Zong Yuan suddenly remembered that this group of people had no outdoor survival skills whatsoever.
For the past few days, he had either been preoccupied with the mermaid or trying to overcome his fears, completely neglecting them.
Zong Yuan asked, “What have you all been eating these days?”
“We’ve been picking fruits to eat. We don’t have any weapons, so we wouldn’t even know how to catch an animal.”
The animals on the island were all small and very nimble. People who usually didn’t even bother exercising had no idea how to catch such quick little creatures. They would eat the fruit, which tasted bland, while they watched the small animals scamper by, swallowing their saliva.
After they buried the deceased woman, each of them was stained with a few patches of blood, with no change of clothes. They looked like a bunch of murderers fleeing on a deserted island.
In reality, only about three days had passed, but without any signals, food, or clean water, each day felt incredibly long.
They felt as if they had been on this island for at least a week.
Zong Yuan had just enjoyed a delicious meal with the mermaid today, but he maintained a calm demeanor. “It’s already late; we’ll go hunting tomorrow and have a proper feast.”
In the wake of someone’s death, the priority was to ensure their mental health as much as possible.
Zong Yuan had mentioned they would see each other at night, so the mermaid came to the surface after the sun had set. It had taken a nap and was full of energy, its eyes glowing softly in the darkness.
Those eyes were truly captivating. Zong Yuan found himself drawn to them, reaching out to touch the mermaid’s eyes. “So beautiful.”
Mysterious and gorgeous.
The mermaid seemed to understand; it extended its tongue to lick Zong Yuan’s finger, producing a soft, affectionate sound from its throat.
Its tail instinctively began to wrap around Zong Yuan’s leg.
Zong Yuan took a deep breath, his smile freezing. “Are you in heat?”
Why was it rubbing against him every day?
The mermaid buried its face in Zong Yuan’s neck, licking the flesh on his neck bit by bit, each sound it made becoming more and more guttural.
Zong Yuan stroked its curly hair, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
A fierce and invincible mermaid, yet it gave him an adorable, soft feeling.
As the tide rose higher, the mermaid pulled Zong Yuan deeper into the sea. He understood its intentions and, holding the mermaid’s hand, took the lead in diving into the water.
It wasn’t good to always let his wife take charge.
The mermaid grinned, getting close to Zong Yuan and rubbing against him, warming the surrounding seawater.
Zong Yuan was speechless.
Couldn’t it be a little more reserved?
No, the mermaid was completely enamored with him. It was obsessed with that feeling, carefully retracting its sharp teeth, as if it instinctively knew how to bring joy to this human.
Zong Yuan let out a few muffled sounds, enjoying himself. The mermaid surged up from below, regardless of what it had been doing earlier, and directly aimed to kiss Zong Yuan’s lips.
Zong Yuan lazily said, “Can you at least rinse your mouth?”
He immediately realized, wide-eyed, that he was… talking underwater?!
The mermaid didn’t understand him. Its cold lips continued to rub against Zong Yuan’s face. Once he came to his senses, he noticed that since they had submerged, he hadn’t needed the mermaid to help him breathe. “Do I have some kind of special ability now?”
A bubble popped from the mermaid’s high-bridged nose. “Daddy…”
Zong Yuan cleared his throat twice and said seriously, “Call me husband.”
The mermaid tilted its head. “Zong Yuan.”
Zong Yuan poked its nose playfully. “Silly, tell Daddy how I can suddenly talk and breathe underwater?”
He felt as if he were talking to a clueless child, guiding it to understand. The mermaid extended its tongue, gazing quietly at Zong Yuan.
What did that mean?
Zong Yuan leaned in to kiss the mermaid’s tongue, helplessly saying, “Now you can talk, right?”
The mermaid’s tongue was still extended, staring blankly at his movements. 0046 chimed in, “…I think it’s referring to the blood you bit out of its tongue last time.”
What a fool, Zong Yuan thought.
He recalled that incident and looked around with concern. The wound was already gone; the mermaid’s healing ability was frighteningly fast.
The mermaid took his hand, its long nails emerging as it carefully made a one-centimeter-long cut on his palm, then eagerly lapped up every drop of his blood.
Its movements were gentle, and Zong Yuan indulged it. By the time it finished licking, the tiny scratch was barely visible.
Zong Yuan raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
The mermaid’s curly hair brushed against his face, causing a slight itch. It stuttered, “Zong, Zong Yuan, hungry…”
Zong Yuan teased it, “I’m not hungry.”
The mermaid pounced on him, its sturdy tail crashing against him, sending a surge of water around them.
It was quite magical.
