Chapter 50: The Big, Big Sea, Going Home
A few Wandering Beastmen charged forward.
Nan Zishi took half a step back to protect the cubs.
Just as the Wandering Beastmen rushed over, Nan Zishi kicked a trap she had set on the ground beforehand.
Suddenly, several huge nets fell from the sky, trapping the Wandering Beastmen.
"Fox Qi, run!"
Nan Zishi grabbed the large water bucket and fled with Fox Qi.
Fox Qi listened carefully to the sounds behind them. "Mother, they’ve broken free! They’re charging this way!"
’The Wandering Beastmen are both disgusting and reckless. No matter what, I can’t let Mother fall into their hands.’
Nan Zishi tried to use her superpower, Moon Attracting Starlight, to transform into a Fox Beastman, but her Beast Husband wasn’t with her, so she couldn’t use it.
"Mother, they’re catching up!"
Nan Zishi quickly opened her dimensional space and pulled out a red motorcycle!
With She Yang and the little wolf cub, and with the wooden bucket on her back, she climbed right on.
"Aqi, get on! Sit in the front!"
Although Fox Qi had no idea what this thing was, he sat in front on the motorcycle, nestled in Nan Zishi’s embrace!
VROOM VROOM!
Nan Zishi started the engine, and the motorcycle sped through the forest!
The Wandering Beastmen chasing them were completely stunned when they saw the motorcycle.
"What is that thing? How is it so fast?"
"I don’t know!"
"I don’t care what it is, get after them!" the Wandering Lizard Beastman roared. "I want the female, I want the cubs, and I want that Little Mermaid Princess!! We can’t let her escape from us again!"
Riding the red dirt bike, Nan Zishi was a brilliant crimson blur.
The roaring VROOM of the engine was exceptionally conspicuous in the forest!
The red flash zipped through the forest, leaving the Wandering Beastmen in a cloud of exhaust fumes!
On the other side of the forest, a White Fox Beastman who had just hunted a massive prey animal suddenly looked toward the direction of the signal flare.
His expression changed drastically. He dropped his prey and sprinted in Nan Zishi’s direction!
Nan Zishi raced the motorcycle off-road through the forest at high speed, but the Wandering Beastmen behind her were still in hot pursuit.
She shot through the woods and across a grassy clearing, when suddenly a wide river appeared before her.
"Mother, there’s a river ahead! We’re blocked!"
With five or six Wandering Beastmen about to catch up, Nan Zishi swerved and sped along the riverbank.
The cubs all looked back.
The Little Mermaid pushed open the lid as well, her round eyes gazing at the wide river.
Hu Bai ran with incredible speed. A white shadow flashed past, and Hu Bai took down one of the Wandering Beastmen chasing Nan Zishi.
He pressed a hand to his chest. The sudden, fierce battle had made his body feel unwell again.
’Damn it.’
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he leaped forward, his sharp claws swiped, and he dispatched another Wandering Beastman along the way!
"Mother, Mother, the river..." the Little Mermaid tugged gently on Nan Zishi’s clothes.
Nan Zishi turned her head. The Little Mermaid was waving her chubby little arms, saying in a babyish voice, "Mother, Mother, big river-river~"
Nan Zishi paused. "The river?"
A thousand thoughts raced through Nan Zishi’s mind, and she suddenly remembered a plan she had overlooked!
Nan Zishi’s gaze suddenly fell upon the Little Mermaid’s large water bucket.
Her eyes lit up, and she said gratefully, "I’ve got it! Thank you, mermaid cub!"
She stopped the motorcycle and stored it back in her dimensional space.
Then, she poured the water from the wooden bucket, along with the little fish cub, into the river.
"Little Fish, get in the water!"
The little fish cub was a great help. After jumping into the water, she began to leap across its surface.
"Fox Qi, get in!"
Nan Zishi placed the wooden bucket into the river, and Fox Qi quickly got inside.
Nan Zishi, carrying Little Snake Yang and the little wolf cub, also climbed into the bucket.
The little fish cub swam to the side of the wooden bucket and began pushing it toward the middle of the river.
By the time the Wandering Beastmen arrived, they saw that Nan Zishi and the others had already reached the middle of the river.
"Damn it!" the Wandering Lizard Beastman roared.
Nan Zishi provocatively gave him the middle finger.
"Dumbass Wandering Beastmen!"
Fox Qi, She Yang, and the mermaid cub all joined in, mocking them!
The Wandering Beastmen were so furious they were practically sputtering.
"They actually managed to escape into the river!" one of the Wandering Beastmen said grimly.
The Lizard Beastman’s voice was sleazy yet vicious. "It’s just one female and three cubs. They can’t stay on the water forever. We’ll follow them!"
But just then, the mermaid cub suddenly put in a burst of strength, pushing the wooden bucket forward at high speed.
One of the Wandering Beastmen said, "We can’t catch them. They have a mermaid!"
The Lizard Beastman: "Even if they have a fish, we chase!"
Suddenly, a noble, snow-white male of the Fox Clan blocked their path, his icy gaze sweeping over the Beastmen before him.
