The First "Escape" Plan

Jiang Mian felt that all the blood in his body—oh no, seawater—froze in an instant.

He remained in his pose, holding the giant tooth high above his head, his body as stiff as a stone frozen by ten thousand years of ancient ice. He could even feel the bones in his neck creaking and groaning, like an old, poorly lubricated machine turning at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Inch by inch, bit by bit, he turned his head around.

Sure enough, Ao Juan, who should have been meditating and "sleeping," was now floating behind him, arms crossed over his chest. His golden dragon pupils, in the dim seawater, were like two searchlights from the abyss, staring unblinkingly at him—and at the enormous, bone-white tooth in his hand.

"You're awake..." Jiang Mian let out a dry chuckle, trying to break the awkward atmosphere thick enough to crystallize salt. "Um... good evening. What a beautiful moon—ah, I mean, what lovely glowing algae in the sea tonight..."

Ao Juan said nothing. He simply tilted his chin toward the massive tooth, his meaning unmistakable.

Jiang Mian's brain kicked into unprecedented overdrive, desperately trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for this scene of being caught red-handed.

"Well... you might not believe this," he cleared his throat and began spouting nonsense with a straight face. "I—I was just doing strength training! You said I was physically weak, right? So I got up in the middle of the night for extra practice, all to live up to your expectations! Look how heavy this tooth is—holding it up builds arm strength!"

Ao Juan stared at him expressionlessly and slowly uttered two words: "Is that so?"

He raised his hand and gently beckoned toward the giant tooth.

The next second, the enormous tooth that Jiang Mian had been struggling to hold suddenly slipped from his grasp with a whoosh, tracing a graceful arc through the water before obediently and lightly landing in Ao Juan's hand.

Ao Juan weighed the tooth in his hand, looking as effortless as if he were weighing a piece of seaweed.

"This tooth," he said in a flat, matter-of-fact tone, "is one I shed a hundred years ago and casually tossed into this trench. To me, it's as light as a feather."

Jiang Mian's lie had been mercilessly exposed.

He watched helplessly as Ao Juan, using just two fingers, casually crushed a crack into the giant tooth that could have served as Jiang Mian's weapon.

*Crack.*

The crisp sound rang out sharply in the dead silence of the deep night.

Jiang Mian felt his own little heart go *crack* as well.

"I was wrong." He immediately surrendered, his attitude so sincere and his turnaround so swift that he could serve as a model of adaptability. "I shouldn't have thought of using your tooth to dig through your wall. I... I just got dizzy from copying books and wanted to come out for some air."

Ao Juan snorted coldly. He tossed the now-cracked tooth aside casually, and it dissolved into a cloud of white powder that dispersed into the seawater.

"Follow me." He dropped those two words and turned to swim out of the house.

Jiang Mian didn't dare disobey. He could only follow dejectedly, like a prisoner awaiting judgment.

Ao Juan led him all the way up to the roof of the conch shell.

This was the highest point in the entire trench, offering an excellent view. It was late at night, and the enormous moon above the sea cast its clear light down, filtering through layer after layer of water, becoming hazy and gentle. Countless glowing plankton gathered around them, forming brilliant rivers of stars. In the distance, the deep-sea volcanoes still emitted wisps of warm, orange-red light.

The scenery was beautiful, but Jiang Mian was in no mood to appreciate it.

"Sit." Ao Juan sat down on a flat part of the shell and gestured for Jiang Mian to do the same.

Jiang Mian obediently sat beside him, hands on his knees, like a student being lectured by a teacher.

"Do you find training with me so painful?" Ao Juan asked quietly, not looking at him but gazing at the distant river of stars.

"Painful doesn't even cover it—it's excruciating," Jiang Mian muttered under his breath.

Ao Juan seemed to have heard him. He was silent for a moment before speaking again. "I admit, my methods may have been... a bit too aggressive."

Jiang Mian's eyes lit up instantly.

Was this... was he going to lighten the load?

"But," Ao Juan changed his tone, "my original intention was for your own good. The spiritual power of the Calming Sea Pearl is extraordinary. If you can't control it, it will eventually consume you."

The small flame of hope that had just kindled in Jiang Mian's heart was instantly extinguished.

"Isn't there a way to have the best of both worlds?" he asked, refusing to give up. "Like, you take the Calming Sea Pearl back, and I just go back to lying around?"

"You think I don't want that?" Ao Juan shot him a glance. "If it weren't already deeply bound to you, I'd have taken it back to the Dragon Palace on the very first day."

The two fell into silence again.

Jiang Mian fiddled with his fingers, his heart filled with sorrow. It seemed this "escape" plan was a dead end. Was he going to spend the rest of his life in fear under this dragon's control?

Just as he was sinking into despair, Ao Juan's voice rang out again.

"Perhaps... there is another way."

Jiang Mian's head shot up, the sea-blue light of hope rekindled in his eyes. "What way?"

"We can establish a pact." Ao Juan looked at him, his golden dragon pupils appearing especially deep in the darkness. "You help me complete a task. In exchange, during the mission, I can ease up on your training requirements. And if we succeed, we might just find a way to completely sever your bond with the Calming Sea Pearl."

Jiang Mian's heart skipped a beat.

Sever the bond! Those three words sounded like heavenly music to his ears!

"What task?" he asked excitedly, his voice trembling slightly.

"Go to Coral City," Ao Juan's eyes glinted with sharp light, "to attend the decade-spanning Myriad Treasures Convention, and find the legendary ancient artifact—the Bond-Releasing Shuttle."