Into The Sea

The air instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Ah Li looked up in confusion, glancing between her master and Yu Shanye. “What’s a vine demon?” she asked after a moment.

Lan Wu shuddered, rubbing her arms. “Don’t frighten her with such stories,” she hissed.

Yu Shanye rolled her eyes and turned to Ji Lingyue. “What do you think?”

Ji Lingyue pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on the woman’s back as they followed. “Let’s just be careful,” she said finally.

They followed the woman across the endless plain for a long time until the outlines of buildings began to appear in the distance. As they approached, they saw a simple courtyard with three or four low-standing houses surrounded by small vegetable gardens.

Qing He put down her bamboo basket and led them into a house. As she pushed open the door, she said casually, “I’m back.”

They exchanged glances and entered the house. Inside, near a window, a woman sat silently in a wheelchair with her back to them. She was thin, dressed in a simple blue robe, her long black hair cascading down her back, revealing pale hands beneath her sleeves.

She remained silent and motionless. Yu Shanye stared at her for a moment before turning her head suspiciously. “Weren’t you going to show us the way out?”

Qing He nodded. “There’s a spring not far from here. When night falls and the spring forms a whirlpool, jump in and you’ll be able to leave.”

Yu Shanye was silent for a moment. “Doesn’t this sound a bit like…”

Ji Lingyue: “Shut up.”

Qing He smiled. “There are still several hours until nightfall. Why don’t you all sit here for a while and leave when the time comes?”

Ji Lingyue hesitated before replying politely, “Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble. I’ll pour you some tea.” As Qing He was about to leave, she seemed to remember something. She turned around and said gently, “My name is Qing He, and that is my Dao companion, Lian Qi. She doesn’t like speaking with strangers, so please be understanding and don’t disturb her.”

They all nodded in agreement. After Qing He left, they looked around the room.

It was a small space, and a table took up most of the area. Behind it was a plain screen, and behind that, they could vaguely see curtains and a dressing table.

Lan Wu looked away and couldn’t help but glance at the woman named Lian Qi.

Since they had entered the room, this person hadn’t moved, like a lifeless statue.

Though she knew she shouldn’t disturb her, Lan Wu felt inexplicably drawn to the woman. After hesitating, she approached. “Miss Lian…”

Ji Lingyue frowned. “Lan Wu.”

“It’s fine,” Lan Wu shook her head and called out again, “Miss Lian?”

Lian Qi sat silently in her chair, unresponsive.

Lan Wu pressed her lips together, reached out, and gently patted her shoulder.

After a slight shake, the woman’s head slowly drooped, and her body fell forward. Lan Wu was startled and quickly caught her. But as she did, her whole body froze.

As a mermaid, she rarely encountered humans whose body temperature was lower than her own. But this person, this person’s body was as cold as ice.

She subconsciously looked down and met a pale, blue-tinged face.

A moment later, Lan Wu gasped and abruptly let go, taking a few steps back.

The others, who had been watching her, were also startled. Yu Shanye instinctively put her hand in front of Ah Li and asked, “What’s wrong?!”

Lan Wu looked at Lian Qi in shock. Without support, Lian Qi’s head hung limply, and her body slumping to one side. Lan Wu opened her mouth, and it took her a moment to find her voice. “She’s dead!”

“Dead?” Ji Lingyue frowned and stepped forward. She felt for a pulse in Lian Qi’s neck and her expression changed. “She’s really dead.”

Yu Shanye was horrified. “Lan Wu, what did you do? How did she die as soon as you touched her?!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Lan Wu retorted. “She was already dead!”

“But Qing He just said…” Yu Shanye stopped halfway through her sentence and exclaimed in panic, “I knew there was something wrong with her!”

Ji Lingyue turned around and said decisively, “We need to leave.”

They quickly headed outside, but as soon as they left the room, they bumped into Qing He, who was returning with tea. Ji Lingyue was startled and instinctively stepped forward to block her. Lan Wu froze for a moment before pulling Ah Li behind her.

Ah Li had been confused from beginning to end. She tried to peek out, but Yu Shanye quickly pushed her back. “Don’t move!”

Qing He stopped and looked at the three of them, who were on high alert. “Why are you leaving?”

Yu Shanye: “Drop the act. Tell us, are you a demon?”

Lan Wu frowned and couldn’t help but say, “Even demons aren’t this evil.”

“What are you talking about?” Qing He asked in confusion. “I just went to pour some tea. Why are you all so tense?”

“You keep a dead body in your house and you ask why we’re tense?” Yu Shanye’s voice was sharp with accusation.

Qing He’s face shifted instantly. “Did you touch her?”

She suddenly stepped forward, and as Ji Lingyue subconsciously reached for her sword, Qing He quickly passed them and rushed into the room.

They were stunned and exchanged glances. After a moment of hesitation, they went back together and carefully peered inside.

