Mermaids Weep (8)
Still lost in his own jumbled thoughts, Han Chengjin was caught off guard by being called out. He looked up blankly and met Yao Yao's gaze again over Ye Yingying's shoulder.
Yao Yao's light-colored eyes stared straight at him, making it hard for anyone not to notice.
"This..." Han Chengjin hesitated, unsure whether he should tell Yao Yao about the things at Yihaitang. He looked at Yao Yao, his expression complicated.
Yao Yao felt uncomfortable under that gaze. Thinking of the misunderstanding with Old Turtle, she frowned and said, "Just say what you have to say. Don't hesitate. Is it because I mistook you for someone else that you don't want to tell me?"
Yao Yao found this man very strange. Although she had made a fool of herself when they first met because of the dew on his neck, she didn't think it was a big deal. Why was she still so bothered by it all the way?
"It's not because of that kind of thing...!" Han Chengjin wanted to defend himself, but then he thought it was unnecessary to argue about such a small matter, so he could only sigh helplessly, "Okay, I'll tell you then."
So he repeated what he had told Elder Turtle earlier: "There have been many cases of cultivators going missing on the shore recently, and most of the noble families say they were captured by merfolk..."
"Arrest them?" Yao Yao frowned, her expression gradually becoming serious.
"Catch it and eat it..."
"What?!" Yao Yao looked incredulous, her brows furrowing as she angrily exclaimed, "Nonsense! We don't eat people!"
Ye Yingying quickly asked, "So what do you usually eat?"
"Of course we eat fish! Fish is so delicious, why would we eat people?" Yao Yao thought Han Chengjin's words were utterly absurd. "But you guys, you're fishing in the sea every day, you've almost caught all the good fish, and everyone's complaining that the fish tastes worse and worse!"
Han Chengjin muttered under his breath, "Is it just about the taste of the fish...?"
Although the voice was soft, Yao Yao still heard it clearly. She immediately started arguing like an angry pufferfish: "What do you mean by 'only'? Tender and sweet fish meat has good spiritual energy, while dry and bitter fish meat has poor spiritual energy. Fish meat is the most important way for us to absorb spiritual energy. If we always eat bad-tasting fish meat, how will we suppress the dead souls in the sea when our spiritual energy becomes bad!"
"Suppressing souls?" Ye Yingying became interested, suddenly recalling the legends on land, "Could it be that the merfolk sing at night to suppress the souls of the dead in this sea?"
“Of course.” Yao Yao put her hands on her hips and said seriously, “The souls of the dead who die in the sea are often full of resentment and need to be appeased regularly to dispel their hatred. If it weren’t for us working hard here to appease the souls, where would you get the chance to fish at sea? But you’re the ones who want to steal our food.”
At this point, Yao Yao glared angrily at Han Chengjin. Knowing he was in the wrong, Han Chengjin kept his mouth shut and didn't dare to say anything.
"I see." Ye Yingying paused, then returned to the previous topic, "So the aristocratic families really did wrong the merfolk. It seems that the disappearance of the cultivators is inextricably linked to Lin Shiyou."
Yao Yao keenly grasped the key point and asked, "Is Lin Shiyou a big bad guy?"
"That's right, he killed a lot of people and then went around saying it was you who did it. He also fished out all the good fish, so you have nothing to eat."
Ye Yingying added fuel to the fire, pinning all the blame on Lin Shiyou. Yao Yao got even angrier after hearing this, frowned, and shouted, "You bad boy!"
"But we have no grudge against him, so why would he do this?"
"Who knows?" Ye Yingying shrugged. "Let's check with Han Chengyu when we get back to the Han residence."
When Yao Yao heard the name Han Chengyu, her eyes lit up again.
In an instant, she felt Yun Yanqiu's gaze directed at her, a gaze full of warning.
Yao Yao couldn't help but shrank her shoulders, and said in a defensive tone, "We agreed that I had to go with you once we got to the shore. Since you're looking for Han Chengyu, I have to go with you too."
Ye Yingying chuckled: "Of course we'll take you. You can just come along and listen."
Sister Ying'er is so easy to talk to. Yao Yao readily agreed, but her eyes darted around as she secretly pondered: She wasn't forbidden from initiating conversations, but that didn't mean Han Chengyu couldn't reach out to her. Han Chengyu and she were inseparable friends; once they met and he recognized her, he'd definitely have a lot to say. If she responded then, it wouldn't be considered a violation. Thinking this, Yao Yao couldn't help but smirk.
Yun Yanqiu saw it all, but didn't say anything.
As they were talking, a strong and dazzling beam of light shone into the dim cave, signaling that the four of them had emerged from the winding stone cave.
A gentle breeze from the shore, carrying the salty scent of the sea, wafted towards us, but it wasn't as damp and gloomy as inside the cave.
"We've reached the shore," Yun Yanqiu said calmly.
Ye Yingying didn't say anything, but she tightened her grip on Yun Yanqiu's hand.
The overwhelming light was still too dazzling for the merfolk who lived year-round in the dark depths of the sea. Yao Yao was so blinded by the bright sunlight that she couldn't open her eyes. She turned her head away and raised her arms to shield her eyes from the overly intense light. When that failed, she took a few steps back and hid in the shadows behind Han Chengjin. Han Chengjin was much taller than her, making him a perfect shield from the sun.
