Chapter 26 The Second Mermaid
They finally escaped danger.
"Cough cough cough," Su Yun lay weakly on the grass, coughing violently. He had just choked on a lot of water, his arm was bruised, and he was soaking wet. He lay on the ground panting, looking disheveled.
Encountering such a ferocious mermaid shattered his illusions, and Su Yun was completely devastated.
The night wind scared the mermaid away, and she jumped ashore as well.
He looked at Su Yun, who was lying on the ground coughing with concern, and asked, "Are you alright? Is anything wrong?"
Su Yun almost choked up: "Fairy tales are all lies, there can't possibly be such a ferocious mermaid in this world!"
Night Breeze: ? ? ?
What did he suddenly say? Isn't the mermaid fierce enough? What does that mean? He doesn't understand. Has he lost his mind?
Night Breeze paused for three seconds, then shook his head and concluded, "Mermaids are no good. It's best not to get close to the water."
"Sigh, so beautiful and so ferocious, I can't afford to mess with her. I'd better stay away and observe from a distance..." Su Yun concluded.
"It's best not to look at it, you might be tempted..."
"Temptation?" Su Yun was somewhat surprised. Ye Feng actually knew the word "temptation"? Was this a straight man suddenly becoming enlightened?
"I heard from people at the research institute that mermaids can seduce humans."
Oh, the straight man is still the same straight man.
That temptation wasn't a temptation; it was an enticement.
Su Yun sighed and said with emotion, "No wonder I seemed mesmerized just now. Even though I knew something was wrong, I still couldn't help reaching out... Sigh..."
"Mermaids are no good."
Ye Feng looked at the soaking wet girl with concern. She had choked on water and was coughing so hard that her eyes were red. She was trembling like a soft little animal, which made him feel sorry for her.
"You're injured, let me carry you home." With that, Ye Feng bent down, lifted her shoulders, and prepared to carry her home.
"Oh! No, no!" When Ye Feng reached out his hand, Su Yun jumped up like a rabbit. She hurriedly waved her hand and refused, saying, "No, no, I still have to get the cage. My foot isn't injured, I can still walk."
"Let's figure out how to get the trap back first! It was so hard to fix, it would be terrible if it got lost."
Su Yun's ears turned slightly red, and she resolutely refused Ye Feng's "princess carry." She figured it was best to avoid such intimate contact too often. Looking at Ye Feng's face, which was so adorable to her, she was afraid that if it happened a few more times, she would unilaterally succumb to her own charm...
Night Breeze didn't react much to her refusal. After confirming that Su Yun's foot was really alright, he went to retrieve the fish trap.
Although the trap wasn't up for long, it still yielded a few small shrimp and a clueless little fish.
"Not bad, not bad. To make up for the emotional damage I suffered, I'll stew you all tonight." Su Yun smiled and carried the stew basket home.
The girl in front of me was always strange. One second she was drowning and on the verge of death, and the next second she was out of danger and acted as if nothing had happened, discussing what to eat for dinner.
Her strength and optimism, like a shining little star, illuminate this cruel world.
Night Breeze smiled, picked up the bamboo basket, and followed behind the girl. No one noticed the black-haired girl who had surfaced on the water behind them, staring intently at their departing figures.
She murmured, "So they're humans who live here. This is troublesome."
Su Yun returned home, quickly took off her soaking wet clothes, and started boiling water to take a bath, as catching a cold would not be a good thing.
After taking a hot shower and changing into clean clothes, Su Yun began to treat the injury on her hand.
"Tsk tsk, mermaid claws are really sharp!" Su Yun looked at the scratches on her arm, her lips twitching as she applied medicine. "No wonder they always say the most alluring are the most dangerous. I thought it really was a soft little girl who fell into the water, but I didn't expect this to be anything but a soft little girl..."
Su Yun disinfected her wound, the stinging pain making her wince. "Tsk, it hurts so much. Beautiful women are dangerous."
Looking at the bloody holes on Su Yun's arm, Ye Feng felt very sorry for her: "Mermaids are bad... not pretty... Su Yun, don't be fooled in the future, stay away from them, oh no, stay away from the water."
"Isn't it pretty?" Su Yun looked at Ye Feng's serious face with suspicion, wondering if her cat had bad eyesight.
She couldn't help but recall that fleeting glimpse, that stunningly beautiful face, that fish tail covered in black scales, and couldn't help but marvel that she truly was a mermaid who should only exist in fairy tales.
She was so beautiful and had such great acting skills that even she, a woman, couldn't help but be captivated and fall head over heels for her.
