Chapter 159 Don't argue with fools when we meet again.
She didn't know how long she had been submerged, but a cool, warm feeling spread from her heart. Who had dropped a drop of water, bringing her new life?
As consciousness returned, Shen Lixia coughed violently. She felt someone gently patting her back, and after a moment, suddenly slapping her hard. The burning sensation and chaotic spiritual energy intertwined, surging upwards with that slap.
A sweet taste rose in her throat, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. A soft touch brushed against the corner of her lips, and the blood, carrying with it much discomfort, left her body, while gentle spiritual energy continuously nourished her meridians.
Shen Lixia finally woke up slowly and opened her eyes. She realized who was supporting her and holding her in their arms. Although she felt warm and comforted, alarm bells rang in her mind. The other person's body temperature was low, but it was just right for her, who was suffering from a fever.
A familiar face came into view, and the boy was slightly taken aback. He stared at the other person in disbelief and confusion, then slowly blinked.
Shen Lixia has always had a good memory.
She almost instinctively raised her hand to try and touch him to confirm that this wasn't an illusion, but then she thought it would be too impolite, so she withdrew her hand, which was halfway raised, and instead placed it on her waist. The boy holding her smiled slightly, a standard and polite smile, which looked very gentle in Shen Lixia's eyes.
There was still a glimmer in her eyes, as if she had just cried; the tears were still wet in her azure eyes.
In the South China Sea live mermaids whose tears turn into pearls. Since these tears are formed from blood, they also possess healing properties.
The past resurfaced once again, and the image of Shen Yuan's ruin flashed through my mind.
"Can you walk by yourself? If not, I'll carry you for a while."
Her face was as smooth as jade, and every movement she made was noble and elegant. Shen Lixia knew her name, but still asked, "Thank you for your help. May I ask your name, benefactor?"
"Cangming." The young man seemed somewhat surprised that she had reached the deep sea and was unaware of his identity. His smile widened, and his voice became more playful. "Where did you come from, little bird? Did you accidentally fly into the sea?"
In fact, her wings had already been folded. Her words were a gentle teasing, as if she were laughing at the boy who was clearly a human from the land, but somehow ended up in the sea and miraculously survived.
Shen Lixia struggled slightly, and the young Cangming understood, helping her up and withdrawing his hand. She patted her clothes, surprised to find that both the dragon blood and anything else had disappeared, leaving her clean, though slightly disheveled. Shen Lixia bowed to Cangming in thanks, her gaze falling on a crystal-clear jade stone beside her ear.
In my memory, this is what her future daughter would wear... Jade ornaments, flowing patterns, copper and jade white intertwined, elaborate yet still heroic.
The hazy timeline suddenly became clear. Shen Lixia blinked and asked, "As you can see, I am just an ordinary human, who got lost in this sea due to some special reasons. I was fortunate to have a magical artifact protecting me so I didn't die... but I can't find a way out and I don't know how long I've been wandering around. What year is it in the human world now? Has anything major happened in the outside world?"
Cangming's expression suddenly turned cold. Her delicate eyebrows arched upwards, and her gaze, sharp as a blade, slowly swept across Shen Lixia's face, sending a chill down the young man's spine. She scrutinized Shen Lixia for a long while, then crossed her arms, the jade pendant on her body swaying with the current of the seawater, making a light and crisp sound.
This became the only sound besides the sound of flowing water.
As Shen Lixia's heart raced, Cang Ming suddenly tilted his head, his smile returning to his eyes, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Fine, it seems you truly don't know my identity, daring to be so presumptuous. However, I forgive you, after all, someone told me before..."
The tone of her next sentence felt very familiar to Shen Lixia, as if she could see another person with dark hair and blue eyes smiling.
"Don't bother arguing with fools."
Shen Lixia looked away, a sneer playing on her lips. She thought to herself that Luo Yang had been quite sharp-tongued back then, one minute instructing his subordinates that fighting and flirting would lead to a quick death, the next he was here lecturing the Princess about how to curse people thousands or tens of thousands of years in the future. Yet, she did feel a little relieved by those words, as if she had touched the real Luo Yang through them, rather than a phantom, a sinner, or the "Lord of Luochuan."
