Chapter 103: Honesty

Chapter 103: Honesty

After Liu Hai came clean, he subtly watched Jiang Xun’s expression.

Jiang Xun didn’t seem angry, or even particularly surprised.

Liu Hai hesitated, then asked, puzzled, "Are you drunk, Jiang Xun?"

"I only had one can of beer." Jiang Xun pressed his fingers to his temples, a silent gesture of exasperation. "That wouldn't even give me a buzz."

After much deliberation, he decided to drop the clumsy act.

Since Liu Hai had chosen to be open and honest with him, he felt he should reciprocate with equal sincerity.

Jiang Xun offered a faint smile. "Alright, then I’ll honestly tell you a secret too—I already knew."

Liu Hai’s eyes widened slightly, as if still processing the information. "Huh?"

"Or perhaps…" Jiang Xun mused for a moment, his tone unchanged, "Wow, you’re not a mermaid? Wow, you’re actually a seal? Wow, you’re actually a seal spirit?"

"Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Liu Hai seemed to short-circuit, clearly still reeling from the shock.

Jiang Xun leaned closer and called out, "Liu Hai?"

He suggested, "If you don’t know what to say, you can start by describing how you feel to slowly clear your head."

Hearing this, Liu Hai’s seemingly stalled mind slowly began to function again.

He stared at Jiang Xun with a complex expression. "So, you all knew?"

"Because you actually told us a long time ago," Jiang Xun said honestly. "When we first met, you asked me about my thoughts on 'spirits,' and before that, you even transformed into a seal."

"To be blunt…"

Jiang Xun mercilessly poked his forehead. "Your mermaid disguise was full of holes. Everyone put in a lot of effort to play along with you."

Liu Hai fell silent, then mumbled quietly, "I thought you guys were the kind of… staunch atheists who wouldn’t believe in spirits. Since you wouldn’t believe, I figured you’d try your best to come up with your own reasons to make sense of things, no matter how outlandish."

"I’ve met people like that before—no matter what happens, they’ll find a way to explain it scientifically."

"Especially you, Jiang Xun. Didn’t you not even believe in mermaids? Why would you believe in spirits?"

"Because seeing is believing," Jiang Xun said, pinching Liu Hai’s cheek. "I’ve never seen a mermaid, but right now, I’ve got a seal spirit right here in my hands."

"Mmmph," Liu Hai narrowed his eyes, feeling like something wasn’t quite right, yet also thinking that since no one was angry, perhaps it wasn’t a big deal.

After pondering for a moment without reaching any conclusion, he decided to follow his instincts and stop dwelling on these "minor details." He sighed, "So, all this time, was I the only one still trying so hard to act?"

"We were trying hard to play along with you too," Jiang Xun said with a smile. "Sometimes it was quite a struggle."

"You rascal." Liu Hai bumped his head against Jiang Xun and sighed. "Then don’t I look utterly ridiculous? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!"

"Because you looked like you were putting in so much effort," Jiang Xun said, propping his chin on his hand. "And at first, you seemed a bit wary of humans. Being a 'mermaid' gave you more security, so we did our best to go along with it."

"Later, when we all got so close, it was obvious your mermaid act wasn’t malicious at all, so there was no need to expose you…"

He paused, then grinned. "Alright, I admit I had a bit of a mischievous streak too. I wanted to see what kind of expression you’d make when you realized it yourself."

Liu Hai put on an angry face.

Jiang Xun poked his cheek, and the puffed-up Seal King deflated again.

"Just my usual mood," Liu Hai said, hands on his hips. "What, did you think I’d be so embarrassed I’d bury my face in the snow and refuse to come out? I—I don’t care at all! It’s not like I lost anything!"

Jiang Xun just smiled at him.

Liu Hai held his ground for a moment before his arms drooped, and he asked sheepishly, "So… did everyone else know too?"

Jiang Xun slowly nodded, shattering his last shred of hope.

"Ugh—this is mortifying! I’m not going to work tomorrow!" Liu Hai flopped onto the sofa, burying his face in a cushion.

"Tomorrow was already a day off," Jiang Xun said, leaning over the back of the sofa to look at him. "But on Monday, you’re going to work like normal."

He poked Liu Hai’s head. "And now that everything’s out in the open, can I ask you something directly?"

"Do spirits have any special abilities?"

Liu Hai quietly opened one eye and said deliberately, "They eat people, you know."

Jiang Xun remained completely unfazed, humoring him with a nod. "Mhm, mhm. Anything else?"

Liu Hai frowned. "You don’t believe me at all!"

"Of course not," Jiang Xun admitted without hesitation. "Because if you really ate people… with so many around you every day, you haven’t eaten a single one. Seems like your appetite isn't great."

He poked Liu Hai’s stomach. "You do eat a lot of barbecue, though."

"Mm." Liu Hai rubbed his belly but answered honestly. "Actually, there aren’t many special abilities. The biggest change is basically just shapeshifting."

"All living things in the world become spirits for all sorts of reasons, and their forms can be just as varied."

Liu Hai gave Jiang Xun some examples. "For instance, some objects steeped in human yearning take on their owner’s form, repeating the story tied to their strongest emotions over and over—because that’s what gave them life."