Han Chengjin, who was being used as a shelter, could only sigh helplessly: "Can you really stay on land like this?"
"Okay, I just need some time to adjust!" Yao Yao blinked a few times, determined not to give up on her journey over land because of such a small thing. "Where are we going now?"
"Let's go back to my house first."
"Your home?" Yao Yao paused. "Isn't that Han Chengyu's home?"
"Yes."
"Then you lead the way!" Yao Yao rubbed her eyes, feeling that she could adjust to the sunlight a bit, and then mustered up her courage and shouted, "You go first, we'll follow you!"
As she spoke, she reached out and nudged Han Chengjin's back.
Han Chengjin walked forward half-heartedly. He looked around and suddenly saw a towering ancient tree not far away. The tree had a lush canopy and dense roots that hung down from the top like willow branches, showing its great weight.
Upon seeing this ancient tree, a taut string in Han Chengjin's mind was gently plucked, and a name seemed to emerge—Juehai Cliff.
"No way, what a coincidence..." Han Chengjin exclaimed in a low voice, his heart pounding with nervousness.
This is where his father, Han Yaocheng, secluded himself.
"What a coincidence?" Yao Yao asked curiously from behind him.
"It's nothing." Han Chengjin didn't want to bring up the matter, so he could only pretend to be calm. "I know how to get there, follow me."
Han Yaocheng had been in seclusion for decades. Just in case, before going into seclusion, he still separated a wisp of his divine consciousness to surround the perimeter of the Absolute Sea Cliff. If the two brothers encountered any troublesome matters that they could not resolve, they could come here to seek this wisp of divine consciousness for help. Of course, this divine consciousness also served a protective function; if it sensed any outsiders, it would alert Han Yaocheng, who was in seclusion.
Han Chengyu had repeatedly warned his father that whether he could break through to the Golden Core stage and enter the Nascent Soul stage depended entirely on the results of this seclusion. If he failed to advance, he might not be able to make any further progress in the future.
Worried that their unintentional intrusion might disturb Han Yaocheng's cultivation, Han Chengjin quickly hurried away from the area of the Absolute Sea Cliff. Fortunately, they did not encounter the divine sense along the way.
After walking for a short while, the group swaggered to the main gate of the Han residence, where they happened to bump into a carriage parked at the entrance.
The carriage was covered with a dark blue tarpaulin, with tassels and bells hanging from the four corners, which made a crisp and melodious sound when the wind blew.
“Look, that’s the carriage you wanted to see.” Yun Yanqiu pointed to the carriage and showed it to Yao Yao.
Yao Yao stared wide-eyed at this novel object, her lips slightly parted, and murmured, "It really is a four-legged creature pulling two legs..."
But why are both feet round?
Before Yao Yao could think further, the dark-colored carriage curtain was lifted from the side, and a man in a blue robe and jade crown stepped down from the carriage with a bent back. The man had a face like jade, black hair that reached his shoulders, and his features did indeed resemble Han Chengjin's.
Yao Yao felt inexplicably nervous, and the moment her eyes met the man's, she could hear her own heart pounding.
There's no mistake, he is Han Chengyu.
Yao Yao had imagined many scenarios of reuniting with Han Chengyu. Perhaps it would be on the shore, just like when they were children, with her floating on the sea, cheerfully greeting him; or perhaps he would be on a boat at sea, accidentally caught in a giant whirlpool by the mermaids, his life hanging in the balance, and she would come to his rescue, teasing him for being so weak...
Although the scene of their reunion was not what she had imagined, Yao Yao was still filled with joy and tried to find the happiness of reuniting with her old friend in Han Chengyu's eyes.
Han Chengyu had just returned from Yihaitang and was already annoyed by the constant bombardment from various aristocratic families. He was taken aback when he saw Han Chengjin and his entourage appear at the gate of the Han residence.
He first looked Han Chengjin over to make sure he was unharmed, then turned his gaze to Yun Yanqiu and Ye Yingying. Seeing that they were also alright, he finally focused his attention on Yao Yao.
The unfamiliar girl was a head shorter than him, with her slightly wavy long hair casually draped over her shoulders. Her light-colored eyes were clean and pure, and her gaze towards him was filled with undisguised excitement.
Upon seeing this, Yao Yao was so excited that her heart was in her throat, and she almost shouted out Han Chengyu's name.
Han Chengyu's gaze did not linger on her for long. He looked away without any emotion and gestured to the others, saying, "Let's go inside and talk."
Yao Yao was stunned, as if frightened by Han Chengyu's indifferent attitude. A sense of fear suddenly rose in her heart. She never thought that Han Chengyu's gaze would be so dark and distant, completely unlike the bright and pure look in her memory.
She stared blankly at Han Chengyu's back, the words that had been on the tip of her tongue, the words she had rehearsed countless times in her mind, suddenly stuck in her throat.
How could this be? Yao Yao's mind was in turmoil, and she followed Yun Yanqiu and Ye Yingying into the Han residence in a daze.
The scenery in the mansion was as beautiful and magnificent as ever, with bamboo and rock landscapes meticulously designed by craftsmen everywhere. This should have been a novel sight for Yao Yao. However, Yao Yao had no heart to appreciate the scenery at this moment. She walked silently at the end of the group, her head lowered, her eyes unfocused, and her mind heavy with worries.
Yun Yanqiu turned around and caught a glimpse of her somber expression, lost in thought.
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