SSEWC Chapter 74

After a month of covert investigation under the command of Fu Yunyu, they finally pinpointed the location where Fu Yunwei stored the eyes of the merfolk within the now-abandoned alchemy pavilion.

The folklore portraying merfolk as “divine beasts” among the common folk holds true, as their eyes are believed to possess the power to ward off misfortune and evil.

If Fu Yunwei continues to hold the eyes of the merfolk, it would be challenging for Fu Yunyu to completely overthrow his influence, given the mystical power associated with the eyes. Therefore, reclaiming the merfolk’s eyes is equally urgent for her.

However, according to information provided by her undercover guards, Fu Yunwei seems to have set up numerous traps within the alchemy pavilion and stationed many guards. Sneaking in discreetly poses a considerable challenge.

So, on this evening, she summoned He Heng and gathered her subordinates to discuss the specifics of infiltrating the alchemy pavilion.

At this moment, Fu Yunyu stood before the assembled group and said, “Tonight’s mission to sneak into the alchemy pavilion and retrieve the merfolk’s eyes is of utmost importance. We must ensure that the plan is foolproof. Therefore, I need a few skilled individuals to volunteer.”

As she finished speaking, several adept guards from the crowd stepped forward volunteering their services.

However, after Fu Yunyu had selected the team, she noticed He Heng sitting on the side, legs crossed, sipping tea. He kept pointing at himself with his fingers, raising an eyebrow teasingly at her.

Fu Yunyu: “What do you mean?”

He Heng placed the tea cup on the table, “I mean, me.”

“Within the entire palace, can you find anyone else with skills as good as mine?”

Ignoring his words, Fu Yunyu asked, “Are you willing to go?”

“Yes.” He Heng nodded, “I must personally retrieve Qiao Ran’s eyes to put my mind at ease.”

After hearing this, Fu Yunyu fell into silence. It wasn’t that she was concerned about He Heng’s skills, as he was a man capable of punching through walls with a single blow.

She was somewhat worried that, given He Heng’s unconventional nature, he might stir up some trouble. However, looking at his determined expression, with an air of “If you don’t let me go, none of you will,” Fu Yunyu decided to compromise.

She sighed, saying, “Well, make sure to discuss thoroughly before setting out. Don’t let anything go wrong during the execution of the plan.”

He Heng, however, was dismissive, “How could anything go wrong? I’ll go back first and return to you at midnight.”

With that, he confidently crossed the threshold, hands behind his back, preparing to visit the Lin Yuan Pavilion to instruct the little mermaid to stay put.

Close to midnight, He Heng and the undercover agents under Fu Yunyu convened in the backyard of the alchemy pavilion, ready to commence their plan.

Simultaneously, four other figures dressed in black were lurking in the dark night.

They navigated the winding and twisting paths with ease, arriving at the entrance of the Lin Yuan Pavilion.

In the nighttime silence that enveloped the majestic palace, only the sound of cicadas remained. A crescent moon hung in the sky, casting sparse rays of light.

However, at that moment, a gathering of dark clouds once again obscured the sky, shrouding the only source of light. The land was once more enveloped in shadows.

The leader of the group, moving with stealth, gently pushed open the palace doors. From his pocket, he pulled out a uniquely shaped concealed weapon. As he tossed the weapon into the palace, he swiftly released the latch on top.

With a crisp “snap!” sound, the tip of the concealed weapon emitted a dense mist. The smoke quickly spread through the halls of the Lin Yuan Pavilion.

The next moment, the person closed the palace doors, turned to the man behind him, and spoke with great respect, “Your Highness, this is a specially crafted sleeping drug. Its effect is extremely potent. Within half a quarter of an hour, all breathing creatures inside will fall into unconsciousness. Then, we can take the opportunity to quietly extract the mermaid without anyone noticing.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Yunwei couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy, “How strong is the potency of this drug? I don’t want him turning into a lifeless fish by the time we’re done.”

Ever since Li Yu informed him that He Heng was nurturing a blind-silver-tailed mermaid in the Lin Yuan Pavilion and treasured it dearly, Fu Yunwei suddenly understood. It turned out that He Heng was playing a tricky game with the mermaid’s emotions.

