Chapter 149 Fish Tail "Gayue, our thread broke long ago."...
Jia Yue stared intently at the two fiery red figures on the rooftop.
The clothes were a blinding red under the moonlight, but what stung the eyes even more were the glowing red threads on their hands. The bonds were activated by the clasped hands of the two people, reminding everyone that this was a valid contract.
The faint light in the night seemed to pierce his eyes as if it were real, causing them to bleed from the pain.
What he lost and could not obtain, she promised to another person.
She allows another person to kiss her freely, but she won't allow him to appear in front of her.
She changed her mind so easily, and was so... biased.
Once a merman has chosen a partner, he will never fall in love with anyone else.
But what about her?
He watched her silently, trying to detect even the slightest hint of guilt in her eyes.
Jealousy burned his reason, and his chest ached and felt bitter. Jia Yue completely forgot that in Jiang Yuhuo's eyes, he was the one who broke the contract first, and he forgot that he had promised Jiang Yuhuo that he would never appear again.
Therefore, naturally, Jiang Yuhuo did not flinch when facing Jia Yue's gaze, but looked directly into his eyes, even with a questioning tone.
After hiding for so many days, he finally revealed himself.
At this moment, it was less that Li Mengbai was kissing her, and more that she was confronting Jia Yue.
"What's wrong?" Noticing her absent-mindedness, Li Mengbai muttered, nudging her cheek in annoyance, trying to draw her attention back.
Jiang Yuhuo glanced down at the person beside her neck. Li Mengbai's eyes were half-closed, her cheeks were flushed, and she already looked quite drunk.
He was truly drunk, drowsy, and had let down his guard in Jiang Yuhuo's arms, so relaxed that he didn't notice the piercing gaze behind him.
Jiang Yuhuo noticed a hint of fatigue in his eyes, something that would have been impossible to detect if they weren't so close. She remembered what the palace servants had told her: he seemed to have put a lot of effort into preparing for the betrothal ceremony these past few days.
"You're tired. Shall I carry you downstairs to rest?"
Jiang Yuhuo asked a question.
She needs to handle the situation on her own.
Li Mengbai was perfectly fine; his mind was a complete mess. He tightened his grip on Jiang Yuhuo's waist with satisfaction and let out a soft hum. At this moment, he felt as if he were in the most beautiful dream, and naturally let her do as she pleased.
Even though they were some distance apart, the mermaid's keen hearing allowed Jia Yue to hear her words clearly, even though they weren't spoken to him.
Her gentle inquiry made it seem as if the person in front of her was the only person left in the world.
It felt as if another wound had opened in Jia Yue's heart, the pain so intense that he could barely stand. He had thought that the moment he learned of her identity in the Silver Serpent Spirit Sea was the most painful moment, but when he finally met her again, he thought that hearing her say that she had never wanted him from the beginning was the most painful punishment in the world. But now he heard her tenderness towards someone else.
He had only ever heard such gentle words from her when she took him in after he was injured, and she had never spoken to him like that again. He thought that after all that she had been through, her personality had been hardened, and she was no longer capable of tenderly comforting people.
It turns out, it's just that it's gone for him.
He didn't know how he managed to suppress his rage, jealousy, resentment, and...fear—the fear of her completely abandoning herself for someone else. He forced himself not to kill the man who had made her change her mind, watching helplessly as she carried him off the roof and into the bridal chamber, the one with red candles and gauze curtains.
Jiang Yuhuo placed Li Mengbai on her bed and cast a spell to help her sleep peacefully. Sure enough, Li Mengbai soon lost consciousness.
She pushed open the bedroom door again, and as soon as she opened it, she saw that stubborn figure, as if he knew she would come out, so he was waiting for her here.
Jiang Yuhuo closed the palace door, casually placing a barrier in front of it before looking at the person in front of him.
Jia Yue smiled at her, her face clearly the same as before, but for some reason, it made her feel inexplicably dangerous at this moment.
He smiled and conjured a still-burning river lantern in his palm, asking her, "Why don't you want it anymore?"
Jiang Yuhuo recognized it at a glance as the very lamp she had released by the Qingshui River. He was indeed able to pinpoint the location of the pearl. If she had kept it with her, he would have been able to find her.
She looked away. "I don't want it anymore."
Those four soft words struck like a heavy hammer, causing Jia Yue to sway. He searched for Jiang Yuhuo's eyes, but she turned her face away, refusing to look him in the eye. "Why didn't you just throw it away from the beginning?"
Jiang Yuhuo lowered her head and remained silent for a moment. "I don't know. It's not important."
Not important? Then what is important? That person from just now? Important enough that we should form a pact with him?
His other hand, tucked into his long sleeve, was clenched tightly, his fingertips digging into his palm. The pain of his flesh being torn open brought Jia Yue back to his senses, and his smile became even gentler. "Yes, things that nobody wants are not important at all."
As Jia Yue channeled his spiritual power, the river lantern suddenly burst into flames in his palm, and the bamboo and linen object was reduced to ashes in almost an instant.
Jiang Yuhu frowned. Although she was the one who was to send the pearls away, seeing that Jia Yue was going to destroy them made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable. Looking up, she saw that the once slender and jade-like hand was now covered with large patches of charred flesh and blisters.
He didn't use any spiritual energy to protect himself, and he actually let the fire burn on his hands!
"What are you doing?" Jiang Yuhuo asked in surprise.
Jia Yue smiled, and under her gaze, she clasped her hands together, grasped the three still intact pearls, and slowly applied force, grinding them into powder in the burned flesh.
Jiang Yuhuo's expression changed, and she grabbed the merman's wrist with one hand, "Are you crazy? Let go!"
