The Player tossed the topic. Little Fish went with the flow.
“Hmph. Here.” He gave her a gemstone scale. “This should suffice as a token.”
The Player happily accepted.
“I’ll turn in the bounty and buy you some clothes on the way—blue? Suits you. Wait for me.”
She was genuinely thrilled and hurried off.
Seeing her happy made Little Fish happy too.
Just then, in human form, he could feign indifference. Otherwise, his tail would wag, betraying him.
Xinglin sat on the ground, swinging his pale, slender legs.
By human aesthetics, these legs should be attractive too, right?
They had to captivate her like his dazzling tail.
He lacked confidence but recalled her rapt stare earlier.
Somewhat reassured, he fiddled curiously with nearby flowers and soil.
Soon, he stood and tried walking alone—each step pristine and steady.
With body integration stage cultivation, he wasn’t some frail youth.
Without Li Yin to steady him, his steps were even surer, no hint of falling.
After walking for a moment, the youth moved with light steps, carrying a graceful and swaying posture. His ink-black hair, deep as seaweed, draped behind him, rippling like waves with his light footsteps.
Once he figured his posture was pretty enough, he gradually grew bored. He removed the cloak that had been covering him and dove back into the water.
The disturbed water splashed noisily as he approached the swimming fish in the lake. Schools of colorful koi gathered around him.
The little fish clustered together, whispering and exchanging information.
This peak was called Illuminating Water Peak, and its master was Elder Yaoguang, who had recently been injured and gone blind.
Piecing together the information from these koi, Xinglin frowned in contemplation.
“Is that so?”
Since he was her master…
Should he go visit or not?
Xinglin hesitated, swimming back and forth in the water as he pondered.
Moreover…
Though his memories were a bit fuzzy, he vaguely remembered that she had kissed him back then.
Xinglin’s eyelashes trembled lightly. Compared to the kiss, he was of course more concerned about what had happened before it.
Bloodline inheritance required him to figure it out on his own, and there were no elders from his clan here to guide him. This little fish had long since thought crookedly.
He never suspected there was something wrong with her contract seal. Instead, he attributed all those intense, inexplicable pleasures to abnormalities caused by his transformation.
In other words, he had gone into heat himself…
He couldn’t blame the human girl for it.
In fact, the girl had even been kind enough to personally take good care of him.
A male cultivator’s first time involved his primordial yang, and the same went for merfolk. His differentiated gender was male.
Hadn’t he just given away his primordial yang directly?
It seemed these human cultivators had a saying that it had to be handed over on the wedding night.
Xinglin suddenly flicked his tail, his face turning red. He flipped through his bloodline inheritance again before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Giving it away directly didn’t count as primordial yang; that could be called essence energy. Leaking it might hinder cultivation.
As for primordial yang, it only counted when exchanged in yin-yang union.
The little fish had just relaxed when he grew tense again.
He began to wonder if her kiss had been real or just a hallucination from his muddled state at the time…
Soon, this little fish lost his patience and didn’t want to think about it anymore.
With his face red, he simply made up his mind. He slapped his tail against the water flow—just treat the kiss as real.
She must like him, which was why she had helped him, hugged him, and kissed him.
The calm lake surface was churned by the restless fish tail, sending ripples across the green water.
Suddenly, the merfolk in the water sensed a vague gaze watching him, faint and indistinct.
The rippling water instantly calmed. Xinglin surfaced, looking around, but saw no one.
High above, in the dappled light and shadows of the mountain forest, a figure faced the lake at the foot of the mountain.
A jade crown bound his hair, and he wore a blue robe as well, but unlike Xinglin’s, it lacked that willful, arrogant youthful air. His demeanor was gentle and refined.
Yao Guanheng stood in the shadows, his mild and soft aura faintly dissipating, inexplicably tinged with the uncertainty and gloom of the interplaying light and shadow.
His gaze swept over that brilliant fish tail, lingering on it for a moment before fixing intently on that beautiful face.
The ink-black hair cascaded like a waterfall or swayed like algae. The pearl on his forehead gleamed translucently, echoing his silver eyes. His frame was slender, his skin clear and translucent, as if condensed from watery moonlight.
Merfolk were always exceptionally outstanding in appearance. This particular merfolk had just reached adulthood, and his looks and figure were already growing increasingly seductive and bewitching.
Demons were mostly like that.
After a long moment, the man lowered his eyelids and turned to leave.
The sense of being watched completely vanished. The little fish in the lake swam around in confusion.
–
The Player was incredibly efficient. She took the token and first turned in the sect’s bounty task.
The task to heal the merfolk’s wounds had gone unnoticed by everyone. Who would have thought someone would suddenly claim it? It probably wouldn’t be long before all the Myriad Beasts Sect disciples knew that the merfolk in the Celestial Pool had been taken.
However, most Myriad Beasts Sect disciples had mild temperaments and focused on self-cultivation. Even if they knew, they would probably just sigh about it without any special reaction.
