Chapter 24 Promise At this moment, the only thing he could be sure of was—…

Xiao Jiang surfaced from the water, panting heavily, his hair falling across his face and blurring his vision.

She struggled to open her eyes and met the merman's icy blue eyes. There was a layer of confusion in those usually indifferent eyes, and also a hint of anger.

The merman shifted his gaze to the side, where the clear river water reflected his face perfectly.

What is he angry about?

From the very beginning, didn't he just want this human to provide shelter for his weakened self? To use her, to drive her around, until the day his spiritual power was restored?

When he saw her in danger, he could convince himself that he didn't want her to be unable to take care of him because of her injury, so he accidentally broke through the spiritual energy barrier and took the blow for her.

But why did his heart flutter when she let him go?

Xiao Jiang hadn't figured out what was going on when her body moved uncontrollably toward Xiao Hai in the water until his hand touched her injured arm.

Xiao Jiang stared blankly as several streams of water converged in Xiao Hai's hand, as if he had drawn them from the river. However, these streams were not entirely the same as the river water. A faint silver glow enveloped the streams, scattering outwards, making it look like a small galaxy flowing in his hand.

The silvery water flowed towards Xiao Jiang's arm, wrapping around her injured joint as if it were a living thing. The shimmering light swirled around a few times, then the water flowed less and less, gradually leaving only wisps of steam. The steam drifted away, rose into the air, and finally disappeared into the moonlight...

Xiao Jiang was completely captivated by the scene before her. She reached out to grab the lights, but grasped nothing. She stared blankly at the night sky, trying to see where they eventually went.

The sky was filled with countless stars and a full moon; on a summer night, the wind passed without leaving a trace.

When her hand was grasped, Xiao Jiang came to her senses—she had just extended her previously injured hand.

There was absolutely no pain.

Xiao Jiang pinched the previously injured area with her other hand, and it had completely healed. This was definitely not because of her own efforts. Even if she had extraordinary healing abilities, it would be impossible for her to heal completely in such a short time.

Wait, could it be... that Xiao Hai was treating her just now?

And that inexplicable force, was it also him?

"...Is it you?" Xiao Jiang tilted her wet head, raised her restored hand, and looked at the merman in confusion. "You're the one who sent me back and healed it, right?"

The merman remained silent, only nodding slightly.

Xiao Jiang laughed and moved closer to him. "Thank you for healing me. You really are a very powerful merman. Father told me to tie you up with a rope, but it was impossible, right? He was abandoned by my mother, so he was obsessed with keeping people around. Don't blame him. You didn't like the things I did to you before, did you? I'm sorry. It was my first time interacting with a companion, and I didn't do well. Please don't hold a grudge against me, considering I took you in."

She apologized to him cautiously, strands of water from her hair streaming down her face. Her golden eyes drooped, her eyelashes stuck together, making her look rather pitiful.

"But I also hope you can remember me... After you go back, will you forget me quickly? I read in a book that fish don't have good memories. No, no, you are a mermaid who knows magic, your memory should be much better than other fish." She looked up at him, her golden eyes, washed by water, were clear and clean, and she innocently told a joke about fish.

"Xiao Hai, you'll remember me, right? I'm Xiao Jiang, Jiang as in river."

Will you remember?

How could I not remember?

Merfolk can live for over a thousand years, and their memory capacity matches their thousand-year-old bodies. Their memory is not only stronger than that of other fish, but also much stronger than that of humans.

The merman recalled that night when she sat alone on the veranda, gazing at the moon, lost in thought. Looking at her small, slender figure on the veranda, he felt only loneliness.

Why not stay and keep her company?

Before entering the mine, he always thought that his spiritual energy was still a long way from being restored.

So far away that I could temporarily forget the struggles within my clan and continue living with her day and night. But my spiritual power was suddenly restored, just like her sudden appearance.

The moment she placed him in the river, he looked at the end of the river and recognized it as the river where he had been stranded. He knew that if he followed the current, he would eventually return to the sea, just like when he had swum upstream to escape his pursuers.

But at the end of the water lies a world without her.

Merfolk have very long lifespans, he thought.

Even if he accompanied her through her entire life, it would still be less than one-tenth of his lifespan.

Only one-tenth...

