Mermaids Weep (24)
Yao Yao's eyes were filled with tears, and Yun Yanqiu's words confused her: "Me?"
She couldn't save Han Chengjin in the sea, she used up her dew, and even her Heart-Protecting Scale had long been given to her grandfather. ...Grandpa? Yao Yao seemed to suddenly remember something, and she exclaimed excitedly, "You mean!"
"It's time to go back to the sea."
Old Turtle's request has been fulfilled, and Lin Shiyou is dead. Everything seems to have settled down, and all that's left is to go back to Old Turtle to collect the reward. What should have been a happy occasion is disrupted by Han Chengjin's near-death experience, which makes the atmosphere extremely heavy.
Han Chengyu stayed on shore to handle the aftermath, while Ye Yingying and Yun Yanqiu returned to the deep sea with Yao Yao to search for Turtle Elder.
Yao Yao was absent-minded the whole time, and even on the way back to the sea to see the old turtle, her expression remained gloomy.
Suddenly, Yao Yao said softly, "I gave the Heart-Protecting Scale to Grandpa a long time ago, but I don't know if he used it or not..."
All she could think about now was the Heart-Protecting Scale. It was the only way to save Han Chengjin. Other members of her clan would never sacrifice their Heart-Protecting Scales for a land dweller. Only hers still held hope.
But she had already given her protective scale to her grandfather. What if he refused to give it back to her...? Yao Yao grew more and more anxious. She took off the protective scale she had found in Lin Fang's mansion. Looking at the cracks on it, Yao Yao felt a pang of regret: If only this piece were intact...
The thought only flashed through her mind for a moment before Yao Yao immediately shook her head: We cannot disrespect our fallen compatriots, even if they are whole; they are that person's last memento.
Yun Yanqiu remained silent. In truth, he wasn't entirely certain about the matter, since Elder Turtle had originally promised him a dewdrop. He was merely guessing, based on his intuition honed over the years, that Yao Yao's protective scale was in the hands of someone she deeply respected. And Elder Turtle clearly fit that description.
"Try it first, and if it doesn't work, we'll think of another way."
The most important thing now is to determine whether the Heart-Protecting Scale is still intact. As for other methods, Yun Yanqiu still has some things to ask the old tortoise in person.
Remembering the Heart-Protecting Scale, Yun Yanqiu said seriously to Yao Yao, "You shouldn't have lied back then. If you didn't have the Heart-Protecting Scale, I wouldn't have allowed you to sneak into Lin Fang's residence or go on the ship to rescue people."
Ye Yingying, unusually, didn't play the bad cop. As Yun Yanqiu said, if they had known Yao Yao couldn't protect herself, they wouldn't have allowed her to take the risk, since the consequences would be unimaginable if something happened.
I never expected that this girl would rather lie than risk her life. I don't know whether to call her brave or reckless.
But Yao Yao was clearly in low spirits, and Yun Yanqiu was going to scold her so bluntly... Ye Yingying suddenly remembered when she first met Yun Yanqiu, he was often just as outspoken. She was used to it and didn't care, but she wondered if Yao Yao could handle it.
Ye Yingying pouted and listened carefully to Yao Yao's movements. She heard Yao Yao say softly, "I'm sorry."
"Yes, when you're feeling too sad, you can silently recite the calming mantra I gave you."
Yun Yanqiu was really good at comforting people. Ye Yingying was speechless for a moment, but Yao Yao's condition seemed relatively stable. Ye Yingying was temporarily relieved. She didn't want Yao Yao to lose control of her emotions and cry in front of Old Turtle. Otherwise, how would she explain to him that they had protected her granddaughter well on land?
Little did Ye Yingying know that the bruises around Yao Yao's neck were enough to make people doubt the credibility of her words; she still thought that Yao Yao's hoarse voice was from crying.
They soon arrived at the familiar cave. Just like before they left, it was dark and damp, with only a faint, cold light allowing them to barely see the locations of a few caves.
Yao Yao stopped in the middle, looked around for a while, and suddenly an old voice called out from some cave: "Come this way."
The three followed the sound into the cave and met the old tortoise. It wasn't surprised at all by their arrival and simply said, "You're back?"
"Grandpa!" Yao Yao cried anxiously, "Grandpa, do you still have my heart-protecting scale?"
"Hmm? Why are you in such a panic?" Old Turtle asked slowly, opening its cloudy eyes to look at the bruises on Yao Yao's neck. "Who hurt you like this?"
"I'm fine!" Yao Yao pleaded. "Grandpa, Han Chengjin is dying because of me. Can you give me back the Heart-Protecting Scale? I want to use it to save him!"
"Oh? I see..."
No matter how anxious Yao Yao seemed, Old Turtle remained unmoved, seemingly not caring much about Han Chengjin's life or death.
Yao Yao gradually realized this as well. Her face was filled with sorrow, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Grandpa, don't you want to?..."
Old Turtle didn't answer, but closed his eyes and asked her, "Do you remember what day it is today?"
"Today is... a full moon."
During the full moon, the vengeful spirits of the seabed stir and attack living beings; if not suppressed, they will cause great chaos.
