Chapter 64: What Did You Come Back For?
Lanxing’s eyes reddened slightly.
He swam to Nan Zishi’s side and tried to tug on her clothes.
’The only person in this world who can understand me is actually her.’
He didn’t know why he wanted to do this either.
But he just... suddenly wanted to. He suddenly wanted to get closer to this one female who could understand him...
Back then, she had bought him from the fishermen. Although she made him her Beast Husband, she never made him a Beast Slave.
In the end, she had protected his dignity.
While it was true she had abandoned him, it was also true that she had given him a mermaid cub.
’Little Fu is so adorable. I really, really like her.’
He had once dreamed of a future with her.
He had once longed for a female master who would dote on him and love him.
Now, right before his eyes was a female who would dote on him and love him, who could understand him, who could comprehend him.
He felt his heart begin to waver.
Deep inside, he suddenly wanted to forgive her.
"Female Master... my lady..."
But at that very moment, the underwater palace began to shake violently.
"What’s happening?" Nan Zishi asked.
"Oh no, the underwater volcano is about to erupt!" Lanxing quickly grabbed Nan Zishi’s hand and scooped Little Fu into his arms.
"There’s a volcano here?!"
"There is."
Not only was there one, but it was right next to the palace. However, this volcano had been dormant for many years. He had no idea why it would suddenly erupt now.
Lanxing led Nan Zishi in a swift swim toward the exit, but a giant boulder fell and blocked the main gate.
Nan Zishi quickly felt the sea water’s temperature rising rapidly. Immediately after, she found it difficult to breathe and started coughing.
With Nan Zishi and Little Fu, Lanxing immediately turned around to exit from another side, but the entrance there was also blocked.
He changed direction again!
’I remember what I learned in geography class,’ Nan Zishi thought. ’After a volcano erupts, the temperature of the ejected lava is generally between 900-1200°C, with a maximum of 1400°C, just like freshly smelted molten steel.
The surrounding seawater will boil. The lava carries toxic sulfides, which will also cause the water quality to deteriorate.’
Once the water quality deteriorates, the first to be affected would be the surrounding marine life, and the nearby ecosystem would be completely destroyed.
Afterward, a large amount of volcanic ash would blot out the sun, preventing plants in the vicinity from getting sunlight, causing them to gradually wither and die.
In reality, the ultimate extent of the damage from an underwater volcano is closely related to the intensity of its eruption. If the eruption isn’t too powerful, the surrounding seawater is sufficient to contain it.
But if the intensity is immense, the ash cloud could reach the height of several Mount Everests, causing massive destruction!
Nan Zishi could feel it—the water was heating up far too quickly. This underwater volcano’s eruption was definitely not going to be a small one!
’The doors are blocked, so we have to find another way out!’
"Lanxing, is there any way for us to break through the wall?!"
The Six Beast Patterns appeared on Lanxing’s forehead. He roared, "I’ll do it!"
Lanxing shot a column of water at the stone wall. The water jet successfully broke through it, and he swam out with Nan Zishi and Little Fu.
After swimming some distance away, Lanxing stopped and handed Little Fu to Nan Zishi.
"F-Female Master... my lady... you take Little Fu and go first." Lanxing still wasn’t used to addressing her like this.
Lanxing’s clear, youthful voice brought Nan Zishi back to her senses. She turned her gaze to him and saw his eyes, as beautiful and brilliant as a sea of stars.
"Lanxing, where are you going?"
The volcano was too close, and the water temperature here was getting higher and higher, but he still looked toward the merfolk trapped on the seabed.
"They are my people. I have to go save them."
Lanxing’s crystal-clear eyes were filled with determination.
Looking at Lanxing, Nan Zishi felt as if she were seeing her past self—studying hard in school to become a Beast Doctor, working hard at the Beast Hospital to save animals.
"Okay. Go, Lanxing. You must be careful."
A flash of bluish-purple light flickered past, and Lanxing swam with incredible speed to the center of the waters.
Nan Zishi neither moved away nor drew closer. Holding Little Fu, she watched Lanxing from a distance.
At this very moment, the bluish-purple Mermaid Prince was channeling all of his power.
Around him, one column of water after another began to form. These columns reached the trapped merfolk, moving aside rocks and transporting the rescued merfolk out through the water jets!
Here, under the sea, his superpower was magnificent and grand!
Yu Chen was the first to be rescued, and he quickly swam to Lanxing’s side.
"Prince Lanxing!"
"Yu Chen, go protect the Princess and Princess Little Fu," Lanxing roared.
Yu Chen looked up at Nan Zishi and Little Fu, who were still not far away, then looked back at Lanxing.
A flicker of imperceptible jealousy flashed in the male mermaid’s eyes.
Near the palace, Yu Lang and the other male merfolk, once freed, endured the scalding seawater to help rescue their kin.
One by one, the merfolk were rescued, but many still remained trapped by the rubble shaken loose by the volcano.
Lanxing swam back and forth, searching for his trapped people.
"Little Fu, your daddy is so cool," Nan Zishi said in admiration, her eyes fixed on the scene before her. "Even though he’s not very old, he gives off a very reliable feeling."
"Daddy..." Little Fu swam back and forth, very worried.
A few of the freed male merfolk swam to Nan Zishi’s side. "Your Highnesses, it’s dangerous here. You must come with us!"
"I can’t leave," Nan Zishi said, shaking her head.
’If I get too far from Lanxing, I’ll turn back into a human. And I can’t survive in the sea as a human.’
’So I need to get back to Lanxing’s side.’ "You take Little Fu and go. I’m entrusting her to you!"
"No, Fufu doesn’t..." Little Fu grabbed Nan Zishi’s arm, saying frantically, "Mommy, Mom..."
"Be a good girl, Little Fu." Nan Zishi stroked Little Fu’s head.
"Mommy, no, no!"
Nan Zishi looked down, her eyes full of tenderness. "Little Fu, Daddy and Mommy will come back safe and sound."
She gently ruffled Little Fu’s head and smiled at her little cub. "Be a good girl, Little Fu. Listen to them, okay?"
The golden Little Mermaid felt her mommy’s gentle hand and froze for a moment. Her big eyes were filled with attachment and longing for her mother.
"Okay, Fufu will be good..."
The other merfolk said urgently, "Princess, you should come with us too."
"I can’t."
After saying this, Nan Zishi handed Little Fu to the other merfolk and quickly swam toward Lanxing.
Seeing this, the male merfolk were moved to their very core.
"Our Prince and Princess’s relationship is so good. It makes me want to cry. SOB SOB SOB."
"It’s so dangerous, but the Princess still wants to be with the Prince! She didn’t even try to escape on her own. I’m so envious, so moved. SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB. If only I had a female master who was this good to me... SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB."
"Exactly! The Princess is so wonderful, how could the Prince bear to argue with her?"
"Prince Lanxing will figure it out. Let’s go, quickly. We still have to protect the Little Fu Princess."
"But, I’m really worried about the Princess..."
Yu Chen swam over and said, "You all take Princess Little Fu and leave. The Prince is here to protect the Princess."
"Okay."
With that, the merfolk left with the little golden mermaid.
"What’s the situation now?" Nan Zishi asked.
Lanxing roared with uncontrollable anger, "Didn’t I tell you to leave? What are you doing back here?! ... It’s too dangerous!"
(P.S. The information related to underwater volcanoes was referenced from knowledge found online.)