"Such thick iron chains, all to imprison a little thing like you?" Evangeline arched an eyebrow.

She wasn’t one to judge by appearances, but when she’d prodded the Snow Ferret, she had sent a sliver of Spiritual Energy into its body. She hadn’t detected anything amiss—not even a shadow of the surging poison source. It seemed like an ordinary little animal, not even a Beastman.

She would sooner believe the poison’s source was a worm than this little creature before her.

But the fact that this Snow Ferret could move through the toxic mist with ease was itself bizarre.

Evangeline’s movement made the Snow Ferret freeze. Its pitch-black eyes stared at her unblinkingly. Her face was reflected in their bottomless, profound depths, as if it held a world of emotions that had all returned to silence.

"Are you a Beastman?" Evangeline met its eyes, her own gaze flickering slightly.

’An ordinary Wild Beast wouldn’t have a gaze like that.’

Hearing this, the tips of the Snow Ferret’s white ears twitched. It lay back down on the ground, completely ignoring her.

Evangeline was left speechless.

She slowly rose and glanced back toward the altar. The heavy iron chains were barely visible amid the churning toxic mist.

Evangeline averted her gaze, gently stroking her rounded belly.

Her trip to find medicine had taken longer than expected, lasting over a month. Her belly was now quite pronounced, and the baby inside would likely be born soon. Danton had said that Merfolk infants needed to be born in the sea.

Now that she had gathered all the necessary medicine, it was time to head back.

She had already marked this location. She would return in the future, once the toxic mist had completely dissipated.

’At that time, it would only need a few modifications to become the perfect place for a secluded retirement.’

Evangeline dusted her palms of non-existent dirt and turned to leave, only to pause.

She looked back at the Snow Ferret. With a flick of her wrist, she produced a plain storage bag, then bent down and gently tied it around the creature’s neck.

The Snow Ferret seemed unaccustomed to it; its small body went rigid, but surprisingly, it didn’t shy away.

"I’m leaving, little one. There’s enough food in here to last you until the day the toxic mist finally clears." Evangeline gently tapped the center of the Snow Ferret’s forehead. That spot, too, was completely bare, with no Star Pattern.

’Everything about this little creature is strange. It has no Star Pattern, just like members of The Swarm, yet it can move through the deadly toxic mist with ease. Even if it isn’t the source of the poison itself, it must be inextricably linked to it.’

’And yet, it hadn’t tried to stop her from setting up the Array.’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Evangeline watched the Snow Ferret in silence, a thoughtful look flashing through her eyes.

’Could it be that the poison source trapped here is also a victim of its circumstances? Or perhaps... it’s also trying its best to contain the poison, to prevent it from spreading and plaguing the entire Beastman Continent?’

Evangeline shook her head. Lingering no longer, she turned and stepped into the pitch-black toxic mist, not once looking back.

Behind her, the Snow Ferret quietly watched her back, its pitch-black eyes betraying no emotion.

*

’It’s been so long... I wonder if Julian has left yet?’

Evangeline mused as she walked on, the crimson gauze of her dress fluttering in the dense mist.

Just then, she stopped abruptly and glanced back, as if she had sensed something.

Amid the roiling toxic mist behind her, a small ball of white was faintly visible.

"What’s this? You don’t want to stay here?" Evangeline stood with her arms crossed, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly. She fixed her long, narrow gaze on the Snow Ferret. Her voice was bewitching and gentle, but her face was expressionless, her eyes tinged with a cool indifference.

The Snow Ferret gazed at her in silence for a moment, its bottomless, Obsidian-like eyes fixed upon her.

An instant later, it moved.

Like a flash of white lightning, the Snow Ferret shot through the roiling toxic mist and landed on Evangeline’s shoulder in the blink of an eye.

It clung to Evangeline’s shoulder, its sharp claws not even scratching her clothes. It moved closer to her neck, its damp nose twitching slightly as if it had caught a reassuring scent. Its long, slender body curled up into a tiny ball.

Evangeline felt the furry touch by her ear, and her expression shifted from stunned to grave.

She had a barrier around her that isolated her from the toxic mist. Not even an expert at the Nine-star Extreme Realm could break through it easily. Yet this Snow Ferret before her had casually entered her Protective Body Restriction without breaking the barrier at all!

The discovery sent a chill through Evangeline’s heart. At this point, she would be an utter fool to treat this little ball of fur as an ordinary animal. It seemed the being imprisoned in this place was precisely the unremarkable-looking Snow Ferret currently perched on her shoulder.

’But if it’s truly the source of all this, why did it just watch as the great Array took form?’

Evangeline’s brows knitted together. She didn’t reach out to touch the Snow Ferret on her shoulder, but she didn’t dare take it out of this place, either.

This was giving her a headache. ’The creature looks harmless, but it’s clearly a massive problem. I guess it must release the toxic mist at specific times. The powerful experts of the Beastman Continent must have discovered this and set up this place specifically to keep the Snow Ferret contained.’

’The Snow Ferret must know how potent its own mist is and is willing to stay here. But my arrival gave it a glimmer of hope. It might have been willing to be imprisoned, but what happens when it meets someone who might be able to solve the root of its problem?’

’Is it trying to acknowledge me as its master?’

Evangeline pinched the bridge of her nose. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but she felt she had finally grasped the crux of the matter.

She glanced sideways at the fluffy ball of snow. "I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood," she said. "I can’t solve your problem. I can set up an Array to isolate the toxic mist and prevent it from leaking, but I can’t suppress the source of the poison within you."

The Snow Ferret on Evangeline’s shoulder glanced up at her but made no other movement. Instead, it closed its eyes again, and a faint glow enveloped its body as it began to actively absorb the Spiritual Energy dissipating from her.

The corner of Evangeline’s eye twitched. ’Is this little thing determined to use me?’

"How about this, little one? These Spirit Stones are yours if you agree to stay here. What do you say?" Evangeline flipped her wrist, weighing a handful of radiant top-grade spiritual stones. The dense Spiritual Energy they emitted certainly attracted the Snow Ferret’s attention.

Its nose twitched, and its Obsidian-like eyes stared intently at the Spirit Stones. Suddenly, a white shadow flashed like lightning.

Evangeline’s palm felt a sudden coolness, and the top-grade spiritual stones had vanished.

A series of CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH sounds echoed from within the toxic mist, jarring to the ear.

Evangeline’s brow furrowed. The next moment, she felt a weight settle on her shoulder as the ball of white fur shot back.

He hooked a claw, tossing the storage bag from his own neck onto Evangeline. Then, he let out a satisfied burp. A wisp of pure Spiritual Energy escaped his mouth, dispersing some of the surrounding toxic mist.

Evangeline’s pupils constricted, her fingers tightening around the storage bag.

’Eating Spirit Stones like snacks?’

’An accumulation of Spiritual Energy can easily cause one’s body to explode and kill them. Never mind the Beastman Continent—even the Ancient Mythical Beasts from the Immortal Cultivation Realm wouldn’t dare to swallow so many top-grade spiritual stones at once.’

"Are you... really just a Snow Ferret?" Evangeline’s expression was cold and stern, but her throat felt tight.

In the toxic mist, the little creature just watched Evangeline, as if he didn’t understand.