"Some spirits listen to lectures in academies, yearning day and night, wishing they could replace those thick-headed dullards. They take the form of book-smart types, discussing books and classics with others."

"Others simply long for what humans have—wanting to sneak into granaries without being chased away, wanting their own jars full of oil. They hide their true identities and live like humans, using their cleverness to live the good life."

As Jiang Xun listened, he couldn’t help but smile. "So you can’t generalize about spirits, just like you can’t generalize about animals."

"I always thought they’d be more awe-inspiring, like some kind of grand figures who could command the elements."

"There are spirits like that too," Liu Hai said, propping his head up. "Some just want to become stronger—they don’t care about turning human at all."

"In their eyes, sprouting hands is just a way to wield powerful weapons or artifacts. Human faces are useless, so they keep their favorite, proudest fur and might even grow extra limbs to look tougher."

"Those kinds of spirits are usually really strong—they might actually eat people! Ordinary spirits would be no match for them."

"But the risks are high too. They’re more likely to run into powerful Taoist priests or monks, and they get zapped by lightning on the regular."

Liu Hai quickly shook his head. "That's not my scene."

Jiang Xun asked, "So, you probably couldn’t beat those kinds of ferocious spirits?"

"Yeah." Liu Hai confidently raised a hand. "But beating up small sea creatures is no problem!"

He paused. "Big ones too! Hell, even against an orca these days, I definitely like my chances!"

Jiang Xun chuckled softly, "Besides that, I remember you once had fish lead the way..."

"That? It's just normal communication with everyone," Liu Hai tilted his head. "Not a particularly special ability."

"If I had to say, I've only just taken human form and am still a small, low-level spirit with weak cultivation. The only thing I'm good at right now... is probably shapeshifting."

Liu Hai added guiltily, "I'll work hard to learn more! In the future, things like controlling the weather—it's still possible to master!"

In other words, he couldn't do any of that yet.

Jiang Xun didn't expose Liu Hai and asked with interest, "So, how did you become a spirit?"

"Because I wanted to go out and see the world," Liu Hai sat up a bit, leaning on the back of the sofa to get closer to Jiang Xun. "I wanted to leave that icy, snowy place and see the human world."

Looking back, at first, becoming human wasn't important to him—he just wanted to go out and see the world.

But after making friends and gradually gaining the ability to live in human society, Liu Hai's desire to become human grew stronger.

He vaguely realized that his current form might be related to this, but it wasn’t that important because, in any case, he could now transform freely.

"Easygoing and carefree"—not wasting energy on unnecessary things was the Seal King's laid-back life philosophy.

"So that's how it was," Jiang Xun seemed to think of something too and asked, "Then, don’t you have any special powers or magic?"

Liu Hai tilted his head and said deliberately, "I can charm people, just like the spirits in legends. I’ll make your mind filled only with thoughts of the Seal King!"

He stood on the sofa, raising his arms high. "Bow before me, human! Seals shall conquer the Earth! Oh—"

Jiang Xun smiled, eyes sparkling. "Yes, Seal King. So, where’s the first target of conquest?"

Liu Hai pointed at the pizza menu on the table. "Let’s conquer this pizza place first. That pizza just now was really good."

"Which one?" Jiang Xun leaned over curiously. "Hawaiian or the meat lover's?"

"Not sure," Liu Hai scratched his head in frustration. "I just know the meat was fragrant, and the texture was really different..."

Jiang Xun pointed at another pizza on the menu. "This one, right? The new pork cutlet."

Liu Hai’s eyes widened in shock. "You can tell which meat it is just like that?"

"No, actually, I had no idea," Jiang Xun laughed. "But I know Xiao Jin ordered the pizza, and she has a habit of trying new menu items. As long as it’s not something she really dislikes, she’ll always order the newest thing at any place, occasionally adding a best-seller."

"If we’re not sure, we can just call Xiao Jin and ask."

Liu Hai had an epiphany. "Oh, that makes sense!"

"Then let’s not ask her yet. Let’s order one and put our detective skills to the test."

He looked at Jiang Xun expectantly. Jiang Xun asked uncertainly, "You’re not saying you want to eat another pizza now, are you?"

Liu Hai looked up sheepishly. "Two, is that okay?"

"I was full just now, but after helping clean up with everyone, I feel hungry again."

Jiang Xun: "...Let’s hope the place isn’t closed yet."

"Definitely not!" Liu Hai confidently held up the flyer. "I noticed earlier—it says open 24 hours!"

Jiang Xun was both amused and exasperated. "Got it. I’ll order for you. What flavor for the other one? Same as Xiao Jin, a best-seller?"

"Okay!" Liu Hai leaned in but suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, since you all know I’m not a mermaid, why does my ID still say 'mermaid' for 'species'?"

"A few reasons," Jiang Xun answered while placing the order. "One, writing 'seal' would reveal that we already know your identity. Another is that the boss thought it strangely fits the company’s mermaid legend and is fine with letting you keep this harmless white lie—since everyone knows the truth anyway."

"And one more thing..."

Jiang Xun looked at him. "The ID information can be changed, whenever you want."

Author's Note:

Seal: I’m just a poor, helpless, but always hungry little monster. [Panda head]

Only one update today! Nearing the end, need to organize the outline =3=