Mekong and his team had been waiting for around twelve hours by the Crystal-veined stream. It was currently night time. The blanket of stars was twinkling in the open night's sky above the idyllic stream, but Mekong didn't have the luxury to admire nature's beauty. He tapped his pectoral fins together impatiently within his own bubble. Mekong felt that the little attendant might be away for many days this time; it seemed that the willful princess' master might be planning on something.

 

The being was very suspicious! He could still remember the day when the notorious lightning serpent stormed their clan’s territory. He had watched his comrades-in-arms being killed and eaten en masse, and his heart was still pained by the memory. Maybe, the little attendant won't be returning at all.

 

Nonetheless, he felt no pity for the little fish; someone like him was as many as the clouds in the sky. If he was fated to meet his end, then so be it. The little attendant could be replaced as many times as possible.

 

The only thing was how to retrieve the Pillage Void Shell back. The Pillage Void Shell was so precious, there were only three within the clan. One was personally owned by the Clan Head, another one was utilized by the Grand Elder for managing finances and transactions of the clan, while the last and the most precious, contained half of the treasuryof the clan and was treated like the most precious treasure. It was a mutated Pillage Void Shell which appeared only once within the depth of the Crystal-veined spring. It had amassed a few millenia of spirit essence from the spirit vein before the spring was found. The one used this time was the Grand Elder's own personal shell. He still couldn't fathom the Circle of Elders' decision on compensating the expert residing in the notorious snake's nest.

 

As he was ruminating on a number of plans, his whole team was suddenly enshrouded with the aura of an expert approaching from land! Everyone tensed up and unconsciously entered into a battle formation. Although the aura exuded wasn't hostile, a foreign expert always strikes once a confrontation took place. Only with numbers, they could overwhelm the expert and deterred it from attacking.

 

The expert's aura was keenly familiar, yet not, at the same time. Mekong couldn't shake the feeling that he knew this expert, but after thinking over the lists of comrades, he still couldn't find the answer. Until the tiny greenish-black head appeared.

 

Chomper appeared before them without daring to meet their gazes. He had tried his hardest to suppress his billowing aura to no avail; his advancement was too abrupt and too overwhelming. It was impossible to control his own energy outbursts when he had no time to consolidate his own strength. It needed to be done gradually and would take days or even weeks. All the experts including Mekong were slack-jawed and silent, their questioning wide eyes asked the same question; what happen in the snake's lair? 

 

He cleared his throat and made a business-like face filled with urgency, "The Young Miss' Mistress had an urgent message for the Grand Elder. I need to return to the clan immediately!"

 

The team took a few seconds to recover. Some of them looked down with red faces; feeling like they have been slapped directly. They were just looking down on the little fish. Now, twelve hours later, he was already on par with them! This sudden extremely rapid progress was only second to the princess' aptitude!

 

Feeling shamed and humbled at the same time, Mekong answered with a tinge of respect at the little fish. "Let us escort you to the clan grounds."

 

Not noticing the change of attitude of the team of experts around him, Chomper just nodded curtly and sped away with the 'guards' following behind his back. He just wanted to reach the Grand Elder's abode as fast as possible to avoid problems!

 

…

 

Hours later, Elder Watershade deeply scrutinized Chomper's uncontrolled billowing aura with a thoughtful look. However, after a few moments, he had reverted back to his calm demeanor, "Yes, Chomper, do you have a message for me from Aranyella's Master?"

 

Chomper astutely returned the Pillage Void shell with a respectful manner before replying, "The Mistress sends her regards to the esteemed Grand Elder and the Clan Head. She had said that there is a misunderstanding on the amount of payment provided by the clan and she wished for a face-to-face discussion."

 

"I see." He ruminated over the information provided by the little one and asked discreetly, "And your progress.. is it due to the Mistress' benevolence?"

 

Chomper was quiet for a moment before he replied hesitatingly. "Yes. She had also told me to inform you first before anything else." Chomper bowed low and sweated.

 

"I see." A curious light shone from the Grand Elder's eyes before it faded away.

 

"May I excuse myself?"

 

"Did she have any message for the Young Miss?" He asked in passing.

 

"She told me to send her love. She had also prohibited her to visit if she didn't finish consolidating her core. She added that she'll visit the clan in the near future, with your permission, of course." The Mistress' message was not strictly confidential, hence Chomper just truthfully blurted it out.

