Chapter 2351: Persistence

A brand-new scene appeared in the fog again; the black light in the picture was even about to dye the edges of the white fog black.

This time it did not show the little mermaid's action process; the scene was directly in a piece of darkness, and the "witch" Granny Xinnuode, hiding behind the table, was talking to the little mermaid who kept shaking her tail.

Shaking the tail could express the little mermaid princess's anxiety and panic.

Granny Xinnuode's appearance was that of a typical kind old person, but at this time, wearing a black robe and a hood, with a black pot boiling and constantly bubbling with green bubbles beside her, made her look not like a good person at all.

The two seemed to be talking, because bubbles kept coming out from their mouths. But Xia De, sitting by the campfire, could not hear their voices, so he said:

"The little mermaid princess, who had made up her mind, prayed to the omnipotent witch for the potion that would allow her to have legs; she wanted to walk into the human world to see the prince. And the witch, laughing gloomily, proposed a condition for the transaction—I want your sweet voice.

Only hesitating slightly, the mermaid who longed for sunlight agreed to this condition. And before the transaction was completed, the witch gave a final reminder—if you fail to get the love you want, this potion will turn you into foam at the first ray of sunlight in the morning."

In the picture in the white fog, the gloomy Granny Xinnuode took out a dirty green potion from under the table, and she and Miss Sander communicated for a while before the latter took the potion with a determined expression.

And the "witch" reached her hand with long, thin black nails toward her throat.

The picture froze again, then turned into the little mermaid, who was alone, swimming toward the sea surface again.

Xia De, sitting alone by the campfire, also continued:

"The little mermaid princess, who had obtained the potion, bid farewell to her parents and sisters who were sleeping, and swam toward the sea surface alone again. She arrived at the shore on a sunny morning, drank the potion, and after experiencing a painful transformation, she shed her fish tail and possessed a pair of beautiful legs."

In the picture, Miss Sander walked out of the reef, stumbling; she looked quite unaccustomed to the human form.

"She met a kind fisherman's family and took a cargo carriage to the royal capital of the human kingdom located by the sea. The human world dazzled her eyes; the world under the sunlight was so fresh.

But in the capital of the human kingdom, she was shocked to hear the rumor that the prince was about to marry the princess of a neighboring country."

Miss Sander in the picture walked all the way from the seaside to the prosperous big city surrounded by city walls along with Xia De's narration. She looked left and right, then heard this "bad news" from the herald surrounded by the crowd.

"She lived in the city, and on the third day, she entered the palace with the residents of the kingdom to celebrate the wedding of the prince and the princess."

Miss Mester finally appeared. On the bright starry night in the picture, there was only a full silver moon. And Miss Knight, dressed in men's clothing, holding the hand of Miss Mester, who was wearing a golden dress, walked through the arch decorated with flowers on the beach amidst the celebrations of the people.

It had to be admitted that after shedding that dancer's attire and changing into a formal dress, Miss Mester looked even more beautiful.

In the picture in the fog, Miss Sander in the crowd showed a "sad" expression, but this expression was still so stiff; her soul was still stone.

"At night, the princess and the prince who had just married took a cruise ship and sailed toward the ocean with representatives of the citizens. The little mermaid princess, who also came to the ship, heard a familiar call in a daze.

She followed the sound to the edge of the deck and saw six heads poking out from under the water surface. They were her sisters, the anxious mermaid princesses, who had sent a blood-red dagger to their poor sister."

The cruise ship, which was unusually bright because of the gas lamps, was sailing in the ocean, and it seemed that a banquet was being held in the cabin, so Miss Sander was the only one on the dark deck.

The picture still had no sound of speaking, so when Miss Sander grabbed the blood-red dagger lifted by the waves, Xia De continued:

"'Our poor sister,' the six princesses said together, 'we heard of your pathetic encounter, but we cannot let you die just like that; we offered the most beautiful scales to the witch in exchange for this dagger. Stab it into the prince's chest, let his hot blood spray on your legs, and you can turn back into a free mermaid and return to our side.'"

The six heads in the dark water area shrank back under the water surface, leaving only the expressionless Miss Sander looking at the blood-red dagger wet by the sea.

The story reached the end, and Miss Sander's soul still showed no signs of being touched.

"The dance on the ship lasted until dawn; before the first ray of sunlight rose, the little mermaid princess met the princess and the prince who were preparing to watch the sunrise together on the deck."