"Looking to die?!" Hu Bai’s stare was immensely intimidating.
A Wandering Beastman said, "Boss, their male is back!"
"Their male is back, and they’ve already escaped into the river. We can’t catch them. Why don’t we just give up?"
The Wandering Lizard Beastman glanced at Nan Zishi’s group, still floating in the river, and finally gave up with reluctance.
The Lizard Beastman said, "They were lucky this time. They won’t have such good fortune next time!"
"Let’s move out!"
*
The water was a mermaid’s home turf. The Little Mermaid, who had been flopping about weakly on land, was incredibly agile in the water.
"Little Fish, are you tired?" Nan Zishi asked.
"No-pe~" The Little Mermaid slapped her tail and continued to swim forward.
The current suddenly grew turbulent. Sitting in the bucket, Nan Zishi looked ahead. "Little Fish, there’s a waterfall up ahead!"
Hearing this, the mermaid cub suddenly picked up speed!
Nan Zishi grew anxious. "Little Fish, there’s a waterfall!"
Fox Qi also shouted, "Little sister, it’s a waterfall! If we go over, we’ll all die!"
She Yang hissed anxiously, flicking his tongue.
But just as the large wooden bucket reached the edge of the waterfall, and Nan Zishi and the two cubs gripped the sides in terror...
...the mermaid cub suddenly zipped ahead, opened her mouth wide, and sprayed a jet of water forward.
The surrounding water instantly formed a large column in front of her. The column of water created a parabola, connecting the top of the waterfall to the bottom.
The Little Mermaid leaped up and flicked her tail, slapping the lid onto the large wooden bucket.
Then she pushed the bucket into the water column. Following the arc of water, she slowly swam from the top of the cliff down to the bottom.
When Hu Bai caught up, this was the scene that greeted him.
Above the rushing waterfall was an unnatural, parabolic column of water. It connected the river above with the pool below, refracting the light into a rainbow.
The faint golden scales of the golden mermaid shimmered in the sunlight as she pushed a lidded wooden bucket, slowly swimming down the column of water from above.
And as she moved, the water column behind her vanished bit by bit.
’Is this a superpower of the Mermaid Clan? A cub this young has already awakened the Mermaid Clan’s superpower?’
Hu Bai was a little surprised.
He glanced at the cliff before him and took a different route down the mountain.
...
Inside the wooden bucket, Nan Zishi and the others felt utterly amazed.
She held Little Fox Qi, while Little Snake Yang was wrapped tightly around her arm.
The little wolf cub, oblivious to everything, was still trying to open its eyes for the first time...
SPLOOSH. The bucket swayed.
Below the waterfall was a pool. When the bucket reached it, it popped out of the water with a SPLASH.
Nan Zishi and the others opened the bucket lid.
Fox Qi and She Yang also peeked out from the bucket.
"Whoa!"
That was so thrilling and exciting.
"Mother, little sister is so amazing!" Fox Qi said excitedly. "I want to do it again!"
’What am I going to do with my adventure-loving cub?’ Nan Zishi’s expression was strange.
Then, the little fish cub sprayed a mouthful of water at them, and Nan Zishi and the cubs all burst out laughing.
Nan Zishi looked up. "Where are we now?"
The little fish cub sniffed a familiar scent, looked up, and suddenly began to jump for joy.
"Mother, Mother, the ocean-ocean!"
"Home! Go home-home!"
Fox Qi said happily to the little fish cub, "Little sister, are we at your home?"
The mermaid cub couldn’t wait and swam off in the direction of the ocean.
Holding Fox Qi and She Yang, Nan Zishi gazed toward the vast ocean. It was truly bright and magnificent.
However, the little mermaid cub didn’t swim far before she turned back to look at Nan Zishi.
When she saw that her mother wasn’t following her home, she swam back again.
"Mother, Mother," the Little Mermaid said anxiously. "Go home-home."
Nan Zishi waved at her. "Little mermaid cub, I’ve brought you to the ocean. You can go home now."
The little mermaid cub’s eyes instantly filled with tears, which came pouring down with a WAIL.
’Mother isn’t coming home with me.’
’Mother doesn’t want Fufu cub anymore!’
Her two big brothers, Fox Qi and She Yang, immediately grew anxious.
"Little sister, why are you crying?"
She Yang let out a worried hiss. ’That’s right, little sister, don’t cry.’
Flustered, Nan Zishi pushed the wooden bucket, the mermaid, and the other cubs onto the shore. Then, copying how Hu Bai did it, she picked up the Little Mermaid.
"Don’t cry, don’t cry," Nan Zishi cooed, fumbling to comfort her.
The little mermaid cub’s tears turned into pearls as they fell, one golden pearl after another dropping onto the ground.
Nan Zishi quickly took a glass bottle from her dimensional space to collect the little pearls.
The mermaid cub wiped her tears and held her arms out to Nan Zishi.
"Mother, Mother, hug-hug~"
’I really want to go home. I really want to be with Daddy Fish.’
’But... I don’t want to be separated from Mother, either.’