“Mentor Leona, Brother Ye is... he's out treasure hunting,” Lina said, trying to act calm.
“Treasure hunting? What kind of treasure?” Leona asked, crossing her arms as she looked at the three before her.
She hadn't seen Zhang Ye when they returned, which had already puzzled her. Now, the unnatural reactions of the three only deepened her suspicion.
“Uh... well...” Lina scratched her head and hurriedly winked at Nan beside her.
Seeing this, Nan fell silent for a moment before speaking up. “He said he wanted to give you a surprise.”
Lina: “???”
Xi Ya: “???”
However, both of them reacted quickly. Lina immediately nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, yes! Brother Ye said he wanted to give you a surprise.”
Xi Ya nodded her small head as well, her face turning bright red from the lie.
“A surprise?” A slight smile played at the corner of Leona's lips. “What kind of surprise?”
Lina shook her head. “We don't know, but it's definitely going to be amazing!”
“Is that so?” Leona burst into laughter. “Since he's putting so much thought into it, I'll approve his leave.”
The three felt a wave of relief wash over them. They exchanged glances, all seeing the sheer luck in each other's eyes.
But then, their worry returned.
Brother Ye, you must return safely... and even after you return, you'd better be safe!
...
Hainowei stayed at the bottom of the lake, where a magic circle served as her “home.”
The magic circle spun slowly, gradually restoring her injuries and power.
Hainowei lay in the water out of sheer boredom. In front of her was a chessboard condensed from mana, complete with pieces. She was playing against herself.
But doing this was truly too dull; she couldn't muster any real interest.
She couldn't help but look up toward the altar above the water.
That guy's game was actually quite fun, but playing by myself is just so boring.
By the way, what is he doing?
Why hasn't there been any noise for so long?
Hainowei extended her perception and found that Zhang Ye was pulling a large pile of items out of his space ring, arranging them on the altar. This left her completely puzzled.
She quietly floated to the surface, watching the busy Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye also keenly noticed the ripples in the surrounding water. Spreading his perception, he immediately detected Hainowei behind him.
Hainowei thought she was hiding perfectly, unaware that Zhang Ye possessed Saint-tier perception. In his senses, she had nowhere to hide.
However, he didn't turn around. He simply kept working, acting as if he hadn't noticed her arrival at all.
“The layout of this altar can actually be arranged using the 【Synergistic Phalanx Alignment Method】, but ordinary rock isn't sturdy enough to serve as the foundation. It needs to be reinforced, and the materials must align with the water attribute...”
“According to my predictions, the resulting altar should help Hainowei accelerate her recovery from her injuries.”
Zhang Ye stroked his chin. He wanted to modify the altar into a magic circle—an altar magic circle that could run by either channeling mana or inserting magic crystals, thus healing injuries.
Hearing this, Hainowei's brows twitched slightly.
Is he doing this... for me?
After walking around the altar a few times to finalize the layout, Zhang Ye scratched his head. “I'm not short on magic materials, but I don't have any water-attribute ones...”
“Maybe I should ask Hainowei...” As he spoke, Zhang Ye turned around and “happened” to spot Hainowei standing behind him. He immediately jumped in “fright.” “Whoa! You're here?”
Hainowei's expression softened considerably as she gave a gentle nod.
“What are you doing?” Hainowei asked, pretending not to know.
Zhang Ye scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile. “Just keeping myself busy by studying magic circles... By the way, do you have any water-attribute ores or materials here?”
“Yes,” Hainowei nodded.
In places rich with water mana, such things were never in short supply. Nourished by the dense water elements, many ores naturally developed water-attribute properties.
An expression of joy immediately spread across Zhang Ye's face. He hurriedly asked, “Could you get me some?”
“No,” Hainowei giggled. “You are currently my slave. Why should I provide you with water-attribute ores?”
Zhang Ye opened his mouth, speechless.
My dear sister, I'm doing this for you! Couldn't you show a little appreciation?