She seemed to be just Luo Yang, not the "Luo" from Luochuan, but the daughter of a very ordinary Luo family in the capital. Her speech was usually very pleasant, but when she spoke, it could be heartbreaking.
That's something she does with her senior sister. Qiao Yanshen never uses profanity when he curses, but his insults are powerful enough to infuriate people.
However, they had already met by then. Cangming patiently answered her question: "I am not familiar with the human calendar, but this is the second year of the war."
That is, the second year after Ling Guangjun was summoned back to the Heavenly Spirit Realm...
Judging from Cangming's appearance, it seems that the Merfolk Kingdom did not participate in the first war—in fact, many divine beasts, tribes, and various forces did not take this war very seriously and never thought that it would cause such a terrible consequence later.
It was like boiling a frog in lukewarm water... Shen Lixia shuddered at the thought.
"No need to worry, this is just a small battle. With several high gods leading the way, we will surely win soon." Cangming seemed to think she was frightened and comforted her. "However, the war outside is indeed terrible. If you want to go back, I can send you a wisp of divine consciousness to protect you."
She smiled gently, as if she could finally put aside her airs in front of someone who didn't know she was a young princess and the future ruler of the country, and reached out to poke Shen Lixia's forehead.
"Don't be silly and get lost. Find your tribe quickly."
After saying that, Cangming looked at Shen Lixia's attire again—she always wore the sect's uniform, a white outer robe with a black inner shirt, several wrist guards wrapped around her forearms, and two shawls tied on her shoulders.
She raised her chin, a hint of admiration in her eyes: "Your people are quite skilled at making beautiful clothes."
Shen Lixia was surprised that Emperor Taihui's uniform would receive praise from an ancient person, and couldn't help but chuckle, "Of course. But your clothes are also very beautiful, and they are similar to some imperial families I know." If she were to tell this to her ancestor who designed the uniform, he would probably be overjoyed, after all, it was the affirmation of a mermaid princess from ten thousand years ago.
Cangming seemed quite pleased. His azure eyes darted around, and he suddenly asked Shen Lixia, "If you're not in a hurry to leave, you could come with me for a walk, how about it? The seabed isn't as desolate as humans think, and the merfolk are quite beautiful."
However, since no human visitors were coming, and the merfolk disliked venturing out, they could only let other races talk as they pleased. Over time, they became a mysterious and unpredictable divine being living deep within the South Sea. Cangming was never quite satisfied, although the king and his other people didn't care. They were even happy that the foreign races rarely bothered them.
But she always felt that one day mermaids would also venture out to sea, and that the places beyond the ocean had their own wonders. If she ever had a daughter, she would definitely send her out to see the world, let her see all the wonders of the world, and bring her back a beautiful flower from the land...
Intercultural interaction is not a bad thing; will it bring any disaster?
Shen Lixia paused for a moment, then nodded and said softly, "Okay."
Interestingly, the young Cangming was not as composed and dignified as she had been in the illusion created by Luo Yang. She had a face like a peach blossom, and her speech was even slightly frivolous at times. She would tell these interesting jokes and remember other people's nonsense.
She was unlike Cang Yu. Whether in her memories or in the last time she saw him, Cang Yu was quiet and shy, like a bookish nerd, unable to utter eloquent words. Even dressed in similar finery, he lacked the refined elegance of Cang Ming, instead possessing the unpolished, naive, and soft quality of a hidden gem. Yet, Shen Lixia was certain that even without recognizing them, she would instantly know upon seeing them—they were mother and daughter.
Eyebrows, figure, subtle details, tone of voice... the bond between mother and daughter is always so magical.
Following Cangming as they walked through the water, though their feet never touched the ground, an invisible force always seemed to support them. Shen Lixia understood that Cangming was taking care of her, a human, but when she looked over, she only saw the boy's smiling eyes. She knew Shen Lixia had noticed, and proudly raised the corners of her lips, letting out a soft hum.
The roads became increasingly familiar, and the outline of the Mermaid Kingdom became clearer. At this time, the Mermaid Kingdom had not undergone major repairs after Cangming ascended to the throne, nor had it been destroyed by alien races. It presented a thriving scene, with jade stones having a warm luster, magnificent cities, and white and blue jade reflecting each other, with pearls scattered all over the land.
