Kuro observed Lord Tittua’s back with a determined look. I will surpass this old fogie soon. Just you wait and see.

 

As intelligent as he was, he could guess what was running through in that old fellow’s mind. Who would be willing to submit himself or his family member as a lowly slave, bound to die on a whim of his master? He needed to be so strong until no creature could ever harm any one of his persons. Not even the ones who harbor any vile intentions whatsoever. He will decimate them all without mercy. At the moment, he will continue to tolerate the existence of these few seafood, even needed to accept their mercy, but not for long.

 

Kuro slithered inside the cave with a mixture of emotions as he brought with him the Lifeguard Scale with his mouth. Accepting this shell-like scale was akin to bowing low to the old fogie and accepting his pity. It was also a silent declaration saying that Shiro and himself were not competent enough to protect their mommy.

 

Mommy, this is for you. Kuro placed a beautiful translucent shell-like thing on Hana's palm. Oblivious to Kuro’s internal turmoil, the aunty was elated as usual, when confronting with beautiful sparkly things!

 

She took the tiny scale and turned it around to admire its beauty. If only she had the necessary tool, the beautiful shell will be most beautiful as a pendant or an earring.

 

Try to drop a blood on top of it.  Kuro advised.

 

“No!” Hana paled and adamantly folded her arms. She was hiding her fingers under her two armpits in agitation. The beautiful scale fell on to her lap.

 

Kuro and Shiro made a bewildered look. But why, don’t you like this, Mom? Shiro asked inquisitively. Such precious treasure couldn’t be bought if one wants it. It could only be gotten through serendipity and fruitatious encounter such as now. It will be a pity if Hana didn’t want to accept it. He thought that she looked to be eager to own it before. But why the sudden change of heart?

 

“I.. I.. I’m too scared to prick myself..” Hana’s voice trailed off as she blushed bashfully.

 

With a voice as tiny as a mouse, the aunty asked the help from her two beloved pets, “Help me prick my finger, pretty please?” Only God knows how hard the nurses in the public hospital tried to draw blood from this aunty everytime during monthly pregnancy tests. It was a horrid experience for both parties involved.

 

Kuro nearly crashed down while Shiro slipped.

 

They looked at each other helplessly, as Kuro moved forward and said to the aunty. Mom, lookie over there! What’s that on your left?!

 

“What?! What?!” the jittery aunty was distracted for a friction of a second. Kuro took the opportunity to draw blood from the scared aunty absentmindedly and helped her dropped the dripping blood on the shell, lightning-fast!

 

“You!!! Ku-chan!” Holding her now-bleeding finger, she exclaimed in shock and apprehension with a tinge of an aggrieved expression.

 

I just did what you want me to do, Mommy. Is it wrong? Are you unhappy? Kuro made a sniffing sound filled with sorrow. He slithered over the injured finger and gave it a healing lick. The tiny prick disappeared just like that without a trace. If Hana didn’t notice the tiny prick and blood from before, she would’ve thought it was just her imagination.

 

Hana was so speechless, she didn’t know what to say. She deflated and gave the sweet little snake an apologizing look. “You’re right. Thank you, Ku-chan.”

 

Kuro beamed with a dazzling smile. Their mommy was the best. She will always give up from putting up a fight when being confronted with his pitiful super cute looks.

 

The pretty scale, now doused with red blood slowly floated up from Hana’s lap, garnering the trio’s attention. Slowly the red blood disappeared from the scale, as if being absorbed, as the scale revealed again its beautiful crystal-like flat shell-like shape. The purplish color got a little intense as a soft light emerged from it, making Hana gasped. Hana held out her palm to hold the ‘shell’ as it slowly levitated downwards to land slowly on the center of her palm. However, before she could admire its beauty, the 'shell' sunk into her palm and disappear!

 

Hana went blank for a moment, before it shifted to an aggrieved look.

 

Kuro tried to explain to his mistress gently. He knew she liked beautiful sparkly things and was feeling sad for its disappearance. Mommy, that is not a gem or a shell. It's a precious defense scale, personally refined by the Crystal-veined Lord. It is known as the Lifeguard Scale. It didn't disappear. It is still there, only it has assimilated with your body. Once a danger approach, it will help to protect you automatically. It is very valuable.  

 

“Really?” Hana asked hesitantly.

 

Really. The cute fox nodded while chiming together with the little black snake. The bird was nowhere to be seen as she had return to her own home a few nights before.