 

Elder Watershade nodded with approval and contentment. He knew Ara's master would be someone who was full of astuteness, benevolence, and tact. It wasn't all that bad at all. 

 

"You may go now."

 

The Grand Elder observed the little fish swam through the underwater tunnels towards the princess' chamber. He then calmly moved out from his own chamber with a thoughtful expression. "Get ready. We're going to visit Princess Aranyella's master immediately. Someone, inform the Circle of Elders to guard the clan, now. I have important issues to discuss with the Mistress." Grand Elder Watershade copied how little Chomper addressed Hana.

 

Several attendants and hidden experts around him were so shocked with the Grand Elder's sudden leave. As the number two expert within the Waterwave Marine Clan, he wasn't supposed to leave the clan grounds when the Clan Head was in seclusion! To make him leave means there was something extremely important that needed his personal presence.

 

...

 

"Mistress Hana, may I call you that? Did you wish to see me?" A calm and wizened voice spoke in the bubble language in front of Hana. A silver catfish with extremely long shiny silvery-white whiskers and grayish body was floating in front of Hana. Both of them were sitting on the cave floor, confronting each other. They were sizing each other up; trying their best to read the other's intention by reading each other's body language. Nonetheless, due to the limitation placed on the differences in their species, they had failed, rather miserably at that. 

 

Hana was sitting crossed-legged while the Grand Elder was suspended inside a water bubble. At the moment, Elder Watershade was the size of a surfboard as it was the size that he was most comfortable in. In front of them were two cups of honeyed iced coconut water. Beside Hana, Kuro and Shiro were sitting quietly on her left and right, acting extremely vigilant. As usual, Kuro acted as the intermediary, translating both languages. 

 

Hana relaxed her heart and smiled warmly. "Yes, you may. I will call you Elder Watershade, alright? First thing's first, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your overwhelming compensation. However, I think you might've miscalculated. The amount is supposed to be much lower than the ones given to us. Frankly speaking, I don't dare to receive your benevolence." Hana spoke meaningfully. She was trying to tell the Grand Elder tactfully that she didn't wish to be tied to the clan with this treasure.

 

Elder Watershade nodded knowingly, "I see. Mistress Hana shouldn't think too much about it. Truthfully, the Azure Spirit Pearls were not as precious as you think. Within the depth of our spirit spring, we artificially cultivated an enormous number of high energy Meaty Azure Freshwater clams for their flesh. It was the main staple of our clan. The spirit pearls were just the byproduct that sometimes appear within these clams. Although there were not too many, since we had reared close to a million every time the moon changes trice, we have quite the supply. Since the energy within the pearls were lower than the clams and the low-tiered spirit crystals, they were not in demand by the clan.

 

Please accept them as a token of appreciation for taking care of our willful Young Miss. Since Mistress Hana favors the spirit pearls, why won't we give them to you to gladden your heart? They will benefit you well." Elder Watershade bowed with humility. Unlike Lord Tittua, he sincerely believed that Hana could influence their princess into a better heiress to the clan. The Mistress was also the best candidate to instill a will to improve herself in cultivation besides experimenting on medicine making. 

 

"I see. Such sweet words! If it is so, we will accept them wholeheartedly." She understood that it was never about paying for the little girl's binge-eating seafood by the little fish trap. These creatures were trying to build a good relationship with her by circumnavigating over Kuro. Such intelligence! Both parties knew Kuro was a tough bone to break.

 

"How about the Spirit Crystals? Is that not precious too? Why didn't you give more of that then?" Hana smiled amusingly.

 

"Please don't joke around, Mistress Hana. We ourselves didn't have too many of them. These are what we could expend to show our goodwill." Elder Watershade chuckled. Spirit crystals were high-end commodity and the amount mined didn't even meet the clan's needs. He had agreed with Lord Tittua to help enhanced Hana's constitution, but not the two experts around her! If they're stronger than now, their own spirit spring with the spirit crystal lode included could be seized by them altogether. They were actually treading on a very thin line here. He himself wasn't clear on Hana's real intention and aspirations as of yet. 

 

"If so, would you care to hear a proposition from me? You've seen little Chomper's current progress, right? I am not too sure whether the Elder would be interested to do some business with me in this regard? What do you think?" Hana's bright eyes glittered, as she talked animatedly with the wise spirit fish.

 

Elder Watershade's eyes brightened. "Are you saying, you could artificially induce a breakthrough every single time?"

