Into The Sea

The wind swept across the grasslands, gently lifting the soft hems of their robes.

The lean red horse lowered its head to graze, while its owner stood silently beside it, seemingly struggling to find her voice. After a long pause, she finally spoke. “Why are you asking for my opinion on such an important matter?”

Lan Yuan sighed softly. “You’re right.”

She scratched the fluffy rabbit’s head in her arms again, remaining quiet for a while before handing it to Meng Changge. “Here.”

Meng Changge instinctively caught it. “Why are you giving it back to me?”

“Because I thought about it carefully,” Lan Yuan said, putting her hands behind her back. “My duties and identity mean that most of my life will be spent in the sea. And the sea isn’t a good place to raise a creature from the human realm.”

Meng Changge quickly replied, “I can take care of it for you. That way, you can see it whenever you come to the human realm.”

“That sounds nice, but no.” The woman shook her head. “My life is too long. What might be a short time away for me could be a lifetime for it. Even for creatures without spiritual awareness, it’s not worth wasting their limited time on waiting.”

“It won’t understand…”

“It’s enough that I understand.” Saying this, Lan Yuan turned and walked a few steps, gazing at the vast grasslands and touching the autumn wind with her fingertips. “The weather is so nice. It would be nice to come out and wander around more often. What a pity.”

Meng Changge was stunned and stepped forward anxiously. “What’s a pity? Are you going back? Didn’t you say you were going to rest for a few days?”

“I’d like to, but I can’t help worrying…”

“But the Dream Lotus flowers will bloom tonight.”

“Then I’ll see them next time,” Lan Yuan said, turning back. Her features were bathed in golden light, making her seem almost ethereal. “Like I said, I am a merfolk. I have a long, long time. Even if I miss it today, I’ll see it eventually.”

“But when you see them in the future, it might not be with me.”

As soon as she said that, Meng Changge seemed frightened by her own words. She clenched her fists and closed her mouth in annoyance.

Lan Yuan tilted her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Oh? Is it really that important who I watch the flowers bloom with?”

“Of course, it’s important.”

“Why?” She raised the corners of her lips and slowly walked back, looking at the woman whose face was gradually turning red with a teasing smile. “Tell me, Meng Changge, what makes you so special? Why would watching the flowers with you be any different from watching them with someone else?”

Meng Changge couldn’t help but shrink back. Strangely, she was half a head taller than Lan Yuan, yet she suddenly felt like she was the smaller one. Did being the Sea Empress for so long really make someone’s presence this overwhelming?

“I…”

“Hmm?”

“Our relationship, how should I say it, it’s… it’s different.” Meng Changge lowered her eyes, lacking confidence. “Maybe that makes it special.”

“Special in what way?”

Meng Changge blinked, racking her brain for an answer.

“Uh… well, the first time we met, I stabbed you?”

“…”

Lan Yuan laughed in exasperation, flicked her sleeves, and walked away with her hands behind her back.

Meng Changge panicked, quickly following her. “Are you really leaving?!”

“What else should I do? Stay here and waste time with someone who stabbed me the first time we met?”

“But what about the Pearl matter…”

Lan Yuan snapped, “Why do you care so much? What does it have to do with you?”

“I…” Meng Changge saw her walking faster and faster, afraid that she would disappear in the blink of an eye, so she quickly stepped forward and grabbed her sleeve tightly. “Don’t agree to it!”

Lan Yuan stopped and turned back suspiciously. “Don’t agree to what?”

“The question you asked me earlier,” Meng Changge said, biting her lip as if steeling herself. “About having a child with just anyone. If you’re asking for my opinion, then I think… I think you shouldn’t agree.”

Lan Yuan frowned, studying her in silence.

“I know, you are the Sea Empress and bear a heavy responsibility. Lan Wu also married my junior sister early, so your clan and the sea demons all hope that you will continue the bloodline. But that’s not right.” Meng Changge took a deep breath, her fingers trembling slightly. “Even if you have a child, it should be with someone you love. You… you don’t have someone you love, so how can you agree to such a ridiculous request?”

After a moment of silence, a soft chuckle broke the stillness of the grasslands. “Meng Changge, you’re really full of yourself, aren’t you?”

Meng Changge stiffened, looking at her in confusion.

Lan Yuan narrowed her beautiful eyes and said lazily, “Who said I don’t have someone I love?”

***

As the sun set, a group of travelers arrived at a small inn in a coastal town by the South Sea, planning to stay the night before heading into the ocean the next day.

Soon, news of their arrival reached the depths of the sea.. Feng Yi, who still hadn’t found any trace of the empress, felt a wave of relief. She slipped away unnoticed and made her way to the surface. The night sky was dotted with stars, and the streets were quiet, with only a few shops still lit as their owners tallied the day’s earnings.

In a room on the second floor of the inn, a woman with silver hair sat at a table, her head resting on her hand. After reading the words on the paper in front of her, she let out a weary sigh.

Ji Lingyue lifted her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I just finished grading Danqing’s homework.”

“Homework?”

Lan Wu muttered, “It’s just… the questions I left for the disciples a few days ago. If you’re in a fight and your spiritual energy is about to run out, what formation can you use to escape quickly?”

“What’s the answer?”

“There are many answers. Whatever formation they use, as long as they can justify it… But Danqing…” She sighed again. “Danqing’s answer is a summoning formation.”

Ji Lingyue was puzzled. “What’s wrong with a summoning formation? If you can summon your own weapon, isn’t that a great help?”

Lan Wu glanced at her. “The summoning formation is fine, but she’s not summoning a weapon. She’s summoning Danbai to help her fight.”

Ji Lingyue burst out laughing. “That’s quite clever.”

“Clever? Danbai isn’t her contracted beast. She can’t just summon her and dismiss her at will. What if she can’t find Danbai one day?” After worrying, she saw that Ji Lingyue was still smiling and couldn’t help but ask, “What are you laughing at?”

Ji Lingyue shook her head. “You look exactly like the elders at Haochen Mountain when they were frustrated with your homework.”

Lan Wu raised an eyebrow. “Are you mocking me?”

“No, I’m not.”

“It’s best if you’re not,” she snorted, put down her pen and paper, and pulled the person who had just taken a bath onto the bed with her. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to be a teacher at all. It’s exhausting. It would be better for the two of us to continue our carefree life.”

Ji Lingyue smiled. “Since you agreed, you have to do it. Besides, this trip to the South Sea is a chance to rest, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she took a deep breath, spreading her body out contentedly. “Finally, I can take a few days off.”

Ji Lingyue turned over with a smile, wanting to cup her face and kiss her, but suddenly sensed something, frowning as she looked at the window not far away. “Who’s there?”

A voice said cautiously, “It’s me, Feng Yi.”

“Feng Yi?” Lan Wu got up in confusion and opened the window. “What are you doing outside the window in the middle of the night instead of coming in through the front door?”

“It’s is a long story,” Feng Yi climbed in furtively. “Your Highness, I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“Please come closer.”

Lan Wu gave her a puzzled look but obediently leaned in. “What’s with all the secrecy? What’s going on…”

“…”

“Huh?”

She straightened up abruptly, staring at Feng Yi in shock. The mermaid nodded solemnly. “You heard me right. That’s the situation.”