Chapter 23: Separating

Chapter 23: Separation

The mermaid’s gentle hum slowly rose in the silent depths of the sea. Deng Xi's voice trembled, tinged with tears, now loud, now soft, singing on instinct alone.

But it was still beautiful.

The ocean carried the soft, tuneless melody far and wide. The ocean floor, once boiling with the threat of the silver merman, seemed to settle back into calm.

The mermaid's song was the ocean’s gift to merfolk—embracing, gentle, and serene, fostering life in the stillness.

Whenever Deng Xi encountered threatening sea creatures, he would hum a few tuneless notes when possible. The healing power in the mermaid's song would temporarily pacify them.

At such times, even the fiercest sea creatures would become as tame as his clingy small jellyfish.

His tense shoulders slowly eased under the soft hum. The mental turmoil in his mind gradually calmed with the song, replaced by sharper awareness. Behind him was a warm body—the boy holding him tight, knuckles white from gripping so hard, their tails entwined.

Despite his slight strength, the silver merman was easily held in this warm embrace.

An embrace filled with the sea’s scent—calm and earnest.

In the dim, silent depths, gold and silver hair swirled together in the currents. The silver-tailed figure stood frozen, his empty stare fixed forward, while the blue tail coiled around him from behind, holding him tight.

The soft hum continued endlessly before Deng Xi, exhausted, finally fell silent.

His emotions had swung wildly all day, facing terror after terror, swimming back and forth between two distant stretches of sea. He was completely spent. His reddened eyes blinked wearily, weighed down by exhaustion, his voice thick with sleep.

The hostility around the silver-tailed one gradually faded. Even after the song ended, there were no further outbursts. Tentatively, Deng Xi loosened his grip, carefully unwinding his tail—only for the dormant beast to stir again, startling him into clinging tighter. Only then did the silver merman settle.

Though the song had ceased, the mermaid’s natural charm continued to work its magic.

Deng Xi held him a long time before cautiously loosening his embrace again. He reached out to pat the silver merman's head, clumsily coaxing, "Little Mute, be good." The young mermaid petted the silver strands gently, whispering, "Don't move."

His touch was light as a feather, and the silver merman instinctively pressed into Deng Xi’s hand. Noticing this, his sleepy blue eyes crinkled slightly in approval. "Mm, very good."

Deng Xi took Si Jisheng's hand, ignoring the sharp claws. Instead, he twined his soft fingers through them, gripping tightly.

The sense of security lost when letting go was now restored.

The silver merman calmed again.

Holding his hand, Deng Xi tried to lead him away from the area. But before he could pull, the silver-tailed figure bent down, picking up the broken seashell fragments from the gray sand and clutching them in his palm.

Absently, he rubbed his thumb over a joint—though nothing was visibly there, his fingers found something metallic. Whatever was wrapped around his finger seemed to be growing hot, even buzzing faintly in quick pulses.

But the silver merman, bereft of reason, barely gave it a glance before turning his attention back to Deng Xi.

This time, Deng Xi finally succeeded in leading him off.

Having been led this way once before, Deng Xi had no trouble finding their way back home with Little Mute in tow. The journey was smooth, without getting lost, and Little Mute remained well-behaved the whole time.

The two stretches of sea were several kilometers apart. By the time Deng Xi returned to the den, it was late into the night. He was exhausted, barely able to keep his eyes open, his stomach growling—yet he lacked the energy to hunt for food.

Leading the silver-tailed figure to the giant clam, Deng Xi sat him down before attempting to pull his hand free—only to find the grip unyielding. The silver-tailed figure stared at him intently.

Deng Xi swam worriedly in front of Little Mute.

He refused to believe the seashell had been discarded without reason. It had to be because Little Mute was sick, unable to control himself.

Deng Xi decided to forgive him.

He didn’t know when Little Mute would recover. Even if he never did, Deng Xi couldn’t bear to watch his only kin become a lost, sickened monster with nowhere to go.

He could keep singing.

He could work hard every day, just as he had when Little Mute was injured, catching fish and bringing food home until Little Mute healed.

But first—Deng Xi touched the bruises on his arm, rubbing his bleary eyes before lowering his voice—"Little Mute has to stay this good."

The oblivious silver merman followed the blue tail’s gaze, reaching out to brush a fingertip over one of the marks. His lowered eyelids almost seemed guilty.

Deng Xi: "It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt anymore—"

He froze mid-sentence, eyes widening as the silver merman suddenly lifted his hand, pressing it to his lips before unexpectedly running his tongue slowly over the bruised skin.

Silver strands of hair drifted around the merman’s face. From Deng Xi’s angle, all he could see was the sharp line of his jaw, the silver eyes lowered in focus as he licked the marks again.

When his thin lips parted, the sharp tips of his fangs were visible, the serpentine coolness of his tongue leaving a chilling sensation.

Devoid of reason, Si Jisheng acted purely on instinct.

In the animal world, wounds healed faster when licked.

Deng Xi blinked before a small smile curved his lips.

Among the merfolk, licking each other’s wounds was something only the closest of kin did.

