Chapter 390 - 388: We’ll See If She’s Fated to Enjoy It

Faye Yardley was a bit stunned after returning to her raft.

She had come straight back from Zephyr Sterling’s bedroom, holding the Ice Wyrm.

The last thing she remembered hearing was what sounded like Henry Lewis’s furious roar. It clearly wasn’t directed at Zephyr Sterling or her. ’So, did the Master go back to his raft after I left?’

She couldn’t figure it out just by thinking, so she called the Master directly. He didn’t pick up, so she sent a text: "Master, did you get into an argument with Mr. Lewis when you got back?"

This time, Master Veridian’s reply came quickly: "That little brat has gotten bold enough to yell at me. Sigh, what a disgrace to our sect."

’Shouldn’t it be ’a disgrace to the sect’?’

Faye decided not to provoke Master Veridian any further and asked instead, "I’ve already taken what they wanted. Aren’t they leaving yet?"

This time, the Master didn’t answer. After a moment’s thought, Faye Yardley asked Zephyr Sterling the same question.

Zephyr Sterling didn’t answer either.

’Jeez, what are that master and disciple pair so busy with? A question they could answer with a fleeting thought, and still, not a peep from either of them.’

"Mrow~"

"Wow, Big Sis, what’s that in your hand? Aren’t you cold holding it? I feel cold just by getting close. It’s even colder than jumping into the ocean." Lucy White sidled up curiously.

"It’s a treasure. I’m heading to my room now. You all should try to stay out of the water, too. There’s no telling what might emerge once the pitch-black seawater recedes. Bramble, while you’re guarding the raft, keep an eye on what’s under the surface. And no more blooming flowers to attract those strange fish."

The moment Faye Yardley finished speaking, the flowers Bramble had slightly opened beneath the waves all snapped shut and withered in an instant.

The withered blossoms sank slowly into the black water, where they were fought over by a school of bizarre fish. Bramble remained perfectly still.

As Faye Yardley went back to her room, she sent a text to her brother: "Ethan, can you keep an eye on Mr. Zephyr Sterling and the Master for me? Logan Langdon and Henry Lewis are on their raft right now. I tried asking them something, but they’re too busy to reply. Please watch them for me. I’m about to eat the treasure Zephyr gave me. [Image: IceWyrm.jpg]"

The reply came quickly. Ethan Yardley agreed at once: "Got it. If things get hairy, I’ll just use an Invasion Card to head over there. Don’t worry. You just do your thing."

With her brother having agreed to keep watch, Faye Yardley opened the ice box, relieved. But she’d barely opened a crack when the Ice Wyrm tried to escape. Faye quickly brought the box to her lips before opening it fully.

An icy mist instantly filled her mouth. ’Freezing!’ With a GULP, the Cryo-Marrow Worm slid down her throat and into her stomach.

COLD!

SO COLD! SO COLD!

Her entire body felt like it was freezing solid. The ice box slipped from her hand and CLATTERED onto the floor.

Sensing the unnatural chill in her room, Bramble’s vines snaked in from the small balcony.

Seeing the chill radiating from within her body, it began to wind around her, coil after coil. Soon, Faye Yardley was entirely encased in vines, becoming a human chrysalis.

Though Faye Yardley was frozen stiff by the chill, her mind was still clear. She was trying to circulate her Inner Strength using the Health Care Scripture when she saw the vines envelop her. Then, in what felt like a world of solid ice, she sensed a faint trace of warmth.

Bramble extended a small tendril and slipped it into Faye’s mouth. A tiny flower bud slowly formed at its tip.

The instant the bud bloomed, a warm current gushed out, flowing down Faye’s throat and driving back the chill inside her.

Who would have thought that the flower Bramble bloomed in Faye’s mouth would also have the effect of luring the Cryo-Marrow Worm.

The Cryo-Marrow Worm, which had settled in her abdomen after entering her body, had gone still. But now, unexpectedly, it began to reverse course and travel upward.

