Ch 87: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Humans had once felt both joy and fear at the appearance of the merfolk.

Those who rejoiced were mostly nobles who treated the merfolk as immortals.
Without exception, they longed to beg these so-called immortals to teach them the way to longevity—even the ruler of the world at that time was no exception.

And those who feared the merfolk were the very same.
They dreaded that powerful immortals might threaten their rule.

But as time passed, they discovered that, whether the merfolk were immortals or not, they had no interest in worldly affairs.

The only lives the merfolk had ever taken were those of a general named Xue Li and his subordinates—the very men who had once bathed their hands in the blood of the clan.

The merfolk hadn’t even bothered to hide their identity. They stated outright that they were there for vengeance.

The court’s reaction proved Mu Xing absolutely right.

Faced with the merfolk’s overwhelming strength—even though they ignored human law, openly avenged themselves in the capital, and killed imperial officials—once word spread that the merfolk sought only vengeance and would not harm the innocent, there was no criticism. Instead, the court even sent them lavish gifts as compensation.

It was clear: no matter the era, no matter the place, strength was the foundation of everything.

The merfolk themselves paid no heed to human goodwill or caution. Their yearly visits to the human world were merely to buy little novelties to amuse themselves.

---

Ying Luo seemed to have secured his place at Chu Xu’s side. Every year when the merfolk came ashore, he would send people to make contact.

But remembering the High Priestess’s and Mu Xing’s warnings, the merfolk rarely responded to his “kindness.”

Two more years passed, and it happened to be Mu Xing’s turn to go ashore with two clansmen for supplies.

But before they could even land, they saw soldiers in heavy armor stationed thickly along the coast.

Sensing trouble, Mu Xing told the others to return, then cast an invisibility spell and slipped onto land alone.

Unnoticed, he quickly learned the reason: the current emperor had been assassinated. During the assassin’s escape from the imperial guards, an arrow struck him, knocking down his hood and revealing a head of long blue hair.

A merfolk.

Now the emperor lay in a coma, and the princes in court all voiced their own claims. Some said this was a merfolk conspiracy. Translated on Hololo novels. Others argued that the merfolk ignored worldly matters, and with such immortal-like powers, how could they be so easily wounded by mortal weapons and exposed?

Surely someone was deliberately trying to stir discord between humans and merfolk.

In any case, the little fishing village where the merfolk usually landed was now under heavy guard.

But Mu Xing immediately thought of one person: Ying Luo.

And the moment he thought it, a faint cry echoed in his sea of consciousness.

Diving inward, he found the familiar glowing orb.

It beamed when it saw him respond.
“Good—now I don’t have to sneak into your dreams while you sleep.”

With a thought, Mu Xing formed a cage in his consciousness and trapped the orb.

He asked, “This seems to be my territory. Aren’t you afraid I’ll destroy you?”

The orb was shameless.
“You won’t. You’re a good person. Good people don’t kill the innocent.”

Mu Xing: “…”

The cage contracted, and with a single pull, he flung the orb—cage and all—out of his mind.

Before long, his sea of consciousness was gently tapped twice. Cautiously, the orb sent a thought:

I mean no harm. I know Ying Lou’s situation—I can tell you everything.

Mu Xing replied, “I’m not interested in his affairs.”

The orb persisted:
“But he’s so stupid. You don’t have the patience to watch him every day—I can help you. What if he does something foolish again and drags the clan down? Just like in the original story, when he stole the sacred relic.”

Mu Xing: “Oh, that’s impossible. If he even nears Shark Island now, he’ll be discovered.”

The orb bounced anxiously outside his consciousness, thumping several times.
“Better safe than sorry! I swear I mean no harm—if I’m inside your mind, can’t you be at ease?”

Mu Xing thought for a moment, then let it in.

Here in his sea of consciousness, it could harbor no malicious intent—any movement would be noticed by him.

“Why are you approaching me at all?” Mu Xing asked. “Do you hold a grudge against me? Doesn’t seem like it.”

The orb had tried a few times to tempt him, yes, but even within his sea of consciousness Mu Xing had never sensed any true malice from it.

The orb bounced like a ball, left and right, looking curiously at his inner world.

A vast emptiness: above, a clear blue sky; below, a boundless sea.

Pure, without a trace of impurity.

It sighed softly, as if burdened with a great mission.

“What are you sighing for?”

Mu Xing eyed it suspiciously.
“Do you know who I am? Why I keep reincarnating?”

The orb denied it.
“I don’t know. I was born with you.”

“Is that so?” Mu Xing didn’t believe it. “Then why do you keep trying to push me to do things I don’t want to do?”

“I don’t know,” the orb said innocently. “I just think those people are annoying—killing them would be simplest.”

Mu Xing studied it for a while, but no matter which angle he looked from, it was just a glowing ball.

He gave a noncommittal “oh,” and the orb couldn’t tell what his attitude meant.

The glowing orb saw Mu Xing fall silent, glanced at him a few times, and quickly seized the chance to show off:
“The assassin was Ying Luo. He was struck by a poisoned arrow and is now recuperating in one of Chu Xu’s secret manors.”

“Mm.” Mu Xing wasn’t surprised. “For Chu Xu?”

The orb: “Yes! The human emperor’s sons are all useless. This time, the emperor likely won’t survive. Chu Xu plans to stir up the princes’ power struggle and use the chaos to rise up.”

