Chapter 66 Eyes "Are you a merman?"
"In the end, you're just unhappy that I took away the championship that should have belonged to Tianque, aren't you?"
Hearing her words, Jia Yue chuckled. She's not stupid, but not particularly clever either.
She's now on his turf, using his sinkhole to heal her wounds. What good would it do her to expose the purpose of his arrow? If she were smart enough, she should know to play along, to show gratitude for his kindness, whether genuine or feigned. At least she should put on a show, and after a few exchanges, wouldn't she be able to gain more leverage over him?
Instead of tearing off all pretenses and laying bare the darkness in people's hearts like this, it's really quite rude.
He couldn't help but wonder how someone so prickly had gotten to where she was today. She relentlessly pierced through all the hypocrisy and pretense between people, determined to expose the ugly and cruel intentions beneath, forcing people to bare their fangs and reveal their true nature beneath their skin. Wasn't she afraid?
Admittedly, he did intend to punish her with that arrow, but it wasn't because of the Heavenly Palace disciple. Rather, it was because of the fire magic she left outside the barrier by the stream, which had singed the ends of his carefully maintained hair. The magic carried the scent of her blood, and at the first glance during the competition, he recognized her as the one who had burned his hair.
He only shattered a piece of her jade; he was already being merciful to her. If he hadn't seen how badly she was injured, he would have made her understand the consequences of disrespecting him.
"So what if I did it on purpose?"
Jia Yue slowly leaned down, his handsome face composed, yet his icy aura instantly pressed down on the person in the pool.
The overwhelming spiritual pressure was almost tangible, pressing down like a mountain, making it almost impossible for Jiang Yuhuo to breathe, let alone resist. She couldn't even lift her hand.
He was demonstrating to her, showing her that she was no match for him. The weak, before a powerful opponent, have no choice but to obey.
Jiang Yuhu bit her lip, and a bead of blood seeped from it.
With a flick of her white sleeve, the cool fragrance of Udumbara flowers brushed against her face, and her icy fingertips landed on her lips.
Jia Yue wiped the blood droplets from her fingertips, and the blood spread across her lips, creating a bright red smear. He remembered that she looked the same way in the arena, her lips stained with blood, before she used fire to burn away the opponent's Five Elements Array.
Jia Yue's voice, sharp as jade striking stone, fell above Jiang Yuhuo, "Let me give you a piece of advice: don't use the fire element in your bloodline so easily anymore. This body can't withstand it. If you continue to use it recklessly as you did in the Grand Competition, you'll only get burned. Submerging in water can only save you temporarily, not forever." His gaze swept over her sharp eyes, "Don't be so combative. If I were you, I would find a quiet place and live a peaceful life away from the world."
As the chilling pressure dissipated, the person in the pool immediately gasped for breath. She slapped the back of her hand hard against the spot he had touched, as if it were something filthy. The water stirred up by her hand swept across her lips, and the wound healed instantly.
His words were full of advice, emphasizing the age-old truth that excessive rigidity leads to breakage. Yet, he was met with her sarcastic remark, "My life and death are none of your concern."
Jia Yue lowered her gaze slightly, but the fierce eyes of the person in the pool did not spare her either.
Two pairs of cold eyes stared at each other, as if they were enemies meeting.
The vast hall was silent, with only a chill spreading through it.
"Tch—" A faint sneeze broke the silence.
Two gazes fell on Jia Yue's arms. Feeling the chill, the silver snake shrank its neck, only revealing a small part of its head, looking at the person in the pool who had just thrown it out from afar, wanting to get closer but not daring to.
Jia Yue snorted coldly, stood up, and left with a flick of her sleeve.
Are you a merman?
Suddenly, a question arose from behind her, her slightly hoarse voice echoing in the hall.
Jia Yue turned around, his long, gray-blue hair swaying gently with his movements. He raised his icy blue eyes, and his stunningly beautiful face was now directly facing the woman in the pool.
