Mermaids Weep (20)

“We’ve reached an agreement, he won’t make things difficult for you now.” Ye Yingying explained as she extended her hand. “Yaoyao, let’s go back.”

Yao Yao was still a little confused. How did this bastard become an ally while she was unconscious? She glared at Lin Xiaowen warily, only to see him looking down at her with an arrogant gaze.

“If you don’t want to leave, I’ll lock you up again,” Lin Xiaowen threatened.

Alarm bells rang in Yao Yao's mind, and she quickly got up and ran to Ye Yingying's side, grabbing her arm: "Sister Ying'er, let's go!"

Ye Yingying smiled helplessly, then turned to Lin Xiaowen and said, "Don't forget my conditions."

“Of course.” Lin Xiaowen raised his chin and watched the two leave the room.

Lin Xiaowen gave a wink to the guard waiting outside the door, who then stepped forward and led the two back the way they came. Yao Yao still clung tightly to Ye Yingying's arm, cautiously looking around like a startled rabbit. She looked left and right, finding the layout very familiar.

"Is this the Seaview Tower?" Yao Yao asked.

“That’s right,” Ye Yingying replied, then comforted Yao Yao, “I’ll tell you what happened when we get back to the Han residence.”

“Okay.” Yao Yao nodded obediently.

Led by the guards, the two quickly exited the Wanghai Tower. Yao Yao immediately spotted Yun Yanqiu, who had been waiting for them, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Yun Yanqiu looked them over, and seeing that they were both safe and sound, his heavy brows relaxed slightly. He stepped forward, glancing down at Yao Yao's arms tightly entwined with Ye Yingying's, his gaze fixed on her. Yao Yao met his gaze, blinking in confusion.

Seeing her like this, Yun Yanqiu pursed her lips and said nothing, turning her gaze back to Ye Yingying: "What did that guy say to you?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back," Ye Yingying said cautiously.

Yun Yanqiu didn't ask any further questions and turned around to say, "Then let's go back."

As night fell, the three returned to the Han residence, where Han Chengjin had been waiting at the gate for some time. From the moment he received Senior Yun's message, he had been extremely anxious. If Han Chengyu hadn't been holding him back, he probably would have rushed to Wanghai Tower to rescue them long ago. Seeing the three return safely, Han Chengjin immediately went to greet them: "Senior Yun! Are you alright?"

He jogged over to the three men, carefully examined their condition, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming there were no obvious injuries. He then said, "It's good that you're back safe and sound. Go back and rest now. We can talk about it tomorrow..."

"No, go see your brother. I have something urgent to tell you," Ye Yingying interrupted, her attitude firm.

Seeing this, Han Chengjin didn't say anything more and led the group to Han Chengyu's study. It was late at night, and all was quiet except for the servants on night watch. Han Chengyu's study was brightly lit. The four knocked and entered. Han Chengyu asked directly, "Is there any important news?"

Ye Yingying said seriously, "I made a deal with Lin Xiaowen. He returned Yaoyao to us, and we have to help him bring down Lin Shiyou."

The people present all showed expressions of surprise, and even Yun Yanqiu, who was usually the most composed, showed a visibly softened expression.

"Lin Xiaowen said that Lin Shiyou was indeed the mastermind behind the disappearance of the rogue cultivators. He kidnapped passing rogue cultivators to raise spirit fish, and then ate the fish to enhance his own spiritual power. Now that the matter has been exposed, he will soon destroy the evidence and get rid of all the remaining rogue cultivators."

"They will set sail early tomorrow morning to feed all those rogue cultivators to the Lin family's offshore fishing grounds. They will set sail around dawn."

"Wait, feed them to the fish? Feed them live people?" This news was too shocking to bear. Han Chengjin was stunned and his mind was in complete chaos. "Are they crazy?!"

They killed people to raise fish; do they really not care about human life?

Han Chengjin felt a chill run down his spine. He stared wide-eyed in alarm, looked around, and seeing everyone completely silent, asked, "Why isn't anyone saying anything?"

He then looked at Yao Yao, who should have been the one among them who couldn't hide her thoughts the most, but now she also had a solemn expression.

"I was locked in a dark room in the Lin family mansion, which was full of rogue cultivators captured by the Lin family..." Yao Yao said in a low voice, "Sister Ying'er is right."

"Moreover, later I only saw Lin Xiaowen and the steward of the manor there. It was Lin Xiaowen who delegated the handling of matters concerning the rogue cultivators to that steward. I guess, Lin Fang, is probably already dead..."

In Yao Yao's opinion, although Lin Fang was not a good person, the thought of a living person suddenly disappearing without a trace was still a bit terrifying.

“You guessed right, Lin Fang is dead,” Ye Yingying said. “Otherwise, Lin Xiaowen wouldn’t be able to come and go from his residence so easily.”

Everyone suddenly gained a new understanding of Lin Shiyou; he was far more ruthless than they had imagined.

“Perhaps it’s because he has become possessed by demons,” Ye Yingying added. “Lin Xiaowen said that Lin Shiyou has already developed inner demons.”

Inner demons can change a person's thoughts, devour their will, disregard morality and ethics, and ultimately turn a person into a demon in human skin.

At this moment, Han Chengyu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Since Lin Shiyou has already fallen into demonic possession, there is no need to worry. Only by killing him can we ensure the safety of the Secret Sea."

