Chapter 508

Seeing Pei Ye certainly hadn't pinched her hard, but he subconsciously loosened his grip a little at this.

If one were to call her a young girl, that would be an exaggeration; she was clearly still closer to the stage of a female child.

"Don't... ugh... pat my face!" Seeing Pei Ye said.

The little merman was startled, hesitated for a moment, and continued to flick its tail and struggle, carefully avoiding his face.

Only then did Seeing Pei Ye see this creature, which he had once thought existed only in legends, so closely and clearly; it was as if the fantasies he had when huddled under the sunset window as a child reading storybooks had turned into reality.

The upper body was almost indistinguishable from a human's, but it was more slender and beautiful, and also had a few more aquatic features. The scales on the upper body, perhaps because it was young, still appeared shallow and small. The look of fear and unfamiliarity on its small face was an expression identical to a human's, making it very hard for Seeing Pei Ye to imagine that they were actually another species.

It wasn't until Seeing Pei Ye curiously let his gaze linger for a long time on the junction of the upper and lower body that he was slapped on the face by a tail again.

Just at this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps came from behind; it was the young man, anxious and panting, who suddenly pushed open the door to the back hall, pressing his hand to the small dagger at his waist: "Y-you guys let her go!"

The next moment, he seemed to see clearly the figure standing in front of the hall, his body stiffened, and his hand subconsciously loosened from the dagger.

Then he saw that killer he had met at the bottom of the boat slowly turn around, looking at him, his expression cooling bit by bit.

It was the same look as the cat on his shoulder.

"Alright... Zhang Piaoxu, alright."

Zhang Piaoxu sat on the chair with his head lowered, as if there were thorns under his bottom.

"The first time we met, I helped you steady the water vat; the second time we met, I saved your life; on the carriage ride back, I was still smoothing things over for you in front of Constable Xie!" Seeing Pei Ye paced around him, "I never imagined... that it was you who stole my silver!"

Zhang Piaoxu lowered his head deeply; this young man who would submit to nothing seemed to be the only thing he could never lift his head for.

"... I... I had already planned it at the time," he muttered in a low voice, "I definitely would have paid you back later."

"No need!" Seeing Pei Ye sneered, "Pay me back now! I never lent it to you in the first place!"

"..."

"Do you dare not pay me back?!"

"No, it's... it's spent..."

"Pay me back what's left later! Give me whatever you have left now!"

"... It's all..." Zhang Piaoxu whimpered.

"What?"

"It's all spent."

"..."

"..."

Zhang Piaoxu lowered his head, pulled back his sleeve, and showed him the arrow magazine that still had one arrow left.

"... Fifty taels to shoot three arrows? How much did this crossbow cost you?"

"The crossbow didn't cost money."

"?"

"Three 'Little Shadowless' arrows, sixteen taels each; he said he doesn't cheat children or the elderly," Zhang Piaoxu said in a muffled voice.

Seeing Pei Ye fell silent.

Xing Zhi and Xie Chuantang turned their faces away to suppress their laughter.

"... I'll pay you back," Zhang Piaoxu said, lowering his head again, "The imperial court won't let me sell this house, I'll move out tomorrow, you can live in it yourself or find someone to rent it, I'll find a place to work and earn money too."

"... You should cooperate with Constable Xie for questioning first," Seeing Pei Ye rolled his eyes.

Forcing someone to sell their family property wasn't Pei the Young Hero's style; knowing the silver couldn't be recovered for the moment, he didn't linger, left his place of residence, gathered some loose silver, bought the items he had planned, and delivered them to Qu Xin before late night. The next morning, the little Xiao Xiao Yaojun's carriage and horses headed west.

At the Cao River, the officials withdrew their teams; no one knew if this search had been successful or what exactly had been found. The newly arrived Constable Xie remained tight-lipped. It was said that someone had seen the Purple Ribbon Warlock of the Immortal Platform, and it was unknown what kind of vicious character they were dealing with.

Seeing Pei Ye watched Qu Xin's team of carriages and horses go further and further away; in the morning mist, he seemed to vaguely see the lush greenery of Bowang again. He had arrived in the Divine Capital in a coma in the black prison and had no direct sense of the journey. Now, leaning against the city gate, he remembered that it was a journey of nearly two thousand miles.

The white breath exhaled by the young man dissipated into the winter day; he lowered his head to look at his hand, which was holding a short note inviting him to the Xiuwen Academy for a chat.

When he returned to the Jingzhao Prefecture, the carriage and horses were already prepared, and no escort was needed. Seeing Pei Ye lifted the curtain and got into the carriage; there was only a stool and a water vat inside.

Seeing Pei Ye pulled the carriage curtain shut and slowly leaned his head over to look down into the vat. Across the water surface, he met a pair of vaguely flickering eyes.

But after only half a breath, the water rippled, and this little fish turned around and shrank against the wall of the vat like an ostrich.

