Ch 80: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

He had thought the merfolk wouldn’t notice at all, that they would blindly and unconditionally believe in Ying Luo.

Mo Yu noticed Mu Xing looking at him and asked:
“Xingxing, is something wrong?”

This time Mu Xing didn’t need to feign innocence—he truly was puzzled.
“Brother Mo Yu, why do you say that?”

Sheng also looked up at his father in confusion.

Holding his son, Mo Yu flicked his tail and said:
“Earlier, Bi Fei used a secret art to send him a message—telling him to bring that human here in exchange for the clan’s safety. He never replied. When we left, we left him a message using our merfolk’s unique mark, but it’s been so long now, and we’ve had no response, no return to the sea, not even an explanation.”

“The Priestess has a way to sense the state of our clansmen. Ying Luo is in no danger.”

Mo Yu stroked his son’s soft little curls, voice gentle:
“Ying Luo once brought news back to the clan, saying he found the love of his life. He can’t bear to leave that human. Now, his lover is more important than his people.”

This was truly beyond Mu Xing’s expectations.

He had thought all merfolk were beautiful but naïve sweethearts. Now it seemed—the beauty was real, the sweetness was real, but the foolishness… perhaps not.

They had simply lived too long in their idyllic deep-sea paradise, their temperaments more innocent than humans.

But in matters like this—they saw things clearly.

He quickly realized: if Mo Yu said this, then the other clansmen must think the same. As for the Priestess, that went without saying.

No wonder she had so readily switched the clan leader.

Aside from the sacred relic choosing him, Ying Lou’s actions had already left a mark in their hearts—perhaps even pushing him out of the circle of “most trusted kin.”

He couldn’t help recalling the original story.

When clansmen went to rescue Ying Luo, most perished. The few survivors were dragged to the capital, stripped of all strength, turned into precious gifts for nobles—suffering endless humiliation.

At home, only elders and juveniles remained.

They had no way of knowing the truth, only Ying Lou’s family’s words to trust, and he had once been chosen by the relic as clan leader—so they believed.

But things were different now.

The clansmen who went out had survived. They knew what had happened. They now instinctively guarded against Ying Luo.

And the sacred relic—for whatever reason—had chosen Mu Xing. Ying Luo lost his place as leader.

Everything was completely different.

Mu Xing lowered his head, gripping the orb that had rolled into his sleeve at some point.
The merfolk clan would never repeat the same tragedy.

Before long, the juveniles were ushered off to rest, and Mu Xing naturally joined them.

His parents had gone missing during a hunt long ago, never to return. The clan had raised him together.

But the merfolk were few in number, and all younglings were raised by the whole tribe. Though he had no parents, his life was no different from the other juveniles.

Back at his home, Mu Xing soon felt drowsy.

Yawning, he lay down on the soft white sand, drifting toward sleep.

Suddenly, heat flared at his wrist, jolting him awake.

It was the orb.

It seemed to have rolled out of his sleeve just then, then flown back, accidentally bumping into him.

Mu Xing: ?

He thought of something and tried channeling his meager spiritual power toward it. In the next moment, he clearly felt emotions from the orb—something like “joy” and “affection.”

As he suspected.

The merfolk’s sacred relic had developed a simple consciousness.

Of course—high-grade spirit tools could give rise to spirits. How much more so this orb, clearly at the level of an immortal artifact?

But why did it like him so much?

Mu Xing rubbed his head, thinking maybe it had just awakened when he entered, and the first person it saw was him?

After a moment’s thought, he decided to strike first and give the little spirit some guidance.

Cradling the glowing orb in both hands, he tried speaking to it with his divine sense:
“You’ve guarded the island for ten thousand years. Every merfolk sees you as our sacred relic. In the future, if anyone strange tries to take you from the island, don’t agree.”

In the original story, the orb probably hadn’t awakened yet—so Ying Luo could steal it to save his lover.

Now, hearing the pretty little merchild actually speak to it, the spirit bubbled with joy, bouncing in Mu Xing’s palms, lively and excited.

At the same time, its intent rang clear in Mu Xing’s sea of consciousness:
“No… not follow others. Follow Little Xingxing. Like… Little Xingxing.”

Like a toddler just learning to talk.

Mu Xing stroked it, eyes curving with a smile:
“You mustn’t follow me either. Your master placed you here—so stay here. The clan needs you more than I do.”

The spirit didn’t fully understand such long words. But the aura it liked so much—this Little Xingxing—had said so, and it quickly gave a clear response.

Good. Mu Xing finally relaxed.

