Chapter 61: Rescuing the Large Stranded Whale
"Little Fu, hold still. I’m going to put your hair in little braids," Nan Zishi said, playing with Little Fu’s hair. Little Fu quietly let Nan Zishi braid it for her. When she was finished, the little one dove right into Nan Zishi’s embrace.
"Mommy, Mommy, I love it~"
Nan Zishi smiled and caught the little one in a full embrace.
Little Fu was so innocent and adorable; she couldn’t help but be incredibly fond of her.
Lanxing swam over, looking pitiful as he reached out his hands to Little Fu. "Little Fu, come to Daddy’s arms."
The little one just burrowed deeper into Nan Zishi’s embrace. "Daddy’s mean. Daddy’s a big meanie."
’Daddy wants to leave Mommy, so Daddy’s a big meanie!’
Lanxing: "..."
’He’d raised her for five years, yet that couldn’t compare to just one or two days with Nan Zishi?’
’What kind of sense did that make?!’
’He couldn’t really let Nan Zishi end their partnership and take Little Fu away, could he?’
’Then he...’
’His female master and his little cub would both have abandoned him.’
’He would be truly, utterly abandoned.’
’Completely and utterly alone.’
A feeling of desolation suddenly filled Lanxing’s heart, and tears began to well up in his eyes.
There was something Nan Zishi couldn’t stop thinking about.
Cradling Little Fu, Nan Zishi turned to Lanxing. "Lanxing, I need to ask you something."
"What is it?" he asked, turning his head to wipe away his tears.
Nan Zishi saw two small pearls drop into the water, and she looked back up at him.
’He’s crying...’
’This merman’s heart is so fragile.’
’I can’t keep hurting him like this.’
"Lanxing, I found Little Fu in Stone Village, a place on the mainland. Stone Village is a long way from the ocean. I don’t understand why she would have been there. Do you have any idea how that could have happened?"
"Stone Village?" Lanxing sounded surprised as well. "That place is very far, you’re right. Even for a Land Beastman, it would take several days to travel there on foot. How could Little Fu have gotten somewhere so far away?"
Nan Zishi looked down and asked Little Fu.
Little Fu looked up, her expression hazy as if she were thinking very hard. After a long moment, she spread her little arms and said, "HMM... a fishy. A bad fishy."
"Who’s the ’bad fishy’?"
Little Fu tried her best to think, but finally just shook her head adorably. "Fufu don’t ’member..."
Lanxing’s brow furrowed slightly as well.
When merfolk had children, they usually gave birth to hundreds, or even thousands, at a time.
But their family was different. His female master, Nan Zishi, had only given birth to one.
So, without a doubt, Little Fu was the apple of his eye, a treasure he had painstakingly raised.
He would never allow any merman to harm her!
’But... the Mermaid Clan has always been kind by nature. Who would do something like this?’
"I’ll investigate this!" Lanxing said, his expression grim.
As they were speaking, a plainly dressed male mermaid swam over.
Merfolk loved shiny things and usually adorned themselves with sparkling shells and pearls.
But this male merman wore nothing sparkly at all.
A very unassuming merman.
"Prince Lanxing!" the male mermaid called, swimming toward him.
"Yu Chen!" Lanxing visibly brightened. "Weren’t you looking after Qing and the others? What brings you here?"
Nan Zishi curiously sized up the male mermaid before her. He was very thin and young, appearing to be around the same age as Lanxing. He had a brown tail and tanned skin, with a simple and kind face.
Yu Chen said apologetically, "Prince, something’s happened. Qing is beached."
"What?" Lanxing sounded anxious. "Beached where?"
"In the Colorful Reef Zone."
Lanxing immediately ordered, "Gather the merfolk. Follow me to rescue it."
Nan Zishi was a bit lost. While Lanxing gathered the merfolk up ahead, Yu Chen stayed behind and began to explain the situation to her with a smile.
"You must be the Princess. Your beauty is truly unparalleled."
Nan Zishi replied, "Thank you. By the way, what is this ’Qing’ you mentioned?"
"Princess, Qing is a whale. He’s one of the whales protected by our pod of merfolk."