Speaking and breathing underwater, along with the presence of the mermaid, seemed to provide Zong Yuan with a sense of security. He boldly wrapped his arms around its waist, and his earlier fear of its scales seemed to have faded considerably. “Darling, you’re really heavy.”
He didn’t realize his own changes, but 0046 noticed clearly. Could it be the mermaid’s odd behavior that had an effect?
It seemed unlikely. Zong Yuan was just anxious, needing a mental remedy.
The mermaid let out a displeased roar.
Zong Yuan whispered in its ear, “Husband will make you something to eat. Can you help Daddy with something?”
With “husband” and “Daddy”, he didn’t mind the confusion in his thoughts.
The mermaid’s body was tense, its skin firm and strong, radiating a warm sheen with a jade-like color. Zong Yuan caressed its waist a couple of times, his hands itching to explore lower, eventually grazing over its scales.
Zong Yuan: “…” What the hell.
The mermaid felt immensely comfortable under his touch, its upper body pressed tightly against him, emitting soothing sounds that filled his ears.
Its voice was truly like heavenly music.
Zong Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gritted his teeth, tentatively moving his hand lower, pressing and stroking around the scales.
Something changed; the mermaid’s scales became soft and warm, almost like enticing jelly, easily breaking under a poke.
Its voice grew increasingly deep and enchanting.
Zong Yuan felt like he was losing it; he was actually getting aroused by a fish?!
The mermaid was ecstatic but still unsatisfied, rubbing against his pant leg, saying, “Daddy.”
“Don’t call me Daddy,” Zong Yuan corrected it. “You should call me husband at this time.”
The mermaid beckoned with its hand, and from the depths of the sea, a massive-leafed plant floated over, enveloping them in a closed-off “land” filled with only air.
Zong Yuan and the mermaid were snugly wrapped between the leaves, which were wonderfully designed. The inner layer had soft, dense fluff and emitted a gentle warm light. Even more delightful was the refreshing hint of mint in the air.
It was custom-made just for Zong Yuan.
The mermaid looked at him expectantly.
Zong Yuan: “…” What the hell, I don’t have this kind of skill. What should I do?
Who knew how to handle a mermaid?
Zong Yuan said earnestly, “Be modest about receiving.”
The mermaid’s tail swayed, its cold and unfeeling eyes shimmering with layers of watery light. Even its deep blue scales, under the illumination and the scent it exuded, became adorable and enchanting.
The scent released during an animal’s mating season was something one couldn’t easily resist, especially for those already feeling aroused.
Zong Yuan sighed, loosening his damp pants, and commanded, “0046, information.”
“??? What information?”
Zong Yuan pronounced clearly, enunciating each word, “Information on turning a human into a fish.”
“…” 0046 felt mentally exhausted. “You’re overestimating me. Just figure it out yourself. Why don’t you negotiate with it to turn into a human leg? If that doesn’t work, just get it to turn out a butt or something.”
Zong Yuan chuckled, “Oh, do you think this is a fairy tale?” He was ready to watch 0046 get slapped in the face and turned to the mermaid, asking, “Dear, can you turn into human legs?”
The mermaid looked at him, puzzled.
Zong Yuan anticipated its reaction and smirked, “See?”
However, in the next moment, his smile froze on his face—the mermaid’s tail began to visibly and slowly change.
Furrowing its brow, the mermaid wore an expression of pain as its tail shifted from deep blue to a normal human skin tone. Then, the tail started splitting, inch by inch, all the way to its tailbone.
The mermaid let out broken cries, unable to suppress the anguish that was building up inside it.
Nothing could harm a mermaid, which was why it seldom got hurt. It rarely experienced pain.
The splitting of its tail felt like splitting a person in half; it wouldn’t kill it, but it would be unbearable.
Yet, there was no other choice. Its human wanted it to turn into human legs, so it complied, enduring the pain to fulfill its human’s wish.
Even if it meant becoming the weak form it despised the most.
Zong Yuan watched the distorted expression of the mermaid in pain, his mind blank. He awkwardly held its shoulders, breathing heavily, “What’s wrong??!”
The mermaid looked as if it might faint from the pain.
A wave of fear surged in Zong Yuan’s heart—not fear of its scales, but the fear of losing it. Trembling, he kissed its hair, saying, “Don’t change, don’t turn into human legs anymore. Just stop. It hurts too much, okay? It won’t hurt anymore.”
He kept kissing its face. When its lips were bitten and started to bleed, he moved its lips aside and offered his forearm instead.
The mermaid sensed the human scent, and even amidst the endless pain, it merely pressed its lips to his forearm in a soft kiss.
