Chapter 192 Tears of Blood "It's okay, you can wait for me to grow up."...

Jia Yue had a dream.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying in a bathtub, with a section of his huge fish tail sticking out. A fluffy white head was perched on the edge of the tub, idly touching his scales and pinching his tail.

Its tail twitched involuntarily, splashing water, and its head immediately turned around.

A bright smile appeared on her face as she gently complained, "You're finally awake! I've been waiting for you for so long."

Suddenly seeing that vibrant and beautiful face, he was momentarily stunned. After a long while, until the girl waved her hand in front of him, he finally grasped her restless hand, lowered his head, and gently rubbed it in his palm. "What are you waiting for me for?"

"Waiting for you to get married."

He suddenly straightened his body, and his tail slapped violently in the water in his excitement, splashing water everywhere and wetting the girl's face.

"Get...get married?" he asked incredulously.

The girl hastily wiped her face. "Yes, today is our wedding day, everyone's waiting for us." She tilted her head to look at him, her delicate eyebrows furrowed. "You've changed your mind?"

He hesitated for a moment, trying to recall when the engagement had been made, but then he saw the girl visibly angry. "You've really gone back on your word? That won't do! This marriage is off!"

She was about to storm out when he hurriedly grabbed her arm. "No! I'm not backing out."

He gently brushed a drop of water from her chin with his fingertip, then looked up into her bright eyes. "So...do you like me?"

The girl suddenly leaned over and gently pecked him on the lips.

The soft touch was fleeting, yet it almost made his heart stop beating. A sudden burning sensation erupted behind his ears, making him dizzy. He heard the girl's reply.

"Of course, I like Xiaohai and want to be Xiaohai's partner."

“I don’t often like people, especially…” She lowered her head slightly, deliberately shifting her golden gaze away, “like someone like you.”

He couldn't help but return the kiss, unable to suppress his sweetness and smile, and whispered in her ear.

"I like you too, I only like you."

The girl blinked and muttered softly, "So what exactly are you unhappy about about getting married? You were the one who said you wanted to get married..."

He thought about it again and realized that he really had proposed to her.

On an ordinary night, she sat barefoot on the porch, her legs dangling and swinging back and forth, gazing at the night sky, lost in thought.

He lay in the bathtub watching her back, and suddenly wanted to sit next to her. He didn't want to be behind her anymore; he wanted to be beside her. So, the request to marry her slipped out, and she agreed almost without thinking.

He felt a vague sense of unease; why had he proposed to her so quickly, when she wasn't even of marriageable age yet? A persistent unease urged him on, as if she would marry someone else if he didn't marry her soon. A striking image of a red dress flashed through his mind, followed by a pair of cold, indifferent eyes. He shook his head. Impossible.

"You're still too young. I... am older than you."

The girl touched his face. "But you look about my age. How much older can you be than me?"

His face flushed, he pressed down on the hand, lowered his eyes and murmured, "Maybe...maybe two hundred years old."

The girl paused, "I see..."

He hurriedly looked up. Was she disgusted with him?

But the girl studied his face for a while and said seriously, "It's okay, you can wait for me to grow up."

She gently stroked his cheek with her fingertips, "But Xiao Hai, don't walk too fast. Wait for me, I'll grow up quickly, don't let me fall behind. If I can't catch up with you, I might not want you anymore."

He rubbed his cheek against her palm, "I'll wait for you, I'll always wait."

The girl smiled, her eyes warm and bright. "Then it's a deal. No going back on your word."

She held up her little finger and moved it in front of him, "Pinky promise, never to change for a hundred years."

His smile suddenly faded at that moment.

There was a faint mark around the little finger, a faded and worn-out wedge.

The girl urged him, "Hurry up, Xiao Hai."

He obediently did as he was told, his two little fingers intertwined as before, but the two equally dim lines made the promise of this moment seem like a joke.

The girl looked at him, puzzled. "You're unhappy. What's wrong?"

White hair and golden eyes, sparkling and adorable.

I wish all of this were true.

He pursed his lips, shook his head, and simply looked at her quietly before touching her forehead with his fingertip.

He stretched out his legs, caught the person who had collapsed, carried her to the bed, closed his eyes and held her tightly for a long while, finally kissing her temple with lingering affection, "Wait for me. Wait for me to take you back, to see the grown-up you."

Then, he completely broke free from the beautiful dream woven for him by the nightmare demon.

...

In the dark, demonic cave, Jia Yue caught the body that had fallen from the glass pillar.

The person in my arms was still the same as before. Even when asleep, there was always a hint of defiance on their face, as if their soul was still in this body.

My whole body was as cold as ice.

Her body had always been warm, even burning hot, never this cold.

She must have felt cold in this freezing winter.

Jia Yue held the person tightly in her arms, but unfortunately his body was not warm at all, and even such close contact could not give her any warmth.

He placed his palm on her back and used his spiritual power to dry her soaked body.

As the fabric clung to her body, his hand could easily feel something uneven underneath; there was a symmetrical piece on each side of her shoulder blades.

He remembered seeing those tiny scars on her back in the river before. She was always so careless with herself. She was probably the only feathered person who would pluck her own feathers.

But he also clearly remembered that she didn't have such a thing on her back at that time.

Jia Yue loosened her collar, wanting to pull aside the fabric at the back of her neck to take a look.

