Chapter 31 The Tide's Proverb (End) No, mermaid. Not beautiful, human...
One night before bed, he inexplicably turned on his phone and idly swiped through a media platform. Suddenly, a non-human face flashed across the screen. In just a second, Li Xiang caught a glimpse of its bluish-gray tail and the beautiful ear fins that served as its ears.
This is a video of a mermaid sighting abroad. Although some commenters pointed out that it was just a filming technique and that the work is actually a mockumentary, everyone generally agreed that such a creature does not exist in the world; it is merely a figment of imagination in a work of art.
But Li Xiang's heart suddenly began to pound without any warning. It was as if he were on a ship adrift on a vast ocean, completely empty except for himself, without even an oar, meaning he had no direction and could not see the future. Suddenly, a hand reached out from the deep sea, grabbed his gunwale, and began to rock him wildly. The fear of capsizing made him feel his own existence for the first time, a realization of life.
On a cosmic scale, civilizations and races appear utterly vulnerable, simultaneously serving as limiting frameworks that bind humanity. If you recognize the absurdity and randomness of existence itself, and experience confusion and a sense of loss of control regarding your identity, then you urgently need to project this pain onto an unknown, powerful, non-human being.
The distant deep sea, a place that humans have yet to reach, is like the relative universe on Earth; its existence provides an explanation for "meaninglessness."
Throughout history, humanity has had a similar need to perceive and understand things larger than ourselves, which has led to religions, beliefs, or collective consciousness. Even when people lose their standards for measuring their own value within the traditional framework of nature and society, and are unable to obtain a sense of identity, this need does not disappear.
For Li Xiang, the power of fear and madness perfectly fulfilled his needs and provided him with a sense of connection.
The fish tail in the deep sea traced a U-shaped curve, leaving a beautiful symbol in his heart—the shape of the place he longed for.
The tide blessed him, seeing his ideals shattered in the real world, the lights of countless homes and the cold, gray windows, the sudden rain and fierce winds cutting off the past, at this moment, he only had himself.
He was as if he were reborn from the womb, carrying a brand new and vibrant heart, closing his eyes and immersing himself in that unknown world, searching for his own value in existence.
The characters, each with a unique face, play roles in his demonic dreams, exerting pressure while simultaneously being controlled by him. They resemble teachers who pointed fingers and cursed him during his school days, greasy and foolish bosses, incompetent and furious fathers, silent mothers, or the masses of ordinary people he brushed past.
He himself will abandon his physical body and exist here as the supreme Old God.
The Old Gods bestowed time, giving everything yesterday and today.
only.
"Why?"
Why would a group of random people suddenly intrude into his faith's realm, attempting to destroy everything there? What are they trying to do? Are they trying to force him to go back to being the useless, good-for-nothing Li Xiang again?
"What do you mean 'why'? What are you mumbling about again?" Feng Feng tightened his grip on the vines, immobilizing Li Xiang in place. "Hurry up and raise your hands in surrender. I haven't seen the sun in ages, I'm practically being pickled by the saltiness of this place. Don't be so gloomy, kid, you should get some sunshine sometimes. Under the sun, anything is allowed to happen."
But Li Xiang did not raise his hands in surrender, nor did he react in any other way. Feng Feng thought he looked a little confused, sitting on the ground with his head down like a little dog that had lost a fight, muttering to himself why, as if he did not quite understand their appearance and motives.
"What's wrong with him?" Feng Mian and his sister exchanged a glance.
"I don't know, but I have a feeling that I shouldn't be standing here, but should go over and sit with him. After all, getting out of the dream requires 'killing' the spirit in various senses, but don't you guys think he looks particularly pathetic right now?"
It's hardly gentlemanly to mock or stab someone in the chest when they're at their lowest point, especially since this time the spirits seem to have no ability to fight back.
Ying Ya remained silent, perhaps because he felt that Li Xiang's state was similar to his own.
Xia Zhu nodded vigorously in agreement. In fact, she understood Li Xiang's feelings to some extent. After her grandfather passed away, she also went through a period of time without finding the meaning of life, so she wanted to grasp onto something. However, she was not good at speaking and seemed too slow-witted, unable to even establish a basic friendship.
But unlike Li Xiang, although she was unsure of her future, she always knew who she was.
She is Xia Zhu, and that alone makes her unique and cool.
Whether it's a good or bad life, a brilliant or dark one, as long as it belongs to Xia Zhu, it is the most special, irreplaceable, and cannot be taken by anyone.
The road ahead is unknown; if you encounter water, build a boat; if you encounter mountains, move mountains. Even if you cannot make any changes until the end of your life, you will not feel like a failure.
As for Li Xiang, perhaps even he himself didn't realize that his unique, shining side had already filled every corner of this dream.
His passion and strengths have always been there and have never left him; it's just that he's unwilling to relinquish the power of choice and is forever fixated on his flaws.