If He Heng had affection for this mermaid, it would explain his hostile attitude towards Fu Yunwei that day, considering he was the one who gouged out the mermaid’s eyes.

Upon learning this information, Fu Yunwei immediately shifted his focus to Qiao Ran. The more He Heng cherished the mermaid, the more Fu Yunwei desired him to experience the taste of pain.

He wondered what He Heng’s reaction would be if he were to use the mermaid as leverage. Last time, he punched through a wall. Would he break through the wall this time?

The thought of the various explosive reactions He Heng might exhibit upon discovering Qiao Ran missing made Fu Yunwei uncontrollably excited.

Just then, Zhang San—the subordinate who had administered the sleeping drug—leaned in and whispered to Fu Yunwei, “Don’t worry, Your Excellency. This sleeping drug will only render him unconscious; it won’t take anyone’s life. We just need to wait outside this door until the effects wear off, and then we can go in.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Yunwei nodded and, along with the others, retreated to a concealed corner, waiting for the effects of the sleeping drug to wear off.

They waited outside the door for quite some time. After about an hour, Fu Yunwei became impatient. He turned to urge, “Zhang San, has the drug’s effect completely worn off now? If we wait any longer, it will be dawn.”

“It’s worn off, it’s worn off. It should be fine now.” Zhang San smiled and looked at Fu Yunwei, then gently pushed open the doors of the Lin Yuan Pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, the little mermaid was peacefully sleeping on a shell bed specially made for him by He Heng. He remained blissfully unaware of everything that had transpired in the palace just moments ago.

At that moment, a rough and pointed object lightly touched Qiao Ran’s arm, prompting him to emit a soft hum in his sleep.

Qiao Ran, not wanting to be bothered by the irritating movement, buried his face in the shell, preparing to continue sleeping.

However, his arm was touched again, once, twice, thrice.

Frustrated, the little mermaid turned over, letting out an dissatisfied murmur. It seemed that something was gently nibbling on his fish tail, attempting to wake him.

This time, Qiao Ran couldn’t fall back asleep. Rubbing his nose wearily, he sat up from the shell bed and asked, “What’s going on?”

The next moment, that familiar touch once again lightly brushed against his back and fish tail, as if trying to push him away from that spot.

Qiao Ran reached out and felt the rough snout of a crocodile and its granular scales.

“Little Fish, what’s going on?” Qiao Ran was puzzled.

He couldn’t understand why his well-behaved pet crocodile would disturb his sleep in such an unusual manner tonight.

However, right after that, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the palace doors, “Tick-tock! Tick-tock!” Alarmed, the little mermaid immediately perked up his ears.

He immediately discerned that those were the footsteps of strangers, and there seemed to be quite a few of them.

Despite the noticeable commotion inside the palace, it didn’t attract the attention of any servants. This strange phenomenon made the little mermaid furrow his brows. He could easily infer that something might be amiss in the Lin Yuan Pavilion at this moment.

With this in mind, he reached out, hugging two bay crocodiles, and slowly submerged beneath a pile of lotus leaves, preparing to quietly observe the situation.

These two bay crocodiles were originally sent to He Heng’s kitchen as a rare delicacy by the emperor. However, once Qiao Ran found out, he went to He Heng to discuss whether they could keep the crocodiles as pets instead of eating them. After all, He Heng had mentioned wanting some pets, and now, here were two ready-made ones. No need to go to the seafood market.

Upon hearing this, He Heng immediately shook his head, “How can we use such dangerous crocodiles as pets? Aren’t you afraid of being torn to pieces while you sleep?”

However, Qiao Ran reassured him repeatedly, claiming that all the sea and river creatures listened to him. When he was in the sea, even the great white sharks were his good friends. These two bay crocodiles were harmless.

Then, the little mermaid tugged at He Heng’s clothes and, using a coaxing tone, said, “Little Fish and Little Crocodile are very well-behaved. They won’t bite people.”

He Heng thought, well, he even gave them names, “Little Fish” and “Little Crocodile.” How could he refuse to let him keep them?

So, these two bay crocodiles were placed in the artificial canal in the Lin Yuan Pavilion and stayed with Qiao Ran ever since.

However, just to be safe, He Heng made a three-point agreement with him. If Little Fish and Little Crocodile ever exhibited aggressive behavior, they would be dealt with immediately.

