Chapter 5: Gripped by the Neck

Lanxi swam slowly in the jar, his tail creating gentle ripples in the water. The seawater, originally half-full, visibly drained away at an alarming rate, the surface dropping steadily.

In just moments, the jar was nearly empty.

Lanxi stopped, tilted his head slightly, his throat bobbed, and then opened his mouth to spit out a fist-sized object.

The object was snow-white and shimmering with a crystalline luster—a salt ball.

Li Yue stared, her eyes wide.

Is this the Merfolk Tribe's salt-making technique?

But... he spat this out. Can I even eat it?

The thought had barely formed when her stomach rumbled loudly, a stark reminder of the bland roasted meat she'd just eaten.

Who cares how it got here? Any salt is better than none.

Li Yue immediately reached out. "Give me the salt."

Lanxi didn't move, only lowered his head to look at her. His purple eyes held no discernible emotion, but his voice, though clear, carried an unwavering resolve. "First, give me a drop of your blood. Then, I'll give you the salt."

He had witnessed Li Yue's blood-letting for Si Qi and her oath to the Beast God for Chi Yu, but having been betrayed too many times, he no longer trusted her verbal promises.

Knowing he wouldn't easily believe her, Li Yue gritted her teeth, removed her necklace, and reopened the still-healing wound on her finger. She let a drop of blood fall into his palm.

The drop of blood landed on the Scorpion Beast Mark on Lanxi's chest. The deep purple mark seemed to fade as ink diluted with clear water, visibly lightening layer by layer, its edges blooming with a faint pink.

Lanxi's eyelashes trembled violently, his violet eyes suddenly sparking with tiny, fleeting lights.

He stared at the fading purple on his chest, his throat tightening, rendering him voiceless. His fingertips instinctively rose halfway into the air before abruptly freezing, as if afraid to touch this sudden, tangible reality.

Li Yue really gave him her blood... Just nine more drops, and he could completely break free from the Contract Beast Seal's constraints...

His fingertip brushed against the edge of the Beast Mark, his eyes flaring with hope for a fleeting moment before dimming once more.

Even with one drop, he still needs nine more to complete the contract termination...

After a long pause, he finally regained his composure and offered her the salt ball.

As Li Yue reached out, the wound on her fingertip accidentally grazed the salt ball.

"Ouch..."

A sharp sting shot through her finger. She gasped in pain, her hand trembling, and the salt ball dropped.

Seeing the salt ball about to hit the ground, Lanxi swiftly caught it.

Li Yue's eyes reddened with pain. Instinctively, she brought her injured fingertip to her mouth and gently licked it.

When she cut her finger earlier, she had applied a little too much force, making the wound deeper than before. Now the salt stung, making her fingertips tremble.

She turned to look for something to bandage it with, but her gaze swept across the cave. Apart from dry grass and animal hides, there wasn't a single piece of decent fabric.

The Beast World was still in the stage of wearing animal hides. How could there possibly be any cloth?

A wave of resentment suddenly surged through her, and her nose began to sting.

It was the original owner who caused all this trouble. Not only do I have to take the blame, but I also have to cut my finger and drip blood. And now I don't even have a strip of cloth to bandage it with.

But she didn't want to cry in front of the villains. She took a deep breath, suppressed her tears, and waved her hand dismissively. "You all can leave. I'm tired and want to sleep."

Chi Yu watched her reddened eyes and tightly pressed lips, his own eyes flickering briefly. In the end, he merely tugged at the corner of his mouth and turned to walk away.

This delicate female has cut her finger twice to drip blood, and the second wound was quite deep. Yet she didn't get angry at us. What is she planning?

Lanxi placed the salt ball into the small earthenware jar he usually used for salt. His fish tail transformed into legs as he walked out of the cave.

Silence quickly returned to the cave. Li Yue curled up on the animal hide, clutching her injured finger and secretly wiping away tears.

Gazing at the rough rock ceiling, the throbbing pain in her fingertips still lingered. The resentment in her heart ebbed and flowed like the tide.

She knew they hated her, of course.

Those salt-soaked whips, the scales ripped from her body...

Every detail was etched into their bones, yet those things had nothing to do with her.

She was just an unlucky transmigrator, dumped into a mess she didn't create, forced to bear the weight of their boundless hatred. She couldn't even find a decent cloth to bandage her cut finger...

Just then, the necklace around her neck suddenly grew scorching hot, as if she were clutching a burning coal. The heat seared through her skin, drilling into the marrow of her bones.

Startled, Li Yue instinctively raised her hand to touch it. A drop of blood on her fingertip brushed against the pendant's tip.

A faint tremor ran through the necklace, and her consciousness was violently yanked away as if by an invisible hand. Her vision was instantly engulfed in a swirling white mist.

Where am I?

Li Yue tried to move her consciousness and found herself in a hazy space, surrounded by swirling white fog with no discernible boundaries.

She tentatively measured the space with her mind—about five square meters, small but eerily silent.

"A space?"

Her consciousness snapped into focus, and a surge of wild joy washed over her.

The necklace Father gave her... it actually contained a storage space?

Could it be that her blood had activated it?

With this space, everything will be so much easier from now on!

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, even forgetting the pain in her fingertips.

She let her consciousness drift around the space, confirming there was no danger before attempting to withdraw.

When she came to her senses, she found herself still lying on the haystack, the necklace's temperature back to normal, as if everything that had just happened had been a hallucination.

Li Yue quickly grabbed the necklace and examined it closely. The bloodstain on the tip had dried, showing no abnormalities.

Taking a deep breath, she focused her will and tried to put a folded beast hide beside her into the space.

The moment she thought of it, the beast hide vanished.

She focused her will again, and the beast hide reappeared, landing steadily on the haystack.

It really worked!

Li Yue almost burst out laughing from excitement and quickly covered her mouth.

This space must remain a secret from those villains.

What if she couldn't find Father and had to terminate her contract with the villains? Having this space might be her only chance.

Li Yue sprang into action, quickly selecting some of the beast hides, wild fruits, and the salt balls Lanxi had just made from the corner of the cave and storing them in her space.

She didn't dare put everything away, taking only the best-quality items. This way, even if they noticed something was missing, they would likely assume they had miscounted rather than become suspicious.

After finishing, she clapped her hands, feeling a sense of relief.

After a long day of bloodletting and fright, Li Yue's eyelids were heavy with exhaustion.

She spread the remaining beast hides over the dry grass, curled into a ball, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In her dream, she seemed to find her Father, successfully dissolve all her contracts, and even pick up several handsome and obedient males in the Beast World...

Just then, a tall figure silently entered the cave, looking down at the sleeping Li Yue.

He slowly leaned down, his hand suddenly clamping around her slender, fair neck.