Chapter 38 Aquaman 19

"Ahhhhhhhh, I'll say it, I'll tell you everything!"

Hearing the words "chrysanthemum withered" once again, Wang Ke felt a sharp pain in an indescribable part of his body.

"Speak," Xia Qi said coldly.

"The female deputy said... as long as the twelfth pillar is opened, they will gain all the power. Then, they can help me pass through," Wang Ke sniffled, speaking hesitantly.

Xia Qi frowned; the information Wang Ke provided was minimal, barely adding to what he had already deduced.

"How does she obtain all the power?" Xia Qi asked, puzzled.

"I don't know..." Wang Ke looked at Xia Qi with tears in his eyes and pleaded, "Brother Xia, you're a magnanimous person, please let me go."

The muscular man hesitated and asked Xia Qi, "Should we still go to the twelfth pillar? What if it's a trap set by the female deputy? Wouldn't we be walking right into it?"

"Let's activate the eleventh pillar first and see." Xia Qi did not make a decision immediately but took out the mermaid's skull and activated the eleventh pillar.

"Ding! Since you have activated a key mechanism in the dungeon, the dungeon will now enter countdown mode!"

"Dungeon countdown: 02:00:00"

Upon hearing the system announcement, the muscular man's face changed dramatically. "This... This is forcing us to activate the twelfth pillar!"

Xia Qi looked up at the shadow of the mermaid that appeared on the eleventh pillar.

The shadow of the mermaid, with its skull removed and bones extracted, hung limply in the air.

After seeing this, Xia Qi felt uneasy. "This is the game's setting. We have no choice but to face it head-on; there's no turning back."

"What if we're ambushed? Can we handle it?" The muscular man asked hesitantly. The octopus didn't seem like an easy opponent. Last time, he escaped purely because of the narrow space on the ship, but now they were on the island, which was the octopus's territory.

Xia Qi thought calmly for a moment and said, "If we don't go, do we have any other way to leave?"

"No..." The muscular man shook his head.

Xia Qi looked up at the sky. According to the passage of time, it should be dark now, but the sky was still bright, making it feel less like the real world.

Activating the twelve pillars was the normal sequence for players to clear the dungeon. To prevent players from lingering, the game had set numerous conditions to push them forward.

If they failed to complete the game before the countdown ended, who knew what dangers they would face.

"There's not much time left. Let's go."

The distance between the eleventh and twelfth pillars was considerable. It took them quite some time to climb down to the twelfth pillar's cliff, made even more difficult by having to carry Wang Ke. Xia Qi climbed up the cliff first, while the muscular man stayed below to escort Wang Ke.

Standing before the twelfth pillar, Xia Qi took a deep breath, drew out his magic wand, and held the final box.

Inside the box was a strand of mermaid hair.

It was a small silver lock, smooth as silk. Xia Qi slowly placed the hair on the twelfth pillar.

"Swish—"

Familiar sunlight fell, but this time, dazzling light spheres appeared on all twelve pillars, rising together into the sky, breaking through the clouds, dispersing the last dense cloud, and forming a rainbow in the clear blue sky.

"Rumble—"

At this moment, Xia Qi felt a tremor beneath his feet. He steadied himself against the pillar and looked around.

Countless birds flew up from nearby forests, trees toppled over, and the entire island seemed to be shaking.

Amidst the strong earthquake, Xia Qi struggled to look up and locate the source of the tremors. A glance at the center of the island made him catch his breath.

Below the rainbow, a white palace slowly emerged from the ground, rising into view. The temple was precisely at the center of the twelve pillars and the heart of the island.

Xia Qi couldn't help but twitch his eye; the female deputy and the octopus must be after this temple...

As if to confirm his suspicion, a familiar bald, black head appeared in the nearby jungle, with the female deputy seated atop it.

The direction they were heading was clearly towards the temple!

Ignoring the earthquake, Xia Qi got up and raised his magic wand, pointing it at the temple. He shouted loudly, "Love comes too fast like a tornado, unable to escape the vortex in time!"

"True Love Value -1000"

"True Love Spell: Tornado"

"Effect: The caster will be transported to the designated location via a tornado."