 

But I want to admire it a little longer. So sad. Whatever. It is still a nice present! Ara's great grandfather is such a nice fish. I didn't even thank him yet for helping me. Ara's family sure is generous! It is very rare to see a wealthy person generously gifts random people everywhere. Usually these rich tycoons will be super stingy! Huhuhuhu!  

 

The aunty's mood was jolly again. The two boys were speechless with how fast she shifted her mood around. They looked at each other to urge one another to open their mouths by telling the aunty the truth about the soul-binding slave matter. Once she knew, she could read Ara’s grandpa’s intention like an open book. However, after a moment of pushing and pulling, they decided to keep mum of the real reasons behind the Crystal-veined stream Lord's 'generosity'. It was better to delay it a little bit. If not, their Mommy will get depressed again.

 

How do you feel, Mom? We're so worried. Shiro approached her with a concerned look on his face. Her lovely white fox was still as adorable as usual, with his cute Y-shape antlers and bushy tail. Somehow, she missed his fluffiness greatly because it felt like she had been trapped for years within that dream-like world, only accompanied by her loyal Kuro. However, looking at Kuro’s current physiques, she just realized that the little snake had grown up a little. He even had additional features. This sudden realization made Hana stupefied.

 

"How long was I out?!" She really hoped that she was not unconscious for months!

 

She stood up and nearly fell back on Kuro again. Hana just realized her hair was so long and heavy! It was sweeping the floor, tangled with soaking dirt and smelled funny. She was so shock! Panic welled inside her heart as she started to hyperventilate!

 

" I need a plastic bag! I need a plastic bag!" She was using both of her hands to fan herself while breathing rapidly in panic.

 

Calm down, Mommy! Calm down! The sun had risen seven times only. Not too long! Be at ease! Kuro tried his best to pacify the hyperventilating aunty.

 

"Fox, go hug her! Help her out!" He immediately meditated to connect to his mistress in a bid to control the rapidly beating heart. He was afraid it might burst!

 

A few minutes later, Hana sighed. "Much better. So sorry for the trouble, guys." She blushed bashfully. A second there, she thought she was out for months or even years like in the c-novels. If it happened, her family out there must think that she had died and might even already moved on. While she thought along this line, she felt like her world was crashing down as her hopes of being saved was smashed to smithereens. She wasn't even sure whether her hubby had converted her phone number to the monthly payment style. If he didn't, the fact that she couldn't receive proper signal might mean that her number was already void. Disconnectivity from her beloved for eternity had made her so scared for a second there.

 

Hana suddenly remembered her condition when she woke up. She was drowning in water! She remembered very clearly that her phone was in her pocket during her previous predicament. “Did anyone save my smartphone?!”

 

I did. No worries, Mom. Your treasure is well taken care of. Shiro tried to calm the agitated aunty.

 

While sighing in relief, Hana absent-mindedly wiped her dirty wet hands on Shiro's pristine white bushy tail as it was treated like a handkerchief. She needed to make sure her hands were dry and clean before using her precious smartphone. Although Shiro scrunched his brow unhappily, he quietly endured.

 

Hana immediately stood on the internet spot and fetched her precious smartphone so that she could message Arash immediately. To her surprise, the smartphone was still on even after a week!

 

She asked, “How is it that my phone is still full?”

 

Ah..because you cherish it so much, we had tried to attach it to the rectangular thing when it suddenly became dark around three days ago. Since nothing happen after two days, we tried to push whichever buttons present. Shiro explained bashfully. He didn’t want to remember the embarrassing moments anymore.

 

“Thank you, guys.” Hana gratefully thanked her two sensible boys and quickly typed a message to her beloved Arash. She missed him so much..

 

...

 

On the other side, the familiar sound of messages entering Arash's phone made him haphazardly checked with hope reflecting in his dim eyes. He had just finished buckling his two kids to their own car seats and was preparing to drive home after the awkward lunch in the hot eatery. Once he read the message, his heart immediately soothed, and his eyes turned bright again. 

 

Arash hadn't realize he was drowning in tears of relief. The one week of disconnectivity had made him feel like he had lost his soul.

 

Thank God... Thank God... Thank God. He closed his eyes as he sincerely thanked to God as many times as he can for letting his wife lived through the ordeal.

 

At the end of the day, Arash did cry inside his car as what has been speculated by the other diners.

 

...