The Exchange

Lu Li watched the Witch turn away, her expression thoughtful. Some things were obvious, but you just didn't know how to face them. None of it was mere coincidence.

The sound of the waves brought Lu Li back to the time he'd fallen into the water a year ago. The murky river churned, countless bubbles drifting upward. Light from the surface refracted through the water, turning hazy and indistinct. A figure stepped out of that light and entered Lu Li's eyes. A flood of unclear information poured into his mind and soul, searing and twisting it, changing it into something else. That vivid red...

The ship suddenly came to a stop. Miss Maid stared coldly at everyone, urging them to get off. Lu Li looked up and realized they'd already reached the island. They'd gotten there so quickly it was almost unbelievable. His memories were interrupted, and the figure in his mind slowly faded. Only then did Lu Li realize that sweat had soaked his back—a rare experience for him.

"Right in the center of the island? There's a strong concentration of witchcraft there..." The Witch stepped onto the island, eyes narrowed. In her unpleasantly harsh voice, she spoke, then headed toward the lake in the island's center. Miss Maid and the others disembarked behind her. The ship wriggled, shrank beneath Miss Maid's skirt, and disappeared. She followed the Witch with an indifferent expression.

When they reached the lake, the Mermaid Princess swam up from beneath the surface, as if she'd known they were back. The Witch froze when she saw her, then actually laughed. "How interesting. I never thought someone of your bloodline could be bewitched by a human and want to become one."

"Some things have nothing to do with bloodlines, don't they?" The Mermaid Princess's voice stood in stark contrast to the Witch's: it could reach into people's hearts and warm them.

"You understand the rules of our lineage, don't you?" The Witch stopped laughing and looked at the Mermaid Princess. "Whatever you gain, you must give up something in return. Becoming human will cost you dearly. Have you considered it?"

"There's nothing to consider. Nothing can stop me from being with William!" the Mermaid Princess declared firmly. Then she turned to Lu Li and the others. "I'll keep my word. Someone will take you to my treasury shortly, and you may choose one item each. I think it's time for you to leave."

The merfolk who'd always looked at Lu Li and the others with hostility appeared again. When she saw they'd brought the Witch back, her expression darkened further. She didn't even greet them, turning instead to swim toward the other side of the lake. Lu Li and the others had no choice but to hurry after her.

They reached an ice staircase. Witchcraft had been applied to it, preventing the water from affecting humans who walked on it. By the time they caught up with the merfolk, she'd already been standing outside a treasury for some time, glaring at them with displeasure.

Though she was clearly unhappy with Lu Li and the others, she still obeyed the Mermaid Princess's orders. She opened the treasury doors and said coldly, "The princess said you may take only one item. Don't even think about taking more. I'll be watching you."

"Fine, hurry up. I'll take something and leave. I don't have time to waste with you!" Xu Haoran said impatiently. He didn't want to leave the Witch at all. He was experiencing something like withdrawal; whenever he wasn't by the Witch's side, his whole body felt uncomfortable. Naturally, seeing the merfolk waste time made him furious.

"Hmph. Those items are all cursed. If you get greedy, you'll die without a whole corpse." The merfolk gave them one last warning, then let them inside.

The treasury was nothing like Lu Li had imagined. He'd thought the Mermaid Princess might have some valuables, but she'd snuck out in secret to become human. A change of species like that couldn't be done openly, so her treasury probably wouldn't hold anything worthwhile. After all, the quest had said the Mermaid Princess's mission didn't actually offer a reward; this was just an extra gift from her. Extra rewards were usually nothing special. Lu Li hadn't expected her to be so generous.

The first thing to catch their eyes was a heap of jewels and gold scattered carelessly across the floor. They glittered brilliantly and were impossible to ignore, but the people here were all players. They only cared about the promised magical items and had no interest in the gold and jewels.

Then they noticed the magical items hanging on the other three walls. Everyone present had at least come into contact with supernatural energy, so they could vaguely sense the energy coming from the objects. These were magical and witchcraft items.

There were dozens of magical items on the walls. They weren't cabbages; even the weakest magical item was incredibly rare. With so many of them, the Mermaid Princess outside was a ridiculously rich tycoon!

"Take your time choosing. Items hanging together count as one. You may not take more than that," the merfolk reminded them again. Xu Haoran impatiently grabbed an object shaped like a conch and hurried out. His withdrawal was nearly in full swing, and he was desperate to get back to the Witch. He also blamed himself for leaving her just to covet a magical item. He didn't know this was the last struggle of his personality. When that struggle failed, he would completely lose himself and become a mere tool in the Witch's hands.

Lu Li silently examined the magical items on the walls. There were plenty, in all sorts of forms: some looked like longswords, some like hats, others like crystal balls. He looked them over one by one without feeling particularly drawn to any. According to the rules of the game instance, some items couldn't be taken out of the instance and could only be broken down into several modules.

Gao Xiaowen picked up a goat skull, nodded to the merfolk, and left the treasury. A ring of black fur quietly sprouted around the skull in her left hand, which gave off a faint, evil, distorted aura.

Hu Wenxu chose a small knife carved from coral. He tested it with a couple of swipes, then left with a satisfied look, leaving Lu Li to make the final choice. As Lu Li scanned the objects on the walls, his gaze suddenly stopped on one of them.

Lu Li looked it over, pointed at it, and asked the merfolk, "Do these items count as one, too?"