Inside the water sphere, the merfolk looked utterly despairing, as if long used to being passed from hand to hand. She had been curled up, but the instant she saw Junhua, her entire body trembled in shock.
Junhua eyed Mo Xuanli warily. “You’re giving her to me?”
“You’re a merfolk too, aren’t you?” Mo Xuanli said suddenly. “So who better to take her?”
Junhua’s whole body trembled. Her face darkened as she glared at Mo Xuanli, the whip in her hand already twitching, itching to strike.
Gu Baiqing said in surprise, “How did you guess?”
Mo Xuanli asked, “Brother, you knew from the start?”
Junhua turned to Gu Baiqing, even more shocked.
Gu Baiqing coughed lightly. “I just didn’t think it was necessary to say.”
Mo Xuanli didn’t overthink it. “Back when we were fighting at the auction, that merfolk kept staring at her. Then she left right after. And when you told me to go down and protect her, the real purpose was probably to keep her from touching seawater—so her identity wouldn’t be exposed. Otherwise, with the extent of her injuries, you wouldn’t have needed me to intervene.”
“Besides, I found it strange that someone claiming to live near Beast-Taming Manor would risk themselves to save a merfolk like we did—especially since the hatred toward humans in her eyes was almost impossible to hide. So I made a bold guess.”
Junhua could only stare in shock now. How could he have observed all that?
“You… you two…”
“But then, why couldn’t Three Bean smell it?” Mo Xuanli asked.
Three Bean was a beast, and beasts were far more sensitive to the scent of merfolk. Back in the fishing village, Three Bean had immediately sensed that Gong Zixing’s wife was a merfolk. But being a beast with an innate fondness for merfolk—and since that woman was a stranger, and even pregnant—Three Bean hadn’t gone gossiping about her identity.
However, Junhua had interacted with them far more often. If she really was a merfolk, Three Bean should have said something.
“There are ways to conceal it,” Gu Baiqing said.
The master and disciple continued their discussion between themselves.
“Hey!” Junhua snapped, furious. “Do you two think I don’t exist? If you’ve got questions, just ask me directly!”
Both of them turned to look at her in unison. Junhua immediately regretted her outburst—but then decided to just go all in.
“That’s right! I am a merfolk! So what? I came here to save my persecuted people!”
As Junhua spoke, the merfolk trapped inside the water sphere began shedding pearl-like tears again.
“Merfolk…” Mo Xuanli frowned. “If all merfolk were as powerful as you, how could they still be captured?”
“I’m different, of course! I’m…” Junhua paused mid-sentence, then said stiffly, “Anyway, I’m special—one of the rare merfolks who’s both beautiful and powerful.”
Gu Baiqing tried to suppress a laugh.
Junhua instantly barked, “Am I wrong?”
“You’re right, you’re absolutely right,” Gu Baiqing said quickly when she glared at him. “Let the young lady put on some clothes—we’ll wait outside.”
Saying that, he grabbed Mo Xuanli and stepped out.
That left Junhua alone, maintaining the water sphere with her magic.
“You heard that? He said ‘young lady’ get dressed…” Junhua muttered, looking at the merfolk inside.
The merfolk was staring blankly in the same direction the two had gone.
“They must not know what use we are to them yet,” Junhua murmured bitterly. “So don’t trust anyone too easily.”
Outside, the master and disciple sent Three Bean to find Yu Chun and keep watch, while they themselves began talking about Gong Zixing’s family. They guessed that Gong Zixing had likely given up cultivating immortality for the sake of his merfolk wife—after all, merfolk who lived too long on land would have their lifespans shortened, and cultivators couldn’t survive in the deep sea. The two had clearly sacrificed much to stay together.
Just then, a loud crashing sound came from inside.
Startled, both of them rushed back in—only to find Junhua furiously slamming her fists against the wall. Her hands were already bleeding, yet she couldn’t stop. Rage and grief poured out with every strike, as cracks spread through the wall.
The merfolk woman beside her had already wrapped herself in a robe and collapsed on the floor, trying weakly to stop her but too powerless to move.
That’s when Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli saw the words scrawled on the floor—written in seawater.
It said that in the auction, there were still many merfolk like her waiting to be sold. Because she was the only one left unscarred, with no flaws on her body, she had been chosen for public sale. The others—all disfigured or damaged—would soon be “disposed of.” What that meant was obvious.
Gu Baiqing let out a long sigh and said to Mo Xuanli, “Robbery—once you’ve done it the first time…”
Mo Xuanli nodded. “The second time comes easier.”
Junhua froze mid-swing, turning toward them in disbelief.
The two of them simply tilted their heads toward her. “Move fast—we don’t have time to waste.”
Even as Junhua scooped up the merfolk and followed them at full speed, she could hardly believe it. Were these two really going to help her rescue all the merfolk—from beginning to end?
Frowning slightly as she looked at their figures ahead, the merfolk’s instinct to trust others too easily—a flaw of her kind—began to stir within her.
Finally, they reached the sea.
Gu Baiqing asked, “She’s injured—what happens once she’s back in the water?”
