Jamis's Bargain

In the bedroom, Snoopy stretched his neck, scratching his head from where he was sprawled on the edge of the Water Veil Shield, and said, "Speaking of fire-elemental Aberrant Beasts... Francis, let me first tell you about the mighty savage beasts passed down from antiquity!"

"Alright, but keep it brief!" Du Chen caught a whiff of burnt smells wafting from the outer hall, eager to hear the rest so he could feign sleep.

"In the Heroic Era, when one spoke of sacred artifacts, people would invariably think of the Five Great Primal Forces of the world, namely the Life Tree, the Essence of Earth, and similar items! Yet, when it came to Aberrant Beasts, few knew of the world's four strongest Imperial Divine Beasts!"

bunny-grandpa's millennium-plus experience truly wasn't for show; Du Chen, for his part, had scoured the Papal Curia's Secret Scrolls and delved into countless confidential matters, yet had never once heard of these 'Four Imperial Divine Beasts'!

"The first of these Four Imperial Divine Beasts was called Ruilong. To use a human analogy, he was the 'Divine Emperor Prince' of the Aberrant Beast world! To this day, no one truly knows what his unique ability was, but to borrow a common human saying... anyone who ever saw him was promptly dispatched by him!"

"Ruilong certainly had a volatile temper!" Du Chen shrugged. "Continue!"

"The second was named Merlinta, a marine Aberrant Beast, though its appearance and abilities remain a mystery! The third was known as the Dragon Phoenix, and it's said her unique ability was fire, with a legend claiming that the Dragon Phoenix's flames shared the same origin as the Molten Heart, one of the Five Great Primal Forces, making them terrifyingly potent!"

At this point, Snoopy chuckled, "As for the fourth Aberrant Beast, that would be this grandpa's ancestor, Hobig! The reason this grandpa knows of these Four Imperial Divine Beasts is precisely because they're recorded in the ancestral lineage passed down! That grandkid Hobig... uh, that venerated ancestor wasn't specialized in a single ability, but rather excelled at a little bit of everything. Besides the five basic elements, he mastered Spiritual Power, illusion arts, martial techniques... everything!"

Du Chen stared at Snoopy in astonishment. "One of the Four Imperial Divine Beasts was actually a... rabbit?"

"Hmph! This grandpa is a Phantom Demon Long-eared Rabbit, but this grandpa's ancestor was *not* a rabbit!"

Du Chen was utterly confused.

Snoopy smugly glanced at Du Chen's bewildered expression and chuckled, "Confused, aren't you? Let me tell you, we Aberrant Beasts have a rule: the stronger we are, the harder it is to procreate! This rule has led to powerful Aberrant Beasts not being wiped out by enemies, but by time itself! Back then, my ancestor Hobig encountered just such a problem—after that venerable elder grew into a full-fledged beast, he wanted to take a mate. But after searching all Three Continents, he startlingly discovered that he was the only Hobig Beast left in the world!"

Du Chen secretly clicked his tongue. He had never truly paid attention to such a situation before, but now, upon reflection, wasn't that precisely the case with the Tyran Beasts? Alas, it was likely that Homan and Shiri were the last generation of Tyran Beasts...

A thought sparked in his mind, and Du Chen's expression turned peculiar. "If there were no female Hobig Beasts left, then wouldn't your ancestor, to continue his lineage, have to..."

Snoopy stamped his foot and pounded his chest. "Who says not?! When Super Aberrant Beasts face extinction, they generally try to mate and breed with Aberrant Beasts of other races. But with different races, the chances of producing offspring are truly too small. Even if they do have descendants, it's hard to say how much of their ancestor's power they'll inherit... Back then, my venerable old ancestor went through immense hardships to find a Phantom Demon Rabbit, and they had my grandfather. But my grandfather only inherited his illusionary abilities, which means this grandpa today can only rely on transformations to make a living!"

Du Chen burst out laughing. He suddenly understood why Snoopy constantly talked about long-eared, four-legged, three-lipped beauties—rabbits were everywhere, but Phantom Demon Rabbits capable of marrying Snoopy were few and far between!

"Perhaps Snoopy, too, faced the crisis of extinction?"

*Should he perhaps capture a Dragonfinch someday and try to breed them? Heh!* Du Chen maliciously thought, *'Of the three greatest unfilial acts, having no heir is the worst. This would be a good deed on my part, wouldn't it...'*

Snoopy sighed repeatedly. "One powerful Aberrant Beast goes extinct, while another powerful Aberrant Beast is born for various reasons—that's the law of nature, there's no changing it! The era of the Four Imperial Divine Beasts is long past; the future belongs to a new generation of Super Divine Beasts like Andy!" He abruptly tilted his head. "Grandkid, this grandpa has said all this, do you understand?"

"Of course I understand. Your meaning is, if I want to track down that supremely powerful fire-elemental Aberrant Beast, I should start by investigating the descendants of the Dragon Phoenix, one of the Four Imperial Divine Beasts!"

"Exactly! The Dragon Phoenix might be extinct, but it has many descendants in similar situations to mine—the Dragonfinch, born from mating with a Lark, is one of them. However, the Dragonfinch likely hasn't inherited such potent flames. You should look into others. This grandpa only knows this much."

Having finished, Snoopy lay back on the Water Veil Shield, grimacing as he groomed his singed rabbit fur, muttering, "I say, grandkid, aren't you going to run away immediately after coming back? The little alluring women of Water's Embrace Lake are practically swarming this way!"

Du Chen offered a faint smile. "If I were to leave right now, it would appear suspicious to everyone! At this moment, Francis should be calmly recuperating from his injuries and then assisting the Batuk Family in investigating the secrets within that cave! Besides, Durkes City is a vast enterprise; could we even run away? It would be better to..."