Once the idea took hold, it became unstoppable.

The merman held her hand for a long time, her burning body temperature traveling through his palm to his heart, stirring a feeling he had never experienced before.

He couldn't understand why his heart was racing or pounding. At that moment, the only thing he was certain of was that he would stay by her side.

Listening to her talk nonsense, or just quietly watching him.

He didn't want to look away.

Xiao Jiang didn't know when Xiao Hai had grabbed her hand. She didn't like being restrained. After talking to herself and not getting a reply from Xiao Hai, she tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't.

She watched as Xiao Hai's webbed hands slowly transformed into human hands, his fingers intertwining with hers, their hands clasped tightly together. And at that moment, Xiao Hai's gaze softened more tenderly than ever before.

The frozen water surface thawed, melting into a pool of spring water.

Xiao Jiang stared blankly for a while, then suddenly leaned closer and asked, "Xiao Hai, why do you never say anything? Are you really unable to speak, or do you just not want to?"

The merman realized she was too close, and perhaps feeling guilty, he instinctively tried to back away. But for every inch he retreated, she advanced an inch. Her questioning gaze followed him.

How could he tell her that he had never bothered to communicate with humans from the beginning, that he looked down on humans yet was saved by them, and that his pride prevented him from interacting with them in a human way, so he only reluctantly revealed his fish-like side?

Seeing that he still refused to respond, Xiao Jiang wisely stopped asking and prepared to swim back to shore. At this moment, she realized that her hand was still being held tightly by Xiao Hai.

Their eyes were fixed on their clasped hands, one slender and soft, the other with well-proportioned knuckles and slight calluses. Neither of them wanted to let go.

It's unclear whose little finger moved first, but the little finger of the other hand followed suit, their knuckles intertwined.

The soft light circled around their knuckles, round and round, like an unbreakable knot.

Xiao Jiang looked at his fingers with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, wondering what it was.

"Soul Contract, a lifelong agreement."

A thought suddenly appeared in Xiao Jiang's mind. There was no sound, it just appeared without warning, as if someone in her mind was responding to her.

Xiao Jiang was startled and instinctively looked up at the sky.

There were no gods three feet above her head, only the moon as big as a disc, and the small sea a head higher than her.

"You didn't just say those words, did you?"

Under Xiao Jiang's incredulous gaze, the merman nodded.

Once a soul contract is formed, the two people can communicate with each other. Even without language, as long as the person who formed the soul contract activates the mark between their fingers, they can transmit their thoughts to the other person. This is not only an agreement, but also an extremely secretive way of exchanging information. For many years, it has been a secret technique that has only been spread among the Merfolk royal family.

The soul contract is maintained by the spiritual veins of both parties. Although she is human, she possesses spiritual veins, so the process of forming the contract is almost effortless for her.

Once the contract is made, it means we will never forget each other, never be separated, until the end of our lives.

"So, you didn't intend to leave today?"

The merman slowly shook his head.

"You just want to heal my wounds?"

nod.

Xiao Jiang moved closer to him and gently embraced him with her now fully healed arms.

The merman didn't flinch, but stood quietly in the water. He heard her whisper in his ear, "Little Sea, I'll miss you if you do this."

The warmth of her arm seeped through his damp clothes and onto his skin, making his originally cold skin feel uncomfortably hot.

The merman met Xiaojiang's eyes, catching the questions that were being conveyed to her intermittently, and then patiently answered them for her.

She's not quite used to this way of communicating yet, but that's okay, he'll teach her slowly, they have plenty of time.

The countryside was quiet, and the cool moonlight shone on the sleeping human world. The young merman held the human girl's hand tightly, silently telling her his promise through the contract formed between his fingers.

There are no embellished words, no false tokens; only the most primal beliefs shine in those captivating eyes, witnessed only by the flowing water and the moonlight.

*

The moon was high in the sky, and its silvery light shone down on the world, also shining through the windowpanes onto the traveler's bedside.

It was late at night, but the person lying in the largest room of the guesthouse was wide awake.

Qin Yuqi tossed and turned on the bed, which was anything but soft, a far cry from the bed he had in the palace.

Logically speaking, it's normal not to be able to sleep in a bed like this, but he's not a delicate person. Over the past few days, he has gradually adapted to the environment here. However, whenever he closes his eyes, he thinks of someone's eyes, which keep swirling in his mind and he can't get rid of them no matter what he does.

