Chapter 97
Xing Nuo, having bumped into the table leg, shook his head dizzily and pulled himself up, gripping the edge.
He swished his tail, looking at the pile of little merpeople sprawled on the floor, and looked up at Lia.
Lia, who had just gone to get a plate of fish, was now glaring at the young merpeople, her hands on her hips, separating those whose tails were tangled.
“How can you be so careless?! What did the Elder teach you?!”
The little merpeople, knowing they had done wrong, stood in a line, their tails swishing nervously, their heads down.
Lia, seeing their pitiful expressions, sighed and softened.
“Alright, I’ll forgive you this time. But don’t be so reckless next time! We merpeople are the most intelligent creatures in the ocean. We must set a good example!”
The little merpeople nodded eagerly, then, lifting their heads, peeked at the small, golden merman.
A chubby, red merchild was the first to speak.
“Lia, who is he? We haven’t seen him before.”
Lia swam over to Xing Nuo and introduced him.
“This is the little wild merman Oxi found. He’ll be living with us from now on! Be nice to him and help him adjust!”
The chubby, red merchild nodded and swam closer to Xing Nuo, circling him.
“He’s so pretty! His hair and tail are so sparkly!”
A light blue merchild also swam over and touched Xing Nuo’s hair.
“He’s so small! Even smaller than Shui Xin!”
“Is he really a wild merman?”
Xing Nuo, surrounded by the curious little merpeople, swished his tail and hid behind Lia.
Lia, seeing the little merman’s dependence on her, felt her heart melt.
She clutched her chest dramatically and exclaimed, “Oh my, he’s so adorable!”
Little merpeople are always the cutest!
Of course, they become incredibly annoying once they grow up.
Lia took Xing Nuo’s hand and, knowing he couldn’t understand their language, patted his head reassuringly.
“Don’t be afraid, little merman. You must have suffered a lot out there, all alone.”
The other little merpeople also gathered around, their heads tilted, whispering among themselves.
“How did he grow up without a clan or an adult to care for him?”
“He must have hatched from a merman egg!”
“I like his tail! I want to be with him when I grow up!”
Merpeople were naturally drawn to beauty, even the young ones, and they especially liked cute merchildren.
Xing Nuo, still confused, not understanding a word, his eyes filled with bewilderment,
sighed softly and let Lia lead him to the table, where a plate of fish was waiting.
The raw fish had been thinly sliced, like translucent paper, and arranged in the shape of a flower by Lia.
This was a special treatment reserved for young merchildren. When they were older, they would just be given whole fish, no one bothering to slice it or arrange it prettily.
Xing Nuo, not recognizing the raw fish at first, looked at it for a moment, then realized it was food.
He quickly waved his hands, shaking his head politely.
“I not hungry. Dinner I ate…lots of buns…and egg custard!”
Salty vegetable buns and steamed egg custard were his favorite dinner.
Lia, understanding his gestures, tilted her head, puzzled.
“What’s wrong? Are you shy, little merman? It’s okay. Adult merpeople are supposed to take care of the young ones.”
The chubby, red merchild swam over, eyeing the fish longingly, and circled Xing Nuo, describing how delicious it was.
“This is the most tender and sweetest fish! Lia rarely shares it! Try it, little fishy!”
Xing Nuo, listening to their chattering, his face confused, finally understood.
They wanted him to eat.
He hesitated, then, unable to refuse, picked up a thin slice of fish and put it in his mouth.
The tender fish was slightly sweet, without any fishy smell.
Xing Nuo, the picky eater, only realized it was raw fish after he had swallowed it.
“Not fishy!”
His eyes widened in surprise, and he looked down at the plate of white fish, gasping softly.
When Zaizai leaves, Zaizai take this fishy home…for Big Brother and Daddy to try!
Lia, seeing his surprise, patted his head sympathetically and sighed.
“Poor little thing, you must have suffered so much, not even having tasted such delicious fish.”
The chubby, red merchild also swished its tail and nodded in agreement.
“I’m so glad I was born in our clan! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have any yummy fish to eat! So sad!”
Xing Nuo only ate one slice, then shook his hand, indicating he was full.
Although the fish was sweet and delicious, raw fish wasn’t his favorite. One slice was enough.
Seeing that he wouldn’t eat anymore, Lia shared the fish with the other eager little merpeople.
The little merpeople, happy to have the treat, took their plates and swam away, gobbling down the fish.
Xing Nuo, seeing them happy, swam over to Lia and tried to communicate with her again.
But with their different languages, their conversation was a series of misunderstandings.
When Lia took him to the merchildren’s bedroom, thinking he was tired and needed to rest, Xing Nuo sighed.
He wasn’t sleepy!
But Lia insisted, and she started singing, her beautiful voice soothing and calming.
Xing Nuo, who had been quite awake, felt his eyelids growing heavy, and he soon fell asleep on a small bed.
The merchildren’s beds were made of pink shells, lined with soft merfolk silk, a small crystal orb providing light.
The other little merpeople also lined up and went to bed.
The chubby, red merchild pushed his shell bed closer to Xing Nuo’s and snuggled in, satisfied.
The light blue merchild huffed, and, after the chubby one fell asleep, pushed his bed away and moved his own closer to Xing Nuo’s.
He looked at the sleeping golden merman and smiled, then closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Lia, seeing their little interactions, didn’t interfere.
Merpeople valued freedom and individuality. They only intervened when the young ones were in danger of harming themselves.
Lia, having sung the little merpeople to sleep, swam out of the small crystal palace and reported to the clan leader.
“The little merman is adjusting well. The others are also very friendly. I believe he’ll be part of our clan soon.”
The clan leader nodded in satisfaction. “Thank you, Lia. I’m glad you’re taking care of them.”
Lia’s translucent, reddish fins twitched, and she smiled.
“I love taking care of the little ones!”
The clan leader then called for Oxi, the red-haired merman who had found Xing Nuo.
“Oxi, go back to where you found the golden merman and see if there are any other little ones out there.”
He didn’t understand why there would be a wild merman all alone.
But merpeople were a compassionate and united clan, especially towards their young, and they wouldn’t abandon any merchild.
Oxi nodded and, taking his shell knife, swam away.
After Lia and Oxi left, the clan leader and the elder exchanged glances and sighed.
“We must be more careful. We can’t lose any more of our children!”
The elder looked up at the surface and closed his eyes. “There have been human ships appearing lately. I wonder if they’re monsters in disguise.”
Merpeople lived in the deep sea, but they would occasionally venture to the surface to explore and gather information.
They knew there were various monsters on land, and about ten years ago, a new species called “humans” had appeared.
Humans and monsters sometimes clashed, and injured humans would occasionally fall into the sea and be rescued by merpeople.
But humans were cunning, and the naive merpeople, unfamiliar with the outside world, had been tricked a few times, making them wary of humans.
“We won’t interfere in the conflicts between humans and monsters. But we should have Oxi and the others explore more and become stronger to protect our clan.”
The elder nodded, his brow still furrowed with worry.
“I wonder where those humans came from.”
Since their birth in this ocean, the merpeople had known that the world was divided into land and sea.
The land monsters mostly stayed on land, disliking water.
Powerful monsters had established their territories, which humans called “dungeons.”
And the merpeople ruled the ocean.
They had only interacted with one land monster before, the elegant and powerful castle master, trading beautiful flowers with him.
They didn’t know much about the other monsters and weren’t interested in learning more.
As long as no humans came to challenge their territory, they wouldn’t interfere.