With the task successfully submitted, the Player went to redeem her rewards. She browsed the Scripture Pavilion carefully and selected a movement technique called Flowing Cloud Steps.
With her current cultivation, if she encountered a demonic cultivator again and couldn’t beat them, she could at least run faster.
【Inventory Items: Mustard Seed Pouch, Messaging Treasure Mirror, High-Grade Defense Cloak, Jade Ecstasy Myriad Methods, Flowing Cloud Steps, Jade Orchid Spirit Dew, Ordinary Flying Artifact, Spirit Crystals…】
Li Yin also picked out a few magic robes and shoes. She chose a blue mustard seed pouch adorned with pearls to store her things and casually bought some other potentially useful items.
On the way back, birds flitted past the treetops, their chirps ringing out in waves. Her steps paused slightly as she tilted her head to listen.
Having contracted with a peacock and a merfolk one after another, she had gained two new skills.
The skill from the merfolk was Water Affinity. The skill from the Little Peacock… allowed her to understand birdsong.
The few small birds flying by seemed to be crying out, “Fight! Fight!”
Li Yin didn’t understand and didn’t pay it much mind, but soon she regretted not turning back right then.
Not far away, a figure had appeared by the water’s edge.
Qing Yi in his azure blue splendor, his layered, ornate tail feathers spread across the grass, their luster flowing and suppressing the surrounding spring colors.
The Little Peacock’s injuries had improved a bit. He didn’t know when, but he had transformed and was now sizing up the merfolk in the lake.
Qing Yi narrowed his eyes, staring at Xinglin’s face before speaking first to question him. “Who are you? Why are you here? I remember this lake was empty before. Who let you in?”
Xinglin flicked his tail. “I was about to ask you the same. Who are you? This peak isn’t your territory. Of course, the master of the house personally invited me in.”
Their voices rose and fell.
Both demons from the Demon Race, though from different lineages, their voices were both exceptionally alluring and pleasant.
The Player’s steps halted.
This was bad.
She had returned at a bad time.
Her movements weren’t loud, but before she could back away, the two confronting each other had already noticed her.
Both beautiful faces turned to her at the same time, almost speaking in unison. “Who is he?!”
Before the words finished, the two glared at each other angrily, then both looked back at the human girl, waiting for her answer.
The Player quickly found her footing.
With her innocent expression, she didn’t panic. She first looked at the Little Peacock. “Is your injury better? Why did you come out?”
She expressed her concern without a hint of guilt, then introduced them to each other. “He’s a friend I rescued from outside. He’s a friend I met in the sect.”
The two “friends” quickly matched up and exchanged a glance.
Li Yin pretended not to notice, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents. She walked straight over and handed the mustard seed pouch to Xinglin. “Here, remember to change into clothes when you transform next time. Shoes are important too, or your feet will hurt.”
She showed equal concern to both.
Xinglin bit his lip. His silver eyes, wet with water, lifted to look at her as he seized the moment. “My feet… hurt right now. Can you check them for me later…”
His voice weakened a few degrees, as if he really was in quite a bit of pain.
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed the corner of her clothes. His eyes shifted slightly, glancing at the peacock.
It was as if he was silently signaling him to get lost and not interfere with her treating his wounds.
Li Yin didn’t shake off his hand. Before she could agree or refuse, a cold laugh sounded in her ear.
The tail feathers behind Qing Yi bristled slightly, and his words grew even ruder. “I see you’re at the body integration stage at least. How do you get injured just from walking a few steps? Is your body integration stage cultivation made of mud?”
The young merfolk in the water seemed startled. Facing an outsider, his temperament turned unusually soft. His reddened eyes held a teardrop as he shrank toward the human girl.
A glistening tear rolled from the corner of his eye, condensing into a small merpearl that dropped into the water with a plop.
“Li Yin…” He tugged at her clothes, looking up at her pitifully.
His voice carried just the right tremble, as if he were truly frightened by the harsh words.
After crying by the Celestial Pool and being helped up and held in her arms for comfort, Xinglin had tasted the sweetness of tears.
The weeping merfolk looked utterly pitiable, the crystalline tears accentuating his beauty and making him even more stunning.
The Little Peacock couldn’t believe it.
How could a demon just cry like that?!
Shameless!
In fact, even Li Yin was surprised.
This merfolk had shown a similar softened posture when she had supplemented him to climax, stirring pity.
Everything had its order. Li Yin first explained to the Little Peacock. “He just reached adulthood and transformed today. He’s not used to walking yet, so he might really be uncomfortable.”
Then she turned to Xinglin and spoke up for the Little Peacock. “That’s just his personality. He doesn’t mean any harm. Don’t cry.”
Xinglin’s wet eyes glared at her, clearly dissatisfied with her impartial attitude.
He flicked his tail, wanting to pounce straight into her arms.
Just then, the other voice, which had been bristling with anger, suddenly softened as well.
The trailing tone trembled pitifully, easily tugging at the heartstrings.
“My injury hurts too, Li Yin—”
Deep shades of azure blue framed his snow-white skin.