Hana’s heavy eyelids lifted groggily. She was in confusion. She knew she was in a precarious situation from Kuro, but at the moment, she was suspended inside a murky dark brownish water!

 

A sudden realization made her struggled hard!

 

Did I die?! Oh no! I can't swim!

 

She opened her mouth to shout for help, but the disgusting putrid water rushed inside, choking her. A lot of stray hair billowing within the contaminated water entered her mouth and gagged her further. The aunty's panic level increased three notches at one go. She flailed her arms and twisted her body in a bid to release herself from the imaginary hold she felt engulfing her. She didn’t know what to do as she can’t see what really happened from the obstruction of her own hair within the water.

 

Somebody, anybody, help Mommy! She bombarded the public telepathy channel harshly as she called for her little pets for help.

 

Hana had forgotten she was miraculously breathing in water, albeit at a very slow pace. If not, she would've passed out and died a few moments afterwards. She didn't notice that a few paces away, Lord Tittua had been floating near her as he controlled her breathing to prevent her from drowning while being immersed in the medicinal water bubble. He had even conjured a small blob of air for her in front of her nose just to keep her alive.

 

Ara's great grandfather was looking at the unsightly struggling creature within the bubble with disdain. A monkey like this was not even fit as a snack! He could only sigh and shook his head in exasperation. How did this pathetic creature even con his little girl into its life-bound slave?! If not for his little Aranye, he barely managed to restrain himself from chopping the creature into ten thousand tiny pieces and fed it to the fishes!

 

The human-sized murky water bubble ruptured together with the unfortunate frightened aunty. She yelped disgracefully and closed her eyes, praying that it won't feel too painful. As Hana nearly reached the cave floor, a flash flitted by and stopped directly below her. The loyal Kuro had inflated his body to cushion Hana's fall.

 

With that, the Crystal-veined stream Lord floated away without making a sound. Seven days of observing the creature had made him aware of this creature's weakness. At this rate, that worm will die with a moment of inattention! And his beloved Aranye will follow its footsteps. He was appalled with the current circumstances and was trying to find a possible solution to this predicament.

 

...

 

"Aranye, did you know what you have done?!" Lord Tittua berated Ara outside of the cave in seething anger. He couldn't believe it. He had only admonished this little daredevil one time for the sake of teaching her into a more prudent descendant. Alas, it had backfired and made her become a slave to some random bug. His face was making a myriad of unpleasant expressions.

 

At last, he just sighed while gently patting Ara's head with his large pectoral fin. The girl was already shedding tears. The words he wished to throw on her face were cut short. He didn’t have the heart to tell the little girl she had been con into enslavement.

 

"It's alright, little one. Can you tell me what happen?" Lord Tittua swallowed his near-erupting anger and merged the water around him to his great granddaughter as an expression of love and forgiveness to appease the little one’s fear of him. Previously, both him and his great granddaughter were too preoccupied with the little worm’s condition. Only at this moment when the worm managed to pull through that he dared to relax and inquired about the whole story.

 

Feeling relieved from her great grandpa’s efforts to coax her, Ara finally felt courageous enough to explain animatedly without leaving a single detail.

 

Lord Tittua's face turned black with the amount of pearls and spiritual crystals involved in the transaction! It was blatant extortion!

 

A moment of panic appeared in his eyes when Ara talked about being attack by a crawfish. It finally dawned on him that his great granddaughter had unintentionally crossed path with a solitary hidden expert. Without the Lifeguard Scale, Ara would have lost her life!

 

His face turned complicated when it reached the part where the creature generously gifted high quality herb concoction to his great granddaughter while treating her with care and gentleness.

 

His face turned ashen when it reached the climax where they were chased after hundreds of Elemental Fiends.

 

It finally settled on gratitude when it reached the part where the creature advised his great granddaughter to eat the high energy meat formulation to stimulate the condensation of Ara's monster core in order to make him proud.

 

Ara produced a gleaming white ball as large as a plum in front of Lord Tittua. A strong aroma suffused his nostril as he felt the bottleneck inside of him loosened a little. Lord Tittua’s eyes went wide with disbelief!

 

“Gramps, this is for you. My one and only Water Barrier Advancement Pellet. The herb Mistress had gotten from the Elemental Fiends for me really was the crucial component. I manage to make only this one after experimenting several times while waiting for Mistress to get better.” She handed the pellet over while looking down sadly. “Do you have the courage to try my pellet?” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t dare to lift her face lest she would be confronted with Lord Tittua’s rejection.

 

Lord Tittua sighed again with mixed feelings. “Of course I will. You have gone through all this trouble just for me.” And even become a slave for the sake of my advancement. He had extrapolated the chain of events to reach the final outcome in bitterness. He was the reason behind his great granddaughter’s current predicament. If only he listened and dispatched experts to help Ara out in finding the herbs she wanted, none of this would’ve happened.

