Shen Tanqi watched as she walked further into the snowy night, her figure disappearing step by step. A strange emptiness gripped his chest, and his body trembled uncontrollably. A glimmer of light floated before him, flashing and flickering, teasing at his fingertips.
He reached out to touch it, and in that instant, the snowflake that drifted down from the heavens vanished.
In the thick fog, he saw the child lying asleep on the bed, while the woman stood guard beside him, repeatedly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
“You’ll get better, Ah Qi, don’t be afraid. Just hold on. Father has received the message and will arrive soon,” she choked out, comforting him. Tears fell drop by drop onto the bedding, leaving bitter wet stains.
She hadn’t found that mermaid yet. Her family had brought several powerful cultivators from the Feiluan Sect to check Ah Qi’s pulse, but they all shook their heads, unable to cure Ah Qi’s illness.
She tucked the blanket around him, kissed his damp forehead, and put on her coat to go out.
She had to find that mermaid; this was her and Ah Qi’s last chance.
Walking on the crunchy snow, she held up a paper umbrella and slowly made her way through, asking around the bustling streets.
The elderly men on the street chattered away.
“Daemon race? I have never seen one. If you’re looking for a daemon, go to Wenqiu City. There are plenty of daemons there.”
“What nonsense about mermaids. Do you believe those storytellers’ tales? Mermaids are so rare in this world. If there were really mermaids, they’d have been captured by the Lord’s Manor long ago!”
The Lord’s Manor! Yes, maybe she could inquire about the mermaid’s whereabouts there.
She stood still for a moment, quickly thanked the old man, and hurriedly headed towards Yudong Lord’s Manor.
After she left, Shen Tanqi followed quickly, overhearing the old men’s mocking laughter: “If there really were mermaids, she wouldn’t stand a chance of convincing one to help.”
“What mermaid? It’s all nonsense from those playwrights making up stories. They say that the mermaid pearl can bridge the past, present, and future, transporting people to far-off places, making it sound like something out of fairy tales. If such a thing really existed, there would have been countless people arriving from the future already. Why haven’t I seen even one?”
“Yeah, I heard rumors that mermaids don’t grant wishes for free. Wanting a mermaid’s help is like seeking a tiger’s skin.”
“I’ve heard too, when mermaids fulfill mortal wishes, they devour those mortals alive. That woman doesn’t even have a few ounces of flesh on her, the mermaid probably wouldn’t even bother to eat her.”
A group of ruffians burst into laughter. Shen Tanqi coldly glanced back at them. He knew these were all events of the past, yet he couldn’t shake the discomfort in his chest.
He didn’t want to witness these painful scenes anymore, but the glimmer of the mermaid pearl had yet to appear. Shen Tanqi could only silently follow the woman, watching her shiver in the cold, snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes. His heart ached unbearably; he wanted to warm her hands, to take off his own clothes and wrap them around her.
Why was he so distressed? They clearly had no blood ties.
“Ah Qi…” Her face was pale from the cold, her spirit nearly giving out, hanging on by a thread. “If the mermaid pearl can really take you away, as long as you survive, the farther you go, the better.”
Shen Tanqi froze instantly, her words echoing in his mind. “The farther you go, the better?”
When he was ten years old, he was hit by a flower pot falling from upstairs, causing a concussion and losing all memories before the age of ten. The Shen Tanqi in the book also fell seriously ill at the age of ten, almost losing half his life.
Suddenly, a bold speculation flashed through his mind, perhaps… he had always lived in this world?
It was the deep-sea mermaid pearl that sent him to another world.
This sentence popped into his mind.
Shen Tanqi’s fingertips trembled slightly. Perhaps the deep-sea mermaid pearl really had the power to send people to farther places—sending him, at ten years old, to another world, just to save his life.
With everything falling into place, it made perfect sense. How could someone as gentle and kind as Madam Shen have raised the original, who was so wicked and vicious? It simply didn’t add up!
Excitedly, he looked at Madam Shen, shaking his hands vigorously before her. “Mom, you are my mom, right?”
Madam Shen remained oblivious, as if she were a person lost in memories, unable to hear Shen Tanqi’s desperate cries.
“Mom, please say something, please?” Tears fell from Shen Tanqi’s eyes one by one. He wanted to embrace Madam Shen tightly, but all he could touch was emptiness. “I’ve come back, I will live well, look at me.”