Qiao Ran simply responded with a nonchalant “oh” and, soon after, used the large crocodile as a pillow right in front of He Heng’s astonished eyes.

As it turned out, things went exactly as Qiao Ran said. The two bay crocodiles turned out to be obedient pets. He Heng had someone feed them two buckets of fish every morning and evening. The rest of the time, the crocodiles either napped or quietly stayed by Qiao Ran’s side, never biting anyone.

They were typically calm in the evenings, never disturbing Qiao Ran’s sleep. However, tonight, Little Fish and Little Crocodile, contrary to their usual behavior, woke him up.

Little did they know that uninvited guests had entered the mansion.

At that moment, a “snap!” sounded as someone lit an oil lamp.

Seemingly aware that there would be no one to stop them in the mansion at this time, their footsteps sounded bold, and their conversation was unreserved.

Qiao Ran heard the rough voice of a man taking the lead, “Your Highness, the fish is in this pond. It’s probably already unconscious. We just need to fish him out.”

Qiao Ran: “…”

He could probably guess that the “fish” the man referred to was himself. They likely used some method to render the mansion’s servants unconscious, but he couldn’t fathom why it didn’t affect the aquatic creatures underwater.

The next moment,

Another male voice chimed in, “Why haven’t I seen it? If the fish is unconscious, it should float to the water’s surface, right?”

“Oh, this?” Zhang San scratched his head, “Maybe he’s a bit heavy?”

Qiao Ran: “…”

Upon hearing “he’s a bit heavy”, the little mermaid instinctively grasped a handful of underwater seaweed.

Shortly after, accompanied by the sound of footsteps getting closer, “Tick-tock! Tick-tock!” they approached.

Seeing this, Qiao Ran dared not make a sound, remaining submerged underwater, waiting for their next move.

Although the group on the other side was likely well-trained palace assassins, the indoor water area constructed by He Heng was exceptionally deep, with a depth of nearly three meters. One end of the artificial canal even connected to the Tianchi Lake.

If it were on land, Qiao Ran would undoubtedly be no match for them, but once it came to the water, the situation could be different.

At this moment, Fu Yunwei, holding an oil lamp, stood at the edge of the lake. He raised his gaze and looked ahead. In the dim light, the pool water, shimmering with a mysterious glow, seemed even more unfathomable, resembling a bottomless abyss with no end in sight, creating an eerie feeling.

A cluster of lotus leaves and lotus flowers floated on the dim lake surface.

At this moment, illuminated by the dim light, the atmosphere became increasingly eerie. It felt as if some unknown danger lurked in the depths of the lake, ready to strike at any moment. Moreover, he couldn’t see any trace of the mermaid.

Gazing at the somewhat unsettling scene before him, Fu Yunwei felt a knot in his throat, and suddenly, the desire to get closer vanished.

He turned to Zhang San and his subordinates, saying, “You, go check it out.”

“Yes, sir.”

To be honest, Zhang San also felt a bit uneasy. After all, he heard that this mermaid was no ordinary creature—it was a divine beast, rumored to have a touch of evil nature. Moreover, Fu Yunwei had deceived the mermaid by taking its eyes earlier, which might have left some resentment.

However, he couldn’t disobey the Crown Prince’s orders. Reluctantly, he led two subordinates to the edge of the pond and used bamboo poles to push aside the lotus leaves.

At the moment they moved the leaves, the once calm lake suddenly stirred violently, and a few drops of icy lake water splashed onto Zhang San’s face, causing him to stiffen.

“What was that?”

At that moment, Fu Yunwei’s shout brought Zhang San’s attention back.

Turning around, Zhang San saw Fu Yunwei pointing excitedly at the rapidly moving ripples on one side of the lake and the elusive silver scales beneath the water’s surface.

“There! Found him!”

Upon hearing this, the other two immediately took off their outer clothes, revealing wetsuits underneath, preparing to jump into the artificial canal.

Just as Zhang San was about to leap into the water, Fu Yunwei stopped him.

“Wait a minute, didn’t you use a sedative? Why is the fish still moving?”

“Your Highness,” Zhang San responded with a hesitant tone, “Maybe it doesn’t dissolve in water. I forgot to do a water-solubility test.”

