The Sea Hag sat in front of her house, feeding a toad and a fat sea snake—just as humans feed canaries.
Unlike Mermaids, she didn't have a beautiful fish tail; her limbs were more human-like, resembling a wrinkled old woman, but with messy, seaweed-like green hair and sickly sea-blue skin.
Seeing the large anglerfish containing Rhine and Aurora, the Sea Hag lifted her head:
"Oh, two humans inside a large fish with a transparent belly, yet still alive—this is truly a rare sight!"
If it were any other time, the arrival of Princess Ariel, the mermaid princess most favored by her Great-grandmother, would certainly be a major event that would make the Sea Hag perk up!
But today, this scene was so peculiar that the Sea Hag even overlooked the presence of Princess Ariel!
"Hello, Sea Witch," Rhine said, "I have come here to ask a question. And you, being the knowledgeable wise one of the sea, must know the answer."
"Nothing in this world is free. Human, if you've heard of my rules, you should know that even answering a question requires payment!" the Sea Hag said.
"State your question, and I will decide the payment based on the value of the question!"
Rhine smiled knowingly:
"I've heard that you and Black Witch Maleficent belong to the same witch coven, and you occasionally communicate remotely using magic.
"Do you know where Maleficent is now? Please tell me.
"And what else do you know about Black Witch Maleficent or your witch coven?
"For example, what are the weaknesses of the giant dragon Maleficent transforms into, and how can she be defeated?
"For example, how many members are in your witch coven, who are they, and where are they located?
"I want to know all of the above information!
"As for the price of each piece of information, you can name it freely."
What?
The Sea Hag was startled by Rhine's question, her cloudy eyes widening instantly, even causing her pet toad to be shaken off her lap.
"Madman! You madman!"
The Sea Hag waved her hand roughly:
"Go, human, I cannot tell you!
"If I reveal the secrets of Black Witch Maleficent, or the secrets of our coven, Maleficent and the others will surely kill me if they find out!
"Those individuals are almost all legendary master mages who have lived for untold centuries; destroying a powerful kingdom is as easy as breathing or drinking water.
"Are you, this human, insane? To actually try to pry into their secrets."
Those individuals… what a strange description. Aren't you one of them? Do you lack self-identification with this group, are you just an outsider? Rhine vaguely guessed something.
The Sea Hag's blunt refusal made Rhine feel a bit tricky.
The preparation he had made was for the Sea Hag to demand an incredibly high price for the information, and then for Aurora, with her extraordinary charm, to forcefully bargain.
He hadn't expected the Sea Hag to outright refuse the transaction!
"It seems the witch coven Maleficent belongs to is indeed extraordinary. It feels like a cross-continental dark villain organization," Rhine thought.
Ariel was equally shocked.
She had heard too many terrifying stories of Mermaids seeking out this Sea Witch to fulfill their wishes; no matter how bizarre the wish, the Sea Hag could fulfill it—at least literally.
However, those who had their wishes granted always paid a terrifying price.
She had originally thought that two humans merely asking a question wouldn't be a particularly grand wish, and the price the Sea Hag would demand would be relatively bearable.
What she hadn't expected was that the Sea Hag, upon hearing the question, was so scared that she didn't even name a price, refusing the transaction outright.
This was probably the first time in the history of the Sea Country!
"Destroying a powerful kingdom is as easy as breathing or drinking water! How terrifying a group is that?"
Ariel listened, growing increasingly alarmed.
"Are these two human friends actually here for such a dangerous purpose?"
Thinking of this, the mermaid princess grew even more curious about the origins of her two human friends—what exactly was their status in the human world?
"Dear Sea Witch," Rhine persuaded:
"I had heard of your rules before coming. No matter what kind of wish, you can always find a way to achieve it—at least partially.
"In those legends, you always demand a high price, but never refuse the transaction itself."
If he couldn't get the Sea Hag's answer, then the clues about Black Witch Maleficent and the coven behind her would be directly cut off!