On the big ship in the fog, Miss Sander stood together with Miss Knight and Miss Mester. Miss Mester wore a flower wreath on her head, which was the one Granny Xinnuode brought out from the illusion, and this was also in Xia De's arrangement.

He did not continue to speak the ending of the story, but wanted to see if everything in the picture would evolve on its own.

But the three of them just stood together, and the sky that looked like it was about to sunrise did not show the first ray of sunlight.

Xia De could only speak:

"The little mermaid princess blessed the wedding of the princess and the prince while enduring the pain in her heart, so the beautiful human princess gave her flower wreath to this innocent and lively girl; the handsome prince gave a stone heart like an artwork to thank her for her blessing."

Miss Mester took off the flower wreath and placed it on Miss Sander's head; Miss Knight also placed the stone heart brought out from the illusion into her hand.

"Afterward, the little mermaid princess did not do anything, but turned and bid farewell to them. She came to the deserted stern of the ship alone; the persistent girl always insisted on her own thoughts; she had already seen the sunlight she longed for, and even if she was about to die at dawn, she would not regret it. Just like even if she went deep into the dangerous desert to search for treasure, she would absolutely not stop until she reached her goal."

Xia De paused, listening to the sounds of seagulls and waves coming from the fog. He did not wait for the blue-haired girl to be touched by this story, so he added another sentence:

"She threw the dagger into the sea."

Pausing, seeing Miss Sander, who was looking at the red clouds in a daze, still having no reaction, he continued:

"The flower wreath was on her head, and the stone heart was in her hand. Her persistence would not lose to the elves on land, and even less to the humans on land. The young princess might not understand what freedom or love was, but since she chose to do so, she would not regret or hesitate. She would not stop until she reached the end. The sun was about to rise; the scorching sunlight might be the end, but perhaps it could also be hope; she had to make a choice in the end."

Xia De sighed softly:

"Thus the sun rose from below the sea level; when the first ray of sunlight shone on Miss Sander, amidst the cheers of the people on the bow, she turned into colorful bubbles alone."

Sunlight passed through Miss Sandel's body, and she vanished into loneliness, leaving only the wreath and the Heart of Stone lying amidst the bubbles that shimmered with seven-colored light as they faced the sun.

Xia De pursed his lips and looked at the picture, but he would not give up so easily:

"Again, the story starts from the beginning; let's do it again."

He did not hear Miss Mester's voice, but the thick fog wrapped around the picture until only Xia De was left sitting alone by the campfire.

So the story repeated, and Xia De told and watched the story about the mermaid princess again.

Although the details were different, when the second narration reached the end, when Miss Sander sat alone at the stern of the ship, looking at the first ray of sunlight about to appear from behind the clouds, no matter how Xia De paused, she still had no action.

Finally, in the first rays of the morning sun, Miss Sandel still turned into seven-colored bubbles. The wreath and the Heart of Stone fell into the bubbles, and together they shimmered slightly, facing the rising sun.

"One more time."

The cycle continued, and at the end of the third cycle, Miss Sandel still made no move; in the final outcome, the wreath, the Heart of Stone, and the seven-colored bubbles still shimmered with light, facing the rising sun.

The fourth story, the fifth story, the sixth story... even if the Tree Father gave an hour, even if the previous actions did not consume too much time, time was passing after all.

Even the cat, who was bored and curled up in Xia De's arms, poked its head out during this period to see what Xia De was doing, but after watching the story unfold once, it lost interest in it.

Xia De had been expecting Miss Sander to think of herself from the story of the little mermaid princess, to think of her mood and persistence in walking step by step to this point.

But even though the flower wreath and the stone heart were indeed resonating with those bubbles as Xia De expected, Miss Sander did not once raise her hand to stop the first ray of sunlight from shining on her body for the sake of her own life.

Xia De could feel that in the repeated performances of the story, her expression was gradually becoming natural, and the emotional changes described in the story were gradually becoming real. But even if the stone became warm, it still failed to thoroughly turn back into a living person.

When the thirteenth performance of the story was nearing its end, the time Xia De had left in this sand sea was already running out.

He finished telling the ending of the story, then watched the first ray of sunlight shine on Miss Sander's face. Thus, the colorful bubbles, the flower wreath, and the stone fell onto the deck together, and the story went toward the predetermined ending again.

This time Xia De did not ask to start from the beginning, but frowned and thought while facing the campfire. After a while, he muttered to himself:

"Wanting to use Miss Sander's persistence to fight against the fate and the power of the ancient god that had already appeared, was I really a bit arrogant?" ===== CHAPTER 2352 =====