcifer. I’ll tell you his story later.”
“Is he powerful?”
“Very powerful, very brave, and very lucky.”
Ning Zhixia rubbed Pipi’s soft cheek. “He also has a master and friends who care about him very much, just like Pipi.”
Pipi paused, his round eyes widening, and as tears welled up, he nodded vigorously and hugged the young man.
The little wolf, clutching the small flame nail tip, carried a large bag of snacks, waved goodbye to Ning Zhixia, and disappeared through the glowing doorway, leaving behind a box of gold coins shimmering in the light.
“Clink… clink…”
Ning Zhixia, like a child playing with rice in a supermarket, plunged his fingers into the pile of gold coins, stirring them around.
He saw that Qu Banqing was still busy in the kitchen, chuckled, and scanned a coin.
“1000 yuan received.”
Oh, oh, oh, wonderful!
He scanned another one, the electronic voice sounding again, his eyes shining. Scan one, feel good, scan another, feel even better, scan, scan, scan—
“Ouch!”
The back of his head was lightly tapped. Ning Zhixia clutched his head and turned around in confusion.
The subordinates, their eyes blurry from watching, had been sending him messages complaining. Audrow, holding his vibrating phone, said with narrowed eyes, “Exchange them all at once.”
“Oh…”
Ning Zhixia lowered his head guiltily and obediently pushed the entire box towards the QR code scanner.
“Dinner’s ready, dinner’s ready!”
Qu Banqing came out of the kitchen, knocking on a bowl, and saw Ning Zhixia quickly jump up, wash his hands, grab a bowl, and sit down, his movements incredibly swift.
“Why can’t you be this efficient when waking up?” Qu Banqing sighed.
Ning Zhixia, munching on cola chicken wings, said contentedly, “If you make pork rib noodles tomorrow morning, I’ll consider another performance.”
Qu Banqing quickly added a few of the rapidly disappearing chicken wings to his bowl and snorted, “In your dreams.”
It was hot recently, and Audrow seemed to have lost his appetite. After eating a few pieces of sashimi, he slumped lazily onto the sofa behind Ning Zhixia.
He pushed away a kitten’s butt and pretended not to hear its disgruntled purrs.
After a while, his light-colored eyes shifted, his gaze naturally falling on the young man’s exposed nape.
He raised his hand, his fingers gently touching the smooth, white skin, and poked it.
Ning Zhixia didn’t even have to turn around. He swatted backwards with his hand. Bad hand, go away!
Audrow pouted, and when Fatty Orange shamelessly rubbed against him again, he imitated its owner and patted its paw pads.
To avoid being disturbed during dinner, he took the remote and turned on the TV, preparing to put on SpongeBob for him.
As he was changing channels, a news report caught his attention—
[This afternoon, three national treasure-level historical artifacts, returned from overseas, were officially displayed at the Yucheng Museum…]
Three exquisite artifacts appeared on screen one by one, and Ning Zhixia watched with interest.
He suddenly remembered that the museum wasn’t far from Qingxi Road and suggested excitedly, “Why don’t we go and see them sometime?”
“Sure, but…”
Qu Banqing said with a hint of schadenfreude, “I remember you promised the platform you would live stream, I hope you can find the time.”
“Oh right, the live stream!”
Like realizing he had a pile of homework unfinished right before the end of summer vacation, Ning Zhixia was jolted awake and checked his phone.
It was a sea of red notification dots. Both the platform and his fans had been urging him for days. Ning Zhixia felt increasingly guilty, then his scrolling finger stopped, and he clicked on a private message from a local official account.
“What’s wrong?”
Qu Banqing, witnessing his widening eyes, craned his neck to see. “Did you finally win a raffle?”
“No, no, uh, not exactly, but close!”
Ning Zhixia turned his phone screen, showing it off to him and Audrow, and exclaimed excitedly, “The Yucheng Museum wants to collaborate with us!”
