Daqiang closed his eyes and nodded, satisfied with the answer. While Red had started with justification born of compassion and emotion, it sounded merely as a way to justify his desire to obtain the promised reward to someone who might not take kindly to being treated as a commodity in grand scheme of it all. Red had promised to pull him ashore because they had come to do a task with a specific reward. All the rest was just noise.

"And you have kept it," he responded after a long moment, pulling his hand away from Red's shoulder once they were both dry enough not to be in any danger.

"This venerable one will do the same," he continued, setting aside the fear he had felt to be dealt with later now that he had found no reason to owe Red a return favor. Finishing the 'quest' would be enough to be even. He pushed himself to stand and tucked his arms behind his back. "Let us finish this and be gone from this place."