Chapter 28: A Reunion That Isn't At All Romantic

Beneath the seaberry tree, Yaine, wielding her staff in one hand, raised her other hand in front of her where a clump of pure, clear water floated.

The water constantly changed shape, at times forming regular polyhedra, other times crystallizing, sometimes clustering, sometimes dispersing.

"This is… pure elemental spirit?" Liu Ji recited the complicated term using incantation.

Yaine nodded as she took Liu Ji's hand, made him spread his palm, and placed the water cluster in it.

The water cluster indeed floated in Liu Ji's hand, continuously changing and fluctuating along with him.

Staring at the strange water cluster, Liu Ji gulped.

Can this thing… really be eaten? It wouldn't cause indigestion or puncture my stomach, right?

He tried poking the water cluster. It was soft, like regular water, and his fingers easily passed through.

Hmm… Looks to be harmless.

Seeing Liu Ji study the pure water spirit like a child, Yaine grinned and started to think about teaching him more about pure elemental spirits.

But her daydream was interrupted when she saw Liu Ji bring his hand up and open his mouth wide.

"No, you…" Yaine reached out, but before she could say anything, Liu Ji's mouth had already enveloped the water cluster and swallowed it with a gulp.

Yaine was stunned. It wasn't just Yaine; Osar, who had just got down from the tree, was equally dumbfounded.

"D-did… he just eat pure elemental spirit?" Osar asked, wide-eyed. "Heck, is that thing even edible?"

"I-it isn't inedible, it's just a cluster of water, but… I've never seen anyone eat it!" Yaine was at a loss. "He's not a three-year-old child! Who would have thought?"

Meanwhile, Liu Ji smacked his lips and thought to himself, Why doesn't this water element have any taste…

No, taste doesn't matter, what's important is…

Oh! There it is! It's here!

Liu Ji felt that impulse!

He glanced at Yaine, smiled, and responded to the impulse.

In the next moment, Liu Ji vanished in front of Yaine's eyes. An instant later, Liu Ji reappeared, so quickly that even his clothes didn't even fall to the ground.

As soon as he reverted, Liu Ji inhaled sharply, and then started gasping for air.

Good heavens, for a moment there, he thought he was going to die.

During his transformation, it felt like he had been thrown into an oven with temperatures over a thousand degrees, having all the moisture in his body being sucked dry in an instant.

Was this caused by the transformation?

No, it didn't seem right…

Liu Ji quickly realized it was due to the environment.

He finally understood why most places in the desert had no water elemental spirits—the environment here was pure hell for them.

Initially, he thought that without water elementals around, he could turn into a water elemental himself and create unlimited water in the desert. However, now it seemed that idea was a bit naive.

"Hey, buddy, are you okay?" Osar noticed something was wrong with Liu Ji and quickly went over to him, rambling on as he checked Liu Ji's condition, not caring if the latter understood, "You're a grown man. How could you just eat random things? You can't just put anything made by magic into your mouth!"

"Damn." Yaine stared at Liu Ji in disbelief. "Did I just see wrongly…"

"See what?" Osar asked, still rubbing his paw on Liu Ji's back.

"…No, that would be too incredulous. Hmm… Forget it, let's just assume I'm mistaken for now. I'll study it later when we get back," said Yaine. She went in front of Liu Ji, examining him, and asked in an incantation, "Body, okay?"

"Ah… I'm fine, I'm fine." Liu Ji waved his hands repeatedly. Although it was uncomfortable when he turned into a water elemental spirit, he felt better after changing back and was recovering after taking a few deep breaths.

Now thinking it over, Liu Ji realized that magic elements, being similar to air in nature, would naturally be in an unconscious state under normal circumstances.

So, was the lack of water elemental spirits in the desert because they all fled? Obviously not; it only meant that most of the water elemental spirits in the desert had perished.

Yaine had to use specially prepared water as a medium to summon the pure elemental spirit, whereas he transformed directly into a water elemental spirit in the desert. The fact that he survived was thanks to his conscious awareness, allowing him to sense discomfort.

It was a rash decision indeed, Liu Ji thought to himself. Next time, I'll try this in a place with water.

"Well… as long as you are okay. Let's head back." Yaine patted Liu Ji's shoulder. She then took all the seaberries from Osar's backpack and stored them in her magical space. After that, she climbed into the basket herself and said, "If we dawdle any longer, Mervant, given his impatience, will definitely have something to say."

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Mervant moved rapidly.

In just 30 or so minutes, he had left the elite squad far behind, their silhouettes no longer visible. Not that they were chasing him; they were merely maintaining their regular marching pace.

However, the further he flew, the more uncertain he felt. With his senses fully extended, he detected more of the Tyrant’s minions' presence ahead, but these presences were faint as if they were already dead.

The question was, why were they dead? Could Calidora and the others have defeated them? If so, why had the link between them disappeared? Could Calidora be injured, perhaps so severely that her presence was almost undetectable?

Or maybe they had found a way to hide? How long could they hide in this desert? Would they have enough supplies? Could they have been without water and food for days?

Various worrisome thoughts crowded his mind, making him extremely anxious. All he could do was move faster, and faster still…

And then, city walls suddenly appeared before him.

Or rather, not directly in front, but about a hundred or so meters away. But at Mervant's current speed, whether it was a hundred or two hundred meters made no difference from if it were right in his face.

Despite reacting immediately and attempting to brake, his high-speed travel caused him to crash straight into the wall.

Accompanying a loud boom was a large hole in the city walls.

The three people sitting in the terrace of a watchtower, sipping tea, were startled and jumped at the sudden noise.

"Hmm? Strange, have the pesky flies arrived so quickly?" Myza turned to look. "Eh? No, it seems to be a person…"

"A person?" Calidora's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly leaned her head out.

Seeing the familiar figure shakily rise from the dust, she froze for two seconds, rubbed her eyes, and then froze again for another two seconds.

Then, she abruptly leaped straight off the watchtower.

Her white dragon wings unfolded behind her, and she traced a graceful arc in the air before diving into the arms of the figure.

Mervant, still dizzy from his collision with the wall, was immediately struck by a secondary impact.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read