Chapter 311: The Deal

Chapter 311: The Deal

On the sea surface, along with splashing spray, a deep vortex stopped spinning, and a figure as tall as Bran emerged from it. Xina didn’t want to fight anymore; it wanted to talk. Out of politeness, or perhaps using what it had just learned, it condensed an avatar.

A brilliant hunt prepared for it had been avoided by a twist of fate. Luck played the main part in surviving until now, Xina believed.

Compared to those long-gone friends and enemies, who were either power ful or cunning. Compared to those who either fell into traps or walked into dead ends from blind confidence, its luck was truly very good.

The Amphibians’ Guardian Ola had been careless. At the top of this World, pampered by his people’s worship, pride and arrogance had slowly grown over time without him noticing.

This World was always changing, even if some people thought they were still the same as before. But it was precisely this change that allowed the old and new to constantly replace each other, and life and death to follow the cycle.

Xina knew this, so it had been changing along with it. Wandering alone in this World also helped it avoid many bad influences, though this made it seem out of step.

In the eyes of some, it seemed irritable and casual, but it believed it had always been careful and cautious. Except when first meeting the boy before it now, years of loneliness and calm had worn away a little patience, causing its behavior to be somewhat abnormal…

Now, it was fully awake.

The boy before it was a Monster without form, just like it, but the boy had gone even further. Using the Night, he transformed into Shadow, hiding among the waves, under the sand, even within its own shadow.

Xina seemed to see its former self, the crystal-clear droplets continuously seeping from the Fruit were constantly flowing into its body, gradually turning it into—Monster Xina.

It couldn’t leave its Fruit, and it knew very well that it couldn’t nurture a new Fruit. In its past memories, it had never heard of anyone who could nurture a second one. As the Fruit matured, its body had already undergone great changes, losing the conditions needed to nurture a Fruit.

The seemingly easy big battle just now ended with Bran’s complete victory, but Xina knew this was only the surface. At this level of combat, no one could achieve such a result without paying a price, even if it was a carefully designed trap.

Moreover, the shift in target had been somewhat hasty. Strangely, no ripples of energy leaked from their fight; that boy had swallowed all the energy, which wasn’t a good choice.

Ola’s final outburst clearly concentrated energy toward the girl’s direction. Pity, if not for that cat, Ola, free from entanglement, would surely have taught Bran a lesson. At the same time, Xina was truly grateful to Ola. If not for him, it wouldn’t have discovered the opponent had long been lurking by its side.

When a figure slowly rose from the water’s surface, Bran also slowly walked toward it, as if nothing had just happened. The full moon hung high in the sky, making the river surface, the beach, and the sea all bright and shining.

Bran raised a hand to shield his forehead, as if the warm, soft moonlight stung his eyes. With this move, the area around him became hazy again.

As Bran walked forward, the small figure on the sea also strode over on the waves. When the waves gently lapped at Bran’s feet, bringing a hint of refreshing coolness, Xina also stood on the soft sand. The two Monsters looked at each other, but their gazes simultaneously fell behind the other.

A sound arose, first the noisy sound of water, then gradually turning into clear speech like jewels clinking, “I am Xina.”

“Wizard Bran.”

“Give it back to me.”

For such an unreasonable demand, Bran couldn’t be bothered to reply, so he silently looked at the moonlight on the sea.

“You’re injured, and your cat is exposed too.”

“Oh? I forgot to introduce my partner—Huahua. She has always been here, so there’s no talk of being exposed or not. I just want to ask, am I exposed?”

As he spoke, the moonlight became hazy again. Bran sighed, his tone regretful: “You’re really lucky. Just a little more time and I would have caught you. If not for that pair of silly girls following you to watch the excitement, if not for that idiot suddenly having murderous intent toward them…”

“Don’t try your old tricks, take your little tricks back!” Xina’s tone suddenly became irritable, “I warn you! Give it back to me.”

“Why should I?”

“You’re injured now; you can’t stop me at all. I’ve also seen that cat’s ability clearly; in endless years, I’ve seen this kind of ability. I might have no way to deal with it, but the harm it can do to me is also very limited.”

Bran pointed towards the mouth of the Eternal River, “Go ahead! I promise I won’t stop you, but I’ll wait here for you to come back.”

“The underground rivers here also flow endlessly.”

“Wow,” Bran made an exaggerated expression, “Still a rodent that shuns the light, actually knows how to burrow.”

A huge wave rose on the sea and crashed heavily before Bran, “I’ll remind you again, no tricks, take your filthy Shadow back.”

“Fine, what was it you wanted?” Bran asked with absolutely no sincerity, “Wait! I remember. But what kind of attitude is this from you? Are you planning to threaten, steal, or make a deal?”

Xina’s avatar stood still for a long moment. In its long years, it hadn’t heard the word “deal” in too long. Threat and plunder had long become instinct. So it fell into a strange mood, unable to extricate itself, failing to notice the moonlight had become even more hazy.

Bran naturally wouldn’t disturb it, still persistently moving his hands in secret.

“A deal.”

This obviously exceeded Bran’s expectations. This Monster understood deals? Subconsciously, he asked very rudely, “Do you even understand what a deal is?”

Xina clearly thought it did, so a wave delivered one Fruit. Seeming to think goods should offer choice, several more Fruits were sent before Bran by following waves.

“Deal!” Bran agreed without hesitation, and with these words the moonlight shone brightly on the two again. Bran unceremoniously picked two, then tossed out a sentence, “Wait here for me, this is my pledge.”

After speaking, he left behind on the spot a human head whose eyes were full of fear. He then transformed into a cloud of smoke and sped far away. As the smoke cloud receded, the surroundings finally became fully bright.