Chapter 137: The Little Mermaid (7)

Tang Mu was essentially plotted against by a combination of Zi Yushu and the merman.

After a night of indescribable events.

Tang Mu sat slumped on a reef, looking blankly up at the azure sky. Unwilling to pay any attention to the grinning merman beside her, she silently stared at her body, which was already beginning to show signs of mutation, and refused to utter a single word.

Yet, as if completely oblivious to Tang Mu's speechlessness, the merman kept enthusiastically trying to curry favor with her icy demeanor. "I know that since you have only just transformed into a merman, you aren't yet accustomed to life in the ocean. That is why I only gave you half of the shark pearl. Although the effect of half a pearl cannot compare to the complete one, it is more than enough to save your life. From this moment on, our minds are linked, and our pains are shared. Whatever you and I know or desire, the other will instantly understand."

Tang Mu remained silent and still.

"However, half a shark pearl has only one drawback. That is, you cannot stray more than two hundred meters away from me. If you exceed this distance, you will no longer be able to walk on a pair of human legs."

Tang Mu, "..."

"Your silence means you like it." Sangwu suddenly began to roll back and forth around Tang Mu like a little pug. His fish tail slapped merrily against the reef. From the very tip of his tail to the strands of his hair, he radiated a boundless joy that ordinary people could never comprehend.

The sea spray kicked up by his tail splashing against the reef even splattered across Tang Mu's face.

She pressed her lips together.

It tasted very salty.

Yet Tang Mu still showed no reaction whatsoever.

She simply didn't want to react.

She was still immersed in the frustration of being outwitted once again by that scoundrel Zi Yushu. The three words "unreconciled resentment" spread like vines growing at tenfold speed, densely entangling her entire heart.

Finally, the merman grew irritated by Tang Mu's lack of response. He forcefully grabbed Tang Mu's head, compelling her to look at him.

"Aren't you happy to be my mate?"

"This matter has nothing to do with you," Tang Mu finally responded. "Yesterday evening, you saw the person who harmed me. I have a blood feud with him. It is either he dies or I live, an irreconcilable enmity. If I don't settle this score, I cannot focus on anything else."

Is that so?

The merman tilted his head. Perhaps because he had been thoroughly satisfied the previous night, his gaze now was as clear and pure as crystal. Unlike the eyes brimming with desire from last night, Sangwu's aura at this moment was pristine, resembling a child untouched by worldly affairs.

"Then what can I do?"

"You don't need to do anything," Tang Mu said with a calm face. "This is a matter between him and me. Innocent people shouldn't be dragged into it."

She stood up, intending to leave.

Yet out of the corner of her eye, she caught a fleeting trace of disappointment in the merman's eyes.

After a moment of silence, Tang Mu decided she should comfort the merman after all.

Although Tang Mu was clearly the unlucky one, and though she had no idea why she felt the need to comfort a merman, seeing him droop his head still stirred a primal protective instinct within her.

Truly, it was an inexpressible, inexplicable maternal sentiment.

"Didn't you say I can't stray more than two hundred meters away from you? Follow me."

"Okay!" The disappointment on the merman's face vanished in an instant. He quickly caught up, trailing right behind Tang Mu with a beaming smile, though heaven knows what he was so happy about.

The island was not small. Circling the entire island took Tang Mu and Sangwu a full four hours.

Yet throughout the entire island, there was no breath of any living creature to be found, nor any trace of Zi Yushu.

That shouldn't be the case.

No matter how capable a person was, they still needed to eat.

To sustain life, food and fresh water were indispensable. Even if Zi Yushu hunted for food, he would still need a place to rest, collect fresh water, and make a fire to cook.

"Is there fresh water on this island?"

"Yes." Sangwu pointed toward the central region of the island and the nearby coconut trees. "Usually, after we drive humans onto this island, we keep them in captivity and hunt them down at our leisure."

"This island has all the food humans need. There are plenty of edible things."

"Like rabbits, for instance."

"As for fresh water, there is a spring right at the center of the island. However, it's halfway up the mountain. It takes a long time to walk there."

The merman spoke so casually and brazenly of "keeping humans in captivity and hunting them."

If the person listening to these words wasn't Tang Mu, but some other young girl, she probably would have let out a squeak and burst into tears instantly, right?

"I know where Zi Yushu is."

Tang Mu led Sangwu as they headed up the mountain.

It must be said that Zi Yushu had been extremely cautious along his path. He knew he was undoubtedly being targeted by both the merman and Tang Mu. Therefore, despite the uneven terrain and the countless patches of grass and thorny bushes lining the edges of the mountain trail, he had not disturbed any of the branches encroaching upon the path, even though clearing them would have made his walk smoother and easier.

If not for the fresh, albeit intentionally concealed, footprint impressions on the dirt path, Tang Mu might even have started doubting whether her direction in searching for Zi Yushu was correct at all.

"When we find him, are we going to kill him?" Sangwu tilted his head, asking the most ruthless question with an innocent expression.

Yet Tang Mu was no ordinary young girl.

Her psychological resilience was formidable; thus, even though Sangwu's innocent appearance contrasted sharply with his savage nature, Tang Mu felt no particular emotional disturbance.

"No." At the mere mention of Zi Yushu, Tang Mu's gaze grew deep and solemn. "From birth to death, a human life is merely a matter of opening and closing one's eyes. If your enemy dies easily without perceiving anything at all, the one who suffers is you, not them."

"Killing someone is not the most important part of murder. Breaking their heart and soul is." Just as he had done to her.

"I think we must be close to him now."

Tang Mu watched the mountain spring water murmuring as it flowed downward. At a muddy patch, there was half a footprint deliberately left behind by Zi Yushu.

This half-print seemed as though it had been left unintentionally by Zi Yushu.

Yet given Tang Mu's understanding of him over the years, if Zi Yushu truly wanted to conceal his tracks, there would be not a single soul in this world capable of finding him.

He acted this way purely out of arrogance.

He was arrogant in the belief that he was the one luring fish ashore.

Of course, he indeed possessed the capital for such arrogance.

When Tang Mu discovered Zi Yushu, he was in the middle of lighting a bonfire to roast a fish. The outside of the fish was charred black, and whether the inside was cooked through was anyone's guess.

Upon seeing Tang Mu, Zi Yushu didn't even wear an expression of surprise.

He acted just like someone greeting an old friend, calmly announcing to Tang Mu, "You've arrived."

Then, he glanced past Tang Mu at the merman Sangwu standing behind her.

An expression of getting exactly what he wished for appeared on his face.

"You've been walking uphill from the shore for so long, you must be tired. Care to come have some water and grab a bite to eat?"

Tang Mu did not stand on ceremony with Zi Yushu either.

She purposefully picked the exact piece of fish that Zi Yushu had bitten into and put it in her mouth, knowing it was non-toxic. As for the water, Tang Mu only drank after she saw Zi Yushu take a sip himself.

Why would Zi Yushu be kind enough to invite them to eat and drink?

Tang Mu naturally understood the reason behind it.

The merman Sangwu, having lost half of his shark pearl, no longer posed a threat to Zi Yushu at the height of his power.

For people and things that could no longer threaten him, Zi Yushu naturally ceased to treat them as anything worthy of concern.