Mermaids Weep (6)
Before the three set off, Han Chengyu gave Han Chengjin a sea map, which recorded the experience accumulated by his family through generations of seafaring. It clearly showed where the dangers and the safety were.
Han Chengjin was following the markings on the nautical chart and chose a calm route to Yinyou Reef. However, when the ship was only five or six nautical miles away from the reef, it suddenly veered off course uncontrollably.
The once tranquil sea suddenly and inexplicably churned up a huge, bottomless whirlpool. The sturdy wooden boat, like prey already locked in a spider web, was swallowed up by the fierce waves and rolled and tumbled endlessly into the unfathomable waters.
The first to notice something was wrong was Ye Yingying, who was blind. Her cultivation level was not high, and she was unable to stabilize herself with her spiritual power. She felt the ship suddenly tilt, and her body swayed with the ship. She stumbled and fell to the ground.
Yun Yanqiu reacted quickly, rushing forward to pick up Ye Yingying and about to take off into the air.
"Senior, be careful!" Han Chengjin shouted.
The ship capsized, and its tall mast crashed straight down in their direction.
Yun Yanqiu instinctively wanted to raise his hand and conjure a long sword to split the wooden pole, but Ye Yingying in his arms suddenly tightened her grip on Yun Yanqiu's neck.
Yun Yanqiu froze, quickly lowered his head and tightened his arms to protect Ye Yingying's body. He closed his eyes, leaned forward, and obediently fell into this unfathomable vortex.
Ye Yingying hadn't felt this panicked in a long time. She couldn't see anything, only hear the surging waves crashing and colliding around her, as if they wouldn't stop until they swallowed everything up.
She was still reeling from the violent shaking, and a sense of panic drove her to desperately seek support. Then, she felt a pair of arms cover her head and back, shielding her tightly beneath them.
Then, a feeling of weightlessness swept over her, and her body began to fall, rapidly plunging into the dark abyss.
Helpless—these four words suddenly popped into Ye Yingying's mind. Blind and without cultivation, she couldn't help at all; instead, she was just a hindrance.
When had she ever experienced such a helpless situation? Before, she was full of vigor, possessing both cultivation and magical treasures for protection, aided by the Azure Nether True Fire; she had never suffered any hardship when she went out. Yet, the person who gave her all of this had inexplicably taken it all away. The Ghost Calculator, what was he thinking? If his ultimate goal was to kill her, why did he save her in the first place?
She had originally intended to regroup and return to Michen Mountain to demand an explanation from that old man, but now? She had only just returned to the world, and now she had to leave again?
It's ridiculous, I haven't even told him yet—
"Cough cough!"
Ye Yingying suddenly regained consciousness, choking on the salty seawater that filled her mouth and nose, and realized that she was still alive. Overjoyed, she greedily inhaled the fresh air, celebrating her survival.
After taking a few breaths, Ye Yingying noticed that the place was extremely damp. A drop of cold water landed on the back of her hand, and Ye Yingying shivered involuntarily. Her heart, which had just calmed down, started to jump again.
"Are you alright?" A familiar, slightly hoarse voice reached her ears. The thought of this person being by her side made Ye Yingying feel much more relaxed.
She softly called out "Senior Yun" and reached out to find out where he was.
Yun Yanqiu gripped her hand tightly, then gently patted her back with his other hand and asked, "Are you alright?"
"It's alright, I'm fine." Ye Yingying, having caught Yun Yanqiu's weight, felt relieved and turned her attention to her current situation. "Where is this...?"
"It is my old hole."
An aged voice echoed through the cave, deep and resonant.
Ye Yingying had no idea who this person was, but she sensed from their spiritual power that they were unfathomable: "Thank you for your help, benefactor?"
"No need for formalities. You encountered a hidden current set up by the Merfolk, and someone rescued you and brought you here."
"We must thank you for your kindness and for taking us in," Ye Yingying said respectfully. "I wonder if our benefactor is here?"
