“Was my tone affectionate enough?” The silver-haired wizard gathered his expression and turned back to his previous indifferent look. “I tried my best.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
The silver-haired wizard continued, “If the relayed words are correct and this was the original message the Diamond Bird Lord left you, then the content of this sentence is too ambiguous.”
“Master, have you had any dealings with this Lord?”
Bai Lixin: “……”
“Why don’t you say anything?” The silver-haired wizard closed in on Bai Lixin, squeezing him into a narrow, shadowy corner, his cold, brooding silver eyes gazing at the youth, “Master.”
An invisible pressure slowly grew from the wizard’s body, and although the temperature around them was warm and comfortable, Bai Lixin felt a biting chill.
When the man opened his mouth to speak, a little bit of frost even spilled out of it.
The air around Bai Lixin’s quickly condensed, and the silver-haired wizard’s eyes were tinged with a hint of frost.
He looked at the man’s change and tentatively touched the man’s wrist. His fingers trembled as soon as his fingertips touched the other person; his skin was so cold to the touch.
He looked down and saw that Dijia’s hands were covered in a layer of white frost, like the frost at the top of a snowy mountain that could not melt for a thousand years.
Bai Lixin: “What’s wrong with you? You don’t seem right.”
The man froze at Bai Lixin’s question. He looked around him with a frown and then down at his wrists before he slowly tucked his arms into his cloak and lowered his eyes to Bai Lixin’s feet, his gaze a little evasive: “I’m sorry, I was just curious about the diamond bird.”
“I was rude.”
The cold and gloomy feeling completely faded away. He looked up at the blue ocean in the distance and the sea birds wandering on the surface and asked earnestly, “Should we look for a place to stay first?”
Bai Lixin surveyed the abnormal silver-haired wizard in silence, “Yes, lead the way.”
Not everyone in this seaside city had faded skin, and as he walked along, Bai Lixin found that the number of faded and non-faded people was about 50/50.
The silver-haired wizard said very little. He walked in silence; only his slightly pursed lips revealed that something was on his mind.
This seaside city should be considered an economically developed area with a large population, and several people were coming and going through the small street.
They looked somewhat numb, and although Bai Lixin and Dijia were dressed somewhat out of place, they did not attract the slightest strange glance.
After the two of them had walked for about seven or eight minutes, Dijia stopped in front of a three-story tavern.
There was a plaque hanging above the tavern, and the beer pattern on the plaque stood out.
“Here we are,” Dijia pushed the door open, and the wind chimes immediately rang out, “Let’s stay here for now.”
Bai Lixin’s eyes swept back imperceptibly, only to be blocked by the silver-haired wizard’s figure.
The man lowered his head to Bai Lixin’s ear and whispered in a voice only two people could hear, “Don’t look back.”
Bai Lixin locked eyes with the man, and he stepped into the tavern without saying another word.
The tavern owner was a bald man with a large belly, and the colour of the man’s skin had all faded away, his bloodless body was wrapped in red clothes, looking somewhat abrupt and eerie.
Only a few people were sitting in the tavern, and many cobwebs were tangled in the corners of the roof, as if it had not been cleaned for a long time.
When he saw that customers were coming, the bald man just looked at them indifferently and asked, “Are the two guests looking for a place to stay?”
Dijia: “Yes, two rooms.”
The bald man took out his ledger and looked at it, then held out a finger and said, “There’s only one room left.”
“Huh,” Bai Lixin looked around the area before withdrawing his gaze, his eyes landing on the bald man’s head. “The tavern doesn’t look too crowded; how come there’s only one room left?”
The bald boss gave Bai Lixin an irritated glance and said, “There are few people now because they are all out at sea; they’ll come back at night.”
“You came looking for mermaid flesh and treasure too, haven’t you? This tavern is the only one in town that still has empty rooms, and if a customer hadn’t died yesterday, you wouldn’t have a place to stay. So do you want the room or not?”
Bai Lixin and Dijia looked at each other, and Dijia silently took the money pouch from his waist, took out two silver coins from it, and placed them on the counter. “Two nights, we’ll renew the rent in advance if we’re still staying.”
The bald man glanced at the silver coins and stretched his fat hand out, “Not enough, one night is two silver coins, two nights is four silver coins.”
“Don’t think it’s expensive, ever since the legend about the mermaids spread, our place has been full of people. If you don’t stay, there are plenty of people who want to.”
The bald man’s eyes twirled mechanically in their sockets twice as he spoke, “We’re not begging for guests, and I’m too busy to clean up.”
The silver-haired wizard gave Bai Lixin a look and silently took out two more silver coins from his money pouch.
As the boss indifferently took the silver coins, Bai Lixin tried to get more information from the NPC: “Boss, what’s the mermaid legend?”
Boss: “Recently, the young lady of the Haitai family turned into a mermaid on her eighteenth birthday.”
“At that time, it scared the Haitai family’s madam, but although she was scared, she is Mr. Haitai’s only child after all, so she didn’t dare do anything At first. But shortly thereafter, a tsunami occurred at sea, and Mr. Haitai was shipwrecked. Miss Haitai had no one to support her, so she rented out the mermaid to a circus at a high price.”
