Chapter 39: Going Home

Jiang Yang carried the dying Chi Mei and ran towards Spring Jian’s small wooden house. Blood stained her hands, and exposed white bones pressed against her arms like cold daggers stabbing her heart. Her mind was in chaos.

Bang—

Jiang Yang kicked open the door and carried Chi Mei to Spring Jian. Her tone was so flustered that her words were incoherent: “Save him, do you know how to save him? Is he about to die?”

Spring Jian propped himself up and saw Chi Mei in Jiang Yang’s arms, who could almost be called a bloody man. A large chunk had been bitten off his fish tail, exposing white bone. It must have been bitten by a fierce beast from the bottom of the sea. After checking his breath, Spring Jian said, “It’s alright, just put him in the water.”

Jiang Yang grabbed Spring Jian’s collar, her eyes showing unprecedented panic: “How can it be alright? He’s so badly injured. Are you lying to me?”

Spring Jian was used to seeing Jiang Yang’s composure in any situation. Seeing her show concern and nervousness for Chi Mei in her arms for the first time, his eyes changed slightly. For a moment, he thought of Xu San Niang. Back then, when he accidentally got caught in her fishing net and was injured, Xu San Niang also cared for him and worried about him like this.

“Have you forgotten that he has a mermaid pearl? The self-healing ability of the mermaid clan is beyond what you humans can imagine. As long as you put him in water and let him rest well, the wound will heal automatically before long,” Spring Jian said.

After hearing this, Jiang Yang finally seemed to remember the function of the mermaid pearl. She carefully placed Chi Mei into a large water bucket, then carried two wooden buckets, going back and forth from the river to pour water into the bucket. After countless trips, the bucket was finally filled with water. Only then did she sit down dejectedly by the bucket, looking at the unconscious Chi Mei and muttering, “Why? Why did you end up like this? Aren’t you a prince? How could they not know how to take care of you?”

Spring Jian heard Jiang Yang’s voice from the next room and replied, “They would be willing to treat Chi Mei well on the premise that he listens to them. Back then, when Fu Yue was pregnant with a human child, even the crown prince of the mermaid clan was sent to the sea trench. Chi Mei is the last bloodline of the mermaid king, and he is certainly expected to continue the lineage for the mermaid royal family. If he obeys, he would naturally have glory and wealth. But what if he doesn’t obey?”

“You mean Chi Mei was sent to the sea trench by those two elders?” Jiang Yang entered the room and stood in front of Spring Jian. Her face was covered in blood, and her gaze fell, calm and clear.

Spring Jian coughed a couple of times, covering his mouth, and continued, “This is just the usual method of the mermaid clan. Whoever doesn’t obey, whoever violates the clan rules, will be imprisoned in the sea trench to reflect. The sea trench is dark all year round, without light. Even merpeople can’t tell directions in the sea trench. No matter how tough one is, they will beg for mercy after being locked up in the sea trench for a few months.”

“Chi Mei must have known that unless he agreed to the two elders’ proposal to marry other merpeople, they wouldn’t let him out. So he had to find another way, escaping from the sea trench to find you. But the upper part of the sea trench is guarded by the mermaid clan, he couldn’t get out at all. He could only escape in another direction, but that direction is more dangerous than the mermaid clan.”

“What is it?” Jiang Yang looked at Spring Jian and asked.

“There is another exit in the sea trench, but that place is the gathering place of sea monsters. The mermaid clan is invincible in the sea, and no one is their match, except for those ugly sea monsters who can hurt merpeople. Those sea monsters gather in groups, like disgusting hyenas, specifically attacking lone merpeople. Chi Mei must have tried to risk passing through the territory of the sea monsters and was discovered by them, which is why he was injured so severely… But fortunately, he managed to come back alive and find you.”

Jiang Yang leaned against the doorframe, her slender figure thin and desolate.

—

For several days, Jiang Yang took care of Chi Mei without sleep or rest. On the fifth day, Chi Mei finally woke up. The dim light in his eyes was ignited by a fierce fire the moment he saw Jiang Yang. He was both surprised and delighted. His body, too weak to even drink water, instantly burst into vibrant life: “A Yang, am I not dreaming?”

Chi Mei’s wound was like a cold knife cutting into Jiang Yang. The raw pain was still bearable, but this stupid fish, with his eyes blazing like oil on fire, was like a midsummer scorching wind, burning away all the coldness in her bones.

“It’s not a dream. I found you.”

Chi Mei’s pale lips raised a smile more intense than midsummer. He moved slightly, and pain creased his brow: “It hurts.”

Jiang Yang pressed his shoulder to indicate that he shouldn’t move: “Knowing you’re injured, don’t move around. Half of your tail was almost eaten as sashimi by the sea monsters, don’t you feel the pain?”

“It hurts,” Chi Mei made a low whimper like a young beast from his nose. He lowered his head and buried his face in Jiang Yang’s palm. His warm breath sprayed in her palm: “A Yang, I’m about to die from the pain. Those sea monsters were so tough. Although I killed two of them, there were too many of them, chasing and biting me… A Yang, I really thought I would never see you again.”

“It’s good that you found me. I don’t want to go back to the sea anymore. They were forcing me to marry, but I don’t want to marry them. I only want to marry you.”

Jiang Yang quietly looked at Chi Mei burying his face in her palm, staring at the back of his head in a daze: “Marry me?”

Chi Mei raised his head, his eyes somewhat evasive: “I know you don’t like me, and marrying you is just my one-sided fantasy. But I won’t force you to marry me… I’m just thinking about it in my head, satisfying myself a bit. You won’t be angry, right?”

Jiang Yang had never thought about taking a husband. Given her family situation, taking a husband would be a troublesome matter. In the end, who she would marry would depend on Jiang Qingzhou’s opinion. Jiang Yang herself didn’t care, as long as he wasn’t too ugly, it would be fine. After all, in a matriarchal society, she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage. The red flag at home wouldn’t fall, and colorful flags would still flutter outside.

But suddenly she felt that marrying this stupid fish wouldn’t be bad. He was silly and stupid, but he didn’t hide anything from her. It was much better than marrying a husband who only looked good on the surface but had no real feelings, just maintaining a respectful distance.

“Huh, willingly debasing yourself!” Spring Jian’s contemptuous laugh came from next door. The wooden house had poor soundproofing, almost none at all. The clear mockery was almost hanging on Chi Mei’s face.