Chapter 26: Heat
Having spent some time recuperating at the bottom of the sea, Chi Xiasheng’s immediate priority was to adapt to his new identity as quickly as possible and learn how to live with a fishtail.
Wen Shu was naturally very enthusiastic and began to teach him everything, including how to swing his fishtail and how to maintain his balance while swimming…
Chi Xiasheng was like a baby learning to walk, following Wen Shu’s instructions one by one.
Wen Shu was incredibly patient, her tone several degrees gentler than when she was with Wen Nian.
Watching Chi Xiasheng practice obediently, Wen Shu even took out a pen and paper, wanting to capture the moment of her cub learning to walk. Unfortunately, the paper and pen were ruined too quickly in the sea. Wen Shu could never finish a complete drawing before the paper was soaked into pulp.
Although Chi Xiasheng practiced diligently, his fishtail felt like another creature entirely. Even though it was attached to him, it was completely out of his control. Every time he wanted to swing left, the tail would disobediently flick up. When he wanted to swim straight up, it would start thrashing about wildly.
Learning to swim was harder than learning to walk. He really wanted to grab his own fishtail and give it a good beating to make it listen.
Wen Nian laughed heartily on the side. After all, he was a carp. From the moment he was born, swimming was like an instinct ingrained in his bones. He could swim fast and well without being taught.
Wen Shu also didn’t know why Chi Xiasheng was so bad at swimming. She could sense that this little merman had many secrets, but she didn’t mind. Every fish had its own little secrets, and she would give him the space he needed.
After a few days of learning, although Chi Xiasheng’s swimming was still clumsy and he often veered off course, bumping into corals or schools of fish, he was finally able to swim independently.
Just like when he first learned to walk, a sense of joy welled up in Chi Xiasheng’s heart. He swam a little too fast and couldn’t stop, crashing headfirst into the silt on the seabed.
The little crabs hiding in the silt were startled and scurried away.
Wen Nian, on the side, laughed heartily as he pulled Chi Xiasheng out.
Chi Xiasheng sat on a rock and shook the mud from his head. The sea was full of water, so he didn’t have to worry about getting dirty.
Wen Nian was still smiling as he looked at the crater Chi Xiasheng had made.
Chi Xiasheng’s face flushed red from his laughter, and he bit his lip in embarrassment.
“It’s okay, you’re already making great progress.”
Wen Nian swam over again and grinned at him.
Chi Xiasheng couldn’t help but smile back.
After spending a few days together, Chi Xiasheng found that he was easily infected by Wen Nian’s perpetually cheerful personality. He was like a small flame, approaching you without any malice, making you feel his infinite warmth and drawing you closer.
Being with a fish like this, there was no pressure at all. It seemed as if you were always immersed in joy.
After Chi Xiasheng finished his practice, Wen Nian, seeing that Wen Shu had gone to collect shells and hadn’t returned, secretly took him to a new place he had discovered.
Wen Nian had never been to this sea area before, so everything was new and fresh to him. He was constantly looking around curiously and discussing everything with Chi Xiasheng.
This time, the place Wen Nian had discovered was a small island not far from them.
The small island was truly small, so small that there was only one coconut tree on it. When a huge wave came, the roots of the coconut tree would even be submerged in the water.
But today was a calm day, and the small island revealed its full appearance. It was only a few meters long and wide, almost entirely covered with sand and small green crabs.
Wen Nian led Chi Xiasheng to poke their heads out of the sea and pointed to the small island. “Look, look, I found this. There are so many crabs on it. And there’s an ugly thing on that coconut tree, but I don’t know what it is.”
Chi Xiasheng followed his gaze to the coconut tree and found that the “ugly thing” was a coconut.
“That’s a type of fruit. It seems to be ripe now.”
Wen Nian asked curiously, “Fruit? My mom says fruits are sweet, but I’ve never had one.”
Chi Xiasheng felt a little sorry for Wen Nian, who had never eaten fruit. Thinking that the coconut was ripe, he decided to just pick it and let him have a taste.
