Chapter 1 Monster To be fair, the merfolk's personality is indeed rather eccentric...

Xiao Jiang never imagined that one day she would wake up in this way—by being splashed by water from a fish tail.

I wiped the water off my face. Oh well, I guess I'll just consider it washing my face.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the merman's cold gaze, blue eyes, the same color as the sea, but those eyes were sharp as if they were solidified ice.

She had never seen the sea or ice, but that didn't stop her from finding it beautiful.

Xiao Jiang pinched the merman's cheek, then quickly pulled her hand away just as the merman's teeth were about to bite. See, her speed has been fully honed!

The merfolk's teeth looked incredibly sharp; I almost got bitten last time, thankfully she reacted quickly. To be honest, the merfolk's personality is rather eccentric—too fierce and too cold, like a flower with thorns. What did the teacher in the academy say again: "Only to be admired from afar, not to be played with up close?"

Xiao Jiang waved her hand, saying it was okay, she could play however she wanted, as long as she had a playmate.

In front of the simple and elegant bamboo house is a courtyard with a pond. Water pipes made of bamboo tubes bring in clear spring water from the mountain. The spring water is still icy cold in the morning; a sip and a wash of the face leave you feeling refreshed.

Xiao Jiang skillfully fetched water, changed the water in the bucket that had been sitting overnight for the merman, added the freshly prepared medicinal herbs, and then used a comb to brush through the merman's soft, curly long hair. Each day when she changed the water, the merman's attitude towards her would be slightly gentler, giving her the opportunity to play with the merman's hair.

Her long, grey-blue hair was braided into a single plait and hung to one side—a rare hairstyle the merman didn't object to. He hadn't liked the twin ponytails last time, and he hadn't liked the topknot the time before that either. Merman can't speak, but they express their opinions with their tails and teeth. Especially that topknot incident; when the merman saw his reflection in the water, his fishtail nearly slapped Xiao Jiang's face until it was swollen. As for why the merman didn't use his hands? Well, because Xiao Jiang had tied his hands up.

She really didn't do it on purpose; it was all taught by her father!

Her father said that people picked up from the street could never be kept; to keep them, they had to be tied up. As he said this, his usually gentle and kind face turned sinister, and she was so frightened that she quickly found a cloth and tied the merman up. Of course, this earned her a cold look in the merman's eyes and a cold slap from his fishtail after he regained consciousness.

Xiao Jiang looked at her braided hair again and again, extremely satisfied, even though her own hair was now almost like a bird's nest.

Alright, go to the river and catch some fish for the mermaids to eat.

"Xiao Hai, you stay here and guard the house. I'll be right back. Don't miss me too much." Xiao Hai was the name Xiao Jiang gave to the merman. Although the merman couldn't speak, Xiao Jiang felt that it understood her calling it.

Xiao Jiang walked to the door and then came back, leaning over the tub to warn the mermaid, "If anyone sneaks in, dive underwater and don't let anyone find you. The people here really love to eat fish." Before leaving, Xiao Jiang even pretended to chew something to scare the mermaid.

Still feeling uneasy after taking a couple of steps, Xiao Jiang returned: "Even though you can't bite me, you're not allowed to bite the bathtub when I'm not around. There's only one bathtub this big in my house, and if you break it, you won't have any room left." After giving her this warning, she finally moved a bamboo screen to block the tub before closing the door and leaving with peace of mind.

Seeing the girl's figure completely disappear, the merman took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and submerged her entire body in the water. The cool mountain spring water still contained a faint trace of natural spirit; she didn't know what medicinal herbs she had added, but it also contained spiritual energy.

The merman absorbed the energy bit by bit, its tail scales shimmering like golden sand under the sunlight. If the girl had seen this, she would have gasped in surprise and tried to pry open its scales to see what was inside.

He's really just a very noisy mortal.

Mermaids react a hundred times faster than mortals. No matter how quick her reflexes, if it really wanted to bite, she couldn't dodge it. The reason she always managed to avoid it was simply because it only wanted to scare her and didn't actually bite. It found it dirty.

The merman made a hand gesture in the water, but the rope binding her wrist showed no sign of loosening.

As expected, with his spiritual palace damaged, even if he obtained spiritual power, he couldn't use it for his own purposes. He struggled to break free, but his movements only made the restraints on his hands tighter. He didn't know what that human had done to the rope, making it so strong.

His braid came undone at just the right moment because of his intense movements, and the soft strands clung to his face, impossible to brush away with his hands, as if mocking him for being reduced to a mere plaything of an ordinary girl.

Thinking of that smiling, ingratiating little face, I felt even more hateful!

The merman's face remained calm, but the unconscious slapping of his long, slender tail against the water's surface betrayed his agitation. A puddle of water remained on the ground outside the bucket, a testament to his retaliation.

Xiao Jiang carried a fish basket and walked towards the river. She hadn't gone far when a figure suddenly appeared at the corner and blocked her way.

"Hey, old man, where's the money I told you to bring?" A chubby boy stood in front of her, looking down at her. Behind the chubby boy stood several other children, boys and girls, all from the same clan.

“I told you, don’t call me that. I have a name.”

Upon hearing her answer, the people on the other end seemed to have heard something funny, and the group began to laugh exaggeratedly.

"Who else are you but the little old man? Jiang Yuhuo, look at your hair. You're a monster, you know that?" The fat leader impatiently shoved Jiang. "Hurry up and hand over the money. If it weren't for the High Priest's sake, do you think any of us would want to play with you? Don't be ungrateful."

Xiao Jiang was pushed back a step by him. Yes, she used to want to fit in with them, but now, she no longer needed to please them.

She has a son named Xiao Hai.

Xiao Jiang didn't want to get entangled with them, so he simply adjusted the straps of his fish basket and walked to the other side.

