Chapter 670

Shi Rou began to absorb the Spiritual Power of the mermaid pearl; perhaps the side attempting Body Seizure lacked sufficient ability and could not continue the Body Seizure on Shi Rou, suffering a backlash; perhaps the side attempting Body Seizure gave up; another possibility is that Shi Rou's constitution is too special, making her fusion with the mermaid pearl smoother than Body Seizure...

No matter which scenario, the probability of it occurring is minuscule.

But a miracle did happen.

Jin Wuya asked, "For Shi Rou, is this a good thing?"

Bái Sōnglán gave a noncommittal reply: "How am I supposed to answer that? Look at her situation now—is it good?"

The three of them stared at me, who was clutching a baby doll and overflowing with maternal instinct, but I was completely unaware.

I was immersed in soothing the child, and I refused anyone's approach; my whole demeanor became unfamiliar.

"There may be even more bizarre developments ahead." Bái Sōnglán lifted my pant leg, revealing my calves covered in fish scales, and said, "The more Spiritual Power Shi Rou absorbs from the mermaid pearl, the closer she becomes to a mermaid; after all, she is absorbing the pearl of a mermaid with a thousand years of Xiūwéi, and she will yearn for the sea, to the point where leaving seawater would kill her, and even her legs will gradually fuse and merge, transforming into a single fish tail..."

"In short, I made these assumptions to give you a heads‑up early, so you can prepare mentally and also think about what to do if it really comes to that—whether to keep her by your side or let her return to the sea."

Jin Wuya's eye sockets grew redder, and he clenched his fists tightly.

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui quickly calmed down and asked, "Will Shi Rou undergo such changes because the chief, finding he could no longer control her according to the original plan, made adjustments? Is he trying to force Shi Rou back to the merfolk's homeland?"

Everyone fell silent.

It seemed this possibility was more likely.

Nobody could make an immediate decision; we could only take it step by step.

On the third night, I had again the dream of sinking into the deep abyss under the sea.

But this time, in the dream, a voice kept calling my name.

I saw myself turn into a human with a fish tail, continuously sinking toward the direction the voice came from...

Once again, Jin Wuya shook me awake from the dream because I was holding my breath.

I opened my eyes, struggling to keep my reason from being completely enslaved by that so‑called maternal instinct, I grabbed Jin Wuya's hand and said, "Wuya, running away is useless; only by facing it can I tear a breach in this whole affair, giving you a chance to truly rescue me. So when the situation Bái Sōnglán described actually comes, you must not forcibly keep me—let me go; otherwise, I won't feel grateful to any of you, I will hate you."

My pleading gaze stayed fixed on him: "Wuya, I have changed; I can no longer control myself."

"Actually, this change began long ago; we just never paid attention. Think back to when you first met me—what was my personality like? When I lost the two fetuses, what was I like then? In the affair of my great‑uncle and second cousin‑uncle, how did I handle it? Does that match the title 'Lingnan Black Widow'? Does it match my decisive, ruthless, and resolute character?"

"The chief has had his eye on me for a long time; I just couldn't see it from inside."

"Wuya, if even you can't give me a decisive push at this moment, then truly there is no one left..."

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui and the others will help me, but they cannot make many decisions for me.

So I must convey my attitude through Jin Wuya.

I need Jin Wuya to give me a push when I can no longer control my thoughts.

I never got Jin Wuya's stance, and I became timid and hesitant again.

I clutched the baby doll and curled into the corner of the bed, softly humming a lullaby to soothe the doll.

Jin Wuya sat stiffly there for a long, long time.

He went out for a while and soon returned.

For the rest of the day, he kept polishing something, making rustling and clinking sounds; we were both immersed in our own worlds, not disturbing each other.

My memory is hazy; I can't recall exactly how much time passed, but I vaguely remember Jin Wuya staying by my side.

When fish scales covered my waist, just as Bái Sōnglán said, I began to be dissatisfied with medicinal baths and started to yearn for the sea.

Until one night, I hugged that baby doll, barefoot, clumsily walked out of the Dang Pu's main gate, headed west all the way, and slipped into the Zhu Pan River.

Actually, when I sat up from sleep, Jin Wuya had already awakened.

He followed me all the way; along the way, Xiao Jiu Zhanggui and Liu Qiye also got up.

They did not stop me; they saw me off all the way.

After I entered the Zhu Pan River, Jin Wuya covered his face with both hands and crouched down.

Liu Qiye patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "Letting go is right; she cannot survive on land. Jin Boss, this is not the time to grieve—Huang Fan has already picked several good swimmers from the Hall of Gray Immortals to follow her; they won't lose her."

I did not know how they had arranged it.

After I leapt into the Zhu Pan River, I kept swimming along the current.

When I truly entered the sea, my legs really fused together, and my whole body moved like a large fish swimming in a certain direction through the seawater.

In that direction, an invisible force continually pulled me forward.

Until I entered the waters where the ancient tomb lay, my body began to descend continuously.

Just like the dream I kept having during this period—from the sun‑sparkled water surface, to the underwater world, then to the dark depths of the abyss...

I don't know how deep I have gone, nor do I know what place I am approaching.

Yet strangely, I was not as panicked or unsure about breathing as in the dream; I felt as if I belonged here, and in this environment I actually felt more at ease.

Until a voice suddenly burst up from beneath the water and pierced my eardrums.

It was a woman's voice: "You have finally come; I have waited for you so long..."

I hovered in the water, looking toward the direction the voice came from.

I waited for her to appear.

But there was none.

No one appeared in my field of vision, and she did not speak again.

A black cage dropped from above, enveloping me, trapping me in an endless fall...

Black, endless black.

The surroundings were terrifyingly silent.

At that moment, I absorbed the last trace of Spiritual Qi from the mermaid pearl in my mouth; my upper and lower four fangs fell off naturally, and I finally returned to normal.

No, it was not a true return to normal, because... I heard an infant's crying...

The tender wailing came from all directions, surrounding me completely, with no escape.

I leaned against the cage, one hand resting on my belly.

My belly...... is slowly getting bigger......