Into The Sea

The giant whale surged through the waves, its massive back carrying two figures who lay side by side, their heads resting against each other, as they gazed at the starry sky above. The cool evening breeze brushed past them, and for a long while, they simply stared in silence.

After a long while, a voice broke the silence.

“You know,” Lan Yueyao said softly, “for thousands of years, the heir to the Sea Emperor has always been required to marry within the sea clans, to form an unbreakable alliance.”

Chu Chunhan blinked, and before she could ask anything, Lan Yueyao continued, “But someday, someone has to break that tradition, don’t they?”

She smiled, her eyes curving with quiet determination.

“And someone has to bring the merfolk clan back to a place where they can be touched by the sun.”

Chu Chunhan hummed in agreement. “You’ll succeed.”

Lan Yueyao turned over, playing with a strand of her hair. “If I don’t have any heirs, I’ll pass the throne to Zhichuan’s children. He’s been getting quite close with the eldest princess of the Dragon Clan lately. Perhaps they’ll have good news soon.”

Chu Chunhan replied, “mm.”

Lan Yueyao pouted, tugging her ear. “Why do you always answer with just ‘hmm’ or ‘oh’?”

Chu Chunhan ducked her head a little under the playful assault, but made no move to stop her.

“I haven’t been home in a long time,” she said quietly.

Lan Yueyao froze, then sighed heavily. “It’s fine if you don’t mention it, but now that you have, I’m starting to get nervous. Your family… do you really think they’ll like me?”

“They will,” Chu Chunhan said. “They are good people.”

Perhaps it was because they were nearing home, but she felt more relaxed. She turned to look at the beautiful face of the merfolk beside her and whispered, “I don’t think I’ve ever told you about my family.”

Lan Yueyao was curious. “Wait, the Chu family has some hidden secrets?”

“Not secrets exactly,” Chu Chunhan said, folding her hands over her stomach, voice gentle, “but we do have some old stories passed down.”

“What kind of stories?”

Chu Chunhan smiled faintly, “Have you ever heard of the kingdom of Zisang?”

Lan Yueyao quickly shook her head.

Chu Chunhan smiled. “That’s not surprising. Even among humans, many don’t know about this small border kingdom.”

“Our Chu family’s ancestors were once the kingdom’s generals. Four hundred years ago, the kingdom of Zisang was destroyed. Our loyal ancestors followed the queen, fleeing from the far west to the far east, all the way to the sea.”

“The queen was a cultivator, but was severely injured and dying in the war. After reaching the Eastern Sea, she and our ancestor found a beautiful island. They spent years building an underground palace, where she buried herself and her  beloved.”

“Beloved?”

Chu Chunhan hummed. “They say her beloved had long since died, but the queen carried her body all that time, searching for all kinds of ways to revive her.”

Lan Yueyao asked, “Did she succeed?”

“Of course not,” Chu Chunhan said. “There’s no magic in this world that would bring the dead back to life.”

“True.” Lan Yueyao turned over, resting her head on her arm. “What happened after that?”

“After that, our ancestors stayed behind to guard the tomb. Over the centuries, generations of Chu descendants were born and raised on that island, living according to the family’s sacred duty to guard the tomb.”

“Until one day, a descendant of the Chu family left the island to study under a master. After many years, he returned and founded the Penglai Sect right there on the island.”

Lan Yueyao was startled. “Then Penglai Island is…”

“Exactly,” Chu Chunhan said. “The island was named after the Penglai Sect.” She also turned over, facing Lan Yueyao. “However, most of the disciples in Penglai are just children of nearby fishermen who were sent here to find a place for themselves.”

“No wonder Penglai isn’t very famous.” Lan Yueyao smiled, adding, “But my father always said you’d become famous one day. Maybe by then, Penglai will gain some recognition because of you.”

“Does it really matter if we’re more famous?” Chu Chunhan said. “I think living a simple, peaceful life is just as good.”

