Chapter 78 Homeland "He doesn't seem to be dead yet..."
Early in the morning, Jiang Yuhuo had just finished dressing and emerged from the sinking pool when he pushed open the palace door and saw Qingping hurrying around in front of the palace.
"What happened? Why are you so flustered?" Jiang Yuhuo called out to the person.
Qingping was interrupted by the shout. She turned around to look at the person who had called her, her face filled with panic, "Miss Jiang..."
Jiang Yuhuo realized that something very serious must have happened, otherwise Qingping, who was usually cheerful and talkative, would not have such an expression.
Qingping's face drained of color, and before she could speak, tears streamed down her face, her voice trembling, "Qiandeng... Qiandeng committed suicide... I want to go... I want to go see him."
The sound was like a thunderclap. Jiang Yuhuo recalled the little mermaid she had seen that day, and her angry roar still seemed to echo in her ears. How could it be so sudden?
Qingping staggered toward the Locking Spirit Cave, and Jiang Yuhuo, worried about her, followed her.
The array that served as a gate to the Soul-Locking Cave had dissipated, and the disciple who first discovered it remained outside the cave, waiting for someone to come.
Jiang Yuhuo stood outside the cave and could see into the dark cave at a glance.
The blue-haired merman lay in a pool of blood on the ground, his white robe stained with blood, most of it now red. The blood-soaked red robe clung to his pale skin, making the sight even more horrifying.
Qingping was deeply hurt by Qiandeng's appearance, and tears immediately blurred her vision. Pearls fell from her eyes and clattered to the ground, but no one cared about these tears that had become real.
The mermaid who was as stubborn as a bull just a few days ago collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Qingping knelt down beside him, checked his breath, and then visibly slumped down.
Jiang Yuhuo realized that the merman was probably powerless to reverse the situation.
Qingping tried to pick up Qiandeng, but when she was overwhelmed with grief, she lost her strength and couldn't lift her up no matter how many times she tried.
Jiang Yuhuo patted Qingping's shoulder. "Let me do it."
Her calm and composed tone was a comfort to Qingping at this moment. Qingping trusted her and only moved slightly away before Jiang Yuhuo picked her up in her arms.
Jiang Yuhuo knew that merfolk bodies were cold, but she didn't expect that merfolk blood was also cold. The cold, sticky liquid soaked into her body, and her body was hotter than that of ordinary people, so she felt that the merfolk blood was particularly cold.
The little mermaid used a sharp stone fragment that had fallen from the cave to stab herself in the neck. Perhaps she had already bled out, because there was no more blood flowing from the hole.
As Jiang Yuhuo carried the cold body outside, her body heat rose, making her senses exceptionally sharp. In addition, she had cultivated a large amount of spiritual energy in recent days, and she could vaguely sense that something was still faintly pulsating within the body.
Qingping wiped away her tears and followed behind Jiang Yuhuo, only to see the person in front of her suddenly stop and turn around abruptly.
"He doesn't seem to be dead yet..."
Qingping was shocked. She had clearly been unable to sense his presence just now.
"Who else can save him?" Jiang Yuhuo asked Qingping. If she could help, she would definitely do so, but she only knew how to kill, not save.
Between life and death, Qingping could only think of one person, but he had not come out since entering the Linggu Tower underground palace a few days ago.
"Submerge him! Quickly put him in the submerged pool!" Qingping's voice changed, but she still managed to be organized in her panic. "Take him to the submerged pool, I'll go find His Highness."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuhuo dared not delay any longer. He immediately used his spiritual power to carry the person and ride the wind to the sinking pool, where he placed the person inside.
But the little mermaid was like a corpse, sinking to the bottom as soon as it was put in. Jiang Yuhu panicked for a moment, only thinking of using her spiritual power to pull the person to the edge of the pool, but halfway through, she suddenly remembered that he was a mermaid, and could breathe freely even underwater.
She laughed at her own foolishness, stopped tormenting him, and simply continued to channel her spiritual energy to protect his heart meridian.
Perhaps it was because the sinking water was truly an unparalleled healing artifact, or perhaps it was because her spiritual power was working, Jiang Yuhuo could feel the little mermaid's faint heartbeat gradually becoming clearer.
Two hurried figures entered from outside the hall and rushed to the edge of the sinking pool like the wind.
When Jiang Yuhu saw Jia Yue, whom he hadn't seen for many days, his face darkened and his expression was unfriendly. He quickly looked away as soon as his gaze touched her.
Qingping followed behind him and, seeing Jiang Yuhuo still standing by the pond, quickly pulled him to her side.
"Your Highness is about to perform a spell. Please stand with me, young lady, so that you will not be harmed by the cold."
Jiang Yuhuo didn't understand what the technique Qingping was talking about was, but she still stood obediently at a distance from Jia Yue.
Looking from behind, she could only see a white figure by the pool raising its arm, seemingly forming a hand seal in front of it.
But the next moment, an overwhelming chill swept in, covering the entire sinking pool hall with a layer of frost, as if one were in a giant ice cave, except where Qingping and Jiang Yuhuo stood, everything remained normal.
Jiang Yuhuo glanced at her side and saw that spiritual energy was also emanating from Qingping's fingers, suggesting that she knew what was going to happen and had made preparations in advance.
A thick layer of ice had formed on the surface of the pool, freezing the little merman who had been on the verge of death at the bottom. His spiritual energy was now sealed, preventing it from dissipating. As a result, his condition stabilized; although his breath was still weak, he was no longer in mortal danger.
A pearl the size of an egg slowly rose in front of Jia Yue. Jiang Yuhuo was behind him and could not see where he had taken the pearl from, but his hands were still in the gesture of forming a hand seal and casting a spell, so he had no time to look at anything else. The pearl seemed to have come out of his body.
