This “human cub” who was padding the numbers just like Shi Yu was someone they had seen a day ago.
Given the group of bulky men who had stepped onto the blood hunter challenge stage yesterday, it was simply too difficult not to notice this young man.
The president of the Blood Hunter Academy, who had stated she would accompany them on this mission, was now standing at the front of the group, checking over several sheets of paper in her hand. Seeing them arrive, the woman gave them a slight nod.
Following the woman’s gaze, the other blood hunters also realized that these two were the ones joining the mission this time.
Upon seeing Wen Si looking completely unruffled, everyone revealed expressions of surprise as their gazes swept over Shi Yu.
The young man was the one who reacted most overtly.
“Why did you come too?” he asked Shi Yu in disbelief.
Shi Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and blinked innocently.
He asked with a puzzled expression, “Am I not allowed to come?”
The other person dropped his jaw, as if he still had more to say, but was snapped back to reality by a flick on the forehead from the woman.
“Ow, what the” Zhou Ji clutched the back of his head, wincing in pain.
The woman’s expression was one of extreme disdain. It was clear from how hard he had been hit that Zhou Ji had something to say, but under just a light sideways glare from the woman, he reluctantly zipped his lips and made a locking gesture.
“I forgot to introduce you all yesterday.” The woman smiled at them. “My name is Zhou Qi, and I will be leading the mission team to the Mermaid Clan this time.”
With that, she gestured toward the young man, whose eyes still carried a trace of lingering grievance, and introduced, “This is my younger brother, Zhou Ji.”
So the two of them were siblings.
Having been introduced by his older sister, Zhou Ji had no choice but to nod reluctantly, indicating that the introductions were made.
With Zhou Qi starting things off, five or six other blood hunters in the team also introduced themselves in turn.
“Shi Yu.” After the others finished, Shi Yu pointed toward Wen Si, pausing for a moment before saying, “This is my older brother, Wen Si.”
Wen Si naturally picked up the thread, “Mm, he is my younger brother.”
Shi Yu looked at him coldly.
Wonderful, it finally wasn’t Did you take your medicine today?
Zhou Ji asked with a puzzled expression, “You guys are brothers?”
“Then why do the two of you have different surnames?”
His gaze darted back and forth between the two of them, as if he were racking his brain, before his eyes suddenly lit up.
Shi Yu tilted his head, practically broadcasting the intention to await a brilliant performance.
He could more or less guess what kind of earth-shattering statement Zhou Ji was about to emit.
Zhou Ji: “You two couldn’t possibly be brothers from different mothers and… wait, step-brothers?”
Shi Yu furrowed his brow, curved his lips toward him in a smile, and remained silent.
Zhou Ji’s words stuck halfway, and he stammered into silence. He gazed at Shi Yu for a moment, then shifted his eyes away evasively, his earlobes growing somewhat warm.
[A smile is a form of politeness. OvO]
[It is also a form of warning.]
Lanyin understood, interpreting: [Darling, you’re amazing! Even though you have amnesia right now, just a tiny little smile is enough to make the other person feel warned! The other person immediately doesn’t dare to speak anymore!]
Shi Yu was amused by Lanyin’s words, and he couldn’t resist pressing Zhou Ji further.
“Hm? Why did you stop talking?”
Zhou Ji’s expression now bore no resemblance to his earlier rebellious and unruly style. The slicked-up, gelled bangs atop his head seemed to sag right along with their owner’s deflated momentum, making him look far less like a rebellious middle-schooler going through a phase.
He replied, “Nothing, it’s nothing.”
Originally, because of Shi Yu’s remarks under the challenge stage yesterday, Zhou Ji had felt somewhat unconvinced and held a grudge.
Yet right now, he found himself completely unable to continue putting Shi Yu on the spot.
Blood hunters were required to wear uniform attire on missions. Dressed in the same simple, streamlined gear, Shi Yu gave off an entirely different vibe.
The minimalist, sharp garments faintly outlined Shi Yu’s slender and graceful figure. The top and bottom were of the same color scheme, secured at the waist by a belt equipped with slots to carry portable weaponry close at hand.
Whether it was his imagination or not, Shi Yu’s hair seemed a bit longer today than yesterday’s short cut.
The curly chestnut locks framed him nicely, lending the young man’s aura an added layer of mature, gentle charm.