His gaze swept across the area and suddenly noticed a section of the city gate that was damaged and covered with shards of ice, seemingly still under repair. Shen Lixia, following behind Cangming, asked curiously, "Was this place attacked before?"
She pointed to the damaged area, and Cangming looked in that direction, sighed helplessly, and nodded: "Yes, about a month ago, the dragons invaded..."
This stirred up the boy's memories, and she continued:
"They were brought here by their dragon lord, because the dragon lord had to fight alongside the Taiyin Lord, and the soldiers naturally couldn't stay in the Heavenly Spirit Realm; they had to find a place to settle down. But these dragons are not honest. Seeing the splendor of the Mermaid Kingdom, they had the idea of swallowing it whole. They had only been here a few days when they took advantage of the lull in the war to plunder our city."
"How could the Merfolk Kingdom allow these long worms to invade? We resisted immediately, but dragons are gods after all... Merfolk are not. Moreover, they have heard that we can turn our tears into pearls, which has fueled their greed. Under the pretext of co-governance, they want to make the entire sea their own territory."
"Just then, someone arrived..."
They were part of the mythology, yet they also had their own, earlier legends. The newcomer was like a legendary heroine, arriving with a sword in hand, her white robes as cool as moonlight, exuding an extraordinary aura.
After seeing the city gates tightly shut and the fierce battle raging, she looked around and seemed to understand what had happened, then chuckled softly.
"It seems I've come at an inopportune time." The young man shook his head and looked at the dragon causing trouble. "Forgive me."
A silver-blue light shone forth, and the sword's aura was chilling. By the time the god-like dragon realized her strength, it was already too late. The sword light in the hand of the Lord of Luochuan, who never showed himself in the world, was as vast and dazzling as the sea, forming a magnificent world of its own.
That was the most beautiful sword light Cangming had ever seen, and it was the ideal he would pursue for the rest of his life.
The light fell into the eyes of the princess, whose body was covered in blood, and reflected the brilliance of countless stars.
With a single sword strike, he repelled all the invading dragons.
Scales shattered, golden blood shimmered like sand in the sea. The pained dragon, realizing its situation, roared and left with resentment in its eyes, one of them even uttering a threat: "I'll call Lord Yinglong to punish you!"
Who is this nobody who dares to confront the Dragon Clan? We must invite the Dragon Lord to come and dampen her arrogance. However, Luo Yang merely raised an eyebrow, raised her hand, and a flash of silver light appeared. The roaring dragon vanished instantly. Upon closer inspection, Cang Ming discovered that the dragon's enormous body had disappeared, replaced by a tiny insect.
Luo Yang beckoned, and the little insect flew into her hand, where it was teased and played with by her fingertips. The other dragons were terrified and dared not utter another sound, retreating on their own. Seeing its kin leave, the little insect was both anxious and angry, trembling all over as it was being held, and cried out, "Kill me or torture me, it's up to you!"
After she finished speaking, the young woman tilted her head and laughed, "I didn't say I was going to kill you." With a flick of her hand, the insect was released and floated in the seawater.
"You can leave now, and don't come back again."
She hadn't killed anyone. Cangming had seen everything, and his gaze shifted, meeting the young man's pale blue eyes. Then, her figure appeared before him, a pale hand reaching out, accompanied by a gentle voice in his ear:
"I have long heard of your great name, the princess of the mermaid capital of the South China Sea."
She didn't linger, only expressing her desire to make friends before departing, saying she would come again next time. Those dragons who returned heard that they had been punished by the Dragon Lord for their reckless actions, and that the ringleaders of the trouble had paid with their lives, slain by Yinglong's sword.
Hearing this, Shen Lixia blinked, "What does Yinglong look like?"
Cangming pondered for a moment and said, "I've heard that her scales are like silver and her eyes are like gold. Among the dragons, she is second only to Taiyin Jun in beauty and power."
She thought for a moment and then said, "Although Luo Yang is very strong, I will catch up with her one day."
The boy raised the corners of his lips and smiled proudly.
“We will fight side by side, become best friends, and entrust our backs to each other. At that time, my daughter will also meet her, and maybe she can even learn swordsmanship from her.”
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