Into The Sea

Sexual content warning.

When she was a child, the High Priestess had once read her fortune.

“You will earn the love and respect of all.”

The woman sat opposite her, her voice gentle. “Whatever you wish to achieve, you will surely accomplish.”

But the young mermaid listlessly lowered her gaze, her hands unconsciously fidgeting. “Yet, I always feel like I’m the most insignificant person in this sea.”

“Why do you say that?”

The little mermaid pursed her lips, her voice tinged with sadness. “My brother is the future emperor of the Four Seas. My father has been training him by his side since he was young, and he’s deeply valued. And Lan Wu, being the youngest, is always doted on by everyone. Even Mother cares for her the most. Only I… it feels like no one has ever put me first.”

“What about little princess? Isn’t she always clinging to you?”

Lan Yuan smiled faintly. “She does cling to me, but she will grow up eventually. When she does, she’ll have her own path to follow. Even if she puts me first, she won’t be by my side forever.”

The High Priestess sighed softly. “You and the little princess are twins, yet your minds are so different.”

“Does the High Priestess also think I’m overthinking things?”

The woman shook her head, her voice gentle. “I told you earlier that you will achieve whatever you set your mind to. The person who will always stay by your side and put you first will appear in time.”

The girl was silent for a while, then stubbornly said, “Forget it.”

She looked up at the High Priestess, her voice stubborn. “It doesn’t matter if that person exists or not. I don’t need such useless love. Even if no one wants to be with me, I can still live well on my own.”

Looking back now, those were just the words of a child, spoken out of resentment for the elders’ favoritism. But it wasn’t until much later that she understood that she never needed her father’s love, and what she thought was her mother’s favoritism was just protection for a young life.

But those feelings of loss and jealousy had indeed happened.

“Mmm…”

A soft and burning body pressed against her, and long arms wrapped around her like vines, holding her tightly.

Lan Yuan snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at the woman gasping for breath.

Meng Changge’s face was flushed, her thick eyelashes already stuck together with moisture, and her eyes were shimmering with glistening tears. Lan Yuan gently twisted her wrist, and Meng Changge moaned, her brows furrowing as she trembled and clenched her legs. “Ah, stop…”

The entrance was wet and soft, her fingers sinking into the warm, clinging flesh. Lan Yuan stroked her sweaty back and asked patiently, “Do you want me to go slower?”

The woman hummed in agreement, then said in a hoarse voice, “You were distracted earlier.”

Lan Yuan was unrepentant. “I wasn’t.”

“Can you swear it?”

“Of course.”

“Then swear it on your title as Sea Empress.”

“…”

Silence fell between them. Meng Changge’s eyes widened. “You were—ah, stop, don’t move…”

Lan Yuan ignored her, and the sly tentacles once again binding Meng Changge’s hands above her head as she flipped her over. Meng Changge gasped, struggling to get up, but the tall mermaid pressed down from behind, her tail parting Meng Changge’s legs as she spread her reddened cheeks, revealing the dripping, red entrance.

Lan Yuan watched with interest, her fingers teasing the soft folds. The woman beneath her shivered, her back arching as her shoulder blades became more pronounced. “You… you’re such a bully…”

“So what?”

Lan Yuan shallowly inserted her fingers, and the warm entrance eagerly sucked them in, releasing a stream of sweet nectar. Lan Yuan chuckled, conjuring a walnut-sized water orb in her palm and pressing it against Meng Changge’s swollen clit.

Before Meng Changge could react, the orb came to life, wrapping around the sensitive clit and applying pressure from all sides.

“Ah!”

She gasped and arched her back, kicking wildly against the mossy bedding. “No, take it off… ah, ah…”

“You’re clearly enjoying it. Why should I take it off?”

Lan Yuan felt the walls clenching tighter than usual and smirked, pressing down on Meng Changge’s waist to make her take her entire finger. The next moment, a gush of hot fluid sprayed out, drenching her tail.

“Mmm… ah…”

Meng Changge sobbed, her legs trembling as she continued to release fluid uncontrollably. When she felt the cold, smooth tentacles creeping up her stomach, she shuddered and rasped, “No more…”

“It’s okay.”

Lan Yuan’s amused voice whispered in her ear as she hugged Meng Changge from behind, her chin resting lazily on her shoulder. “It feels good, doesn’t it?”

With that, she glanced down, admiring the view. Meng Changge’s wet thighs were spread wide by the tentacles, her well-used entrance still gripping Lan Yuan’s fingers. Each thrust elicited another gush of fluid. Meng Changge’s stomach quivered as tears streamed down her face, her words broken. “You… you’re such a bully…”

Lan Yuan hummed in agreement. “Now you know. I’m not a good demon. Do you still like me?”

The woman sniffled, her voice choked. “I do.”

Lan Yuan was stunned for a moment: “No hesitation?”

“No… no need, ah…” She moaned, reaching her peak once more, her body going limp as she closed her eyes. “Lan… Lan Yuan…”

After a moment of silence, Lan Yuan replied softly, “I’m here.”