"I understand, I'll go back now! I'll complete the mission properly! Grandpa, please, please give me the Heart-Protecting Scale!..."
Old Turtle still didn't answer her request. Yao Yao understood his meaning, lowered her head in despair, and turned to say goodbye to Ye Yingying and Yun Yanqiu: "I'm sorry, Sister Ying'er, Senior Yun, I have to go..."
"Go ahead." Yun Yanqiu nodded without saying anything more. Ye Yingying, who was beside her, smiled and waved goodbye.
Yao Yao shed her land-based disguise, fully reverting to her human torso and fish tail form. She glanced at the two of them one last time, her expression complex, a thousand words welling up in her heart, but she had no time to express them now. Yao Yao said "thank you," and then silently left the old turtle's cave.
After Yao Yao left, the old turtle said, "Thank you both for bringing her back. I will present the things we agreed on."
"Wait a minute," Yun Yanqiu suddenly interrupted, "The whirlpool at Bard's Reef, you did that, didn't you?"
These words surprised the old tortoise. It opened its eyes again and looked at Yun Yanqiu: "What makes you say that?"
Yun Yanqiu calmly analyzed, "Peiyao mentioned before that you have an agreement with the merfolk to help them protect this sea area. With your cultivation level, it wouldn't be difficult for you to manipulate the seawater to create a giant whirlpool. Furthermore, both times we stayed in your cave, we were clearly surrounded by air, yet Peiyao was able to swim around here in her merfolk form. From the moment she entered the cave, she was enveloped in a layer of water. It's all thanks to you, isn't it?"
The old tortoise raised its slender, white eyebrows in slight surprise: "You do have a keen eye..."
"You led us here, and then had us bring her ashore, just to see how people live on land?" Yun Yanqiu questioned. "Finding someone to bring her ashore isn't something only we can do. You spend all your time underwater; you clearly shouldn't know our background, yet you entrusted her to us. I think this is because—"
"You planned this all along, intending to use us to help her overcome her tribulation?"
Upon hearing Yun Yanqiu's conclusion, Ye Yingying was shocked. She hadn't expected that this seemingly harmless old tortoise would have such a scheme in mind. Was this the old tortoise spirit?
Faced with Yun Yanqiu's question, the old tortoise remained silent for a moment, then praised, "As expected of the great power I obtained from Heaven, you truly deserve the recognition of the Heavenly Dao."
Then, the old turtle sighed and said in a deep voice, "I have been bound by a life-and-death pact with the Merfolk for hundreds of years. Time is so long that my loved ones have all perished, and I have forgotten my age and begun to yearn for liberation. It was at that time that Yao Yao appeared before me."
"Although the Merfolk have respected me greatly for hundreds of years, no one has ever treated me like family and shown me such care and concern as Yao Yao."
Old Turtle never mentioned his feelings for Yao Yao to anyone. This lively and cheerful girl accompanied him through the agonizing years, giving meaning to his otherwise meaningless life.
This was the first time it spoke of this affection to others. The old tortoise became unusually talkative: "She is a child I watched grow up. Although she was pampered in the clan, she still liked to come to me. My desolate cave was brought back to life because of her. So, I treated her as my own daughter. Every time I shed my shell, I would cast a divination for her to pray for her safety and well-being."
"However, this divination is exceptionally ominous. I have performed countless calculations, and they all point to Yao Yao encountering a great calamity on land."
When the old turtle spoke of this inevitable calamity, he sighed repeatedly: "Although I have all the power in the sea, I am powerless on land. So I offered my lifespan as a price to ask the heavens for a solution, and finally obtained this method."
He sought the protection of a powerful being to ensure Yao Yao's survival. And Yun Yanqiu was the powerful being he found.
"Since you're so afraid of her dying, why not return the Heart-Protecting Scale to her?" Ye Yingying asked.
"Do you think I don't want to? It's just that once this protective scale leaves the body, it can never be restored."
Old Turtle gazed ahead, his eyes piercing through the constraints of time, as if searching for memories of the past.
"She always calls me 'Grandpa, Grandpa,' and she even gave me her protective scales. How can I not go to great lengths to ensure her well-being?" Old Turtle sighed, as if he could hear Yao Yao's innocent and carefree words from when she was young.
Grandpa, I've prepared a gift for you—my heart-protecting scale!
—Oh, don't worry about me. I have no rivals in the sea. I have no use for the Heart-Protecting Scale.
"Grandpa, you must live a long life. When I'm older, I'll go to the mainland and write down the stories of the people there, and then I'll come back and tell them to you. Don't you love hearing their stories the most?"
Just then, intermittent chanting drifted into the cave. The sound was clear and ethereal, like ocean waves, sometimes gentle, sometimes soaring. It moved with the rhythm of the tides, containing the mystery of the deep sea.
The song pulled Old Turtle back to the present moment. He listened quietly and then sighed, "As I expected, it's not Yao Yao. That child has ruined her throat; how can she shoulder such a heavy responsibility?"
"Hopefully, this ordeal will help her grow in some way..."
"Alright." Yun Yanqiu was unwilling to listen to his rambling any longer and said bluntly, "There has to be a price for lying to us. We want both the dewdrop and the heart-protecting scale."
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