(I suddenly had a flash of inspiration when I opened my eyes this morning, so I wrote it down as fast as I could.)

I've heard that nine out of ten mermaids die young.

Perhaps because of youthful infatuation and unrequited love, she devoted herself entirely to her lover, disregarding life and death, and turned into a fleeting bubble.

Perhaps because they possess a treasure, they are guilty of a crime; they easily trust others and fall into a dark vortex, betrayed by those driven by greed, and ultimately meet a bad end.

The goddess's flower hairpins fall, and the mermaid weaves sorrowfully.

A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime. Merfolk possess too many treasures, such as "tears that turn into pearls," "beauty," "the ability to weave precious mermaid silk," and "fat that burns for a thousand years." The temptations are too great for people, which is the source of their tragedy.

Changji silently closed the Records of the Grand Historian, leaned against the headboard of his bed in the palace, and his heart remained unsettled for a long time.

Now, the Shuler tribe has settled on an extraterrestrial planet with a large number of followers, leaving only some conservative, old and weak humans who are unwilling to leave. Feeling that there are fewer powerful enemies, they have begun to stir up trouble on this land.

The storm has not yet reached the territory of the Merfolk, but their large weapons have threatened Changji. As the clan leader with both human and Merfolk blood, some of his thoughts are often more extreme.

Aside from his compatriots, all his relatives left one after another, and Changji gradually felt empty. He had been with women, but no matter how many times he tried, he could not get that kind of spiritual satisfaction.

He didn't want this abandoned planet either.

......

"You mean leave here? Then where are we going? The Atlantic Ocean? The Indian Ocean?" Baoping asked four questions in quick succession.

Baoping has already traveled all over the world, taking photos of every place he visits. When he heard that his brother had called them over to discuss the matter of relocation, he had some opinions: "Those places have too many human traces and the water quality is also worrying. Although they look big, they are easily disturbed and are far less peaceful than here."

Zi Xin, who knew his elder brother best, quickly realized: "Brother wants to go to another planet?"

As soon as the question was asked, everyone turned to look at Changji.

Changji did not deny it: "We live in this water, so it seems irrelevant how they destroy the water resources. And those annoying missiles and weapons make me never have a moment's peace. Fortunately, there's nothing to miss here. They've all left, so why should we stay here?"

Everyone knew who "they" were, and the council chamber fell into a heavy, deathly silence.

Lin looked at his eldest brother, then at his third brother, and found that they did not object to leaving.

That's true; merfolk shouldn't exist in a world with such complex human nature.

Long, long afterward, the palace lamps burned eternally.

Just when everyone thought they would hear the eldest brother say "Let's call it a day," he dropped a bombshell: "I found a piece of paper in the history books that records a secret technique that might take us to another world. I want to give it a try."

Everyone was quite shocked. Zi Xin immediately stood up and said, "Let me see. If such a secret technique really exists, why didn't the clan leader use it back in the other world?"

Changji knew he didn't believe him, so he took out the paper from his spatial storage. Zixin took it and unfolded it, and the others gathered around to look.

"To gather the blood of all the merfolk in the clan, you need merfolk tears, merfolk hair, merfolk affection, as well as merfolk silk incense and this piece of paper. Activate the secret technique when the surroundings are plunged into darkness."

"The incantation is: 'The highest good is like water, the sea god is merciful. I, by the decree of my ancestral mermaid ancestors, invoking the true gods of all things to descend. With this paper as proof and incense as the guide, I transcend this realm and attain a new one.'"

The last paragraph is an ancient phrase from the Merfolk, a line that is always added to every secret technique, which increases its credibility.

As soon as he finished reciting the incantation, his mind was immediately disturbed. His mind suddenly went black, followed by a scene of a blue sea and sky. His perspective kept rising, and the sea gradually shrank into a blue planet. Then he saw a spacecraft approaching and stopping in the air. Something small and white fell from it...

"Renewal? Renewal?"

After being woken up by his brother, he opened his eyes again and recounted the scene that had just occurred in his mind.

Baoping and Lin also read it silently, and different images appeared in their minds. Baoping said, "I saw a strange scene. There was water everywhere, an endless expanse of water. The water was cool and soft blue, much cleaner than here."

Lin said with some regret, "I saw the bottom of the water, but there was nothing there, just like a swimming pool, and there was no vegetation at all."

Next, everyone tried it out, and after summarizing, they guessed that the scene they saw might be a new world environment revealed by the sea god, where there were also creatures, but in very small numbers, and even if they went there, they would not be bullied.

After discussing it, everyone felt reassured and began to make arrangements.

Mermaid tears and mermaid hair are the best to obtain.

The question of what kind of bond exists between merfolk and merfolk is still unclear to everyone, so they plan to invite people with familial, platonic, and sibling bonds to come over.

The most difficult part is burning incense with mermaid silk. Mermaid silk is impervious to water and fire, so how can incense be burned with it?

He Hua suddenly spoke up: "I learned the secret technique of igniting fire in water from the Holy Maiden, which may enable me to complete this task."

Seeing everyone looking at her like that, Hehua felt embarrassed and lowered her eyes, as this was the first time she had received such attention from them.

"I'll leave that matter to Hehua. Two hours before the surroundings fall into darkness, I'll gather the entire clan for a meeting, which will also be the start of the ceremony."