A carriage set off from Gengxin City, heading west.
Inside the spacious carriage, a large iron water tank occupied four-fifths of the space, swaying with the bumps and jolts of the vehicle, stirring up waves of water.
Within the tank, A Die curled herself up, completely submerged, her hands clutching her fishtail, her head buried in her arms, remaining silent.
Ever since she learned that Wang Zhong was from the Spirit Hall, she had stayed at the bottom of the tank in this posture for days. It was only when Wang Zhong told her they were about to depart for the sea that A Die leaped from the bottom into the water tank, yet she still refused to communicate with Wang Zhong.
"Do you want something to eat?"
Standing by the water tank, Wang Zhong held a small cake in his hand and asked A Die, who was burying her head in the water.
A Die gave no response.
"The little snacks I've been leaving by the edge of the tank these past few days, you haven't eaten any of them."
"If you don't eat anything soon, when we get to the seaside, you might turn into a dried fish."
Wang Zhong shook his head, his tone full of helplessness.
Acting like a child, and actually on a hunger strike.
"None of your business."
A muffled voice came from the water. A Die shifted her body, turning her back to Wang Zhong, unwilling to pay him any mind.
"Aren't we friends?" Wang Zhong rested his arms on the edge of the water tank, looking at the little fish throwing a tantrum and sulking alone, and sighed.
"No!"
Still a muffled voice, but this time tinged with grievance.
Why, why did you have to be from the Spirit Hall!
The Sea God Island and the Spirit Hall could never be friends.
"Is that so."
"I thought that after we exchanged names, we were friends."
"So that was just a lie."
Wang Zhong deliberately lowered his tone and pitch, as if he were greatly distressed and disappointed.
"No, I didn't lie!"
A Die suddenly sprang out of the water, her pretty face filled with anxiety and a desire to explain.
"I truly consider you a friend!"
"But you didn't tell me you were from the Spirit Hall! You lied to me first!"
A Die was so wronged that she wanted to cry.
How could this person be like this!
"Silly little fish."
Wang Zhong gently stroked A Die's head, his voice soft, "Whether it's the Spirit Hall or the Sea God Island, these affiliations are not something we can choose."
"But we can choose who we become friends with."
"Perhaps one day in the future, when circumstances force our hands, we will have to clash swords and kill each other to protect what we cherish. But as long as that day has not yet arrived, then you are my friend."
Feeling the warmth from his hand on her head and listening to his gentle and sincere words, A Die's heart trembled. How could he speak such painful and cruel words?
What was friendship, if not about being companions who lived together happily and joyfully? Why would there be fighting, why would there be killing?
She didn't understand, and couldn't comprehend.
"That day must be very painful!"
"Will you kill me?"
A Die pursed her lips, her voice low.
"No, to protect what is important to oneself, how could such a thing be painful."
"If that day truly comes, I will capture you in advance and keep you in a tank, like a little goldfish!"
Wang Zhong replied with a cheerful laugh, his tone light.
"Hmph!"
With a flick of her massive tail fin, she splashed a spray of water towards Wang Zhong. A Die put her hands on her hips and said indignantly, "Don't you even think about it."
"On that day, I will capture you first, keep you on a deserted island, and feed you earthworms and insects every day, so you can never return to the Spirit Hall."
"How can you be like this!" Wang Zhong exclaimed in mock surprise.
"I bring you little snacks every day, and you want to feed me earthworms and insects."
"You're a bad fish!"
"You're a liar!" A Die retorted, not to be outdone, shouting back.
"Bad fish!"
"Liar!"
...
Their bickering was like that of children, constantly repeating the same words.
"Bad fish!"
"You're a liar, a liar, a liar, a big liar... Mmph!"
A Die yelled in anger, but before she could finish, her mouth was stuffed with a small cake. Her repeated words stopped at that moment.
Chewing twice in her mouth and swallowing the cake, A Die glared at Wang Zhong with dissatisfaction, and said indignantly, "What are you doing!"
"You..."
However, the outcome was the same. Before her second sentence could leave her lips, her newly opened mouth was stuffed with another small pastry.
"Eat more."
"If you don't eat enough, where will you get the energy to argue."
Wang Zhong held a paper bag in his hand, smiling lightly at A Die.
"Have another one."
When A Die swallowed the small pastry in her mouth, Wang Zhong took another one from the paper bag and offered it to her.
This time, however, she didn't give him the chance to force it into her mouth. A Die covered her lips with one hand and snatched the paper bag from Wang Zhong's hand with the other.
"This is all mine! I'm not giving it to you!"
With a flick of her tail fin, she swam to the other side, leaning against the edge of the water tank. A Die took out one small pastry after another from the paper bag and ate them slowly.
As she ate, she kept making triumphant expressions at Wang Zhong.
Wang Zhong chuckled. Such a cute little fish was indeed quite amusing.
After eating the small pastry in his hand, Wang Zhong sat down on the carriage seat, looking at her with a smile.
"How long will it take for us to reach the sea?"
While eating the small pastries, A Die asked curiously, frowning with her delicate brows.
"If we travel smoothly, it should take about a month," Wang Zhong thought for a moment, estimating the carriage's speed, and gave a timeframe.
"Ah, another month!"
"That's so long!"
A Die's expression instantly turned gloomy and worried.
"What's wrong?" Wang Zhong asked, noticing the change in her demeanor.
"I've been out for a very long time."
"I'm a little worried that the City Lord might be looking for me everywhere. If the Lord tells the High Priest that I'm missing, it will be serious."
Although A Die was naive, her talent on Sea God Island was outstanding and unparalleled.
A Soul Emperor at sixty years old might not be much to humans, but considering the lifespan of the mermaid race, which was five hundred years, she was a genius among geniuses.
The City Lord of Sea Maiden City, Sea Maiden Douluo.
The High Priest of Sea God Island, Bo Saixi.
The concern these two had for A Die was comparable to Bibi Dong's concern for Wang Zhong.
Once A Die was gone for too long and could not be found in the sea, the powerful figures of Sea God Island might mobilize their entire forces and scour the entire ocean.
On Sea God Island, every soul master could undergo a ritual called the Sea God's Trial before the Seven Sacred Pillars.
During this ritual, the Sacred Pillar would communicate with the Sea God and assess the talent and strength of the participant, awarding them one of five grades: White, Yellow, Purple, Black, or Red.
A Die's Sea God Trial was a Red-level Seven Trials, considered one of the most top-tier assessments.
Moreover, this assessment represented the future High Priest of Sea God Island!