With that, to avoid further questioning from Fu Yunwei, he jumped into the lake.

The chilly water sent shivers down Zhang San’s spine. When he regained his composure, the mermaid with the silver tail had already vanished.

He had no choice but to swim forward, pushing aside layers of aquatic plants like a headless fly. Underwater, Zhang San’s vision was greatly obstructed, and the scene ahead became blurry, making it challenging to pinpoint the target.

However, at that moment, he distinctly felt something moving in the lotus bed ahead, pushing aside the roots of the lotus plants and swimming through.

Although the underwater environment was pitch black, making it difficult for Zhang San to clearly see the creature, he could unmistakably observe a moving tail.

What else could it be other than the mermaid?

With this thought in mind, he swam towards it at the fastest speed possible. As he approached the lotus bed, he deliberately slowed down to avoid alerting the creature.

The next moment, Zhang San fiercely grabbed the moving object in front of him. Simultaneously, he surfaced, gasping for air, and exclaimed, “Caught you!”

However, at that moment, he sensed the hard texture of the creature in his arms and vaguely felt that something was amiss.

Was a mermaid supposed to be this rigid?

Were there protruding thorn-like scales on its back?

In the brief seconds of confusion in Zhang San’s mind, a sudden whiff of a bloody odor filled the air, and from the shore, Fu Yunwei’s voice rang out in alarm.

“Damn it! Look carefully at what you’ve caught!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang San suddenly lowered his head to look, only to meet the pitch-black eyes of the crocodile.

It turned out he was riding on a huge crocodile that was about two to three meters long.

In that instant, Zhang San was almost scared out of his wits, “Ah ah ah ah!”

His screams echoed throughout the entire hall. At the same time, the crocodile abruptly opened its jaws, flipped over, and directly bit down on Zhang San’s legs, starting a deathly roll¹Crocodiles death roll to dismember their prey and break it into smaller pieces. Chunks of the prey fall off and make it easier for the crocodiles to swallow. Crocodiles do not chew their food; they swallow big chunks whole. The behavior is the powerful and violent twisting that wrenches limbs from sockets and muscle from bone when a crocodylian clamps onto a morsel and does its best impression of a washer on spin cycle. underwater.

“Fuckin—!”

In desperation, Zhang San could only cry for help from Fu Yuanwei, who was still standing on the shore.

“Your Highness, help me!!!”

“Damn!”

Fu Yuanwei watched Zhang San, whose legs were bitten by the crocodile, rapidly rolling and dying underwater, feeling helpless for a moment.

How could he save him in this situation?

In his urgency, he could only shout to the other, “Think of something yourself! Stop it from rolling, and it won’t be able to bite you!”

However, at this moment, Zhang San, who was struggling in the turbulent water, glanced at the giant crocodile that was about two to three meters long in front of him, almost spitting out a mouthful of old blood.

“Cough! Cough! How can I stop it from rolling?”

“Damn it.” Fu Yuanwei couldn’t help but curse again, “Then try hugging it and rolling together?”

“Oh, oh, oh!”

At this moment, as if remembering something, Fu Yuanwei suddenly shouted to him again, “Try grabbing its head and rolling in the opposite direction. See if you can twist its head off.”

“…”

Feeling that his body was falling apart, Zhang San, who couldn’t bear it any longer, let out a desperate roar.

“Come down with me!”

With that, in the rapid rolling, he grabbed Fu Yuanwei’s legs and dragged him down into the icy water.

“Damn it!”

Those were the last words Fu Yuanwei uttered in his life, and immediately, he and Zhang San began to roll violently together.

The rolling of one person turned into the rolling of two.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the canal, as the increasingly thick scent of blood filled the air,Qiao Ran’s mood became somewhat complicated. It wasn’t his intention for the Little Fish and Little Crocodile to devour these people. However, he could sense that these individuals had ulterior motives. They not only sought mischief against him but perhaps also intended to use him to blackmail He Heng.

At this point, all that could be said was that it was their own fate.

As Qiao Ran was about to swim over to see how the situation had developed, he suddenly felt his tail becoming heavier, and his breathing grew more rapid. It seemed that some changes were occurring in his body.