She wanted to go over and comfort him, telling him that such thoughts were normal. Whether you're a successful person or an ordinary one, the starting point is life, and the only end is death. This is the absurd nature of human existence.
Just as everything in a dream is created by an invisible god, for those who enter the dream, the choice is always in their own hands.
Confronting absurdity and acknowledging nothingness, the value of an individual is created by their free choices.
We must imagine Sisyphus as happy.
But when Xia Zhu actually approached Li Xiang, she stopped. First, she only had the profound comfort in her mind, but if she were to actually say it, she would definitely stammer and not know what to say. Second, she felt that she didn't seem to have the right to be a comforter, and she inexplicably believed that as long as he left this place, one day he would figure it out on his own. Perhaps this was just part of his life, how wonderful, with setbacks and changes, and the adventure of briefly conquering the world.
So what they need to do now is to plunge that hesitant dagger into the demon's chest again, and let the right to choose return to Li Xiang's hands.
That's right, the one standing in front of the four of them was always a demon. They should have known this long ago, otherwise they wouldn't have given him time to turn things around.
Suddenly, a sharp knife appeared in Liang's hand. With a swift stroke, he severed the vines binding him. He gave everyone a deep look, threw the knife at Xia Zhu, who seemed powerless, and then turned and ran towards the pool.
The wind and air here acted as fuel to power the knife, and the tip of the knife even pierced the air with a sharp whistling sound as it stabbed towards Xia Zhu. Just 0.1 millimeters away from piercing her pupil, it was stopped by Feng Feng's vines.
"Damn, a sneak attack!" The vines, with the knife hilt tied to them, lashed out in the air, aiming again at Li Xiang, who was only showing his back to everyone. "He looks like he's going to jump!"
Before he could finish speaking, Li Xiang leaped into the water, and Xiao Dao lost his target and landed on the edge of the pool.
"Is this suicide because they can't win, or what?"
"Have you forgotten? This pool seems to be able to deconstruct and reassemble living things." Feng Mian stared at the still surface of the pool, his expression not good.
It seems it won't end so easily.
They dared not approach the pool and decided to observe first.
"So is this a transformation segment? I'm kind of looking forward to it." Feng Feng's eyes sparkled as he stood on tiptoe, trying to see the bottom of the pool.
A viscous bubble rose from the calm pool, followed by a second and a third. The water temperature seemed to be rapidly rising and boiling, or something enormous was about to emerge from the bottom of the pool.
The next second, a huge body almost burst out, bringing countless water columns that rushed towards the group. Just as they were about to become four drowned rats, Ying Ya, who was beside them, suddenly emitted a faint purple light. A large raven with a wingspan of three meters quickly flew over their heads to shield them from the impact of the water.
"What is this thing?! It's huge! Isn't this a bit against the rules?"
The originally thin and weak Li Xiang transformed into a mermaid as tall as a three-story building. Calling her a mermaid doesn't quite seem right, Feng Feng remembers that the mermaid in the book is a beautiful mermaid! Isn't the focus of a mermaid beautiful?
This thing didn't have an elegant, iridescent fish tail; instead, it was a sticky, several-meter-long eel tail, fleshy and resembling a anaconda. Just one look at it made the hairs on Xia Zhu's arms stand on end. Not only that, his upper body wasn't a muscular, naked man; the exposed skin was covered with countless pores, and with each breath, the thin membranes on the pores expanded and contracted.
Mermaids have no hair, with a smooth head topped with two large sagittal bones. They have no nostrils, and their mouths are wide open, reaching to their ear fins. They have a mouthful of fine teeth and two long fleshy whiskers that tremble in the wind.
It straightened its sky-covering upper body like a king cobra warning intruders, opened its mouth wide and let out a shrill screech at the group, its ear fins and blowholes trembling together.
"What? It can also attack with sound waves! How many skills does this thing have?!" The four covered their ears, but they still couldn't block the attack. And it kept wagging its tail, dipping it in seawater and splashing it at them.
The group had no choice but to hide in the corridor and follow the demon in a daring maneuver to dodge his repeated sonic and water attacks.
"Are you still looking forward to it now?" Feng Mian couldn't resist teasing his sister as he fled.
"I was wrong, I was wrong!" Feng Feng covered her ears. The ground was completely soaked, and she almost slipped, but luckily Ying Ya caught her arm. "Let's control it first!"
The two exchanged a glance, and two beams of light, one yellow and one purple, instantly enveloped them.
Their perfect coordination was infuriating to Feng Mian!
Xia Zhu would seize every opportunity to observe the mysterious official's supernatural abilities. She discovered that Xiao Feng's light came from the talisman by his ear, but Ying Ya's purple light came from his mouth.
Okay, now she saw it clearly: there was a small purple bead embedded in the tip of his tongue. So the Ying family's talisman was on his tongue. Perhaps they needed to control birds through some kind of incantation, but she didn't hear Ying Ya speak.
