Chapter 49: Kiss

Chapter 49: Kin

The silver-tailed merman slowly slitted his eyes as Deng Xi nuzzled against his scales, turning his face to gaze at the boy with a predatory, alien look.

He seemed to study him carefully.

Yet his expression remained unchanged.

The inherent calming aura of the merfolk allowed the silver merman to quietly accept every touch from Deng Xi. To him, Deng Xi was like a curious animal that had wandered close—one that would extend gentle fingers to stroke and nuzzle him, that would cling to his cold body.

Against his instincts, the silver merman found himself unwilling to push away this warmth.

The lingering effects of the tranquilizer clashed endlessly with the violent surges in his Mental Sea. His mind splintered with pain, screaming to tear everything apart, yet his tranquilizer-soaked body remained utterly powerless. The clash between the two left his bones aching with exhaustion.

The silver merman closed his eyes, drawing a measured breath.

Deng Xi leaned back slightly, pressing his palm against the merman’s cheek. Their noses nearly touched, the heat of his tears mingling with the merman’s damp exhale—warring yet blending, eroding yet soothing each other.

His heart ached as he blinked, voice wet with tears. "Does it hurt?"

Lost in the haze of his mind, the silver merman stared into those luminous blue eyes. The voice in his ears sounded muffled, drowned out by the ringing in his skull. With the last of his strength, he lifted a hand, brushing his thumb against the tears spilling from those blue eyes.

His webbed claws, slick with seawater-like mucus and traces of translucent green tranquilizer, left a damp trail on Deng Xi’s face.

The merman’s distorted, guttural voice spoke slowly, word by word. "D-don’t cry."

Deng Xi pressed his lips together, smiling through his tears. "Should I sing to Little Mute?"

Last time in the ocean, it was his singing that had calmed the feral merman. Deng Xi didn’t know if his voice would work now, but if it could ease even a little of his suffering, it would be enough.

The silver merman let out a guttural gasp. After leaving the treatment pod, his body rapidly metabolized the tranquilizer, the weakness fading—only to be replaced by an even sharper agony in his Mental Sea.

The gene inhibitor worked simply: to force the atavistic genes into a contained eruption, ensuring the outburst happened within a manageable timeframe. Afterward, the Mental Sea would settle, preventing sudden, unpredictable surges triggered by stimuli.

In short, it was about borrowing pain from the future.

And to prevent full transformation after ingesting the gene serum, the specially designed treatment pod was used to halt the process—lest the enraged marshal lose all control.

The silver merman’s slit pupils dulled further.

The fingers pressed against Deng Xi’s tear-streaked face shook with the effort of restraint, the sharp claws nearly grazing the corner of his eye.

Abruptly, the merman withdrew his hand—only for his webbed claws to be seized tightly the next moment. Deng Xi placed the grimy hand back against his own cheek, pressing it to his cheek, unfazed. His lips curled softly as he whispered, "I’m not scared."

"Little Mute shouldn’t be scared either."

The silver merman’s fingers twitched slightly, his tense body suppressing a deep, violent fury. They were too close—the merman’s icy breath frosted Deng Xi’s skin with each exhale.

He couldn’t resist the urge to draw nearer to this strange, warm being.

Once allowed, the silver merman gently pinched Deng Xi’s plush cheek with his webbed claws before slowly pulling him into a tight embrace. The closer they pressed, the faster the cold fury in his silver eyes thawed to quiet.

The merfolk’s empathy allowed Deng Xi to quickly sense the change in the silver-tailed one.

Hesitantly, he hugged back just as tightly.

His human legs were entwined by the lustrous silver tail, their cheeks pressed together, chests flush—merging, as if to share one heartbeat.

But it still wasn’t enough.

The silver merman inhaled sharply, a raw groan escaping his throat.

His mind felt like it was shattering.

Deng Xi’s lashes quivered anxiously. He clung even tighter, their bones pressing painfully close—the embrace turning painful yet futile.

Still not enough.

Deng Xi carded frantic fingers through the silver hair beneath his fingers, voice shaking. "Hush now… it’s okay, it’ll stop hurting soon."

In his clumsy adjustment, his lips accidentally brushed against the scales at the corner of the merman’s eye.

Soft. Cold.

His lips, damp and warm, left behind a lingering warmth. The silver merman froze—an uncharacteristically still pause—before slowly blinking, his slit pupils fixed unwaveringly on the lips now mere inches away.

Deng Xi asked uncertainly, "Is… is that better?"

He leaned in again, pressing another whisper of a kiss to the same spot.

The silver merman remained utterly still.