"Duration: Immediate effect."

"Description: A tornado filled with love will take you to your beloved! Be careful not to hurt your back while riding the tornado."

After reciting the spell, countless whirlwinds rose from the ground, swirling around Xia Qi, lifting dust and dead leaves.

Then, the tornado surrounding him grew larger, reaching nearly twenty meters high!

Xia Qi was lifted by the eye of the tornado, floating in mid-air. However, riding the tornado was not pleasant; the pressure made it hard for him to breathe.

After a while, the tornado continued to grow, absorbing wind as if it wouldn't move until fully charged. Xia Qi wiped the sand from his face and shouted at the magic wand, "Go!"

As soon as he spoke, the tornado twisted and rushed down the cliff.

"Whooosh—"

Along the way, the tornado knocked down countless trees, destroying many public facilities on the island.

Xia Qi, riding the tornado, was anxious. When he reached the cliff, he saw the muscular man running in the opposite direction with Wang Ke. Xia Qi pointed his magic wand at the muscular man and shouted, "Bring him in too!"

"Aoohh—!" The tornado let out a sound akin to a beast's roar, mercilessly sweeping in the strong man and Wang Ke.

"Ah! Ah!!" The forcibly hitched strong man and Wang Ke simultaneously screamed in terror.

Compared to Xia Qi, who sat calmly at the eye of the storm, the treatment of the strong man and Wang Ke was worlds apart. They were tossed from bottom to top and then slammed back down, their clothes torn to shreds and their hair blown into a mohawk style, as if they had been thrown into a washing machine for hundreds of cycles.

Due to the tornado's extreme speed, it took less than ten seconds for Xia Qi to reach the Temple.

Upon reaching the destination, the tornado unceremoniously flung Xia Qi and the others out.

Since Xia Qi was prepared, he managed to protect himself upon landing, rolling twice before stopping with minimal pain.

The strong man and Wang Dazhuang, however, landed in a miserable state, especially Wang Ke, whose hands and feet were bound, resulting in a bloody gash on his head.

After groaning and getting up from the ground, Xia Qi said to the system, "User experience: negative review."

Then, Xia Qi glanced at the steps leading up to the Temple and noticed that there were already many yellow patches of slime on them.

"Not good, the octopus and the female deputy must have gone inside." Xia Qi muttered to himself and quickly stood up.

The strong man, who had been tossed around like laundry in a washing machine by the tornado and then nearly broken from the fall, finally regained consciousness and saw Xia Qi. Confused, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"No time to explain, come with me!" Xia Qi didn't have time for explanations and started running up the steps of the Temple.

The strong man quickly got up and followed Xia Qi, both of them sprinting rapidly into the Temple.

Upon arriving at the Temple, Xia Qi realized that it was also constructed from Pearl Reef.

Inside, the Temple was exquisitely decorated, adorned with numerous white statues of men that looked like holy angels under the sunlight.

However, Xia Qi had no time for appreciation. He rushed through the Temple and arrived at a grand hall with six columns on each side, where he saw the octopus and the female captain.

The octopus and the female captain stood atop the hall, near a white throne made of Pearl Reef, with a gleaming trident beside it.

The female deputy was about to grasp the trident when Xia Qi and the strong man suddenly appeared, causing her to look shocked.

"Stop them!" she ordered the octopus without hesitation.

The octopus had returned to its normal size but had changed from black to red, appearing even stronger than before, with its severed tentacle regrown.

"You little brats, I've endured you long enough. It's time to die!" Following the female deputy's command, the octopus swung its tentacles towards the strong man and Xia Qi.

Seeing the octopus charging at him, Xia Qi stepped forward, raised his magic wand, and shouted, "Pain is beautiful; even if it's humble, I want to taste the feeling of being shattered... My queen, I will dominate your beauty!"

"True Love Curse: Shattered"

Countless fist shadows instantly flew towards the octopus, but this time, after a few hits, no bumps appeared on its head.

The octopus laughed triumphantly at Xia Qi, "I absorbed the remnants of the mermaid's soul. I am not the same as before; I am much stronger now!"

