Beyond the Deep Sea

"Looks like those little trinkets from last time pleased you."

"They were so much fun!" Lan Fozi thrashed her tail fin, stirring up rings of swirling water.

"That potion that changes color—I dyed my whole bedchamber rainbow colors with it! And that conch that blows bubbles—I made so many bubbles and trapped them all inside my palace. They were beautiful!"

Lan Fozi chattered like a child showing off her treasures, telling Ursula how much joy the little toys had brought her.

For someone who had spent years in the lonely Deep Sea Demonic Whale Territory, these novelties were priceless.

Ursula listened with a smile, though a calculating gleam flickered deep in her dark-green eyes.

How many times had Lan Fozi visited now? Ursula had lost count.

Each time, Lan Fozi brought Ocean Energy Crystals of exceptional quality, or rare materials found only in the deep sea, to trade for the illusion trinkets and magic tools Ursula considered worthless.

It was a trade that brought profit without costing her a thing!

"The honor is mine if I can ease your loneliness." Ursula curled a tentacle and brought out several new creations.

There was a music box that could imitate all sorts of undersea sounds, and a shell screen that could project simple stories in light and shadow.

Lan Fozi's eyes were drawn to them at once.

The trade went smoothly. Lan Fozi readily spat out an Ocean Energy Crystal even larger than the last one and took Ursula's new toys in exchange.

Seeing Lan Fozi's eagerness to hurry home and play, Ursula felt the idea she had been nurturing for days stir to life again.

In their earlier conversations, she had made a few indirect inquiries and coaxed quite a bit of information out of the guileless Lan Fozi.

The most