Sure enough, there was a ceramic jar leaning against the damp and cold rock wall.
The jar was coarse and heavy, its surface covered with mottled cracks and thick dust.
She turned to Kaelan Hawthorne and said, "Go bring that jar over, be careful not to spill it, it's for Isaac Vaughn."
Kaelan Hawthorne grinned immediately.
"If I bring it over, is there a reward? Like... a drop of blood? It's not much anyway, just a drop to satisfy my craving."
Seraphina Caldwell rolled her eyes, furrowed her brows slightly, and said irritatedly, "Are you bargaining over this?"
She shook her recently bandaged finger.
"Do you think taking blood doesn't hurt? You think it's like cutting grass, just yank it off effortlessly? It's the blood of my heart, every drop drains my Primordial Energy!"
Seeing that she was genuinely upset.
Kaelan Hawthorne wisely put away his joking expression and put on a serious face.
He knew well enough that such a small matter wouldn't earn him a drop of blood.
Seraphina Caldwell wasn't the kind who made promises lightly.
He said nothing more, shrugged his shoulders, and turned directly to walk over.
Bending down, he wrapped his arms around the ceramic jar.
The surface of the jar was icy and rough, covered in dust.
The seawater inside sloshed with a splashing sound.
He securely carried the jar, walking back step by step.
In just a few steps, he placed it steadily beside the wooden barrel.
Isaac Vaughn stared at the ceramic jar close in front of him, his violet eyes shimmering slightly.
He didn't move immediately but closed his eyes slightly.
A moment later, his fish tail gently flicked.
The silver-purple scales glinted coldly in the dim light.
His body slid out of the wooden barrel, falling silently into the ceramic jar.
The seawater barely covered his navel, the light rippling under the sunlight.
However, in that instant, Isaac Vaughn's tail fin suddenly flicked.
A crystalline wave of water splashed up violently, drenching her face.
The cold seawater slid down her forehead, droplets hanging from her eyelashes.
She was taken aback, instinctively raising a hand to wipe her face.
But instead of retreating, she stepped forward, closing the gap further.
Standing off to the side, Kaelan Hawthorne narrowed his eyes silently.
Something was off, very off.
Today's Seraphina Caldwell was acting too unusual.
If it were the Seraphina Caldwell of the past, being splashed on the face with water.
Even if it was unintentional, she would have exploded long ago.
But now?
Drenched by the splash, she merely wiped her face and continued to examine?
A slight alarm rang in Kaelan Hawthorne's mind, his gaze growing heavier.
He discreetly took half a step back, his hand quietly resting on the hilt of his knife at his waist.
Isaac Vaughn languidly swam two circles in the ceramic jar.
The water inside rippled with fine patterns with his movement.
The jar, half-filled with seawater, was crystal clear.
Yet, in just a short moment, the water level began to drop.
Soon enough, the bottom of the jar was nearly exposed.
The clay-gray bottom gradually revealed itself, damp and reflecting the sunlight.
Only a thin layer of water remained, barely covering the base.
The entire process was eerily silent.
Isaac Vaughn finally stopped.
He raised his head slightly, his long hair spread over the water's surface.
His Adam's apple moved lightly, as if swallowing something.
Then, he slowly opened his mouth, and something the size of a fist slipped out.
The object was snow-white, its surface shimmering with fine light.
It was a solid block of salt.
Seraphina Caldwell stared, dumbfounded.
She blinked, then blinked again.
So... it became salt?
The whole process had no fire, no sunlight, not even tools.
Just like that, it appeared out of thin air from a merfolk's mouth?
But... it came from his mouth, can it really be eaten?
A trace of hesitation floated in her mind.
But that hesitation hadn't lasted two seconds before her stomach grumbled uncooperatively.
She suddenly remembered the last time she ate that piece of roasted meat.
So bland it was almost tasteless.
Now, facing this tangible block of salt, her reason quickly succumbed to her appetite.
Whatever the origin, it's better than having no flavor.
She stepped forward and reached out to take it.
"Give me the salt."
Isaac Vaughn didn't move.
He simply looked down at her.
"First, a drop of blood, then I'll give you the salt."
He wasn't a fool.
Though he had seen her give Evan Orwell a drop of blood, and heard her speak of her oath to The Beast God for Kaelan Hawthorne.
Isaac Vaughn had experienced too much betrayal...
He no longer trusted her words.
Seraphina Caldwell knew he didn't trust her.
She reached to take off the necklace from her neck, using the sharp tip of the chain with the other hand, she reopened the wound that had just recently healed.
Beads of blood slowly surfaced, first dark red, then quickly turning bright red.
She extended her hand towards Isaac Vaughn, letting the drop of blood fall vertically.
The blood bead traced through the air, finally landing on the scorpion-shaped Beast Seal on Isaac Vaughn's chest.
The Beast Seal was originally a deep purple.
But at the instant the blood bead made contact.
The pattern seemed washed by an invisible water, and the color began to fade rapidly.
The once deep purple gradually dissipated, a faint pink halo spreading from the edges.
Isaac Vaughn's eyelashes shuddered violently.
Seraphina Caldwell... really gave him her blood.
Wasn't she the fabled aloof and callous beast-woman?
Why would she... willingly offer him her essence blood?
Another nine times, and he could completely free himself from the constraints of this Beast Seal...
Just once, still need nine more times...
Is she really willing to continue?
Every drop of blood, for her, is a deficiency.
She would become weak, she would feel pain, perhaps even suffer irreversible trauma.
After a long moment, he finally gathered himself from the chaotic thoughts.
He lowered his gaze, silently handing over the block of salt.
Just as Seraphina Caldwell reached out to take it, her fingertip inadvertently brushed against the rough surface of the salt crystal, precisely crossing the wound from earlier.
"Hiss—"
A piercing pain exploded from her fingertip.
She inhaled sharply, her body involuntarily shivering.
Her hand trembled, and the salt block slipped out from her grip.
The block of salt was about to crash onto the hard ground, shattering into powder.
Isaac Vaughn reacted with lightning speed, in a flash grasping it in mid-air.
Seraphina Caldwell, in pain, had tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Instinctively, she put her hurt finger into her mouth.
The tip of her tongue gently licked the deep cut, trying to use saliva to soothe the sting.
She had cut too deeply initially, ensuring the blood could drop smoothly, she hadn't dared to be lenient.
Now the wound was much deeper than before, with flesh flipped over and aggravated by the coarse salt.
The entire finger trembled uncontrollably, burning with pain.
She wanted to find something to wrap it.
Even just a casual covering would suffice.
But as her gaze swept over the entire cave.
Except for the dry grass piled in the corner and the few pieces of Beast Skin laid across the ground, there was nothing else.
Not even a piece of torn cloth could be found.
Where would she find medicine?
A sudden wave of grievance surged up without warning.
Her nose tingled, her eyes reddened instantly, tears pooling.
Clearly it was the original owner's mistake, now her responsibility to bear the blame.
Not only shouldering an unjust punishment, but also being forced to stay in this isolated forsaken place.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the sourness from her eyes.
"Everyone go away, I'm tired, I want to sleep."
Kaelan Hawthorne stood not far away, silently watching her all the while.