Chapter 140: The Mermaid Princess (10)

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Tang Mu was furious.

Before she could control herself, she attacked Zi Yushu.

Yet the moment her red-thread bells struck, a bright yellow protective shield appeared around Zi Yushu once again, successfully blocking her attack.

If one attempt failed, she tried ten. If ten failed, she tried twenty.

Tang Mu tried attacking from nearly every direction.

But the shield around Zi Yushu had no apparent weakness. It perfectly warded off every one of her attacks.

As for Zi Yushu himself—

He watched Tang Mu struggle desperately, then sink from bewilderment into despair, as though he were teasing a little pet.

Only after he had grown tired of the game and decided that her aimless attacks were becoming boring did he magnanimously wave his hand and send her sprawling to the ground.

“You can’t hurt me this way. This is an S-rank defensive item, the Golden Plum Tortoise Armor. Besides protection, it can also create a phantasm array that reflects an opponent’s attacks back at them.”

“But I like watching you struggle.”

“It’s amusing.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the watch on his wrist.

“Ah. Ten minutes have passed, and he hasn’t returned. I must keep my promise and give you another cut.”

“Where shall I cut this time?”

“How about your wrist? Your wrists are so slender and beautiful… A streak of blood across them would look exquisite.”

…

From the time Sang Wu returned to the moment he left for the cliff, half an hour passed.

In that time, Zi Yushu had cut three bloody lines across Tang Mu’s body.

Yet each wound healed quickly.

Aside from the few drops of blood on the ground, there was no evidence that Tang Mu had been cut at all.

Zi Yushu pressed his knife against Tang Mu’s throat, signaling the mermaid to tell him what he had seen. Otherwise, he would kill Tang Mu and ensure that the mermaid lost his pearl forever.

“There was nothing on the surface of the sea,” Sang Wu replied.

“I looked around. I truly didn’t see anyone.”

If he were dealing with an ordinary person, he might have chosen to believe the statement only provisionally.

But Zi Yushu was not an ordinary person. He would never trust Sang Wu’s words.

“Are you certain?” Zi Yushu narrowed his eyes, gradually tightening his grip on the knife.

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“Of course I’m certain,” Sang Wu said. “If you don’t believe me, you can come down to the shore with us and see for yourself.”

“Merfolk never lie.”

Merfolk truly never lied. But they could choose what to say.

For instance, Sang Wu had said that he truly had not seen anyone. That meant no one had been there—but it did not necessarily mean that nothing else was there.

Zi Yushu was conceited, arrogant, suspicious, and sharp.

He trusted no one. He trusted only what he saw with his own eyes.

“In that case… you stay here. Tang Mu, you’re coming with me.”

“Where are we going?” Tang Mu asked, pretending to look extremely nervous.

“Don’t ask. If you ask, I’ll kill you.”

He looked down at the woman held within the crook of his arm, entirely under his control, and felt nothing but contempt.

Women were weak, incapable, foolish, and empty-headed. Their worlds consisted of nothing more than the tiny patch of ground before their eyes. They were irrational, unreasonable, narrow-minded, and ignorant. Aside from beauty and a pleasing figure, they had nothing. They existed only to be toys in the hands of successful men—to be struck or cursed whenever their owners pleased. They needed no other personality or dignity. A little casual charity was enough to make them come running, worshiping the giver as though he were a god.

The woman before him was no different.

Though she was dangerous, her sex had already decided the matter. Compared with him, she was a loser.

Zi Yushu held the knife against Tang Mu’s neck and forced her to walk with him.

As for the mermaid—

If Sang Wu dared follow, Zi Yushu would kill Tang Mu at once and crush the pearl.

He would never allow anyone capable of threatening him to remain at large.

His creed in life was simple: crush every danger while it was still in its infancy. Give no threat the chance to turn upon him.

…

It was the cliff.

Zi Yushu forced Tang Mu to the edge of it.

This was the only place on the island from which one could look down over the distant horizon. The view was unobstructed, and a vast stretch of ocean lay clearly visible below.

There truly was nothing on the sea.

No buoys. No humans. Not a single living creature struggling in the water. As far as the eye could see, the ocean stretched smooth and still in every direction.

Having failed to find what he wanted, Zi Yushu turned to leave.

Then, to his horror, he discovered that his legs could not move.

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His hands were immobile as well.

When had this happened?

Apart from the fish he had personally grilled, he had not eaten anything else.

“Are you surprised?” Tang Mu asked. “You took such thorough precautions, yet you still fell into my trap.”

With a smile, she slipped out from beneath Zi Yushu’s arm and crouched down before him.

“Do you know your greatest flaw? It’s your arrogance and suspicion. You trust no one. You trust only what your own eyes show you.”

“That is why you were certain to come to the cliff and inspect the sea yourself. I deliberately acted weak and deliberately urged you to go down to the shore, knowing that you would refuse. I made you believe that everything was under your control, leading you step by step into my snare until you trapped yourself.”

“Look. Isn’t this mountain peak the perfect place for you to be buried? There are no waves beneath the cliff. If you fall from here, you’ll be smashed to pieces. Not even a fragment of bone will remain.”

The smile curling at the corners of Tang Mu’s lips was utterly seductive in its wickedness and cruelty. She looked at Zi Yushu as one might look at a tiny insect tangled in a spider’s web. No matter how desperately he struggled, he could not escape her grasp.

Zi Yushu had never imagined that a woman he had always despised could outmaneuver him.

His cold eyes blazed with overwhelming fury.

“Do you want to die? How dare you attack me?”

There was an illness called Stockholm syndrome, in which hostages developed a psychological dependence on their captors. With their lives in the captors’ hands, they felt profound gratitude whenever the captors allowed them to live. They shared the captors’ fate, treating their captors’ future as their own and their captors’ safety as their own.

Zi Yushu believed he had abused Tang Mu enough.

So why had she not fallen under his psychological control?

Under the furious gaze of Zi Yushu’s eyes, Tang Mu instantly crouched down, covering her mouth as her whole body trembled with fear.

Yet what came from her lips had nothing to do with the terror and trembling she acted out.

“Oh, I’m so frightened. Why are you being so fierce with me? Please don’t be angry. If you would only treat me a little better, I’d do anything for you. Even if you wanted to take my life, I wouldn’t so much as blink. I’d let you have it…”

But when she rose again, the timid, shuddering look in her eyes was completely replaced by something deep and ruthless. Not the slightest trace of fear or hesitation remained.

“That’s what you thought, isn’t it? Stockholm syndrome. Abuse someone until she falls in love with you, and she’ll become your puppet, allowing you to control her however you please.”

“But unfortunately…”

“You will never be willing—or able—to admit that someone else’s power of psychological manipulation has already surpassed your own.”

“And you are a complete failure.”

“A useless piece of trash.”