Otherwise, according to common sense, it would be strange to see a beautiful woman suddenly appearing in the water asking for help.
Alas, beauty can be a dangerous thing!
Thankfully there was a night breeze, otherwise I probably would have fallen into the water again.
Su Yun was still shaken: "Could this mermaid just jump ashore, grow legs, and come looking for revenge?"
Night Wind shook his head and said, "No, mermaids can't stay out of the water for too long because they can't live without it. The way to deal with mermaids is to find a way to drag them ashore... Mermaids out of the water are very fragile... They will dry up and die from lack of water..."
Night Wind paused for a moment, then continued slowly, "As long as she doesn't provoke us... I won't do anything to her. But if she..."
Ye Feng didn't continue speaking, and Su Yun understood what he meant: I won't offend others unless they offend me.
Su Yun glanced thoughtfully at Ye Feng's profile, only to see him gazing into the distance, seemingly lost in thought...
He was gazing into the distance across the stream.
Su Yun knew that her kitten was actually very, very kind.
Even when he was injured and on the verge of collapse at the beginning, he would not attack Su Yun first out of fear of Su Yun's sudden appearance.
As for the mermaid, Ye Feng merely shooed her away; he didn't pull her ashore.
Sigh, facing a mermaid who looked so much like a human, Su Yun wasn't even confident he could bring himself to do it...
Oh well, at least the other person can't get ashore either. I should stay away from the water these next few days!
After a tumultuous day, Su Yun decided to make herself some loquat and peach gum syrup to calm her nerves.
Loquat syrup is very easy to make. Wash the loquats, peel and remove the seeds, and put them in a pot with rock sugar, water and peach gum. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat and simmer until the water becomes slightly sticky and thick. The syrup is then ready.
While the syrup was still hot, Su Yun poured it into a glass jar, put the lid on, and inverted it. The loquat syrup canned fruit was now ready.
Su Yun served herself and Ye Feng a bowl of the remaining sweet soup. The two of them sat on the steps, holding their bowls and eating while blowing on them.
"Mmm, this peach gum is soft and delicious!"
Unlike the bitter peach gum I ate in the morning, the peach gum cooked with sugar water was silky, viscous, and had a sweet taste of rock sugar, making for a very unique texture.
It's like eating jelly.
It's sweet and chewy.
"We should have picked more," Ye Feng said with a hint of regret, holding the bowl.
"That's enough, there's still plenty at home, we can cook another pot tomorrow."
"Mmm." Hearing that there would be more tomorrow, Ye Feng immediately perked up. "If that's not enough, I can go to the other side of the river to pick more tomorrow."
"That's enough, that's enough..." Su Yun quickly stopped her. "Eat what we have at home before you go. It's close to the water over there, so it's better to stay away from the water for the next few days."
Ye Feng looked at the injury on her hand with heartache and nodded in agreement.
For several days in a row, the two of them tried to avoid going to the water unless absolutely necessary. According to Ye Feng, mermaids usually live in large rivers, and the mermaid that suddenly appeared must have been accidentally swept here by a rainstorm. It would leave and return to the river soon.
Just avoid going near water these few days.
Although Su Yun still longed to see the creature that only appeared in fairy tales again from afar, he was still apprehensive about the mermaid's fierce fighting power and could only obediently listen and try not to get close to the water.
Several days passed peacefully like this.
"It hasn't rained lately, so I need to water the vegetables." Looking at the sun that had been shining for several days in a row, Su Yun was worried. Her vegetable seedlings had only been planted recently and needed to be watered frequently to grow properly.
“Let’s go, I’ll go with you.” Night Wind carried the iron bucket, indicating that there was no problem. “Maybe it’s already gone, that mermaid.”
"Okay..." Su Yun was a little sullen, feeling very conflicted. He was happy that the fierce mermaid was gone, but unhappy that he would never see the beautiful woman again.
Night Breeze sensed her ulterior motive and said very seriously, "Mermaids are bad! They can lure people into the water."
"We can watch from a distance..." Su Yun was still unwilling to give up and was about to say that they could watch from a distance.
Night Breeze added, "It's best not to even look!"
“But…” Su Yun, but mermaids can’t go ashore either!
Su Yun was about to argue when she saw Ye Feng staring at her righteously, as if he wouldn't let her leave unless she agreed.
Okay, Su Yun backed down and firmly stated that she would not go near the water.
Only then did Ye Feng feel relieved enough to let her leave.
Well, looking at Ye Feng striding ahead with a serious expression, Su Yun silently despised himself for being bewitched by beauty.