“It is good, but it’s too bad,” Lan Yueyao said, taking her hand, feeling pleased. “You’re going marry the Sea Empress. You won’t be living a simple, peaceful life.”

Chu Chunhan also smiled. The two of them stared at each other, giggling for a while, then embraced, falling asleep under the starry sky.

The next day, they reached Penglai Island.

At first, everything went smoothly, so smoothly that it felt unbelievable. Penglai Island was beautiful, and the Chu family was warm and friendly. Even after revealing her identity, the kind old man smiled, holding their hands, telling them to take care of each other in the future.

Those few days were the happiest, most carefree days of Lan Yueyao’s life.

But on the seventh night, everything changed.

She was awakened from her sleep, bound by demon-binding ropes and a soul-locking collar. She was ruthlessly dragged out of the room and thrown into the middle of the courtyard.

Under the icy moonlight, countless Chu family members surrounded her, their faces pale and stiff like lifeless puppets, staring at her without blinking.

A cold blade quickly sliced across her shoulder, and blood gushed out. Lan Yueyao groaned and looked up in shock. The person holding the blade was actually Chu Chunhan’s father, Chu Chen.

Chu Chen lifted the bloodied knife to his lips, greedily licking the blood from the blade. He smacked his lips and let out a disturbing laugh. “As expected… Merfolk blood really is something else.”

“Father!”

A familiar voice cried out. Chu Chunhan ran over from the side, her face paling when she saw Lan Yueyao. “What are you doing? What are you all doing?!”

Chu Chen narrowed his eyes dangerously.

“Don’t move!” he barked, pressing the blade against Lan Yueyao’s throat.

“One wrong step, and I’ll kill her right now!”

Chu Chunhan froze, looking at Chu Chen in disbelief. “You sent me away tonight just to… just to do this? Have you gone mad?!”

“You’re the one who’s gone mad!” Chu Chen roared. “You knew how precious merfolk blood is, and you gained her trust, yet you brought her back and did nothing? You wasted such a treasure!”

“What are you talking about?” Chu Chunhan said sharply. “Have you forgotten? You owe your life to merfolk blood. How can you do this to her?!”

“I haven’t forgotten. That’s exactly why I’m doing this.” Chu Chen gritted his teeth.

“Back then, I was dying, beyond all hope.”

“But you… you brought back half a bowl of merfolk blood, and it not only healed me but also greatly increased my cultivation. Do you understand what that means?”

Chu Chunhan stood there, trembling, her eyes red with rage and grief.

“It means,” Chu Chen said coldly, “that if we had a merfolk captive, we could harvest her blood endlessly.”

“We would no longer need years of hard cultivation. We could grow powerful effortlessly. Penglai would rise to fame across the world!”

“You did this… for this…”

“For this?” Chu Chen laughed, his shoulders shaking. “Han’er, you are exceptionally talented and young. You don’t need this shortcut.”

“But me? A hundred years have passed, and I’m still at the Golden Core stage. To increase my cultivation and gain more lifespan, I have suffered too much, and I almost died because of it. Now that this opportunity is right in front of me, I must seize it!”

“No…” Chu Chunhan clenched her fists, struggling.

“You don’t understand. Yueyao isn’t just anyone… she’s the future Sea Empress! If anything happens to her, the Merfolk will never forgive us!”

“Ha!” Chu Chen laughed, his shoulders shaking. “And you think we, a tiny Penglai, could have gotten our hands on demon-binding ropes and soul-locking without help?”

Chu Chunhan froze. At the same time, the crowd parted, and several tall figures walked in, stopping in the courtyard.

Lan Yueyao, kneeling on the ground, cold sweat pouring down her face, saw a pair of boots stop before her.

she struggled to looked up and saw a familiar face “…Lan Zhichuan?”

The young merfolk looked down at her, his face pale and cold under the moonlight, his blue eyes devoid of any warmth. “It’s been a few months, sister. You’ve become quite pathetic.”

