Equivalent Exchange, Tang San Feared They'd Go Back on Their Word

As he spoke, Zhao Linchuan flicked his left hand casually. A stream of emerald light, brimming with the aura of life, descended like a gentle spring rain and landed precisely upon the horrific wound on Tang San's back.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

That ghastly wound, along with the surrounding torn flesh, meridians, and even the faintly visible bone, began to writhe, grow, and knit together at a speed visible to the naked eye under the radiance of the green light.

Fresh granulation tissue sprouted and skin covered the area anew. In a mere dozen breaths, the massive, potentially fatal gash had completely healed, leaving behind only a patch of tender, newborn skin where even a scar was barely discernible.

If not for the large pool of undried blood on the ground and Tang San's still-unconscious, pale face, everyone would have thought the bloody scene from moments ago was merely a hallucination.

Dragon Duke, Snake Matriarch, Zhao Wuji, and the others were all dumbfounded, too shocked to speak.

Such heaven-defying healing effects!

Such vast, surging life energy!

This... this was simply not something an ordinary healing-type Spirit Master could achieve!

Even the legendary top-tier healing spirit, the "Nine Heart Begonia," likely fell short of such efficacy, did it not?

Moreover, they had heard of the flaws of the Nine Heart Begonia, and they knew a little about its current successor; it was certainly not this young man before them!

Could it be... a more powerful healing-type spirit that had never appeared before?

Or perhaps, he was the young master of some hidden, reclusive family?!

Just as the Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch's hearts were churning with turbulent waves of speculation, the unconscious Tang San on the ground felt his eyelashes tremble. A faint groan escaped his throat, and he slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was dazed. He looked around, then subconsciously touched his back. It felt smooth, with nothing out of the ordinary.

Only a profound, indescribable sense of weakness emanated from deep within his body, as if something vital had been extracted, leaving him feeling hollow.

"I... what happened to me?" He propped himself up to a sitting position, his voice raspy and his head still heavy.

"You were nearly controlled by that evil thing just now, on the verge of becoming a Human-Faced Demon Spider."

"Fortunately, I was passing by and intervened in time to excise it from your body."

Zhao Linchuan's voice drifted over leisurely.

"Zhao Linchuan?!" Tang San whipped his head around. Seeing that familiar face that always made his heart palpitate, his pupils constricted and he gasped.

"Little San, you seem quite 'excited' to see me?" Zhao Linchuan wore a gentle smile, as if meeting an old friend. "Did you miss me?"

"I... I..."

Tang San's heart hammered against his ribs. A myriad of emotions surged within him—fear, anger, humiliation, confusion... and the memory of that bone-deep agony left him momentarily speechless, unsure of how to respond.

"Enough, don't get too worked up; it's bad for your health." Zhao Linchuan waved his hand, cutting off his embarrassment.

Immediately, as if suddenly remembering something, he reached into his storage space, pulled out an object, and tossed it into Tang San's lap.

It was a bone, white as jade and roughly the size of half an arm!

Tang San caught it instinctively. "This is?!" He could clearly sense the pure spirit power contained within and was instantly stunned.

Zhao Linchuan weighed the Eight Spider Lances in his hand and said in a casual tone:

"This thing that grew out of your back looks quite curious. I have some interest in it and would like to take it back to study."

"In exchange, this torso bone is yours."

"How about it? A fair trade."

Tang San looked down at the torso bone in his lap, which radiated an alluring glow, then looked up at the "bone" in Zhao Linchuan's hand that looked sinister no matter how he viewed it. His thoughts raced.

A spirit bone!

And it was a torso bone, the rarest of the six types and the one that provided the greatest overall boost to a Spirit Master!

Although the "Eight Spider Lances" in Zhao Linchuan's hand might be some strange, exotic treasure, a spirit bone itself was a priceless item that one could only hope for, not demand!

Even if that thing were rare, could it possibly be more valuable than a torso spirit bone?!

With almost no hesitation—or perhaps driven by the immense temptation of the spirit bone—Tang San made his decision quickly.

"Deal! It's a deal!" His voice carried a hint of urgency, as if he feared Zhao Linchuan might change his mind. He immediately sat cross-legged, placed the torso bone before him, and began attempting to absorb and fuse with it.

To him, increasing his strength as quickly as possible was the fundamental way to deal with all crises and humiliations.

Dragon Duke, Snake Matriarch, and Zhao Wuji watched this scene, their brows furrowing involuntarily.

With their discernment, they could naturally see the quality and age of that torso bone.

Trading a strange curiosity for a thousand-year torso bone... from the perspective of potential value, the trade seemed highly unequal.

But... the other party's strength was unfathomable, and he had just "saved" Tang San, even offering a spirit bone as "compensation." They truly had no standing, nor the courage, to question or stop it.

Zhao Linchuan watched Tang San, who had already begun absorbing the spirit bone, and the smile on his lips deepened slightly.

He tucked the Eight Spider Lances into his storage spirit tool, nodded slightly toward the Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch, and said in a calm tone:

"Everyone, since matters here are concluded, we shall take our leave."

He turned, preparing to depart with Xiao Wu and Jin Da.

However, having only taken two steps, he seemed to suddenly recall something amusing. He stopped, turned his head, and let his gaze fall upon Zhao Wuji, Dai Mubai, and the others, who had kept their heads bowed the entire time.

A half-smile appeared on his face as he spoke in a slow, leisurely tone:

"Oh, that's right. I heard that at your Shrek Academy, there are two very interesting sayings circulating. Something like... 'A soul master who dares not cause trouble is not a good soul master'?"

"And another one: 'Those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre'? I wonder, is there any truth to that?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji and the others stiffened, their heads bowing even lower. Their faces burned as if they had been struck hard by an invisible hand.

The humiliation of last night, their recent helplessness, and the way this phrase was now being thrown back at them in such a tone served as the most biting mockery of their "monster philosophy."

Their lips trembled, but they dared not utter a single word in response.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu covered her mouth and let out a light, mocking laugh:

"'Those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre'? That sounds quite imposing, doesn't it?"

"But if you provoke someone you shouldn't, someone you can't afford to offend... then I'm afraid those two words, 'mediocre,' will turn from the bold declaration of your first half-life into the epitaph for your second."

With that, she didn't even glance at the colorful expressions on the faces of the Shrek group, instead skipping along to catch up with Zhao Linchuan, who had already turned to leave.

Jin Da followed silently at the rear, his gaze sweeping over the scene one last time with a faint indifference. The invisible pressure kept everyone from daring to move a muscle until the trio's figures had completely vanished into the dense forest, at which point the suffocating oppression slowly dissipated.

In the forest clearing, only heavy, ragged breathing remained.

The sunlight continued to filter through the branches and leaves, yet it seemed to carry a biting chill.

That phrase, "those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre," now sounded more like a colossal joke—a mocking label that nailed them firmly to a pillar of shame.

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