It pressed on: “Look at Ying Luo—Chu Xu only had to mention it, and he rushed off heedless of danger. Even if his identity was exposed, it had nothing to do with Chu Xu, yet the blame falls entirely on the merfolk.”

“What use is someone like that, except to bring endless trouble to the clan?”

Mu Xing glanced at it, then suddenly asked: “What benefit is there to you if Ying Luo dies?”

The orb blurted out: “None.”

Mu Xing drawled: “So if I kill Ying Luo, that benefits you, doesn’t it?”

The orb: “…”

It answered warily: “No, it doesn’t!”

“I don’t believe you.” Mu Xing waved it off. “Enough, go. If Ying Luo does anything again, come find me then.”

As he spoke, a gale rose out of nowhere, sweeping the orb up and hurling it away with a howl.

The dizzy orb: “…”

Use and discard!
Scoundrel!

---

The emperor’s assassination had little effect on the merfolk. At most, Mu Xing told the clan not to go ashore that year.

Not because of fear, but simply because he didn’t want them dragged into it—especially not anything tied to Ying Luo and Chu Xu. The farther the clan stayed from those two, the better.

After all, Chu Xu was just a mortal. Without the sacred relic, he had a lifespan of barely a century. Even if the merfolk did nothing—just napped and fished in the sea—they could outlast him.

In truth, Chu Xu did have a fallback plan.

He had hoped that if the merfolk appeared, he could use the opportunity to publicly declare his connection with “immortals.” Then he would be the emperor chosen by the immortals.

And the best “witness” for this would be Ying Luo.

But the merfolk never appeared, and Ying Luo was gravely wounded and unable to cooperate. His schemes came to nothing.

Still, the pull of the original plot was strong.

Two years later, the orb knocked on Mu Xing’s sea of consciousness again.

“Chu Xu has become emperor,” it said.

Because Mu Xing had warned it not to bother him unless it was something important, the orb cherished this rare chance to enter.

“Mm. Is that all?” Mu Xing asked.

“Of course not!” the orb rushed to say, afraid Mu Xing would think it useless. “Ying Luo contributed greatly. Chu Xu defied objections and bore much pressure to establish him as empress.”

That wasn’t very surprising either.

Seeing Mu Xing remain calm, the orb hurried to the real point: “But I found out! Chu Xu and his confidants always intended for Ying Luo to be empress. The ‘pressure’ was just for show, to make Ying Luo believe it was difficult.”

It continued: “They want Chu Xu to take concubines and spread his line.”

After all, no matter how extraordinary the merfolk, a male could not bear children.

Mu Xing understood: “So this is retreat in order to advance—making Ying Luo see Chu Xu’s hardship and offer the idea himself?”

Exactly.

But Chu Xu miscalculated the merfolk’s stubbornness on this matter.

Over the years, Ying Luo had endured much and yielded on many things—but when it came to sharing his partner, he absolutely would not.

Chu Xu did love him, but he also loved the empire. At this moment it wasn’t yet unavoidable, so the matter stalled.

Ying Luo, as empress, made a trip back to Shark Island.

He brought Chu Xu with him. The two rode a lavish ship, filled with Chu Xu’s closest confidants.

Though Shark Island was hidden, Ying Luo could always find the way.

He was delighted, for Chu Xu had said he wanted to see the place where Ying Luo had grown up.

When the ship neared a hundred miles from Shark Island, the merfolk sensed it.

“Keep going this way—we should arrive by nightfall,” Ying Luo said happily, full of anticipation. It had been years since he last saw his clan.

Chu Xu gazed at the endless sea. Their voyage had been unusually smooth, so smooth that even the old sailors aboard found it incredible, and they looked at Ying Luo as though he were a god.

More than Ying Luo, Chu Xu wanted to know: how had his clan obtained those godlike powers?

At that moment, fog rose upon the sea.

It came suddenly. Within a breath, the waters were shrouded in thick white mist—so dense one couldn’t see the person at their side.

Yet the day was perfectly clear.

Chu Xu’s guards and confidants closed ranks around the pair. He merely held Ying Lou’s hand and asked softly, “What is this?”

Ying Luo too was puzzled. “I’ve never encountered this before.”

Just as he was about to dive in to investigate, a solemn voice rang out as though from the heavens: “Outsiders, leave this place.”

Ying Lou’s eyes lit up. “It’s the High Priestess’s voice!”

He quickly called back: “Revered Priestess! It’s not outsiders—it’s me, Ying Luo!”

But then, only in his ear, came a sigh—low and weary.

For the sake of his dignity, the words were spoken to him alone:
“Ying Luo, have you forgotten what Little Xing told you years ago?”

“You’re living well enough on land—there’s no need to come back.”

Let alone bringing a human.

Ying Lou’s face went deathly pale.

In an instant, the white fog dispersed.

The old master sailor in charge of navigation came forward in terror and knelt, saying that in just that brief moment, their ship had somehow been pushed back several hundred miles.

Chu Xu looked at Ying Luo.

Ying Luo said in panic, “My clansmen do not welcome us.”

Chu Xu’s heart sank. From how the merfolk had kept their distance from Ying Luo all these years, he had already guessed as much. Now, his suspicions were confirmed.

“Why? Is it because of me?”

Ying Luo almost said no—that it was his own fault—but in the end he suddenly shut his mouth.

He lowered his head and said nothing, as if admitting it.

After all, with all the years spent in the mortal world, even the simplest merfolk could not remain unchanged.

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