"A movie? What's that? Something from the human world?" A bad feeling welled up in the Mermaid King's heart, and he involuntarily became fully alert.
"Yes! However, it's not exactly the same as the human world. I think you'll be interested."
Linghu Lan placed her slender, fair fingers on the crystal ball. After a long while, a familiar scene appeared before the Mermaid King. His eyes widened in surprise; it was his daughter, his youngest daughter…
"What is this?" he asked in surprise.
"Your daughter's future! Shh! Look carefully, look closely, from now on you can't make a sound."
The Mermaid King suppressed his unease and gazed upon the future of his daughter—a future filled with pain, deception, and darkness.
Half an hour later, the Mermaid King was in tears.
"This can't be true! I've never seen a witch who gave her a potion and made her grow legs. You're the only witch of the sea!"
The Mermaid King's words struck Linghu Lan's heart, making her heart skip a beat. She felt as if she had grasped something, but upon closer inspection, it slipped away in vain.
"It's true. If she floats to the surface of the ocean and sees the human world, all of this will happen."
The Mermaid King remained silent for a long time, his feelings complicated. He glanced at the crystal ball, which had lost its luster and contained the sorrow of his daughter's life. He could not let such a thing happen. He thought for a moment and said, "I don't know why you did this. Even if all of this is true, I still will not let my daughter stay with you. She must live with her grandmother, father, and sisters. I will keep a close watch on her and never let her see the human world."
Linghu Lan smiled. "You can take your daughter away, and you don't have to watch over her for the rest of your life. She has the right to dream about the outside world. It just needs to be delayed for a while, three years. Just three years. Three years later, on her eighteenth birthday, she can float on the sea and see the beautiful world outside. I believe that by then, the disaster will be over."
The Mermaid King stared intently at Linghu Lan, the legendary ruthless and eccentric witch who would never help someone in distress. She seemed quite different from the legends. He bowed deeply in thanks and solemnly said, "Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
Linghu Lan saw him to the door, then pulled the docile and bewildered little mermaid close, gently stroking her long hair, and whispered, "Promise me you won't surface for three years. You'll be free on your eighteenth birthday! Are you willing?"
Her voice seemed to possess a strange, alluring power. The little mermaid hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I do!"
"What a good girl, blessings to you! Now go home with your father!"
The mermaid king took his youngest daughter and left, passing through swamps, seaweed, and whirlpools, far, far away. He looked back and seemed to see the witch's bright eyes watching them. He waved to her and turned back to his palace.
The Little Mermaid gazed longingly at the ocean above, where all the beautiful things she had imagined were located, but she would have to wait another three years to see them.
However, the longer you wait, the greater the joy you will feel when you finally receive it.
She withdrew her gaze and followed her father back to the palace, where she continued her life, filled with fantasies and always surrounded by a touch of melancholy.
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