“When she was captured, she was badly wounded. Being away from the sea too long made it impossible for her to recover or even maintain human form. Once she’s back in the ocean, she’ll be free again.”
The merfolk looked at them fearfully, but when their eyes turned toward her, she still nodded.
“She’s thanking you,” Junhua said.
The merfolk couldn’t speak—just as the slaver had said, her throat had been damaged. But she still held out the pearls formed from her tears, offering them as tokens of gratitude.
Neither master nor disciple reached out to take them.
“No need,” Gu Baiqing said calmly. “We’re not in the habit of collecting tears.”
Junhua and the merfolk both froze. The merfolk even crushed one pearl, releasing its spiritual energy to show it wasn’t an ordinary gem.
“Really, keep it,” Gu Baiqing said gently, smiling. “Let’s go—we’ve still got work to do.”
At last, Junhua flung the merfolk into the sea. They watched as she surfaced once, waved at them, and quickly disappeared beneath the waves.
Then the three of them raced back toward the auction.
Apparently, the people there hadn’t expected anyone to be bold enough to commit a robbery in Longan Port—so the defensive barrier arrays were laughably weak. Mo Xuanli broke through them almost instantly, silently took down the guards, caught one of the overseers, and interrogated him.
Finally, they found the entrance to the third underground level.
In truth, merfolk could sense their own kind — but if an array was cast to obscure it, that sense would be lost. That was why earlier, Junhua had only been able to detect the merfolk on the stage, unaware that so many others were hidden below.
At that moment, the merchant was standing there casually inspecting his “goods.” And those “goods” were merfolks.
The instant they descended the staircase, a heavy, metallic stench hit them — the unmistakable scent of blood, human blood.
Suddenly, Mo Xuanli, walking in front, raised an arm to block the two behind him.
“I’ll go alone.”
His voice was low and grave. From his vantage point, he could see everything below — clearly, he had witnessed something.
Junhua’s pupils quivered, her body tensing, but Gu Baiqing held her back.
Moments later, Mo Xuanli shot forward. A brief shout echoed — then a flurry of bodies hitting the ground one after another.
“At this point, only calm can save more lives,” Gu Baiqing said quietly, though he knew his words were useless comfort.
When Mo Xuanli’s voice called up from below, the two of them braced themselves and went down.
But as soon as Gu Baiqing caught sight of what lay below, his stomach lurched — he nearly vomited. He forced himself to look away from the blood-soaked tables that looked like butcher’s blocks, from the huge black cauldrons boiling with some nameless horror. He averted his gaze and looked ahead instead.
There were baskets — full of pearls. Pools of nearly putrid water, where merfolk were being kept alive. On one side stood a row of racks — racks to which female merfolks, in human form, were tied. Mo Xuanli had already covered them with long pieces of cloth.
But some were already dead. And on others, the parts that the cloth could not hide still bore clear traces of what they had endured.
The men Mo Xuanli had knocked unconscious were sprawled about — many half-dressed, obviously having been “occupied” moments before.
Gu Baiqing’s heart clenched in anguish — and Junhua’s face went utterly white.
She rushed forward, frozen for ten full seconds before she suddenly lashed out, the whip in her hand slicing through the air again and again until every man present had his neck snapped — leaving only the unconscious merchant alive.
Then, eyes reddened, she forced herself to calm down and began rescuing the others.
All of them were female merfolk — some only a little over ten years old. When they awoke and saw Junhua, they burst into tears, those who could still move falling to their knees in gratitude. But none of them could make a sound.
After Mo Xuanli broke every array in the place, he came over to Gu Baiqing, and the two decided to head to the storeroom to find clothes for the survivors. There were six still alive.
Just as the earlier merfolk had said — every one of them was injured, their faces and bodies scarred. By this market’s standards, they were “unsellable goods.” Their fate was “waste utilization.”
Junhua swallowed her rage. There was no time — she could only order them to help one another and move quickly. Then she strode to the merchant, forcing him awake.
“You—aren’t you from Beast-Taming Manor? Why are you turning against us?” he stammered, astonished.
“Are there others?” Junhua demanded coldly.
He refused to answer.
Junhua leaned close and began to chant softly by his ear — a merfolk’s song. Within seconds, blood began to stream from all seven of his orifices.
“You’re a merfolk… You’re a merfolk!” he gasped.
“Speak!”
Terrified, the man babbled, “No more—there’s no more! They’re all here! Every merfolk in Longan Port is here, unless someone’s catching them privately!”
“You’re lying!” Junhua snapped. “They told me themselves—they weren’t brought here directly. They were held somewhere else first, then separated and sent here. You dare lie to me? Heh…”
Her hand moved in a blur — and the merchant screamed as one of his eyes was gouged out. “Lying has a price.”
The next moment, her blade pressed against his throat. Surrounded by the corpses of his own men, the merchant dared not deceive her again.
He had never truly feared merfolk before — to him, they were like fish on a chopping block, harmless and helpless. But this one — this terrifying merfolk — made him certain that one wrong word would end his life.
Desperate, he blurted, “It—it’s Beast-Taming Manor! It’s the Yu family! We work for them! Only the Yu family in Longan Port dares capture merfolks. They send us the ones they don’t want—told us to sell them off, to draw in disciples from other sects and let everyone see how useful merfolk can be!”