After laughing confidently, the octopus lifted another tentacle and pressed it down fiercely on Xia Qi.

"Boom!"

Xia Qi sidestepped and rolled on the ground, dodging the octopus's tentacle. Where he had been standing, the ground was instantly crushed into a pit by the red tentacle.

"Xia Qi, I'll hold him off! You go get the trident!" The strong man suddenly brandished a knife and charged at the octopus. Xia Qi gritted his teeth and threw a silver dinner knife at the octopus, taking advantage of its injured tentacle to roll out from between the gaps.

With the strong man holding off the octopus, Xia Qi managed to circle behind it and shouted back, "Be careful!"

Then, Xia Qi hurried towards the throne. Upon reaching it, he found the female deputy standing motionlessly, gripping the trident.

"What's going on?"

At that moment, the female deputy held the trident with her right hand, her eyes tightly closed as if she were in a deep sleep.

Xia Qi paused, worry creasing his brow.

It seemed that obtaining the trident required passing some kind of test.

Staring at the trident for a while, Xia Qi gritted his teeth and reached out with his right hand, grasping the trident.

The moment Xia Qi's hand touched the trident, everything went dark.

After a dizzying spin, Xia Qi opened his eyes again, finding himself floating in mid-air in a transparent form.

Beside him floated the female deputy.

However, the female deputy looked different from how she did outside. Her body was covered in blue scales, and she had two gills on her neck. Xia Qi looked down and saw that she had neither a fish tail nor any human features, resembling a monster that was neither mermaid nor human.

Seeing Xia Qi enter, the female deputy's face twisted with malice.

Before they could exchange more than a glance, the scene spun again, and they found themselves on a familiar sea surface.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the sea surface, dozens of human ships were firing cannons and arrows relentlessly.

These cannons and arrows targeted a group of mermaids riding on whales.

The sounds of cannons, horns, and the clash of battle filled the air. Humans laughed maniacally, venting their fury on the mermaids.

The mermaids struggled to defend themselves but were no match for the human cannons. Xia Qi watched helplessly as the mermaids were blasted into pieces or shot in the head.

Before he could fully take in the gruesome sight, the scene changed once more.

Now, they faced a massive iron cage with a spiral staircase on one side.

Xia Qi walked up the bloodstained stairs, reaching the second level of the cage.

On the second level, countless mermaid tails hung from the iron cage beams at the top. Those tails had long lost their once beautiful colors; they were stripped of scales and the fan-like parts of their tails, leaving only bare, pink flesh.

Xia Qi was pushed forward again to an even higher level, where he saw the eviscerated bodies of mermaids. Their organs were carelessly thrown on the ground, piling up into small mountains.

On yet another level above, he saw countless heads hanging, eyes gouged out, hair shaved off, and dripping with blood.

A sharp pain pierced Xia Qi's heart as he turned to look at the female deputy, only to find her eyes cold and her face expressionless as she stared at everything before her.

"Ha, want to ask me why I brought you to the island?" Standing beneath the countless dripping heads, the female deputy spoke to Xia Qi.

"Why?" Xia Qi clenched his fists tightly.

"I am the descendant of mermaids and humans, and I retain this memory," the female deputy said coldly. "After our mermaid clan was slaughtered, their resentment lingered for a long time. I collected the resentment of my clan and used it to pay tribute to the Sea King, transforming it into fragments of the Sea King's body. Through these fragments, I opened the path to Mermaid Island."

She is the product of a union between a mermaid and a human, without a fish tail but with human legs.

Perhaps due to the mermaids' resentment, she was born hating humans and sought revenge against them at all costs.

During her voyages, she encountered an octopus and, to continue her revenge, she and the octopus gathered the resentment of mermaids, causing it to form fragments of the Sea King's body.

"Do you want to inherit the trident and become the new Sea... King?" Xia Qi asked coldly after understanding the female deputy's motives.

Originally, when the twelve pillars on the island were unlocked, the mermaids' resentment could be resolved, allowing them to reincarnate.

