In her hazy state, Maggie felt a familiar scent lingering around her nose, and her lips felt like they were being touched by cool, refreshing jelly.
Her mind was already somewhat unclear, and when she felt that something tasted delicious, she couldn't resist sticking out her tongue and licking it.
She vaguely felt the object surrounding her stiffen for a moment, but she was quickly drawn back to the jelly.
[How could I dream of eating jelly before I died... and it even felt pretty good.]
As Maggie was thinking this, she suddenly felt her lip being bitten hard, and the stinging pain forced her to open her mouth.
Then an unknown object was placed in his mouth.
Maggie instinctively tried to struggle and spit it out, but a hand pressed down on the back of her head, forcing her to swallow it.
As the object slid down her throat, Maggie's previously depleted life force began to flow again, as if a gentle stream of water was nourishing her body.
Her faint consciousness gradually returned, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a pair of pale purple eyes, with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance in them.
For a moment, Maggie was stunned, but Xiu immediately distanced himself from her and returned to his calm and composed state, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.
The two of them were embracing so closely that they could feel each other's breath.
"?"
Maggie's expression froze, and she couldn't utter a single word; her intelligence and brain had unusually shut down.
[What's going on? What's going on? I'm not dead? And why did this merman kiss me?! What happened while I was unaware?]
Maggie's mind was flooded with a million questions, but on the surface she just stared blankly at Xiu, as if time had frozen at that moment.
Perhaps because the noise around him was too loud, Xiu's originally calm expression began to crack uncontrollably. He forced himself to endure the noise and opened his mouth to explain.
Unfortunately, just a second before he lost his composure, Eve's almost scream shattered the silence.
"Her Highness the Holy Maiden is awake! Wait, why did you kiss Her Highness?! No, no..."
Eve's voice, a mixture of joy and fear, came through the chaotic and awkward conversation, sending chills down Maggie's spine.
Fortunately, her body returned to normal, and she jumped off Xiu's arms without hesitation.
Maggie turned around and reached out to cover Eve's mouth.
"Don't shout!"
She's going crazy. She barely survived physical death, and now that she's yelling like this, she might as well just die.
Although we still don't understand the situation or why Xiu kissed her, stopping Eve is the most important thing right now.
"!!!"
Eve's eyes widened, her hands waving in the air, and she kept pointing at Xiu, looking extremely unwilling.
You'd think his wife had been kidnapped by Xiu.
"Your Highness, I saved your life, and now you owe me a favor."
Xiu calmly watched the farce unfold before him. With the noise gone, he was finally able to utter a single word.
"..."
Maggie's expression froze for a moment, then she looked enlightened.
Was he trying to save her?
However, the mermaid didn't seem to have the ability to heal. She remembered swallowing something just now. Could it be a life-saving medicine?
She made wild guesses, but none of them led to any conclusions.
Eve seemed to understand something and finally quieted down, but her gaze towards Xiu still held a hint of resentment.
Maggie stood up again and thanked the monks for their respect.
"I will do my best to meet your requests from now on."
This time, she truly owed a huge favor; the potion that could undo the Demon King's backlash was far more precious than she could imagine.
"Oh? I hope Your Highness remembers this and won't go back on your word."
Xiu's pupils reflected Maggie's apologetic expression, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards slightly without him even realizing it.
"Of course not."
Maggie said solemnly.
She hadn't even considered that Xiu would lend a helping hand, especially under these circumstances, without any benefit to her, purely out of goodwill, or perhaps for something she didn't know.
But regardless, the fact remains that she was saved.
"Well, Your Highness, perhaps you shouldn't be so polite with me right now. If nothing unexpected happens, your servant is in danger."
Xiu looked through the damaged parts of the castle to the sky outside, his tone leisurely.
"!"
Maggie's expression immediately hardened, and she hurriedly left the spot. However, as she brushed past Xiu, she thanked him again in a serious tone.
"Thank you for reminding me."
Xiu watched Maggie's departing figure, then reached out and touched his chest, which felt empty once again.
His heart is the ocean...
Xiu didn't know why, but he was born without a heart. A merman without a heart was a complete anomaly among other mermen.
Until he got close to the Heart of the Ocean, he suddenly felt what a heartbeat was, what it felt like to throb.
This is also his reason for stealing the Heart of the Ocean.
In other words, the moment he took the Heart of the Ocean, it became one with him.
He had promised to help Maggie if she were ever in danger.
He simply wanted to use the Heart of the Ocean to help her regain her life.
Unexpectedly, this woman actually stole the entire Heart of the Ocean.
From a purely financial perspective, this was the worst deal he'd ever made.
No wonder the astrological readings said she would receive great benefits.
Taking away his Heart of the Ocean, how can that not be a huge benefit?
"..."
Xiu silently pursed his lips, his expression even looking a little gloomy.
Completely forgetting that he had just realized that a simple kiss couldn't fully bring Maggie back to her senses, he had forced Maggie to swallow the food as the Ocean Heart automatically left her body.
Eve watched silently the whole time, until Xiu turned to look at her, at which point she jumped up from the ground as if she had been startled.
She forgot that she was almost exhausted just now.
"You...you saved Her Highness the Holy Maiden, and you deserve the reward from the Temple of Light and the Beard Royal Family. I will give you a generous reward, so please do not make things difficult for Her Highness the Holy Maiden."
She struggled to her feet, her voice hesitant and stuttering, as if she were still quite frightened by what had just happened.
But she still remembered Maggie's life-saving grace, so she took the initiative to express her gratitude to Xiu.
"No need, she will pay me the compensation I deserve."
Xiu Jin glanced at Eve only once before lowering his eyes and withdrawing his gaze, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.
"I warn you, don't even think about Her Highness the Holy Maiden, she belongs to the God!"
Eve was loud and boisterous, still holding onto her devout faith in the God of Light. Her tone was slightly fierce, and she looked at Xiu with wariness in her eyes.
"...We are business partners, and I am not interested in her."
Xiu An paused for a moment, then answered with a slight frown.
"You'd better be!"
Eve finally breathed a sigh of relief.
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