Faye was not having a good time. Not only was her entire body frozen stiff, but she was also bound by the vines, completely unable to move.

Bramble’s Strength was gentle and warm, but the Cryo-Marrow Worm’s was brutish and shockingly cold.

The two forces truly began a tug-of-war, with her body as the battlefield.

Faye was in so much pain she wished she were dead.

Her meridians shattered, inch by inch, in the glacial cold, only to be rebuilt by the gentle Strength...

The tug-of-war between the two forces gradually began to spill out of Faye’s room.

"Willow, do you think Faye’s okay in her room?"

Willow Yardley gazed at the white, frosty mist radiating from the top of the stairs. "You can feel it for yourself."

As people bound to Faye Yardley’s mind, they could sense her well-being.

If she died, they would die with her.

’Since we’re still fine, that must mean our master, Faye, is also... okay... right?’

Just as she had that thought, Willow Yardley’s legs suddenly gave out, and she staggered and fell to the floor.

Lucy White wasn’t faring much better.

One of Bramble’s main stalks squeezed through the glass doors of the balcony, wound its way up the stairs, pushed the bedroom door open a crack, and forced its way inside.

Logan Langdon’s meeting with Zephyr Sterling had ended on a sour note. As for Henry Lewis, he was now truly convinced that his master and senior brother no longer cared for him. They would rather give the item to Faye Yardley, a woman they barely knew, than to him.

They had agreed beforehand that anything found on Frostdrift was finder’s keepers. For items found together, it would be distributed by need. If multiple people needed it, they would roll dice to decide.

But now his boss needed it. Shouldn’t they have just given it to him willingly, to make his boss’s life a little easier?

Logan Langdon returned to his raft and stormed into his bedroom without a word. Chloe Hughes immediately pressed against him from behind, her breath warm and fragrant. "What’s wrong? He wouldn’t give it to you? Not even for a trade?"

’Trade?’

Logan Langdon shook his head. He’d never intended to trade anything for it. After all, he was the one who had led them to Frostdrift, wasn’t he?

"If he’s not willing, then forget it. It’s not like he can use a Cryo-Marrow Worm by himself anyway. If it isn’t consumed within a few days, it’ll die, and its effects will be drastically reduced."

"He gave it to Faye Yardley," Logan Langdon said, his voice cold.

Chloe Hughes’s expression stiffened for a moment before she let out a small laugh. "But a Cryo-Marrow Worm isn’t exactly easy to digest. If she wasn’t prepared and just swallowed it whole, she’ll end up as an ice sculpture. Worse, she might even become food for the worm. If she were to disappear, it might not be such a bad thing for you."

Logan Langdon pulled the woman behind him into his embrace, the pads of his fingers caressing her face. "You’re right, Chloe. We’ll just have to see if she’s got what it takes to enjoy a treasure of that caliber."

"Master, Senior Brother, even though you wouldn’t give it to me, as your disciple and junior brother, I’m still willing to offer my help. Don’t hesitate to call on me if you need anything," Henry Lewis said, then cupped his fist in his palm in a salute to them both. "I’ll be taking my leave now."

Watching his second disciple’s posturing, Master Veridian felt a knot of frustration tighten in his chest. He could hardly breathe, feeling like he might just suffocate from sheer exasperation.

"Junior Brother," Zephyr said, "if you feel any discomfort in your eyes, be sure to tell us immediately. We’ll figure something out. You know I have some healing abilities, and my knowledge of herbs is greater than yours."

Henry Lewis looked at Zephyr Sterling, who remained as serene and untroubled as ever. His feelings were a complicated mess. "Thank you, Senior Brother. Farewell."

Once everyone was gone, Master Veridian seemed to deflate, slumping onto the sofa. He asked wearily, "When you gave it to Yardley, did you tell her not to be in a rush to eat it?"