Pale sunlight streamed through the window, falling on Qing He’s delicate features. She lowered her eyes and carefully straightened Lian Qi’s body, gently arranging her disheveled hair. A moment later, she looked up at Ji Lingyue and the others and sighed. “Didn’t I tell you not to disturb her?”

Lan Wu blinked and said guiltily, “I’m sorry…”

“Sorry for what?” Yu Shanye interrupted her. “She’s dead, and you still say she’s your Dao companion. You lied to us first.”

“She is dead, but she is also my Dao companion.” Qing He said calmly, “I didn’t tell you the truth earlier because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Yu Shanye didn’t believe her. “If she’s your Dao companion, why didn’t you bury her? Why are you still living in such a strange place? You… tell me, are you the vine demon?”

Qing He frowned. “What vine demon?”

“Stop pretending,” Yu Shanye said. “Weren’t you the one attacking us in the underground palace on Penglai Island all those years ago?”

Qing He stared at her for a moment before finally shaking her head. “I don’t know what misunderstanding you have about me, but I haven’t left this place in a long time, and I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“How is that possible? Are you saying there’s someone else who looks exactly like you?”

Qing He blinked and uttered a name: “Qing Miao?”

Yu Shanye was speechless and laughed dryly. “What, are you going to say that you just happen to have a twin sister?”

She nodded. “My younger sister, Qing Miao, does look exactly like me, but…”

“But what?”

“But she’s been dead for a long time.” Qing He lowered her eyes and looked at Lian Qi, who was quietly leaning against the chair. “She and my Dao companion died in the same place.”

How long ago was that? She couldn’t remember anymore. Ever since she had taken up residence in Tuntian’s belly, she had lost track of the passage of time. But she still remembered that afternoon when she and Zisang Chu had first arrived and found only a dead city, slaughtered by demons.

She had found her beloved amidst the mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. When she came to her senses, Zisang Chu was standing before her, pale, holding the lifeless body of Qing Miao.

A dead city could be rebuilt, but the dead could never return.

After Wangliang City was built, she handed over the position of City Lord to a distant relative and took Lian Qi’s body to the Taixu Secret Realm.

Legend had it that the secret realm was home to an ancient beast with a world within its belly, free from the cycle of reincarnation and beyond the grasp of time.

She could live forever, together with her beloved.

Before leaving, she visited Zisang Chu, who knelt before an ice coffin. After hearing her plan, Zisang Chu shook her head and scoffed.

She said, “I won’t go with you. I’ll find a way to bring her back.”

That was the last time she saw Zisang Chu. Later, she found Tuntian as she had hoped, and time stopped. No matter how the world changed outside, it no longer concerned her.

“…”

Ji Lingyue frowned. “But the souls of the dead have long since reincarnated. By doing this, you are only trapping yourself.”

“I know,” Qing He nodded, lovingly caressing Lian Qi’s face and whispering, “I’ve thought about finding her reincarnation, but… would she still be the same person?”

She paused and sighed softly. “My Lian Qi died a long time ago and will never come back. I know that. I just… I just can’t let go.”

Lan Wu frowned. “Then Qing Miao…”

“If what you say is true, and the vine demon looks exactly like me, perhaps she really is Qing Miao, and Zisang Chu really did bring her back.”

“Can that be considered coming back?” Lan Wu couldn’t help but ask. “Becoming a mindless monster with only a shell of life, and not even the body is human anymore. How is that different from being a zombie?”

Qing He was silent for a moment before asking, “Have you met Zisang Chu?”

Lan Wu shook her head. “In that underground palace, she was the only living thing.”

“That’s not right. Zisang Chu wouldn’t just leave her like that.”

“What if she’s dead?”

A voice suddenly interjected. They were all taken aback and turned around to look.

Yu Shanye shifted uncomfortably. “What, haven’t you guys heard of Zisang Chu? She’s mentioned in human history books.”

Lan Wu: “I’m a mermaid. I don’t read human history books.”

Ji Lingyue: “My parents were hunters. They didn’t think to send me to school.”

Yu Shanye: “…Fine.” She coughed and began to explain, “Zisang Chu was the last ruler of the small border kingdom of Zisang. According to historical records, she abused her semi-immortal powers, becoming cruel and heartless. She started an extremely devastating war, and after the war, she was overthrown by the enraged citizens and severely injured. She then disappeared without a trace.”

“That’s Impossible,” Qing He interrupted her abruptly. “Zisang Chu wasn’t like that!”

“You said yourself that you haven’t seen her in a long time. You don’t know what she became later.” Yu Shanye muttered, “Resurrecting her lover into that monstrous form seems quite fitting for her.”

Qing He was stunned. After a moment, she asked in a hoarse voice, “When… when did this happen?”

Yu Shanye pursed her lips, sighed, and lowered her eyes. “Seven hundred years ago.”