Back to Seven Years Ago (1)
The sky was clear and the air was fresh. Ferries were coming and going on the river, and the dock was bustling with activity. The streets were lined with tall, magnificent, and ornate European-style buildings. Traffic was bustling, and people were bustling.
A tourist on a yacht suddenly shouted, causing a small commotion. A growing crowd gathered, and other boats slowed down, deliberately moving closer to the focal point. Pedestrians on both sides of the river, sensing something was happening, also leaned over the railings to watch.
All eyes were focused on a single spot on the water's surface. Hundreds of cameras were trained on that single splash.
The workers on the cargo ship threw out a lifebuoy, which splashed on the water. It was visible to the naked eye that something had definitely gone under the water.
"What on earth is this?" People who still don't know the answer are asking around.
"It looks like a person fell into the water."
"No, no! It's a mermaid. Green hair, a fish tail, and a black thing on its head that bites people."
"How can there be a mermaid?"
"Perhaps this is the first mermaid ever discovered?"
Everyone was talking. Those closest to the strange creature initially thought it was a girl who had fallen into the water, but as they discussed it, their opinions became more and more consistent. Someone threw a bottle, and then, even more powerfully, an anchor was thrown.
Patches of blood-red gradually spread across the water. Several skilled swimmers on the boat jumped into the water one after another.
The chaos gradually subsided, the boats returned to their normal routes, and the people continued their fun. The incident didn't end there. Many of the spectators took photos and discussed them among themselves. Strangely, none of them captured the humanoid monster. The few photos that did capture it were just a blur of green and a white mass, indistinguishable between the person and the water.
Just a hundred meters from the scene was a well-known middle and high school in the area. Students on the sixth floor were in class, and someone, distracted by the riverbank, had begun to watch the incident unfold. He, too, had seen the green creature suddenly emerge from the river, and with immense surprise, he immediately called his classmates to watch.
Hui Zifeng was among them, unsure of what was happening, and he grabbed the binoculars. The green, humanoid monster appeared three times. The first time, Hui Zifeng missed it. The second time, while grabbing the lifebuoy, it was startled by a bottle and immediately dove into the water. The third time, not long after, it was hooked to the surface by the boat's anchor. Struggling to free itself, it dove headfirst into the water, and the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed.
The students returned to their seats, discussing the recent events. Hui Zifeng was still searching the area with a telescope. Unfortunately, he didn't see the monster appear.
Soon after, it was as if the incident had never happened. Even though there was a wave of hype online, those who were lucky enough to have seen it in person seemed to have forgotten it and refused to believe that mermaids existed in the world.
Shuixi read the description of the monster on his phone from the person who first spotted it: green hair, pale eyes, and extremely pale skin, like a dead person who'd been submerged for too long. It was connected from the waist down, and it was definitely a tail instead of legs. There was also a small black cat with a pair of large, murderous eyes. Noticing someone approaching, he nonchalantly shoved his phone into his pocket and turned to Hui Zifeng, saying, "I won't go to swimming class with you. I have other things to do."
"You're not going to look for that mermaid, are you? You believe that?" Hui Zifeng saw through Shuixi. "Do you really have some skills to catch monsters and fight demons?"
This was a mockery. Shuixi understood, but didn't take it to heart. Hui Zifeng didn't care what Shuixi was going to do. He was thankful that Shuixi didn't follow him.
Ten minutes later, Hui Zifeng saw Shuixi walking on the road from the back seat of the car. He asked the driver to slow down and leaned against the window to confirm again, "Are you really going to look for the mermaid?"
Shuixi waved goodbye, wishing this troublemaker would disappear immediately. Seeing this, Hui Zifeng stopped talking and told the driver to speed up. After turning a corner, he immediately changed into his school uniform, jumped out of the car, and waited in the shadows for Shuixi to approach. He was even more convinced that Shuixi's sneaky behavior was malicious.
After waiting for a long time, Shuixi didn't show up. Hui Zifeng had no choice but to go back to look for her, but there was no sign of her; she had vanished long ago. Feeling lost, he searched everywhere for a while, but returned to nowhere. Only then did he realize he was lost. Just as he was about to call the driver, he felt a damp sensation behind him. It was a sensation that had come completely out of the blue. He looked back and was so startled that he dropped his phone.
Green hair, no legs, pale skin, a monster emerging from the water... But Hui Zifeng didn't think it was a monster, it was obviously a sister who was soaked all over.
"Who are you?" Hui Zifeng bravely walked forward. The alley was not crowded, and it was so quiet that he could almost hear his own voice echoing. "Are you from the river?"
Zang Yue was terrified, blaming the heavens for sending her here again in the blink of an eye. As she tried to soothe her pounding heart, she heard someone behind her irritating her. Turning back, she saw a fierce look in the eyes, but seeing the harmless, delicate child, her demeanor softened, and she tried to speak gently, "No, I was just swimming in the pond. It's too hot. Don't look at me. Please leave now."