Zhou Ji couldn’t bring himself to question him anymore.
Hearsay is false, seeing is believing.
With Shi Yu looking like this, everything he had said just now proved that he wasn’t the kind of person he had thought yesterday.
He must have had his unspeakable reasons.
A sudden wave of realization washed over Zhou Ji, and he firmly trusted his own judgment.
He stammered, “That… it was my problem, I might have misunderstood you earlier.”
Shi Yu looked at him, waiting for the rest of the sentence.
“I mean, on the challenge stage yesterday, didn’t our first batch of people all lose…” Zhou Ji felt rather embarrassed recounting it, knowing full well he had lost quite miserably. “And someone in the audience said we were all too weak. I misunderstood and thought you were the one who said it.”
“Sorry…”
Before Zhou Ji could finish the word sorry, Shi Yu admitted to it.
“You heard correctly, I was the one who said it.” He shook his head and looked at Zhou Ji candidly.
Watching Zhou Ji’s expression instantly collapse into one of the sky is falling, Shi Yu curved his eyebrows with amusement.
Yet Zhou Ji still stubbornly insisted that he must have had some hidden motive.
“Then you probably didn’t mean it, right? You must have”
“No, I did.” Shi Yu’s tone was gentle as he told Zhou Ji soothingly, “I was the one who said it yesterday, and it was simply as it sounded, I just thought everyone who went up on stage was too weak.”
Zhou Ji: “…”
Zhou Ji’s sky truly fell.
With both his own ears hearing it and his own eyes seeing it this time, he had no way to comfort himself anymore.
His expression grew even more complex.
For no other reason than the fact that Shi Yu had said it purely because they were too weak.
In a fit of rage, Zhou Ji flew into a mild rage for a moment.
“But saying things like that is still a bit hurtful.” His voice wasn’t as loud as it had been at the start, carrying a distinct flavor of deflated surrender.
Inside, Shi Yu wanted to laugh out loud, but looking at the other’s overwhelmed expression, he decided to be kind for once.
He pressed his lips together with a hint of apology, “I’m sorry, I didn’t think too much about it at the time.”
Zhou Ji’s already weak tone grew even weaker, his neck turning red as he wished he could slap himself for running his mouth.
“No, no, no, it’s not your fault, you didn’t say anything wrong.” He waved his hands frantically back and forth.
“I really am too weak…”
Shi Yu widened his eyes in surprise; Zhou Ji had completely abandoned his rebelliousness.
Instead of attacking others, Zhou Ji simply engaged in endless self-reflection.
It looked as though Zhou Ji still had something he wanted to say, but Zhou Qi cut him off.
She speechlessly told her younger brother to shut his trap, “Do you even know why you were allowed to come?”
Zhou Ji: ?
Wasn’t it because his perseverance had moved his older sister and she believed in his capabilities that she let him come?
The literature Zhou Ji loved reading most was about the tropes of never bullying a young man for being poor; he believed that even though he was weak now, he would surely grow strong one day.
Zhou Ji:
Alas, a single calm sentence from Zhou Qi shattered that illusion completely.
“It was because Wen Si told me yesterday that he wanted to bring Shi Yu along, and I figured Shi Yu would be quite bored by himself during our mission. Since you’ve been pestering us endlessly about joining this mission anyway, bringing you along was just a matter of convenience.” Zhou Qi delivered a heavy, realistic blow with absolute nonchalance. “Consider it killing two birds with one stone.”
A matter of convenience.
Killing two birds with one stone (though he was just tagging along as an afterthought).
Struck down by his own biological sister, Zhou Ji’s initial high-spirited excitement had already been replaced by the shattering of his heroic dreams.
So much so that even aboard the ship sailing toward Mermaid Island, he remained completely silent.
The exact location of Mermaid Island was unknown even to the blood hunters. Just as rumors claimed, the island’s precise coordinates seemed to shift constantly. Although blood hunters went on this training excursion every year, the Mermaid Clan always dispatched their own people and vessels to escort them.
This time was no exception.
The dock location provided by the mermaid was secluded, with very few ships ever departing from here, clearly showing it had been abandoned for a long time.
From afar, Shi Yu spotted a figure standing at the dock.
No, it was a mermaid.
