Chapter 217 Within Reach, Yet Beyond Reach
Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, he saw—a beam of moonlight, so clear it was almost sacred, shining down from above the deep sea.
The little mermaid instinctively raised the back of his hand to shield his eyes. A blinding light pierced through his fingers, illuminating his tightly closed eyelids with a scorching red glow.
Wait a minute... it's... moonlight?!
This realization struck his chaotic consciousness like lightning!
He suddenly lowered his arm, his deep blue pupils staring straight in the direction of Huali.
Huali looked at the light in Yanxi's eyes and for a moment thought he saw her.
However, it didn't happen.
The moment the bright light entered Yan Xi's pupils, tears welled up in his eyes almost instantly.
One, two, glistening pearls rolled silently down his pointed chin.
Because of that one look, Huali felt a pang of sadness in her heart.
It was just a beam of light, but the little mermaid, who had been trapped in the deep sea, regarded it as a rare treasure.
Unable to utter a sound, yet it seemed as if their very soul was trembling.
Ao Bai paused, remained silent for a moment, and then snorted, "I never thought that the little bird was such a crybaby before."
Karin reached out and brushed away the sand to make her vision clearer.
With such a simple action, the little mermaid seemed to suddenly realize something and looked sharply in the direction where Karin was.
There was nothing there.
Yan Xi's gaze pierced through the layer of dark blue water curtain, only to see a blurry, deep void.
The water flow created a whirlpool that silently swirled around the cave entrance...
Even if it is invisible to the eye and cannot be heard—
He still felt an extremely distinct and indescribable "presence," which suddenly surged through his small body like an electric current.
now--
The surging moonlight became the only backdrop, connecting the prison to the outside world.
In the silent, cold palace, on one side is a mermaid peeking out from a small cage within the black stone walls, and on the other is a red-clad girl in a red skirt, blooming like a flower.
The two were so close, yet an insurmountable chasm separated them.
It is within reach, yet unattainable.
“He is there.”
Without needing visual confirmation, a clear understanding arose in Yan Xi's mind, just as the tides knew the moon's gravity.
Yan Xi opened her mouth silently, trying to speak with difficulty, but only managed to exhale a bubble.
When the sea of sand in front of Huali completely sank, this was the scene she saw.
The opening was small, just enough for the little mermaid's head to peek out.
She inexplicably hallucinated that she was visiting a juvenile detention center.
Ao Bai, who was feeling somewhat sad, thought: "???"
Huali clicked her tongue, "I should have fried it bigger just now."
"That won't do!" Ao Bai urgently called for a halt. "This is the largest hole we can create without being discovered."
"If it gets any bigger, won't it attract all the big guys?"
Huali asked in confusion, "Didn't you say before that no matter what we do, we can't change Huanmeng? So what are we afraid of?"
“That’s true, but I still feel like something’s off.” Ao Bai frowned. “There are quite a few things that don’t make sense. For example, doesn’t it make sense that the little bird, as the master of dreams, can’t see you?”
"You're getting more and more paranoid lately. You're going crazy before the company even lays off any employees."
Huali quickly walked over to Yanxi's side, took out a seashell as she was prepared, drew a smiley face on it with a charcoal pencil, and handed it to him.
So what if she can't see or hear? Hua Aotian has her own ways.
After clearly seeing the little mermaid's eyes suddenly widen, Huali conjured up a handful of dried fish out of thin air and handed it over.
Send over another seashell with a picture of a big fish eating a small fish.
“Dreams are all fake. It’s impossible for a little bird to have a split personality like Lian Zhuo.” Hua Li waved her hand. “Don’t scare yourself.”
Ao Bai thought about it and agreed, "Even if it's a split personality, it's still the same soul, so it still won't have any impact. Maybe I'm overthinking it."
Having had the experience of feeding Wen Jin before, Hua Li was worried that he might attack, but she didn't expect the little bird to be so docile.
He simply opened his mouth and silently said thank you.
Without asking or thinking, after the initial surprise, she reverted to being the little mermaid with the blank stare in her eyes.
Karin immediately thought of Aquaman's words about "taming".
Given Xiao Niao's current personality, Hua Li simply doesn't believe he can be at the mercy of others for three hundred years; there must be some hidden reason.
Right now, all we can do is wait.
*
Taking this opportunity, Ao Bai returned to Jieyuan and glanced at Hua Li and Yan Xi.