The female deputy feared that activating the pillars would affect the octopus's consumption of the resentment. She initially planned to kill Xia Qi, but later discovered the ruins of the Temple on the island. The female deputy suspected that the Temple hid the Sea King's divine artifact—the trident.

Thus, she changed her strategy and began cooperating with Wang Ke, making Xia Qi activate the pillars.

"The position of Sea King belongs to me, as I am a descendant of the mermaids!" the female deputy growled angrily, baring her small, sharp teeth at Xia Qi.

She and the octopus had tried multiple times to retrieve the trident from beside the throne but failed. She never expected Xia Qi to come and compete with her for it.

Xia Qi was stunned and asked, "Then the Sea King... has always been non-existent?"

"The Sea King is an ancient deity who fell long ago!" the female deputy explained patiently. "What you see is the resentment of the mermaids, not the Sea King."

Xia Qi pursed his lips and suddenly said, "I don't believe it. He has always been here."

"Hahaha!" the female deputy burst into laughter. "The ancient gods have long perished! If he were still here, why wouldn't he care for his people and let them suffer?"

Xia Qi was momentarily speechless.

"Why doesn't he show himself? He is an irresponsible god!" the female deputy shouted.

Seeing the female deputy's deranged state, Xia Qi shook his head.

No, the Sea King is not like that.

In the eyes of the mermaids, Xia Qi saw not just their resentment but also their deep suffering.

He deeply loved his people and shared their pain.

Therefore, he left this island to resolve the mermaids' resentment and grant them liberation. He also encouraged mermaids to mate with humans, hoping for a peaceful coexistence between mermaid-human hybrids and humans...

Xia Qi and the female deputy argued loudly. Then, the scene shifted, and they entered a small room.

This small room seemed to be a slaughterhouse, filled with torture tools and dissection knives. On a long table in the center lay a dying young mermaid.

Blood dripped from the table onto the floor, forming a pool of fresh red blood. The young mermaid's skin had been completely peeled off, leaving no good flesh. More horrifyingly, his eyes were gouged out, staring blankly at Xia Qi.

The female deputy's gaze was filled with hatred as she pointed at the young mermaid. "Humans peel our skin, gouge out our eyes, shave our hair, and sell our bodies in the market! Look at him, so pitiful! All humans deserve to die!"

Seeing the mermaid's tragic condition, Xia Qi's eyes welled up with tears. Ignoring the blood covering the young mermaid, he gently picked him up.

The young mermaid whimpered softly in his arms.

Xia Qi touched his forehead with his chin, choking back tears, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

All along, the mermaids' resentment seemed to be telling him their sorrow and pain. Seeing the young mermaid's condition, Xia Qi was deeply moved once again.

He felt ashamed for being human.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again.

A tear rolled down his cheek, landing on the mermaid's face.

Suddenly, the bloodied young mermaid spoke, "Qi..."

Hearing the familiar voice, Xia Qi was stunned.

A blinding white light emitted from the mermaid in his arms. In the dazzling light, the young mermaid's skin gradually regenerated, and the bloody, severed tail grew longer, sprouting magnificent scales.

Then, the man's features appeared on the blurred face, transforming into his handsome appearance.

The mermaid reached out with his pale, slender hand, touching Xia Qi's cheek, looking at him with deep affection in his blue eyes.

The mermaid smiled and said, "Congratulations on passing the trident's trial. You are the new Sea King."

After saying this, the female deputy screamed, "No—!!!"

As her scream echoed, the scene twisted again. When Xia Qi opened his eyes, he and the female deputy were back in front of the throne.

Xia Qi felt the trident trembling in his hand and instinctively pulled it out of the ground.

"Snap."

Xia Qi weighed the trident in his hand, finding it lighter than expected.

"Why!!! You're human, why can you possess the trident!" Seeing Xia Qi holding the trident, the female deputy went mad, her face contorted with jealousy.

Xia Qi's face darkened as he shouted at the frenzied female deputy, "Because you're not worthy! You want the trident just to satisfy your own desires!"

"I'll kill you!" Without obtaining the inheritance of the trident, the female deputy lunged at Xia Qi with her claws bared.