Yao Yao looked up, staring blankly at Han Chengyu. He had indeed changed a lot; he was now shrewd, resolute, and even his face was cold and hard. Yao Yao just stared at him, the warm, gentle, and always smiling image in her memory gradually blurring. Her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly hesitated about her previous decision to find him and ask him for clarification.

“Brother Cheng Yu is right. Lin Shiyou is already a demonic cultivator, so there’s no need to hold back anymore. Tomorrow’s priority is to rescue the rogue cultivator and protect the witness,” Ye Yingying agreed. “Senior Yun, we’ll need you to keep Lin Shiyou occupied tomorrow to buy some time for the rescue.”

Yun Yanqiu gave a faint "Mm" and turned to look at Han Chengyu: "I'm not here, so someone has to protect her safety."

"Senior Yun, rest assured, I will certainly live up to your expectations." Han Chengyu clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully to Yun Yanqiu.

Han Chengjin, who was standing to the side, suddenly volunteered, "Then I'll take some men to rescue them tomorrow!"

"I want to go too!"

The group all turned their gaze to Yao Yao, who looked determined and patted her chest, saying, "I made a promise to those people, and I will go to save them. I can't break my word."

She looked at Yun Yanqiu again with hopeful eyes, expecting his approval. Yun Yanqiu stared at her, his brows furrowed.

Seeing this, Yao Yao retorted, "I can do it! If we encounter any danger, I'll jump into the sea. What can he do to me then!"

Yun Yanqiu considered for a moment, sighed, and finally agreed to her request: "Be careful."

Yao Yao jumped up excitedly after receiving permission, and her eagerness eased the previously overly serious atmosphere.

"Then tomorrow, Senior Yun will keep Lin Shiyou occupied, Brother Cheng Jin and Yao Yao will go to rescue people, and I'll go with Brother Cheng Yu to command the overall situation from the rear," Ye Yingying concluded. In reality, she didn't need to do anything. In the Secret Sea, Han Chengyu had more influence than her. She just needed to stay in a safe place and wait for good news.

After everyone had clarified their tasks, they prepared to leave and go back to their rooms for a short rest to prepare for the decisive battle the next morning. Unexpectedly, Han Chengyu stopped Yao Yao, wanting to talk to her alone.

This action surprised everyone, even Yao Yao herself was stunned, pointing at herself in astonishment and asking, "Me?"

"Exactly."

Han Chengyu's composure caught Han Chengjin off guard. He never expected his brother to do something like this, so he stammered, "Brother, what's going on?"

"Cheng Jin, you can go out first too." Han Chengyu's expression was serious, as if he was about to announce something important. "Everyone, I apologize, but I have some things to explain to Miss Yao Yao. It won't take too long."

Seeing Han Chengyu's serious demeanor, the others refrained from questioning and obediently retreated to wait outside the study. Ye Yingying had a hunch that Han Chengyu was about to reveal his true intentions.

Is the decision to confront them at this time intended to distract Yao Yao, or to distract Han Chengjin?

Putting everything else aside, Han Chengjin was already in a state of utter confusion. At first, he thought his brother had genuinely forgotten, then he thought his brother was deliberately avoiding the matter by pretending to forget. Either way, he wouldn't confess to Yao Yao. But now, he was directly asking to speak with Yao Yao alone. What was he trying to do? What did he want to say?

No, no matter what my brother wants to say to her, what does their business have to do with me? Han Chengjin suddenly paused, realizing that his thoughts seemed to be led by something inexplicable.

What am I worried about? Han Chengjin stared at the closed door, falling silent.

Inside the room, Yao Yao was incredibly nervous. Although she had decided to confront Han Chengyu, that should have been after everything was over and Lin Shiyou was defeated, not now. The room was quiet; Yao Yao could hear her own heart pounding. She stood frozen, her gaze fixed on Han Chengyu, waiting for him to speak.

Time passed slowly, and finally, Han Chengyu opened his mouth and said, "I'm sorry, I actually recognized you the day we met."

This news struck Yao Yao's heart like a mallet.

"So you hate me, that's why you're pretending not to know me?"

"No," Han Chengyu said solemnly, "I don't dislike you, it's just that I think it would be better to pretend we don't know each other."

What do you mean it would be better not to know each other? Yao Yao looked at him in confusion, a jumble of emotions welling up inside her.

"You should have noticed that there are far more people on land who want to kill you than those who want to befriend you. In their eyes, you are a treasure from head to toe, and their greed will bring disaster upon you and even your people."

Yao Yao was speechless, wanting to say something but unable to refute. Han Chengyu was right. Just like that cracked heart-protecting scale, those people coveted the miracle it contained, cruelly peeling it off the merman's body with only a superficial understanding, and then carefully collecting and storing it. In the end, they didn't value any life other than their own.

“But they are them, and you are you…” Yao Yao looked directly into Han Chengyu’s eyes, her expression earnest. Han Chengyu was different; he never saw her as prey, nor did he covet the treasures she possessed.

Yao Yao wanted to see a glimmer of tenderness in Han Chengyu's eyes, but the candlelight in the room made his figure appear dim, and his expression as he looked at her remained distant: "Yao Yao, compared to you, my position is much closer to theirs."

"Huh?" Han Chengyu's words sent a chill down Yao Yao's spine. She suppressed the inexplicable panic in her heart and questioned, "How can you compare yourself to them?"