Did I just put on that whole show for nothing?
Seeing his face, Hainowei finally let out a triumphant smile, though she tried to sound nonchalant. “If you want water-attribute ores, you can have them. But on one condition: you must play Gomoku with me every day.”
Zhang Ye chuckled inwardly.
So it was for this. This great Water Spirit is truly quite innocent.
Though delighted inside, Zhang Ye still put on a thoughtful and hesitant look. This made Hainowei's heart leap into her throat, as if she was terrified he would refuse.
It was safe to say that Zhang Ye had her psychology completely figured out.
Finally, Zhang Ye gave a firm nod. “Alright. Not only that, but I'll also teach you all kinds of other games. I guarantee they'll be even more fun than Gomoku. In return, however, you must provide me with whatever materials I need.”
Hainowei said, “I will provide whatever is available in the canyon. As for what isn't here, there's nothing I can do. I cannot leave this canyon.”
“No problem!” Zhang Ye agreed immediately.
Zhang Ye then listed a series of water-attribute materials, such as the magic core of a Tier Ten Torrent Magic Fish, the wood core of a Tier Nine Water Willow, and Blue Scale Ore...
Hainowei shook her head. “All of those can be found in the canyon, but I will not hunt magical beasts or harm living creatures for you. I can only provide you with ores; you will have to gather the rest yourself.”
“Does that mean I can leave this place?” Zhang Ye asked, his face lighting up with joy.
“You can,” Hainowei nodded.
“Aren't you afraid I'll run away?” Zhang Ye asked tentatively.
Hainowei smiled faintly. “As long as you aren't afraid of me detonating the enslavement imprint on your soul, feel free to try.”
Zhang Ye shrank his neck back, then declared righteously, “Run? Impossible! I would never run, not in this lifetime!”
Hainowei nodded in satisfaction. With a wave of her hand, she removed the water barrier surrounding the altar.
Seeing this, Zhang Ye sighed softly in his heart.
Hainowei, oh Hainowei... You may be incredibly powerful, but you really need to be more cautious. Now that you've removed this barrier, I can instantly contact the outside world and call people to surround you at any moment.
With such a lack of vigilance, no wonder you got tricked twice.
And here you were, talking about learning your lesson...
Shaking his head inwardly, Zhang Ye stepped over the splashing water and walked toward the forest. “I'll go out to look for materials first. I'll be back before sunset,” he called out as he walked.
Hainowei nodded.
With the enslavement imprint in place, she wasn't worried at all about Zhang Ye escaping her grasp.
The entire canyon was enveloped by dense water elements; she could pinpoint his location no matter where he went. Furthermore, with the enslavement imprint, she could easily suppress him at will.
Watching Zhang Ye disappear into the distance, she dove back to the bottom of the lake once more.
Having stepped into the forest, Zhang Ye stretched his limbs and asked Ella in his mind.
“The enslavement imprint can be broken with manual parsing, right?”
Ella's voice rang out immediately.
“Yes.”
Zhang Ye nodded, continuing his walk deeper into the forest.
“Aren't you going to break it right away?” Ella asked, flying out.
Zhang Ye shook his head with a smile. “There's no need. It's not like Hainowei is actually using it to control me anyway.”
Hearing this, Ella fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, “If you forcibly break the enslavement imprint, the other party will suffer a soul backlash and be severely injured. That's what you're actually worried about, isn't it?”
Zhang Ye smiled but said nothing.
Ella sighed helplessly. “You're unbelievable. She literally enslaved you, yet you're so cheerful and even looking out for her?”
“If she sold you off, would you happily count the money for her too?”
“Don't forget, even a severely injured Hainowei can still kill me,” Zhang Ye said, shaking his head slightly with a chuckle. “Besides, she's just lacking a sense of security.”
“Not everything has to turn out for the worst.”
“If I have the power to guide things toward a happy ending...”
“Why not do it?”
...
...
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