Before Xia Qi could impale her with the trident, suddenly, a merman's shadow appeared behind her. The merman's shadow merely reached out and tapped her shoulder, and she flew backward out of the temple as if caught in a whirlwind of love.

"Ah—ah—ah—" Her voice grew fainter and finally faded away.

Seeing the female deputy disappear, the octopus instantly stopped its movements.

When it saw two people standing before the throne, the octopus didn't even bother finishing off the muscular man on the ground; it rolled out of the temple in terror.

Inside the temple, silence fell once again.

The merman's shadow slowly drifted to Xia Qi, his aquamarine eyes no longer fierce but extraordinarily gentle, like the purest sea water.

He spoke in a voice like a celestial melody, "Your time is running out. Only one minute left."

This time, they were finally face-to-face, but Xia Qi didn't know what to say.

What should he say?

Thank you for pretending to be my teammate and accompanying me all this time?

Or thank you for the food, or the dreams you created that led me here?

Or...

Looking at his serene face, Xia Qi held back for a long time before managing to utter, "You've suffered."

As a fallen ancient deity, the merman had endured the resentment of all the merfolk. Xia Qi, having seen only fragments of memories in his dreams, could barely bear the weight of it.

Xia Qi couldn't imagine the torment he must have endured.

"Thank you."

After saying this, the merman's shadow approached him, took his hand, and gently touched his forehead with his lips.

Then, the merman lifted Xia Qi's right hand, positioning the tip of the trident against his chest, smiling and saying, "Go ahead."

Xia Qi's lips trembled, and tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Countdown: 00:00:03"

"Don't be afraid." He whispered near Xia Qi's ear, brushing away his hot tears.

Xia Qi's right hand shook uncontrollably, but the merman firmly gripped his wrist and thrust the tip into his body.

"I love you."

In the final moment, Xia Qi heard his ethereal voice once more.

As he spoke, Xia Qi felt the person holding him becoming lighter. Looking up, he saw the merman disintegrating before him, transforming into beautiful blue bubbles.

"Ding! Congratulations, survivor Xia Qi, for successfully passing the game!"

"Ding! Congratulations, survivor Xia Qi, for killing the boss of the 'Azure Sea Pearl' dungeon. Entering reward settlement..."

The scene before him began to twist, and Xia Qi glimpsed scenes from years ago, where humans and merfolk lived harmoniously by the seaside.

They lived freely together, seemingly without distinction.

Under the azure sky, the merman smiled, then looked up, gazing at the flying Xia Qi.

His eyes seemed to pierce through countless dimensions, looking towards him.

"My love, though this world is dark,

I am willing to wait in the abyss for the moment you come to me.

Until the darkness is dispelled, and light returns to the world.

We will meet again in the blue sea..."

Amid the celestial song, Xia Qi's vision blurred, feeling a black hole pulling him away.

After Xia Qi left, the temple collapsed, turning into ruins. Beautiful blue bubbles rose into the sky, flying towards freedom.

The bubbles continued to soar, eventually returning to a black abyss.

Within a vast web of light, a white, ethereal figure became clearer, reaching out eagerly to catch the bubbles.

Last time, he obtained "Xia Qi's Guilt," but this time, he vowed to earn his love.

Thus, he joyfully opened the message brought by the bubbles—

"Item: Xia Qi's Pity"

The figure: "..."

The figure froze.

Pity?

What does pity mean?

"Impossible, there must be an error with the sensor!" the figure gritted his teeth in anger, causing the light web around him to tremble and spark with electricity.

"Right, I still have the [Pink Memory Conch]." The figure suddenly remembered something and pulled out a pink seashell from his pocket.

In the Azure Sea Mermaid Pearl instance, Xia Qi picked up this Sound-Conveying Conch. Just now, amidst the bubbles of reminiscence, Xia Qi had uttered a sentence to the Sound-Conveying Conch.

Thus, the figure gleefully activated the speaking trumpet of the sound-conch once more—

"You have a sickness."

Xia Qi's icy voice emerged distinctly from the Sound Conch.

Author's note: Thanks for everyone's support! Heh, tomorrow there's a new sea king waiting for you!

[1] Reference to the song "Tornado," by Jay Chou.