She withdrew her fingers, gently massaging Meng Changge’s trembling thighs before removing the lively water orb. “Alright, I won’t torture you anymore.”

The tentacles binding her limbs vanished, and Meng Changge collapsed into Lan Yuan’s arms, encircled by the mermaid’s long tail. Exhausted, she quickly grew drowsy, turning over to nestle against the familiar presence.

At some point, a thoughtful murmur reached her ears.

“The High Priestess was right, it seems.”

Meng Changge was confused: “What?”

“Nothing important,” Lan Yuan said, brushing the damp hair from her forehead. “Sleep now.”

The next morning, the neatly dressed Sea Empress finally appeared in front of Feng Yi.

The dutiful attendant pretended not to see the woman looking around behind her, and reported: “The contract has been roughly drafted. Last night, the human sect leaders met again, and Sect Leader Qi of the Jintang Palace finally agreed to sign the new contract with Your Majesty.”

“Um.”

“The Shark Clan of the West Sea has sent another petition, still about naming the princess. Sha Huai says Your Majesty is, of course, the mother of the little princess…”

Meng Changge next to her was startled: “What!?”

Lan Yuan was also taken aback: “Nonsense!”

Feng Yi paused and continued to read: “Because The Empress is the mother of all sea clans.”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Meng Changge laughed uncontrollably: “That shark really knows how to flatter!”

Lan Yuan looked at her gloomily: “Is it funny?”

Meng Changge was immediately silent, lowering her head: “It’s not funny.”

Feng Yi rolled her eyes secretly and coughed dryly: . “There’s one more thing. The Grand Elder and the other elders have gone to Nanyu.”

Lan Yuan frowned: “Why?”

“They were… upset by Her Majesty—I mean, by the Eldest Princess. The Grand Elder left a message saying that if Your Majesty doesn’t change your mind, they’ll stay on Nanyu in seclusion and never return.”

“Then let them stay.”

After a pause, she couldn’t help but ask, “But what do they want me to change my mind about? BWhat did Lan Wu say to them before I returned?”

Speaking of this, Feng Yi couldn’t help but smile: “You don’t know yet, the Eldest Princess had a heated argument with the elders. She said that Your Majesty is The Empress of the Four Seas, and you can do whatever you want.”

Lan Yuan was stunned: “She said that?”

“Yes.” Feng Yi nodded and repeated what they said that day to Lan Yuan one by one: “This is the first time I have seen the Eldest Princess so fierce. She left the elders speechless.”

Lan Yuan chuckled, her expression softening. “My sister has always been more capable than people think.”

After Feng Yi left, Lan Yuan stood on the vast sea with her hands behind her back, staring blankly into the distance. Meng Changge followed her gaze for a long time but couldn’t see why, and couldn’t help asking: “What are you looking at?”

The mermaid hesitated before saying, “When I was young… I was jealous of Lan Wu.”

Meng Changge blinked and turned to look at her.

Lan Yuan said calmly: “I love her, but I was also jealous of her. Even though she always clung to me, listened to me, and gave me all the best things, I always felt she would leave me. Once she found someone she loved, I wouldn’t be as important to her anymore.”

“But in truth, love isn’t something that can be ranked. Her love for me and her love for Ji Lingyue don’t need to be compared.” Lan Yuan turned to her with a wry smile. “Such a simple truth, yet it took me so long to understand. Do you think it’s ridiculous?”

Meng Changge shook her head: “Isn’t it because you love her so much that you couldn’t understand?”

Lan Yuan snorted. “Obviously.”

Looking at her smug look, Meng Changge pursed her lips and coughed dryly: “So, if you can treat me like that too…”

Before she finished speaking, she met Lan Yuan’s smiling eyes and was too embarrassed to continue.

Lan Yuan chuckled and took the initiative to reach out her hand: “Okay.”

Meng Changge smiled and put her hand on it obediently: “You said it yourself. You can’t go back on it.”

“Of course,” Lan Yuan raised her chin and said proudly: “I am the Sea Empress. I don’t go back on my word.”

The sun rises and the moon sets, spring goes and autumn comes, and before anyone knew it, a shocking rumor began to spread among the sea clans: the mighty Empress of the Four Seas was to take a human cultivator as her partner.

The mermaid elders who had been in seclusion on Nanyu for several years rushed back to Kunlun Sea overnight, pleading, crying, and even threatening to beg the Sea Empress to change her mind. The young Sea Empress, unable to bear it any longer, waved her hand and decided to leave her fate in the hands of the High Priestess.

On the day the High Priestess divined, countless sea clans rushed from all directions. The originally wide and boundless Kunlun Sea was as crowded and noisy as a bustling marketplace. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the High Priestess performed a series of intricate rituals before solemnly picking up a bone slip. “The divination shows that only the strongest sea demon is worthy of The Empress.”

