Chapter 11: The Call
A heavy scent of blood lingered in the dim seabed. The red coral reef was stained crimson, and a shark carcass, nearly half a person’s height, lay across it. The cross-section had even been hollowed out, its organs removed. A bloody hole gaped in the mangled flesh, revealing the stark white bones within.
For the Marshal of the Empire, who had fought in wars for years, this level of gore was hardly even considered bloody.
But for Deng Xi, who kept his distance from creatures like sharks and had never considered them as food or enemies, this was no less than waking up to find his long-time neighbor suddenly dead! And the murderer had even dumped the body at his doorstep!
How outrageous!
How despicable!
Deng Xi was so scared his eyes turned red. He sobbed, “The creature that killed the shark, do you think it’s targeting us? The next body, body, won’t, won’t it be us?” His thoughts ran wild as he rambled incoherently, “Little Mute, should, should we move? Leave, leave this place.”
After speaking, he sniffled.
The true culprit of this bizarre case fell silent, his body tense. Si Jisheng tentatively reached out and patted Deng Xi’s back.
Don’t be afraid.
The sharp butterfly bones pressed slightly against his palm. Si Jisheng, who had studied every part of the human body to quickly dispatch enemies and was all too familiar with the skeletal structure, instantly simulated in his mind Deng Xi’s beautifully lined, almost perfect spine. The texture was incredibly smooth.
Out of gentlemanly conduct, Si Jisheng’s touch was very light.
The calloused pads of his fingers brushed across his back like a feather, causing Deng Xi to tremble uncontrollably due to a physiological stress response.
The tremor between their flesh was clearly felt by Si Jisheng because they were pressed so tightly together. He instantly froze.
Deng Xi buried his head against Si Jisheng’s shoulder blade, not daring to look outside. The moment he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with images of the shark’s gruesome death. He mumbled through his sobs, “Don’t touch me, we’re, we’re discussing serious business.”
“The big guy who killed our shark neighbor must be very, very scary! We must move! Immediately! Right now!”
Deng Xi mustered his courage, raised his head resolutely, and looked directly at the silver-tail.
The next moment, he met the silver-tail’s gaze, which gestured downwards.
His line of sight froze. In the dim lair, their tails were tightly intertwined, their scents mingling indistinctly. The sensation of scales rubbing against scales was extremely real.
Whether for Jiaoren or mermen, the tail was undoubtedly their most sensitive organ. The bright silver tail was cool to the touch and held rigidly straight, while the gradient blue tail was wrapped around it as wantonly as a snake’s.
The blue Jiaoren’s body temperature was slightly higher than Si Jisheng’s. The cold seawater and the lingering chill of the night seemed to be melted by it.
He closed his eyes, suppressing the instinct to flick his tail.
Otherwise, if Deng Xi were thrown off, his fate would be exactly the same as that of the miserably dead sharks from last night.
And then Deng Xi belatedly realized,
They were mating.
Deng Xi slowly looked down, and what met his eyes were his and the little mute’s tightly intertwined tails.
Tightly! Intertwined! Tails!!!
Deng Xi’s eyes widened in shock, and he immediately tried to release his tail.
But wrapping it around was easy; letting go was difficult.
The scales were pressed tightly together. If Deng Xi wanted to pull away, it meant that every scale on Si Jisheng’s silver tail would rub against the reverse scales of his blue tail as he slid away.
Deng Xi braced himself and pulled away, little by little.
He didn’t speak, and Si Jisheng couldn’t speak. The only sound in the dark lair was the scraping of scales, utterly silent.
The seawater was clearly cold, but Deng Xi felt like his whole body was burning. Heat seemed to be rising from his face, and a pink flush spread from his cheeks to the corners of his eyes.
The moment he pulled away, Deng Xi flicked his tail fin as if shot from a spring and retreated to the entrance of the lair. He lowered his head, deeply reflecting on his rogue-like behavior, and said in a small voice, “I’m sorry.”
“I was just too scared just now, I didn’t mean to.” Deng Xi was one step away from raising four fingers and swearing an oath. “Little Mute, I absolutely, absolutely have no intention of courting you, believe me.”
Courting?
Mating was indeed the way Jiaoren courted each other.
Si Jisheng curled his fingertips, about to rub them, but then remembered the sensation from just now and paused.
Si Jisheng nodded then shook his head, indicating that he believed him and it was okay.
Deng Xi breathed a sigh of relief. “Then where should we move?”
Si Jisheng shook his head again.
No need to move.
They swam out of the lair. Deng Xi followed closely behind Si Jisheng, grabbing the silver-tail’s forearm. He tentatively pointed with his other hand. “It’s right there.”