He travels back and forth between the village and the guesthouse several times a day, but he hasn't seen her these past few days.

Sometimes when he was at the mine, he would worry about whether she would come to the guesthouse to find him like last time, and the waiting at the guesthouse made him extremely irritable.

As the days went by, his patience gradually wore thin.

Qin Yuqi reached out and touched the side of his pillow; the wooden box was lying there perfectly.

This was a gift that Jia Qianyang presented to him during a game of chess at night. Halfway through the game, Jia Qianyang suddenly stopped and hurriedly took his leave. Before he could even agree, Jia Qianyang rushed out the door.

He was initially quite displeased with Jia Qianyang's unauthorized departure, but Jia Qianyang returned not long after, looking unusually cheerful, which showed that he was in a good mood.

Jia Qianyang was always a man who never showed his emotions. Before he could even ask Jia Qianyang what made him so happy, Jia Qianyang presented him with this wooden box.

“I have heard that Your Highness has been looking for a suitable gift recently. I happen to have something that I think is very appropriate. Your Highness may wish to give it to your friend.” Jia Qianyang held the wooden box with both hands, and his usually dark and dull eyes even held a hint of expectation when he looked at Qin Yuqi.

Qin Yuqi opened the lid, and his initially impatient expression gradually disappeared when he saw the contents inside.

Inside the wooden box was a well-made short knife, simple and elegant yet sharp. To obtain such a treasure in such a remote place was no small feat.

Whether Jia Qianyang obtained it from elsewhere or always carried it with him, his willingness to offer it up at this time is enough to show his sincerity.

Qin Yuqi took out a short knife. Although it was only a foot long, it was quite heavy in his hand. The pure black blade had only a single line of silver light on its edge. Where the blade swept, it brought a chill, which was enough to show how sharp it was.

Qin Yuqi was overjoyed. There was no more suitable gift than this. He was sure Jiang Yuhu would like it. He could even imagine how impressive she would look holding this short knife.

As expected of the Imperial Advisor trusted by the Emperor, he is much more reliable than Liu Dan, who is so stubborn. He can continue to be given important responsibilities when we return to Dayong.

Stroking the blade, Qin Yuqi was suddenly startled by the coolness of it—how did Jia Qianyang know who he was going to deliver it to… He had never mentioned her, and he didn’t think he had shown her anything special, yet Jia Qianyang had guessed his thoughts so accurately.

What made Qin Yuqi even more nervous was that Jia Qianyang not only knew him very well, but he also knew Jiang Yuhuo very well—

He shouldn't pay too much attention to her.

"Indeed, it is a fine knife. The Grand Preceptor truly has discerning eyes." Qin Yuqi placed the short knife into the box and naturally took the entire wooden box from Jia Qianyang's hands.

"However, in this village, the Grand Preceptor only needs to focus his energy on mining the refined crystals. Nothing else is a concern for him. If our Great Yong can acquire divine weapons soon, the Grand Preceptor can also avenge himself against those immortal sects sooner, right?"

He was giving him a warning, reminding him of the checks and balances and cooperation between Da Yong and him. No matter how capable he was, this man of unknown origin could never gain Qin Yuqi's complete trust. Years of being raised in the imperial family had taught him that when a tool is good enough, all he needed to do was make the tool obedient.

Jia Qianyang chuckled, seemingly surprised by Qin Yuqi's thoughts, his face returning to its usual calm and composed expression. Under Qin Yuqi's sharp gaze, he didn't look at Qin Yuqi, but simply stared at the short sword. "Your Highness, rest assured, everything I have done is for the sake of Dayong. I hope Your Highness will soon give this sword to its most suitable owner. I believe Your Highness's friend will be able to make it play a great role."

"Your Majesty, I eagerly await that day."

The hard bed board made a dull thud when it was hit by a punch.

Qin Yuqi placed his hand on the wooden box beside his pillow. He recalled the look in Jia Qianyang's eyes when he left those last words, and a chill seemed to seep up from the box.

Jia Qianyang's eyes were so dark that the pupils were almost invisible; they looked like two ink drops on paper, utterly devoid of any human presence.