Mermaids Weep (25)
The old tortoise did not refuse Yun Yanqiu's request, and said bluntly, "The things are right here, you can take them."
As he spoke, a thin stream of water gathered beside the old turtle, and like silk, it enveloped a round box, gently handing it to Yun Yanqiu. Yun Yanqiu opened the box, inside which lay a pure white pearl and a colorful fish scale. He picked up the pearl, examined it from left to right, and then turned to feed it to Ye Yingying's mouth, softly saying, "Open your mouth."
Ye Yingying obediently opened her lips, and a round, cool pearl slid into her mouth. She held it in her mouth for a while, feeling the surface of the pearl gradually melting, and then swallowed it with a gulp. But after waiting for a long time, everything was still dark. She shook her head, looking completely bewildered.
Seeing this, Yun Yanqiu frowned unhappily and glared at the old turtle. The latter said unhurriedly, "Don't worry, this is a wound medicine specially used by the merfolk. If you want it to work, you will need to find a merfolk to help you."
Who to ask? The answer was obvious. Ye Yingying chuckled to herself. So, even now she was still scheming to get them to help with the work? What a cunning old fox.
"You want us to go look for Yao Yao again?" Ye Yingying questioned. "If she goes back to her clan, the two of us land dwellers may not be able to see her."
Most merfolk in the sea are hostile to humans on land, and who knows how they will be treated in their territory.
"Don't worry, take my token and the merfolk won't make things difficult for you." The old turtle handed them a palm-sized piece of shell. "Just tell them that I sent you to check on her."
Yun Yanqiu put away the shell fragments and asked one last question: "Where is the territory of the Merfolk?"
"It will take you there."
The water flow transformed into the shape of a small turtle in the air. It swam to the front of Yunyan Hill, circled around the two of them, and finally flew to the cave entrance to stop, turning back to wait for them.
"Please pass on a message to her for me..."
As the old turtle spoke, he enveloped the two of them in a layer of flowing spiritual energy. Yun Yanqiu glanced at the old turtle silently, nodded, and then turned to take Ye Yingying's hand, saying, "Let's go."
The little turtle, propelling itself along its four short legs, carried the two out of the dim cave, across the dense coral reefs, and finally to the entrance of the merfolk territory. The instant they reached the gate, the little turtle vanished like a burst bubble. Two merfolk guards, wielding sharp fishbone spears, immediately assumed defensive stances upon spotting them, shouting, "Who goes there!"
Following the old turtle's instructions, Yun Yanqiu revealed the shell in his arms: "I have come to visit Pei Yao at the old turtle's request."
Upon hearing that they had come to see Pei Yao, the guards' expressions became noticeably tense. The two men exchanged a glance, and one of them shouted sternly, "Throw the carapace over here!"
Yun Yanqiu did as instructed, and the shell fragments fell into the guard's hands along with the water. The guard examined them several times and whispered to his companion, "It really is the old turtle's token."
The Turtle Elder's strength and prestige were evident to all in the deep sea, and given his relationship with the Merfolk, they certainly couldn't afford to disrespect him. However, the Turtle Elder had never sent a two-legged human as an envoy before; what good could a land-dwelling creature possibly be? The guards were immediately perplexed.
"You stay here and watch over things. I'll go in and report to the chieftain." With that, the guard holding the carapace turned around, flicked his tail, and swam inside.
After a while, the guard returned, followed by a mermaid girl who looked to be about the same age as Yao Yao.
The merman had short hair and bright blue eyes, like gems from the deep sea. Her lips were slightly upturned, her expression gentle, and she seemed very approachable.
"These are Elder Turtle's messengers?" The mermaid girl stopped in front of the door and looked the two outsiders up and down.
"It's those two," the guard beside him confirmed.
"Hmph..." The short-haired merman narrowed his eyes, put his hands on his hips, pursed his lips, and swished his tail. He then circled around the two of them, scrutinizing them, before returning to his original position. "You two come with me."
As she spoke, the guards on both sides stepped aside to make way, and the short-haired mermaid easily left the two behind with a flick of her tail. Seeing this, Yun Yanqiu immediately grabbed Ye Yingying's hand and followed.
The merman seemed to be deliberately teasing them, darting around their territory, sometimes high, sometimes low, leading them in a huge circle. Not only that, she would occasionally turn back, looking at them with a mocking gaze to see if they were following. When she saw that Yun Yanqiu was keeping up, she would turn her head away in boredom, flip over in the water, and continue leading the way.
The three of them wandered around for a while before finally arriving at their destination. After settling down, the merman turned around and held up a finger to them, saying solemnly, "When you see our clan leader later, you must show him respect. Do you understand?"
Seeing that the two nodded in agreement, the mermaid girl led them inside.
"Chief, I have brought the person!" The merman clasped his hands together in front of his chest, bowed respectfully, and paid his respects to the person seated.
Yun Yanqiu looked up and saw an elderly female merman sitting reclining on a stone chair. Her expression was dignified, her eyes sharp, one hand clenched into a fist against her chin, the other holding a broken fish scale, seemingly lost in thought. This was Pei Heng, the current merman clan leader. She glanced sideways at Yun Yanqiu and questioned, "Did Elder Turtle send you to see Pei Yao?"
“Exactly.” Yun Yanqiu nodded.