As the two spoke, Beibei walked in, grinning, carrying a plate. Her voice, sickly sweet, chirped, "Daddy, it's time to eat yummy things!"

Were those 'yummy things' referring to the dark, charred, mysterious objects on the plate?

Beibei's cooking had greatly improved! At least... that Cheeky Wench wouldn't dump an entire bottle of salt in this time, because she hadn't put *any* seasoning in at all!

Du Chen forced a smile. "Sweetheart, Daddy doesn't have time to eat right now. Tell Brook that I haven't woken up yet, and to block anyone who comes to visit me!" Seeing his daughter's eyes redden, holding the plate with a pitiful look, Du Chen quickly squeezed out a few more smiles. "Beibei, Daddy really has something important to do! Daddy needs to examine the Sacred Artifact Box from Bog Island!"

"Daddy's lying! Hmph, Beibei and Anya will become naughty too!" The little one stomped off, still holding the plate. "I'm going to feed Andy!"

Poor Snow Wolf... Du Chen secretly offered a prayer for Andy, then retrieved the box from the Precious Lotus Scripture, shook it, and quickly opened it, avoiding his daughter's reluctant and wronged gaze as she left.

...

By the time Du Chen opened the Sacred Artifact Box, twilight had descended. At the same hour, on a remote island in the Grand Delta Sea.

Under the faint flicker of distant stars, a fiery red figure swooped into a Crypt within the island's dense forest. "Lord Jamis, Number Eight has failed to complete the mission!" It was indeed Number Eight, as he pushed Xue Ji, whom he held captive, before Jamis, who was currently painting.

Jamis cast a glance at Xue Ji, wagging a finger in admiration. "Oooh, what a perfect model! Number Eight, why didn't you kill her? A dead beauty has far more artistic value, wouldn't you agree?"

Number Eight raised his chin and pointed to the necklace on Xue Ji's chest. "Number Eight believes... Xue Ji possesses all the conditions that meet our requirements!"

At this statement, Xue Ji froze. "Conditions? What conditions do I possess?"

Jamis was even more stunned. He turned his head and clearly saw the pendant on Xue Ji's necklace. The Gambler Professor was so astonished he couldn't close his mouth. "Little sister, who gave you this necklace?"

Xue Ji gazed at Jamis with suspicion and said coldly, "That's none of your business!"

"No, no, no! It concerns me greatly! And it concerns your future greatly too!" Jamis's eyes gleamed as he stared at her chest, but not lustfully—he was inherently effeminate! Rather, his gaze was filled with obsession for the pendant. He clicked his tongue and said, "To my knowledge, the young man who crafted such a pendant is usually cold towards women, but how is it that he is... so special towards you?"

With a light touch to the pendant, "I understand that young man's intention. He's pleading for me to spare you, and he's willing to pay any price!"

Xue Ji was greatly alarmed. "What?! Alex giving me this necklace meant he intended to trade himself to the Requiem Death Knights if I were in danger!?"

Her heart warmed, but more than that, she was panicked. Xue Ji quickly tucked away the necklace. "There are no terms of exchange! Just kill me!"

"Oh?" Jamis chuckled softly, a hint of effeminacy in his tone. "Number Eight, did you see that? This little sister's relationship with our young man is quite extraordinary!"

Number Eight nodded indifferently. "That is why I said she meets all our requirements!"

"Indeed... she does!"

Jamis squinted at Xue Ji for a moment, then abruptly spun around, tore down the half-finished painting, replaced it with a fresh canvas and oils, and began painting furiously, his arm working rapidly.

Xue Ji found it increasingly bizarre. What exactly did the Requiem Death Knights want? But no matter what, she couldn't drag Alex into this!

Soon, Jamis presented a painting to Xue Ji—it was a true Painting God's Masterpiece, the Twilight Girl Portrait! However, this particular portrait's background wasn't a golden beach, but a vibrant green grassland!

Xue Ji was utterly bewildered. Number Eight explained in a low voice, "Our leader is asking if you're interested in joining us?"

Xue Ji's eyes widened. "Are the Requiem Death Knights joking? How could this be!?"

Jamis waved a hand at Number Eight. "Number Eight, you're still too gentle with women... A threat should be like this!"

He leaned forward, pointed at his painting with an ominous smile, and said softly, "Little sister, your necklace can buy back a life—hmph, I'll give that young man face and let you go! However... that young man must also agree to one condition: to become my tenth servant!"

"Stop blabbering, just kill me! This has nothing to do with him!" Xue Ji said stubbornly.

"No! Our deal with that young man has already been struck, and no one can back out... If the young man who gave you the necklace doesn't agree, then, look, Number Eight will go eliminate him immediately!"

Xue Ji's face turned ashen. "You, what do you want exactly?"

"It's simple, oh! If you don't want that young man to become my servant, or to be eliminated by Number Eight, then... you'll take his place and join us!" As he spoke, Jamis smugly glanced at Number Eight. "Now *that's* a threat, isn't it? Next, the enticement!"

He forcefully thrust the painting into the stunned Xue Ji's hands, and Jamis's chilling expression suddenly became amiable. "Oh, join us! We can guarantee that you'll be able to be safely with your beloved, without having to worry about Margaret hunting you down! Furthermore... since you've already embarked on the same path as your sisters, you are no longer our enemy, but our family!"

"Family?"

"Yes! We don't have much else here, but we do have plenty of your 'brothers-in-law,' don't we, Number Eight?"

Xue Ji was utterly dizzy and bewildered. "What in the world is going on here?! It's true that the Scarlet Army has many of her 'brothers-in-law,' Number Eight being one of them, but what benefit did joining the Requiem Death Knights have for her?"

"Join us, and I'll immediately tell you everything about us!" Jamis said with a sly smile.