Chapter 28: Under the Sea

“That woman, she actually ruined our prince’s purity, what a beast! You should have just killed her, why did you let her live? Have you also been brainwashed by that woman?” After regaining consciousness, the Left Elder covered his chest in extreme anger upon hearing everything the Right Elder had reported.

The Right Elder looked at the Left Elder’s face turning pale with anger and said, “Who told the prince to be carrying her child in his belly? If not this way, what do you think we should do?”

“Of course, we should kill that woman first to set things right, then trick the prince into drinking an abortion potion, and then arrange for a female merfolk from our tribe to mate with him and give birth to a true purebred merfolk. Our merfolk tribe would never accept this kind of human-fish hybrid.”

The Right Elder shook his head, “You think I don’t want to? But now our prince has his heart and eyes full of her. You and I both know how cruel and cunning humans are, but the fact that Jiang Yang could return the mermaid pearl to the prince without hesitation when she learned it was in her body, regardless of the reason, shows that she’s not completely evil. Moreover, the prince is willing to die for her. If we act too rashly and kill Jiang Yang, angering the prince to the point of really taking his own life, then the bloodline of the Merfolk King would truly be cut off. The Merfolk King has shown great kindness to you and me, how could I take such a risk? It was only under these circumstances that I was willing to take a step back.”

The Left Elder fell silent.

The Right Elder continued, “Besides, after the prince gives birth to the child, we can have her return the mermaid pearl, then trap her on this island, just like we did with Chun Jian back then. This way, she won’t be able to cause any waves for the rest of her life.”

“……” The Left Elder remained silent for a long time, then said with self-reproach, “Alas, things have come to this, we can only do it this way now. It’s our fault for not having the ability to prevent both princes from falling for humans.”

The Right Elder lightly patted the Left Elder’s shoulder and said, “Back then, the Merfolk King and Fish King were deeply in love, promising to be together for life, just the two of them. Even though they never gave birth to an heir, they remained deeply in love…”

Remembering the late Merfolk King, the Left Elder wiped his tears, “That’s why I say, we women shouldn’t be too devoted. If only they had given birth to an heir back then, we wouldn’t be in such a passive situation now. When I go back, I must tell my granddaughter properly, don’t always be obsessed with that cousin, he’s so skinny, obviously not good for bearing children. It’s better to marry several and have many children.”

The Right Elder nodded approvingly.

On a nearby hill, two little ones watched the merfolk gathering in the water with eyes wide in shock, and quickly ran back, shouting, “Father, Father.”

Chun Jian was in the house sewing clothes for the two children, from their size at six years old to adulthood for each year. Hearing Winter and Summer shouting, he pricked his finger and it started bleeding. He hurriedly hid the clothes in the bedding and walked out, saying, “What are you shouting about?”

“Father, there are many merfolk outside, they’ve surrounded the tree hollow where that merman and sister are,” Winter said, out of breath.

“They came so quickly?” Chun Jian was slightly surprised, then smiled and said, “Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. That woman certainly won’t survive.”

“Will sister Jiang Yang die?” Winter asked, unable to believe it.

Chun Jian said cheerfully, “Of course. That merman beside her is the prince of the merfolk tribe, how could the merfolk possibly spare her? As for how they’ll deal with Chi Mei, that merman, it’s hard to say, but whatever happens, Chi Mei will never see Jiang Yang again.”

Winter pulled Chun Jian’s hand, tears already in his eyes, “Father, let’s go save her. I don’t want her to die, she’s been very kind to me and my brother.”

Anger suddenly filled Chun Jian’s eyes, “You little brat, didn’t I tell you that you should have gotten close to that merman, not that woman?”

Winter wiped his tears, sobbing softly, “Father, my brother and I have never seen our mother since we were little. Looking at sister Jiang Yang’s face, we were wondering if our mother was also like her. Father, let’s save them both. This island is so big, we can all live together. We just need to bring them ashore, then those merfolk won’t be able to threaten her anymore.”

“You— How dare you disobey me, are you still my son or not!” Chun Jian raised his hand in anger, about to strike.

Summer quickly knelt down and begged.

Seeing both children crying uncontrollably, Chun Jian lowered his hand in defeat. Forget it, he didn’t have much time left anyway. Rather than fighting for that last bit of pride, it would be better to do some good deeds before he died, to accumulate some virtue for the two children.

The father and sons hurriedly rushed to the tree hollow, but when they entered, it was already empty.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Jiang Yang followed the merfolk tribe into the water.

Because of the mermaid pearl, her vision became clear and broad again, and she could see clearly even in the dark. Before, she had thought her eyesight had improved, but now she understood it was all thanks to the mermaid pearl.

Chi Mei said that when humans swallow a mermaid pearl, not only can it cure diseases, but it also allows them to swim freely and breathe underwater.

Before, Jiang Yang didn’t know she had a mermaid pearl inside her. Even when she occasionally went into the water, she would deliberately hold her breath to avoid choking on seawater, so she had never discovered this ability.

After obtaining the mermaid pearl, Jiang Yang found that the underwater world was even more beautiful than what she had seen in documentaries on TV. Sunlight penetrated the glass-like seawater, colorful coral and small fish swam leisurely past her in the shallow sea, giant clams lazily opened their protective shells, and sea anemones of various shapes languidly stretched out their soft tentacles in the seawater. A few clownfish cautiously poked their heads out from the sea anemones to observe her. The flowing water refracted light and shadows, making everything in the sea appear particularly dreamlike.