Chapter 697 Magic Nourish Meat <TOC> Chapter 699 Farewell
Translator: SumTLMan
“I heard your mentor say that people from the Rat Ant Underground Society might try to obstruct you. These wild wizards use all sorts of unscrupulous methods, so you must be careful,” Gloria cautioned Angel while taking out a bag of Magic Replenishing Flowers from her spatial storage and handing it to Toby, advising him, “If those two shameless wizards really come out to intercept you, don’t hesitate to use your Griffin form and escape with Angel.”
Toby nodded solemnly, accepting the flowers, while Angel looked puzzled, “Lord Gloria, aren’t you going to keep Toby by your side?”
Before Gloria could respond, Toby looked at Angel with surprise, his eyes pleading, indicating he didn’t want to stay with Gloria.
Gloria, of course, noticed Toby’s gestures and smiled, “Actually, I would like Toby to stay with me too…”
Seeing Toby shivering and giving her a pitiful look, Gloria changed her tone, “However, he’ll grow faster with you. I’ve been with him for so long, and he hasn’t grown up. In just a few years with you, he even has a Griffin form now. It’s better for him to stay with you, as I don’t want to hold back his development.”
After some thought, Angel nodded. He didn’t want to part with Toby, and having Toby around would also boost his combat power.
Gloria reminded Toby of a few more things, while Angel listened. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong?” Gloria immediately noticed the change in his expression.
“A friend has come to visit. I’ll go out and meet him,” Angel replied. Since taking over Phantom Island, he had developed a spiritual sense of everything on the island. If he amplified this sense, nothing could escape his sight.
At that moment, he sensed someone lingering on the beach outside the island’s barrier.
Gloria nodded, “Alright, go ahead.”
Angel left Gloria’s magic cottage and hurried to the beach at the edge of Phantom Island. With each step he took, the plants made way for him, a testament to his authority as the master of the island. Before long, he arrived at his destination.
When Angel appeared, the visitor had his back to him.
Angel walked over and teased, “Destiny guided me here, and I didn’t expect to see you — Hobson.”
Upon hearing the voice behind him, the man turned around and smiled sheepishly, “destiny guided me…”
Before he could finish his line, he realized Angel had already said it. Hobson then reacted, feeling embarrassed as he touched the ears of his panda costume.
To be precise, an ear of a panda costume.
“Why aren’t you wearing White Bear costume anymore? You’ve switched to a panda now,” Angel laughed, “If Toby sees you, he’ll definitely swat you away with one claw.”
White Bear, or Hobson, patted his stuffed animal costume: “Actually, it’s still the old white bear outfit, but I dyed the eyes and limbs black. At a glance, it does look much better than before.”
Angel didn’t linger on the topic of panda and white bear, and asked directly, “What are you doing on Phantom Island? Is destiny leading you to find me?”
White Bear lowered his head and sighed softly, “I’m not joking, perhaps it is destiny leading me to find you, my friend.”
As he spoke, White Bear gently placed the short staff in his hand—the Proof of Guidance—down.
The Proof of Guidance stood firmly on the sandy beach at a 30-degree angle, pointing toward Angel.
Angel didn’t comment, and after White Bear rambled on for a while, even mentioning the desire to become friends, he used destiny as an excuse, “Alright, even if it is destiny’s arrangement, you must give me a reason.”
White Bear fell silent for a moment and then revealed an answer that surprised Angel.
—”It was Totoro who told me to find you.”
Angel raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t Totoro go to the Crown Star Church in the Shining Plane with Maya to study? How could he ask you to find me? Besides, didn’t you just say it was destiny guiding you to me?”
“It’s destiny, and it’s Totoro,” White Bear sighed deeply, “I have to say, even though Totoro entered this field more than a decade later than I did, his talent is terrifyingly and astonishing.”
“Although I didn’t foresee the reason for coming to find you today, I know that I came following the guidance of destiny.” White Bear pointed to the Proof of Guidance on the ground, “This is the evidence.”
“Totoro asked me to come here, and I think he must have foreseen something. This is related to both you and me.”
Initially, Angel didn’t care much about White Bear’s ramblings, but when it came to Totoro, he showed a serious expression. That’s because he had personally experienced Totoro’s foresight and knew how accurate it was.
“Usually, Totoro wouldn’t make random prophecies, and even if he foresaw something, he wouldn’t talk about it. Except—except for matters related to you, he would place information about you from the prophecies in the most important position,” White Bear finished, “I don’t know why he asked me to appear here today, but it must be related to you. Moreover, his prophecy was correct, because I also felt the surge of destiny.”
As Angel listened to White Bear’s disjointed narration, he became somewhat puzzled and asked directly, “What did Totoro ask you to do here?”
“He asked me to come here and give you my most precious treasure.”
Angel frowned, “Huh?”
White Bear turned its head to look at the drifting clouds in the sky, “I don’t know the meaning of Totoro, but I still came.”
