Chapter 90: Couldn’t Find Little Fu
’Pearls!’
Nan Zishi silently handed over a glass bottle.
The male mermaids, already used to the routine, tacitly took the glass bottle to collect their pearl tears.
The young cub Lang Xian frowned, looking conflicted.
’Why do these fish love to cry so much? They cry even more than Little Mu. I can’t even stand it when he cries, let alone these adult mermaids.’
’It’s unbearable. Truly, utterly unbearable.’
Goosebumps prickled on Lang Xian’s skin. He took half a step back.
Wolf Mu tugged tightly on his older brother’s clothes and whispered, "Brother, how are we going to tell them about Little Fu?"
With Lanxing sobbing against her shoulder, his body wracked with hiccuping cries, Nan Zishi’s heart ached. She gently pushed him back, looking at his pitiful, tear-streaked face—
—and her heart didn’t ache quite as much anymore...
’Whose Beast Husband is this adorable?’
’Oh, right. He’s mine.’
Her hands were practically itching to tease him, so Nan Zishi used her own wicked little hands to squish her young husband’s face.
"There, there, don’t cry. You’re not as handsome when you cry, you know."
While wiping away his tears, Nan Zishi cheekily squished and kneaded Lanxing’s face into all sorts of shapes.
Lanxing felt a strange sensation on his face and tried desperately to dodge, but there was no escaping Nan Zishi’s grasp.
"S-Sis! Stop... stop bullying me..."
He hadn’t meant it that way, but his words sent a jolt of excitement through Nan Zishi.
Nan Zishi: "..."
’Damn, he’s adorable!’
’I really want to... tease him more!’
Lang Xian was inwardly fuming. ’This female is so improper. Look at her, squishing her Beast Husband’s face like that.’
’Good thing she’s not doing that to my face.’
’I would never let her do that to my face! Ever!’
"You adults are unbelievable! A cub is missing, and you still have the heart to flirt here?!"
Nan Zishi abruptly looked down at him. "What did you say?"
She and Lanxing hadn’t seen each other for several days. The moment he saw her, he started crying, so of course she had to comfort her Beast Husband first.
’What does he mean, a cub is missing?’
At these words, Lanxing looked as if he’d committed a terrible crime. He gently pushed Nan Zishi’s hand away, his gaze falling.
"S-Sis... Little Fu is missing..."
Nan Zishi: "?"
Lanxing bit his lip, his face pale, looking as if he were about to collapse.
Nan Zishi finally snapped back to reality. "Little Fu is missing? When? How?"
"That day, you were taken away by that Little Snake, and Brother Hu Bai chased after you. I was so anxious and wanted to chase too, but I couldn’t run fast enough..."
"After I found Brother Hu Bai and brought him back to shore, I discovered that the Mermaid Clan People, as well as Fox Qi and the Little Snake, were all looking for Little Fu. That’s when I realized Little Fu was missing."
Finishing his explanation, Lanxing cried to Nan Zishi, "It’s all my fault. I couldn’t protect you, and I couldn’t protect Little Fu."
Nan Zishi’s expression darkened.
She steadied Lanxing. "It’s not your fault. If you hadn’t been trying to save me, Little Fu wouldn’t have been left alone. And she wouldn’t have gone missing. In the end, it’s my fault."
"No, it has nothing to do with you! It’s all me!"
"Let’s not blame ourselves right now. Let’s find Little Fu first."
With that, Nan Zishi looked at Lang Xian. "You know something, don’t you?"
Lang Xian looked up, his eyes meeting Nan Zishi’s.
"You really don’t know about the mermaid cub being sold?"
"Sold?" Nan Zishi and Lanxing said in shocked unison.
Lanxing was frantic, and Nan Zishi was just as urgent, crouching down to be at eye level with Lang Xian. The other mermaids paced anxiously in circles.
Nan Zishi asked, "I heard from the mermaids that you were looking for the Mermaid Clan. It’s because you know something about Little Fu, isn’t it?"
The two little silver wolves looked at each other. Lang Xian eyed the beautiful female before him with suspicion.