“She went to rescue Han Chengjin, she’s not here,” Yun Yanqiu said.
"Senior Yun, you've already met him?"
"Yes, it's a merman."
Ye Yingying was slightly taken aback. It was the merfolk who had just caused them to be swept into the sea, but she didn't expect that it was the merfolk who would save them now.
The old man seemed to see through her thoughts and said, "Don't worry, she won't hurt you. But what about you lot? Why did you come to Bard's Reef?"
The Bard's Reef is the territory of the merfolk, and the people on land know it by heart through generations of accumulated experience. They haven't seen any land-dwelling ships approach this place for a long time.
Knowing that she couldn't be fooled by this person, Ye Yingying confessed everything: "To be honest, senior, we came here in search of mermaid tears."
"Mermaid tears?" The old man paused, as if pondering something. "Oh, you want to use it to cure your eye ailment?"
"Exactly."
Before Ye Yingying could say anything more, a clear and loud voice suddenly came from the cave entrance: "Grandpa! I've brought everyone back!"
A mermaid-tailed girl swam in, dragging the unconscious Han Chengjin along. The girl had long, slightly wavy hair that reached her waist, and her cheeks were adorned with a few fish scales, making her look very cute.
"It's her." Yun Yanqiu whispered in Ye Yingying's ear, reminding her that the voice belonged to the benefactor who had saved them.
"Yao Yao," the old man called the mermaid's name, "just leave her there."
Yao Yao obediently put Han Chengjin aside, then flicked her tail and swooped down towards Ye Yingying, her eyes filled with curiosity about the blind woman: "You're awake!"
Yao Yao reached out, wanting to get closer and wave it in front of Ye Yingying's eyes to see her reaction, but Yun Yanqiu ruthlessly raised his hand to block her movement.
Yao Yao glanced at the cold-faced man in front of her. Her innate intuition told her that this man's strength was extraordinary, probably on par with her grandfather. Knowing she couldn't beat him, she could only pout, suppress her curiosity, and reluctantly withdraw her hand.
"Thank you so much for saving me."
"It's okay! It's good that you're still alive." Yao Yao flicked her tail and said with a smile, "How did you get here? It's dangerous."
"Yaoyao, they've come to ask for dew."
"Dewdrops?" Yao Yao tilted her head, her eyes darting around. "Oh! Are you trying to treat your eye ailment?"
"Yes." Ye Yingying answered the question again. "I am blind and have difficulty moving around. I heard that the Merfolk have a treasure that can cure all the world's incurable diseases, so I came here to seek it. I wonder if my two benefactors know any clues?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Yao paused for a moment, then turned to look at her grandfather with a hesitant gaze.
Seeing this, the old man said bluntly, "That dew can indeed cure your eye disease, but if you're only looking for a dew, your companions could have one on their necks."
"Grandpa!" Yao Yao panicked upon hearing this and quickly stepped between Han Chengjin and Ye Yingying, spreading her arms to protect Han Chengjin. "This is a thank-you gift for him. You're not allowed to have any funny ideas!"
A thank-you gift? Didn't Han Chengjin say that the pearl around his neck was a gift from the merman when he was a child? How is it related to Yao Yao?
Ah, could it be... "The bead around Brother Cheng Jin's neck, was it a gift from you?"
Of all those merfolk, it just so happened that he happened to meet the one who gave him the pearl. Is that really such a coincidence?
“Yes, it was a gift from me to Han Chengyu,” Yao Yao said with her hands on her hips, quite certain.
"?" Ye Yingying was confused. "Does Miss Yao Yao know Brother Cheng Jin's brother?"
"What brother? This is a gift for Han Chengyu," the merman girl said matter-of-factly.
"Yaoyao, what they mean is that the person behind you might not be Han Chengyu," the old man explained slowly. "Think carefully, doesn't Han Chengyu have a younger brother?"
