Raindrops pattered heavily against the surface of the sea. After being pelted in the face by the rain for a while, Li Leyou finally couldn’t take it anymore and dove underwater.
Even in the water just beneath the surface, she could still hear the muffled sound of the rain, like listening to rainfall through a window.
This was the first heavy rain she had experienced since becoming a mermaid.
The shallow waters around the rocks became murky during weather like this, making it difficult to catch fish.
She hadn’t eaten anything today, and yesterday she had only eaten a few shells and a small fish.
But she was already used to going hungry for a while and then eating whenever she managed to find food.
After all, when you were hungry, you couldn’t exactly order takeout. You had to catch something yourself—and fish weren’t exactly easy to catch.
Not every crack between the rocks contained spotted fish. Even with her homemade fish spear, net, and other crude tools, she didn’t succeed every time.
In fact, she failed much more often than she succeeded.
Going hungry wasn’t unfamiliar to Li Leyou.
After starting college, whenever she had no morning classes and was too lazy to get out of bed for breakfast, she would usually just lie there scrolling through her phone while enduring her hunger.
And if she stayed in her dorm during the holidays without a roommate bringing her food, she went hungry even more often.
Although she was hungry now, Li Leyou simply floated in the seawater, patting her stomach as the waves gently carried her up and down.
She had absolutely no intention of looking for food.
Fishing wasn’t suitable today.
Because she was in a bad mood.
Why was she in a bad mood?
The gloomy weather made her homesick, and there was no one to talk to.
Yesterday, she had actually started talking to her food.
There was a flat-bodied, black-and-gray fish with long fins. No matter what Li Leyou said to it, it merely opened its mouth and stared at her with lifeless eyes that seemed to gleam eerily.
There was also a scallop that provided slightly better emotional support.
It suddenly swam past her, catching her attention.
Scallops moved by repeatedly opening and closing their two shells with little claps.
Li Leyou followed it.
Whenever she said something, the scallop would go clap, clap, almost as if it were applauding her.
That gave Li Leyou a little comfort.
In the end, the scallop had very little meat, but it tasted pretty good.
The only thing missing was garlic and vermicelli.
“If this keeps going, am I going to develop some kind of mental illness?” Li Leyou muttered to herself.
Actually, there had been several times when she almost called out to Lao Mu on her own.
But every time, she gave up because she was still angry with him.
A faint rumble of thunder came from above the water.
Li Leyou suddenly surfaced and wiped the rain from her face, looking toward the distant clouds that had gathered heavily across the sky.
It looked very similar to the day she had first arrived here.
If I get closer, could I travel through time and space again?
The moment this thought appeared, a faint sense of hope rose in Li Leyou’s heart.
Without hesitation, she left the shore where she had been living for several days and swam toward the storm clouds over the sea.
As she got closer, she discovered a large ship on the water.
It was an enormous sailing ship of a very old design.
And then she saw someone she hadn’t seen for several days.
Lao Mu.
Everything seemed to be repeating the day she had first traveled to this world.
Except this time, Anla was there too.
Anla and Lao Mu appeared and disappeared among the waves nearby as they watched the ship.
Through the wind and rain, despite the crashing waves, Li Leyou could clearly hear someone shouting from the ship:
“It’s the sea demons! They’re here!”
The voice carried both fear and excitement.
Amid the commotion, someone shouted:
“Wait until they get closer! Get the nets ready!”
It was strange.
They were clearly some distance away, yet Li Leyou could hear everything perfectly.
She even thought she could hear Anla’s mocking, contemptuous laughter.
Beneath the deep rumble of thunder, the mermaids suddenly began to sing.
Their voices were long and peaceful, yet they summoned violent waves.
Anla raised his hand and called forth a storm, while Lao Mu stirred up enormous waves.
Together, they crashed against the large ship.
“Anla” meant “storm at sea” in the mermaid language, while “Lao Mu” was associated with raising waves. Their names seemed almost perfectly matched to their abilities.
Their supernatural powers were exactly what humans imagined when they thought of sea demons.
In the ocean, they seemed almost omnipotent.
But once they reached land, they could only be at the mercy of others.
Li Leyou suddenly remembered something.
Years later, in Lao Mu’s castle, there had been an afternoon when her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had secretly looked through records about Lao Mu’s life.
She remembered one particular passage.
On a sheet of paper filled with the weight of history, it said that several hundred years ago, there had been a period known as the “Golden Age of Treasure Hunting.”
During that era, mermaids were treated as the gold of the sea, attracting countless “treasure hunters.”
Their beauty, long lifespans, extraordinary abilities, and rarity all became reasons for humans to covet them.
At the time, many people believed that mermaid blood and flesh could cure illnesses and even extend human lifespans.
People became obsessed with hunting mermaids.
One ship after another sailed into the ocean, carrying treasure hunters who dreamed of becoming rich and obtaining eternal life.
Later, Lao Mu had said in an interview that he had led his people away from the ocean and onto land precisely to prevent them from being hunted, while also putting an end to the meaningless deaths on the human side.
“Humans and mermaids are the same. We possess the same emotions. I don’t hate humans. I have always been curious about and fascinated by the human world. The land can become our second home.”
Because of this speech, Lao Mu became known as a “Peace Ambassador,” moving countless people.
And yet, at this very moment, this future Peace Ambassador was doing exactly what Li Leyou had seen him do once before.
Without the slightest hesitation, he summoned a gigantic wave and slammed it into the ship.
The huge vessel was smashed to pieces.
Even Li Leyou, who was nearby, was caught in the wave and thrown through the water.