The two people, carrying their vegetable-rinsing equipment, arrived at the water's edge. The stream was calm and still, filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers—a scene of peace and tranquility.
The muddy water from the torrential rain has returned to its clear state, and the stream flows gently, with fish and aquatic plants clearly visible in the water.
Su Yun peeked around and saw that there were no mermaids or beautiful women.
Relieved yet slightly disappointed, she then began watering her vegetable garden.
Night Breeze stayed close to Su Yun, keeping watch on the direction of the stream.
After working for a while, Su Yun finally finished watering the vegetable garden. She wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and said, "Let's go, there's still the cornfield."
Although corn is drought-resistant, it is still a newly sprouted seedling, so Su Yun was a little worried. "Go and check on how the corn seedlings are doing."
The two carried buckets downstream. Fortunately, corn is always drought-resistant, so it was fine without water for a while.
It's still growing lush and green.
"Since we're already here, we might as well water them," Su Yun suggested.
“Okay.” Ye Feng had no objections. The two of them carried buckets and walked towards the water's edge. As they were walking back after successfully fetching water, they heard a painful groan.
"it hurts……"
Su Yun immediately tensed up, and Ye Feng stepped forward to block Su Yun's path.
The intermittent groans continued...
"What's this?" Su Yun peered curiously at the reeds.
"Don't go, I'll go check." Ye Feng reached out and pressed Su Yun's head down, pushing her backward.
"Oh!" Su Yun was both curious and excited, but Ye Feng reached out and pressed her hand down, so she reluctantly pulled her head back and stood by the field.
Night Wind gripped its sickle, parted the dense reeds, and slowly crept toward the direction from which the sound came.
Tall, sturdy reeds grow along the water's edge, separating the land from the stream. The water surface is wide, and the difference in elevation between the field bank and the water bank is small, so if you're not paying attention, you won't notice someone hiding in the reeds.
The night wind parted layer after layer of lush reeds as he cautiously moved forward, his expression wary, his back taut like a fully drawn bow.
They were afraid that the unfriendly mermaid would cause trouble again.
Su Yun stood far away, making sure he wouldn't be suddenly pulled into the water by the merman that rushed out.
After parting the thick reeds, the two were finally able to see the whole picture.
It was a mermaid lying in the pit because of dehydration. She was all white, with a snow-white fishtail, snow-white long hair, and unnaturally pale skin. Although the black mermaid we had met before was also white, it was a cold white that was different from normal white skin. But this one was so pale that it looked like she had albinism. It was a fluorescent white.
She seemed to be in bad shape; the whole fish lay in the puddle, already dried out due to the lack of water. Her skin was cracked, her tail was peeling, and many scales had fallen off, scattered on the rocks at the bottom of the puddle, reflecting a dazzling light…
If you look closely, you can see a wound on her long tail that is oozing blood.
"What's going on?" Night Wind asked cautiously. "Is it a trap?" He dared not relax for a moment and continued to be vigilant about his surroundings, even though the mermaid's condition looked terrible.
Su Yun shook his head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and followed the path opened up by the night breeze, walking inside.
She crouched down and carefully examined the marks of digging in the soil and the pebbles laid in the pit. Everywhere there were signs of human intervention. If you looked closely, you could also find some scattered, crushed, and unrecognizable grass twigs at the bottom of the pit...
"She must have really been injured and was moved to this small pond to soak in herbs and heal her wounds," Su Yun concluded.
"Soaking herbs?" Ye Feng looked at the dried-up puddle with some doubt. "But there's no water in it."
"It's probably because the weather has been sunny these past few days, and the water level has receded a bit, that's why it fainted here due to dehydration," Su Yun pointed to a small ditch connected to the stream. As the water level dropped, the stream couldn't flow into the pit, which is why the mermaid was dehydrated and fell into a coma.
"Is she unconscious?" Night Wind asked, still keeping a close eye on the mermaid.
Su Yun boldly walked in and flipped her body over in one go.
After the white mermaid was turned over, her full appearance was finally revealed. Su Yun was stunned. The black mermaid before was already a top-notch beauty, but this one was even more stunning. If the black mermaid before was like a lost black pearl from the East, then this one was even more beautiful.
The white merman in front of me is like the most treasured crystal in the West.
She resembled a Westerner, her whole being like an elf from a Western fairy tale, with a delicate oval face, long and thick white eyelashes, and even her ears were pointed like an elf's. Looking at her flowing, fluorescent white hair and rosy lips, she was just like an elf in a painting.
This white mermaid is simply a combination of an elf and a mermaid!
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