Mermaids Weep (5)
After discussing it all night, the two Han brothers took a car to Yihaitang early the next morning.
This was Han Chengjin's first time visiting Yihaitang. Although his elder brother was by his side, he was still very nervous.
Han Chengyu seemed to sense his nervousness and reassured him, "Don't be afraid. The Yihai Hall is just a place for discussing matters. The heads of the other families have seen you before, so they won't do anything to you."
"Okay." Han Chengjin nodded, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner unease.
Han Chengyu glanced at the fists, then said nothing more and looked out the window.
The carriage soon arrived at Yihai Hall. As soon as the two men alighted, they encountered a man who had also arrived in a carriage. This man was six feet tall, with a beaming smile, and was sizing up the two brothers, especially Han Chengjin, with his narrow, fox-like eyes.
Upon seeing this, Han Chengyu immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Good morning, Uncle Li."
Han Chengjin recalled Uncle Li's identity. If he remembered correctly, this person should be Li Qianhuai, the head of the Li family. Before his father went into seclusion, he often came to the mansion to drink and chat with his father.
"Good morning." Li Qianhuai smiled and looked at Han Chengjin. "This must be Chengjin. It's been so many years. You've grown so much."
"Hello, Uncle." Han Chengjin greeted him, mimicking his brother's manner.
Li Qianhuai nodded and said in a friendly manner, "When I used to visit your residence, Cheng Jin would hide behind you when she saw strangers, but now she's much more outgoing."
"Haha..." With his elders bringing up his painful past, Han Chengjin could only awkwardly force a smile.
"Why did you decide to come to Yihaitang with your brother today?"
“Cheng Jin is of age where he should be involved in official duties, so I brought him here to broaden his horizons.”
Li Qianhuai squinted, thinking to himself: Why did we have to meet now of all times? It seems that after such a long stalemate, the Han family kid is finally going to come up with a new trick today.
“Oh, it’s time for him to broaden his horizons. It’s not easy for your brother to face those stubborn old men all by himself. You should help him share the burden.”
"It's not about sharing the burden, just don't get distracted," Han Chengyu joked.
Li Qianhuai laughed heartily, pointed at Han Chengyu, and teased him, saying he truly deserved to be called his older brother. The atmosphere lightened considerably, and the three of them walked together through the corridor into the Yihai Hall.
Inside the hall, square sandalwood chairs with carved patterns were placed. Apart from the Han and Li families who had just arrived, the heads of the other aristocratic families had all arrived and taken their seats.
Some of them brought their trusted followers, who all sat in chairs behind their family heads. So Han Chengjin followed suit and sat down behind his brother.
The arrival of a new face naturally attracted a lot of attention. From the moment Han Chengjin entered, he felt several gazes coming from all directions and landing directly on him. He silently encouraged himself, straightened his back, and looked straight ahead.
Looking past Han Chengyu's shoulder, Han Chengjin caught sight of the man sitting opposite her. This man was tall and imposing; the large chair seemed almost too small for his muscular frame. Beneath his thick, rugged eyebrows, a pair of sharp eyes were fixed intently on her. Han Chengjin was taken aback by the man's imposing presence; goosebumps rose on her skin, and she felt a surge of nervousness.
"Now that everyone's here, let's begin," Han Chengyu said.
As soon as he finished speaking, the burly man opposite him sneered, his dissatisfaction evident in his words: "What else is there to say? Right now, it's you, Old Han, who disagrees with the attack, wasting everyone's time. Now you've brought a junior here, what? Do you expect him to speak for you? I think you should just ask your father, who's in seclusion, to come out. Maybe we'll give him some face."
Upon hearing this, low chuckles rippled through the Yihai Hall.
Han Chengyu remained unfazed, calmly stating, "Attacks on the merfolk are no laughing matter. It's not even clear whether the missing cultivators were the merfolk's doing, yet they're already being branded as the culprits. If we anger them, who can predict the consequences?"
"All you do is spout high-sounding words! Besides them, who else could have gotten rid of so many cultivators right under the noses of the powerful families without anyone noticing?" The burly man crossed his arms and questioned loudly, "Doesn't your Han family pride itself on being capable? It's been so long and you haven't caught a single murderer?"
“Brother Lin is right. Among all the families in the Secret Sea, your Han family has the highest reputation and the strongest strength. It’s been so long since the incident, and you still haven’t found the culprit. Let alone us.” Another family head next to the big man chimed in, “Young family head Han, it’s not that we don’t trust you, but rumors are flying everywhere and everyone is on edge. We can’t let these things continue to spread among the people.”
Upon hearing the address "Brother Lin," Han Chengjin realized that the burly man sitting directly opposite him was none other than Lin Shiyou, the head of the Lin family. His gaze towards Lin Shiyou unconsciously carried a hint of wariness.