The elders breathed a sigh of relief and were about to put pressure on the Sea Empress when they heard her ask:

“High Priestess, who is the strongest sea demon?”

The High Priestess bowed: “Of course, it is the Empress.”

Hearing this, the Sea Empress sitting on the throne smiled lazily: “In that case, if any of you believe you are stronger than me, step forward now.”

The crowd fell silent. After a long wait, she raised an eyebrow, feigning disappointment. “It seems no sea demon is worthy of me. What do you think, Grand Elder?”

The Grand Elder’s face was livid, and just as he was about to open his mouth, the Eldest Princess next to him said: “Didn’t the elders agree to abide by the High Priestess’s decision? Are you going back on your word now?”

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the elder, his expression dark, finally gritted out, “I… have nothing to say.”

Even so, the human cultivator had to prove her strength to gain the sea clans’ recognition.

After much thought, she decided to venture to the distant Flame Lands to slay the legendary demon and present its heart to the Sea Empress.

She left alone in the summer and returned three years later in the fall, bringing back a child and a crystal-clear golden heart. Her body bore new scars, but she had succeeded.

The sea clans finally acknowledged her, and after days of intimacy with the Sea Empress, Lan Yuan asked about the little girl she had brought back.

“She is also a mermaid,” Meng Changge said: “I found her nearly drowning on my way back, so I saved her.”

“Mermaid? Drowning?”

Lan Yuan couldn’t figure it out. After questioning the child, she learned that the girl was a half-human, half-mermaid hybrid who had grown up on land with her mother. She had never transformed into her mermaid form or learned to swim. On her way to Kunlun Sea, her boat had capsized in a storm, and she had nearly drowned.

Lan Yuan asked, “Didn’t your mother worry about you traveling alone?”

The girl shook her head and said in a low voice, “My father died a long time ago, and my mother also passed away recently, so I came out, wanting to… I want to see my people.”

Lan Yuan was stunned and softened her voice: “What’s your name?”

“Yao.” She raised her head, her blue eyes clear and transparent: “Qin Yao.”

Lan Yuan hummed and rubbed her head gently: “You’ve worked hard, you’ve come such a long way, welcome home.”

From then on, the Sea Empress had a small figure by her side, and the human cultivator continued to roam the world, always returning to her lover with carefully chosen gifts.

This time, she brought back a beautiful flower.

“This is the first time I have seen a flower with five colors. It’s so beautiful. I thought you would definitely like it, so I brought it back to give it to you.” Meng Changge said, cautiously glancing at Lan Yuan. “But what I didn’t know was… it was the flower the Whale Clan princess cultivated.”

Lan Yuan’s face was livid: “Not only did she cultivate it, but it’s also a medicinal flower that blooms once every fifty years. She said she turned around for a moment, and a woman with a red saber snatched the flower. She chased after you but couldn’t catch up. Now she’s here with the flowerpot, demanding an explanation!”

Meng Changge was startled: “Then… what should I do? Should I return the flower?”

“The flower is already dead, what’s the use of returning it?” Lan Yuan was furious: “Waiting for you to fix this would take forever. I’ve already handled it!”

Meng Changge asked curiously: “How did you handle it? Did you use… use…”

Lan Yuan glared at her: “What do you want to say? Say it directly.”

Meng Changge pretended to be calm: “You didn’t use your identity as the Sea Empress to handle it, did you?”

“Meng! Chang! Ge!”

Lan Yuan’s anger caused her body to swell, her long, beautiful tail transforming in an instant. But the once-glorious tail now had several missing scales, leaving ugly, flesh-colored patches.

Meng Changge was stunned. “This is…”

“The medicinal properties of her flower are similar to mermaid scales,” Lan Yuan said through gritted teeth. “You caused this mess, and I couldn’t take scales from other merfolk, so I had to use my own!”

After a moment of silence, Meng Changge suddenly laughed.

“You’re still laughing!” Lan Yuan waved her teeth and claws: “My tail! My tail is the most beautiful! I polish it with pearl powder every day, and now it’s missing scales. It’ll take two or three months to grow back. I can’t even bear to transform now!”

Meng Changge hugged her, still laughing. “I’m sorry, but your tail still looks beautiful. It’s not ugly at all, really.”

“Nonsense!”

“Then just don’t transform for now. Besides, even if you do, who would dare laugh at our Sea Empress?”

“You would.”

Meng Changge choked, twitched the corners of her mouth, and forcibly suppressed her smile: “I was wrong. Later, I’ll go apologize to the Whale Clan princess.”

“No need,” Lan Yuan finally calmed down a bit, and said unhappily: “I’ve already given her my scales. She’s profited from this. What’s there to apologize for?”

“But I still need to apologize. After all, I took her flower without asking. That’s different from you giving her your scales,” Meng Changge said, glancing at Lan Yuan’s tail again and bursting into laughter. “Haha, it looks so strange.”

Lan Yuan stiffened and clenched her fists unbearably.

“Meng! Chang! Ge!”