“Lao Mu, is that person tumbling around in the waves Li Leyou?” Anla asked his brother.
He noticed that Lao Mu was also staring in that direction.
“Mm.”
Other than her, what other mermaid in this ocean had such a dazzling golden tail?
“Why did she come all the way here just to watch the excitement? Forget about her. I’m going into the sea to kill all those humans who fell overboard! Their ships have been coming more and more frequently lately. We have to teach them a painful lesson!”
A fierce glint appeared in Anla’s eyes.
“If you don’t want to watch, you can leave first.”
He knew his brother didn’t like doing things like this.
Lao Mu said nothing.
He simply swam away from Anla.
The waves quickly subsided, leaving only the dark clouds hanging over the sky.
Li Leyou grabbed at a piece of shipwreck floating beside her and then caught hold of a blackened wooden chest.
She was just about to open it and see what was inside when a brown head suddenly surfaced nearby.
It was a survivor who had fallen into the water.
When the man saw her, he froze.
Then his terrified face suddenly lit up with joy.
“A mermaid!”
Oh, right.
I’m also one of their targets now.
Li Leyou finally remembered.
But she wasn’t afraid.
All she had to do was dive deep into the water and swim toward the open sea.
The man was dressed in what looked like medieval aristocratic clothing. He didn’t have any diving equipment.
How could he possibly follow her underwater and catch her?
She had fought a shark with her bare hands.
She wasn’t afraid!
Li Leyou pushed the wooden chest away and quickly turned to swim toward deeper waters.
A scream suddenly came from behind her.
Li Leyou turned around in shock.
She saw blood spreading through the seawater.
And cutting through that blood was a blue-green tail.
Lao Mu had torn the man’s body apart as effortlessly as he had once torn open a fish for her.
He discarded whatever he was holding and swam toward her.
“You came here because you wanted to approach these humans and communicate with them?”
He looked at her.
“Then you’ll be disappointed. They’re all going to be killed.”
Li Leyou stared blankly at the corpse.
“…”
This scene was a little too gruesome for her.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Lao Mu had moved right in front of her.
It was probably the first time he had ever deliberately gotten this close to her.
So close that Li Leyou could clearly see her own reflection in his eyes.
“Li Leyou, do you know something?”
“Compared to a mermaid, you’re more like a human.”
Li Leyou’s heart gave a hard thump.
Seeing that she looked slightly frightened, Lao Mu moved even closer.
“Look at us as though we’re strange creatures. You keep lingering around the shore. Do you want to go to the human world on land?”
“I suspect you grew up in the human world. You’re more familiar with humans and feel closer to them, aren’t you?”
At that moment, Lao Mu was nothing like the innocent, easily deceived young mermaid she had known before.
His eyes were cold and unsettling.
Under his intense stare, Li Leyou suddenly found herself unable to say a word.
“I hate humans,” Lao Mu said.
“I hate everything related to humans.”
Only then did he finally move back a little.
After deliberately frightening her without batting an eye, he suddenly added:
“Mo ye ka ha nie means ‘My one and only beloved. I need you’ in the mermaid language.”
Li Leyou had just managed to find her voice.
She had been about to argue with him about his whole “I hate humans” speech, but his sudden explanation left her completely speechless.
She wasn’t surprised.
In fact, there was a strange sense of I knew it.
Lao Mu seemed to consider the conversation finished and turned to leave.
“Stop right there!”
Li Leyou finally released the breath she had been holding.
“Were you deliberately trying to scare me with what you just said?”
“If my words frighten you, you can choose to leave.”
Lao Mu didn’t even turn around.
Li Leyou immediately became furious.
“You’re trying to drive me away? If you tell me to leave, I’ll leave? Why should I listen to you?”
“I won’t say that phrase anymore. I don’t need you! I’ll never need you!”
Lao Mu turned his head.
“You didn’t need me in the first place. You simply needed someone—anyone—who could help you.”
“It could have been Anla. It could have been any mermaid.”
“…”
“Why are you so annoying?”
Li Leyou was so angry that bubbles continuously escaped from her mouth.
Of course having someone help her was better.
But even if no one helped her, she could survive on her own.
If she wanted to depend on someone, it was because that person was special to her.
Li Leyou pointed at him angrily.
“How do you say annoying in mermaid language?”
Lao Mu stared back at her without saying anything.
After a long silence, he finally answered:
“Kalu…”
“Kalu Lao Mu! Kalu Lao Mu! Kalu Lao Mu! From now on, that’s all I’m going to call you!”
Anla was attracted by the commotion.
He completely forgot what he had been doing and looked curiously at the two mermaids confronting each other.
“Are you two fighting? Is she saying that you’re annoying?”
Then he noticed the corpse nearby and became even more confused.
“You killed him? Aren’t you the one who doesn’t like doing this?”
Lao Mu ignored him.
He simply stared at Li Leyou and angrily said:
“Kalu, Li Leyou.”
Li Leyou exploded.
“Are you crazy? Why are you speaking mermaid language to me? Can’t you just directly say that you hate me?!”
Lao Mu was too angry to think straight.
Upon hearing that, he turned around and swam away.
Even the splash created by his tail was much larger than usual.
As soon as he left, Anla followed him.
Li Leyou slapped the surface of the water hard.
What is wrong with this mermaid?
When they first met, he had been gentle, considerate, and easy to talk to.
Then, before long, he suddenly changed.
His mood was unpredictable, and she could never figure out what was going on in his head.
She had thought that perhaps he became so complicated and emotionally unstable only because he grew older.
But apparently—
He was already like this when he was young!