Chapter 146: The Mermaid Princess (16)

Sanning and Xi Hongwei sped away in a flash.

Tang Mu, however, was somewhat unfortunate.

She was forced to halt her journey and left behind to face Sang Wu's endless insinuations all by herself.

Brooding with resentment, Sang Wu acted like a petty master of subtext. Every word he uttered seemed brimming with "special meanings."

"Sanning and her partner have such a wonderful relationship."

Mm-hmm.

Everyone knew how close they were. There was hardly any need to point it out and repeat it.

"Look, they consult each other on everything and always move together, instead of running off in a flash by themselves."

……

"And the food Sang扎 gave you—you ate it, didn't you? The Mermaid Clan is a united, harmonious, and loving family that places great importance on teamwork. Half-mermaids who haven't mated yet receive special favor from the entire tribe until they complete their mating ritual, after which a dedicated partner takes charge of them."

"Even after finding a partner, half-mermaids remain under the protection of the Mermaid Clan until they fully evolve into mermaids."

……

"Of course, there are exceptions to every rule."

"Come, touch my little tail."

"Isn't it much hotter than normal? This is a sign of overuse... And the journey back to the Mermaid territory is still very long. Solely by myself, I'm afraid I... won't be able to make it back."

Sang Wu lowered his head, wearing a pitiful expression of being terribly bullied by his own partner yet having to swallow the grievance in silence.

……

Tang Mu took a deep breath.

She frowned in speechlessness.

Then rolled her eyes. Annoyed yet amused, she experienced a complete all-in-one package of emotions.

Ultimately, however, Tang Mu chose to turn her head back, gazing quietly at Sang Wu with a "gentle" expression. "If you have something to say, spit it out. If you have a fart to release, let it go."

"My tail hurts. I want kisses, hugs, and to be lifted up high."

"You're heavy. I can't lift you."

"Seawater has buoyancy, you can lift me."

"Even with buoyancy, I still can't lift you. Swim yourself."

Sang Wu had originally intended to display a desolate look, hoping once again to arouse Tang Mu's pity.

However, a sudden undersea undercurrent interrupted his plan.

The undercurrent scattered the formations of the mermaids and half-mermaids.

"It's water ghosts!"

"Water ghosts are attacking us!"

These damned ghostly ship sailors! When they were alive, they had wanted to hunt mermaids and bring them ashore to sell for money. Now that they were dead, they still refused to let them go!

Especially as the water ghosts swam swiftly toward the mermaids, their skeleton faces, wrapped in long black robes, emitted hollow, nether-world-like sounds. Yet out of their skeletal mouths, they spoke human language.

"Want mermaids..."

"Want shark pearls..."

"Want fish scales..."

"Want immortality, want countless chests of jewels..."

Seeing Tang Mu and the others, these water ghosts acted as if they had laid eyes on shining treasures in the deep sea, instantly ignited by an intense desire for plunder. Void of human emotion, they possessed only an extreme worship of money, jewels, material wealth, and self-interest!

"Watch out!"

Some half-mermaids were separated by the formation formed by the water ghosts and the undercurrent. Left isolated, these solitary half-mermaids stood defenseless in the hands of the water ghosts and were instantly wiped out.

The skeleton figures clad in black cloth robes moved beneath the surface without the slightest resistance from the seawater, even capable of rapid flashing movements.

For instance, ten seconds ago they were on your left; ten seconds later, they had flashed over to your right. Yet within those ten seconds, you could not perceive their trajectory of movement at all.

The only thing you could feel was the surging undercurrent around you!

These black-robed skeletons specifically targeted half-mermaids. Once they killed them, they would ruthlessly extract the shark pearls from within their bodies—pearls that had not yet fully fused with them.

As they devoured the shark pearls, dense scales would sprout across their ancient, dusky skeletons. The skeletal leg bones that had once belonged to humans transformed into fish tails, and flesh even began to grow upon the previously fleshless skeletal frames!

Indeed, mermaids were treasures from head to toe.

And it was precisely because they were treasures from head to toe that they suffered endless, frenzied pursuits by countless beings!

"Protect the half-mermaids! We must never let the water ghosts steal the shark pearls!"

The mermaids seemed intensely hostile toward the water ghosts, harboring an extreme abhorrence for these creatures attacking them with greedy desires.

"Why is that?" Some bewildered half-mermaid couldn't help tugging at the sleeve of their partner nearby. Mermaids who already had partners no longer participated in the battle; their sole task was to protect their companions. Thus, the mermaids had ample time to accompany and answer their partners' questions.

"What is it?"

"Why can't we let the water ghosts take the shark pearls? If they take them and become mermaids, wouldn't they become our kind..."

"Not all humans are acceptable to us." The mermaids gazed solemnly and majestically at the battle unfolding ahead, remaining constantly vigilant of their surroundings to prevent any potential danger from harming their partners. "Beings devoid of love, empathy, and placing desire above all else will only pollute our sanctuary if they transform into mermaids. We mermaids are the purest and most pristine existence in this mortal world. Our souls are cleansed by the supreme spiritual forces of heaven and earth at every moment, and we will never allow such impure elements to infiltrate the mermaid tribe."

"You were chosen because you still possess the potential for daily perfection. But as for them, they have completely surrendered their souls to their own desires. There is no saving them."

These skeletal figures were nothing more than walking corpses completely devoid of souls.

Even if they transformed into mermaids, they would possess neither spirit nor soul.

Unlike the specters and bosses in many realms, which could still be considered spiritual entities with their own soul magnetic fields, these skeletons...

At best, they could only be classified as mere objects. The possibility of even refining their souls was gone.

However, the scene on Tang Mu's side looked vastly different from the other paired half-mermaids.

While everywhere else featured mermaids protecting their half-mermaids...

Over here, it was actually Tang Mu who was "guarding" Sang Wu.

Sang Wu complained endlessly about his "painful hands," "aching waist," and "hurting tail," crying softly and urging Tang Mu to disregard the surrounding dangers while demanding "kisses, hugs, and being lifted up high."

Although these skeletons indeed did not come to attack Tang Mu...

That... was not the outcome Tang Mu desired.

Tang Mu had wanted to pick a fight with the skeletons, yet not a single skeleton came to fight her.

How frustrating.

To attract the skeletons' attention and provoke them into fighting her, Tang Mu unleashed the red threads in her hands, intentionally waving them right in front of a skeleton.

Whether due to the skeletons' inability to sense non-spiritual magnetic field fluctuations or not, these red threads failed to draw their notice.

Especially since the gentle red threads in the water resembled swimming jellyfish, leaving the skeletons completely unaware of their movement trajectories.

……

Tang Mu narrowed her eyes.

She knew how to deal with these skeletons now.