The moment Gu Qingqiu closed her eyes, the mermaid swam forward a few steps, seemingly observing whether this cunning human was feigning death or sleep, and then lashed out a few times with her tail.

No response.

The mermaid frowned almost imperceptibly.

...

When Gu Qingqiu woke up, the cross behind her had disappeared, but she was still bound. However, the thing binding her had turned into seaweed, and her wounds had stopped bleeding. She wondered if it was because of the item used by System 057.

She now appears to be... lying on a giant, moss-covered rock, surrounded by some white bones, which, judging by their shape... resemble human skeletons.

Gu Qingqiu was a worldly person and was no longer afraid of such scenes. What was so scary about dead people? The living were the most terrifying.

Where is this? Where is that handsome merman?

Several fish swam by, completely ignoring Gu Qingqiu's presence.

As if remembering something, Gu Qingqiu called out to System 057 in her mind: "System! Are you there? What just happened?"

[You've passed out. The mermaid has let you go, tied you up, and left you here.]

Gu Qingqiu: "Um... is this a human cemetery?"

【Um. 】

So the mermaid thought she was hopeless, so she just threw herself into the underwater graveyard? And then, fearing she might rise from the dead, she meticulously tied herself up with seaweed?

"Is the mermaid I saw the male protagonist of this world?" Gu Qingqiu asked the question that concerned her the most.

System 057 paused ambiguously for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

"Oh..." Gu Qingqiu tried to move her body. The water plants only bound her upper body, and her legs could still walk and swim.

Although the pose must look ridiculous, Gu Qingqiu couldn't just sit and wait for her fate. "System 057, I want to buy props. Do you have any props that can indicate the location of the male lead?"

[Yes.] System No. 057, being an action-oriented system, quickly purchased the necessary items for Gu Qingqiu.

Suddenly, several water droplets appeared in the water, forming a line that pointed southwest.

Gu Qingqiu didn't linger and swam vigorously in that direction.

【You're going directly?】 System 057 seemed surprised by Gu Qingqiu's decisiveness. Shouldn't most people feel fear and resistance after being treated like this?

Gu Qingqiu laughed, "If it's him, I'm not afraid. Anyway, I'm destined to fall in love with him. Just think of it as me being attracted by the mermaid's beauty and falling in love with him at first sight."

System 057 fell silent, perhaps shocked by Gu Qingqiu's love-struck remarks.

Gu Qingqiu didn't show it on her face, but she was thinking a lot in her heart. She wanted to verify whether the male lead was the same person, but it didn't seem to be so easy in this world.

Humans and mermaids are different species, speak different languages, and are in an adversarial relationship. She noticed this from the first time the male protagonist met her. Under such circumstances, it is very difficult to establish a romantic relationship with a mermaid.

Having learned from past mistakes, mermaids probably wouldn't want to establish emotional relationships with humans again. Would I be kicked out by the mermaids? Would I be killed by them?

The water droplets in front of her disappeared, and Gu Qingqiu saw a house built of stone.

This was quite different from the scene Gu Qingqiu had imagined. In fairy tales, there were palaces underwater, with crystal pillars, shell doors inlaid with pearls, and countless glowing gems and luminous pearls on the doors. None of these were there.

Gu Qingqiu cautiously approached the stone house. The interior was very simple, with only a marble bed board and a bow and arrow hanging on the wall, with a few arrows stuck in the quiver next to it.

Since the props have stopped working, it means the male protagonist is right here.

But... what about the mermaid?

Gu Qingqiu looked at the empty stone house and couldn't see where such a large mermaid could fit. Just as Gu Qingqiu was searching, the marble bed in the corner shook and was then lifted, revealing a hand with perfectly muscular lines resting on the marble slab.

Then, an incredibly beautiful woman peeked out and stared at the homeowner and the uninvited guest, Gu Qingqiu.

Huh? This can actually be opened? Gu Qingqiu stood there dumbfounded, not knowing whether she was surprised by the mermaid's appearance or once again stunned by his good looks.

A ruthless glint flashed in the mermaid's eyes as he swooped down towards Gu Qingqiu, his human-like fingers gripping her neck.

"Cough cough... Listen to me..." Gu Qingqiu felt a sense of suffocation. Instead of hitting and kicking the merman to force him to let go, she grabbed the merman's wrist with her hand, her eyes revealing a pleading look.

The mermaid seemed unable to understand human language, but he could understand Gu Qingqiu's actions and expressions. He realized that Gu Qingqiu did not seem to have any ill intentions, but was just a helpless human.

Actually, he didn't use much force. Humans are so fragile.

The mermaid loosened her grip, and Gu Qingqiu immediately slid down the stone wall, gasping for breath... well... saying she was breathing doesn't quite fit, is there really any air here?

In short, Gu Qingqiu took a long time to recover. The mermaid looked down at Gu Qingqiu, seemingly sizing her up.

Gu Qingqiu felt this scene was somewhat familiar for some reason, and suddenly laughed, "You still like to choke people so much, how can you be so violent?"

The mermaid couldn't understand, but the human in front of her was smiling, and there seemed to be no malice in the smile.

"What's your name? My name is Gu Qingqiu. Can you write it? Never mind, you probably can't, but it's okay. It's enough that you know my name, or... you can call me whatever you like."

A hint of doubt flashed in the mermaid's eyes. He only saw the human in front of him opening and closing his mouth, speaking a language he couldn't understand.

His father had told him that humans were cunning and treacherous creatures and could not be trusted.

The human had been feigning death, but the mermaid had noticed signs of injury on him. Perhaps he had been deliberately thrown into the deep sea; he looked very dangerous! He had other older mermaids examine him, and they learned that this human possessed the power of sacrifice. Anyone who killed him would be punished by heaven!

A flicker of fear crossed the mermaid's eyes. Luckily, this person hadn't died, or he would have been finished! Besides, so many small fish and shrimp had gnawed at this human along the way; they would probably all be punished by the curse.

After learning about this, he went back to treat the human's wounds and left her next to human remains to scare her, hoping she would back down and return to land so she would stop harming the ocean.

Thinking of this, the mermaid lost his patience. He grabbed Gu Qingqiu by the collar and dragged her out of the stone house. Then he used the water flow to throw her a hundred meters away.

Gu Qingqiu was a little dizzy from being thrown around, but she hadn't finished speaking, so she had to swim back to the stone house.

Then he was thrown out by the mermaid once again.

Gu Qingqiu stubbornly swam back to the stone house, only to be thrown out once more.

After swimming back and forth a dozen or so times, Gu Qingqiu, panting heavily, clung to the stone gate, saying, "Can't you be reasonable?!"