Please, just look at me, okay?
I’ve grown taller, I can wield a sword now, I’ve achieved good rankings in the sect’s competitions, and many elders value me. I have a wonderful husband and three lovely children who adore me. In the future, I’ll cure Dad’s illness and manage the Shen family well, protecting Shuoxia City. I’m doing well now, but you… you’ll never see it again.
His tears fell into the snow, swallowed by the endless white.
As his tears dried up, his throat became hoarse from crying. Shen Tanqi gradually calmed down, like he did when he was young, quietly following behind Madam Shen, wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Just a little longer, please. Mermaid pearl, oh mermaid pearl, can you let me see my mother’s smile once more?
I just want to see her smile again.
After walking for who knew how long, the woman finally arrived at the Lord’s Manor. Unlike the grandeur of Shuoxia City’s manor, Yudong Lord’s residence had fallen leaves of old trees scattered in the snow, and the red plums trampled into the dust, creating a desolate and lonely atmosphere.
The woman tentatively knocked on the door, her fingers frozen and stiff, she bowed her head and stamped her feet.
“Is anyone there?”
“A humble woman seeks an audience with the Lord.”
In this weather, everyone stayed warm and cozy by the fireplaces at home, and no one ventured out. There were no guards in sight at the Lord’s Manor entrance either.
She stamped her feet again, her toes almost numb from the cold. Anxiously scanning the surroundings, she spotted a small figure buried under the snow near the eaves of the Lord’s Manor.
In such dreadful weather, why was a child outside?
Startled, the woman hurried over and brushed the snow off the child’s face, immediately feeling relieved.
The child’s cheeks were bright red from the cold, eyelashes stuck with snow, unable to open his eyes. She placed her hand on his forehead and found it warmer than her own numb hands, yet lacking any human warmth.
But his face was so red, as if he had caught a chill. She removed her own hood and tightly wrapped it around the child’s face, sighing softly as she looked towards the Lord’s Manor.
From a distance, Shen Tanqi couldn’t see the child’s face under the hood. He hesitated for a moment, then followed closely. He saw the woman carrying the child, running clumsily until they reached the clinic where she had taken Ah Qi for treatment.
“I’ve told you countless times, your child cannot be cured…”
The woman lifted the corner of her lips, forcing a difficult smile. “This time, it’s not my child.”
She took off the hood from the child’s head in her arms. Shen Tanqi widened his eyes in disbelief, leaned in closer, scrutinizing the child’s face carefully.
Could it be… could this be ten-year-old Yu Ce?
Madam Shen had actually seen Yu Ce twelve years ago.
Shen Tanqi’s heart skipped a beat, as if sensing that it was fate that he was destined to meet Yu Ce.
The doctor, upon seeing young Yu Ce, widened his eyes in surprise. “Oh my, he’s almost frozen! How do you take care of children?”
Last time, she brought a child with a rare disease, and now she brings one on the brink of freezing to death. What’s with this woman?
The woman pursed her lips and said, “He’s not my child, just someone I found by the roadside.”
Upon hearing her words, the doctor was momentarily at a loss for words. His lips stammered for a while before he managed to say, “Well, you have a kind heart. It’s fortunate for this child.”
He called over his assistants, and they carried young Yu Ce to a small wooden bed in the clinic. The doctor checked Yu Ce’s pulse and exclaimed, “Oh, he’s a little daemon! I’ve never treated a daemon’s illness before. I’ll start with human medicine and give him a warm tonic to heat his body.”
The woman nodded understandingly; she knew there was no other choice; after all, apart from Wenqiu City, nearby cities didn’t have specialized clinics for daemons. The assistants poured a bowl of dark, hot medicinal soup into Yu Ce’s mouth. He couldn’t swallow it properly and choked several times before slowly opening his eyes. Seeing the people in front of him, he instinctively reached for the soft sword at his waist.
Feeling around, he heard the woman softly ask, “What are you looking for?”
She shook the soft sword in her hand, startling Yu Ce. He immediately struggled to get up and snatch the sword from her, but the woman gently pressed his shoulder, urging him back down.
“Don’t move. The doctor is treating you. You’re weak; rest well.” She took out some coins from her pocket, handed them to the doctor, and said, “After he recovers, please prepare a few more doses of tonic for him.”
The doctor nodded, looking at the money with a sigh. He took a few coins symbolically. “It’s rare to see such kindness. The medicinal soup he drank isn’t expensive. You can keep the rest. Your child at home may need it for medical expenses.”