“Then why were these ones separated out? What happened to the others?” Junhua pressed.
“I—I don’t know! I just follow orders! Maybe the ones sent here were inferior. The good ones—they must’ve kept for themselves. But what they do with them, I swear I don’t know! Please, spare me! I’ve told you everything I know!”
He was still begging for mercy when Junhua cut him off. She seized his head, murmured another merfolk’s chant — and he died in agony, blood streaming from his seven orifices.
“Let’s go.” Junhua lifted the smallest merfolk into her arms and called to her people.
They found several wagons outside the auction. Whether the merfolks were alive, dead, or in pieces, Junhua loaded them all onto the carriages.
She was taking them home.
Inside the wagons, there was no sound of crying — only the soft patter of pearls falling, one after another.
To Gu Baiqing, it was the saddest weeping he had ever heard.
Halfway down the road, Junhua told them to leave her.
And they did. It was time they returned. He only hoped that, for once, their journey home would be smooth.
“We’re cutting it close,” Mo Xuanli said. “The training grounds will be emptying soon. If I use the Void Spirit Space one more time, it should work.”
“After everything that’s happened tonight, we’ve already lost time,” Gu Baiqing replied, following him into a narrow alley, thinking aloud. “Since Beast-Taming Manor is involved in the merfolk trade, they’ll definitely suspect us once word spreads. We’ll need a good excuse for our sudden disappearance.”
“Master, since it’s an uncertain danger, we actually don’t have to go back,” Mo Xuanli said with a frown.
“If we don’t, that’ll just become absconding out of guilt, won’t it? I’m afraid before we even leave Longan Port, a wanted notice will already be waiting for you,” Gu Baiqing replied. “After all, even if we left no obvious trace, being able to pull it off, daring to do it, and having the inclination to do it—there aren’t many people who fit that bill. If we run now, that’s tantamount to admitting it. We’ll have to wait at least a few days.”
Mo Xuanli frowned. “They did something like that—would they really dare act so brazenly in the open…”
He stopped halfway through. Then it struck him—cruelly treating merfolk… in the cultivation world, did that even count as a crime?
Most likely everyone would turn a blind eye. After all, this involved the reputations and interests of many high-level cultivators and immortals hidden behind the scenes.
Gu Baiqing patted his shoulder. “Since some things can’t be reasoned with, we’ll take the roundabout way and play along. Sometimes charging straight ahead only ends up hurting others—and ourselves.”
Mo Xuanli looked at Gu Baiqing, then suddenly asked, “Master, all this is just an excuse, isn’t it? You actually want to go back to look for the merfolk again?”
Gu Baiqing smiled faintly, not explaining. Naturally, it wasn’t for that. That was something Junhua could handle on her own—they didn’t need to interfere. He stayed behind with Mo Xuanli to keep the plot moving—to put on a show for the cultivation world. Regardless of who those people secretly supported or what schemes they hid behind the curtain, on the surface they still had to maintain appearances. He couldn’t let Mo Xuanli once again walk the righteous yet thorn-covered path—some lessons only needed to be learned once.
“Come on! Let’s head to Three Bean.” Gu Baiqing spoke.
The next moment, the two of them shifted locations—appearing in the shadow of a wall behind a crowded street. The Void Spirit Space had placed them in a corner piled with debris, well out of view, avoiding any awkward collisions with the passersby.
Since Mo Xuanli had used Three Bean as his marker, they naturally emerged near Yu Chun’s position. Gu Baiqing urged him, “You go on ahead. I can’t think of a good excuse yet—why don’t you pretend you came out looking for me? I sensed your presence nearby, so I came to find you, and we just happened to miss each other.”
Mo Xuanli frowned. “That excuse… doesn’t take this long…”
As he spoke, a voice suddenly called nearby.
“Brother Mo, are you in there?”
It was Yu Chun. Apparently, he had seen Three Bean by the corner and followed over. But upon seeing the pile of abandoned junk, he hesitated. Could he really be in there? What would he even be doing here?
Hearing Yu Chun’s anxious yet familiar call of “Brother Mo,” Mo Xuanli suddenly remembered his earlier irritation—how that man had seemed too close to his master. The thought sparked again, sour and unpleasant.
Then, a sudden idea flashed through his mind. “Master, I’ve got a way.”
Before Gu Baiqing could react, Mo Xuanli had already tugged loose both their waist sashes.
The belts fell to the ground; their robes loosened and gaped open.
“What are you doing?!” Gu Baiqing was so startled he nearly lost his breath.
And at that exact moment, Three Bean let out a sharp, urgent chirp—apparently warning them that Yu Chun was coming closer.
Before Gu Baiqing could even move, Mo Xuanli’s arm slipped around his waist; his other hand caught Gu Baiqing’s wrist where he tried to clutch his robe, pinning it gently against the wall. Leaning in close, his voice dropped low and husky, whispering with a trace of teasing allure:
“Brother…”
Gu Baiqing’s knees nearly gave out. What the h*ll is this mess—?!