He had previously thought Nan Zishi knew her female cub was missing and didn’t care, and even suspected that Nan Zishi was behind Fufu being sold.
But now, it seemed Nan Zishi really knew nothing about it at all.
And she seemed genuinely worried about the Little Mermaid.
’Looks like I can tell her.’
Lang Xian nodded. "We saw that little golden mermaid. She has two small, golden pigtails on her head, and she said her name is Fufu."
"Where did you see her?" Lanxing asked urgently.
"At the trading post on the coast. A Male Beastman in a cloak handed her over to a Cold-blooded Scorpion Beastman, telling the Scorpion Beastman to sell her as a Beast Slave."
Little Fu was going to be sold as a Beast Slave. Lanxing’s world was about to collapse.
Tears streamed down the faces of the few male mermaids nearby.
"My poor Little Fu Princess!!!"
"How can you become a Beast Slave?! You are our precious little princess!!"
"Poor Little Fu Princess! This is so awful!!"
One male mermaid was crying while collecting the pearls that fell from the others.
Nan Zishi supported Lanxing and said, "Lanxing, be strong. Little Fu is waiting for you to save her. Let’s go to the trading post and check things out first."
Lanxing immediately replied, "Yes..."
The mermaids who could turn their tails into legs did so and put on their land clothes.
Lanxing also turned his fishtail into legs and put on his Jue Sha.
Nan Zishi took Lanxing’s hand. Lanxing looked down at the small hand in his.
Nan Zishi said to everyone, "We’re going to the trading post to find Little Fu. If she’s there, everyone listen to my instructions. We won’t fight if we don’t have to. Little Fu’s safety is the top priority, understand?"
"Understood, Princess!"
"You two have to come with us," Nan Zishi said to the two Silver Wolf Pups.
The two Silver Wolf Pups agreed. "Okay."
She disguised Lang Xian and Wolf Mu a little. The two little ones wore Beast Skin cloaks, so outsiders couldn’t see their faces clearly.
When Nan Zishi and the others arrived at the trading post, the two little ones quickly ran to the spot where they had been tied up, but they couldn’t find Little Fu anywhere.
Lang Xian was frantic. "How could she be gone? How is she gone?"
He grabbed a nearby stall owner and asked urgently, "Where’s the little golden mermaid who was here today?"
A nearby Beastman stall owner answered him, "You mean that little mermaid? I didn’t see her when those Scorpion Beastmen came back. Then the Scorpion Beastmen packed up and left. We don’t know where that little mermaid went either."
"Brother Xian!" Wolf Mu was panicked. "Fufu’s gone!"
"How could this happen? How could she be gone so quickly?" Lang Xian took two steps back.
He wanted to save Little Fu.
He really, really wanted to save Little Fu.
He’d taken an instinctive liking to that little mermaid.
’How could she just disappear?’
"Was she really sold as a Beast Slave?" Lang Xian asked, grabbing the stall owner.
The stall owner slapped Lang Xian’s hand away. "I told you, I don’t know!"
Nan Zishi also pulled nearby Beastmen aside one by one to ask questions. She learned that a golden female mermaid cub had indeed been for sale here today.
After she suddenly disappeared, no one noticed where she went.
After asking around everywhere, no one knew anything.
The male mermaids who had come along were crying their eyes out.
"The Little Fu Princess is really going to become a Beast Slave. Oh, heavens."
"How can our Mermaid Princess become a Beast Slave?"
"The poor Little Fu Princess."
Lanxing lowered his gaze, his eyes red and brimming with self-blame.
Nan Zishi was frantic inside, but she had to comfort Lanxing first. She said, "Lanxing, Little Fu is a golden mermaid. Where I’m from, there’s a legend that golden fish, like koi, bring good luck. Believe me, she will be safe."
She gave orders, "You few, arrange for some more mermaids to stay here and keep investigating for information about Little Fu."
Nan Zishi then turned to the very guilty-looking Lang Xian and Wolf Mu. "You two, come with me for now."
Nan Zishi was just about to grab Lang Xian, but he suddenly backed away, grabbed Wolf Mu, and turned to run, enduring the pain in his injured leg.
"Brother Xian!"