Will the Goddess of Fortune Bless You?

In that instant, the three eyes seemed to have completed an epic exchange.

"Was that you?"

Li Ziran asked softly, but received no answer. The pale eyeball rolled twice before slowly closing again.

Yet after that disturbance, not a single Snake Woman dared come near again. They kept circling, as though wavering between advancing and retreating.

But Li Ziran would no longer give them the chance. Every one of these Snake Women was a valuable slave comparable to a Goathead Chief.

With a light tap of his wand, dots of ghostly green light appeared beneath the pool like will-o'-the-wisps in the dead of night. After each green dot, a frog was born.

His slaves were piling up. This was an unexpected windfall.

Driven by the lure of money, Li Ziran was like a tiger charging into a herd of yaks, crunching through the collection of his prey.

The orderly snakefolk squad instantly fell apart. Wave after wave surged across the water as the Snake Women thrashed their tails, desperately breaking free of the pool. Once ashore, they swiftly changed into their half-human, half-snake forms and plunged into the tall grass.

Li Ziran smiled faintly. Could something caught in his bite possibly escape?

Bang! Bang!

But just then, explosion-like sounds erupted from the grass. A fireball shrieked through the air and smashed into the water, and the entire swamp billowed with clusters of dense white smoke as though white phosphorus had been set alight.

At the same time, uneven cries rose from within the two-man-high grass.

The Snake Women who had just fled ashore strangely turned back out of the grass, transformed into giant serpents, and rushed toward Li Ziran.

But before they could dive beneath the water, a long Cold-Iron Arrow tore through the sky and pierced precisely through the back of a neck.

At the same time, two Fishmen lurking in the river swiftly grabbed both ends of the Cold-Iron Arrow and leaped high into the air.

The water snake's slender waist twisted continuously in midair. Gradually, a woman's torso emerged, and that long diamond-shaped serpent face was slowly replaced by delicate human features.

The instant the woman's face appeared, the cheers around them grew louder. At the same time, more and more Cold-Iron Arrows sliced through the void. After every arrow, a Snake Woman would be hoisted high into the air.

In the blink of an eye, the pond had been occupied by sturdy black-headed Fishmen of every kind.

As for the Snake Women trying to break out of the encirclement, ill-timed fireballs would always fall from above and smash them back into the lake.

Sharpshooters, Fishman laborers, Mages.

A standard slave-hunting group configuration. The instant Li Ziran saw their scale, he knew he had encountered the Slave-Catching Group he had most wanted to meet.

Clearly, these Snake Women were doomed.

About half a quarter-hour later, the massive fireballs finally ceased, and the Cold-Iron Arrows stopped flying as well. Aside from bloodstains left behind by failed captures, there was no longer any sign of battle on the water's surface.

But on the distant grassland, more than twenty Pigman laborers were busy stuffing the captured Snake Women into nylon sacks. Behind those Pigman laborers stood three Elves with pointed ears and dark skin, each carrying black-feathered arrows on their backs.

Black Elves, also known as Dark Elves, came from underground and possessed exceptional gifts and organs for archery.

Three Dark Elves. Something was off.

From beneath the water, Li Ziran looked past the Elves and saw black-skinned Fishmen gurgling something to two young men.

One of the young men had standard human blond hair, sapphire-blue eyes, and a magic wand glowing red-hot.

Clearly, the cannonball-like fireballs that had fallen earlier were this man's handiwork. A fire Mage.

Beside the fire mage stood a tall, fair-skinned young man in a silver robe. A gleaming golden Bauhinia Flower was embroidered in the center of the robe, and he was currently smiling as he examined the results of the battle.

His prey had been stolen!

By the Slave-Catching Group he had wanted most to encounter, yet now least wanted to see.

Clearly, they had been lying in ambush here all along.

They had struck abruptly just as he had fully brought the situation under control, seizing the timing to perfection.

From such a huge Fishman force, he had only caught seven. The rest had all gone into the Slave-Catching Group's pockets.

Damn it!

But there was nothing he could do!

Li Ziran understood that he had to swallow this grievance. Reaping the fisherman's profit was the simplest and most useful rule of survival.

"Friend, aren't you coming out to meet us? We saved you, you know!" Just as Li Ziran waited for this Slave-Catching Group to quietly leave, the fire Mage walked to the edge of the pool and grinned down into the water.

Li Ziran gave a bitter smile. These people really had every detail covered.

He dispelled the Transformation Spell and slowly rose from beneath the water. He did not run. They were far more capable than he had imagined.

