The deep sea is rarely tread upon, and can be considered a paradise in its own way.
The path home is always familiar. Xing Yuan leads the way earnestly, her beautifully curved tail flicking gently in the water, much like the manga Ming Yue used to read as a child.
At the time, she never imagined she would actually have a connection with a mermaid.
She doesn't need to breathe, finds it difficult to feel tired, and can speak freely in the water, though her speed is naturally much slower than a mermaid's.
Xing Yuan seems to realize this and suddenly stops, looking at Ming Yue gently. "It's still quite a distance to our home. At my speed, it would take three to five days of swimming. So, to get back quickly, why don't I give you a hand, sister!" Kuai Shu Ge.
"How will you help?" Ming Yue asks, a little confused.
"Sister, you are currently a soul body, so you should be able to shrink your body a bit and condense a part of it into a solid form. Then I can take you with me," Xing Yuan explains patiently, her eyes filled with excitement.
A miniature sister should be fun too!
Ming Yue frowns slightly, hesitates for a moment, then nods. "Alright, let's do as you say."
Ming Yue closes her eyes, focusing her mind on her body. Soon, she transforms into the appearance of a child, and then condenses her arm into a solid form.
Xing Yuan quickly moves closer and embraces her.
Ming Yue's strength is still insufficient. After doing these things, her body becomes extremely weak.
Xing Yuan has no other thoughts. Utilizing the normal speed of her kind, she swims rapidly towards the mermaid tribe.
A few days later, a few mermaids finally appear before them. Immediately, Ming Yue transforms back to her original appearance, standing calmly beside Xing Yuan.
She even asks with a serious expression, "Are we almost there?"
"Yes," Xing Yuan's lips curve into a smile.
However, this smile carries a hint of bitterness. In her memory, her people are not gentle and kind.
The two swim towards the largest cave in the center of the mermaid tribe. Most of the mermaids they encounter recognize Xing Yuan and even communicate with her in a friendly manner.
But Ming Yue cannot understand the language of fish. "What are they saying?"
"They are just greeting each other, like saying you're back," Xing Yuan explains.
"Oh! They are also like you..." Ming Yue ponders for a moment, then asks with some embarrassment, "Do they directly force others to help them have offspring?"
Xing Yuan's body instantly stiffens. How is she supposed to explain that she is probably the only overly aggressive fish in the entire mermaid tribe?
"Well, not exactly! Some just hit it off, I, I'm a bit special," Xing Yuan explains vaguely, her expression tense.
Fortunately, Ming Yue doesn't press the issue further and nods thoughtfully.
Soon, they arrive in front of the cave. Ming Yue's expression becomes visibly nervous, and she hesitates to move forward.
Before Xing Yuan can offer her words of encouragement, a hearty voice booms from within the cave, approaching them.
"My princess is back?"
A strong male merman appears before them. His eyes light up when he sees Xing Yuan, and he immediately hugs her before looking at Ming Yue with a scrutinizing gaze.
Xing Yuan feels only shame and a headache.
The one who dotes on her like a princess is her own father. Of course, in a sense, she is indeed a princess, because her father is the current leader of the mermaid tribe.
It is precisely because he is a doting father that he finds whatever Xing Yuan wants, causing her to have no understanding of human customs. She learned only to take what she desires from her father, and thus never considered being responsible for anyone.
Mai naturally knows what his daughter went out to do. However, he did not expect his daughter to be gone for so long, only to return with a female who seems to have already died and has no life force.
"You are Bei's mother?" he asks Ming Yue for the first time.
"Bei?" Ming Yue looks at Xing Yuan, confused.
"That is, that is our daughter," Xing Yuan says, lowering her head.
For the sake of convenience in naming, the mermaid tribe usually has only one character for a name, so she can't help it! This name wasn't chosen by her.
"Yes." Ming Yue is a person who dares to take responsibility. Although she wasn't the one who initiated it, she did enjoy the process and cannot be so irresponsible.
Hearing Ming Yue's firm voice, Mai's expression finally softens.
"If that's the case, you go in and see her first. I have something to say to Yuan," Mai says, his expression serious.
After receiving an encouraging look from Xing Yuan, Ming Yue steps into the cave.
Seeing this, Mai grins proudly at Xing Yuan, then puts his arm around her neck and says intimately, "Yuan, your dad did a good job, didn't he? Let me tell you! Humans are all very fickle. When your father was young, he met many beautiful women.
But, beautiful people are all deceitful. Although the one you brought back might not be considered human, this principle still applies."
Xing Yuan, with a hint of disgust, pushes away the paw on her shoulder and says with some concern, "Are you sure you're letting her see Bei alone? Bei is spoiled by you, she might..."
"What are you afraid of? She won't die! Besides, our Bei is so adorable. What's wrong with spoiling her a little? You were also spoiled by me since you were little, and you're fine, aren't you?" Mai says dismissively.
"Besides, Bei hasn't seen her since she was little. We need to cultivate some affection. Let's not disturb them for now."
"Alright," Xing Yuan sighs, accepting his statement.
However, this mischievous child has a much worse temperament than she did back then!
Ming Yue, who Xing Yuan is worried about, looks at her surroundings with some surprise. It's very different from what she imagined.
Despite being in the deep sea, there are animal rugs and even some products of modern technology.
However, considering where she met Xing Yuan, she feels somewhat relieved. Perhaps these mermaids can actually leave the deep sea.
But there is no environment here suitable for normal humans to live in, so no one has found this place. If she hadn't accidentally transformed into her current state, she might have thought that encountering mermaids was just a dream.
After all, she had created a real dream for herself and then sent herself to the hospital.
Ming Yue shakes her head, her expression a little helpless. Perhaps this is what is called fate.
Ming Yue purses her lips and looks around, but she doesn't see the mermaid baby the person mentioned. They wouldn't lie to her, would they? Could it be that the mermaid named Bei is hiding?