"A whale?" Nan Zishi was very curious. "Merfolk have to protect whales?"
Yu Chen chuckled. "Yes, it’s our job."
Nan Zishi was incredibly curious. Besides, since she couldn’t go more than fifty meters away from Lanxing, she decided to follow them and see what was happening.
A large group of merfolk swam ahead while Nan Zishi followed behind, holding Little Fu’s hand. When they finally reached the Colorful Reef Zone, she saw a dozen whales circling anxiously around a beached companion, crying out in distress.
Several merfolk broke away from the group to comfort the other whales.
Nan Zishi didn’t recognize most of the merfolk here. She glanced at the five who had spoken with her earlier, then back at Yu Chen.
’Could the ’bad fishy’ who hurt Little Fu be among them?’
Her mind full of questions, Nan Zishi swam with Yu Chen to the side of a restless whale.
"Princess, the Prince is here to rescue the whale, Qing. We just need to wait here," Yu Chen said.
Nan Zishi asked Yu Chen, "The whale is so enormous. How is Lanxing going to rescue it?"
Yu Chen’s eyes curved into a smile. "Just watch, Princess."
Many of the merfolk were watching and shouting encouragement.
"Go, Prince! You can do it, Prince!"
With a wave of Lanxing’s hand, several Water Dragon Rolls churned in the water. These swirling columns of water gently supported the massive whale, pulling it inch by inch toward the open sea.
This ability was similar to the one Little Fu had used above the cliff, when she had formed a parabolic column of water to carry them safely down.
It was an impressive Water Control Ability.
Yu Chen explained, "This is our Prince’s superpower. He possesses an Ancient Bloodline, so he awakened an Ancient-level Superpower called Sea King Tide. It’s incredibly powerful."
The enormous whale was stranded on the shoal, making the violet-blue merman look tiny in comparison.
However, Lanxing’s arrival seemed to calm the whale. The two appeared to communicate in low tones for a moment before Lanxing began using his power again to pull the whale from the shallows.
Many of the other male merfolk gathered around the whale, finding places where they could push to help.
The sight was so grand and majestic that Nan Zishi found herself completely mesmerized.
’So this is a merman’s duty. This is Lanxing’s duty.’
Yu Chen asked Nan Zishi curiously, "Princess, a mermaid as beautiful as you ought to be famous throughout the seas. How is it that I’ve never heard of you before? If you don’t mind my asking, which region are your parents from?"
’Is he asking for my whole life story?’
Nan Zishi replied with a perfectly straight face, "I have no mother or father. I’m an orphan."
"An orphan?" Yu Chen looked surprised, his eyes scanning her from head to tail.
Nan Zishi nodded. "That’s right."
When Little Fu heard her mommy say she was an orphan, the little one’s heart ached. The soft little cub wrapped her arms around Nan Zishi.
’Little girls are so sweet.’
Nan Zishi hugged Little Fu, ruffling her hair. "It’s okay, Mommy’s fine."
"Mhm, okay."
Another group of merfolk swam over from the distance. Yu Chen smiled again. "Look, Princess! Princess Chuchen, Prince Luochuan, and Prince Mu Yang have all come to help!"
A beautiful female mermaid with a tail the color of the morning clouds, a crimson-tailed merman, and a yellow-green merman swam over.
After greeting Lanxing, they took up positions on either side of the whale, Qing.
The pod of whales called out in unison, spouting water as if to express their gratitude.
Then, the four noble Royal Merfolk began to use their Water Abilities in unison, unleashing their Ancient-level Superpowers simultaneously.
A massive wave surged, successfully carrying the whale Qing from the shallows and back into the deep sea!
The crowd of merfolk erupted in joyous cheers at the sight.
"Hooray for Princess Chuchen! Hooray for Prince Lanxing, Prince Luochuan, and Prince Mu Yang!"
The whales breached the surface, spouting water high into the air in response.
Watching the scene unfold, Nan Zishi found herself deeply moved.
Yu Chen swam gracefully before Nan Zishi and smiled. "Princess, all the whales of the East Sea are here now. We can begin their cleaning."