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye poked his head out to look outside the carriage; Zhang Piaoxu was watching the carriage with a look of reluctance.

Closing the curtain, the carriage rattled forward. Seeing Pei Ye watched the large vat beside him without saying a word. The carriage was moving a bit fast, and water splashed out from time to time. Soon, half a head emerged from the edge of the vat, looking at the water on the floor with heartache.

Seeing Pei Ye watched her, and at this moment he was a bit curious about what material that long hair was made of—it was nothing like a human's, which would be wet and limp after coming out of the water; water droplets slid off it smoothly.

"... Hey." Seeing Pei Ye called out in a low voice. The head by the edge of the water vat immediately dived down, revealing only a pair of eyes looking at him.

"Can you speak?" Seeing Pei Ye asked hesitantly.

"..."

"What's your name?"

"..."

"Does your home live in the Southern Sea of the Heavenly Extremity? What's the scenery like there?"

"..."

"Do you eat candy?"

"..."

Receiving only silence, Seeing Pei Ye turned his head to look at the little cat on his shoulder and gestured, meaning that neither of you are human, maybe you can have a chat.

The black cat didn't remember what it had done to make him think it could speak another language. It looked at the pair of eyes by the vat for a while and tried to let out a cold "meow."

The little fish-person "whooshed" into the bottom of the vat and never showed its head again.

"You're too fierce and menacing." Seeing Pei Ye frowned and complained to the little black ball.

On the winter morning at the Xiuwen Academy, people had already wrapped themselves in cotton clothes. It wasn't obvious in the summer, but now that winter had arrived, one could see the family circumstances; a considerable number of people had patches of similar colors on their cotton clothes, and light furs and warm cloaks were rare.

Seeing Pei Ye sent the coachman to drive the carriage himself and saw many familiar faces. He now understood that along the way, the lakeside pavilion, the lake-center kiosk, and the small maple forest were the three places where figures were most likely to gather, and people were often seen correcting books and discussing principles.

In fact, for the scholars of the Xiuwen Academy, this clear and upright young man carrying a sword was also a figure who was quite easy to notice, especially now that the chill had condensed thin ice on the lake surface, and he was still wearing a thin shirt with long sleeves. Everyone gradually knew that such a cultivator had been visiting the Xiuwen Academy frequently recently.

Seeing Pei Ye tried to raise his hand to greet them, which was met with many smiles and return gestures.

Crossing the front garden corridor, he arrived once again at the quiet and peaceful place. The small building at the corner of the lake stood alone, already showing the lonely steepness of the northern winter.

Carrying the large vat, he climbed the stairs with ease. The little merman curiously poked its head out again to look at the surrounding environment, but from time to time it looked vigilantly at the young man's face, which was close at hand.

Seeing Pei Ye had no choice but to turn his head away, pretending not to look this way at all. Only then did she poke out a bit more, looking at the surrounding walls and books and paintings, unable to take it all in.

He arrived at the top floor as before.

The furnishings were all as they were. Behind the long desk, a beautiful woman was wrapped in a large cotton robe, and a small hand warmer was placed on the table.

Seeing Pei Ye gently placed the large vat on the ground.

"Thank you for your hard work." Xu Chuo smiled and looked him up and down again, "Did the Taishan Medical Building urge you for the consultation fee again this time?"

"How could they, they'll help me treat patients whether I pay or not." Seeing Pei Ye laughed. This pavilion was always as warm as spring. He stretched his muscles and bones comfortably and casually untied his sword and set it aside, "I'm friends with their little Xiao Xiao Yaojun. She often complains about people disturbing her, but she likes talking to me. We have a pretty good friendship."

Xu Chuo nodded nonchalantly: "I know you're the best at getting to know young sect masters, no need to brag about it."

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye changed the subject and said: "I didn't expect that the 'it really must be you' in the pavilion master's letter was actually a bait-like mission."

"That sounds ugly. I called you a general to hold the line—if it weren't for you, it's hard to say if the other side wouldn't have flipped the chessboard already." Xu Chuo smiled slightly, looking at him, "If you're unhappy, go ahead and take a bottle of wine with you later."

"Alright." Seeing Pei Ye agreed magnanimously.

Then Seeing Pei Ye turned his gaze to the large vat beside him. The pair of eyes inside had long since shrunk back upon hearing the voice of a stranger. Seeing Pei Ye looked at the woman: "They secretly smuggled this into the capital, it's indeed one of these, take a look."

Xu Chuo nodded: "I've read the case files."

She walked over from the desk: "Is it really a merman?"

"Yes."

"'The abyss guests build houses at the bottom of the rocks, the mermen construct halls in the hanging currents'..." Xu Chuo reached out to the water surface with some curiosity, "I've actually never seen one either."

Seeing Pei Ye immediately raised his hand to warn: "Be careful, this little fish-person is very powerful."