Hearing that Chi Xiasheng was going to pick the coconut, Wen Nian was the first to raise his hand in agreement.
Wen Nian excitedly swam to the edge of the small island and then, to Chi Xiasheng’s surprise, his fishtail transformed into a pair of fair, long legs. He climbed out of the water and stood on the small island.
“You… you can grow legs?”
Chi Xiasheng enviously and curiously poked Wen Nian’s calf with his finger.
Wen Nian nodded as if it were a matter of course. “Of course, I’m an enlightened little carp. I can not only grow legs, but I can also turn into a fish head!”
Unlike a merman, Wen Nian, as a koi fish who had cultivated hard to take human form, could switch freely between his fish and human forms.
With that, Wen Nian transformed his head into a fish head for Chi Xiasheng.
Seeing his appearance, Chi Xiasheng felt a mix of emotions. Anyone who saw a creature with the upper body of a golden-red carp head and the lower body of two bare legs would probably be repulsed.
But Wen Nian seemed to be very fond of this look. With a fish head, he ran to the coconut tree and kicked it a couple of times.
Chi Xiasheng couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He felt that if he didn’t stop Wen Nian, he might have a nightmare tonight.
But before he could call out to him, he saw a person being washed up on the other side of the island by the waves.
Chi Xiasheng was startled and retreated a little. Then, seeing there was no danger, he swam over to see if the person was dead or alive.
Fortunately, although the person’s face was pale, his chest was still breathing faintly.
Chi Xiasheng gave him first aid, pressing down hard on his chest a couple of times, successfully making him spit out a couple of mouthfuls of seawater.
By now, Wen Nian had the coconut in his arms and was wondering how to eat it when he saw Chi Xiasheng pounding on someone’s chest and quickly ran over.
“Xiaxia, is he a bad human? Why are you hitting him?”
Chi Xiasheng explained that he was saving him. Wen Nian said, “Oh,” and after thinking for a moment, he also hit the person’s chest with the coconut.
The person, who had just regained a little consciousness and was about to open his eyes, was hit in the chest by a large coconut and successfully fainted again.
Chi Xiasheng: “…”
“What’s wrong? Did I do it wrong?”
Wen Nian looked at Chi Xiasheng innocently, feeling that he had done a great job helping to save someone!
“You used a coconut… never mind. Can you change back first? Your fish head is hurting my eyes,” Chi Xiasheng said, rubbing his forehead.
Wen Nian looked at his reflection in the nearby seawater and thought he looked quite intimidating, but he still followed Chi Xiasheng’s suggestion and changed back.
Looking at the handsome red-haired boy, Chi Xiasheng instantly felt much better.
“So what do we do now?”
Wen Nian also squatted next to the drowned man, holding his face and asking Chi Xiasheng.
Chi Xiasheng had originally just planned to give the man first aid, whether he could be saved or not was up to fate. But he never expected that he had saved him, but not completely.
That coconut from Wen Nian probably broke a few of the man’s ribs.
Chi Xiasheng felt very guilty, but there was nothing he could do. After all, there were no doctors on the sea.
“There are,” Wen Nian quickly said.
Chi Xiasheng looked at him. “Really? Is it also an enlightened animal?”
Wen Nian shook his head. “No, can’t you heal people?”
Chi Xiasheng’s reaction was even more dazed than Wen Nian’s. After thinking for a long time, he finally remembered that a merman’s spiritual energy could not only control all things but also had healing properties.
“But… I’ve never used it…”
Chi Xiasheng didn’t even know if he had such a thing as spiritual energy. After all, he was an “abnormal” merman.
Wen Nian scratched his face, not knowing what to do either.
The two silly fish sat on the small island, letting the wind blow for a while. Not coming up with any good ideas, they slipped back into the sea.
Wen Shu saw the two of them return from their secret escapade but didn’t say anything, continuing to weave her cloth.
The cloth in her hands was woven from the silk of a jiaoren, very soft and smooth, perfect for a small blanket.