"It's very cold today." Hui Zifeng was wearing a horn-buttoned wool coat. He didn't mean to expose her, but he was a little worried by her thin clothing, her pale face and black lips, and her pretense of being fine. He actually listened carefully to the girl's words, "Don't look at anything inappropriate," and obeyed obediently.
"Are you really a mermaid? What's wrong with your legs?"
"Kid!" Zang Yue squeezed the water out of his clothes, broke off a piece of bamboo to use as a walking stick, looked at the cute kid's back, and called out to him in a deliberately unfriendly tone, "Do you have anything to eat?"
Hui Zifeng searched through all his pockets, found a lollipop, and stretched his arm behind him to hand it to her. Zang Yue was dissatisfied, "Is this all you have? It's not enough... I'm starving!"
"I have money." Hui Zifeng handed all the money he had to the girl.
Cang Yue was a little stunned. She didn't take the money. She walked over to Hui Zifeng with her cat in her arms, looked him over, and was almost moved to tears. "Why are you so kind? Cute little boy, can I touch you?"
The black cat in his arms meowed twice. Zang Yue's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, as Hui Zifeng's face was also filled with displeasure. He Ai suddenly let out a sharp cry, his body trying to break free from Zang Yue.
This is an alarm! Zang Yue looked up and saw a boy about Hui Zifeng's age standing across from her. He didn't look dangerous, but Zang Yue had to run. She was wearing a skirt, which made walking difficult. She didn't care about what was happening behind her, so she just ran towards the crowds. Passersby along the way glanced at her and made random guesses.
"Is it for filming?"
"Didn't you see the camera?"
"Look at this beautiful lady! Her clothes are pretty too. What are you doing?"
Except for her panic in the crowd, everything else was calm.
A few days later, the mermaid rumors were followed up. Someone collected fresh blood from the area where the mermaid appeared. After testing, they concluded that it was human, yet not entirely human. Therefore, it was 100% certain to be a mermaid, and a wave of mermaid searches ensued. Initially, they limited their search to the river, but later their focus shifted to the crowds. It was absurd, but since such a thing was happening in real life, it was no longer absurd.
Someone took his sister to a professional institution for examination and made the results public to avoid harassment.
Some people were too scared to leave their homes.
Someone was arrested for intentionally breaking into someone's home.
The search for mermaids has become a game, seemingly harmless yet fraught with the potential for danger. Some revel in the fun, while others tremble in fear, hoping this farce will soon end. In this metropolis, where the world is constantly changing, the most unbelievable stories persist for a long time.
"Hello, little mermaid."
Several hooligans slowly cornered Cang Yue against the wall. Cang Yue had also heard about the mermaid, but she was already 300 kilometers away from the city and didn't expect something like this to happen.
The rogue looked at her skirt and casually lifted her large green cape. "Let me check if you are a mermaid. If I find out, I'll let you go."
"Do you really want to see it?" Cang Yue had seen this kind of behavior many times in that riverside city in the past few days, and didn't want to say any more nonsense. Seeing that the other party was getting more and more aggressive without any regrets, he kicked the four people to the ground with a few kicks, knocking several teeth out. They lay on the ground and couldn't get up for a while.
"Next time you see me, remember to stay away, you bastards." Before leaving, Cang Yue didn't forget to kick them to vent her anger. She'd been busy traveling these past few days, and had encountered so many such harassments, that she was already a little exhausted. Time to find some food.
It was late, and the streets were nearly deserted. The shops on either side of the street were shuttered, and the only sound was the rustling of the wind. She had no money or identification, so she had to beg kind people along the way to pretend to be relatives and get her into a car. She'd traveled so long, exhausted, both physically and mentally. If she didn't eat something to comfort her already strained body from hunger, she feared she'd be inexplicably transported to a new location, and her entire journey would be ruined.
He'ai found a bakery on the deserted street and led Cangyue around to the back. They found some edible bread crumbs in the garbage. He'ai stood high up to help her scout for the next spot. Suddenly, a strong aroma filled the air near the somewhat foul-smelling garbage dump, and Cangyue couldn't help but follow the scent.
Hiding behind a wall, Cang Yue saw the source of the aroma—a roasted chicken placed before a shrine. It was a terrifying thought. If she couldn't get it in her mouth, she'd be forced to embark on another journey. Despite her excitement, safety was paramount. He Ai had intended to rush over and bring the whole roasted chicken to Cang Yue, but she grabbed He Ai, who was about to jump out of her arms, and held him tightly.
"Let's go together. You can't leave me."
With the roasted chicken just one step away, Zang Yue's mind suddenly cleared. A chill ran down his back, and he quickly dodged the iron cage that had dropped from the sky. Still terrified, his legs felt entangled, and Zang Yue tried to escape but fell to the ground. He Ai stood beside Zang Yue, screaming shrilly in the sky.
"Who is it?" Cang Yue guessed that the other party was not an ordinary person, and she was afraid. She wanted to just disappear. At this time, she saw a figure slowly approaching from behind her head, and the shadow gradually covered her entire body.
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