 

Hana shrugged non-concomitantly, "Truthfully, I'm not too sure. But I need more willing subjects to test my concoction out. I don't have time and energy to waste searching for them high and low and prefer to concentrate in perfecting my theories. However, I don't like people ordering me around. I like to do things at my own pace. If not, it'll disrupt my Dao heart." Hana spoke a line from a web-novel that she liked. 

 

Elder Watershade ruminated for a moment before nodded firmly, "What do you need? Tell me first, and maybe we could satisfy each other's conditions well." Increasing the clan's own cumulative strength was always a positive action as a whole to maintain the survival of the said clan. Elder Watershade decided to take this leap of faith. That was if the price was reasonable.

 

"Before anything else, why not the esteemed Elder try my concoction over here? I assure you it is not a poison, nor will it induce an advancement due to the plain nature of the ingredients. It will only give good feelings." She handed over a soft hollow tube made of a vine to the Grand Elder. 

 

She added, "In my hometown, it is a must to serve at least a cup of water for guests to show courtesy and goodwill. It'll be more ideal if there is an accompaniment of sweet things (1). Alas, we're quite low on resources here. Hence, we can only share this much with you." Hana drank from her own cup by using another soft hollowed vine.

 

Elder Watershade observed Hana's eyes before he received the hollow vine with his whiskers and sucked the honeyed coconut water cautiously. A sweet and refreshing flavored water entered his mouth, as he sighed in appreciation. The slight chill had further enhanced the taste of the flavored water. He could detect a very slight amount of spirituality within the concoction and instantly understood Hana's meaning on the lack of 'resources' as the main problem with experimenting her research. He could faintly guess that a ferocious beast could greatly benefited from this 'flavored water' if it was given enough of it for prolonged period of time. Essentially, this creature was actually a kindred spirit to his spiritual great-granddaughter, Aranyella. They both were gifted in something else apart from cultivation. He wondered, what could've happened if Ara's mistress could get her hands on high quality 'ingredients'?

 

...

 

At the crack of dawn, the two parties were finally satisfied with a secret agreement acknowledged by them and had parted ways with satisfaction. Hana waved at the Grand Elder with the sweetest smile as he floated over the paved stone path towards the Crystal-veined stream. Elder Watershade nodded with a helpless smile in return before he disappeared into the stream. He knew the news he brought back will create the greatest sensation within the clan. From it, opportunity and problems will arise hand in hand. He needed to solidify his stand in this issue. Hana's price was indeed very steep. Nonetheless, it was extremely alluring and worth it!

 

...

 

Kuro flew and landed on Hana's shoulder.

 

Can we trust him to honor his side of the deal? 

 

We don't have a choice. Only time will tell. At least, he is better and more flexible than Ara's great grandfather. We need to take this gamble. Mommy believes everything will be just fine. After all, if something turns wrong, we can just leave this place immediately. At that time, once we're stronger, we'll return and take over the spirit crystal lode.

 

Kuro was surprised, as he paused to look at Hana's face. He could feel Hana's determination this time and delightedly acquiesced. Very true, Mommy.

...

 

Author's Note:

"In my hometown, it is a must to serve at least a cup of water for guests to show courtesy and goodwill. It'll be more ideal if there is an accompaniment of sweet things.."

In M'sia, especially among the Malays, it is a must to serve something to incoming guests. If not, you'll be considered rude. However, most of the time, one won't ask the guests what they wanted (Like how we see in TV "Would u like to drink something? We have some juice, water, etc"), and proceed to prepare a set of warm drinks (usually sweetened plain tea (w/o milk) with some kuih/cookies at the side). Hence, most guests who don't prefer sweet things or abstain from eating certain things will quickly inform the host when they suddenly went to the back (kitchen) after they entertain the guests in the living room for a while.

For example:

A: Ah, no need to prepare anything for me, Friend B! I'm currently fasting (fasting means abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset)

B: Oh, really now. So sorry, I didn't know.

...

A: Friend B, no need to prepare anything for me. It's okay. I just had lunch.

B: Ah, no matter. Just treat a little tea and some kuih for your dessert

A: (blush) Sorry to impose on u

B: No problem, Friend A.

...

Except for fasting, most of the time, the host will impose on the guest to partake the refreshment. If the guests didn't even try a little, the guest will be considered rude and offend the host.

Haha. A little lecture on nominal cultural ways of the people here.