“Pei Yao has been punished for dereliction of duty and has been imprisoned in the dark dungeon. Since it was Elder Gui’s request, I will allow you to visit her. However, you can only have one person visit her.” As he spoke, the merman on the seat shifted his gaze to Ye Yingying behind Yun Yanqiu. “You can choose for yourselves.”
Without a second thought, Yun Yanqiu turned to Ye Yingying and said, "Go ahead."
As he spoke, he handed the wooden box containing the heart-protecting scale to Ye Yingying. The person seated watched this scene, frowned, and said to the short-haired mermaid, "Tu Zhao, take her there."
"Alright!" Tu Zhao received the order and waved to Ye Yingying, "Come with me."
Seeing that Ye Yingying didn't move, but only slowly shook her head, she was stunned for a moment, and curiously leaned forward to take a look, but was stopped by Yun Yanqiu raising her hand.
"She's blind, so please lead the way carefully," Yun Yanqiu instructed coldly, her words seeming to point out her previous actions.
Tu Zhao rolled his eyes at him and muttered, "Fine."
Then, she reached over Yun Yanqiu's arm, grabbed Yao Yao's arm, and swam out with her. Tu Zhao's movements were quick and agile, and Ye Yingying, following her movements, felt a little dizzy and unaccustomed to them.
"Um, Miss Tu, could you slow down a bit?" Ye Yingying felt that if this continued, her stomach wouldn't be able to take it anymore.
“Just call me Zhao Zhao. We usually call each other by our surnames. It means something big has happened.” Zhao Zhao slowed down and said, “I don’t want to end up like Yao Yao.”
Ye Yingying visibly felt better, thanked Zhao Zhao, and then asked, "What happened to Yao Yao?"
"What else could it be but angering the clan leader?" Zhao Zhao said flippantly. "Even if she's the clan leader's own daughter, she'll still be punished if she makes a mistake."
"Yao Yao is the clan leader's daughter?" Ye Yingying was somewhat surprised.
"You call yourselves messengers of the Turtle Elder, yet you don't know her? She is Pei Yao, you know. Every intelligent creature in the sea knows her renown."
Ye Yingying fell silent for a moment, feeling that Yao Yao's image in her mind was very different from Zhao Zhao's description.
When Yao Yao was mentioned, Zhao Zhao became interested and began to recount her glorious experiences: "At six, she tore off the shrimp boss's whiskers while playing; at eight, she used the crab boss's claws to open scallops while being greedy; and at ten, she pulled out the shark general's teeth in a fight. From then on, she was known as the Deep Sea Overlord. Even now, the shark general only dares to avoid her when he encounters her. I'm afraid only the turtle boss has kept her from causing trouble."
Ye Yingying gasped, stunned by this shocking image, and asked weakly, "Is Yao Yao this domineering in the sea?"
"She's more than just domineering; she's invincible in the deep sea. We used to hang out with her when we were kids." Zhao Zhao said with pride. In the eyes of the merfolk, who value strength above all else, Yao Yao was undoubtedly the most powerful one in their generation.
"According to the rules, I should have been the next clan leader, but luckily she was strong enough that everyone thought she should be the one."
"Don't you feel disappointed? The position of clan leader has changed hands just like that..."
"What's there to be sad about? I'd rather not be the chieftain! The chieftain has to go to the Bard's Reef to sing and chant sutras for the entire night during her full moon celebration. She can't do anything there except sing, how boring!" Zhao Zhao stuck out her tongue, raised an eyebrow and smiled. "The chieftain is the least free person in the Merfolk tribe, but all living beings in this sea need her to suppress the vengeful spirits of the land people who died unjustly in the sea. So even though she's very willful, we'll indulge her, after all, it's hard work!"
At this point, Zhao Zhao suddenly narrowed his eyes, his face turning cold: "I just didn't expect her to go ashore with you, and even ruin her voice..."
Ye Yingying sensed the displeasure in the other person's tone and nervously swallowed. This was the territory of the merfolk, and even with the Azure Nether True Fire, she had no chance of winning. Just as she was pondering how to defend herself against the other person's hostility, Zhao Zhao's expression changed, and she said with a grin, "But you look weak and cute, I don't dislike you."
Was this a compliment or an insult? Ye Yingying smiled awkwardly and didn't reply.
"We've arrived." Zhao Zhao led her to a stop at the entrance of a cave.
Ye Yingying felt a sense of security as her feet touched the ground. Zhao Zhao swam up behind her, reached out and pushed her forward forcefully, saying mysteriously, "Go on, but don't get swallowed up."
Before Ye Yingying could react, she stumbled and passed through a flowing membrane. Behind her, she could faintly hear Zhao Zhao muttering, "But you're blind, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Ye Yingying didn't understand the meaning of these words, but based on her intuition, she guessed that there might be some huge thing in this dark prison.
The spiritual energy in the deep sea was constantly flowing, and Ye Yingying couldn't find Yao Yao by sensing it. She could only stand there and call Yao Yao's name loudly, but there was no response after several calls. Just as she was about to try to find her herself, a faint voice came from afar: "Sister Ying'er?"
Ye Yingying was overjoyed and slowly made her way forward, following the direction of the sound. As she walked, she continued to call out to Yao Yao, and the voice on the other end responded, from hesitation to stunned silence to surprise, the voice growing closer and clearer.
Finally, Yao Yao's surprised voice reached Ye Yingying's ears: "Sister Ying'er, is it really you?"
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