 

Maybe this is the will of the heavens.  Although this creature called 'Hana' is weak. She is very generous to her own people. It's a blessing in disguise, I guess. Before I can find a way to break the slavery contract, I need to make sure it survives first. The unreliable snake and the fox could not guarantee its safety.

 

Lord Tittua was silent as he ruminated over the information he had obtained while Ara floated at the side obediently. With all the problems she had created, she didn't dare to interrupt her great grandpa's train of thoughts.

 

 "Come, return to the clan right now." Lord Tittua had finally decided.

 

"But..but..about my debt to the mistress.." Ara bowed while biting her lips after Lord Tittua gave her a hard stare. She even called the bug 'Mistress' again and again!

 

"The clan will pay your debt for you. I will take care of it. No need to be concern with it."

 

"Err. Then, can I come and eat some more snacks once a while here?"

 

A green vein popped up on Lord Tittua's head. "As if, there's no good things to eat at home! Ara, you're grounded until you finish consolidating the power of your core! No excuse, no buts! If you keep on playing around with useless things again, you shall never come to this place ever again!" He gave an ultimatum to the little aggrieved fish.

 

Lord Tittua softened his voice and changed his tactics a little, "Go home now. Once you're stronger, you can at least stand up to the snake and stop him from bullying you, right? Then, I’ll be more than willing to let you come visit this place again." 

 

Ara's eyes brightened up as a sudden realization dawned on her, "You're a genius, Gramps! Please let me say goodbye first."

 

...

 

 

Hana was feeling slightly disoriented. She kept on lying down on Kuro's body while trying to readjust her bearing. A little girl's voice sounded in her head as the cute pink fish floated to her face.

 

Mistress, I need to go now. I come to say goodbye.

 

Is it? Do come over again in the future. Our door is always open for you, Ara. Hana smiled at the sweet little fish. She could perceive the little one's sadness. She pulled her close and hugged her. She was already wet, it's alright to add a little more. 

 

Be a good girl. Listen to your great grandfather. He always think what's best for you. All caring elders are like that. Even me. I loved Kuro and Shiro immensely, but when they make a mistake, I still reprimanded them. Why? Because I want to ingrain what was right and what was wrong into them. In the future, they will automatically know, even without me advising them. Did you get what I'm saying, Ara? Ara nodded hesitatingly. 

 

It's alright. Just remember what I said. In the future, you will naturally understand. Give your grandfather a chance. He had come all the way here just to see you. That means he was worried over you. She patted Ara's head.

 

Oh yes, about our discussions on marine products, shiny balls and crystals, have you explained to your great grandfather properly? Hana added cautiously. If the stream boss didn't want to honor Ara's deal, she couldn't do a thing. However, unbeknownst to her, her unintentional crude contract had sealed the deal. While tying the gullible fish to her life, the Crystal-veined stream Lord didn't have a choice but to help her too. In a way, the trade was the best excuse for him to expend the clan's treasury to help increase Hana's constitution and hopefully preserve her life a little longer.

 

Yes, I did. Someone will come and pay Mistress in a few days’ time. The trio were rejoicing happily in their hearts without leaking anything outside.

 

Good, good. What sensible child. Come, let me hug you one last time before you go! Hana squeezed the little fish happily and peck her on the cheek while holding her breath.

 

Oh yes, can you make the water bubble over here permanent? Hana suddenly thought of manipulating the little fish one last time before she goes. They might not meet for quite some time after this. Hence, she wasn't shy with asking a few extra helps for her own comfort.

 

Erm, my power was not strong enough. It can only persist for a few days. Ara blushed as she suddenly realized on her inadequacy. She really needs to double up so that she can help Hana in the future. She hadn't realized her already-changing mindset which was influenced by the slavery life-and-death soul contract. Let me get my great grandpa to help you!

 

The Crystal-veined stream Lord came over begrudgingly and made three floating water bubbles for Hana and co. He even gone as far as threw a small crystal shell-like item with a tinge of purplish light to Kuro. It was beautiful; just the size of Hana's thumb. 

 

Lord Tittua with his great granddaughter, Ara, left the cave dwelling as they floated towards the direction of the Crystal-veined stream. Ara was shedding tears silently while being observed by her great grandfather at the side. He knew she had been singled out in their clan due to her quirky activity. He hadn’t interfered for the fact that he wanted her to stop and focus on her cultivation. Alas, his great granddaughter was as stubborn as he was. She had endured tens of years of loneliness from the lack of camaraderie. He realized this was the first time she had found genuine friends. It wasn’t just about the soul-binding contract.

 

He turned around one last time at the cave without saying a word as his eyes showed a myriad of mixed feelings before they continue on their journey home.

 

...