Part 3
Ouyang Xiaoli let out a low laugh, twirling a small knife in his hand as he slowly approached. “How about this? You give yourself another slash on the face, just like a few years ago, and I’ll let you go. What do you say?”
He feigned a sudden realization. “Oh, and don’t forget the special name.”
Ouyang Xiaoli’s lips curled. “Dog son.”
Hu Lao’er’s heart burned with hatred. Finally, he spat out, “Don’t push me too far!”
Ouyang Xiaoli’s smile vanished. He stopped, staring at Hu Lao’er. “Push you too far? Hu Lao’er, you have the audacity to say that?”
“I can’t even count the number of people you’ve pushed too far. There are five right here, and with all the others…”
Ouyang Xiaoli pretended to think, even counting on his fingers. “I bet they could circle the entire Underground City, couldn’t they?”
Hu Lao’er was silent.
Ouyang Xiaoli dropped his hand, his playful mood gone. His eyes were like ice. “Fine, you don’t have to say it. Leave a finger behind as collateral.”
There was no way Hu Lao’er would agree. He couldn’t beat Ouyang Xiaoli years ago, and now Ouyang was even more terrifying.
Dammit!
He didn’t want to lose a finger!
A glint appeared in Hu Lao’er’s eyes. He pressed the dagger deeper into the merman’s neck, a thin line of red trickling down.
He decided to gamble. “I said, let me go, or he dies by my—”
Before he could finish, something flashed before his eyes. He blinked, and then saw something fall to the ground.
Plop.
It was his finger.
The dagger fell with it. Hu Lao’er screamed, writhing on the ground in agony. The mermen in the cage were terrified.
Hu Lao’er glared at Ouyang Xiaoli, reaching for the fallen dagger.
A foot kicked it away.
It had all happened too fast. Hu Lao’er had no more leverage. He knew he had to run.
This man was a monster. His fighting style was unlike anything he’d ever seen, but he knew it was deadly.
Dammit!
Hu Lao’er fled.
Ouyang Xiaoli didn’t pursue him. Once Hu Lao’er and his lackeys were gone, he went to unlock the mermen’s cage.
They cowered together, still wary of him.
Ouyang Xiaoli didn’t need their trust. He looked at the descaled merman on the floor. His body was a mess of raw flesh and blood.
The man frowned.
He had come to the North Zone alone, without Tang Si or Xiao Mo.
He couldn’t stay here long. Hu Lao’er had only brought a few men this time, but if he came back with hundreds, even Ouyang Xiaoli couldn’t win against those odds.
It would be too draining.
As he was debating what to do, a figure scurried out from a dark corner. Ouyang Xiaoli turned, on alert.
It was a rather scholarly-looking young man, who approached timidly. “Y-you’re the boss of the East Zone, right? I’ve seen you before. I-I can take care of these mermen.”
“Who are you?” Ouyang Xiaoli stared at him.
The young man summoned his courage. “My name is Liu Yu. I work at the North Zone merman breeding facility. I saw Hu Lao’er buy so many mermen at once and got worried, so I followed him…”
He had witnessed Hu Lao’er’s cruelty firsthand. The memory made him shudder.
“Oh,” Ouyang Xiaoli said.
He glanced at the five black mermen. They looked at Liu Yu with a hint of familiarity. Ouyang Xiaoli relaxed slightly, believing him for now.
“Where are the other mermen?”
That was his real reason for being here.
It was one thing for Hu Lao’er to abuse his own mermen, but to dare and abduct those from the East Zone was a direct challenge.
And it probably wasn’t just the East Zone. The other two zones had likely lost mermen as well, but their leaders just hadn’t noticed yet.
Liu Yu shook his head blankly. He had overheard some of the conversation and knew that mermen from the East Zone were missing, but he had no idea where they were.
“I wasn’t asking you,” Ouyang Xiaoli said dismissively.
Liu Yu rubbed his nose. “Oh.”
The black mermen looked at each other. Finally, the bravest one spoke up.
“W-we were locked in a dark place. There was a lot of water.”
“How many mermen were there?” Ouyang Xiaoli asked patiently.
The merman wasn’t very bright. He struggled with numbers, frowning and counting on his fingers for a long time before looking up sheepishly.
“Lots and lots.”
Ouyang Xiaoli’s heart sank. Lots. He hoped it wasn’t what he was thinking. What was Hu Lao’er up to, capturing so many mermen and descaling them?
“Can you remember any distinct features of that place? Be as specific as you can.”
But that was asking too much. A fish’s memory was notoriously short.
Remembering this much was already a feat.
They were, after all, the lowest class of black mermen.
Meanwhile, Xia Yi’s brow was furrowed. Just now, he had felt another pulse, a special frequency that only mermen could understand.
It was a cry for help.
Keda was cradling the pot of soil, mourning his plant, when he noticed the little merman’s pained expression. He quickly put the pot down.
“Xia Yi, what’s wrong?”
Xia Yi’s eyes were closed, his lips pressed tight. He was receiving multiple frequencies. There were dozens of mermen, all crying out for help.
“Save us.”
“It’s so dark, I’m scared.”
“It hurts.”
“My scales are gone.”
“Sob, it hurts so much.”
“What do we do?”
…
Xia Yi let out a sob, clutching his chest. “I don’t know,” he said, his expression pained.
He felt like he had to do something. The frequency gave him a vague sense of direction, pulling him toward them.
He looked up toward the distance.
