To prove that he truly had the ability to help Dodge cleanse the pollution, Saul first demonstrated how to use Soul Fishing to draw out the pollution from a wraith.

However, he held back—he didn’t cleanse it entirely.

He had no intention of revealing the full extent of his strength, especially with the Old Witch still nearby.

Seeing Saul draw out some of the wraith’s pollution, Dodge was at least somewhat convinced that this person truly could purify pollution.

This time, he didn’t hesitate. He even proactively took out the contract scroll.

In Dodge’s view, Saul might not be able to completely cleanse the pollution within him—which aligned with his expectations—but even reducing the pollution by half would buy him another twenty years.

So long as he could ascend to the Second Rank during that time, he’d be able to suppress the pollution himself.

What’s more, the deal also included Veiled Crystal Essence. With that, Dodge’s odds of advancing to the Second Rank increased significantly.

After signing the contract, Dodge didn’t waste words and immediately went back to pack his things.

This time, Saul directly extracted about four-fifths of the pollution from Dodge. What remained was faint and unevenly dispersed throughout Dodge’s mental realm.

With the transaction complete, Saul handed over the Veiled Crystal Essence.

Suppressing the excitement on his face, Dodge accepted the essence and carefully placed it into his eye socket.

Clearly, he knew how to store Veiled Crystal Essence properly.

He didn’t care about the blood running down one side of his face. At last, he glanced at Saul, the unidentifiable short Second Rank beside him, and the ordinary man behind them whose face was covered in mushrooms. With a light chuckle, he said, “Thank you for honoring the contract and completing the exchange. From here on, I’ll be leaving Rhine Lake. As for the rules of the lake—you’ll have to figure them out on your own.”

Saul didn’t speak. He merely glanced at the diary in his mind, which had gone eerily quiet as if it were asleep, and nodded.

“No problem.”

Such a crisp response irked the Old Witch somewhat.

But then she remembered—three days ago, when they signed the contract, Saul had only agreed to cede Rhine Lake. There had been no clause about explaining the lake’s rules. No matter how displeased she was, she couldn’t argue.

“Isn’t this Saul supposed to be pretty smart? How did he not notice the loophole in the contract this time?”

Thinking about how she had been tricked by him and now had to temporarily cooperate with him, while Saul now seemed to have been outmaneuvered by Dodge, the Old Witch felt conflicted.

A mix of satisfaction—and dissatisfaction.

Dodge returned to the lake’s edge and retrieved the white feather.

As soon as it left the lake surface, the feather shrank down to the size of a regular quill.

“I’ll be taking this with me. It’s not much use, but after carrying me for so many years, I’ve grown a bit attached to it.”

Saul had no objections.

“Then I wish you luck.” Unburdened and refreshed, Dodge waved his feather in farewell and then turned, soaring quickly into the sky.

Saul noticed that as Dodge left, a layer of magical shielding suddenly shimmered into existence around him. Clearly, Dodge was wary that Saul might try to strike him down post-transaction.

Saul rubbed his chin in thought.

Noticing Saul still hadn’t moved from his spot, the Old Witch grew impatient. “Aren’t you going in? What are you stalling for?”

Only then did Saul slowly turn around. “I’ll go in, of course. But I just realized something.”

“What is it?”

“In the contract, we stipulated that we couldn’t deliberately leave traps on the island, and added many clauses to prevent either side from pulling tricks during the exchange. But we never mentioned what should happen after the transaction was complete.”

The Old Witch didn’t think it was a big deal. “There’s an infinite amount of time after a deal. How could anyone agree to long-term behavior restrictions like that?”

“But we could have added a time-based clause. For example, neither party may renege within a year after the transaction.”

The Old Witch snorted. “Hmph, and now you think of it? What were you doing before signing the contract? And you even forgot to make him tell you the rules—that’s pretty important, no? Where did all that cunning you used to trap me go?”

Saul gave her a helpless glance. “The rules weren’t made by him. Accepting someone else’s answer too readily might cost me the chance to truly grasp the essence of things.”

The Old Witch rolled her eyes, thinking Saul was just being stubborn.

“Let’s put that aside. Did you notice that he cast a protective spell on himself when leaving?” Saul asked.

“Seems like, just like you, he only realized after the contract was signed that there was no safeguard for the post-deal phase.”

Saul was still rubbing his chin. “But I get the feeling—he’d already thought of that. That there should’ve been a clause protecting both sides from being attacked after the deal. After all, he guarded Rhine Lake and turned it into a marketplace for wraith trades. Someone like that—who often has to make contracts—forgetting the final protection? Just doesn’t sit right.”

“Forget what?” the Old Witch asked casually. She had a vague idea already, but didn’t feel like thinking it through.

“He deliberately left out that clause—so he could go back on the deal afterward.”

The Old Witch laughed and put her hands on her hips. Given her stature, that pose—if you ignored her face, she was actually quite cute.

“Then you don’t need to worry. If he dares to break the deal, I’ll make sure he never comes back!”

She was already getting the hang of her new job as bodyguard.

Saul decided not to remind her of that, lest she become angry out of embarrassment.

“We should still go inside first. At the very least, before he comes back, we need a rough grasp of the rules here.”

The Old Witch immediately lifted off. “What are we waiting for, then?”

Saul sighed, “Actually, I suspect that to enter the island, flying won’t work. We need to ride a vessel and cross over the lake surface.”

The Old Witch’s eyes gleamed, and—for once—she didn’t argue.

Saul tapped his neck lightly, and a black vine flew out, swiftly weaving itself into a wooden raft.

The raft floated steadily atop the water.

Once Saul, the Old Witch, and Marsh boarded it, several tentacles extended from the four corners, paddling like oars.

“This boat of yours is ugly,” the Old Witch muttered.

She kept her eyes fixed forward, still mindful of the rule Saul had just discovered.

Saul tapped the raft with the tip of his shoe. “It may lack the elegance of Dodge’s feather, but it’s fully automatic—no need to waste magic.”

“Fully? Fully automatic?” the Old Witch curled her lip. “You always come up with the weirdest phrases.”

“Don’t mind the details,” Saul said, gazing ahead.

Little Algae was paddling fast. Through the gray mist, Saul could already make out the shape of the central island.

Though he was about to gain a foothold in this unclaimed land, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down until all the troubles were settled.

“Once we’re on the island, I must establish the Wizard Tower as soon as possible!”

…

After leaving Rhine Lake, Dodge carefully flew for three days across the Borderland, dodging danger the whole way until he arrived at a withered forest.

At the center of this yellowed woodland stood a towering ancient tree, on which was built a luxurious wooden house.

From the eaves to the ridgeline, strings of milky-white wind chimes hung everywhere.

Strangely, though a breeze stirred them, the chimes made no sound.

Cautiously, Dodge walked beneath the treehouse. He took out a dream chime gifted to him by the Dreammaker, held it up, and said loudly, “Honorable Dreammaker. I’ve found a new Nightmare Butterfly for you!”

Ding-ling… ding-ling… ding-ling…

Ding-ling… ding-ling… ding-ling…

Ding-ling… ding-ling… ding-ling…

All the milky-white chimes rang out in unison.

A crisp, melodic sound instantly filled the air.

(End of Chapter)

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