Lan Yueyao stared at him in shock, her gaze shifting to the silent merfolk with his head lowered. “Jianqing?” Her body stiffened.

She stared at them for a long time, finally realizing something. “You’re working together? You gave them the demon-binding ropes?!”

“Yes.” Lan Zhichuan said calmly. “I made a deal with Island Master Chu. I provided him with weapons and tools to capture you, and in return, I’ll give you and some other merfolk to him.”

Lan Yueyao’s eyes widened. “Other merfolk?”

“Oh,” Lan Zhichuan narrowed his eyes. “Those fools who still insist on supporting you.”

Bang!

Lan Yueyao struggled violently, but the burning ropes dug deeper into her flesh, searing red marks into her skin. “Why?! Lan Zhichuan, they are your own people!”

“Why? You really don’t know why?” Lan Zhichuan clicked his tongue.

The next moment, he lunged forward, grabbing her collar and dragging her face close to his. His blue eyes burned with fury.

“Why? I also want to know why. Why am I not as good as you? I’m even smarter than you! But the throne, the love of Father and Mother, the support of our people, even Chu Chunhan! Why do I always have to live in your shadow?! I’m done with it. If they won’t choose me, then I’ll take everything by force!”

“As for you, Lan Yueyao,” he rasped with a cruel smile, “you’ll stay trapped here forever, being bled and tortured, never to find peace!”

“Lan Zhi… ugh!”

The soul-locking collar tightened suddenly. Lan Yueyao trembled, her body bending over, her eyes becoming bloodshot. Chu Chunhan instinctively stepped forward. “Stop!”

Lan Zhichuan suddenly reached out, grabbing her arm tightly. “Chu Chunhan.”

He turned, staring into the woman’s angry eyes. “I’ll give you two choices.”

“One, come back to the Kunlun Sea with me, and from now on, obey me. Stay by my side. If you do, I might let Lan Yueyao suffer a little less.”

“Two, refuse to obey and die. But there are so many of us here, you can’t fight them all alone. You’ll eventually lose. And once you’re defeated, I’ll kill you without hesitation. Then I’ll cut off Lan Yueyao’s hands and feet, leaving her trapped in endless agony.”

“Now. Choose!”

“You can probably guess what she chose.”

The wind howled. Through the swirling snowflakes, Lan Yueyao gazed at Lan Wu’s familiar face, whispering, “You should also know how you were born.”

Lan Wu stared at her, as if she had completely lost the strength to resist and the ability to refute.

“You were a child who should never have been born. Your very existence is a testament to your father’s sins.” Lan Yueyao stared at her, a pale smile appearing on her face.

“In this world, aside from Lan Zhichuan and Chu Chen, the person I hate the most is you. I finally managed to escape, finally managed to save her, but because of you, I lost everything again.”

“Tell me, why were you there?”

She looked at Lan Wu, her voice still calm, but the hand gripping Lan Wu’s collar began to tremble. “You shouldn’t have existed. Why did she have to save you? Why are you still alive? You should have died long ago. You should have… died on the day I saved her!”

Lan Wu suddenly closed her eyes, her head pounding as if pierced by needles. In her daze, she suddenly remembered the words of the girl who had accompanied her on the boat to Penglai all those years ago.

“…Before the disaster, Penglai Island was more famous than the three great immortal sects. It might be because the spiritual energy there is abundant. The disciples of Penglai Island were always more powerful than other cultivators of the same age…”

“…It’s a pity that such a prosperous immortal sect was destroyed overnight by demons…”

…

“Penglai…” she murmured, “You destroyed it?”

“Yes.” Lan Yueyao laughed coldly, with a sense of satisfaction. “Penglai’s glory was built on my flesh and blood. I destroyed it with my own hands—What’s wrong with that?!”

Note: Lan Wu and Lan Yuan were not born from their mother. Lan Zhichuan imprisoned Chu Chunhan and used her essence and blood to create the two children. There was no intimate relationship involved.