It couldn’t bite; it left a loving kiss instead.
Zong Yuan felt a lump in his throat, “I’m such a piece of trash!”
What was the point of changing?! Why bother?! What was wrong with the mermaid?! What was wrong with its tail?! Did it have to be tortured to death?!
0046 was on the verge of tears. “It’s all my fault! Zong Yuan, it was my suggestion!”
The fissure in the mermaid’s tail was nearly reaching its torso, yet with every passing second, its breath grew weaker. It leaned against Zong Yuan for support, contrasting sharply with its powerful and robust appearance on the first day.
Zong Yuan forced himself to remember its current state, his eyes reddening as he realized that it was because of him that it was suffering this way.
How painful was it? No one could understand.
But Zong Yuan knew it had to be a hundred times more painful than the most fatal injury he had ever endured.
As the tail completely split, a transparent liquid began to flow from the center of its tail, enveloping the two halves. Gradually, it underwent a tremendous transformation.
It became two long, fair human legs.
Exhausted, the mermaid finally released the breath it had been holding and nestled in Zong Yuan’s embrace, saying, “Daddy.”
Zong Yuan kissed it and hoarsely praised, “You did great, baby.”
The newly transformed legs were tender and soft. Zong Yuan looked at the mermaid’s weak and powerless appearance, feeling an immense ache in his heart. Would it no longer be the ruler of the sea?
For his single word, had it really unhesitatingly turned into this?
The mermaid recovered quickly. Once it had rested enough, it curiously examined its legs, striking them with its hand without holding back. Instantly, a blue bruise appeared on its tender legs.
It scoffed internally, feeling that it was truly weak.
Zong Yuan held its hand gently, his heart aching, “Be careful.”
The mermaid tried to move its legs. It hadn’t forgotten the purpose of transforming into this state. Turning its head to gaze at Zong Yuan, it placed its hand on his pants, saying, “Daddy.”
Despite its physical limitations, its spirit remained resolute.
Zong Yuan, startled by its boldness, felt himself soften; he had to regain his composure. Worried about its body, he spoke softly, “Call me husband.”
The mermaid snorted, insisting, “Daddy.”
The mermaid went through the entire process of calling him that.
Zong Yuan’s sweat trickled down its face. By the end, the mermaid burped, as if it had eaten its fill. No matter how gentle Zong Yuan was, the bruises on its legs still showed red and blue. Just as he placed his hand on its leg, ready to massage it, its delicate skin transformed back into a huge fish tail.
Huh?!
Zong Yuan’s hand remained on its tail, “What’s going on?!”
Did the mermaid have to endure the pain again every time it transformed into human legs?!
The mermaid lay contentedly on the ground, its tail flicking before it turned back into human legs effortlessly.
Oh, it could switch forms at will.
The mermaid preferred its tail form. Taking advantage of it not switching back yet, Zong Yuan massaged the slightly swollen areas, particularly its backside, which was now even puffier, with a small black spot on the left.
Zong Yuan had been pondering how to clean it, only to realize that the mermaid was incredibly talented and had absorbed it completely.
So amazing…
No wonder it was so hungry.
Once Zong Yuan’s hand left, the mermaid lazily transformed back into its fish tail, having learned to call him “husband”. “Husband, hungry.”
Since having that meal with Zong Yuan, it hadn’t eaten anything. With its enormous appetite, it was truly a shame for it.
Hearing it, Zong Yuan finally remembered his purpose, “…” The allure was distracting.
Forget it; food first. It was already the middle of the night, and there was no rush. The mermaid could transform into human legs and perhaps it could take him to shore to enjoy some delicious food.
Zong Yuan said, “Alright, let’s eat, let’s go.”
The mermaid pulled Zong Yuan along as it swam quickly toward the shore.
The island was quiet.
Zong Yuan found a sheltered spot, watching as the mermaid caught three rabbits using a stream of seawater. While waiting for the meat to cook, he asked it, “Are there any other powerful beasts nearby besides you?”
The mermaid’s gaze was fixed on the glowing rabbit meat, and it couldn’t help but swallow.
Am I less charming than a rabbit?
Zong Yuan, with a forced smile, waved his hand in front of the rabbit meat, “Baby, Daddy is asking you a question.”
The mermaid gave him a second of attention before quickly looking away.
It was hungry.
One part of it felt very full.
But another part was even hungrier.
Human, don’t mess around; after eating, I love you.
Author’s note:
Haha, I heard there are plenty of supplements in the sea. Is Brother Yuan about to start replenishing? After all, he’s incredibly gifted, haha!
