Chapter 70: I Can’t Bear to Leave You
Dressed in the beautiful Jue Sha Clothes, Nan Zishi left Lanxing, who had been waiting for a long time, utterly stunned.
His female master shimmered brilliantly beneath the ocean waves. Her jet-black hair billowed in the water.
On her upper body, she wore an exquisite bodice he had woven by hand from pearls and shells. Each pearl shimmered with a gentle glow.
She elegantly swished her beautiful, seven-colored tail in the water. Its seven-colored glow was like a flowing rainbow, illuminating the surrounding seawater.
Reflected in his beautiful, star-like eyes was the lovely and radiant Nan Zishi.
He had always known she was beautiful.
But at this moment, her beauty captivated his very soul.
Lanxing stared for a long moment before snapping out of his daze, the tips of his ears quickly flushing crimson.
’So beautiful. Truly, so beautiful.’
"Z-Zishi," Lanxing stammered.
Little Fu took Nan Zishi’s hand with her tiny left one and swam, guiding her before Lanxing. Then, with her tiny right hand, she took Lanxing’s hand as well.
"Mommy, Daddy, Fufu, play."
The golden Little Mermaid swam off, leading a Seven-color Mermaid and a tricolor blue, purple, and white mermaid.
"Not so fast," Lanxing said, clapping his hands. He carefully revealed what he had prepared for the mother and daughter.
Before long, a luxurious and beautiful chariot pulled by several seahorses appeared before them.
The seahorse chariot was decorated with magnificent conch shells and pearls, and its body shimmered with beautiful scales. The wheels were crafted from gorgeous red coral, emitting a soft glow as they turned.
"Wow, it’s gorgeous," Nan Zishi exclaimed in heartfelt admiration.
The Mermaid Clan truly had an extraordinary grasp of aesthetics. Their concept of beauty far surpassed that of any land-dweller.
Lanxing turned and took Nan Zishi’s hand. "Zishi, please get in the chariot."
After Nan Zishi boarded the seahorse chariot, Little Fu and Lanxing climbed in as well.
The chariot was laden with delicious seafood snacks, which Nan Zishi could grab and eat whenever she pleased.
Lanxing took the reins, and the seahorses began to swim, pulling the chariot forward with gusto.
Nan Zishi picked up some wasabi and began to snack on the seafood in the chariot.
Riding in the magnificent chariot of the Mermaid Clan, eating the freshest seafood from the depths, and gazing out at the spectacular and boundless beauty of the underwater world.
’This is the life!’
Little Fu swam over to Nan Zishi, who casually pulled the little mermaid into her lap to share the seafood snacks.
They cracked open sea urchins and shellfish, much like people on land snack on sunflower seeds and peanuts. It was a delicious and entertaining pastime.
Once Lanxing had the seahorses swimming at a steady pace, he returned to Nan Zishi’s side and sat down with her.
"Zishi, do you like the ocean?"
Nan Zishi answered sincerely, "I do. I love it!"
While shelling a snack for her, Lanxing asked, "Zishi, would you be willing to stay in the ocean?"
Nan Zishi’s heart sank. ’Lanxing, I’m a land-dweller—I’m human. I can’t stay in the ocean forever.’
When they returned to the underwater palace after their outing, Lanxing seemed even more dejected.
After all, he was a mermaid and she was a human from the land. There was no way she could stay with him in the ocean forever, so she didn’t know how to console him.
When it was time for bed, Lanxing couldn’t sleep. He lay facing Nan Zishi.
"But you’re in the ocean right now, aren’t you? Why can’t you stay?"
"Lanxing, aren’t you the one who wanted to break our bond?"
Lanxing’s voice was sullen. "I admit I was wrong. I only said that because I was angry. I don’t want to break our bond."
"Zishi... I’ll be really good. Please don’t abandon me."
’Awww, what a good boy! He really is so sweet!’
Nan Zishi rested her chin on her hand and said, "Lanxing, I’m human. I’m not a mermaid."
"Are humans a type of Beastman from the land?"
"No, I’m not a Beastman, I’m human." Nan Zishi decided it was time to explain.
"It’s because of my superpower that I can temporarily become a mermaid. But my superpower has a lot of limitations. For example, if you move more than fifty meters away from me, I’ll turn back into a human who can’t breathe underwater. I’ll die.
I lied to you about the phone because I can’t get too far away from you. This little thing didn’t actually steal your soul."
’The ocean would always be a dangerous place for her. As much as she loved it, she could never stay here forever.’
Lanxing suddenly remembered a time he had gone hunting for her. He had strayed a little too far, and she’d left the palace and gone back up to the surface.
At the time, he’d thought she was trying to escape and had even blamed her for it.
’Could it be that she would have died if he got too far away?’
A wave of terrified hindsight washed over Lanxing. "I’m sorry," he said, "I didn’t know."
’Oh my god, it was that dangerous!’
’He’d almost killed her.’
’As long as she was in the ocean, he could never, ever be more than fifty meters away from her.’
"I understand now. Zishi, you can do whatever you want, just... just don’t abandon me. Don’t break our bond, okay?"
Nan Zishi patted his back. "Okay. I won’t abandon you."
"You scared me to death today..." His voice was low and filled with grievance. "I really thought you didn’t want me anymore."
’This boy really knows how to be endearing. He aimed right for her soft spot and hit the mark, making her heart melt.’
"My Lanxing is so handsome, so adorable, and knows just how to be endearing. How could I ever bear to leave you?"
Lanxing smiled through his tears. "Zishi, are you going back to land?"
"I’m planning to go back tomorrow," Nan Zishi said. "I’ve been underwater for almost seven days, and I’m worried about the little ones on land."
’Hu Bai would take good care of Fox Qi and She Yang.’
’But the little wolf cub she’d worked so hard to save was another matter entirely.’
’To Hu Bai and the others, the little wolf cub was food. Forgetting about taking care of it, it would be a feat if they simply didn’t eat it.’
"I’ll go with you. Take me with you," Lanxing said sullenly.
Nan Zishi asked, "You can walk on land?"
Lanxing nodded. "I can. I’ve practiced."
Nan Zishi thought for a moment before asking, "But what about Little Fu? When I brought her from Stone Village to the coast, her scales discolored on the journey. She can’t adapt well to fresh water."
"I can leave her with my older brothers and sisters!"
Nan Zishi said, "Lanxing, if we leave her with others, she’ll be a left-behind child."
"A left-behind child? What’s that?"
"It means a little one whose mommy and daddy are gone, left for others to raise. She would be very pitiful in that case."
Lanxing looked up at her, his blue-and-purple mermaid eyes brimming with sorrow.
"Do we really have to be apart? I’ve only just started to fall for you. There are so, so many places in this ocean I haven’t taken you yet, and so many mermaids I haven’t introduced you to. Do we really have to be apart?"
"Lanxing..."
"I can’t bear to part with you. I really can’t."
「The next day.」
When Nan Zishi woke up, she found the entire bed covered in a scattering of blue and purple pearls.