“The mermaid show attracted a lot of customers, but curiosity eventually fizzles out.”
“And Miss Haitai wasn’t a mermaid every day; she only became one intermittently. So it wasn’t long before the circus ran out of business again and returned the mermaid to Mrs Haitai.”
“That would be the end of the story, but one day, people noticed that Mrs. Haitai was suddenly a dozen years younger. She looked even younger and more beautiful than her two daughters.”
“People asked her about the reason for her youthfulness, and she was stumped and refused to tell anyone.”
The bald man paused, his stiff face twitching at his cheeks as he slowly twisted his head away from Bai Lixin and Dijia and looked in the direction of the doorway.
The next second, the door of the tavern was pushed open, and half a dozen down-and-out men covered in dust and wretchedness came in cursing and swearing.
Bai Lixin glanced at the men as they found a large table, tossed aside the sailing tools in their hands, and sat down on the stools in a bold manner.
One of them lifted his leg; the dagger at his waist had a few pieces of minced flesh and eyeballs sticking to it.
The boss put down the abacus in his hand and walked over, stiffly tugging at the corners of his mouth as he rubbed his hands together and asked, “You’re back at last, did you find anything on this voyage?”
The best-dressed bearded man of the seven looked up, his dark, cold eyes sweeping over the boss, “No shit! I’m beginning to think that the legends aren’t true.”
The bearded man wore a pirate hat on his head; one of his hands had turned into an iron hook; and one eye was covered in a pitch-black blindfold.
Bai Lixin noticed the man’s gaze; although he had lost one eye, the bloodlust in the other was obvious, and a glance showed that the man had been killing for a long time and had a lot of blood on him.
“Boss,” a man with a limp leg next to him spoke up, “you can’t say that, although we didn’t find the legendary treasure, we found some other treasures, especially on that cruise ship…”
The bearded man immediately glared at the crippled man and said, “Shut up!”
The crippled man immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly shut his mouth.
The bald man was sensible, he didn’t continue to ask. The pirates simply ordered some food and drinks and feasted on them.
“Boss, Mrs Haitai became younger, what happened afterward?” When the bald man returned, Bai Lixin continued the conversation he had just had with him.
The bald man kept glancing at the group of pirates and replied absentmindedly, “Later, someone followed Mrs. Haitai, slipped into her house, and found her sneaking into the basement.”
“And guess what that man saw?” The bald man’s numb black pupils suddenly turned back to look at Bai Lixin. His eyes lit up so suddenly, and his tone became excited.
Bai Lixin: “He saw Mrs. Haitai eating the mermaid, right?”
The bald man laughed, “You’re a good guesser. Seeing as you’re so pretty, you must be a beautiful snake like that Mrs. Haitai.”
“You guessed right, the man disassembled parts of Miss Haitai hanging on the wall, and her distinctive blue tail was placed on the table and sliced into sashimi.”
“For every slice of raw fish Mrs. Haitai ate, one wrinkle disappeared from her face.”
“That’s how Mrs. Haitai got younger!” The bald man’s eyes widened in excitement, his two huge eyeballs looked like they were almost falling out as his voice rose in excitement, “As long as you eat mermaid flesh, you can rejuvenate and live forever!”
“Mermaid flesh! Just eat mermaid flesh and gain immortality! This is something that many people can only dream of!”
Bai Lixin frowned at the bald man in front of him. The man had entered a state of madness, his lax pupils and expression made it seem like he had taken some kind of hallucinogenic poison and entered some kind of hallucination.
“Fuck mermaid flesh!” The bearded pirate suddenly slapped the table and roared, “Damn, I was tricked by the legend of mermaid flesh. This man tells this story every time a guest comes. Then tell me, why did this Mrs Haitai die?”
The sudden slap woke up the self-paralyzed bald man, his expression drifted for two seconds before returning to its previous numbness. “Mrs. Haitai is missing.”
Bai Lixin: “???”
Bald man: “Everyone broke into the Haitai house the next day, but the house was empty. Mrs. Haitai, her two daughters, and even the mermaid corpse in the basement were gone.”
“All of the valuable gold and silverware in the Haitai house was gone. Everyone went through the boxes for a long time, eventually finding a string of writing written in blood under the bed of the little mermaid.”
“That’s what reinforced the legend for everyone.”
“It must be that Miss Haitai knew that Mrs. Haitai was going to harm her and left this message. Mrs. Haitai probably awakened some power after eating the mermaid flesh, discovered the actions of the town’s inhabitants in advance, and escaped.”
“So it’s the power of mermaid flesh!”
Bai Lixin spoke up to call out to the tavern boss, who had almost fallen into a frenzy again, “What was the message left by Miss Haitai?”
“In the skeleton nose zone at the heart of the sea is an ancient mermaid palace. In the palace, there are endless treasures and the heart of a mermaid that can grant any wish.” The bearded man spoke coldly, “I have been to the center of the sea these past three months and have been out to sea a dozen times. Not to mention the zone with the skeleton’s nose, I have never even seen a skeleton.”
“I asked where Mrs. Haitai is, and all you can say is that she’s missing. Are you playing with me?”