However, nothing happened. Seeing Pei Ye watched this scene in surprise: the exquisite and exotic little merman actually floated up slowly from under the water, opening a pair of clear, gem-like eyes to look at Xu Chuo, its long, scaly tail flicking gently, its small face filled with stunned curiosity.

Then she gently raised her hand and lightly touched Xu Chuo with an index finger across the water surface.

This contact made the little merman's eyes light up. She retracted her hand and looked at her finger in a daze, looking at Xu Chuo with some curiosity and not daring to get too close, but that vigilance had clearly disappeared.

Xu Chuo looked at Seeing Pei Ye, who was staring with wide eyes, and smiled, pursing her lips: "What's wrong? Doesn't your cat also quite like me?"

Seeing Pei Ye couldn't understand, but at this moment there was no way to investigate further. He composed his expression and said: "They smuggled these mermen privately. Just this one ship discovery probably had hundreds of them, and Zhang Er had witnessed it more than a year ago. Counting back even earlier, who knows how long it's been going on. But all these years, you've never heard any news about mermen?"

Xu Chuo lowered her head and gently hooked the little merman's finger, then turned her head and pondered: "If there's no such thing in your heart, it's hard to think about it... Do you know where mermen live?"

"Storybooks say it's the Southern Sea of the Heavenly Extremity."

"Actually, it's just the Southern Sea. 'Heavenly Extremity' just means extremely far away," Xu Chuo said, "Mermen live in the deepest parts of the Southern Sea, almost isolated from the human world. Merchant ships can't reach that far, and they rarely go that way. Occasional legends of mermen on land are extremely sporadic."

"Can't cultivators find them either?" Seeing Pei Ye raised an eyebrow, "Mortal ships are hard to get close, but if cultivators want to search, the sea area shouldn't be an insurmountable chasm."

"For cultivators, they are even more mysterious."

"Hmm?"

"I've read travelogues of those who went to sea to find these scaled tribes. Among them were those who knew the water like the Dragon Lord of Dongting, but almost all returned without success," Xu Chuo said, "If mortals can still encounter them by luck, and there are even merman silks circulating in the markets, cultivators who intend to search for them can't see a trace of them at all. Even in a water area that has already been locked down, they can disappear without a trace, and spiritual and mysterious arrays and artifacts are of no use."

"..."

"So in every record, they are the most mysterious race."

"... But they caught them and brought them to the Divine Capital."

"Yes."

"..."

"They can find mermen and capture them..." Xu Chuo pondered, "This is something we haven't mastered yet."

"Why do they want to capture so many mermen... and where did these mermen go?" Seeing Pei Ye leaned against the pillar, frowning, "Actions that have lasted for so many years, they laid out the entire Divine Capital for this matter. The Taiping Cao Gang, the Jin Wuwei, Yu Sicheng—just to transport these mermen in?"

"... Sometimes, a matter might not have only one purpose," Xu Chuo said, "Things promoted by many parties must be such that everyone can extract the benefits they want from them."

Seeing Pei Ye was slightly startled.

"Yu Sicheng wants gold and silver," Xu Chuo said softly, "He was born humble and was bullied when he was a little eunuch. Now, so many years later, what he still wants is the prestige on his face and the wealth in his pockets... Then you tell me, what would the other one want?"

"... If we know who he is, we can know what he wants."

"If we know what he wants, we can also know who he is," Xu Chuo said softly, looking toward a certain direction in the distance, "Mermen weave water into silk and shed tears into pearls, trading their treasures in the Mirage. They build their own halls in places in the water where no one can find them and spend their long lives of three hundred years... After they die, legend has it that their fat burns into lamp oil that never goes out for ten thousand years; merman pearls ground into powder and swallowed can allow one to ascend to immortality."

Xu Chuo looked back at the young man: "'Fang Zhu holds water to adjust phantom medicine, scattering raw silk to change cold and heat'... Guess, what is it that he wants?"

"... What is this?"

"The poem carved at the entrance of the Phantom Tower."

"..."

"Just go there once, and you'll understand many things."

"... Can anyone just go to this place?"

"Some people can't go in their whole lives, some people are born with this qualification," Xu Chuo smiled, "I can't go, but someone can... I'll write a note and ask her to take you with her, she'll definitely be very happy."

Seeing Pei Ye was startled: "Who?"

Xu Chuo didn't answer, because at this moment the little merman clinging to the water vat made its first sound—it was definitely a human throat, although it wasn't words, just a "yo-yo" sound like a baby.

"... What did she say?"

Xu Chuo lowered her head and watched. The little merman swam another circle in the vat, then poked its head out and looked at her, calling out twice more like a little deer.

"She's hungry," Xu Chuo turned her eyes and looked at the young man, "Go down to the lake and catch two fish for her... Get perch, it's the freshest and firmest in this season."

"..." Seeing Pei Ye fell silent for a moment, then turned his head to look at the black cat on his shoulder.

The black cat sighed lightly, turned, and leaped downstairs.