"I understand the reasoning. I don't mean to make things difficult for you all. As a member of the Secret Sea, the Han family should do our best to help with the missing cultivators." Han Chengyu explained patiently. "It's just that no one is unaware of the dangers of the merfolk. A rash attack could result in heavy casualties among the disciples of the Secret Sea, which is something no one wants to see."
"Fighting isn't an option, not fighting isn't an option either; arguing back and forth won't get us anywhere..."
At this moment, Li Qianhuai, who was standing to the side, said with a smile, "Cheng Yu, don't keep it to yourself. If you have any good ideas, just tell us so we can all give them a heads-up."
Han Chengyu glanced at Li Qianhuai sitting beside him. The latter always had a smiling face, and it was impossible to guess what he was thinking. Han Chengyu then looked around at the heads of the families in the Yihai Hall and said solemnly, "My younger brother went out to find two helpers and is preparing to go to sea to meet the merfolk."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. No one expected that Han Chengyu, after dragging things out for so long, would offer such a solution.
"Meeting merfolk?" Even Li Qianhuai couldn't help but laugh, thinking he had misheard. "Cheng Yu, this is no joke..."
Some people even shouted excitedly, "Do you think this is a joke? You want to see me just like that? Aren't you afraid of dying?!"
Lin Shiyou remained with his arms crossed, staring silently at Han Chengyu as if trying to read his mind.
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Rather than rashly attacking and inviting unpredictable disaster, it is more prudent to first probe the enemy's strength before taking action." Han Chengyu said calmly, "If the merfolk attack us as soon as they see us, then we will naturally have to mobilize the entire Secret Sea to retaliate. But if the merfolk do not attack us first, or even show friendliness, then wouldn't attacking the merfolk without authorization be disrupting the peace that the Secret Sea has maintained for so many years? How can we do business then?"
Han Chengjin's words caused the faces of the family heads present to show hesitation, but Lin Shiyou remained serious, scoffing, "The helpers you found, are they those two from the Lingyun Alliance?"
Upon hearing the name "Lingyun Alliance," the family heads, who had just been hesitant, became agitated again. The Secret Sea was a self-contained entity, and even the Lingyun Alliance, with its influence spanning the world, had never established a dedicated base there. How could cultivators from the Lingyun Alliance meddle in the internal affairs of the Secret Sea? This was a blatant attack on their families' incompetence, a slap in the face to all the families of the Secret Sea!
"Everyone, please don't panic. Those two have a personal relationship with my younger brother, and they are only helping us in their personal capacity," Han Chengyu reassured. "Moreover, they came here specifically to see the merfolk and were not acting on orders from the Lingyun Alliance."
Although Han Chengyu said that, the heads of the various families still had some apprehension in their eyes. On the contrary, Li Qianhuai spoke up for them, saying, "If that's the case, it's not impossible."
"Brother Li, does this mean you agree to his plan?" Lin Shiyou's gaze immediately swept towards Li Qianhuai.
Seeing this, Li Qianhuai immediately tried to smooth things over, saying, "Hey~ Cheng Yu has persisted for so long, and today he finally relented. This is much better than the previous stalemate without any results, right? Besides, going to see the merfolk is a life-or-death matter. The second young master of the Han family is willing to risk his life, which is commendable. How can we, as elders, be so disheartening?"
Lin Shiyou withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and turned to look at Han Chengjin, saying sternly, "Second son of the Han family, how do you plan to meet the merfolk?"
Upon being suddenly called upon, Han Chengjin jumped up from his chair in a panic. He pressed his hand to his chest and said, "We will take a boat to approach the merfolk who sing at night on the sea and try to communicate with them."
Lin Shiyou frowned: "How do you plan to get close to him?"
"There will always be a way." Han Chengjin didn't know what the way was, since Yun Yanqiu hadn't told him in detail yesterday. He could only repeat Yun Yanqiu's words, "Compared to the sea ruled by the merfolk, the surface of the sea gives us more room to maneuver."
Those present were still reeling from this outlandish idea, and since no one had really thought about how to contact the merfolk, Han Chengjin's ambiguous answer went largely unnoticed. A moment of silence fell over the Yihai Hall.
Most of the powerful families in the Secret Sea came to the Discussion Hall to vote and choose sides. Previously, the Han family had been unable to come up with a solution, which is why everyone leaned towards Lin Shiyou. But now, the Han family has brought in the Lingyun Alliance as reinforcements and even sent their second young master to risk his life, demonstrating their determination. With the two most influential families disagreeing, the others dared not utter a word, and the Discussion Hall fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone turned to look at Lin Shiyou and the Han brothers, making Han Chengjin feel rather awkward.
At this moment, Lin Shiyou suddenly burst into laughter: "Alright, I'll give you this chance."
