The Breath of Death

"Ye, put those tears away. The attacks are about to get more frequent. Stay safe."

Captain Hao Liang and Liao Yong handled the killing, Wang Yajing kept the wooden boat steady, and Qiu Zhi used his weapon to protect Wang Yajing and Ye Buyu.

Ye Buyu held a crocodile tear. It felt cool in her palm, like jade with a hint of moisture.

She caught each one as it came, determined not to let a single tear hit the ground.

In a moment of carelessness, she reached in front of a living crocodile's eyes. Realizing it wasn't dead, she slapped it with the back of her hand.

Smack!

The slap rang out with startling clarity. Captain Hao Liang flinched, then relaxed when he realized Ye Buyu hadn't slapped him.

Before he could finish his sigh of relief, he realized she had slapped a Corrupt Corpse Crocodile, and his half-settled heart clenched again.

The crocodile seemed stunned by Ye Buyu's slap. It shed a single aggrieved tear, then turned and swam deeper into the mire.

It looked so thoroughly wronged as it left that Captain Hao Liang and the others stared in disbelief.

Qiu Zhi, however, was focused on something else. He pointed at the crystal, which was larger than all the other tears.

"Look, this one seems bigger."

Captain Hao Liang's eyes widened. He had long known Ye Buyu could make Calamities pay a price, but were materials obtained this way actually better in quality than those from killing them?

Ye Buyu shook out her hand and asked with a smile, "Need my help?"

Liao Yong promptly put away his blade and dragged a Corrupt Corpse Crocodile in front of her. He held its head down with one hand and gestured for Ye Buyu to go ahead with the other.

"Here. Be my guest."

The pinned crocodile struggled, but after a slap, its vicious face suddenly became guileless and innocent.

Like a tantrum-throwing child slapped so hard by a strict parent that it questioned its entire existence, it stopped struggling abruptly. All that remained was a deep sense of grievance, spilling out as tears.

Then it fled, sniffling.

"Splash..."

The five watched the Corrupt Corpse Crocodile flee, and for the first time in ages, they actually felt a pang of guilt.

"Bullying crocodiles isn't illegal, right?"

Wang Yajing reminded them, "It isn't, so don't let these nasty things get away. Have Ye Buyu slap them first, then finish them off. That way, we get two sets of materials."

As she steered the wooden boat, a shrewd, calculating smile curled her lips, and she tilted her head to look over.

"Ye, bringing you along was absolutely the right choice. Twice the materials in the same amount of time-you're practically a living money tree. Hehehe~"

Ye Buyu paused, her raised hand stiffening for a moment as goosebumps spread down her arm to her forearm.

"Uh, I'm not a perpetual motion machine. I can't do this forever."

She had a feeling that unless she made that clear, they would work her like some superhuman beast of burden.

"Don't show your true colors. You're scaring her." Liao Yong blocked Wang Yajing's gaze and pulled his lips into a smile.

"Ye, just slap as many as you can. I'll keep you safe from here on out!"

Ye Buyu swallowed, then turned back to timidly bully the crocodiles.

Sorry, Brother Crocodile. Go ahead and cry. The people behind me are getting terrifyingly excited. They're practically seeing dollar signs.

After a few slaps, Ye Buyu shook out her hand. She was about to take out the Flower Edict when a steadily expanding shadow beneath the wooden boat caught her attention.

The mire's surface was still, but Ye Buyu could clearly see something enormous approaching without a sound.

"Senior Wang Yajing, there's something underneath us! Head back!"

Wang Yajing's ears twitched, and she put more force into her hands. The wooden boat rocked, then raced toward the bank.

At its tremendous speed, it cut a deep furrow through the mire like a plow, throwing up two waterfalls of muddy water on either side.

The wooden boat skimmed across the mire like a bird with its wings spread. Its wings might have been a little filthy, but that did nothing to hinder its speed.

The sudden movement drew everyone's attention. The other teams splashed with muddy water began cursing furiously.

Not a single word was fit to print.

Standing at the bow, Captain Hao Liang shouted a warning. "There's something down there! Don't just stand there-everyone, get back!"

Trusting Ye Buyu, Wang Yajing drove the boat at full speed.

The others, however, were clearly still watching and waiting. They trusted their own judgment more than Captain Hao Liang's warning.

"I don't see anything. Apart from those people drag racing through the mire, there's nothing unusual."

"Back off a little and keep watching. Don't let your guard down."

Though they didn't retreat, every team sprang into action, gripping their weapons as they studied the quiet mire.

Already back on the bank, Wang Yajing gazed out over the silent mire. "Ye, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"I'm sure. It's something huge. Haven't you noticed that the Corrupt Corpse Crocodiles aren't surfacing anymore?"

Ye Buyu pointed at the still mire. "All the crocodiles in the mire have started fleeing outward. There must be something big in the center."

At that, Captain Hao Liang and Liao Yong immediately shouted at the teams in the middle of the mire, trying to get them out of the danger zone.

"I'll notify whoever's in charge of this area." Qiu Zhi hurried away.

Wang Yajing's expression grew grave. "I've never heard of anything else living in the mire."

The mire remained silent, but a faint mist began to rise.

Ye Buyu's heart rate began to soar, as though something had awakened and fixed its attention on her.

Everything before her blurred, and Wang Yajing's voice faded into the distance. Ye Buyu felt as though she had been trapped inside a sealed bubble of water, her limbs utterly rigid.

The thick, damp fog closed in and enveloped her. All she could do was stare stiffly into its depths. She could clearly sense something watching her.

Frozen like a wooden figure, she could only call inwardly for her sole lifeline.

Little Whale, what's going on? Why can't I move?

She waited a few seconds. For the first time, Little Whale did not answer her.

Overwhelming panic swept through her. The entire space fell silent except for her breathing and the pounding of her heart.

Her body felt trapped in sleep paralysis. Her mind was awake, but she couldn't control her body-not even move a finger.

Her red eyes remained fixed on the fog. She didn't dare blink.

"Whoosh..."

A pair of pitch-black eyes suddenly opened within the fog. Like two black voids more than ten meters across, they stared down at Ye Buyu.

As those eyes appeared, their lifting lids also swept the fog aside.

The vapor, drifting like ghostly mist, concealed the enormous body, yet its shifting currents outlined an even more terrifying form.

The thick fog surged, and those black eyes slowly drew closer.

Every step seemed to land on Ye Buyu's heart, heavy enough to crush it.

Death's tendrils were already closing in. Ye Buyu's rigid body began to tremble, her fingers twitching in spasms.