The increasingly intense smell of blood made his head feel somewhat hazy. Besides this bloody scent, there was also a strange odor permeating the air. The fragrance was faint, yet it still felt pungent, as if it had been present in the Lin Yuan Pavilion since the moment those people entered. However, he hadn’t noticed it earlier because he was underwater.

At this moment, Qiao Ran felt his body temperature rising steadily, and he became increasingly hot all over. The scales on his fish tail were gradually disappearing, as if slowly transforming back into legs.

“Thump! Thump! Thump!”

His heartbeat accelerated, disrupting the rhythm of his breath.

“Ugh~” The little merman weakly leaned against the edge of the pool, breathing rapidly.

Now, he finally noticed the peculiar changes in his body.

Why is this happening?

Qiao Ran slightly parted his thin, pink lips, but the uttered syllables were fragmented.

“Ugh~”

He groaned in discomfort, struggling to rise from the pool. However, his legs were unresponsive, and despite coming close to leaving the water several times, he ultimately fell powerless by the poolside.

At this moment, the little merman pressed his face against the cool pool tiles. The burning sensation all over his body became more pronounced, making him feel so uncomfortable that he was on the verge of tears.

Why is he going into heat at this moment?

Merfolk are different from other animals and humans.

Merfolk don’t have a fixed mating season; they only go into heat when they encounter someone they like. After formally bonding, they consider that person their lifelong partner, bound together until death separates them.

“Like… liking someone?”

At this moment, the little merman’s head was dizzy. He recalled the words the elders in his clan had told him, and his long eyelashes trembled slightly.

With this in mind, Qiao Ran subconsciously murmured, “Liking someone.”

Stumbling and staggering, he found himself, unaware, in He Heng’s bedroom.

As his body sank into the soft bedding,Qiao Ran’s mind was filled with images of Da Zhu’s steady hand movements when he wrote in the palm of his hand and every gentle touch.

At this moment, the little merman’s fingertips tightened the bedding beneath him. Smelling the familiar scent of the man, he whispered softly:

“So, the one I like is Da Zhu?”

Around three in the afternoon, He Heng successfully brought back the eyes of the little merman to Lin Yuan Pavilion.

He was eager to share this good news with Qiao Ran, but at the same time, he worried that Qiao Ran’s perception of him might change after regaining his vision.

Moreover, the fact that He Heng was not the mute “Da Zhu” in the village would inevitably be revealed.

Could he continue covering his face with a black cloth forever?

When He Heng started all these actions, he had anticipated that there would be a day when he might fall from grace. However, now that this day had truly arrived, he felt increasingly uneasy.

His thoughts were in chaos. Can a relationship built on deception truly have a future?

Now deep into the night, He Heng’s mind was a tangled mess with no sign of calming down.

Feeling both tired and restless, his only desire now was to lie down and sleep.

However, the moment He Heng pushed open the door to Lin Yuan Pavilion, a pungent smell of blood hit him.

This sent a shiver down his spine, instantly waking him up.

He looked ahead and saw that the lamps in the hall had all been extinguished, the poolside was a mess, and a heavy smell of blood pervaded the air. Despite the noise of his return, there was no one to greet him, as if it were an uninhabited haunted mansion.

A strong sense of unease suddenly surged in He Heng’s heart. He hastily lit a lamp on the table and rushed to the lakeside.

The once clear and transparent lake was now covered with murky blood. He bent down for a closer look, but there was no trace of Qiao Ran’s fish scales. Looking further, he saw two alligators leisurely lying by the shore, seemingly content after a meal.

He Heng panicked. Ignoring whether he was still considered a “mute”, he shouted “Ah Ran!” while running along the canal.

However, after running a lap in the hall, there was still no response from Qiao Ran in the lake.

At that moment, He Heng felt a chilling sensation in his heart, as if he had been soaked in liquid nitrogen at minus 105 degrees.

He looked at the Little Fish and Little Crocodile still burping there and a terrible thought suddenly arose in his mind.

Could his little merman have been eaten by these two crocodiles?

In an instant, endless regret and despair surged into He Heng’s heart.

He had repeatedly warned not to keep such dangerous pets!

Why didn’t Qiao Ran listen?