Seeing that she was completely ignoring him, the chubby boy immediately reached out and grabbed her fish basket. "Trying to leave without paying?" With a single glance, his underlings immediately surrounded Xiao Jiang.

Caught off guard, Xiao Jiang was pulled back by the chubby boy and nearly fell to the ground. She was a little angry, but remembering her father's warning, she held back and didn't hit him. "Let go of me, I have no money."

“You don’t have money, but your dad does! Your dad is the high priest of the clan, the high priest of the temple, and every household gives him so much in offerings every year.” The chubby boy persisted, “You’re not leaving today without paying up.”

“Those are offerings for the temple, they have nothing to do with my father.” Xiao Jiang turned her pockets inside out to show them, the pockets and fish baskets were even cleaner than her face.

The chubby boy was a little discouraged, but when another skinny boy whispered a few words to him, the chubby boy's eyes immediately lit up.

"It's okay if you don't have any money on you, you must have some at home. Come on, let's go to your house."

The chubby boy grabbed Xiao Jiang's shoulder and started to walk back.

No, I absolutely cannot go home. I absolutely cannot let them see Xiaohai.

Xiao Jiang immediately struggled. Being the youngest, she shouldn't have been able to break free so easily, but with a simple turn, she escaped Xiao Pangdun's grasp. She then caught his punch with one hand. Xiao Pangdun pushed off the ground with his hind legs, almost digging a hole in it, but his fist remained motionless in Xiao Jiang's grasp. Xiao Pangdun tried to kick Xiao Jiang, but she grabbed his leg at the same time. Seeing that he had both his head and tail in her hands, Xiao Pangdun realized with horror that he was being lifted further and further away from the ground…

Okay, now he's on top of Jiang Yuhuo's head...

The seemingly frail little girl even lifted him up and spun him around in the air before tossing him far and accurately into a haystack in the alley.

The children surrounding Xiaojiang were stunned, staring blankly at the scene, too afraid to speak or move.

"Go! What are you waiting for!" The haystack was soft, so falling on it wouldn't hurt. The chubby boy crawled out of the haystack and continued to give orders to his younger brothers and sisters.

As a result, one by one, Jiang Yuhuo threw his younger brothers and sisters into the haystack.

It doesn't cause much harm, but it's extremely insulting.

Suddenly, the skinny boy in the group screamed, "She really is a monster! Run, run! Jiang Yuhuo is going to eat people!"

A group of children immediately ran off as if Xiao Jiang were some kind of monstrous flood.

"Not a monster, not a monster, not a monster!" Xiao Jiang was furious at these nonsense and chased after them shouting, which only made them more terrified and run wildly at a speed that should not be in the age of them.

Xiao Jiang chased for a short distance before stopping.

Never mind, he has Xiao Hai now, and Xiao Hai definitely won't look down on her for being a monster.

Xiao Jiang patted the fish basket that had rolled to the ground and continued to meander towards the river.

She's just a little gray-haired, a little lighter-colored, and a little stronger than the average person. That's all; she's not a monster, she definitely isn't a monster.

Xiao Jiang scratched the hot, itchy spot on her back. The wound there had scabbed over, and nothing unusual had grown back recently. But after doing it today, the hot, itchy feeling gave her a bad feeling; it seemed like those things were about to sprout again.

Her peers in the tribe disliked her, but the little fish in the river adored her. When they saw her harpoon, they didn't rush to escape. What else could it be but liking her? It certainly wasn't because of her speed. However, she only speared for a short while, and her fish basket was already almost overflowing.

A few days ago, she found the stranded baby seagull on the banks of this river.

The mermaid's face was serene under the moonlight, beautiful in a dreamlike and distant way, as if she would disappear at the slightest touch—a beauty Xiao Jiang had never seen before. Before, she thought her father was the most handsome person in the world, but the mermaid was different; no one could compare to her.

The mermaid's fishtail shimmered in the moonlight, like scattered gold, drawing Xiao Jiang's gaze. She pinched her palm, finally confirming that she wasn't dreaming, but had truly seen that beautiful and strange creature from legend.

The merman stood there motionless, with several bloody holes in his waist, from which blood was constantly seeping out, but Xiao Jiang saw that his chest was still rising and falling, so he should still be alive.

It's hard to say she wasn't captivated by the mermaid's beautiful face and strange tail. Xiao Jiang picked up a fish twice the length of her body; it was a bit heavy, but she could still walk on it. And so, Xiao Jiang carried the mermaid all the way home.

Yes, she is indeed a little girl who is a bit too strong.

Xiao Jiang poured out all the fish she had caught and counted them: one for Xiao Hai, one for herself; one for her father, one for herself; one for Granny Fang next door, one for herself… After distributing them to everyone she could think of, there was still a pile of fish left. Xiao Jiang decided to dry the rest to make dried fish and save it for later. She wondered if Xiao Hai liked dried fish; she would ask him when she got back.

The weather was unbelievably nice, so Xiao Jiang simply leaned against a rock and lay down on the grass by the river, a blade of grass dangling from her mouth. She lazily watched the clouds drift by, her legs crossed. The sun felt warm on her skin, and perhaps she could take a nap there.

The clouds changed shape from a puppy to a bird, and one of them kept changing, looking more and more like a human face.

Wait, a human face. The face in front of her was indeed a human face.

Xiao Jiang blinked, looking at the person who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere above. Because the person was backlit, Xiao Jiang couldn't see their face clearly, but their clothes shone brightly in the sunlight; it was a brocade robe woven with gold thread.

It looks good, but it's glaring.

This is a type of fabric that should not be found within the territory of the Li-Yue ethnic group.

What are you looking at?

A note from the author:

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