Chi Xiasheng lingered by her side for a while before he couldn’t help but ask, “Auntie Wen, how do you use a merman’s spiritual energy?”
Wen Shu’s hands paused. After thinking for a moment, she simply put down the cloth and demonstrated for him.
Her red fishtail gently curled up, spinning twice in the seawater. Her slender arms stretched out, and she began to sing softly.
Her waist-long red hair floated with the current. In the specks of light formed by Wen Shu’s spiritual energy, which glowed like red light, countless sea creatures came and accompanied her.
For a merman releasing spiritual energy, all things could be attracted to her, willing to dedicate everything to her.
Chi Xiasheng watched this scene, his eyes filled with shock. He felt that no words could describe the sound of Wen Shu’s singing. It was too gentle and beautiful. Even though there were no lyrics, just a simple hum, it sounded like heavenly music.
He thought, No wonder it’s difficult for mermen to have offspring. If a race with such cheat-like abilities appeared in droves, the whole world would probably bow at their fishtails.
Wen Shu only sang for a few seconds before her spiritual energy was somewhat depleted. She stopped releasing it and shooed away the small fish surrounding her.
“How was it? Did you understand?”
Wen Shu’s voice was as soft as ever. As if afraid that the cub wouldn’t be able to learn and would be disappointed, she added, “This is actually very difficult to learn. Although singing is the most common way for mermen to release spiritual energy, there have been mermen in the past who couldn’t open their mouths at all.”
Chi Xiasheng felt that Wen Shu was treating him like a baby, afraid of hurting his confidence. He smiled helplessly and nodded. “I understood a little. I’ll try it when I get a chance.”
Wen Shu praised him encouragingly, her eyes filled with pride, as if Chi Xiasheng hadn’t just understood a little, but had already learned everything.
The cub I raised is the best!
Wen Shu continued her work with a gratified heart.
Night fell.
When the moon was bright, you could also see a golden moon floating on the surface of the water from the bottom of the sea.
Chi Xiasheng lay on the small shell bed, looking at the moon on the sea surface above, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
If it were half a year ago, he would never have thought that he would have such a strange encounter after falling into the sea.
These days at the bottom of the sea were actually the most comfortable and peaceful time Chi Xiasheng had had in his twenty-odd years of life. Even when he was with his parents in the Su family, he had never felt so warm.
Now, thinking of the Su family, Chi Xiasheng was not as sad as when he had first woken up. Perhaps the wonderful world in the sea had washed away the sadness in his heart, immersing him in novelty every day and leaving him with little mood to spare for those people.
After thinking for a while, Chi Xiasheng sat up and, seeing the two mermen on either side of him already asleep, he slowly got out of bed.
With a flick of his fishtail, he swam gently towards the small island he had seen during the day.
Poking his head out of the sea, Chi Xiasheng looked at the full moon in the sky and thought, Is it the fifteenth today? The moon is so big.
Looking at the moon from the sea, it felt as if the entire sky was within reach, and the stars seemed to be only an arm’s length away, so beautiful that one could get lost in it.
Chi Xiasheng looked at the person lying on the small island, frowned, and swam for a while before he mustered the courage to try to speak.
He had returned here partly because he didn’t want to see a living person get into trouble over a coconut, and partly because he wanted to see if he really had spiritual energy.
Although Wen Shu had repeatedly assured him that he did, he wouldn’t be sure until he tried it himself.
Imagining Wen Shu’s appearance this afternoon, Chi Xiasheng also seemed to feel a warm current slowly flowing out of his body, as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring, the warmth flowing through his limbs.
As his voice fell, some blue rays of light, like silk threads, wound out and, following their master’s will, entered the body of the unconscious man on the island.
Chi Xiasheng felt what Wen Shu had described. As his spiritual energy drained, he also felt tired and quickly stopped.
But what he didn’t see was that half of the blue light was still lingering around him, and was eventually frantically absorbed by a small, not-so-bright ball in his body.
At the same time, in Hai City, Sheng Sheng, who was recovering from his internal injuries on his balcony, opened his eyes.