As if waiting for the next one.

It worked.

Delighted, Deng Xi curved his eyes shut, a stray tear slipping free as he began dusting the silver scales with kiss after damp, tender kiss.

Gradually, the silver merman succumbed to calm.

Deng Xi’s lips lingered on the scales beneath the merman’s eye as he hummed a soft, wavering lullaby—a wordless melody.

The merfolk’s song rose gently in the dim, silent treatment room, warm breaths tangling in the dark.

The silver merman tilted his head in confusion, turning to stare at the moist, parted lips so close to his own—as if wondering why they had stopped.

Eyes still closed, Deng Xi continued humming, his nose nosing gently against the merman’s cheek. When he felt the scales beneath his lips shift away, he instinctively chased after them.

Only to meet something far colder.

The song died in his throat. Trembling, Deng Xi opened his eyes—and froze, his blue gaze scattering in shock.

Pale, icy lips pressed lightly against his own, the merman’s mouth unconsciously rubbing against the yielding softness of Deng Xi’s lower lip. Deng Xi’s ears burned crimson, his eyes reddening at the edges. He flinched back, but with the floor beneath him, there was nowhere to go.

So warm.

Driven by instinct, the silver merman’s tongue flicked out, ghosting over.

Leaving behind a lingering coolness on Deng Xi’s lips.

They… kissed.

Deng Xi’s eyes widened. The realization washed over him, dizzying—he and Little Mute had just…

His lips sealed shut in fluster, head turning aside—only for the merman’s mouth to graze his cheek instead.

The silver merman paused, then—after a moment of dazed processing—hooked a claw under Deng Xi’s chin. When he saw the boy flinched slightly at the pressure, he stiffened.

A long silence passed before a submerged, distorted whisper finally escaped him.

"It...hurts."

"...Kiss me."

Despite being unaware, the silver merman knew exactly how to get to Deng Xi. After murmuring those words, he tilted his head slightly and tentatively brushed his pale lips against the other's.

Just a brush of contact.

Deng Xi didn't know whether to pull away or accept it. Unable to bear turning aside, his inaction was interpreted by the silver merman as consent.

Thus, the icy tongue swept in forcefully.

Blue eyes widened instantly.

This was going too far.

Yet... Deng Xi closed his eyes and let his jaw relax slightly. If it could ease Little Mute's discomfort, then kissing was okay too.

Kisses would make the pain go away.

Deng Xi's eyelids fluttered uncontrollably.

With permission granted, the silver merman let go completely. Due to MermanTransformation, his tongue was covered in sharp barbs, yet he cruelly gave the blue-tailed boy no chance to pull away. The cold invasion churned ruthlessly within the warm, moist mouth.

Merfolk, brutal by nature, were creatures of insatiable desire. While the conscious Si Jisheng constantly restrained his easily-triggered mental turbulence, the silver merman, stripped of reason, became nothing more than a monster driven by pure hunger.

This was truly... too much.

Deng Xi threw his head back slightly, legs thrashing weakly, only for the tail coiled around them to tighten abruptly, pinning him utterly. His upper body remained trapped in the silver-tailed embrace.

Tears sprang up again in those blue eyes as his desperate shaking of his head made his nose brush against the merman's.

So terrifying.

The tongue's invasion pushed deep enough to choke him.

Amidst the chaos, Deng Xi realized with startling clarity - there would be no escape, ever.

Yet slowly, he tightened his arms and clung to this unconscious monster desperately.

It's okay.

Little Mute was just ill.

Clutching the silver hair, Deng Xi's feeble strength rendered the gesture meaningless. He could only whine pitifully to his captor, "Is...is that enough now?"

His lungs screamed for air as it fled rapidly. Nearly blacking out, Deng Xi couldn't discern whether it was excessive pleasure or discomfort making tears fall, pattering down.

It felt good, actually.

But it was too deep.

Deng Xi felt scared.

Face burning scarlet, it took long moments before he hazily registered being released, gasping in shallow, desperate breaths like a drowning man surfacing.

Soon, however, he felt the tears at his temples being licked away, the barbed tongue leaving faint stinging trails across his cheeks.

Blinking dazedly,

the moment the embrace loosened, panic drove him to cling desperately again. Pressing against cold scales, he murmured softly, "Hold me."

The silver merman embraced his insecure little creature.

Only then did Deng Xi burrow into the merman's neck, blinking sore eyes as he sank into the warmth.

In his drowsy state, occasional murmurs escaped:

"Don't...let go."

"Even sick...Little Mute must stay...with me always."

Author's Note:

Second update coming (don't wait up)