It meant that even without reason, even if Little Mute didn’t recognize him, deep down, he still saw Deng Xi as part of his safe space.

And in that space, Deng Xi was the only one.

The only one he was this intimate with.

If things could stay like this forever, Deng Xi thought—whether Little Mute recovered or not—they could always, always keep each other company, surviving together in the lonely sea.

Once the silver merman finished, he frowned coldly at the renewed heat in the bruised skin before his attention was stolen by a yawn from the blue tail.

Carefully, Deng Xi withdrew his hand. Under the now-calm gaze of the silver merman, he slipped into the new giant clam, the shell snapping shut behind him.

"Goodnight."

Exhausted, the young mermaid fell into a deep sleep the moment darkness enveloped him.

Unbeknownst to him, the silver merman outside stared at the closed shell for a long time, tilting his head in confusion before swimming closer. Tentatively, he reached out, prying the shell open just enough to peek inside.

Only after confirming Deng Xi was peacefully asleep did he quietly close it again.

And then, after a while—

He opened it once more, took another look, and shut it.

Like a dragon guarding its hoard, terrified its treasure would vanish in the blink of an eye, needing constant reassurance that it was still there.

That night, the rose-colored shell was opened and closed countless times. But Deng Xi, drained from the day’s exertions, slept soundly, undisturbed.

By the time dawn’s light seeped into the ocean depths, the silver merman—still restless from the mental turmoil—finally grew impatient with the transparent band around his finger, which had been vibrating incessantly all night.

Unaware of what had been triggered.

The constantly overheating neural interface successfully identified and suddenly displayed a holographic display. The signal, which had been impossible to connect, was instantly sent out, and the location was immediately marked.

Only after determining that the holographic display posed no threat did the silver merman lose interest and avert his eyes, continuing to fixate on the shell before him.

Yet, the holographic display in the air flickered unpredictably.

"Connection established!"

"Contact the Marshal immediately!"

"Reporting—the Marshal has yet to issue any orders."

The adjutant scanned the horizon and swiftly gave the command, "Proceed as planned."

The cruise ship on the ocean immediately headed toward the marked coordinates at maximum speed, arriving at the designated location within half an hour. Several fully armed imperial soldiers strapped on oxygen tanks and, upon the adjutant's signal, deployed into the sea.

Real-time footage transmitted the underwater scene to the ship's command center. Barely containing his anticipation, the adjutant paced back and forth.

Following the neural interface's positioning, the soldiers descended further into the depths. The captured images gradually grew dim and blurry until they halted above a massive submarine chasm, staring into the lightless void as they quietly awaited further instructions.

The adjutant ordered, "Weapons hot, proceed downward."

The footage plunged into deeper darkness, sweeping past shadowy coral formations clinging to the abyss. After an indeterminable length of descent, the positioning device finally emitted a "beep."

It signaled that they were now within ten meters of their target.

The seaweed concealing the cave entrance was parted with deliberate motion. The faint movement instantly snapped the silver merman's attention.

Under the interference of a powerful magnetic field, the transmission dissolved into static. In the pitch-black darkness, a glowing jellyfish suddenly flashed, and a pair of cold silver vertical pupils abruptly appeared in the frame. Though the light lasted only a second, it froze the blood in everyone's veins.

The adjutant went rigid and immediately reacted, roaring, "All personnel! Highest alert! Retreat at once!!!"

No living soul would dare approach the Marshal when he was in a frenzy—doing so would guarantee a bloody end. The adjutant finally understood why, after the Marshal issued the "depart immediately" command and the starship made the jump from the imperial core to this ocean-covered planet, they had received no further responses from him.

Because the Marshal had undergone MermanTransformation.

He had completely become a battle machine, his psyche now filled with nothing but violent instincts.

Just recalling the horrific scenes from past failures in containment made the adjutant break into a cold sweat. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain calm. "Switch all laser rifles to Tranquilizer immediately. If necessary, weapons may be fired to subdue him."

"The cruise ship isn't equipped with a medbay. We must return the Marshal to the starship at once, or the consequences will be dire!"

Inside the dimly lit nest,

glowing jellyfish flickered intermittently as multiple weapon barrels aimed at the silver merman before the shell.

Danger.

Every instinct screamed danger, yet the silver merman remained motionless, standing protectively in front of the shell.

Several doses of Tranquilizer were instantly injected into his flesh. The once-indomitable silver merman collapsed onto the shell, but the beautiful yet fragile shell remained perfectly intact, shielded by his body from the armor-piercing rounds.

It stayed unharmed, resting quietly in place.

Through the shell, the silver merman seemed to still sense the gentle rhythm of breathing within—light and shallow, as if its occupant were lost in a sweet dream, eyelids curved and lips curled into a faint smile.

As the drugs took hold,

the silver merman slowly closed his eyes.

"Secure the package."

Author's Note:

The next chapter will be released at midnight on Wednesday for VIP access! A 10k-word update will drop. Thank you for your support, dear readers~

Xi Xi (little fish hiccup): Thank you, aunties, for the milk!