Chapter 1302: Chapter 1302: The Perfect Guardian
Faced with Qin Sisi’s inquiry, Xue Mo’s eyes flickered. In the end, she did not answer her question, only softly said, "I am a bit tired, I will rest first. You should sleep early too!"
After speaking, she lay down on the wide, soft, and comfortable shell bed. A few minutes later, the half-open shell slowly closed, hiding her body within the silver shell.
Qin Sisi was amazed, so she lay down on her own smaller shell bed. After a while, the upper half of the shell also slowly closed, and the light inside the shell dimmed.
The small shell was just right for her small body. Qin Sisi lay on the bed thinking; Xue Mo’s reluctance to speak directly likely meant she still didn’t trust her. She couldn’t keep asking, and decided to take things step by step.
Her body was already frail, after all the strain, she indeed felt very tired too. Lying on the soft shell bed, she gradually drifted into a dreamland, thinking of Ye You.
In the days that followed, Qin Sisi lived quite pleasantly, basking in the light of Xue Mo. Every day she stayed in a luxurious, comfortable house and had exquisite meals.
There was only one discomforting thing, which was that the golden bulwarks at the door and window locked away her freedom.
Initially, there was some distance between her and Xue Mo, but being confined to the same room every day, they gradually became familiar with each other, and their conversations increased.
At first, when she heard Xue Mo say she was the Mermaid Tribe’s Princess, Qin Sisi was half skeptical. Later on, she completely believed Xue Mo’s words and gained some understanding of Xue Mo’s relationship with Hai Cangming.
As the Deity, after opening the heavens and earth with the Phoenix, Hai Cangming came to the No Delusion Deep Sea in the role of a Guardian. At that time, the No Delusion Deep Sea was not as beautiful and peaceful as it is now.
Ferocious and horrifying creatures like the Devilfish, Hornet jellyfish, and poisonous Hydra ran rampant in the No Delusion Deep Sea. Gentle and weak creatures had almost no living space, and the only ones able to contend with these terrifying creatures were the Mermaid Tribe who possessed magic power.
The Mermaid Tribe members had human torsos and fish tails, regardless of gender, they were beautiful and loved music, often expressing emotions through song.
But the number of the Mermaid Tribe wasn’t large, they could only protect the peace of the sea area near the Sea King Palace. In distant places, they were indeed beyond reach.
Hai Cangming’s arrival brought a hope of peace to the No Delusion Deep Sea. Kind-hearted and peaceful, under his leadership and assistance, many ferocious and terrifying creatures were slain, while the remaining ones were driven away by the Mermaid Tribe to even more distant seas. Most areas of the No Delusion Deep Sea became peaceful and serene, and the environment increasingly beautiful.
Therefore, the creatures in the No Delusion Deep Sea, including the Mermaid Tribe, held gratitude toward Hai Cangming.
When telling this, Xue Mo fell silent, her expression became conflicted.
Qin Sisi glanced at her and cautiously asked, "Why does he imprison you?"
Xue Mo sighed and said, "He has been here since I was born; he watched me grow up. In my heart, he is like an uncle or a brother, but I didn’t expect that on my two hundredth birthday, he would invite me to be a guest at the Cang Ming Pavilion, give me many gifts, and say that he liked me and wanted me to be his wife."
"Two hundred years old? You are two hundred years old?" Qin Sisi was stunned by Xue Mo’s age.
Xue Mo curled her lips and replied, "Why not? The Mermaid Tribe’s average lifespan is a thousand years, two hundred years means just coming of age."
"Oh." Qin Sisi understood, her mind returned to the topic Xue Mo had mentioned, "Did you reject him?"
"Of course, otherwise how would I be imprisoned by him?" Xue Mo’s expression was helpless. As the Princess of the Mermaid Tribe, even though her magic power was higher than that of an ordinary mermaid, in the eyes of a millennia-old deity, it was child’s play. She had no power to resist.
Qin Sisi thought for a while and asked, "Why don’t you like him?"
Xue Mo snorted and replied, "Does one need a reason not to like someone?"
Qin Sisi blinked, now not in the mood to discuss such philosophical questions with Xue Mo, she wanted to quickly understand the development and reasons of everything.
"Do you like Zhuo Chen?" Thinking of that handsome and charming merman, remembering how Xue Mo cried out when she heard his name, Qin Sisi quickly guessed the answer.
Mentioning Zhuo Chen, a blush appeared on Xue Mo’s cheeks but was soon replaced by deep sadness.
She and Zhuo Chen grew up as childhood sweethearts; she started liking Zhuo Chen when she was a hundred years old. Zhuo Chen was the most outstanding young person in the Mermaid Tribe, powerful in magic, brave, and skilled in combat. The two young people had long clarified their feelings for each other, and Xue Mo naturally had no place for Hai Cangming in her heart.
Before, Hai Cangming left an impression on everyone that was very perfect — handsome, kind, gentle, attentive, considerate, powerful... Nearby marine creatures all liked him.
Xue Mo also believed that such a good person as Hai Cangming, even if rejected, even if a little sad, wouldn’t do anything inappropriate.
However, the development of things surprised everyone, Xue Mo’s rejection greatly infuriated Hai Cangming; he couldn’t understand why Xue Mo didn’t like him.
Not only did other creatures think he was perfect, but he also thought of himself as perfect. In his heart, only a noble, stunningly beautiful, magic-wielding woman like Xue Mo could be worthy of him.
In preparing Xue Mo’s two hundredth birthday gift, he was already fantasizing about a beautiful future, confident and proud that his beloved would accept his proposal, joyfully become his wife, and walk with him toward a happy and wonderful future.
But Xue Mo’s rejection shattered his confidence, wounded his pride. Refusal of his proposal was a huge insult to him; he couldn’t accept his failure, angrily and urgently demanded reasons from Xue Mo.
The man who was always gentle and elegant suddenly showed a different face, which frightened Xue Mo, making her want to quickly leave Cang Ming Pavilion, return to the Sea King Palace, to her father, to Zhuo Chen.
Xue Mo’s attempt to escape further angered Hai Cangming. In a fit of rage, he imprisoned Xue Mo, confining her to the biggest room at the top of Cang Ming Pavilion.
Xue Mo, terrified and helpless, secretly sought help from passing small fish when Hai Cangming wasn’t watching. The small fish carried the message back to the Sea King Palace.
Upon learning that his precious daughter was imprisoned by Hai Cangming, the Sea King felt heartache and anger, along with disbelief. After all, Hai Cangming had left such a good impression on them before that the Sea King believed Hai Cangming’s actions were only a moment of impulse.