The bald man looked at the bearded man and said, “Why would it be called a legend if it’s so easy to find? And it’s a mermaid’s palace, of course, it’s even harder to find, if everyone could find it, it would have appeared long ago, don’t you think so, guests?”
The last words were addressed to Bai Lixin and Dijia.
Bai Lixin was staring at the abacus on the counter in a daze at the bald man’s call. He looked up in a trance, his eyes blank, “What?”
The bald man: “I mean, eating mermaid flesh can lead to immortality. I would die without regret if I could get a piece.”
The abnormality on Bai Lixin’s face passed in a flash as he glanced at the bald man, “So here’s the question, if the mermaid has hemorrhoids and it so happens that a piece of hemorrhoid is taken from her and given to you, would you eat it?”
Bald man: “…”
Crowd: “…”
Dijia: “…”
Bai Lixin coughed lightly and continued in earnest, “And there was already something wrong with this oath of yours, you said earlier that mermaid flesh would lead to immortality. You also said that you would die without regret after getting a piece. You can’t even die after eating mermaid flesh, so how can you die without regret? Do you know why you can’t see mermaid flesh? Because your heart is not sincere, you can’t even swear properly.”
“Then ……” the bald man looked at Bai Lixin hesitantly, “how can I swear the right way?”
Bai Lixin cupped his chin and suggested very sincerely, “You should say this: if I could eat a piece of mermaid flesh, I would be willing to die by a thousand cuts.”
The bald man nodded vigorously, “Yes, yes, yes, that’s what I’ll say next time then.”
______________________________
In the live broadcast room.
[This boss’s brain doesn’t seem to be working too well.]
[One dares to speak, and one dares to listen.]
[Then the question arises, would he eat hemorrhoid or not?]
[God Xin’s question contains some wisdom.]
[I’ve listened to this story seriously, but I only have one feeling. The mermaid girl is so pitiful, her mother died in labor, her father died in a shipwreck, and her stepmother is making money from her, not to mention killing her and eating her flesh.]
[It’s really one wrong step at a time, and I don’t know where it all went wrong. The mermaid was supposed to become a princess and live happily ever after with her prince.]
[Come on, do you know why all fairy tales end here? Because further on, it’s not a beautiful fairy tale, it’s a desperate reality. Once reality gets involved, it’s not a happy life anymore.]
[Come on, they’re the future king and queen. Even if they fall out of love in the future, they’ll still be better off than ordinary people, so don’t worry about them.]
[A thin camel is bigger than a horse, that’s the truth.]
[So could the intruder be Mrs. Haitai? With her position in the Haitai family, it would be easy to harm the Mermaid and Mr. Haitai. And the fact that she was able to disappear unnoticed afterward is not something that ordinary people can do in itself.]
[It’s not impossible, but …… let’s look further down the road. But I always make wrong guesses; I’m a little unconfident. ]
[Brother, be confident. Take out the “a little” and the “un”]
_________________________________
“Why were you in a daze earlier?” The silver-haired wizard pushed open the door to the room, and a musty smell immediately hit his nose.
The man instantly frowned and quickly drew his magic wand and swept it around the room, immediately replacing the dirty bedding in the room with new ones.
Bai Lixin was happy. “Dijia, this room is not worth the money; we spent money and helped the tavern owner change the bedding to brand new ones. He didn’t earn it”
Dijia’s silver eyes fell on Bai Lixin’s back, “Consider it payment for the information he gave us.”
This bedroom was on the third floor, with the window facing the sea. There was also a large European-style brass telescope by the window, which looked like it had been left behind by the previous tenant.
Bai Lixin walked over to the window and looked through the telescope towards the distant shoreline, where at the end of his line of sight were a few tiny boats bobbing on the sea.
“You asked why I was in a daze; I was thinking about that prophecy about the mermaid’s treasure.” Bai Lixin moved the telescope as footsteps came from behind him, and the moment the telescope was turned, a flawless face suddenly appeared in the telescope’s frame.
Bai Lixin calmly held up the telescope and examined the magnified features, the fine soft hairs of the other man’s face visible.
Disapproval flashed in the silver-haired wizard’s eyes, “You want the mermaid’s treasure too?”
Bai Lixin: “The sea, has always been the most mysterious zone. Unlike the sky, where you can see the end at a glance, the sea is vast and deep. Since ancient times, adventurers and navigators have gone back and forth to explore the sea, so there is no reason why I should be interested in it.”
The silver-haired wizard stepped forward and took hold of the telescope, bringing it over and setting it aside.
“If it is the sea that interests you, there is nothing wrong with that, but if it is the treasure that interests you, that is a different story,” the silver-haired wizard said indifferently. “Treasure is often a cloak for a trap, just as a hunter always places a tempting bait on the edge of a trap when hunting, so is treasure. In many cases, it is just bait for hunting greedy prey.”
“There are so many holes in what the tavern boss just said, he just said someone saw it, but who exactly was the individual who saw it?”
“Was the writing hidden under the bed really left by Miss Haitai? And where did her corpse go? And how did Mrs. Haitai and her daughters disappear overnight?”