Keda was terrified. “Don’t scare me. If you’re not feeling well, we should tell the boss.”
Xia Yi stood up. “I have to go somewhere. My people are waiting for me to save them.” His usually chubby, cheerful face was completely serious.
Keda had never seen him like this before. A sense of unease settled in his stomach.
“L-let’s tell the boss first.” Keda tried to message the boss, but he couldn’t get through.
Panic began to set in. He looked up at Xia Yi, only to see him expertly use his psychic power to open the door, walk out, and close it behind him.
“!!!”
I can’t let him go alone. The thought screamed in Keda’s mind.
He acted before he could think, dashing out the door a second after Xia Yi. He knew if anything happened to the little merman, he would be held responsible. He couldn’t face the boss if Xia Yi got hurt.
Xia Yi was too fast. By the time Keda caught up, they were already outside the East Zone. He was alarmed but didn’t dare to stop.
If he stopped, he’d lose him.
“Xia Yi, slow down!” Keda yelled, sweat pouring down his face.
He didn’t even know why Xia Yi was running to the North Zone, or what was drawing him there.
Xia Yi stopped.
Relieved, Keda rushed forward and grabbed his slender arm. “I finally caught you! Xia Yi, let’s talk about this calmly. Don’t be impulsive. Let’s wait for Boss Ouyang to get back…”
“Keda-gege.” Seeing him, Xia Yi’s brow furrowed. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
Keda was speechless.
Little master, I was afraid you’d run off! You were scaring me half to death!
Xia Yi tried to push him away. “No, you can’t be here. It’s dangerous.”
Keda’s voice rose. “If it’s dangerous, why are you here? Listen to me and come back with me!” He reached for the little merman’s wrist.
Xia Yi dodged him. “No.”
His face was a mask of conflict. He didn’t know whether to go forward or turn back. With Keda-gege here, he couldn’t let him get into danger.
“Keda-gege, you have to go back.”
“If you don’t go back, I won’t either!” Keda was just as stubborn. He wasn’t a coward.
Xia Yi was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. The cries for help from his people were getting stronger, but Keda-gege refused to leave…
What should he do?
If only Ouyang were here.
The Ouyang he knew was all-powerful. There was nothing he couldn’t do. If Ouyang were here, he wouldn’t be so conflicted.
“Xia Yi.”
A low voice cut through the air.
Xia Yi whipped his head around, his eyes wide with disbelief. It was as if his thoughts had just materialized.
Ouyang Xiaoli strode toward them, his brow furrowed more tightly than ever before.
“What are you two doing in the North Zone?”
Xia Yi hesitated, but then told Ouyang about the mermen’s cries for help. Last time, he had kept things from Ouyang to avoid worrying him, but this was different.
Ouyang would know what to do.
“Keda, take him back.” Ouyang Xiaoli’s face was grim. “I’ll investigate the merman situation in the North Zone. Xia Yi, it’s too dangerous for you here.”
The man from the breeding facility had told him that Hu Lao’er had been buying up mermen lately, clearly planning something.
It was too dangerous for Xia Yi to be here.
But Xia Yi was not happy. “I’m not afraid. I have my psychic powers.”
Ouyang stared at him. “Can you guarantee they’ll work without fail? What if they stop working, like when you were in the sea?”
Xia Yi froze.
Wh-what did that mean? Did Ouyang know he hadn’t had his powers back then?
“If you could use your powers precisely, you wouldn’t have been caught in my net,” Ouyang Xiaoli said, then turned to Keda. “Take him back. I’ll handle the mermen.”
“But you don’t even know where they are!” Xia Yi’s face flushed with anger.
Ouyang Xiaoli didn’t know the exact location, but he could find it. It was only a matter of time. Xia Yi had told him about the frequency, and he knew it would be a faster way to find them, but he wasn’t willing to risk it. He wouldn’t let Xia Yi walk into an unknown danger.
“You said you’d protect me. With you here, nothing will happen to me,” Xia Yi said, his voice trembling, his eyes welling up with tears.
Ouyang Xiaoli looked at the little merman.
“I don’t know why they’re all calling out to me. They say it hurts, their scales hurt, and it’s dark and they’re so scared they could die,” Xia Yi choked out.
“I don’t want to hear it either, but I just… I can.”
If Xiao Ya had been there, he would have recognized this scene from a book he had read in the library. It described the Merman King, and how his people would cry out to him in times of danger. It was a sign of their reverence and admiration for their king.
They were praying for their king to save them.
And as the chosen king, he was not supposed to let his people down.
Xia Yi’s heart ached.
Far away, in the Silver Sea Empire, a young man resting in a man’s arms opened his eyes. He frowned, clutching his chest.
Song Cheng Bing asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Xia Ni shook his head, his lips pressed together. He felt a strange tightness in his chest, a sense of impending doom. He looked off in a certain direction.
He couldn’t hear anything.
Although his psychic powers were strong, he could only pinpoint the location of prey. His connection to his own kind had always been very weak.
What was happening?
After a moment, Xia Ni turned to Song Cheng Bing. “Has anything been happening in the Silver Sea Empire lately?”
Song Cheng Bing thought for a moment. “The Zerg situation is mostly under control. They’ve suffered heavy losses, so they won’t be back for at least two months.”
The tightness in Xia Ni’s chest remained.
Could it be… something had happened to Xia Yi?
Recommended Reads
![[Esports] I Started an Online Romance with a Big Shot After Retiring](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/esports.jpg)
