Chapter 579: Gerald's Adventures (III)
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Seemingly unconcerned about her plight and inner struggles, Gerald continued making his camp regardless of her displeasure and complaints.
Seeing this, the residual soul of this Inheritance Place felt furious. She already knew why she couldn't forcibly evict him. It's because, somehow, his presence dominated this place.
She didn't know how he did it, but it already happened. Now, it wouldn't be wrong to say that he also owns this place now; his privilege might not be as high as hers, but it's enough to prevent her from making things difficult for him.
Yes, if she truly wanted to, she could still forcibly evict him. However, that would cost her remaining spiritual essence, which was the only thing that was preventing her from dissipating, so she obviously couldn't do that.
She's mad, obviously. She's never been so disrespected before. Even though she's only but a residue of what she once was, others wouldn't dare to slight her like this. This one, however, was an exception.
After setting up his camp and feeling satisfied, Gerald took out a small stool to sit down. Then, he took out a mug, filled it with coffee, and heated it using his energy, all while looking blankly at the still incensed spirit hovering above him.
The sheer casualness of it all was ridiculous, and it made her even more furious. But what truly grated on her nerves was that no matter how obviously angry she was, the man was completely unbothered by it.
"Leave!"
"No."
"You must leave!"
"Why?"
"Because I said so!"
"I don't want to."
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
"AAAAHHHH!!!" The residual soul screamed like a banshee. If she were still alive, she would definitely start pulling all her hair out in madness.
Why is this man so difficult to reason with? How shameless! How could he not show her even some respect? Wasn't he here for her inheritance? How did the situation turn out like this?
"Why are you like this? How dare you! Didn't you want my inheritance? How could you be so disrespectful?"
Gerald calmly took a sip of his coffee and answered her questions in order:
"To answer your first question, I'm not so sure. I was born like this instead. For your next question, yes, I do want your inheritance, but I don't need it. At most, it would be a source of inspiration to me, but nothing more than that. As for your final question, well, was I really being disrespectful? If so, then please explain how. I genuinely want to know."
'Unbelievable! 'The residual soul screamed inwardly.
She really couldn't believe this. How can a person like this exist? And was she really about to explain to him why she thinks he's being disrespectful?
"Hmph! Are you playing dumb with me? You don't know how you're being disrespectful, yet the very first thing you did as soon as you got here was to demand my inheritance?"
"I demanded your inheritance?" Gerald frowned. "Strange, that's not what I remembered. What I did was tell you to stop wasting both of our time with pleasantries. I told you I want your inheritance, but I know you won't give it without a catch, so I asked you what it is, but then you started going irate. If anything, you were being the rude one here because you're trying to evict me for something I didn't do."
"Are you kidding me!? How do you not call that disrespect?"
"Because it's not," Gerald plainly pointed out. "It's called being efficient with one's time and being transactional. You got what I want, but you won't give it to me without anything in exchange. Since I don't want us to waste time, it would only make sense for me to cut right through the chase and directly ask what you want, right? Or is that not how it works for you?"
"That—! That's not..." Try as she might to come up with a counter-argument, she discovered that she's unable to. Moreover, his cold logic was like a bucket of cold water pouring over her, rousing her to wake up from her irate haze.
That said, she's already riding the proverbial tiger's back, and she can't back down now, so she must push on regardless.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "Is that the attitude of someone who's asking for a favor?"
"Damn, you're so stupid." Gerald rolled his eyes at her, much to her fury. "It's like you didn't hear a word I said. When did I start asking for your favor? This is a transaction, dumbass."
"Ha! There it is! And you dare say that you're not being disrespectful? Hmph! You're thousands of years too early to be playing mind games with me!"
"And you're proud of that?" Gerald sneered at her. "You're proud that you managed to twist my words and elicit an irate response from me to satisfy your narrative? Wow. Some cosmic-level expert you are."
"Speaking of which...thousands of years, huh? Is that how long it took you to reach your level? And you're proud of it? Psh. Aren't you just trash, then? Here I am, not even a hundred years old yet but already at the cusp of entering the Transitional Realm. It's no wonder you died with regrets."
The residual soul ground her teeth in frustration and fury. Gerald's words struck at her deepest insecurities. He ruthlessly stabbed at her inadequacies, and the worst part is that she can't refute him because it was true. She was truly trash compared to him, and she can't really deny that because she knew that this man was truly that talented. She's able to tell his age after all.
Whew!
This man has tested her patience. Severely. So much so that she could feel her lifespan shortening even though she's already dead.
"Just leave. I won't hand my inheritance to you."
"Okay," Gerald replied affirmatively, yet did nothing at all.
The residual soul felt too exhausted to argue with him any further. So, she returned right next to the orb of inheritance and rested. If she's lucky, then this infuriating man will leave very soon, and she will never have to see or think about him ever again.
Alas, it seems that she was unlucky, because days have already passed and he's still here.
"Why haven't you left yet?" She couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not in a hurry. I quite like this place. It's serene and quiet. I don't find many places like this in the alliance, so I decided to take a short vacation here," Gerald replied plainly.
Shocked and panicked, the residual soul exclaimed, "No! You can't do that! You must leave right away!"
Gerald faced her and did that infuriating head tilt again, asking, "Why?"
"Because—!!"
She found out that she's unable to continue her words. What can she say? 'Oh! You should really leave because I don't have much time left. I'm desperate to search for a more suitable candidate to inherit my things, and I can't do that while you're here, so you have to leave! ASAP! '
If she said that, wouldn't all her bravado be for nothing? Wouldn't that put her in a vulnerable spot where she could be exploited? Who would do something like that?
She must not have realized that her inner struggle was clear for Gerald to see, causing him to sigh at her stupidity.
"Like I said, evict me if you can. Otherwise, stop wasting your energy. It's clear that you're incapable of stopping me from doing what I want anyway."
She hated that he's right. It's so infuriating to admit that the situation was exactly this, but she's powerless to stop it. She can't win at all. She's just a residual soul tasked with the duty to entrust this inheritance to someone. She doesn't have any direct combat capabilities at all. Even a freshly minted Grand Solar Warrior can easily deal with her, more so someone like this man who's already at the cusp of breaking through the Transitional Realm.
As more days passed, her anxiety continued to rise. It was in stark contrast to the calm and serene mood of Gerald, who's clearly enjoying his time here.
"Are you truly not leaving? Don't you have somewhere else to be?" She asked him, doing her best to hide her mounting anxiety.
In response, Gerald just gave her a bland look and small smirk before going back to ignoring her.
That's when she finally realized.
"Oh, fuck you! You knew!" She pointed at him furiously.
Gerald raised a brow and asked, "Knew what exactly?"
"Stop playing dumb! You knew that I don't have much time left!"
Her chest heaved violently as she accused him, partly because she's really angry but mostly because she's scared.
How cunning! He played her like a cheap fiddle, and she didn't even know! What a treacherous mind this man has!
"Oh! That. Yes, I do. At this point you have, hmm...less than a month left? Yeah."
"You psycho! Why didn't you say anything, then! Why waste my time like this!?"
Gerald faced her; his expression remained as stoic as before.
"First, I'm not a psycho. Two, I didn't say anything because I don't need to, and more importantly, you didn't ask. And last but not least, wow! I'm wasting your time? That's fucking rich! Wasn't that the very first fucking point I stressed out to you like weeks ago?"
"Geez, how did you ever reach the cosmic realm of life evolution with how stupid you are?"