Seeing his actions, Wen Yizhan, who was leaning against the wall, was immediately shocked and enraged. Although he was exhausted from being tormented by the demon, he still used all his strength to throw the sword beside him at the merman who was trying to disrespect his junior sister's body. He roared, "What are you doing? You dare to touch her?!"

Whether it was because Wen Yizhan used all her spiritual power or because the merman simply didn't care to stop her, the sword cut his arm, but he seemed oblivious and continued to unbutton her collar.

Wen Yizhan flew into a rage, unleashing a barrage of attacks on the man with all her spiritual power, yelling, "Don't touch her! Do you hear me?!"

A gust of wind blew out from the wide white sleeves, slamming Wen Yizhan hard against the wall. "Get out of the way!" Jia Yue shouted, turning her head and saying, "I know you want to get rid of me, and I won't hold it against you, but if you dare to stop me again, even if you are her senior brother, I will still kill you."

Wen Yizhan collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood uncontrollably. He no longer had the strength to stop him, nor was there any need to. He saw the merman's eyes; those icy blue eyes held anger and panic, but no lust.

The back of the body's collar was pulled down, revealing a beautifully curved, snow-white back.

Soon, a pearl fell onto her beautiful back, first one, then five, six, seven, or eight more. Warm tears rolled down her shoulder blades, over two ugly scars the size of fists, clinging to her thin back like two out-of-place monsters.

What exactly was it? From the moment he touched it, he had a guess in his heart, but he just didn't dare to admit it, didn't dare to face the fact that her wings had been cut off.

What kind of pain must that be...?

He dared not touch it.

His heart ached terribly, and he trembled all over. After so many years, there was nothing he could do but let his tears fall silently, piling up into a string of pearls at her waist. Only the crisp sound of the pearls clinking together echoed in the demon's lair.

"I'm sorry..." he murmured, his trembling hand finally taking hers with a determined gesture, as if it took immense courage to do so.

As spiritual energy flowed in, the two faded interlocking lines finally regained their luster, reconnecting the two people's long-interrupted secret communication.

Thus, the merman's consciousness was able to enter this body and fill in all the memories he couldn't see in the water mirror.

The blood and fire of that night rushed towards him, presenting everything that had happened to her that night in a way that was almost tangible.

She went back to find him; after escaping from that mortal boy, he was the first person she sought out.

But he left without leaving anything behind, not even a goodbye.

She was heartbroken and a little scared. It was her first time killing someone.

At such a young age, she was forced to repeatedly slash people's bodies. Even as her face and hair were stained with blood, she was still trying to contact him.

But what did he do...?

He took the medicine given to him by the divine beast, thus avoiding the pain of differentiation, but placing her in endless disaster.

The merman collapsed to his knees as if all his strength had given way, pressing the now lifeless body tightly against his chest, and wept uncontrollably…

All his past apologies to her were too superficial. Words were pale, actions were powerless; he had no idea of ​​her pain, let alone how much of it was indirectly caused by him.

He heard her crying.

She cried out to him for help in the darkness, her cries filled with despair and sorrow...

"Xiao Hai, please! I have no other choice..."

"Please! I'll do anything... I'll be your slave, please... please save everyone!"

"Please come out! I beg you! It's too late! No..."

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! I'll never make you angry again, I'll never hold you captive again... Please! Please come here!"

The moment the cleaver fell, the overwhelming pain was so intense that it shook his very soul, so much so that even years later, his consciousness could still feel it at that moment.

He trembled violently, his whole body involuntarily curling up. His instincts made his consciousness want to withdraw, but he only held onto that body tightly, as if it were a part of his own body.

"It hurts so much... Xiaohai... it hurts so much... why..."

"What did I do wrong... Why didn't you come..."

No! You're not wrong, he's the one who's wrong...

He betrayed their promise; he left her alone in that nightmare.

She had to watch as those around her were brutally murdered one by one, their wings clipped, their spiritual veins stripped, imprisoned, and abducted...

She had no choice but to make a deal with the demon, giving up her last body and enduring the immense pain of the body swap in exchange for a chance to live.

How disappointed she must have been when she finally arrived before him after traversing countless mountains and rivers.

This treacherous and despicable person is still living comfortably in a corner of the world, playing his superior role.

He didn't wait for her at all.

She grew up alone, in such a cruel way.

The merman's heart-wrenching cries echoed in the almost sealed-off demon cave, and no one heard them except for the young swordsman lying on the ground.

Wen Yizhan was too weak; otherwise, he would have gone forward to find out what he had seen.

Such heart-wrenching cries were like the mournful howls of wild beasts echoing through the mountains at night, causing those who heard them to weep as well.

What exactly happened to his junior sister...?

Wen Yizhan watched the merman's figure, letting tears stream down her face. He held her tightly, his snow-white sleeves already soaked with blood, yet he wouldn't loosen his grip for a moment, as if if he loosened his grip even slightly, the person in his arms would disappear.

The merman's face was pressed against the girl's face, with a striking red accent adorning her white hair.

As his body trembled, the blood-red beads rolled to the ground, spreading in all directions, and even falling into Wen Yizhan's eyes.

He looked up and gazed toward the source of the blood droplets.

That once pristine and dignified merman clan leader, his voice dripping with blood...

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Author's note: This is so hard to write...sigh [melts]

But only when all the problems are solved can the two of them truly be together.