The woman’s eyes dimmed whenever Ah Qi was mentioned, her eyes involuntarily moistening. She turned her face away and murmured softly, “Doctor, you have a compassionate heart. In that case, let this money stay with the child. He’s all alone, likely endured a lot of suffering.”
Shen Tanqi stared blankly as she tucked the money into young Yu Ce’s pocket. In that instant, he remembered back to the time when Yu Ce was ten, wearing a veil hat and confidently asking the innkeeper for a room.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. So, Yu Ce’s money came from here.
His mother, she truly was a gentle and kind-hearted person.
Shen Tanqi’s eyes cleared, his fingers tightening. He wouldn’t let his mother down; he would fulfill his promise to her. He would practice diligently, strive to become a great hero!
“In that case, I’ll take my leave now. My son’s illness cannot be delayed,” the woman nodded towards Yu Ce on the sickbed and smiled. “If you ever find yourself unable to afford a meal in the future, head north to Shuoxia City and tell them your name. The Shen family will surely provide you with food.”
At this time, the Shen family often provided relief to the poor and refugees, and helping this frail child was simply adding another pair of chopsticks.
Yu Ce’s eyes remained solemn as they rested on the woman’s face, still wary. Shen Tanqi guessed that Yu Ce had likely just escaped from the Hidden Dragon Valley not long ago—no money, no acquaintances, wandering aimlessly, at his most destitute moments. Clearly, he had been deceived and taken advantage of, hence his lack of trust in humans.
After a long pause, seeing the woman about to leave, Yu Ce unexpectedly spoke up, his voice hoarse as if scorched, “My name is Yu Ce. Thank you for saving my life. I swear to repay your kindness in the future, benefactor.”
“Yu Ce, that’s a good name. I’ll remember it.” The woman chuckled softly as she picked up the hood from him. “But I can’t give you this hood. It belongs to my son, who’s about your age this year.”
Pausing for a moment, the woman recalled how Ah Qi always disliked his cousins, saying they looked at him as if he were a piece of fat meat dripping with oil—fawning over him to his face while gossiping about him behind his back.
Her thoughts paused briefly, then she added, “I’m not asking for repayment from you. When my son gets better, why don’t you come to Shuoxia City and keep him company? He’s in need of a companion for his studies, and you would be just right for that.”
A companion? Study together?
Shen Tanqi looked at the woman in shock, then at young Yu Ce.
Yu Ce hesitated for a moment, then quickly understood her intention. He was ragged and nearly frozen to death on the streets; perhaps she thought he was a homeless beggar.
But he couldn’t refuse this kindness.
After all, he wasn’t yet old enough to seek apprenticeship at the Rongyun Sect. He needed to find a stable place to settle down.
With this in mind, ignoring the advice of the medicine apprentices beside him, Yu Ce struggled to sit up on the bed and bowed to the woman. “Half a year from now, Yu Ce will definitely come to accompany the young master.”
The woman covered her smile with her hand. This was the first genuine smile she had shown in these days, but it quickly faded. She spoke softly, “Alright then, this is our agreement. Half a year’s promise, let’s seal it with a pinky swear, no turning back.”
Her Ah Qi would surely recover, and then everything would be fine.
Shen Tanqi’s gaze moved back and forth between them, connecting all the dots in his memory in an instant. He was struck by a sudden realization, his eyes widening.
So, when young Yu Ce spoke of an appointment with someone else, it was this half-year agreement with his mother. Yu Ce’s journey to Shuoxia City was to fulfill an old promise, to repay the kindness of the lady, even though silly dragon still didn’t know the true identity of his mother.
Silly dragon, you fool, why didn’t you ask the lady’s name when you had the chance?
If it weren’t for this illness and the lady’s death, Yu Ce would have gone to Shuoxia City to be his study companion as part of their previous agreement…
Without the lady’s death, the head of the Shen family wouldn’t have strictly forbidden daemons from entering the city. They would have grown up together, played together, practiced together. Perhaps they would have become the best of friends, and even joined Rongyun Sect together, childhood friends as close as siblings.
They could have met each other much earlier.
He stood frozen in place, watching as young Yu Ce reached out his finger, hesitating yet cautiously, and hooked it around the woman’s pinky.
“Once a promise is made, it can’t be taken back.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