Si Jisheng lowered his gaze to look at the hand Deng Xi was using to grab him. His fingertips were white from the force. Having reached a certain level of fear, Deng Xi no longer cared about the lingering embarrassment from just now; his eyes were filled with panic.
Si Jisheng had already seen the shark carcass. The carefully selected gift had become a source of fear. The blue Jiaoren was simply too timid.
Si Jisheng removed the hand Deng Xi was using to clutch him and gestured with his eyes for Deng Xi to stay put.
The silver-tail approached the half-carcass with a blank expression, grabbed the shark’s tail, and swam into the distance, throwing it into a deep-sea abyss far from the lair.
Deng Xi’s fear finally subsided a little, but the thought of moving hadn’t died.
Living without a fixed abode in the sea, changing lairs several times a year, was perfectly normal. In the past, without the little mute, Deng Xi would also often look for new lairs. He wouldn’t stay in one sea area for a long time.
Deng Xi enjoyed the feeling of swimming freely to various places in the sea. He would make many new friends and migrate with the warm ocean currents, finding a suitable place to live before the cold winter arrived.
Before finding a new lair, Deng Xi would find a smooth reef on the surface of the sea and fall asleep under the stars and the moon.
Now that the murderer had killed his way from the neighboring sea area to his, of course he had to run away before the murderer laid hands on them!
The little mute had just recovered from his injuries; he couldn’t get hurt again. He was already so pitiful.
He and the little mute were the weakest, lowest of the low in the ocean, unable to defeat anyone. Although Deng Xi had ways to save his own life, if necessary, it was better to run away quickly.
Deng Xi returned to the lair and looked at the shells he had collected since settling in this sea area, the edible seaweed he had stored, and the large shell he used for sleeping.
“I searched for a long, long time to find this shell. It was very, very heavy when it was alive. I dragged it for a long, long time to bring it to the surface, let it leave the seawater, and die naturally.” Deng Xi pointed at the red coral he used for decoration. “And then I worked very hard to drag it back to the lair.”
The culprit who had forced them to move listened silently. He picked up Deng Xi’s small shells and threw them into the large sleeping shell, stuffed the stored seaweed inside, and put all of Deng Xi’s other miscellaneous little treasures in as well. Then, to Deng Xi’s astonishment, he easily lifted it with one hand.
Finally free from having to carry the heavy shell himself, Deng Xi’s eyes instantly curved into a happy smile. He cheered, “Let’s go!”
Deng Xi swam to the surface, his blue tail fin appearing and disappearing in the water. He swam happily in the sea, and a merman’s low hum sounded without warning, echoing throughout the entire sea area and spreading outwards.
The waves surged, the sea breeze caressed, and the sea surface glittered with golden light.
Just by listening, one could feel the joy.
A spontaneous moving trip, with no prior preparation, no plans. It sounded out as unexpectedly and freely as the merman’s low hum.
It was completely different from Si Jisheng’s perpetually meticulous life and work, a very novel experience.
Deng Xi’s call, emitted through the merman’s low hum.
It soon received a response.
A cry that pierced through the sea and struck the heart sounded in an instant, responding to the merman’s low hum.
It was a whale’s call.
Si Jisheng recognized it. Unlike humans, Jiaoren could hear it clearly.
Deng Xi’s low hum traveled through tens of thousands of kilometers of sea, deep and ethereal. The whale’s calls responded ceaselessly, a stunning miracle that could only occur in the ocean.
Si Jisheng was the closest, experiencing the charm of the sound firsthand.
Do Jiaoren also have this ability?
Si Jisheng touched his own throat. He tried to learn Deng Xi’s low hum in his mind, but he couldn’t make any sound, not a single syllable.
He sighed softly.
A long, long time passed before Deng Xi stopped his call and turned to the silver-tail. “I’ll take you to find it.”
The merman and the whale rushed towards each other and soon met successfully.
“Ta-da—” Deng Xi patted the huge head of the blue whale. “This is my partner, Big Whale.”
Whenever he needed to migrate, Deng Xi would call upon the whale clan and make a trade. He would help them clean the barnacles off their bodies, and the whales would carry him to a new sea area. As for food on the way, they would find some small fish and shrimp in the water spouted by the whales.
It was mutual help between friends.
“Now, it’s your partner too.”
Deng Xi took the silver-tail’s hand and placed his palm on Big Whale’s head.
Si Jisheng controlled his strength and patted it very lightly.
Deng Xi’s eyes curved into a smile. “It would be great if you could call them too.”
Author’s Note:
Can’t talk? No problem, let’s sing!
Marshal: Yes, I am the weakest, most pitiful.