Lin Shiyou actually agreed! Seeing this, the other family heads also expressed their agreement.
"Old Han, I didn't realize that such an indecisive older brother like you would have a younger brother who dares to fight to the death." Lin Shiyou couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark about Han Chengyu, and then stood up. "Alright, I'll go back and wait for your good news."
He took a few steps forward, looking down at Han Chengjin, and said in a low voice that sounded both threatening and provocative, "Don't end up in the Dead Sea."
Han Chengjin wanted to "retaliate" against Lin Shiyou, but Lin Shiyou walked out of Yihaitang without looking back after saying those words.
"Now that we've reached a conclusion, I won't linger here any longer." Li Qianhuai stood up and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the Han brothers. "Take care, both of you."
After saying that, Li Qianhuai left Yihaitang with a smile.
Seeing this, the other family heads also gradually led their subordinates away. Only then did Han Chengyu get up and call Han Chengjin to get into the carriage they had come in. Inside the carriage, Han Chengyu looked at his younger brother, a gratified smile on his lips: "Well done."
While the Han brothers went to the Yihai Hall, Ye Yingying and Yun Yanqiu, who remained at the Han residence, were also busy. Last night, Ye Yingying specifically asked Han Chengyu to allow them to freely browse through the files related to missing cultivators in the Han residence's archives.
Within the Han family's sphere of influence, the earliest recorded case of a cultivator's disappearance occurred thirty years ago. There were no related records for the next twenty years until the last ten years, when cases of cultivators disappearing began to occur frequently, with at least twenty cases recorded.
As Han Chengyu said, these missing cultivators had neither reputation nor sect affiliation. Apart from the junior sister mentioned last night, the rest of the missing were all independent cultivators.
In the cultivation world, rogue cultivators are a rare existence. Most of them come from ordinary families, with mediocre talent, yet they are single-mindedly seeking immortality. These people are neither like scions of noble families, who have elders guiding their cultivation from birth, nor like disciples of sects, who are chosen by masters because of their extraordinary talent and thus join the ranks of immortals.
The path to immortality is inherently winding and arduous. Compared to practicing a technique behind closed doors with no discernible truth, it is obviously much more efficient to go out and find a reputable sect to learn from. However, some people prefer to wander the world, making their home wherever they go, exploring remote and untouched realms, just to seek a glimmer of opportunity in the most dangerous situations.
This is precisely why most independent cultivators are solitary and unattached, and even if they disappear, few people care. It's not hard to see that the murderer took advantage of this to conceal his actions.
Just then, the Han brothers returned.
Han Chengjin excitedly recounted his experiences at Yihaitang, and did not forget to mention Lin Shiyou's attitude: "I was originally very nervous, worried that they would ask all sorts of questions and I wouldn't know how to answer them, but Lin Shiyou really agreed without asking any questions in detail."
Ye Yingying smiled slightly without offering an explanation, but instead softly asked Han Chengyu, "Brother Chengyu, have you made all the necessary preparations for what we discussed earlier?"
"Don't worry, everything is arranged." Han Chengyu nodded, his expression solemn. "I hope everyone will return safely."
Having received Han Chengyu's assurance, Ye Yingying and the other two boarded the ship and set sail.
It was nearly dusk, and the setting sun cast its last rays, turning the sky a vibrant orange-red.
Considering that it was inconvenient to move around and let too many people know, Han Chengyu only sent someone to arrange an inconspicuous wooden boat, disguised as a tourist boat, so that the three of them could board the boat and leave the port.
Merfolk are often found in a place called "Yinyou Reef" in the far sea. The reef is full of rocks and it is difficult for ships to navigate. Ships going out to sea generally assume that this is the territory of the merfolk and will usually sail around it.
“Once we get close to the reef, you should disembark and try to talk to the merfolk,” Yun Yanqiu said to Han Chengjin. Then she pointed to her neck and gestured to Han Chengjin, “Don’t forget to show your pearl; that’s what the merfolk are most likely to recognize.”
"Okay." Han Chengjin nodded, her hand unconsciously tightening around the white, lustrous pearl on her neck.
"I will keep watch over you from a short distance. If you feel any danger, tear off the talisman I gave you and run away."
The plan was simple: first, Han Chengjin, carrying the gift from the merfolk, would approach them to test their attitude. If they recognized the pearl and were willing to communicate, that would be ideal; if not, the talisman given by Yun Yanqiu would be enough for Han Chengjin to escape. Then, Yun Yanqiu would step in and let their strength speak for itself. Even if they couldn't get a word in edgewise, they could still lead them to safety.
The plan had a backup plan, ensuring their lives wouldn't be in danger. However, no one expected that what would stop them was the deep sea beneath their feet.
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