He Heng, infuriated at the thought of these two crocodiles possibly having eaten his beloved little merman, didn’t care about their size, much larger than an adult man. He took a bold step forward, pried open the mouth of one of the crocodiles, and roared angrily:

“Damn it, give me back my Ah Ran!”

Meanwhile, Little Fish, whose mouth was forcefully opened by He Heng, stared at the man attempting to reach inside its mouth with a bewildered expression.

It had no idea what He Heng was going crazy about.

Was this guy hungry?

If he was hungry, he should go find something to eat!

Why was he trying to dig into its mouth???

Little Fish had an urge to bite down at that moment, but upon second thought, it remembered that Ah Ran always advised them to be friendlier to humans, especially that man called “Da Zhu”. Sometimes Ah Ran would even praise “Da Zhu” saying how good he was. And what was the result?

But Little Fish recalled Ah Ran’s instructions and restrained its impulse, reminding itself to endure, endure.

It couldn’t bite this man.

The next moment, it seemed that He Heng changed his strategy, probably because he didn’t retrieve anything from its mouth.

This time, he grabbed the tail of the crocodile and lifted Little Fish upside down, shaking it back and forth incessantly.

The crocodile was bewildered by his actions and felt a bit inclined to curse.

However, He Heng, who had suffered the loss of his beloved, seemed a bit insane at the moment. He couldn’t think rationally. Even if he managed to get something from the crocodile’s mouth, could it really be the intact Qiao Ran?

It might be raw fish slices at best.

And at that moment, sobbing sounds seemed to be coming from his bedroom.

“Da Zhu sob~”

The voice carried a hint of crying, sounding pitiful and distressed.

He Heng, for a moment, thought he might be hallucinating. How could someone be crying? But the cries continued incessantly, tugging at his heartstrings.

Listening to this familiar voice, He Heng subconsciously loosened his grip. He stood there, stunned, thinking:

Could it be that even the heavens couldn’t bear to see his tragic situation, so they began shedding tears for him?

At the same time,

“Snap!” With a sudden movement, Little Fish that He Heng had thrown to the ground couldn’t endure it any longer. It looked at the man standing in a daze, and with a flick of its long tail, it swept him into its room.

He Heng, tripped up by the tail of the crocodile, stumbled forward, but luckily, as he passed the door, he quickly grabbed onto the doorframe.

However, at the moment he looked up, He Heng was completely stunned.

“Da Zhu um~” another sobbing sound came from inside the room.

The bedding on the large bed was in disarray, and the little merman had somehow managed to find a pile of He Heng’s clothes.

At this moment, Qiao Ran was wrapped in one of He Heng’s oversized outer garments, wearing nothing else.

He Heng’s clothes barely covered the little merman’s thighs, revealing his fair and clean long legs. The fair skin in that area had a hint of delicate pink.

Qiao Ran buried himself in He Heng’s clothes, gently sobbing as if it could provide some comfort.

Seeing this, He Heng’s pupils contracted suddenly. He instinctively walked to the bedside, reached out, and moved aside the pile of clothes on the bed, pulling Qiao Ran out.

When the man’s palm touched him, Qiao Ran sensitively uttered a soft “Hmm~”. Due to this movement, the loose garment draped over him slipped off his shoulders, revealing Qiao Ran’s plump and fair shoulders and delicate collarbone.

Instinctively, Qiao Ran wanted to lean into the man’s embrace, craving his comfort throughout his body. However, Qiao Ran was weak, and his body temperature was astonishingly high. He managed to prop himself up from the bed for a moment, but then he fell back down, lacking the strength. He could only use a voice with a hint of sobbing to speak to He Heng:

“I feel so uncomfortable~ Can you hold me?”

Author’s note: This incident tells us not to act as an outlaw. Also, be careful when naming characters. Just thinking about calling out “Da Zhu” for intimate moments with Xiao Ran and Heng Bao, I regret the casual naming. I should have named him “He Yingjun” at least it sounds better than “Da Zhu.”

• 1
  Crocodiles death roll to dismember their prey and break it into smaller pieces. Chunks of the prey fall off and make it easier for the crocodiles to swallow. Crocodiles do not chew their food; they swallow big chunks whole. The behavior is the powerful and violent twisting that wrenches limbs from sockets and muscle from bone when a crocodylian clamps onto a morsel and does its best impression of a washer on spin cycle.