Furina's eyelids had been twitching for the past few days, giving her the feeling that nothing good was about to happen. Sure enough, that cheating System popped up again with a "ding," sounding like a scheduled alarm clock specifically choosing to go off just when she wanted to relax.
[Follow-up Quest: Flying Far Away] [Content: Target character Huo Yuner's physical condition is temporarily stable (thanks to the host's previous assistance). However, the environment she is in is extremely harsh, and the root cause has not been removed, posing a great danger to her life.] [Requirements: Assist target character Huo Yuner and her son Huo Yuhao in safely leaving the White Tiger Dukes Mansion sphere of influence and provide initial survival supplies.] [Special Note: Secrecy must still be kept absolute! The host and the Axis Cult must not be exposed! It is suggested to provide money and necessary guidance. Otherwise, points will be deducted!]
The words on the light screen made her dizzy. "Treating the symptoms but not the root cause?" Furina muttered with a pout. "Easy for you to say. Is that White Tiger Dukes Mansion a wet market? You can just come and go as you please?" She remembered the original story; for Huo Yuner and her son, that place was no different from a dragon's pool and tiger's den. Just using a few cakes to keep them alive was indeed not enough; they had to escape completely.
But how could she help? Go in person? With her signature hair and her "outstanding" temperament (which she considered the majesty of the Pope, though others might find it a bit odd), she feared she would be seized by the guards as a suspicious person the moment she approached. Jailbreak? She hadn't even killed a chicken; how could she break anyone out of jail?
Points! Right, points! She scrambled through the system mall in her mind. The interface was gaudy, and it took her a long time to find "Gold and silver soul coin exchange" in a corner. Looking at the ratio, good heavens, it was unbelievably exploitative! Was it easy to save up points? But there was no other way. She gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and used a "huge sum" of points she had painstakingly saved to exchange for a small, heavy bag of gold coin and some loose silver coin. Weighing it in her hand, well, it was enough for an ordinary Family to live frugally for quite a while.
Just giving money seemed a bit dry. Should she write a letter to explain? What should she write? "May the Water God protect you, run quickly"? Wouldn't that scare them silly, making them think it was some new type of scam? She scratched her beautiful hair, found a piece of slightly yellowed paper with rough edges, picked up a pen, and wrote in crooked handwriting: "Seeing injustice on the road. A little travel money. Run south. Find a small town to settle down. Don't come back." Finally, she didn't sign it but drew a crooked cake pattern (purely out of habit); this should count as being secretive, right? Anyway, she believed it herself.
The things were ready. But who to send? She looked around; there were plenty of believers, but they were all honest and simple commoners. At most, they were a bit healthier from eating the cake. Asking them to go to the White Tiger Dukes Mansion for this kind of sneaky work? It would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—gone forever. Well, the three old partners were still the most reliable—even if they didn't look very reliable.
She solemnly handed the somewhat lumpy bag of coins and the crumpled letter to Mademoiselle Crabaletta. "Same old place. Find a way to find the child named Huo Yuhao or his mother. Stuff this into their hands. Remember! You absolutely must not be seen again! Last time you almost blew our cover!" she specifically exhorted, feeling her eyelids twitching even more violently.
The three members set out once again. Mademoiselle Crabaletta used her huge, flexible pincers to carefully hold the small money bag (which looked a bit like she was carrying a mini handbag). Gentilhomme Usher's tentacles curled in distaste, seemingly feeling that this errand of delivering money was beneath its elegant status, but it followed nonetheless. Surintendante Chevalmarin still floated at the front, surrounded by a faint iridescent luster of bubbles, like a lost navigation device.
They silently slipped to the outskirts of the White Tiger Dukes Mansion's complex area. Relying on some mysterious, vague sense shared between aquatic creatures, they searched for the faint aura of the mother and son. They were hiding and peeking, wondering how to deliver the items without anyone noticing.
As it turned out, they definitely hadn't checked the almanac before heading out today; their luck was absolutely abysmal.
Just as they cautiously peeked out from a narrow alleyway filled with clutter to observe the route, they ran headlong into a group of people. The leading youth wasn't old but was full of arrogance, wearing clothes so luxurious they could blind one's eyes, surrounded by several guys who were clearly lackeys. This youth was precisely Dai Huabin. He had just been scolded at the Family training ground and had a belly full of fire with nowhere to vent. He was heading out with a grim face to find some fun or trouble to blow off steam when he turned a corner and, well, saw three strange-looking things he had never seen before, peeking around suspiciously outside his Family mansion.
A blue seahorse floating in the air with strange bubble halos around it? A crab holding giant pincers with a dark shell so shiny it could be used as a mirror? And a round, ball-shaped octopus wearing a ridiculous little formal suit?
