Chapter 154: The Little Mermaid (24)

No, there truly was nothing.

However, the scene before their eyes was completely different from the one Tang Mu had first encountered upon teleportation.

"Heave-ho, heave-ho!"

The trackers hauled the thick ropes over their shoulders, shouting loud, rhythmic chants.

And atop the giant vessel, a heavily armored general stood at the top of the bridge. He gazed straight ahead with a stern and solemn expression, as if deep in grim contemplation.

It wasn't until a gentle woman appeared—wearing blue gauze over a blue inner robe—that the furrowed, troubled brow of the armored general slightly smoothed out.

"Why did you come out? The wind is strong outside."

The woman in blue gazed out at the trackers pulling the heavy ropes. Instead of heeding the man's subtle implication for her to return to the cabin, she gave a slight shake of her head.

"King Satu is cruel, levying exorbitant taxes and harsh corvée labor. To meet the tax demands and gather pearls through forced labor, the people living by the sea have even begun specifically raising pearl divers. Some girls are not even twelve years old before their parents throw them into the sea to fend for themselves. Though I know how hard it is for women to survive among you humans, I also know that under tyrannical rule, no nest remains intact. ...Since you and I are struggling to survive under this tyranny, we should have known long ago that whenever human hearts are tainted by selfish desires, self-interest, and the ego, royal power, privileges, and social classes will inevitably be born."

"In the end, it merely amounts to the highest tier exploiting the middle tier, and the high and middle tiers exploiting the bottom tier. No one is spared. Everyone is exploited by others through the rules and logic of their own creation."

"The wealthy will be stripped of their wealth."

"The spirited will be stripped of their spirit."

"And the mortal world is needlessly populated by one walking corpse after another."

"All forms of sentient beings, demons and monsters alike—ultimately, it all traces back to the human heart."

"This is natural selection, survival of the fittest." The armored general looked back at the woman. "Don't you merfolk also live by the rule of big fish eating small fish, where the strong dictate to the weak?"

"Therefore, our two races are not fundamentally different after all..."

...

Looking at the solemn expression of the man before her and knowing the heavy sorrow in his heart, Sang Lan stopped arguing with him about this.

Yet in her heart, Sang Lan knew clearly that they, the merfolk, were still different from humans.

Merfolk ate fish simply to stay alive.

Yet humans did not actually need to eat humans in order to survive.

"General Kantian, didn't you say you wanted to give me a gift? As a celebration of our one-year anniversary of meeting and falling in love."

When touching upon the private sentiments of a maiden, Sang Lan finally shed her all-encompassing, god-like compassion. Instead, lowering her head slightly and blushing, she looked just like those pearl divers by the sea—resembling an ordinary girl next door.

Kantian nodded. "I did."

He took a box from his sleeve and handed it to Sang Lan.

Sang Lan looked at the box, her face flushed and shy. She anticipated the gift inside just as she anticipated Kantian's reciprocation of her feelings.

"Let me see."

***

Sang Lan opened the box. Inside lay a pearl necklace?

Pearls...

Weren't these pearls part of the batch she had given to Kantian?

To rush and gather the quantity of pearls Kantian needed, she had practically exhausted the strength of her entire clan, urging the merfolk to cry and harvest clams day and night.

...

Though precious to humans, pearls were the last things merfolk would ever cherish in the palms of their hands.

Yet... because they were given by the one she loved, she was willing to view them as the most precious gift of her life.

Sang Lan raised her head and offered Kantian her most beautiful smile.

"Thank you, I love it."

...

"General, it's terrible! King Satu has sent a letter saying he has learned that you captured an exceptionally beautiful mermaid. Furthermore, this mermaid is the most powerful among her kind, capable of communicating with heaven and earth. King Satu commands that this mermaid must be brought back to the royal palace without fail, because with her, the Kingdom of Satu will never run out of precious jewels again!"

The messenger rushed over in a flurry, unaware that Sang Lan was present.

It wasn't until he bounded up to Kantian, holding the letter aloft, that he suddenly froze in shock, realizing he had spoken words best left unsaid.

Kantian did not reprimand the man.

He took the letter and dismissed him.

Standing nearby, Sang Lan quietly watched Kantian. She wanted to know what King Satu had written to him in that letter. But Kantian did not open it in front of her.

Instead, he gently consoled Sang Lan, "I will not offer you as a tribute to King Satu. I promise."

"But your family is in his hands," Sang Lan said with a troubled expression. "I know your predicament. I can be presented to King Satu; I only need to feign death when the time comes..."

"Sang Lan, I am a man. I will handle my own affairs."

Kantian rejected Sang Lan's proposal.

"Alright, the wind is strong outside. You should go back to your room and rest. Your health has already suffered from trying to help me. You, who were once fearless against wind and rain, now cough just from a breeze... Never mind, I'll go inside with you."

***

Just as Tang Mu and Yu Yun were watching with rapt attention and intended to continue, the scene suddenly shifted.

Between Kantian and Sang Lan, there was no longer any of the previous tenderness and affection. Instead, they stood on opposite sides, at swords' points.

"I said before, whatever you want, as long as I can give it to you, I will... But why did you deceive me?" The all-encompassing compassion had vanished from Sang Lan; in its place were anger, resentment, and a profound sense of grievance.

"I know our bodies are treasures from head to toe. If you humans wanted me, I could have offered myself willingly. But why is your greed never-ending? Was taking one mermaid not enough, that you now wish to slaughter my entire clan?"

"Where does this leave our relationship? Where does this leave me?"

"After today, how will my own people look at me?"

A fine woman was crying herself hoarse.

Clearly, she had been such a wonderful person—merciful to all living things, full of pity for every creature.

Yet at this moment, she had begun to doubt even herself.

Her sense of self was shattering.

And Kantian, looking at her, was filled with agony as well. "I'm sorry."

...

The illusion vanished.

The furnishings of the ship where Tang Mu and Yu Yun stood instantly weathered and aged, turning ancient before their eyes.

It was as if time had been fast-forwarded by decades.

The speed of this transformation was visible to the naked eye.

"So, this is just another story of a wonderful girl being failed by a scumbag and then turning bitter and grotesque?"

"Truly mediocre."

Yu Yun spread her hands, her face full of speechlessness.

"The mortal world is simply bound by the eight sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, death, the inability to obtain what one desires, the torment of being with those one hates, the agony of parting from loved ones, and the overwhelming burden of the five aggregates."

"The so-called myriad forms of sentient beings, demons and monsters alike, all trace back to the human heart. Yet the power of a single word—'love' or 'attachment'—is enough to rank first among the eight sufferings, first within the human heart. This 'affection' can be the bond between parents and children, the feeling of loving and being loved, a burden-bearer's compassion for all living beings, or the tender care of all things toward flowers, trees, and grass."

"Yet, logically speaking, everyone knows the answer."

"However, when one is lost within the fog, how easy is it to shatter the barrier of the heart?"

...

Tang Mu couldn't help glancing at Yu Yun, her face filled with astonishment. "You're so young, yet you can perceive so much?"

Perhaps some words of Tang Mu's struck a soft spot in Yu Yun's heart.

Yu Yun's eyes suddenly reddened, and tears streamed down her face.

"My mother left me when I was very young. I miss her so much."

Ah.

It was the parting from loved ones, after all, among the eight sufferings.