Chapter 32: The Pearl Left in the Sea
Cloud-like white smoke wrapped around their feet, carrying a hint of coolness. In the streets and alleys, every household opened their windows, craning their necks to watch this rare spectacle.
The singing voice contained a magical power; it miraculously smoothed away Yan Cheng’s violence and settled everyone’s minds.
The little black snake at his waist became restless.
Feng Shi took down the bottle and released him, just as before.
The little black snake leaped into the white smoke, like a fish entering water, and swam swiftly in a certain direction.
Feng Shi exchanged a glance with Xiao Yuhui. Xiao Yuhui nodded, staying behind with Cao Ni, while Feng Shi followed closely.
Winding through several crisscrossing long streets, Feng Shi was startled to find himself at the guillotine.
The sound of the little black snake’s quiet sobbing drifted over. Feng Shi waded through the damp mist and saw him coiled around the mother flood dragon’s body, nuzzling his head affectionately against his mother’s tightly closed eyes.
The mother flood dragon’s corpse had been exposed to the wind and sun in the city for several days. It had become dried and shriveled, appearing terrifying, but the little black snake wasn’t afraid at all, continuing to rub against her intimately.
This scene was truly unbearable to watch.
Feng Shi took a deep breath. Just as he was about to step forward, a figure suddenly walked out from the thick fog behind the little black snake.
He immediately drew his sword with vigilance, staring unblinkingly at the figure.
A point of hazy orange light dispersed through the halo of mist.
The melodious singing drew closer and closer to Feng Shi, and that blurred figure gradually became clear, transforming into a man with a human form and a fish tail.
He had exquisite features, blue hair draping over his shoulders, and eyes as deep blue as seawater. He looked at Feng Shi with a gentle expression.
“Thank you for helping me find release.”
The singing came to an abrupt halt. The man opened his lips, stopping in front of the mother flood dragon.
Feng Shi looked at the person before him who closely resembled a mermaid. He was dumbstruck for a moment before asking after a long while, “Are you… the little black flood dragon’s father?”
The man nodded gently. He raised his hand, and the little black snake immediately climbed onto his wrist.
Feng Shi noticed the bamboo lantern in his hand; it was the exact same one as before.
The man also noticed his gaze and smiled. Then, without any warning, he handed the lantern over, saying, “I’ll give this lantern to you.”
Feng Shi’s heart tightened, and he hurriedly waved his hand to refuse. “No…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the lantern was already in his hand. The scorching heat inside seemed to spread from the handle to his entire body.
The man seemed unwilling to say more. He untied the mother flood dragon’s corpse, gazed at it for a moment, and then asked Feng Shi to help bury them.
Feng Shi agreed. He pursed his lips, looked up at this family of three, and then fixed his gaze on the little black snake in the man’s hand. He asked with difficulty, “You… are taking him with you?”
The man nodded again, smiling faintly. “Sorry to trouble you.”
After speaking, he turned around without lingering.
It was at this moment that Feng Shi noticed someone else hiding behind him.
It was a young girl with round eyes and a pair of small dragon horns on her head. She was staring at Feng Shi ignorantly. When she realized her peeping was discovered, she immediately showed a shy expression, held the man’s hand, and nervously hid in his embrace.
Feng Shi was stunned for a moment, then the breath held in his chest suddenly smoothed out.
The figures of the three dissipated into the mist, like a dream.
With the man’s departure, the singing faded into the distance, and the fog in Linyu City receded like the tide along with them.
Everything returned to normal.
The story Feng Shi wanted to know remained unasked in the end.
【Congratulations Host! Obtained an Important Item!】 As soon as the three left, Qingqing popped out immediately.
Feng Shi looked at the ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated lantern in his hand, dazed again. “Important item?”
【Congratulations Host on obtaining the item: — Mermaid’s Heart.】
Hearing this, Feng Shi’s heart suddenly skipped several beats. He looked down abruptly; the temperature coming from the lantern in his hand seemed to instantly become scalding hot.
【Item activated. Now officially releasing the Main Mission:
Main Mission Content:
Collect items (expand to view specific content) to repair Shen Songhe’s Golden Core, help him regain his youthful glory, ascend to the peak, and change his destiny of being a “doormat.”
Current Mission Progress: 10%
Current Item Inventory:
①: — Mermaid’s Heart
Details Note: The scorching heart of a mermaid contains powerful energy. It is an eternal fire that never extinguishes. It can be used to reforge a cultivator’s body and can also assist in body tempering cultivation.】
Feng Shi couldn’t recover from the shock for a while, standing blankly on the guillotine platform where the two skeletons lay, giving no response.
Qingqing had to continue: 【Host, detected item memories. Do you wish to decipher them?】
Feng Shi came back to his senses. After thinking about it, he understood what this Mermaid’s Heart carried. But since it contained someone else’s memories, it was inconvenient for him to pry, so he said, “Just summarize it for me.”
【Okay, Memory Deciphering: 10%
Summary Content:
The mermaid and the black flood dragon met in their youth, understood each other, and fell in love. However, the black flood dragon was mentally incomplete from a young age and had impure blood. She was not a match for the mermaid in social status, so they were opposed by everyone.
For the black flood dragon, the mermaid was forced to leave his tribe and make a home in a freshwater pool.
The two had a son.
The mermaid, having left the tribe, had no support and was hunted by demon cultivators in the sea. The demon cultivators used unscrupulous means to snatch the Mermaid’s Heart. To protect his wife and child, the mermaid left the cave dwelling alone and was unfortunately surrounded and killed for his heart.
But the Mermaid’s Heart had long been hidden by the mermaid inside a lantern, so the group of demon cultivators returned empty-handed.
From then on, the mermaid became a wandering ghost. Because his divine soul was incomplete, he forgot the past and only knew he had to find someone, wandering through Linyu City with a lantern all day long.
It wasn’t until decades later that he was discovered and used by Yan Cheng, made into a Dead Puppet. But at the same time, because of his obsession, he still retained some of his own consciousness and never stopped searching.】
The story interpretation ended here.
Feng Shi recalled the previous details, and a picture instantly flashed in his mind:
A man with a hollow expression carrying a bamboo lamp in the unmanned deep night, looking from house to house, searching from door to door, looking for his wife and child, looking for his past.
He hummed a gentle and soft song, standing long before windows, raising the lantern to gaze, longing to wake the sleeping people with his singing.
Once found, he would hold them in his hand and cherish them, hiding them in the uninhabited deep forest.
The scorching heart shone eternally on the people he cherished.
It was just a pity that fate was unkind.
Feng Shi sighed one last time and stored the bamboo lantern into his account.
Note regarding the story reference: The original text quotes Notes from the Hut of Close Scrutiny (阅微草堂笔记) by Ji Yun. The excerpt describes a giant holding a lantern. Original Text: “遥见林外有火光，漸移漸近，比至瓜田，乃一巨人，高十餘丈，手執竹籠，大如一間屋，立團焦前，俯視良久。” Translation: “From afar, I saw firelight outside the forest, moving closer and closer. When it reached the melon field, it was a giant, over a hundred feet tall, holding a bamboo cage as big as a room in his hand. He stood before the hut, looking down for a long time.”
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