Upon hearing this question for the first time, Jia Yue looked down at her without answering.
Jiang Yuhuo's gaze quietly swept over his face. He remained silent, but his eyes answered. He disapproved of her asking such a foolish question, but she still insisted, "Do all mermaids look the same?"
She had only ever seen one merman before, and wasn't sure if all mermen looked the same, but she still held onto a sliver of hope. She hoped he would answer yes, so she could tell herself that the merman Xiao Hai, with whom she had made a vow in her youth, was dead, and that the one before her was just another unfamiliar merman.
"Have you seen merfolk before?" Jia Yue didn't answer, her icy blue eyes locking onto her, giving her no chance to dodge.
"No." Her answer was without hesitation.
"Why do you ask that?" His gaze remained inquisitive.
"I'm just curious; you haven't answered my question yet."
"As many faces as you humans have, so too do the merfolk have."
Even though she knew the answer, Jiang Yuhuo still felt a lump in her throat when she heard his reply. Looking at the familiar face of the merman in front of her, she sighed silently, and then almost resolutely looked away. She understood, and there was no need to deceive herself any longer.
That look in her eyes again.
She was too bad at hiding her true feelings, and Jia Yue could see that very clearly.
Why is there sadness in the eyes of someone with a strong and resolute personality?
"Who exactly are you thinking of?" Jia Yue returned to the poolside, using her spiritual power to force her to meet her gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did you know me before this?"
“I don’t know you. How could I be so fortunate as to know such an important person as you?” Jiang Yuhuo was forced to look up, his gaze returning to its initial indifference and sarcasm. “What, does the eldest son of Tianque even care about the opinions of others? There are millions of people in the world, you can’t possibly care about everyone.”
Her voice was hoarse and low, but her words were sharp and grating.
Jia Yuelan's eyes blazed with barely suppressed anger. He rarely got angry, but at this moment he couldn't tell if his anger stemmed from her disrespectful attitude or from his inability to discern the truth in her words. With a flick of his white robe sleeve, Jiang Yuhuo's neck was instantly gripped by a powerful force.
"Are you... going to kill me?" A hoarse voice escaped her throat, her face flushed from holding her breath, but she still looked at him defiantly. Unlike the complex image she projected on the dueling platform, and unlike the docile and shy look others had of him, her eyes shone with a light that could almost pierce.
Why would he care about the opinion of a stranger? Did she think that would make him think she was different?
That's ridiculous.
He snorted inwardly and loosened his grip on her. Jia Yue suppressed her outward expression, her gaze calm, and she returned to being the revered leader standing on the high platform, admired by all. "You're right, what you think is indeed none of my business."
Her gaze was directed at herself and should not disturb his mind. He must have been influenced by the silver snake to notice her every move.
Jiang Yuhuo finally breathed a sigh of relief long after Jia Yue had left. Her tense mind suddenly relaxed, and she felt utterly exhausted. Having just awakened from the boundless sea of fire, she was now facing this once incredibly familiar stranger. She had to be on her guard, not wanting to reveal even a trace of weakness in front of him, and even less wanting him to know that the mortal who had once made a pact with him had not died on the night he quietly left.
Jiang Yuhuo looked around the pool but didn't see her clothes, so he had no choice but to soak in the water, close his eyes and rest, and try to figure out her current situation.
She was currently in the Heavenly Palace, and only through Wen Yizhan's request was she able to use this pool called Shenshui. She didn't know what Shenshui was, but it could indeed soothe the burning pain in her body. Its touch was colder than Hanyu, and it even seemed to have the power to repair her body. The wound on her mouth that had bled from being bitten had healed, and even her scalded internal organs were healed after this soaking, something Hanyu could not do.
She checked the meridians within her body; they were still there. Ever since she refined this substance, it had caused her internal fire element to surge. While it allowed her external injuries to heal instantly, it also intensified the heat-related illnesses that the cold jade could suppress. However, at this moment, in the Shen River, the meridians and the fire element were relatively peaceful. Ning Yu's painstaking plan had now become her protective barrier—how ironic.