Unlike the merman's aura, the bead did not emit coldness. Instead, it radiated a warm light. The pale silver-white light fell on the frozen surface of the submerged water, like moonlight in the snow. The warm light penetrated the ice and seeped into the little merman's body below, and the terrible blood hole in his throat began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The flesh closed up, the skin regenerated, and after the wound healed, not even a trace of scar could be seen, as if his flesh and blood had been reshaped.
After everything was over, the frost in the hall quickly melted, and the pool water rippled again. Only the lingering chill in the hall indicated that it had once been frozen.
This was the first time Jiang Yuhuo had truly witnessed Jia Yue unleash her magic. It was as powerful as thunder, yet she could switch between spells at will, as if she could command all the power in the world at will. So powerful, like a master, it was truly breathtaking.
Jiang Yuhu muttered to himself, "No wonder the people of Tianque regard him as their hope for becoming a god."
Suddenly, the mermaid's tail in the pool twitched.
Jiang Yuhuo focused his mind and heard that the little mermaid's heartbeat had returned to normal, and she was out of danger.
The three people in the hall were relieved. Qingping couldn't hide her excitement and sniffed, then covered her face and turned it to the other side.
Jiang Yuhuo understood that she was feeling emotionally turbulent and didn't know what to say to comfort her, so he could only pat her on the shoulder.
Qingping responded by grasping Jiang Yuhuo's hand. Her hand was warm, and it seemed that holding this warm hand could give her strength.
Jia Yue walked over, her gaze lingering for a moment on their clasped hands. She frowned slightly and spoke in a weary voice, "He is fine now. He just needs to rest in the Shenshui River for a few more hours before he wakes up."
Qingping nodded slightly.
But then he continued, "After he wakes up, bring him to see me at the Spirit Valley Tower."
Qingping suddenly looked up, her eyes wide, staring in disbelief at the merman prince before her. "Your Highness, Qiandeng has already died once, so even if he committed a great mistake, it can be forgiven. He is still so young, you cannot punish him further."
“His young age is no excuse for taking his own life. If he continues to be so stubborn,” Jia Yue said indifferently, but her gaze fell on the person next to Qing Ping. There were large patches of blood on her clothes. Although she knew it wasn’t hers, she still found it glaring. “I can’t save him either.”
Jiang Yuhuo felt his gaze and subconsciously looked back, only to find that his eyes were red and there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for days and nights.
But after just one glance, he stopped caring.
Jia Yue didn't look away, stealing a few more glances. But seeing her brought back a flood of images from his dreams and memories reflected in the water mirror, silently proclaiming his humiliation and despair. He told himself, it wasn't her, he shouldn't think about her anymore.
He closed his eyes, turned resolutely, and hurriedly left the main hall of the sinkhole.
Liu Qingping and Jiang Yuhuo remained inside the hall. One looked back at the little mermaid in the pond, overwhelmed with sorrow, while the other watched the departing mermaid, lost in thought.
Jiang Yuhuo did not leave; he sat with Qingping under the eaves waiting for Qiandeng to wake up.
Qingping's tears had dried, but her emotions were still not calm, so she told Jiang Yuhuo about the past of these mermaids.
About a hundred years ago, the sea island erupted with fire, causing heavy casualties among the merfolk who lived in the sea. Some merfolk blamed the sea goddess, believing that she had angered the gods and caused the fire to erupt, thus triggering internal strife in the sea.
"That's when Her Highness was sent to Tianque." Qingping looked up, and outside the palace stood the towering Tianque Mountain. Her gaze gradually drifted into the distance. "The Sea Emperor was already physically and mentally damaged in order to suppress Huofeng. He knew that his life was coming to an end and that he was powerless to resist the rebels. Therefore, before his death, he asked Elder Xingxuan of Tianque to take his only heir, Her Highness Jiayue, away from the Sea Kingdom."
"We mermaids followed them to the Heavenly Palace."
Jiang Yuhuo listened silently.
Qingping continued her story, explaining that they believed merfolk were descendants of gods, and that merfolk with pure Sea Emperor blood could become gods, because the power of each Sea Emperor was passed down through bloodlines. Although no Sea Emperor had truly entered the realm of the gods for thousands of years, they remained steadfast in their belief.
Tianque also believed that the merfolk needed a merfolk god to lead them to the divine realm, and that Tianque needed a deity who would emerge from Tianque. The two sides reached a tacit understanding on this point. Thus, Jia Yue was placed on the altar, a high altar from which she could not descend.
Jiang Yuhuo inappropriately thought of goldfish kept in tanks for people to admire.
“Qian Deng is the youngest among us merfolk. He was born during a time of internal strife in the sea, and both his parents perished in the chaos. So he came to Tianque when he was very young.” Qingping paused, “From then on, he became everyone’s child.”
“He usually takes great care of himself, I didn’t know he would be so resolute. If I had known, even if it was His Highness’s order, I would not have left him alone in the Soul Locking Cave.”
"It's my fault for letting him down..."
"If only he had grown up in Haizhou earlier, there would be many merfolk there, and he could have liked whoever he wanted. Then he wouldn't have met that mortal."
Jiang Yuhuo couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that no matter where they met, it would end well.
Will you go back to Haizhou?
"Yes, one day we will all return to Haizhou, where we were born and died."
Qingping's voice was firm.
Jiang Yuhu smiled and sincerely wished, "May you return home soon."
She touched the communication talisman in her palm, which contained a message from Wen Yizhan. He would arrive at Tianque in three days. At that time, she would return to Zhenyang Peak with him.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Last night, I inexplicably gained over 30 new favorites. Why? Did some kind person recommend it for me? [Question mark]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
