Chapter 1

Late at night, the black market auction house.

It was usually frequented by wealthy clients, but today was exceptionally crowded because the auction house had announced a day prior that a precious merman would be auctioned off tonight.

Mermen are renowned for their stunning beauty, unwavering loyalty in love, recognizing only one partner for life. Furthermore, the song of a merman in love was acclaimed in ancient times as the world's foremost divine medicine, capable of curing diseases, enhancing vitality, prolonging life, and preserving youth.

There are legends that mermen are descendants of the Dragon God and humans, with the bloodline of the Dragon God. Possessing a merman is said to destine one for imperial sovereignty.

It had been nearly a thousand years since a merman last appeared in the world.

The sudden emergence of one drove everyone mad.

……

In the storeroom behind the auction house.

The empty room contained only a huge golden disc in the center, where the young merman was curled up.

The disc was filled with just enough clear water to barely cover the merman's body.

The merman appeared to be a human of about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Silver hair flowed smoothly in the water, skin white as porcelain, a small face the size of a palm with chubby cheeks, a tiny nose, thin lips, and eyes tightly closed, revealing only the dense silver lashes.

Adorned in a white, mer-silk vest that barely reached above the navel, hints of abdominal definition peeked around the belly button. The waist and hips were covered in palm-sized, striped, thick scales, with a texture akin to pearls, reflecting a subtle allure of lavender, mesmerizing blue, and pink under the dim light. As the scales descended, they became smaller, shrinking to the size of a little finger's nail by the tail, from which several layers of soft fins unfurled.

The tail, being too long, extended beyond the two-meter diameter of the golden disc, with the gauze-like fins hanging off, gently fluttering.

The young merperson was inadvertently caught by pirates who, due to a royal decree mandating immediate reporting of any merperson sightings to the court, had no desire to interact with the authorities due to their own wanted status and thus opted to auction him off at the black market.

The sleeping merperson suddenly opened his eyes, revealing misty, pale violet orbs filled with confusion.

"Huh???"

"Did I just transmigrate into a book?"

After receiving a job offer from a top company last night, Ji Ranxi indulged in an all-night binge of TikTok, ending with a video on a green children's literature website explaining a universally adored character trope.

This universally adored character, frail yet stunningly talented, was beloved by all who met him, human or otherwise. According to the video creator, there were nine named human admirers and eight named non-human admirers, among which was a silver-tailed merperson named Ranxi.

Following the transmigration trope of matching names ensuring the transition, Ji Ranxi became that very merperson.

In the book, the merperson Ranxi fell in love with the universally adored character.

However, due to differences in species and other reasons, his love was rejected.

Heartbroken over his unrequited love, the merperson spent his days and nights in tears, passing away at the age of twenty from exhaustion.

Indeed, he died from exhaustion of tears.

Contemplating this, Ranxi felt a wave of despair, wondering if he too would meet such a fate.

If things were to follow the original plot, he would fall for the universally adored character who claims not to love men but ends up loving them passionately.

To avoid a tragic fate of dying from exhaustion of tears, he must forcibly claim that damn enchanting creature.

The achievements needed to be accomplished in the process of claiming include:

Defeating the universally adored character’s dearly raised nephew, the posthumous child.

Overcoming the universally adored character’s sworn brother who runs a gambling den.

Vanquishing the universally adored character’s manservant.

Besting the hidden genius doctor working as a junior in the imperial medical bureau.

Defeating the martial arts alliance leader.

Conquering the demonic sect leader.

Overpowering the general with the title of martial champion.

Triumphing over the prince.

Vanquishing the emperor.

These are just the nine male human competitors.

There are also several non-human challengers, such as the emperor’s pet fierce white lion, the national teacher’s sky-covering eagle, and the wounded flood dragon lurking beneath the capital...

Plus, several female human competitors not specifically named in the TikTok explanations.

Just recalling this list was enough to nearly make Ji Ranxi vomit blood.

Fine, let it all fall apart; after all, the little merman was just one of the dispensable cannon fodders.

From now on, I'll steer clear of the universally adored uke to avoid being seduced by that damned little demon.

He lay there, his mind a void of silence.

Next to him was a plate of cooked lobster.

Ji Ranxi, having been poor for so long, didn't care that the lobster was cold and started eating it right away.

He pondered over the plot.

Actually, there wasn't much to ponder.

An eighty-eight thousand-word story condensed into an 8-minute video, he was just one among many characters, mentioned in the narration for probably no more than 15 seconds.

So now, he had no clue about his situation or what he was facing.

If he had the chance to go back, he would tell everyone to memorize the entire text if they ever encounter a character with the same name as in a novel!

The merman's nimble ear fins opened and closed, listening to the sounds outside.

Outside, the noise of singing and dancing grew louder as the auction guests gradually arrived and started chatting.

It seemed that people with bulging wallets spoke especially loudly, so loud that their voices clearly reached Ranxi's ears despite the triple doors.

An elderly male voice said, "If I get the merman and he really helps me become the emperor, I'll definitely make him the empress."

A hoarse, breathless male voice said, "I heard that a merman is devastatingly beautiful. Once obtained, who cares about being an emperor? Can you even overthrow the current one? I say it's best to take him to a place unknown to others and live happily ever after. Mermen are faithful in love, having a beauty devotedly love me is all I could ask for in this life."

"You're all too superficial. If the merman ends up with me, I'll have him sing for me day and night, making me the greatest master in the world."

An elderly female voice remarked, "You haven't even seen the item, and you're already planning so thoroughly."

"As far as I know, the merman being auctioned today is male, surely a catch for me. I'll dismiss all 3000 beauties in my harem and favor only the merman from now on."

Ji Ranxi: "..."

Although his wish has always been for a rich woman to take care of him...

Now, he could finally fulfill his wish...

But... he still hoped someone would come to save him.

Sitting up, he pressed his palms together against his delicate chin, and began to silently pray: "Amitofu, someone please come and save me."

Suddenly, he heard a man's soft voice beside his ear: "Little merman."

Ranxi: "!"

Did the Buddha respond so quickly?

Opening his eyes, he saw a young man in gray standing before him.

A very lively and handsome guy.

Tall, nearly 1.9 meters, not bulky but slender and slim like a youth, with a very straight posture, like a vibrant young pine.

His features were handsome, eyes sparkling with brightness, exuding an aura of justice, he said word for word: "Little merman, I've come to rescue you."