Li Ziran would not try to outsmart himself.

Of course, few creatures of the Wasteland would try any clever tricks at a time like this.

Just as Li Ziran surfaced, a Fishman was already waiting for him. "Sir, Karen, captain of the Bauhinia Flower, wishes to meet you."

Li Ziran followed behind the Fishman and quickly came to the young man's side.

Fluffy yet orderly golden curls, a sky-blue ceremonial robe paired with pale-blue boots—he was refined from head to toe. Especially that sweet smile that made one want to kiss him; it felt like a spring breeze.

In an instant, Li Ziran raised his vigilance to the utmost.

He had encountered a young fox. It seemed he would have to bleed a little this time.

"Oh, thank you, friend of my kind!" Li Ziran spread his arms and cried out. "Without you, I would have been eaten alive by those Snake Women! I truly don't know how to express my gratitude. God must be watching over me—oh, may the God of Light bless me!"

Li Ziran's exaggerated behavior made the young man frown slightly. When Li Ziran approached, he did not retreat despite how filthy Li Ziran was.

After hiding beneath the water for so long, he was covered in mud and algae, mixed with the stench of rotten sludge from underground. Few people could likely stand it.

"It is the God of Light's favor." The young man merely stopped Li Ziran from coming closer. "For us to meet one another in a place like this, it must be due to the Goddess of Fortune's care as well, don't you think, sir?"

Li Ziran smiled awkwardly. This was a probing remark.

On the Wasteland, people always liked to invoke the Goddess of Fortune when demanding payment. If he could not provide something suitable or demonstrate some special value, then he would not be very fortunate.

He untied the three frogs from his waist and bit his index finger, pressing it against their foreheads.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

After three successive jolts, the three frogs became three sturdy Ram-headed People.

"Of course. Thanks to the Goddess of Fortune, I have nothing else. Let these three things serve as gifts offered to the Goddess of Fortune."

The blond Mage beside him snorted with laughter but said nothing. Even the nearby Pigman laborers could not help laughing.

Li Ziran's face reddened slightly. Indeed, slaves like Ram-headed People were probably the lowest-grade goods to a slave-hunting group. His gaze unconsciously drifted to the only two frogs remaining at his waist.

The Goathead Chief and Medusa.

The most valuable goods he had on hand.

Even if he gave away the Goathead Chief, this slave-trading group might not be satisfied. As for Medusa, giving her away now would be far too much of a loss.

Besides, he had yet to figure out whether the other party had truly helped him just now.

If it really was the Devouring Curse, then no matter what, he could not sell her.

"Friend, this is merely an appetizer. To thank you for saving my life, I must repay you with all my strength." Li Ziran pretended to be forthright. "I am a Witch Doctor skilled in organ transplantation. If you require such services, I can provide one free of charge. As you saw, I know the Transformation Spell. I can help you deal with certain unnecessary troubles, such as people you do not want to see alive, or anything else. Of course, if you do not need it now, you may save this opportunity. It will remain valid at any time."

Compared to exposing Medusa, Li Ziran felt that revealing his value was more appropriate.

After all, organ transplantation was an obscure skill. It might not necessarily be of much help to others.

"You're a Witch Doctor?" Karen, the leader of the slave-trading group, suddenly showed a trace of surprise in his eyes. "At such a young age, you're already a Grand Witch Doctor?"

Li Ziran shook his head. "I do not count as a Grand Witch Doctor. I merely have some small insights into organ transplantation. If either of you has business involving that, I can offer some assistance."

The two young men exchanged a glance. They found it somewhat hard to believe, yet they seemed to have a need for Witch Doctors. Especially the instant the word "organs" appeared, it was as though it had struck straight into their hearts.

The blond Mage spoke first. "I do happen to have something that needs transplanting. If you can pull it off, then today will count as a lucky day. But I don't want to use anything valuable for you to practice on, brother. I think you understand what I mean."

Doesn't that just mean you don't trust me?

Li Ziran grumbled inwardly, but it was understandable. Who would blindly trust a stranger? Still, from the information he had received, these two young men truly had business involving organs.

It seemed his life could be saved.

"Gladly. If I can use my meager abilities to repay the Goddess of Fortune, then surely I will receive her blessing in the future as well."

The blond Mage seemed quite satisfied and nodded. "All right. I have a Medusa here. If you can transplant her eyes over, then you may stay here."

Wait?

Medusa?

Medusa again?

Were Medusas really so worthless?