"What on earth are these things!" Dai Huabin's brow instantly furrowed into a knot. He was first confused about where these Sea Soul Beasts had come from in the inland, and why they looked so... absurd? But then, a surge of offensive anger rose—no matter what they were, daring to spy near the White Tiger Dukes Mansion was a death wish! Perfect for him to vent his anger!
He was at that vigorous age, eager to prove himself and arrogant beyond belief. Without much thought, he gave a low shout: "Martial Soul Possession!" A fierce and overbearing aura suddenly erupted from him, and two bright yellow hundred-year spirit rings rose beneath his feet. He raised his hand and unleashed a sharp white light claw, which tore through the air with a whistling sound, striking directly at Mademoiselle Crabaletta, who looked like the most threatening of the three strange things with her giant pincers!
Mademoiselle Crabaletta reacted extremely quickly, her heavy dark crab pincers rising with a "clank" to forcefully block the sharp light claw. A few sparks flew from the collision, but she clearly hadn't expected the opponent's strength to be so great. She was jolted back a short distance by the fierce force, and the small money bag held tightly in her pincers shook violently, nearly flying out.
Gentilhomme Usher seemed completely enraged by this unprovoked and socially improper attack (at least announce your name and surname or give a bow before fighting! How crude! How barbaric!). Its tentacles waved angrily, bringing forth several sharply compressed, powerful water arrows that shot through the air with a "swoosh" toward Dai Huabin's face and vital points on his arms.
Surintendante Chevalmarin silently floated higher, the air around her instantly becoming humid and heavy. Large bubbles shimmering with an iridescent luster emerged out of thin air, floating slowly yet blotting out the sky toward Dai Huabin and his subordinates who were about to charge forward. Those bubbles looked beautiful and fragile, as if they would break at a touch, but when they actually hit the lackeys, they felt as if they had fallen into thick glue. Their movements became inexplicably sluggish, their feet slipped, and their Spirit Abilitys almost went wide; they had strength but nowhere to use it, feeling incredibly stifled.
Seeing this, Dai Huabin was even more furious, now convinced these were strange Spirit Beasts here to cause trouble! And they had some tricky methods! He roared, Soul Power surging within him as his attacks became even more fierce and sharp. The white tiger claws left trails of afterimages as they frantically attacked Mademoiselle Crabaletta, attempting to take down the one who seemed to be the main force first. His subordinates also finally reacted from their initial shock, releasing their Martial Souls and shouting as they surrounded them, various low-level Spirit Abilitys beginning to flash chaotically as they were hurled toward Gentilhomme Usher and Surintendante Chevalmarin.
For a time, the originally quiet alleyway became incredibly lively. Soul light flashed, water arrows flew, bubbles were constantly generated and popped, and the crab pincers and tiger claws collided repeatedly with dull "clank" sounds. The scene was one of total chaos.
It wasn't that Mademoiselle Crabaletta and the others couldn't win, as they were of special origin, but Furina's core requirement was "secrecy"! They absolutely could not get bogged down in a fight that would draw attention! Moreover, their main task was delivery, not brawling with this human brat.
The three non-human creatures "exchanged" a glance (if they had such a thing) and instantly reached a consensus—run! Mademoiselle Crabaletta slammed her free pincer into the ground, creating a cloud of dust and damp mist with a "bang." Gentilhomme Usher took the opportunity to spray a large cloud of ink-like black water, instantly obscuring a large portion of the view like a curtain. Surintendante Chevalmarin's bubbles popped one after another, forming a dense white mist to further interfere with perception.
However, just as they tried to withdraw through the man-made chaos, Dai Huabin seemed to have anticipated it or had extremely strong combat instincts. His first spirit ring flashed, his speed suddenly increasing by a notch. He lunged forward, forcibly breaking through part of the mist and ink, his eyes sharply locking onto Mademoiselle Crabaletta's pincer that was protecting the items. A stronger light claw condensed with Soul Power struck out ruthlessly!
"Want to run? Sneaky bastards! Leave the things behind!" he shouted sternly, having clearly noticed the man-made object resembling a money bag that the crab was tightly protecting, which definitely didn't look like something a Spirit Beast should have.
Mademoiselle Crabaletta was caught off guard and could only forcefully rotate her pincer arm to block again.
"Clang—!"
An incredibly piercing sound of metal scraping rang out, louder than any time before. This time, Mademoiselle Crabaletta was jolted back repeatedly, and several faint white marks were even scratched onto her incredibly hard dark pincers. Although the small money bag still hadn't fallen, it shook wildly in her pincers, precariously close to dropping, and the faint sound of gold coins clinking inside seemed to leak out.
Their retreat was temporarily blocked by this swift blow, and the conflict suddenly escalated. The delivery team seemed to have run into real trouble, and slipping away silently would not be so easy now. A cold, smug smile appeared on Dai Huabin's face, as he became even more certain that these strange "Spirit Beasts" were up to no good, and his attacks became increasingly relentless.