Chapter 42: Lonely String

Guxian

"What?"

Chaosheng's face darkened, as if she had heard something unbelievable.

Various guesses flashed through her mind; could it be that some Beastman had threatened him again, which was why he dared not come?

Seeing the look on Chaosheng's face, Shanlan knew she had misunderstood and said with some embarrassment, "It's that he doesn't want to come anymore."

"Huh?" Chaosheng looked at her in confusion, never having expected such an answer.

Bearing Chaosheng's gaze, Shanlan sighed helplessly, "He, he was recruited by the Whale Shark Tribe to dig for Sea Spirit Ginseng."

"He..." Chaosheng still found it unbelievable; she remembered Shanlan telling her that it wasn't exactly a good place, "Is it voluntary?"

"Yes." Shanlan nodded heavily. She looked at Bao San, who had been withered and dispirited from the torture over this period, and the helplessness in her eyes deepened, "Yes."

"He thinks it's a good job, that he can get a steady stream of Sea Spirit Ginseng."

"I tried to persuade him too..." Shanlan felt a headache coming on just thinking about how the Hui Fish Beastman wouldn't listen to any advice, "He didn't want to believe me."

Her home was quite close to that Hui Fish Beastman's home; she had originally planned to go find him today and come with him, so they could get to know each other and look out for one another in the future.

As it turned out, the Hui Fish Beastman told her that he no longer needed to rely on Chaosheng's help.

He could go dig for Sea Spirit Ginseng for the Whale Shark Tribe himself and be self-sufficient.

Shanlan had also explained Bao San's situation and the pros and cons to him in detail, but that Beastman had a wooden head; once he set his mind on something, he wouldn't listen to any opinions.

After listening, Chaosheng pursed her lips helplessly, "Forget it, let's not worry about him for now."

They had already been delayed for too long; if they delayed any further, the medicinal effect of the Chunze Vine would soon be gone.

"Oh, oh, okay." Shanlan carefully supported Bao San, giving him a soothing smile as he looked somewhat nervous and at a loss, "It's okay, you will definitely get better."

Bao San's dark, lifeless face managed a forced smile; he actually didn't hold out much hope.

He just didn't want to reject Shanlan's kindness in these final moments.

The Dumbo Octopus flapped its two fleshy fins and said to Guxian with excitement, "Brother, you are about to get better."

"Mm." Guxian smiled lightly, a glimmer of anticipation rising in his deep red eyes.

Chaosheng had Bao San and Guxian sit together.

She placed the Chunze Vine in front of them, slightly raised her right fingertip, and a bright yellow flame shot toward the green Chunze Vine.

The Chunze Vine ignited upon contact with the fire; at first, the seawater dampening the vines hindered the fire's performance.

Soon, after the seawater evaporated completely, the intense fire began to burn the Chunze Vine with full force. Under the burning of the flames, the Chunze Vine slowly turned black, and wisps of thin, light smoke rose, emitting a fresh and gentle scent.

Seeing this, Chaosheng quietly extended a wisp of purple Witch Power, so faint it was transparent, to guide this fragrant smoke into the Mental Sea of Guxian and Bao San.

With every breath, the pale white smoke entered the Mental Sea of Bao San and Guxian.

The faint smoke wrapped around the filth in the Mental Sea like a pool of gentle water, bit by bit consuming and devouring it away.

Bao San's ability level was low, and the Black Filth contained in his Mental Sea was not much.

It was just that from working day and night in the Black Sea Trench, the Black Filth in his Mental Sea had become thick and sticky, congealing heavily into a lump. As the thin smoke collided with the Black Filth, the Black Filth could only helplessly be decomposed and digested by the mist.

Chaosheng observed their situation calmly, then suddenly frowned, her purple eyes looking sharply at Guxian, who appeared completely normal.

His features were delicate, and his brilliant red hair added a touch of contradictory beauty to him. He was very, very thin, carrying a fragility that seemed as if he would collapse in the wind.

Yet his Mental Sea was filled with Black Filth, even more so than that of Baini and Yinxu.

Logically speaking, the higher the ability level, the more Black Filth there should be in the Mental Sea.

Thinking of this, a touch of scrutiny and deep thought entered Chaosheng's eyes as she looked at Guxian.

Guxian closed his eyes, submissively allowing the smoke emitting a faint fragrance to enter his own Mental Sea, dancing wantonly as if occupying territory.

The Black Filth was cleaned away bit by bit; the thing that had tortured him to the point of agony finally left his body.

Guxian's eyelids trembled slightly, and his pale lips gained a hint of redness.

The Chunze Vine was burned to ashes bit by bit, falling as black soot onto the white, translucent Ice Shore.

"I... I'm better!"

Bao San opened his eyes abruptly, the listlessness on his face swept away, and he was so excited he could barely speak clearly.

Yet he still hugged Shanlan, happily sharing this good news with her.

The last wisp of smoke vanished. Guxian let out a "Mm" as if reluctant, his opened red eyes bright, a faint smile on the corners of his lips.

"Thank you."

Chaosheng's expression was indifferent. This Beastman did not give her a simple feeling, or perhaps out of curiosity, she mentioned it seemingly casually, "Your body doesn't seem very well."

"It seems to be..." Chaosheng's gaze shifted slightly, her eyes cast deeply upon him, "You have suffered very heavy injuries."

Upon hearing this, Guxian was only slightly surprised for a moment before saying bluntly, "I was harmed by a Sea Beastman before."

"That's why I ended up like this."

When he spoke of this matter, his gaze only deepened slightly, as if he were speaking of a trivial, insignificant matter.

Chaosheng did not like to gossip about other people's private affairs; once she knew what she wanted to know, she did not ask further.

Instead, the Dumbo Octopus crawled over to her *da-da-da*, happily and proudly introducing itself, "Mermaid Female."

"You don't know my name yet, right."

"My name is Xiaodu."

Then it pointed at Guxian with a tentacle and said, "That is my brother, his name is Guxian."

"Don't look at him as if he's soft and weak; he's actually very powerful."

A trace of imperceptible deep meaning flashed through Chaosheng's eyes. Looking at the cute little octopus before her, a smile of unknown meaning curled at the corners of her lips, "Are you biological brothers?"

"Is your brother also an Octopus Beastman?"

The little octopus's fluttering fleshy fins paused abruptly, and it said as a matter of course, "Of course my brother is an Octopus Beastman."

However, its thin-as-cicada-wings fins fluttered up and down again, and the little octopus said dejectedly, "But... we are not biological brothers."

"I have always been a beast, I have no kin among the Beastmen."

"Later I met Brother, and Brother was very good to me, so I acknowledged him as my brother."

Guxian tugged at Xiaodu's two fleshy fins and said gently, "Xiaodu is also very good to me."

Hearing this, the Dumbo octopus's fleshy fins fluttered rapidly, expressing his happiness at this moment.

Chaosheng looked at the slender, elegant hand on the fleshy fin, a trace of envy flashing in her eyes; it looked like it would be very nice to touch.

Red hair hung down over his bent kneecaps, and Guxian's expression shifted slightly as he said, seemingly sensing something: "Our octopus skin is very wet and slippery; after the seawater on the skin dries, the skin becomes very elastic."

"If you poke it, it will wobble."