Chapter 214: Mermaid Reef 15

The mermaids all stopped, obediently watching Ye Xi'an like elementary school children.

"Ji Jiangci, help them cry for a moment."

Ji Jiangci nodded, stepped forward, crouched in front of a mermaid, and pried its eyelid open.

The surrounding mermaids, unsure what this bipedal beast was doing, curiously gathered around, all staring at Ji Jiangci's hand, waiting for his next move.

After he opened the mermaid's eyelid, he began blowing air onto its eyeball.

A fine breeze brushed the eye's surface, instantly making it dry and uncomfortable; the mermaid tried involuntarily to close its eye, but Ji Jiangci held it firmly.

The mermaid king, puzzled, asked, "What is he doing?"

"Make it cry. When the eye is dry and has a foreign feeling, it will secrete tears. Don't worry, it won't hurt it."

After hearing Ye Xi'an's words, the mermaid king finally relaxed.

Three minutes later, Ye Xi'an leaned in curiously and asked eagerly, "Are there tears? Any?"

Ji Jiangci examined for a moment, then shook his head regretfully: "No, it just seems the eye is a bit dry."

An hour later......

The mermaid's sclera turned red, yet not a single tear was visible.

Ji Jiangci's mouth twitched; the method seemed ineffective on the mermaid, so he released his grip.

When he let go, the mermaid immediately covered its eyes and retreated, "Wuh wuh wuh," the bipedal beast was so scary.

"Wife, bring some firewood and a lighter."

"Okay."

The firewood, once ignited, instantly filled the air with smoke.

"Cough cough cough!" Ji Jiangci was the first to choke and cough: "Wife, stay farther away."

After instructing Ye Xi'an, Ji Jiangci approached the mermaid holding the burning dry wood.

Staring at the blazing ball, the mermaid first approached out of curiosity, but upon feeling the flame's heat, it immediately struggled and fled in all directions.

Mermaids are very afraid of fire.

Seeing the mermaid's fear, Ji Jiangci extinguished the fire: "Now it's fine, come over."

The mermaid approached, found that the scorching heat was gone, and then continued to stick its head out to sniff the smoke.

"Achoo!"

The sudden stimulus made the mermaid uncomfortable; its large eyes finally showed a hint of watery shine, but rather than tears, it was a physiological stress response, a pitifully small amount that vanished as soon as it formed.

Fortunately, Ji Jiangci was quick-eyed and swift-handed, collecting that speck of tear; even a mosquito's leg, however thin, is still flesh.

After a long time, the tears remained pitifully few; even Ji Jiangci was at a loss. No wonder the orcs of Zhu Shen Xing have to abuse mermaids to obtain mermaid tears—it's far too difficult.

Ye Xi'an inhaled deeply, retrieved an onion from a pocket space, and with a gentle mental thread, split it in half.

"Ji Jiangci, press the onion onto their eyes."

Ji Jiangci grimaced as he took the onion; just from that, his own tears began to flow uncontrollably.

Seeing Ji Jiangci cry so smoothly, the mermaids thought it was a good thing to make them cry; before he could act, they snatched the onion themselves and smeared it on their eyes.

This whole operation left Ye Xi'an dumbfounded.

Seeing the mermaid with an onion perched motionlessly on its face, Ye Xi'an walked over and, with a hard-to-explain feeling, poked, "Are you okay?"

"Pfft—"

A faint sound like a popping bubble was heard as the onion slipped from the cheek, revealing the mermaid's steadfast large eyes, and finally, finally, overwhelmed, crystal-clear tears surged out!

Those tears were not ordinary like human tears; the moment they left the socket, they seemed imbued with life, flashing a faint blue aura, round and translucent, then slowly solidifying, like molten glass sliding down the cheek, becoming a droplet-shaped crystal stone.

Ye Xi'an's eyes lit up, and she immediately reached out, the tears landing perfectly in her palm.

The onion's power was immense; the mermaid's tears fell like beads whose strings had been cut, one after another.

"One, two... three..." Ye Xi'an counted nervously beside it, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

The mermaid wailed "Wuwu wawa" from the irritation, sounding pitiful, but for ten mermaid tears, the couple could only temporarily ignore its protest.

"Huh— finally done!"

With the tears collected, Ye Xi'an quickly removed the onion from the mermaid's face and stored it in the pocket space to prevent further harm.

"Alright, I've received the tears, I'm leaving now."

The mermaid king called after her, looking a bit shy: "Wait! Um, may I be your companion?"

Ye Xi'an didn't hesitate: "No."

Although the mermaid king was good-looking, he wasn't her type.

Speaking of companions, Jenna beside the mermaid king suddenly shouted: "Yeah, where's my companion! King~, you have to decide for me!"

Ye Xi'an and Ji Jiangci exchanged a glance, then leapt into the sea and vanished.

The mermaid king tried to pursue, but found no trace of Ye Xi'an nearby; recalling her terrifying speed, he knew he had no chance.

He gazed wistfully into the distance, but having already chosen a companion, he would never like anyone else in this life besides Ye Xi'an.

Ye Xi'an still didn't know that her appearance had caused two mermaids of the mermaid tribe to lose the ability to choose a mate; at this moment, she and Ji Jiangci flashed back to the portal.

Yi Yang, upon seeing them, ran up crying and sobbing.

"Wow, wife, why did you just get back! I thought I'd never see you again."

Ji Jiangci disdainfully pushed Yi Yang aside of Ye Xi'an: "What nonsense are you talking? We only left for a few hours."

"One second apart feels like three autumns, what the hell are you saying."

Ji Jiangci squinted: "What did you say?"

Yi Yang, seeing the situation was bad, immediately hid behind Ye Xi'an: "Little Ji, don't say I didn't warn you, my ability level is now higher than yours."

"Little Ji?" Ji Jiangci felt Yi Yang was being cheeky, and went up to grab Yi Yang.

Ye Xi'an, dizzy from being surrounded by the two, said, "Alright, stop messing around, it's time to get ready to go back."

Yi Yang finally calmed down, and Bao Jing and Gu Feng also came over, ready to protect Ye Xi'an on the way back.

When Ye Xi'an saw Gu Feng, she felt some matters were better told to him, in case it really was someone's destined marriage.

"Gu Feng, do you know why you are at the bottom of the sea?"

Before Ye Xi'an returned, Gu Feng had already asked Bao Jing about the general course of events: "It must have been a mermaid who grabbed me to use as a spare meal, right?"

"nonono." Ye Xi'an laughed oddly: "Actually a mermaid has taken a liking to you; she wants to marry you as a partner."

"I think you have a right to know, so it's better to tell you."

Gu Feng's eyes darkened instantly, his voice trembling: "You know I like you."

"I…." Ye Xi'an originally wanted to tell Gu Feng that merfolk practice monogamy and that the mermaid was very beautiful, but seeing Gu Feng's expression, she decisively shut her mouth and hurriedly said "Whatever you wish" before stepping into the spatial gate.