Chapter 41: Tail Severing

“I want to go find her.” In the dead of night, Chi Mei suddenly spoke, his clear, cold voice striking Chun Jian’s heart like shattered jade hitting ice.

“What for?” Chun Jian coldly replied, “Don’t tell me you still harbor fantasies about her.”

Chi Mei lowered his gaze, his thick long lashes hiding the desolation in his eyes. “I want to ask her… Even if I’ve truly been abandoned… I want to hear it from her own mouth, rather than being left in this uncertainty.”

“You really won’t give up until you reach the Yellow River.” Chun Jian mocked.

“Say what you will,” Chi Mei said, “Haven’t you ever fantasized that perhaps Xu San Niang didn’t abandon you? That perhaps she just couldn’t return for some reason? In all these years, have you truly never thought about it?”

“Shut up! Don’t mention her to me!” Chun Jian suddenly exploded in anger. “She’s different from Jiang Yang. She has my merman pearl inside her body. Even if we were separated by tens of thousands of miles, as long as there’s a piece of sea, she could swim back to find me. But she didn’t!”

“I no longer have any hope for this woman. She knew that the merman pearl would die if it stayed outside a merman’s body for too long, yet for seven whole years she didn’t return! She knew I would certainly die, so no matter how great her difficulties, she should have come back—she knew I was here waiting for her… My child and I were both waiting for her to return…” Hatred filled Chun Jian’s eyes. “Don’t say she had no difficulties. Even if she really did have difficulties, I still hate her! I won’t forgive her! Go to hell! Xu San Niang, I curse you to die a miserable death in this life!”

Listening to Chun Jian’s vicious, heartless curse, a flash of sadness passed through Chi Mei’s eyes, but he still firmly believed that Jiang Yang was different from Xu San Niang.

“Tell me the method to transform into human form. I want to go ashore,” Chi Mei said, his gaze unwavering.

“…Are you sure? The pain of a merman severing his tail is worse than being dismembered alive. Once the tail is severed, it can never be restored. Moreover, even if you go ashore, you might not be able to find her. You, who don’t understand human rules, are very likely to die on the way to finding her. Even so, do you still want to go look for her?” Chun Jian spoke gravely.

“I’d rather die on the road to finding Ah Yang than go mad with self-pity on a lonely island like you. Even if I die, I want to die with clarity.”

“Fine, I agree, but you must promise me one condition.”

“What is it?”

Chun Jian, already weak with sunken cheekbones and dark-ringed eyes, had eyes filled with boundless hatred, as if in a final burst of energy, releasing years of accumulated resentment: “Help me find Xu San Niang, find her, and then…”

Kill her.

Chun Jian gritted his teeth: “If she has married another husband, had children with someone else, kill them all. Why should my child be left alone and destitute while the children she had with other men are cherished and cared for? Kill them, you must kill them all!”

—

Outside a small wooden cabin by the sea, a woman hurriedly ran in. Howling wind and rain raged outside, and a gust of wind whistled in through the door crack as she entered.

“The wind and waves at sea were so strong today, my boat almost capsized,” the woman said.

“Indeed, there will certainly be a storm tonight.” The man closed the door, latched it from inside to block out the fierce wind, then embraced the woman’s waist from behind and said softly, “Thankfully you’re back. You don’t know how worried I was about you.”

Xu Xiao Hai turned around and held her husband Qin tightly in her arms, lowering her head to kiss his smooth and beautiful forehead. “I’m back now, aren’t I? We definitely won’t be able to go out to sea for the next few days because of the storm. How about I stay at home to keep you company?”

Qin nodded shyly.

Xu Xiao Hai’s hand slowly moved down to the sash of his clothes. Qin had already melted into Xu Xiao Hai’s embrace, his clothes quickly pulled off and carelessly tossed to the floor.

In bed, Qin said bashfully, “Wife-master, don’t throw them on the floor. I haven’t had time to bring in the other clothes I just washed. If these get dirty, I won’t have anything to wear.”

“No clothes to wear? Isn’t that even better?” Xu Xiao Hai laughed and pounced on him. The small wooden cabin soon filled with the sounds of their lovemaking.

Before he died, Chun Jian had told him that human fishermen wouldn’t go out to sea during storms, making it the safest time to go ashore.

Chi Mei poked his head out of the surging waves and looked around. Apart from a small wooden cabin glowing with orange light, there were no other human dwellings. Outside the cabin stood two long poles with a rope strung between them, clothes hanging on the line fluttering in the wind and rain.

Chi Mei collapsed among the rocky reefs. Ten days of desperate rushing had left him exhausted, gasping for breath.

The thick, dark clouds and dim, ink-black waters provided the best cover for Chi Mei. Now was the best time to sever his tail. If he missed this chance, it would be difficult to do so near the busy fishing village without being discovered.

Inside the small wooden cabin, Qin, in the midst of lovemaking with Xu Xiao Hai, suddenly frowned and cupped Xu Xiao Hai’s face, asking, “Wife-master, did you hear something?”

Xu Xiao Hai raised her head to listen, then smiled and said, “Is my Jade hearing things?”

Qin shook his head. “No, I really heard something. It sounded very suppressed, very… painful.”

Xu Xiao Hai paid no mind and continued her efforts. “It seems I’m not putting in enough effort if you still have the chance to be distracted.”

Qin wanted to say more, but was overwhelmed by waves of pleasure. A spring night is worth a thousand gold; never mind, let it be.

Little did Qin know that just a few dozen meters from their small wooden cabin, there was a merman. If they had just come out to check at that moment, they could have caught Chi Mei, who was powerless due to using forbidden magic, and gained endless wealth and honor.

Chi Mei struggled painfully among the sharp rocks. The thick black clouds hung heavy like iron, and surging waves crashed over him. Blood constantly seeped from every scale of his tail fin. His entire fish tail was being cut apart, bones dissolved, scales falling off one by one, flesh torn. He shook and trembled with pain, every nerve and every inch of skin feeling as if it was being torn apart by intense, twisting agony. The seawater was dyed red with his blood. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes, mixing with the bloody sea, never to become pearls again.

Chi Mei wiped away his tears, his pale face as fragile as thin paper that might crumble at a touch. He didn’t have much time left; he had to hurry ashore and leave this place.

Chi Mei crawled down from the rocky reef. As soon as his feet, formed from bone and flesh, touched the sandy beach, he fell heavily to the ground.

He got up again, realizing for the first time how difficult it was to walk with human legs. His legs were shaking, each step seeming to take all his strength.

From the small wooden cabin came the sound of the couple’s joyful teasing. Jiang Yang’s figure appeared in his mind. If Ah Yang were still here, would they be as happy?

Chi Mei walked very slowly, each step feeling as if he were treading on needles.

Finally reaching the clothesline, Chi Mei quickly pulled down some clothes and disappeared into the storm.