Jiang Yuhuo even found it somewhat amusing that nowadays, no one else could kill her; only she herself could burn herself to death.
With the communication talisman not with her, she couldn't contact Wen Yizhan, nor did she know his whereabouts. He was probably not in Tianque; some time had passed since she woke up. If Wen Yizhan were here, he would surely arrive soon. Since he wasn't, she only needed to obtain the Spirit-Subduing Wood to leave this place and reunite with Wen Yizhan.
As Jiang Yuhuo was sorting through her thoughts, a female cultivator in white robes entered from outside the hall. She turned her head and was stunned when she saw the newcomer's gray-blue hair and emerald-green eyes. Could this be another merman?
"Miss Jiang, are you still feeling unwell?" A female cultivator who looked quite like a mermaid came to the edge of the pool, brought her a clean robe, and placed it in front of her along with a bamboo basket.
"Are you a merman?" Jiang Yuhuo asked, somewhat surprised.
The white-robed female cultivator smiled slightly, her face beautiful and her smile gentle. "That's right. Not only me, but many merfolk also cultivate here in Tianque. Lord Jiayue, the patriarch of Tianque, is also a merfolk."
"Jia Yue?" Jiang Yuhu murmured to himself. So this was his real name.
"But shouldn't merfolk live in the sea?" Jiang Yuhuo asked, puzzled. One month is one thing, but why are there so many merfolk living on Tianque Mountain, a hundred and eight thousand miles from the sea?
"Is it for cultivation? But why did you choose to go to Tianque Mountain alone? Don't you like Kunlun?" Jiang Yuhuo had never heard of any merman cultivators in Kunlun Mountain.
The female cultivator's smile widened. Seeing her clear and open gaze, she was willing to say a few more words to her. "It is for cultivation, but even more so to follow our master. When Princess Jiayue left Haizhou and came to Tianque, our branch followed her here." Knowing that the woman in the pool was a Kunlun cultivator, the female cultivator explained, "It's not that we don't like Kunlun, it's just that wherever our master is, we will go."
Jiang Yuhuo dressed, and the female cultivator led her away. Night had fallen, and she took Jiang Yuhuo to a guest room to settle in. In the maze-like white buildings, every hall looked almost identical, yet the white-robed female cultivator's steps were unhurried, clearly very familiar with the place. Jiang Yuhuo, recalling her days after leaving Liyue Village, couldn't help but ask her curiously, "Aren't you having trouble adjusting to life in the mountains?"
The female cultivator walked ahead, holding a lamp. Her voice, carried in the night, was somewhat casual. "I was a little unaccustomed to it when I first arrived, but after spending so much time on the mountain, I can hardly remember my days in Haizhou."
"Too long, how long is that?"
The female cultivator stopped and thought for a moment before answering, "It has been about two hundred years."
Jiang Yuhuo was shocked. "More than two hundred years? You're over two hundred years old this year?"
The female cultivator in front of me clearly looks like a young woman in her early twenties. How could she be over two hundred years old? Even if one can extend their lifespan and slow down aging through cultivation, no matter how high their cultivation level is, it is difficult for cultivators to completely erase the traces of being over two hundred years old. Just like her master Zhang Zhenyang and other elderly cultivators in Kunlun Mountain, they all look old now, but she looks like a real woman in her twenties.
The female cultivator nodded, turned back to Jiang Yuhuo and smiled, "Miss, there's no need to be surprised. Merfolk live long lives, unlike mortal cultivators. Two hundred years old is only equivalent to a mortal's youth."
Jiang Yuhuo was still reeling from the shock of her advanced age when she suddenly thought of something, and her expression began to become subtle.
So when she found that merman when she was a child, he was already over two hundred years old.
How many things has he been hiding from her?
She truly knew nothing about him.
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