The Medusa Girl Woke Up

Bang!

In an instant, the One-eyed Frog sprang again, as if trying to break free of the red cord.

Li Ziran's heart skipped a beat. Why did this thing wake up now? Instinctively, he pressed it down, but the harder he pressed, the more fiercely it struggled.

"Li, what's wrong?" Karen noticed something was off, his gaze landing directly on Li Ziran's hand.

"Nothing!" Li Ziran smiled at him and forced down his panic. If this sharp-eyed fellow discovered the Medusa at his waist, this trip would truly end in total ruin.

"Oh, do you have any ideas? With so many slaves here, can you give me any surprises?"

Li Ziran shook his head. "Not yet. But there are a lot of slaves here, and I need to think it over carefully. If you don't mind, I'll give you an answer tomorrow morning. Is that all right?"

"Of course." Karen smiled. "There's no rush. Take your time and think it over." As he spoke, he pressed a ring of copper keys into Li Ziran's palm. "These are the warehouse keys. You can come inspect the place whenever you want."

The moment the keys appeared, the iron cages throughout the warehouse began to rattle violently. Countless gazes snapped toward Li Ziran's left hand, and arms stretched out from the cages one after another, as though trying to seize the keys.

"Let me out! Let me out!"

The shrill cries seemed ready to boil the entire space.

Crack!

A long whip instantly suppressed every sound.

The whip came fast and viciously, lashing every outstretched arm until blood spilled from them, dripping down like rain.

"Quiet!"

The voice exploded through the space like thunder, echoing through the warehouse. From the depths of the cages, a lion larger than a giant crocodile walked out upright.

The Rhine Lionfolk, a powerful beastman race known as the kings of the highlands.

Before he even came close, an overwhelming presence bore down on them, making it hard to breathe. His sharp eyes swept over the shaking cages as if he could chew them apart at any moment.

Li Ziran noticed that the man's paw was a full size larger than his head.

"Don't be afraid. This is Jon, our friend!" Karen quickly explained. "He helps me manage the warehouse."

Then he introduced Li Ziran to Jon. "This is Li, a wizard and my friend. He'll be coming here often in the future. Jon, get to know him."

Jon's azure eyes examined the little man before him. He said nothing, but when his gaze fell on the keys in Li Ziran's left hand, the ferocity on his face gradually faded. He raised a hand toward Li Ziran. "Nice to meet you. My name is Jon. I hope we work well together."

Li Ziran reached out as well, though his hand looked like a thin little stick in Jon's palm. If Jon exerted even a little force, Li Ziran's arm would be finished.

"I'm glad to meet you too!"

During the introduction, Li Ziran noticed the slave mark beneath Jon's jaw and could not help sighing inwardly. Such a magnificent warrior race had also fallen into slavery. Fate truly was laughable.

He had intended to exchange a few pleasantries, but the frog at his waist began jumping again. Emerald light wrapped around it, and it was starting to expand.

Could the Transformation Spell be failing?

No, without his blood, it could not return to its original form.

But now...

He seemed to understand. While the Transformation Spell could not be undone, certain special races could still regain their original size.

Just imagine it: an adult-sized frog suddenly appearing here. That would be ridiculous.

He could not linger here.

He quickly pulled back his hand, vigorously rubbed his head, and said, "Karen, I drank a little too much earlier. I need to relieve myself. I was wondering..." To make his act more convincing, he began swaying like a clown.

The abrupt change made both men laugh. "There's one in your room, on the left!"

Li Ziran could not care about anything else. If he did not leave now, he would be exposed. One hand covered the frog while the other covered his crotch as he hopped away like a kangaroo.

Before he had even made it halfway, the frog was already enveloped in green light. In the blink of an eye, it had grown larger than his palm.

"Haha, that wizard!" Karen laughed exaggeratedly.

Jon, however, showed no expression. His eyes remained fixed on Li Ziran's hopping figure as he cautiously said, "He isn't drunk. That frog..."

"Everyone has their secrets." Karen's expression turned serious, clearly unwilling to spell things out. "But I believe that, as a friend, he'll tell me those secrets."

Jon looked at his captain and nodded. He was certain Karen had that ability. He had experienced it firsthand.

Li Ziran did not hear their conversation. Right now, he needed to see what was going on with this little Medusa.

By the time he passed through the corridor, Medusa had already grown half as tall as a person. When Li Ziran found the toilet, she was nearly adult-sized.

"Petrification!"

Just as he passed through the toilet door, a delicate, kitten-like voice suddenly came from behind him.

Li Ziran felt an icy chill spread from the soles of his feet up his legs. By the time he sensed that power, the arm resting against the wooden door had already gone completely numb.

"Don't, young lady, spare me!"

Perhaps Li Ziran's plea worked. The terrifying petrification finally stopped when it reached his neck.

He barely turned his head. A large frog was staring at him. One eye was filled with hatred, while the other was hollow like a bottomless abyss.

Li Ziran could not help wanting to apologize for his sins.

"H-hello," Li Ziran greeted her stiffly.

"I'm not well!" Her voice was stubborn and angry. "My eye!"

"Listen to my explanation. All of this..." Li Ziran wanted to say that if it had not been for him, she would have lost her other eye as well. But before he could speak, a pale beam shot out, and the petrification spread directly over his lower lip.

"You bear the curse of Medusa royalty. It was you who dug out my eye!" Her voice was ice-cold, leaving no room for argument.

Royalty?

The little girl Barbaro had stolen from some unknown corner was actually Medusa royalty?

Li Ziran felt like crying, but he could not let this little girl make a scene. This was not some peaceful paradise removed from the world.

If Karen learned that she was Medusa royalty, he would probably laugh in his sleep.

"Mmmpf! Mmmpf!"

He wanted to speak, but no sound came out. His tongue had not petrified, but his throat could not vibrate at all.

"Communicate with me mentally. I can tell whether you're lying!"

Mentally?

He did not know how!

"Carry me into the toilet!" Just then, a strange voice suddenly sounded in his mind. It did not come from his vocal cords, but from that blank world within his mind. "They can't discover you, and they can't notice anything unusual. Listen to my explanation. I was the one who saved your other eye!"

The frog girl stared at Li Ziran for a while before crouching down and wrapping her two slender arms around him, trying to carry his fully petrified body inside. But Old Li was simply too heavy. Even after using all her strength, she could not move him an inch.

"Undo the petrification for me. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

Li Ziran's request was completely ignored. The girl chose the stupidest method possible: she backed up three steps, took a running start, and kicked Li Ziran in the butt.

Driven by inertia, Li Ziran toppled straight forward.

Only then did he notice that this was a crude latrine with only two crossbeams. Beneath them lay countless piles of waste and creature entrails.

Clearly, the slave group threw all the slaves they could not tame into this place.

The constantly surging stench assaulted Li Ziran's senses. He was starting to regret not provoking this woman into petrifying his head as well. Then he would not have been able to feel anything.

Bang!

The door slammed shut. The Medusa girl crawled inside, stepped directly onto Li Ziran's lower back, and coldly demanded, "Tell me. Where is my eye?"

Li Ziran's heart was filled with bitterness. Did this woman really have to use such brutal interrogation methods?

This was just disgusting!

After surviving on the Wasteland for so many years, this was his first time experiencing something like this.

"Well, do you remember anything? I admit I took one of your eyes, but I had no choice. If I hadn't done it, you wouldn't have survived at all. I'm telling the truth. This is mental communication, so you should be able to tell that I'm not lying, right?"

The girl said nothing for a long while. But a moment later, her voice became even colder. "You harmed other Medusas too? You butcher!"