"Ah." The mermaid girl, prompted by this, turned around and leaned close to Han Chengjin to examine his face more closely.
Now that Grandpa said that, this guy does look quite different from Han Chengyu, but so much time has passed, how could she possibly remember every detail?
Just then, the man in front of her suddenly fluttered his eyelashes, then slowly raised his hand to rub his still dizzy head, and slowly opened his eyes.
"Wow!" Han Chengjin was startled by the face so close to his, and his previously drowsy mind instantly cleared up.
He abruptly stepped back, leaning against the wall. He looked up in alarm and saw Ye Yingying and Yun Yanqiu opposite him. It was as if he had seen a savior. He breathed a sigh of relief: "Senior Yun! That's great, you're here too."
Yun Yanqiu nodded, then glanced in the direction of the merman, signaling him to pay attention.
Han Chengjin followed his gaze and fell on the merman. Only then did he see the merman girl in front of him clearly. Her beautiful eyebrows and clear eyes gradually overlapped with the face in his memory, making him unconsciously mesmerized and forget to speak for a moment.
But Yao Yao was an impatient person. Before he could even think for a moment, she angrily questioned him, "Are you Han Chengyu?"
"Huh?" Han Chengjin was baffled by the question and couldn't help but ask the same question as Ye Yingying, "You know my brother?"
"Han Chengyu is your brother?" Yao Yao's eyes widened in surprise. "You're his younger brother?"
"Yes." Han Chengjin nodded.
"Then how come you have the dewdrops I gave him?"
"What dewdrops?"
Han Chengjin was even more confused. He looked down in the direction Yao Yao was pointing and saw the pearl on his neck, then it dawned on him. But he quickly realized what it meant: "I received this from a mermaid when I was little. She looks quite like you..."
"What?!" Yao Yao was stunned.
An awkward and strange silence fell over the room.
Ye Yingying, who was standing to the side, vaguely sensed something. She tugged at the sleeve of the person next to her, turned her head, and asked in a low voice, "Senior, is she...?"
"It's highly likely they sent it to the wrong person," Yun Yanqiu replied in a low voice.
Although the exact situation is unknown, the round bead around Han Chengjin's neck was probably originally intended to be given to Han Chengyu by the merman in front of him.
The old man on the other side had obviously thought of this as well. He coughed awkwardly twice and came to his granddaughter's rescue, saying, "Alright, Yao Yao, treating eye problems doesn't necessarily require that dewdrop. There are other options, aren't there?"
"Oh, oh..." Yao Yao was a little dazed, clearly not yet understanding what was going on, and could only swim blankly to her grandfather's side.
Han Chengjin looked in the direction of the sound, and when he saw what it came from, he was shocked: "A turtle?!" And it was a huge turtle!
The owner of that aged voice was a sea turtle. It was enormous, immovable as a mountain, standing there like a magnificent palace. Its eyes were closed, and its slender white eyebrows drooped naturally to its sides, making it look very old.
"That's rude, you should call him Old Turtle." Yao Yao corrected her, then curled up her fish tail and sat on Old Turtle's back.
"It's alright, it's normal for people on land not to recognize me." The old turtle said, then brought up the previous topic again, "What you want is a treasure that the Merfolk only produce once a year. Unless there are special circumstances, the Merfolk will not give this to outsiders. Under normal circumstances, you will definitely have made a wasted trip."
The old tortoise paused for a moment, then continued, "However, coincidentally, I have a favor to ask of the land dwellers. If you can do it, I will give this item to you. What do you think?"
It's quite an effort to get the treasure I want without having to negotiate with the merfolk, but I wonder what this old turtle has in mind.
Ye Yingying pondered for a moment, then asked the old man with utmost respect, "You have been kind to us, and we will do our best to fulfill your requests. May I ask what the old man needs us to do?"
"Take my granddaughter for a stroll on land."
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