Chapter 6

RUBY stretched, adjusting her posture. Every part of her body ached. Taking on a human form was truly exhausting.

From afar, she spotted the man who had been her companion in the human world. For years, she had helped the man search for the Magic Charms. Yet Percy remained indifferent towards her.

"You look happy," Ruby remarked.

Percy responded with a crooked smile before shifting from his human form back into a snake. A sense of relief washed over him as he returned to his true form.

"Where have you been?" Percy asked.

"You’ve been mingling with humans for so long, I thought you'd forgotten the way back." Ruby exhaled sharply. "The human world weakens me. How much longer are we going to keep searching like this? I’ve had enough, Percy."

Percy remained silent, his head swaying left and right as his body slithered slowly across the ground. He paced around the area.

"We haven’t met Master in a while. I just hope she’s still willing to tolerate us. Otherwise, we might get banished from Astrick," Ruby added.

Percy stayed quiet. His thoughts were hard to read; he was a being of action rather than words. Sometimes, Ruby wondered if her presence was even necessary to help Percy.

"Dylan really does have the scale."

Ruby turned sharply toward Percy. "Are you sure?"

"It’s incredibly powerful. The magic of Magic Charms is stronger than ever," Percy confirmed.

"You’ve seen it? How far can that scale help us reclaim our entire tribe?"

"How far?" Percy let out a cynical laugh. "You wouldn't even dare touch it if you knew how powerful it is."

Ruby fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. "If we get the scale first, Master will be pleased. But what about Philips? He’s after the scale too."

"Philips’s never done anything. I don’t know why he’s just letting Dylan hold onto it. They’re full of tricks. We can’t let this drag on. The longer we wait, the more chances Philips has to get it first."

"We’re sure Dylan has the scale. But how do we get it? With the magic we have, there’s no way we can even get near to the Magic Charms, let alone touch it."

Percy shifted back into his human form, stretching his arms wide. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out something.

Ruby also transformed into a human woman. Her eyes widened at the object in Percy's palm. "The Thousand Dews Flower?"

She quickly grabbed the crystal box, her eyes gleaming as she stared at the mystical flower long thought extinct in their world. "The one and only flower that can restore anything that’s been broken—whether living or dead."

Percy nodded in agreement.

"This was the flower that helped Master gain her freedom. Where did you get it?" Ruby asked.

Percy smiled meaningfully.

"Now that we have this flower... Percy, what if we take the scale ourselves... without involving Master?" Ruby suggested eagerly.

The sooner the Magic Charms fell into their hands, the sooner they could leave the human world.

Percy stared at Ruby. "No need to rush. I know exactly what to do." He smiled knowingly.

DYLAN frowned as he watched Jasmine’s behavior, which hadn’t changed one bit over the years. Jasmine was carefree, always socializing without boundaries. Whether it was with guys or girls, being alone in a room was no big deal to her. Growing up on her own had made her someone who didn’t recognize limits.

“You’re my friend, sure. But sorry, no discounts. Business is business.”

Jasmine shot Dylan a sharp look. “I’m not the type who takes advantage. You’ve known me long enough—don’t you get me by now?”

“Well, you’re a woman. Women’s emotions are unpredictable. Today you like blue, tomorrow it’s suddenly pink.”

Jasmine laughed. “Ah, still stuck on gender stereotypes, huh? Just like how not all guys are players, not all women are gold diggers.”

She ran her hand over the car’s dashboard. Kyle’s luxury vehicle was decked out with all the bells and whistles, and Kyle had no problem lending it to Dylan. That showed just how much trust he had in him.

Best friends and all that.

Today, that friendship was the reason Jasmine had called Dylan to pick her up at Wester Villa.

“Actually, I called your ‘taxi’ service for a reason. Got something I need to ask you. Might as well hit two birds with one stone.”

Dylan raised an eyebrow as he drove the Volvo out of Bamboo Village.

“How did you meet Kyle? I mean, has he always been that quiet?”

“Why are you asking this?”

“I met all three of you at the same time, remember? Because I did my internship with Kyle. What’s weird is, why do I feel closer to you than him? It’s like he’s hiding a lot of things.”

Dylan was silent for a moment. He didn’t know much about Kyle’s background himself. All he knew was that Kyle never had financial problems.

“Back at university, he didn’t have many friends. The ones he had were just casual buddies. None of us knew much about his family. He rarely went out to hang. I figured, maybe he just had his own life.

“After we graduated, I was unemployed for a while. When I moved here to stay at my late grandpa’s house, I ran into him again while making a delivery to his gallery. That’s when he invited me to stay at his place.”

Jasmine nodded. That was only part of the story. It didn’t answer her real question.

“I heard his house is pretty big.”

Dylan nodded. “A three-story bungalow.”

“But he lives alone,” Jasmine pointed out.

“Yep.”

“So then, you moved in with just him?”

“I’m not sure who he lived with before. When I moved in, there was no one else. Big house, lots of expensive furniture, but empty.” Dylan raised an eyebrow. “Thinking of moving in with us?”

“Crossed my mind.”

Dylan nodded thoughtfully. “Not a bad idea. Big houses are usually haunted. Your idea might multiply.”

“Is it really haunted?”

“Totally! It’s a paradise for paranormal enthusiasts.” Dylan grinned mischievously. Jasmine was oddly curious about Kyle.

“Too bad I’m a woman. Otherwise, I’d totally crash at your place.”

Dylan laughed. “Isn’t Wester Villa haunted enough for you?”

“The chills there are just so-so. Not thrilling enough.”

Dylan shook his head, glancing at Jasmine. “Why the sudden interest in Kyle? What’s up?”

Jasmine looked at Dylan beside her. The car turned into a street leading to a busy shopping district.

“In all the time you’ve known Kyle, has any family member ever visited him? Like an uncle or something?”

“An uncle? Nope.” Dylan parked the car in one of the slots and pulled the handbrake.

“So you don’t know any of his family members?” Jasmine pressed.