Chapter 127: Chapter 127: A Visit from the Fox Clan
WHIMPER—
The fear belatedly set in, and Yu Zhizhi couldn’t help but burrow into Yusen’s embrace.
The Mermaid held her gently and said in a low voice:
"My father was a hero of the Mermaid Clan. He was a fierce and skilled warrior who expanded our territory and was deeply trusted by the people of the Sea Clan. My mother was an SS Level female of the Mermaid Clan. The day she gave birth to me, she joined my father on an expedition."
"I remained in our territory, waiting for them to return."
"A few years later, news of my father’s death arrived."
"—He died in a storm in the Heart of the Ocean. Sixteen warships, the entire fleet was wiped out."
"The warriors at sea sent back my father’s medals and a letter from my mother."
Yusen recounted these events calmly. "It was a farewell letter. It said that when the Glacier melted one day, she would come for me."
Yu Zhizhi listened, captivated by Yusen’s story. She couldn’t help but ask:
"So, did she come for you?"
The Mermaid buried his nose in the young woman’s long hair. His voice was muffled. "She did."
"The Glacier in the Extreme Cold Sea Area is never supposed to melt, but she came."
A small smile touched Yu Zhizhi’s lips. "Isn’t that wonderful?"
Yusen slowly tightened his embrace.
"I was so happy the day I saw her. I was afraid of being too enthusiastic and scaring her, so I kept a distance of five meters between us."
"She had a faint smile on her face, but she hardly looked at me."
"I left the Glacier with her..."
"On the steam airship, she handed me a glass of honey-lime water."
"...It was very sweet."
"When I woke up again, I had been reduced to cargo, locked in a pitch-black box. I heard their chatter, their laughter. I could smell the sea growing more and more distant... and my mother, she too, grew more and more distant."
Yu Zhizhi was so shocked she was speechless for a long moment.
’Did I mishear something?’
’Yusen was taken away by his mother, and then? He became cargo sold on the black market to the mainland?’
"Who... Who sold you?" Yu Zhizhi didn’t dare to imagine one particular possibility.
Yusen chuckled softly. "Who knows."
"Within the Empire, there have always been secret, dirty dealings. Over the last century, more than ten Mermaids have been auctioned off, one after another."
"After that..."
"What came after isn’t anything new, just some physical suffering. After being passed around, I was sent to the Lost Tower in Paradise."
"And then..." Yusen’s tone was gentle, a hint of a smile in his voice.
"We met."
The loneliness of the past, the suffering he endured as cargo—none of it mattered anymore, not at this moment, not after meeting his little rabbit.
Yusen kissed her hair.
"I’m not on good terms with that shark. I knew that mother chose him back then."
"Mm," Yu Zhizhi nodded.
She could tell that Yusen didn’t like this brother.
Yu Zhizhi placed a hand gently on his chest. She looked up into the Mermaid’s ice blue eyes and said earnestly, "That’s all in the past. From now on, I’ll protect you."
’My S-Class female status is quite useful here.’
’The Guard Team will give me anything I want.’
’So, asking for a ship capable of long voyages shouldn’t be too difficult, right?’
Yusen couldn’t help but smile.
"Alright. You can protect me."
That night, after sharing many of their thoughts, the two fell asleep in each other’s arms.
「The next day.」
Yu Zhizhi returned to her room. She flopped onto her bed and started making a plan.
First, she had to safely give birth to the Mermaid Baby and complete the fourth main quest.
Second, find a ship that could withstand the ocean’s storms.
Then, go to the Divine City and see Yusen off.
Or...
Leave with him.
After completing the fourth main quest, she wanted to try the [Camp Task].
"Satan, where exactly are the Camp Tasks located?"
Yu Zhizhi couldn’t help but call out to the system.
[System: There are two Camp Tasks in total, located in the Moon Rising Empire and the Deep Sea Empire, respectively. The host may choose either one.]
"There’s one in the Deep Sea Empire too?" Yu Zhizhi was pleasantly surprised.
[System: Yes.]
’That means I don’t have to stay in the Moon Rising Empire!’
"Can I know the details of the Camp Task now?"
[System: No. The Camp Task can only be unlocked after the fourth main quest is completed.]
"Alright."
Yu Zhizhi didn’t dwell on it.
Anyway, she was already pregnant with the baby. It would be born in less than a month.
’So now I can start preparing for the "ship".’
And all the supplies needed for a long voyage—
Food, water, clothes, universal currency, and so on.
Louis’s voice came from outside the door. "Miss, you have a visitor."
’A visitor?’
Yu Zhizhi had been in Paradise for so long, but this was the first time her little wooden cabin had a visitor. Curious, she walked over, opened the door, and asked, "Who is it?"
"The young lady of the Fox Clan, from the Divine City."
"The Fox Clan..." An image of a young woman’s face appeared in Yu Zhizhi’s mind, and she smiled. "I remember her!"
In the Lost Tower’s auction house, the scroll the Fox Clan’s young lady had taken out was extremely precious.
If Yu Zhizhi hadn’t stumbled into the situation, she would have likely been the one to buy Yusen.
Yu Zhizhi followed Louis from the second floor down to the living room. There, sitting on the sofa and holding a cup of black tea in both hands, was the young lady of the Fox Clan, dressed in a fluffy, snow-white aristocratic gown.
She was wearing exquisite makeup today. Her light purple hair was slightly curled, and she wore a felt hat with a net veil that obscured her light-colored, watery eyes.
Seeing Yu Zhizhi, she smiled and stood up. "Hello. We finally meet."
Yu Zhizhi returned the courtesy with a slight gesture.
"Hello. May I ask what brings you here today...?"
She asked bluntly.
Yu Zhizhi knew she wasn’t familiar with the Fox Clan’s young lady. She definitely hadn’t come just to chat.
A proper smile remained on the Fox Clan young lady’s face. Hearing footsteps coming from the top of the stairs, she looked up and saw the figure she had been longing for day and night.
—It was the Mermaid.
Back then, she had traveled all the way from the Divine City to Paradise specifically to buy this Mermaid.
Seeing the Mermaid without chains, not locked in a bathroom, the Fox Clan young lady couldn’t help but freeze.
The Mermaid had transformed to have human legs. They weren’t as beautiful as his fishtail, but...
He was still far superior to any other male.
The Fox Clan young lady’s gaze burned with intensity. She was truly envious of this rabbit for getting to be the Mermaid’s keeper.
The young woman pursed her lips lightly and began to speak.
"I came here today to propose a trade with Ms. Zhi Zhi."
The Fox Clan young lady had no intention of avoiding anyone.
She spoke with calm composure, "I have a piece of information that is very important to you, Ms. Zhi Zhi. I can tell you, but my condition is—"
The Fox Clan woman looked at the Mermaid, even though he wasn’t looking at her.
"Lend me this Mermaid for one day."
She didn’t ask for a month, nor a week, but just one day.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a great deal for the Rabbit Clan Lady.
The Fox Clan woman added, "It’s a very useful piece of information, you know. It might concern a matter of lifelong importance to you."