He felt the presence of his Demon Core, and it seemed to be infatuated with something, so much so that the other half of his Demon Core also became hot. And that half of the Demon Core seemed to have been repaired by something. The warmth was directly fed back to Sheng Sheng, and his internal injuries healed a lot.
This change was too strange. Sheng Sheng frowned and thought for a while, then simply leaped down and, at an extremely fast speed, headed for the seaside.
When Cheng Heng woke up in a daze, he saw the silver-plate-like full moon above his head.
His gaze moved slightly, and then he saw a scene that he would never forget for the rest of his life.
A merman with a silver-blue fishtail leaped out of the sea and then fell back, splashing up several drops of water. The other’s fishtail was like a jewel flowing with brilliant light, so beautiful that Cheng Heng couldn’t take his eyes off it.
The huge moon behind the merman cast all its light on him, making Cheng Heng feel as if he had accidentally entered a fantastical and magnificent world.
But soon, his strength could not support him to stay awake, and he quickly fainted again.
When Sheng Sheng arrived at the seaside, he felt the presence of his Demon Core getting stronger and stronger. He took his yacht and followed the direction where the Demon Core had disappeared.
The yacht driver had already driven at the maximum speed in the middle of the night. After nearly an hour, they arrived at a sea area in the south.
“Hey, CEO Sheng, there seems to be a person on that small island.”
The driver’s vision was still excellent in the dark. He saw the small island that could barely be called an island and pointed it out to Sheng Sheng.
Sheng Sheng naturally saw it too and felt that his Demon Core had just been here!
His fingers tightened. Sheng Sheng felt that that person was very likely to be Chi Xiasheng. He suppressed the restlessness of the Demon Core in his body and quickly had the driver go over.
Arriving at the small island with hope, Sheng Sheng carefully helped the person up. But when he looked down, he saw a completely strange face.
Sheng Sheng’s face instantly became darker than the sea under the night sky.
He let go of the other with a cold face, and the person’s head hit the ground with a loud thud.
The driver saw Sheng Sheng’s rough action and his head also throbbed with pain. He swallowed and said, “Um, CEO Sheng, he seems to be from the Cheng family.”
The driver thought of the news a few days ago about the Cheng family’s younger son going missing by the sea and felt that this person was most likely Cheng Heng.
Sheng Sheng’s expression was indifferent, and he replied with an uncaring “hmm.”
Then, he unwillingly searched the island again but still found no trace of Chi Xiasheng.
It shouldn’t be. The Demon Core clearly disappeared here…
Sheng Sheng, having found nothing, had to leave with the driver first, taking Cheng Heng with him.
This trip had yielded nothing, and he had even brought back a burden. Sheng Sheng was in an extremely bad mood.
But the sad Cheng parents, upon learning that their son had been rescued, were overjoyed and rushed to the seaside that night to thank Sheng Sheng.
Sheng Sheng was impatient to deal with them and waved his hand, leaving in a very bad mood.
The Cheng parents were so grateful to Sheng Sheng that they almost burned incense and kowtowed to him. How could they care about his bad attitude?
But when Cheng Heng woke up and saw his parents, he murmured, “…merman… so, they really exist…”
“What’s wrong, son? Don’t scare Dad. Are you hungry? I brought you your favorite porridge.”
Cheng Heng shook his head. “Dad, I was saved by a merman…”
Father Cheng, hearing his son talk about a merman under the moonlight, just thought he was possessed and quickly called a doctor to examine him.
“Doctor, quick, quick, my son is having hallucinations!”
Chi Xiasheng had only swum halfway when he saw Wen Nian also swimming back.
“Niannian? Why are you here?” Chi Xiasheng asked in confusion.
Seeing that he had been discovered, Wen Nian also stopped and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Mom was afraid something would happen to you, so she asked me to follow you. Um…”
“Don’t be angry…”
Wen Nian had been well-educated by Wen Shu and knew that it was impolite to spy on others. His face flushed a little.