Now that the orb had awakened, as long as it refused, Ying Luo couldn’t take it away even if he tried.

Call him selfish if you like—Chu Xu meant nothing to the merfolk, nothing to Mu Xing. Just a stranger.

A stranger—if he could lend a hand without cost, Mu Xing would help.
But if it meant harming his people to fulfill someone else’s wish, Mu Xing was not so saintly. Translated on hololonovels.

Having come to terms with the spirit, Mu Xing happily lay back on the fine white sand and drifted into sweet sleep.

The orb rested quietly on his chest, flashing softly with multicolored light.

After a long while, the spirit seemed to realize the boy was asleep.

It thought blankly for a moment, searching through its memories—ah, when merfolk were asleep, they mustn’t be disturbed.

The little orb rolled itself a few times, from the boy’s chest to the side. Its glow dimmed, and it tucked itself under the fallen folds of his sleeve, completely hidden from sight.

This way it wouldn’t dazzle Little Xingxing’s eyes! the spirit thought happily, and imitating the merfolk, it pulled back its awareness and “slept.”

---

The next morning.

Rising with the sun, Mu Xing found the merfolk’s sacred relic happily splashing in a nearby tide pool.

He picked it up—clear water still clinging to its surface. The orb was crystal-bright, shimmering with five-colored radiance, plainly extraordinary.

“Orb, I’m going to borrow your name for something. Don’t expose me, okay?” he bargained with it.

The orb: ?

Naturally, it didn’t really understand.

So Mu Xing carried the treasure to meet the Priestess.

“Cultivation?” the Priestess repeated the word with some confusion.

Mu Xing nodded, explaining:
“The lightning and fog I summoned before, under the Sea God’s guidance—that was the result of cultivation.”

He phrased it in ways merfolk could grasp:
“We merfolk are born able to commune with the sea, to borrow the ocean’s power. But that power is only borrowed. Once we leave the sea, we lose it. Cultivation means making that power truly our own.”

The Priestess’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

The merfolk had always lived in the deep sea. In the ocean, they had no natural enemies. Sometimes a shipwreck or two—but those humans posed no threat.

So even one as wise as the Priestess had never felt real danger.

Until this time.

Dozens of clansmen trapped, and she alone in the sanctuary—she had felt a great, nameless dread.

For a moment, she thought none of them would return.

Thankfully, Little Xingxing had gained the Sea God’s favor, and brought them home.

But the incident left her worried.

She was old—her life nearly spent. Bi Fei, steady and clever, might take her place, but she still lacked experience.

She feared for the merfolk’s future.

If the same crisis arose again—could they still be so lucky?

Now, Little Xingxing had brought hope.

She hadn’t seen it herself, but those present had told her countless times. When Little Xingxing raised his hand and called down lightning—not only the humans, even the clansmen were shaken to the core by that heaven-and-earth might.

And now, Little Xingxing said the merfolk could cultivate too. That with cultivation, they could wield such power.

Her eyes moistened. She sighed:
“Is this the Sea God’s blessing upon our people?”

Mu Xing didn’t hesitate to throw it onto the conveniently absent “Sea God,” nodding solemnly:
“Yes. It was the Sea God’s oracle that day.”

To boost credibility, he produced the orb.

“And the Sacred Relic—it bore the Sea God’s command, and taught me cultivation.”

The orb: ?

It spun twice in Mu Xing’s palm, baffled by his words.

But its confusion didn’t matter. The Priestess couldn’t hear it. And that was exactly why Mu Xing could lie so calmly.

Hearing it was the Sea God’s oracle, with the Sacred Relic as witness, the Priestess’s doubts vanished.

She said joyfully:
“Then—what must the clansmen do?”

If all merfolk could cultivate, if they grew strong—even in the face of disaster, they would no longer fear.

Even if her life ended, she could rest in the deep sea without regret.

Mu Xing asked her to gather the clansmen.

The merfolk’s inheritance had come from that so-called “Sea God,” and with their long lifespans, they could read and write human words.

Mu Xing had never formally taken disciples, but he had once ascended as a great cultivator. Teaching merfolk the basics was no problem.

It would just take time—helping them learn to sense their meridians, the flow of spiritual energy.

And so, the merfolk began cultivating under Mu Xing’s guidance.

Cultivation, however, was dull. Especially for merfolk who had never touched it before. At first they were excited. But after half a month of serious meditation—no calling wind or rain, not even a faint sense of the “qi” Mu Xing described.

Many immediately wilted, declaring they just wanted to remain beautiful salted fish.

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