With pale cyan fish tails and refined, handsome features, he waited quietly at the pier.
“You’re here.”
Upon seeing them, the expression on the mermaid’s face instantly became lively.
The vessel behind him wasn’t large, but it was more than spacious enough to accommodate all of them.
Although the mermaid kept a smile the entire time, he didn’t introduce himself by name; he simply instructed them to board the ship.
The expressions of the several blood hunters remained impassive.
Shi Yu turned his gaze toward Wen Si, their eyes meeting as Wen Si read the question in his eyes.
Shi Yu: “Do they not get along very well?”
Wen Si curved his lips. “Mermaids have an innocent nature. To protect them, the clan rules of the Mermaid Clan often teach them to converse less with strangers when outside, and not to get too familiar with strangers—it’s considered the most direct method to minimize their risk of harm.”
Shi Yu understood now, thinking this method was rather similar to the demands parents place on young children when they go out.
As the gangplank of the ship was lowered, the blood hunters walked up one by one. Hawk stood guard by the gangplank, his deep green eyes watching them quietly.
Once everyone was aboard, he pulled back the gangplank and told the mermaid steering the ship that they were ready to depart.
Shi Yu gave Hawk a careful, sidelong glance the eyes of the Mermaid Clan truly came in many colors.
Though Hawk’s fish tail was pale green, his eyes were a deep shade of green. While they lacked the cold, heavy weight of top-grade emeralds, they made up for it by possessing a bit more vivid spirit compared to an emerald’s chill.
Recalling what Lanyin had said previously, Shi Yu believed it. There was a very high chance he had offended the High Priest of the Mermaid Clan simply because he mentioned wanting to paint his eyes.
Gazes were very easy to perceive.
Lost in his own thoughts, Shi Yu didn’t notice Hawk moving closer toward him.
“Hello.” Hawk looked at him with burning intensity. “I am Hawk.”
Recovering his wits, Shi Yu followed suit, “Shi Yu.”
Hawk’s eyes shone brightly. Regardless of gender, the physical appearance of the Mermaid Clan was exceptionally striking.
Thus originated the ancient legends of sirens mesmerizing humans.
Hawk’s expressions were very easy to guess. He looked at Shi Yu with absolute sincerity, his mouth moving as if he wanted to say something, yet no words came out.
He looked like someone desperately racking his brain to come up with a topic of conversation.
Shi Yu went along with it smoothly, asking unhurriedly, “Were you also the one responsible for picking up the blood hunters who headed to Mermaid Island last year?”
“Mm-hmm.” Hawk’s pale green fish tail dragged behind him, the tip of his tail unable to contain its swaying from an angle Shi Yu couldn’t see.
When mermaids were happy or excited, their tails couldn’t help but express it.
From Shi Yu’s perspective, he couldn’t see Hawk’s tail, but he could sense that Hawk was in a very good mood.
Following that, Shi Yu said to Hawk with a look of eager yearning, “I’ve heard the scenery on Mermaid Island is breathtakingly beautiful; I’ve always wanted to go take a look.”
Hawk had finally arrived at a topic in his wheelhouse, vividly describing the scenery of Mermaid Island to Shi Yu, thrilled that Shi Yu shared an appreciation for it.
He wished the ship would arrive immediately so he could take Shi Yu to see the very scenery he had just described with his own eyes.
Though the ship wasn’t large, it had two decks.
The front of the second deck featured a railing resembling an observatory platform, ideal for people standing there to overlook the scenery and navigation conditions.
At this moment, Wen Si was standing right there.
A salty sea breeze swept past, fluttering the hem of his trench coat. Compared to Shi Yu, he wore an extra gray windbreaker jacket, his tall and straight posture standing at the absolute highest vantage point of the vessel.
His cold, stern features appeared even deeper and more profound right now, his gaze sinking heavily onto a spot on the ship. From his vantage point, he could see directly behind Hawk.
He twitched the corner of his mouth with a chilling lack of warmth.
Not much of a conscientious mermaid at all.
The Mermaid Clan taught them not to easily trust strangers, yet this green mermaid hadn’t listened to a single word of it.
With an obscure, unfathomable look in his eyes, Wen Si let out a soft sneer as he watched the two of them chatting so happily.
Hawk?
Wagging his tail like that where does he look like a mermaid?
Heh, like a dog.