Most importantly, she clearly remembered that the men of the Divine Blood Clan were all crippled, but the power of the Bird-Controlling Technique was easily applied to Ying Ya. Xia Zhu quickly glanced at his hand hidden under his right sleeve.
As darkness fell and the light overhead was mostly obscured, a flock of red-eyed crows swooped down towards the merman by the pool. The sound of their wings alone drowned out the merman's roar, and their sharp beaks pecked at the merman's weak points: its eyes and spiracles.
"Well done, little crow! You used the silent spell so well, this genius really has to praise you!" She gave Ying Ya a thumbs up, and then countless thick vines sprouted from her feet, lifting her up rapidly until she reached the same height as the mermaid.
Taking advantage of the crows' frenzied attack, which prevented the mermaid from opening her eyes, Feng Feng reached into his small cloth bag, grabbed a handful of seeds, and scattered them at the struggling mermaid. The seeds melted into her skin and disappeared instantly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xia Zhu slipped to the side of the pool and successfully took the sharp knife from not far from the mermaid. She was so close that she could even smell the strong fishy smell on the mermaid.
Fortunately, the crow's attack was effective. Blood holes appeared on its body, and the pain made it let out a mournful cry that was different from the attack. Liang was enraged. It roared and the seawater behind it rose up like a giant wall and crashed down, hitting most of the crows and Xia Zhu, who was sneaking away.
"Ah Zhu!" Feng Feng in the air and Feng Mian behind the pillar shouted at the same time.
Xia Zhu was pushed to the ground by the water pressure. She was just a little dizzy, but had no other problems. Without even raising her head, she gave the two of them an OK sign.
The next second, the enormous fish tail lashed out at her. It was so fast that Xia Zhu had no way to cover herself and could only take the blow. The powerful force flung her far against the low wall beside the gate, displacing her internal organs. A soreness rose in her chest, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Even someone as robust as Xia Zhu had coughed up blood before. Fortunately, her internal energy was working rapidly, and her organs were all returning to their proper places. Her abrasions and contusions were healing quickly. After a brief period of tinnitus, she managed to stand up again and gripped the small knife in her hand tightly.
Next time I enter a dream, I should prepare a handy weapon for myself.
Meanwhile, Feng Mian was startled when he saw Xia Zhu being thrown over. He was worried about her and felt that he was really dragging his feet and was not useful. He saw the warehouse door behind the mermaid Liang, which was being blown open and closed by the wind, and remembered that there were some cleaning tools inside.
Even if he uses a net, at least he can protect himself and not distract others.
So, taking advantage of the fact that Liang was once again entangled with the crows, he ran towards the warehouse under the cover of the water flow. However, he was obviously not as lucky as Xia Zhu this time. The mermaid discovered Feng Mian's ill intentions immediately.
It stretched out its sharp claws at Fengmian, crushing him as easily as crushing an ant. Fengmian dared not turn back and could only run desperately towards the warehouse.
The mermaid angrily swatted away the annoying crows and turned her attention to Feng Mian, who seemed the weakest among the group.
The timing was perfect. Feng Feng raised her hands, and the light around her intensified. Her hair was already soaked and clung tightly to her face, making her eyes appear even more piercing. Amidst the falling water, she resembled an excellent conductor.
"All things are born!"
The thousands of seeds that had been lurking under the mermaid's skin finally took root in her flesh. Following her raising her hand, they burst out of her flesh like countless giant snakes breaking free of their restraints. They danced wildly in the air and then quickly found their own points of leverage, coiling around her in death.
One end of the vines growing from its body gripped the mermaid's flesh tightly, while the other end was firmly fixed to the building and warehouse, contracting and tightening to pin the enormous monster to the spot, unable to move.
If it tries to resist, it will only tear off a piece of its own body tissue. The blood flowing from the mermaid forms a small river on the ground. It is exhausted and depleted, and now it only needs one last blow.
Xia Zhu had not fully recovered, and every step she took caused her some pain. She gritted her teeth and returned to the courtyard. The wind and the low growls of the mermaids whistled in her ears, and the noise made her feel as if she had returned to the school sports meet.
Besides track and field, what else can the all-around Xia Zhu do?
Shot put, of course.
She swung her arms to gather strength, raised one leg to find the best posture for exerting force, and then aimed at the mermaid's chest, throwing the knife that had once stabbed her with all her might.
With a soft thud, the dagger pierced through the mermaid's chest. He stared in disbelief at Xia Zhu, who looked incredibly thin, lying on the ground before collapsing with a thud under her calm gaze.
The sea surged with giant waves, and torrential rain and gales arrived in an instant. With the fall of the old gods, this world was also facing collapse.
A diamond emitting a dazzling red light rose from the enormous mountain of corpses.
"Great effort can create miracles, Azhu." Feng Feng slowly landed beside her and gave her a thumbs up as well.
"Even I, a genius, have to praise you!"
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Author's Note: With the end of Dream Realm Two, Feng Feng and Ying Ya's story will most likely be presented as a side story (if anyone is interested). [Crinkles]
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