Jia Yue gave a self-deprecating laugh, her voice tinged with obvious bitterness, "I was born because of you. If you don't want me, then I have no reason to exist."
Jiang Yuhuo's eyelashes trembled. She pried open his knuckles, making his palm open. The powder from the broken pearls was smeared with blood, forming a mass on his burned skin. Just looking at it was painful.
She sighed. "Didn't we agree never to see each other again?"
Jiang Yuhuo looked down at his hand and poured her spiritual power into it, trying to heal his wound.
Jia Yue couldn't see her expression clearly, but she could tell that there was no accusation in her words.
He was silent for a while, his already broken heart aching again because of her words. He wanted to lift her chin and look at her, but his hands were covered in blood, so he could only gaze at her eyelashes and whisper, "I'm sorry, I still can't let you go."
Jiang Yuhuo suddenly looked up, "That day at the bottom of the Moyu River, you saved me, didn't you?"
Jia Yue knew she couldn't hide it from her, so she nodded, "Yes."
"What did you feed me that day?" Jiang Yuhuo was very concerned, as she had a feeling that she might not be able to handle it.
The burns on his hands were slowly soothed by her spiritual power. He smiled nonchalantly, "It's just a water-repelling bead, nothing precious. You know, Tianque has many magical treasures."
Jiang Yuhuo was skeptical. "Since you saved my life, how do you want me to repay you?"
Jia Yue didn't answer. Instead, she looked at the woman's fingers and asked with a smile, "Is that a marriage contract on your hand?"
"Yes, we are engaged."
Jiang Yuhuo didn't think much of it and answered honestly.
But then Jia Yue took a long breath, as if there was no more air for him to breathe. He forced a smile and asked, "Is it about today?"
Jiang Yuhu nodded, "Xu Shi (7-9 PM)."
Jia Yue gave a wry smile. At that time, he was still repairing his body in Shenshui Pool.
"Can you tell me who that person is?"
"Li Mengbai, you've met in Luoyue City."
A beautiful, effeminate face immediately appeared in Jia Yue's mind, her smiling eyes always inadvertently revealing a malicious glint. What right did that person have!
If this person hadn't instigated Jiang Yuhuo to break into the Spirit-Sealing Array, he wouldn't have experienced the pain of losing her. He should have killed him without hesitation back then! Why let him steal her away now!
Thinking of this, Jia Yue wished she could rush in and kill that person!
"What’s wrong with you?"
Seeing that his expression was off, Jiang Yuhuo asked him a question.
Jia Yue closed her eyes, hiding her killing intent in them.
He said bitterly, "Are you sure? You want to spend your life with him?"
Jiang Yuhu hesitated for a moment, "...probably." Even if it's only three or four years, it's still a lifetime for this body.
Hearing her say those words with his own ears, Jia Yue felt a metallic taste rise in his throat. He had thought he could let her do whatever she wanted, as long as she lived, but the truth was, he couldn't. He couldn't bear to watch her walk into someone else's arms, whispering sweet nothings in another's ear. Just thinking about that scene made his reason crumble completely.
He swallowed the bitter, fishy taste, but ultimately couldn't suppress his resentment. "Then... what about me?"
Jiang Yuhuo was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant.
Jia Yue gripped her hand tightly, grinding it forcefully against her fingers bound with the talisman. "Have you forgotten what you promised me?"
Jiang Yuhuo understood what he was talking about. She looked at the faded knot on his hand, a stark contrast to the newly tied knot she herself had made today. She sighed and said calmly, "Those are no longer valid."
Jia Yue stubbornly refused to let go of her hand, saying, "It counts! I never agreed to break the contract with you, I never agreed to it."
Jiang Yuhu shook his head, raised the hand in front of him, and said calmly, "But look carefully, I only have one bond in my hand now."
"Whether it's Xiaohai or Jiayue, you've always been you, but look at me now... The person you made a pact with is long dead, and I'm no longer the person I used to be."
"Gayue, our connection was severed long ago."
Words have power; her words cut into Jia Yue's heart like knives. Finally, the sharpest knife pierced through, and the pain shot through him like a bolt of cold lightning. The emotions he had been suppressing could no longer be contained, gushing from his chest. He vomited a mouthful of blood, staining his snow-white clothes crimson.
Suddenly, before Jiang Yuhuo could recover from the shock, she saw Jia Yue fall to the ground as if she had lost all her strength. She only had time to catch her falling body.
"What's wrong, Jia Yue!"
The merman's body was cold, and his breathing was shallow. When he closed his eyes, Jiang Yuhuo almost felt like she was holding a corpse. Suddenly, she was terrified and frantically slapped his face, "Don't sleep, wake up! Jia Yue, tell me how to save you!"
The merman weakly opened his eyes, forced a smile, and said, "Don't be afraid, hold me... it will be over soon."
He seemed to be extremely weak, and after uttering only this sentence, he completely fainted.
Jiang Yuhuo was at a loss; the spiritual energy he poured into his body was like a clay ox entering the sea, not even causing a ripple.
She obediently held him in her arms, but the person in her arms not only did not wake up, but his legs under his robes also silently transformed into a huge fish tail.
Her fish tail, like scattered gold, was strong and beautiful. Just like the first time she saw him, she was captivated by her gaze.
But now, when she sees that fish tail again, she has no heart to appreciate it; all she can think about is that he can't even hold on to his human form anymore.
Jiang Yuhuo could wait no longer. She rushed out of the barrier, picked up the mermaid, and headed straight for the bathing pool in the palace.
She didn't have time to think about whether the palace servants would see her or whether Li Mengbai would know. Just like when she decided to bring this merman home, all she wanted to do was save him.
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