Compared to the rosewood, the little bird's face was even paler.
Those who don't know might think that his life force had been drained by a demon; it's quite frightening.
Remembering how the little bird had scared it earlier, Meow King snorted and went up to press two plum blossom marks on its face.
Ao Bai, who had become quite aware of his own weight through a series of blows, never expected that just these two attacks would cause the little bird to vomit blood.
Ao Bai was shocked: "You've tried to scam a cat?!"
Unnoticed by anyone, the boundary ring on Yan Xi's wrist tightened rapidly.
Ao Bai was so scared his ears popped out like airplane ears!
Forget it, I'm definitely not going to die anyway, so I don't care anymore!
The kitten closed its eyes, trying to return to Hana's consciousness, but as soon as it closed its eyes, it remembered how poorly Hana cried under the moonlight when she was a kitten.
"Tch." Meow Meow King rolled his eyes in disdain.
While rummaging around in the small cloth pocket under its chin, it pulled out a Life-Giving Pill, curled it up with its tail, and then forcibly pried open Yan Xi's mouth with its paws and threw it in.
Forget it, the big cat is magnanimous and won't bother with a small fish.
*
Time stands still in the sea.
The silver moonlight that shone from the abyss a year ago has finally been replaced by a warmer, more constant light source.
The enormous luminous pearl was gently placed on the outside of the prison walls, directly opposite the forcibly torn opening, steadily emitting light enough to dispel the darkness within its radius.
Yan Xi leaned against the cold stone wall, holding a seashell in her hand, intently drawing a small fish made of circles.
After finishing the last stroke, he carefully lifted the seashell to the edge of the hole and gently placed it down.
After doing all this, he slowly poked half his head out of the cave entrance, staring intently at the dark water outside, his tail tip taut with tension.
It's here!
Without warning, the water flowing at the edge of the cave entrance produced a subtle yet distinct ripple! Several tiny bubbles gurgled and rose upwards along the stone wall.
It's her!
The little mermaid's deep blue eyes lit up instantly, like the most dazzling stars, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards into an expectant arc.
He reached out, his fingertips trembling slightly, ready to receive that unseen hand, or a new seashell carrying a story.
However......
The water only rippled for a moment before quickly returning to calm.
The bubbles dissipated into the black vortex overhead, leaving only the luminous pearl at the cave entrance still shining brightly.
The sparkle in the little mermaid's eyes was replaced by bewilderment, and the curve of her lips turned into a stubborn yet undeniably disappointed line.
He silently tucked his seashell into his arms, as if afraid that someone would see his unfulfilled enthusiasm.
Immediately afterwards—
The water flow at the edge of the cave entrance showed abnormal fluctuations again!
His heart skipped a beat! The hope that had just sunk was like a bubble that had been forcibly inflated, swelling up again!
A pale little hand grasped the seashell in her arms and leaned out.
......
The fluctuations disappeared, the sand and dust slowly settled, and the cave entrance became empty.
*
Huali followed behind Guanlan, the leader of the merfolk.
The Sea King entrusted all matters concerning the little bird to this merman. A year is but a blink of an eye for the merman, and now he is clearly heading to the palace where the little bird resides.
"Commander, are we really going?" One of the lobster soldiers following him asked hesitantly. "Didn't His Majesty say that no one is allowed to see him?"
Guanlan sighed, "We are all born of the same root, why are we so eager to harm each other?"
The lobster was shocked. "What? He's of the king's blood?"
"Huh?" Guanlan slapped him across the face. "You dare to say anything. If this gets back to the Queen, with her jealous nature, she'll skin you alive."
"But...didn't you say we are all of the same origin?"
The guard captain was taken aback. "Huh? Is that what you mean? I was trying to say that we're all merfolk, and that the child is pitiful because he has no parents. Let's take a look first."
lobster:"......"
It's not terrible to be uncultured; what's terrible is to be uncultured yet pretend to be cultured, especially when that person is also the boss.
He was well-read and passed the exam to join a state-owned enterprise and the army, but who knew that his boss was a nobody?
No one could understand his despair.
Seeing Guanlan step into the barrier, Lobster took a deep breath and followed her with long strides.
However, before the two could even step inside, another barrier instantly blocked their path.
Guanlan was taken aback. Just as she was about to gather spiritual energy in her hand, a voice suddenly came from the other side, "Guanlan."
"Your Highness?"
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