Chapter 752 The Basket Witch <TOC> Chapter 754 Silkvine and Helen
Translator: SumTLMan
“Is this the Griffin of Fury?! I remember now, you are Angel!” Suddenly, an exclamation burst from the mouth of the figure in the black robe.
The sudden revelation of his identity caused Angel to momentarily pause midair.
In the blink of an eye, the Unicorn Abyssal Whale shrank at a visible speed until it was the size of a palm. Simultaneously, a young man with a white half-masked hood appeared out of thin air, standing in midair on the rising bubbles from the sea.
Gazing at the graceful youth with blue fish scales on his forehead, Angel stood on Toby’s back, coldly stating, “Jiebo? So you’re the one behind all this.”
Jiebo wore a white and blue-edged outfit, standing tall and looking like a noble and elegant child of the moonlight under the shimmering lunar glow.
Holding the black-robed figure by the collar with one hand and pressing the other on the back of his head, circles of ripples emanated from the black-robed figure’s skull, entering Jiebo’s forehead.
The black-robed figure’s body slowly withered, eventually turning to dust and disappearing into the world.
Jiebo leisurely brushed the dust from his hands, then soothingly patted the playful blue little whale beside him before looking at Angel, “No wonder I felt a sense of familiarity with the dull gray seabird following my puppet… That’s right, your appearance is an illusion transformation, isn’t it?”
Energy emanated from Angel’s body in waves, his expression remaining cold and unresponsive.
“Don’t be so cold. As a distinguished disciple of Phantom Master, I won’t continue to attack you… I just wanted to greet you. We didn’t have any grudges before, did we?” Jiebo’s expression was natural, and with a gentle wave of his hand, all the surrounding water vapor returned to tranquility. The turbulent water energy ceased.
Angel’s appearance gradually blurred, shifting from a dispirited middle-aged man back to his original form.
“How come? Are you not going to question why I was following you now?” Angel’s eyebrows arched, his eyes filled with indifference.
Jiebo smiled faintly, “I know your destination is the Old Land Continent, which doesn’t conflict with our interests. However, I’m still curious why you were following my puppet.”
Angel hesitated, detecting no pretense in Jiebo’s expression.
Suddenly, he recalled the words of the emaciated man from the Rat Ant Underground Society who had ambushed him months earlier. He had been captured by the Song of the Deep Sea and later heard they intended to kill Angel, so they released him. Thus, it was normal for Jiebo to know his whereabouts.
With this in mind, Angel casually said, “It seems that the people of the Rat Ant Underground Society didn’t lie after all.”
Angel’s single statement made Jiebo contemplate many things.
Since Angel was standing here unharmed, it was clear that the plan of the Rat Ant Underground Society apprentices had failed. Angel’s words, ‘they didn’t lie,’ implied he had interrogated the Rat Ant Underground Society members.
So, Angel must have also received news about the Song of the Deep Sea and realized that they had released the Rat Ant Underground Society members to create a diversion.
Jiebo’s approach to Angel was different from Sirius’s. Like Florence, he sought to maintain a good relationship with Angel. Firstly, Angel was a genius alchemist, and having a good relationship with an alchemist could be advantageous in many ways. Secondly, due to the matter involving Hilary, Jiebo had his own considerations.
Upon hearing Angel’s words, Jiebo’s first reaction wasn’t to further question why Angel was following him but to explain why he had released the members of the Rat Ant Underground Society.
“Although I did release the members of the Rat Ant Underground Society, it had nothing to do with me. Sirius was the one who ordered their capture and release,” Jiebo paused, “I think you should know that Sirius is an impulsive person. He has long been dissatisfied with Phantom Master and thus is displeased with you. However, he couldn’t lay his hands on you, so he released the members of the Rat Ant Underground Society.”
Jiebo’s willingness to explain the situation indicated that he indeed had a conciliatory attitude.
Out at sea, Jiebo could be called the “Son of the Ocean,” and his powers were significantly amplified in this environment.
If Angel were to truly fight Jiebo here, even with the speed advantage provided by the Gravity Lines, he might still be at a disadvantage in the oceanic surroundings, unless he asked Toby to turn back immediately. Since Jiebo had taken the initiative to extend an olive branch, Angel decided to follow suit.
However, Angel still had to maintain a certain level of assertiveness in his tone.
Coldly, Angel said, “When I followed you, I thought I was tailing the Rat Ant Underground Society, hoping to capture them all in one swoop. I didn’t expect to encounter you.”
Angel simply used this explanation to justify his pursuit.
Jiebo neither expressed his belief nor disbelief. He knew that Angel’s trip to the Feran Continent was to find a way home, so any reason Angel provided was unimportant to him. As long as he knew it wasn’t about the mysterious space, everything else was inconsequential.
“Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, there’s no need for us to remain hostile. I’m heading to Moonset City anyway, so let’s find a tavern and sit down for a chat.”
“Is the misunderstanding really cleared up? You know my purpose, but I want to know why you’re here,” Angel maintained a cold facade, his question tinged with a hint of anger.
Jiebo’s eyes flickered with a hint of doubt before he said lightly, “It’s better if you don’t know and don’t get involved. I have some advice for you – this isn’t something you can meddle in. My mentor will be arriving in the Devil’s Sea soon, and if you continue to pry, death will be your only path.”
Seeing Angel’s changing expression, Jiebo added, “Phantom Master is now in the Abyss, and even if he rushes here, he won’t be able to save you in time. Are you sure you still want to know?”
Having said his piece, Jiebo made it clear to Angel that if he continued to inquire, Jiebo might provide an answer, but whether their encounter would end peacefully would be another matter altogether.
Therefore, Angel chose silence.
At Angel’s decision, Jiebo also breathed a sigh of relief, as he genuinely did not want to become enemies with Angel.
However, he didn’t realize that Angel was far from as composed as he appeared to be.
Jiebo’s previous words, although he believed he hadn’t revealed anything, actually provided Angel with quite a bit of information.
Everything at present revolved around “Lucas,” a mere mortal and a dead one at that, so why was he causing such a commotion?
Initially, Angel thought it was just an apprentice inquiring about Lucas, but now Jiebo had personally confirmed that not only had the “Big Fish Magician” Sirius become involved, but even his mentor “Sea God” Florence had joined in. It was worth noting that Florence was a veteran true knowledge wizard, and his strength even surpassed that of Sanders!
Jiebo didn’t know that Angel was also investigating Lucas, and in fact, Angel knew more about the situation than they did. Therefore, Jiebo’s earlier words should not have been false.
“What is it about a mere mortal that attracts the attention of so many powerful individuals?” Angel wondered.
Angel didn’t accept Jiebo’s invitation to chat at the tavern.
Instead, he adopted a cold and aloof attitude, snorted, and turned away.
Jiebo didn’t try to stop Angel from leaving. He simply watched Angel leave completely before touching the blue fish scale on his forehead, sending ripples outward.
When the ripples touched the horn of the Unicorn Abyssal Whale, they suddenly disappeared, appearing in some unknown distant place.
Half a day later, a new ripple came from the horn of the Abyssal Whale, and Jiebo carefully deciphered the contents within.
“He spent a day testing the talents of a group of mortals at the city lord’s mansion?” Jiebo’s brows slightly relaxed, and a smile emerged at the corner of his mouth: “I didn’t expect him to take on a guide mission on his way home.”
“It seems he probably doesn’t know about the mysterious space, but… why did I have a strange premonition earlier?” Perhaps it was just his imagination.
Jiebo shook his head, his body transforming into a puddle of seawater before dissolving into the ocean and disappearing.
On the other hand, Angel had arrived at Marcel District in the upper city. Once inside, he sat down at his desk and began writing down some speculations on a notepad.
It wasn’t until the late hours of the night, past midnight, that Angel finally lifted his head.
Looking back, he saw Toby curled up on his own small bed, his crimson eyes not closed but staring at the moonlight outside the window, his expression slightly forlorn.
Angel knew why Toby was feeling so down.
Before leaving, he had asked Jiebo how he had discovered him. With the Boundless Silence fully activated, it shouldn’t have been easy for even a formal wizard to detect him.
Jiebo’s answer was merely a gesture toward Toby.
While he himself could diminish his presence through boundless silence, Toby was unable to do so. It was normal for Jiebo to perceive Toby.
However, because of this, Toby felt that he was holding Angel back and had been sulking ever since they returned.
Angel walked over, gently stroking its feathers: “This has nothing to do with you. I was the one who was careless… I didn’t expect that it wasn’t a novice apprentice but rather Jiebo’s puppet.”
Toby chirped, seemingly displeased with Angel messing up its feathers.
Toby’s mood came quickly, and it left just as fast.
After being comforted by Angel and receiving a promise for a few custom-made outfits, Toby’s sense of loss was instantly cast away to the farthest reaches of its thoughts.
When Toby fell asleep, Angel returned to the desk.
While comforting Toby earlier, Angel had realized that the reason why the people from the Rat Ant Underground Society had targeted him so quickly the last time was because of Toby. This time, it was also due to Toby being unable to hide the energy fluctuations on its body, which allowed Jiebo to discover the clues.
These two instances had been dealt with, but who knew if similar situations would arise in the future.
Thus, what Angel urgently needed to address now was concealing Toby’s aura.
However, before that, there was another matter laid out before Angel.
Chapter 752 The Basket Witch <TOC> Chapter 754 Silkvine and Helen