Chapter 141: Chapter 141: The Mermaid’s Tears (Part 2)
To Yusen, she must have been a bad rabbit.
She had promised to return to the Glacier with him, to watch over the hatchling as it broke from its shell and offer it their blessings.
...Now, all of that had become an impossible dream.
Pear trees grew in the residence’s garden. When the wind blew, white petals drifted down like snow.
Louis caught the tear hanging from her chin with his finger. "Miss, don’t blame yourself. You’ve already done very well."
"The Mermaid and the hatchling will return to their homeland safely, just as you wished."
"If you have the chance to see Yusen again..."
"You can explain everything to him, Miss. I’m sure he’ll understand."
Louis’s voice was gentle and soft, like a spring breeze in March, soothing Yu Zhizhi’s trembling heart.
Beneath the pear blossom tree, the young man wiped away her tears.
Yu Zhizhi gave a slight nod.
She was heartbroken, both because of their separation and because she had broken her promise—
she had no way to tell Yusen that she truly had been willing to return to the sea with him.
What she’d said before hadn’t been a lie.
"If..."
Yu Zhizhi lifted her misty eyes and looked at Louis. "If I have to choose between Moonrise and Varolan, what should I do?"
That day would inevitably come.
Louis’s choppy black hair drifted gently in the night wind, and the warm smile in his eyes was reassuring.
"Miss, follow your heart and choose the one you want most. Don’t worry about anything else."
"You are the best in this world. You deserve all its love and beauty."
"No matter what you choose, no one will truly blame you."
A faint smile touched Louis’s lips. "So, Miss, please answer me now. If Yusen were able to leave the Moon Rising Empire safely, would you be happy?"
Yu Zhizhi couldn’t help but imagine it.
What if... what if the good news came that Yusen had left, alive and well...
A wave of elation, excitement, joy, and anticipation washed over her.
Yu Zhizhi nodded gently. "...I would be happy."
"So—" Louis wiped the tear stains from her face with his thumb, his voice low and gentle. "Don’t cry anymore."
"You made the right choice, Miss."
Tonight, war did not break out in the Divine City. The sea was still blue.
All of this peace and quiet was because of the choice made by the little female before him.
If the Mermaid had truly died in a sea of blood...
Louis didn’t dare to imagine what a state the little rabbit before him would cry herself into.
Yu Zhizhi didn’t feel quite so miserable anymore.
Louis was right.
Though her separation from Yusen was painful, the thought that he would be alive and well seemed to make it all bearable.
’If we ever meet again,’ she thought, ’I have to tell Yusen how reluctant I was to let him go.’
’But... will I ever see him again?’
...
Back in her room, she didn’t sleep.
She stayed awake until dawn.
She scrambled up and pushed open her bedroom door, only to find Louis waiting outside.
Meeting the little female’s urgent gaze, the young man’s lips curved into a slight smile. "He’s gone. No one stopped him. Everything went smoothly."
Yu Zhizhi let out a huge sigh of relief.
She leaned against the wall, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Then... how long will it take for him to get back to the Deep Sea Empire?"
"Traveling undersea, it’s very fast. At a Mermaid’s speed, he should arrive in about half a month."
Once a Sea Beastman returns to the ocean, their combat power surges, and their speed becomes countless times faster than on land.
Louis seemed conflicted.
He hesitated, unsure if he should say it...
But the story had already spread throughout the Divine City, and it was even trending on all the major online forums.
"Yusen stood by the shore all night. He didn’t dive into the sea, holding the bamboo basket, until the sun rose this morning."
"All night?"
Yu Zhizhi was stunned.
’Yusen stood by the shore all night?’
’Was he waiting for me?’
Louis handed her a photo. On a golden beach, amidst a vast expanse of shimmering white, many people were gathering things.
Yu Zhizhi held the photo with both hands, but she couldn’t see clearly.
Louis said softly, "They’re pearls. Legend says that a Mermaid’s tears turn into pearls. The first citizens to walk the beach this morning found piles of them, each one perfectly formed."
"The news instantly went viral."
"Unlike ordinary pearls, these are of the highest quality. I took one."
Louis opened his hand. In his palm lay a perfectly round, snow-white pearl, without a single flaw.
Like a Mermaid’s enduring love, untouched by the dust of the world.
A film of moisture glossed over Yu Zhizhi’s eyes.
She took the pearl, feeling its cool touch.
’Did Sensen... cry all night?’
...
「The Fox Clan.」
Li Yin saw the post online, a look of astonishment on her face—
’Mermaid tears?!’
She’d never heard of a Mermaid crying. The Mermaids who were captured, no matter how they were tortured, never shed a single tear. On the Beast World Planet, most people believed them to be heartless and tearless creatures, incapable of crying.
In Paradise, in the Divine City, everyone believed this Mermaid was just like the others before him—that he was putting on an act every day, his deep affection a mere pretense to win the Rabbit Clan Lady’s trust.
He was just waiting for the right moment to brutally murder her—
But on the night of the Moonrise Festival, the Fox Clan girl had seen the necklace the little rabbit wore. It was a Mermaid’s Heart Scale.
’She couldn’t believe it. How could a Mermaid truly fall in love with someone?’
After all, the Little Princess of the Moon Rising Empire had died unable to rest in peace.
She had been with a Mermaid day and night for five years, only to meet a tragic end.
Li Yin leaned back on the sofa, staring at the floating screen, speechless for a long moment.
She knew the Mermaid was gone.
He was the only one ever captured who had managed to leave alive...
The Mermaid was free.
And yet, he had cried.
「The Barren Lands.」
The heretic tasked with delivering messages scrambled and stumbled his way toward the abandoned divine ruins.
"L-Lord Shen He!—"
He kowtowed heavily toward a distant, blood-drenched figure.
"The young master has escaped!"
The heretic’s voice was filled with excitement, even choked with a sob. "He brought an ice blue egg with him! Miss Rabbit really gave birth to a Mermaid Baby! It’s an heir to the Mermaid Clan!!!"
PSSSH—
Shen He, who was in the middle of training, pulled the long saber from his shoulder. Gushing blood sprayed out, dyeing half his body red.
"So she really gave birth?"
He suddenly felt the world was absurd.
’A Mermaid, actually falling in love.’
"Yes! Our men saw it with their own eyes, there’s no mistake! This is tremendous news for the Empire—"
The heretic’s forehead was red from kowtowing. He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "What should be done about the Rabbit Clan Lady?"
"What do you think?"
The heretic’s body trembled. He quickly said, "Our people haven’t made a move. If we were to proceed as planned... Lord Shen He, she is the Mermaid Baby’s mother, after all. If the baby grows up and learns that we were the ones who dealt with its mother, I’m afraid it will turn against you, my lord."
A savage grin spread across the man’s face. "You think I would be afraid?"
The heretic didn’t dare to object. "I understand. It’s just a shame... the young master has practically cried himself blind."
"Wait—" Shen He, who was wiping the blood from his torso, suddenly called out to him. "Who cried?"
-
(Author’s Note: From now on, daily updates will be posted at noon! That way you darlings can read two Chapters at once without having to wait until the evening. See you tomorrow at noon!)