The Sea Hag was silent, lowering her head in thought.
Rhine took the opportunity to gently kick Aurora on his left with his right foot, just as children often do.
Aurora immediately understood and began to negotiate with the Sea Hag.
The young woman with extraordinary charm was skilled at both leading battles and bargaining or persuading others! Her voice was literally magical.
She first lavishly praised the Sea Hag's immense power, then expressed disappointment at the Sea Hag's current display of timidity, which differed from the legends.
Only then did the mermaid princess, who had mostly remained silent before, occasionally speaking a word or two, realize that the golden-haired young woman's voice was so beautiful, every word like a song from heaven.
Ariel had once believed that the beautiful singing of Mermaids was beyond the reach of any human—even the most ordinary Mermaid in the Sea Kingdom.
Now she blamed herself for how arrogant her past judgment had been.
"Humans on land truly have hidden talents! Two human children, one a knowledgeable Human Scholar, and one with such a beautiful voice."
Ariel thought, feeling an overwhelming urge to protect the two beautiful, delicate children.
Finally, the Sea Hag was persuaded:
"Alright. I agree to your terms. I can't break my own rules!
"Here's how it will be. Your request is actually two parts, so I will demand two payments!
"You pay the first payment, and I will tell you everything I know about Maleficent. This includes her person and the location of the ancient castle, the powers she possesses, and her possible weaknesses.
"If you can pay the second payment, I will tell you other things about our witch coven."
Rhine's heart rejoiced, and he smiled, saying:
"Please tell us. What kind of payment do we need to make?"
Rhine believed that Aurora had already used her natural charm to bargain effectively, and the Sea Hag would offer a price that was at least somewhat fair.
"First, the first payment. The answer is a valuable gift, based on equivalent exchange. Since you ask me questions, I should reciprocally ask you questions," the Sea Hag said.
"I will ask you three questions, and if you can provide satisfactory answers, that will count as the first payment! I will tell you all the information about Maleficent!"
"Questions for questions? That's certainly a common challenge format in fairy tale worlds," Rhine thought.
From "The King and the Shepherd Boy" to "The Clever Farmer's Daughter," being able to answer difficult questions is a standard for the wise!
"It's a quiz, that's great!"
Ariel was delighted, and introduced Rhine to the Sea Hag with confidence, saying:
"This silver-haired human youth is a knowledgeable Human Scholar. There's probably no question that can stump him."
It's a good thing they weren't asked to fight sea monsters or pluck out their eyeballs… the mermaid princess thought.
The Sea Hag laughed disdainfully:
"I've seen many knowledgeable Human Scholars; they are almost all white-haired old men and stubborn pedants.
"I've asked hundreds of scholars who claimed to know everything, and the riddles I asked were precisely the ones I'm about to ask you.
"No one could answer my riddles, no one could provide the answers I wanted! They all fell at the first question."
"It seems the first question will be very difficult," Rhine said, his expression serious.
The Sea Hag cleared her throat, stroking the fat sea snake.
"First, the first question, it's a riddle.
"If you can't even answer the initial question, then the subsequent questions will be meaningless. Because the later questions build upon it."
The Sea Hag posed the first question:
"In the human world, there is such a precious treasure:
"No one can see it, yet countless poems and articles praise it;
"No one can touch it, yet it can be polluted and cleansed;
"It is lighter than wind, yet more precious than gold;
"It is softer than mist, yet it endures through ages, never perishing;
"Humans on land possess it, while Mermaids and other intelligent sea creatures do not;
"The most bizarre, the most peculiar thing about this precious treasure, is this—this treasure is more important to the dead than to the living!
"Now, my wise friends, please tell me, what exactly is this treasure?"
The Sea Hag finished reciting the riddle as if chanting a poem.
Then she laughed.
She didn't expect these two humans to be able to provide the answer.
To answer the riddle, mere wisdom was far from enough; one had to know some prerequisite knowledge. And this knowledge was known only to a few wise ones in the Sea Country; how could humans from the upper world possibly know it?