As it spoke, White Bear began to undo its clothing.
“I’ve thought carefully, and my most precious possession, besides my memories, is my chastity.”
Angel backed up several steps, standing at the edge of the forest. If White Bear showed any inappropriate behavior, he would activate the formation and kick White Bear out.
White Bear gazed at the clouds, talking to himself, unaware that Angel behind him had already labeled him as a pervert.
“However, my chastity was taken away by my aunt more than ten years ago, and the second time was with my aunt’s daughter…”
The more Angel listened, the more his horizons seemed to expand: “Is your circle really that messy?”
“So, I thought long and hard about what my most precious thing really is. I found out that it is my—bone card!” White Bear exclaimed, “My bone card holds all my savings, so it should be my most precious thing.”
But as White Bear spoke, his tone suddenly shifted, “But after careful consideration, Totoro shouldn’t have me give you my bone card. Even if it’s to give you magic crystals, I don’t think you lack money.”
“So, after racking my brain, what Totoro probably meant was this.”
White Bear abruptly removed his costume coat and turned to face Angel, only to find that Angel was not behind him and nowhere to be seen within his line of sight.
There was only a palm grove and a vast white sandy beach in the world. The wind blew, and the sand danced in the air.
“Leave whatever you have. I have something to deal with, and I’ll come pick it up later.” A faint voice entered White Bear’s ears.
White Bear: “Eh?” I worked so hard to create this emotional atmosphere, laid out so much groundwork, all for this final heartfelt confession!
White Bear hung his head in disappointment. Every time it met with Angel, it never seemed to have the perfect outcome.
Was its approach too aggressive?
White Bear sighed, lowered his head, and looked at a small object inside his costume coat.
It was a white bear doll, slightly yellowed and seemingly of considerable age. Around the neck of the white bear doll hung a square pendant. Looking at the pendant, White Bear’s mouth curled into a bitter smile.
White Bear stood in place for a while, only leaving the doll on the beach when he was certain that Angel would not appear. After leaving a note, White Bear walked away, looking back three times with each step.
Only when White Bear had disappeared did Angel emerge from the palm grove.
He had not gone far earlier; he had just retreated into the grove, fearing that there might be an indecent scene. But it seemed that White Bear had no particular fetishes, and what he wanted to show was just a doll inside his costume coat.
Angel stepped forward and picked up the white bear doll from the ground.
The doll didn’t seem to be made with great craftsmanship, being palm-sized, with mismatched eyes – one a red button and the other a pink button, one larger than the other. Yet somehow, Angel could sense the care and attention that went into every stitch of this doll.
It was reminiscent of a loving mother, sewing diligently for her child, giving her all.
Around the doll’s neck was a square pendant entwined with a bowtie. Angel rubbed it and discovered that the pendant could be opened, revealing a postage stamp-sized portrait inside.
A young boy, holding a white bear doll, squinted his eyes in laughter. Behind him stood a woman, supporting his waist, her face pressed against the boy’s shoulder. However, her features were blurred.
The boy must be Hobson. But who was the woman?
With questions in mind, Angel opened the note left behind by White Bear before leaving, which read:
“I pondered for a long time what my most treasured possession is. I guess it’s this. I’ve carried this doll with me since I was little, never leaving it behind. I don’t remember who gave it to me, but I love it.”
“Maybe it was the woman in the portrait who gave it to me, but I don’t know who she is either. I feel she is related to my family, but sadly, all my family members died thirteen years ago.”
“I don’t know why Totoro asked me to give this to you, but there must be a reason. Moreover, I sensed destiny’s guidance. If it weren’t for destiny stirring my emotions, I wouldn’t have been able to part with it.”
“I hope you cherish it.”
Signed: Hobson Silai.
The origin of the doll and the identity of the woman were unknown to White Bear.
But Angel could feel White Bear’s affection for the doll. Why else would he carry it so close to him? Plus, the way White Bear looked at the doll before leaving was full of nostalgia and reluctance. Perhaps, to him, this doll represented cherished memories buried deep within his heart.
And maybe that was the reason he always wore a White Bear costume.
Angel carefully put away the white bear doll, uncertain of Totoro’s intention in arranging for it to be here, but perhaps the doll was genuinely connected to him.
As for the faceless woman in the pendant, it reminded Angel of someone.
Hana.
The lonely soul of a little girl who survived in the dry well of the cemetery outside Black Castle.
He had once found a pendant in Hana’s coffin, inside which was a torn silk painting, a portrait of Hana and her brother.
Angel retrieved the pendant from the bracelet. At that time, Hana only took the silk painting, leaving the pendant as a gift for Angel.
Upon comparing them, Angel found that the pendant was heart-shaped, while the one given by White Bear was square. They didn’t appear to be the same and even the materials had slight differences, but the chains used for the pendants seemed to be of the same design.
Could it be that Hana and White Bear were somehow related?