Seeing Chi Xiasheng looking down and not saying anything, Wen Nian also panicked.
“Xiaxia, I didn’t do it on purpose. I just… just… um, thought you weren’t safe on your own…”
Wen Nian had lived at the bottom of the sea for a hundred years. Besides Wen Shu, he had hardly ever seen any other enlightened little fish. He was always lonely, swimming around by himself.
It wasn’t until this month, when Chi Xiasheng arrived, that he finally had someone to share things with. He was no longer talking to himself, and he could always see Chi Xiasheng’s figure when he turned his head.
Wen Nian was very afraid of losing this only friend of his, and a sense of panic suddenly rose in his heart.
“Xiaxia, do you think I talk too much? I’m always chattering like this. Mom even says I’m so annoying…”
Chi Xiasheng opened his mouth. His heart felt as if it had been soaked in hot water, suddenly softening and filling with emotion.
“No, I think you’re very cute.”
Chi Xiasheng’s eyes curved slightly, as if they had captured the moon in the sky, brimming with a crystal-clear light.
Seeing that Chi Xiasheng wasn’t angry, Wen Nian let out a huge sigh of relief.
Chi Xiasheng almost laughed at him. “But next time you want to follow me, you have to tell me. I won’t refuse you.”
Wen Nian nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. “I was going to tell you, but Mom said you might not want other fish to know…”
With that, Wen Nian smiled shyly. “I even shooed away the other fish, afraid they would disturb you.”
Wen Nian puffed out his small chest, as if he had done something great, very proud.
Chi Xiasheng thought to himself, No wonder it was different from when Wen Shu released her spiritual energy. I didn’t see any animals being attracted. So it was because of this little helper, Wen Nian.
This feeling of being protected and cared for by someone behind the scenes was really so touching.
Chi Xiasheng blinked, trying hard to hold back his urge to cry.
“Thank you, Wen Nian. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have known what to do.”
Wen Nian grinned and swam back with Chi Xiasheng.
But after swimming for a while, he suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh no, I forgot something. I didn’t bring back that ugly coconut!”
The two of them turned back to find the coconut they had left behind during the day.
Fortunately, the coconut hadn’t been washed away by the waves. Wen Nian happily went ashore and picked it up.
Chi Xiasheng poked his head out and looked at the human who had disappeared from the island, looking around strangely.
He couldn’t have been washed away, right?
I hope he was rescued by a passing ship, Chi Xiasheng thought with a frown.
“The moon is so big today!”
Wen Nian drank the coconut juice from the hole Chi Xiasheng had made, his fair feet dangling, feeling that he also had a bit of a literary temperament.
“Today, could it be the Mid-Autumn Festival?”
As soon as Chi Xiasheng finished speaking, Wen Shu, who had come to find them, answered him.
“‘It can change the human world, a transcendent jade capital.’ The last time I celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival was more than twenty years ago.”
Wen Shu said with emotion, making both Wen Nian and Chi Xiasheng open their mouths in surprise.
“Mom! What was that jade… what capital you just said? I don’t understand.”
Wen Nian felt that what Wen Shu said was more profound than his own words, which made him feel very uncultured.
“It’s an ancient poem. I’ve taught you many. I really don’t understand, Wen Nian, is your brain full of seawater?”
Wen Shu shook her head and gently scolded Wen Nian a few times, feeling that raising this son was very tiring.
She looked at the beautiful little blue merman sitting under the moon and wished she could switch with Wen Nian and have Chi Xiasheng as her own son!
The IQ of a koi demon was really worrying, and he wasn’t even good-looking. Just looking at him made her angry. If it were Chi Xiasheng, at least looking at his exquisite face would make half her anger disappear.
The three fish watched the moon for a while and then swam back.
This was the first Mid-Autumn Festival that Chi Xiasheng had not eaten mooncakes.
But he thought coconut juice was also good, even more fragrant and sweet than the mooncakes he had eaten in previous years.
Just as Chi Xiasheng was thinking that he would be happy to live like this for the rest of his life, his heat suddenly came.
