The Young Scholar had completely forgotten to keep an eye on the Black Monster's movements.
Thankfully.
He wasn't quite that unlucky...
If the Black Monster had disappeared right then...
The Young Scholar thought he really would have gone mad.
He had waited so long...
Made so many efforts...
Made such a fool of himself so many times...
Been through so many twists and turns...
And now, at long last...
He was finally about to get the answer he wanted...
Only for everything to reset to zero.
How could he not go mad?
He would probably be unable to get over it for a very, very long time.
The Young Scholar returned to the Black Monster.
He bent down again.
He stared at the Black Monster and waved the twig in his hand in front of its eyes.
"Want some?"
The Black Monster suddenly snapped its jaws around the twig.
By the time the Young Scholar reacted, half the twig in his hand was gone.
The Young Scholar's heart jolted.
He immediately yanked the twig back.
His face filled with both shock and anger.
"You—"
The Black Monster chewed a few times, then went still.
It looked at the rest of the twig in the Young Scholar's hand.
The Young Scholar instinctively hid the twig behind his back.
Then, realizing what he'd just done, the Young Scholar's mouth twitched.
But to be safe, he didn't dare bring the twig back out.
He pressed his lips together.
"Don't rush."
"This..."
He pulled a little of the twig out from behind his back and waved it. "I can give you this."
"But you have to answer a few questions."
"Once you've answered them, I'll give you the twig."
"How does that sound?"
The Black Monster looked