"Senior Brother, say something!"
Seeing Pei Xuanjing silent and not knowing what he was planning, He Yu's patience was gradually wearing thin after days of tossing on the sea.
Even though he felt guilty towards Shen Qing, it didn't mean that he, a young master, should chase her all over the world to apologize.
Pei Xuanjing looked up at He Yu and saw only impatience in his eyes. Suddenly, a surge of anger welled up in his heart.
He Yu was partly responsible for Shen Qing's death in her previous life. Moreover, Shen Qing was his savior. Yet, he had only listened to Lin Yebai's explanation and then used his sword to scar Shen Qing's face.
Thinking of this, he felt extremely indignant on Shen Qing's behalf.
"Junior Brother, can't we even take a little action after we've done something wrong to Junior Sister?"
He Yu felt Pei Xuanjing's anger but was rather confused.
It was true that they had wronged Shen Qing, but he wasn't the only one who had made mistakes. Besides, he had been deceived. Why was Pei Xuanjing being so harsh on him? Wasn't Pei Xuanjing also at fault in front of Shen Qing?
The discomfort on the sea these days, combined with his grievances, turned into dissatisfaction. He Yu said sarcastically, "Senior Brother, there's no need to stand on your high horse and scold me. No matter how much we do for Shen Qing, she won't appreciate it."
"There's a saying in the mortal world that spilled water can't be gathered up again. Do you think a couple of apologies can resolve the knot in her heart after we've hurt her?"
Seeing that He Yu still didn't know how to reflect on his mistakes, Pei Xuanjing was enraged. He stood up with his sword in hand and glared at He Yu. "Is that what I meant?"
Seeing Pei Xuanjing holding a sword, He Yu also stiffened his spine. He sneered and stared directly at Pei Xuanjing. "What? Senior Brother wants to fight Junior Brother? You drove away Junior Sister, and now you want to drive me away too?"
The two glared at each other, on the verge of a fight.
Shen Chuyun was a bit panicked. After they went out to sea, his combat power had dropped significantly. If these two started fighting, it would be a never - ending disaster.
So he wiped his mouth and forced himself to walk in front of the two to mediate. "Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, don't quarrel here. Our top priority is to find Shen Qing first..."
Seeing Shen Chuyun brazenly trying to play the peacemaker, He Yu became even angrier. "Who do you think you are?"
"Before, I didn't know your relationship with Shen Qing. I thought you really got into the sect with your own abilities. I didn't expect you to be just a gigolo, and a shameless one at that!"
Although Shen Chuyun felt embarrassed, he didn't dare to fight He Yu. He just stood aside silently with a gloomy face.
Pei Xuanjing had long been annoyed by He Yu's habit of bullying others by relying on his status as the young master of the He family. Now seeing him bully a junior of the same sect, he was even more angry.
"Junior Brother, no wonder Shen Qing won't forgive you for being so disrespectful to your fellow disciples. As the senior brother, I must teach you how to take care of your fellow disciples!"
After saying that, Pei Xuanjing pointed his cold sword tip at He Yu and rushed towards him.
He Yu didn't expect Pei Xuanjing to really attack him. He also vented all his grievances and anger, taking out magic treasures from his storage bag as if they were free.
The two fought fiercely on the boat. Shen Chuyun, with his low cultivation, didn't dare to step forward to stop them. He could only silently squat in a corner and watch the two fighting without any emotion.
Fortunately, the He family's boat was of good quality, so the three of them didn't sink to the bottom of the sea.
He Yu's cultivation was originally lower than Pei Xuanjing's. Thanks to the large number of magic treasures he carried, he managed to hold his own against Pei Xuanjing.
Finally, He Yu ran out of spiritual energy and lost a move. He was severely knocked down on the deck by Pei Xuanjing.
After the fight, Pei Xuanjing and He Yu were lying on the ground, out of breath. They didn't understand why their fellow disciples of the past had become like this.
Since Shen Qing had changed, their world had also changed.
"Senior Brother, I was wrong... I just didn't want to admit... that I had done so many things wrong to Shen Qing."
"I'll listen to you. After we find Shen Qing, we'll talk to her properly and ask her to forgive us. After we return to the Qingyun Sword Sect, I'll definitely treat her well."
At that moment, He Yu had already forgiven himself on Shen Qing's behalf.
He thought the previous mistakes should be made up for, but he felt that with his status, being able to do this much for Shen Qing was enough.
Pei Xuanjing closed his eyes and turned his head to the other side. Tears even fell from his eyes.
The boat continued to sail forward, but the relationships among everyone could never return to the way they were before.
Outside the Mermaid Palace--
Reminded by Ling Zhou, Shen Qing quickly bandaged her wounds.
Her blood attracted the horned dragons. One after another, the sounds of dragon roars echoed, sounding extremely plaintive.
The murals also glowed red because of the sounds of the horned dragons, looking extremely strange.
"Little disciple, these horned dragons seem strange. Their eyes are fixed on you, as if you're their prey."
Shen Qing tightened her face and quickly used the image stone to record these red - glowing murals, planning to show them to Li Xian later.
The saltwater soaked her wounds. Even after applying the medicine, the wounds couldn't heal instantly. Instead, more blood flowed out, and the pain became more and more obvious.
In her excitement just now, Shen Qing didn't pay attention to her strength. When she cut her hands with the Forget - Me - Not, she was too forceful. The wounds ran across her entire palms, and now the pain made her tremble.
"Damn it. The effect of the spiritual medicine is slower in the sea water, but these horned dragons seem unable to hold back after smelling the blood."
Shen Qing also regretted her impulsiveness, but now she had to figure out a way to solve this problem.
The horned dragons were too sensitive to blood. If she stayed outside, the blood on her hands would enrage the horned dragons even more.
Therefore, Shen Qing covered her wounds and quickly swam back into the Mermaid Palace.
As Shen Qing moved, the horned dragon group gathered at the door of the Mermaid Palace.
The magic formation could hold off the horned dragons for a while. Shen Qing could only hope that they would disperse on their own after they couldn't smell the blood. For now, she had to treat her wounds first.
After entering the first - floor hall, the statue of the clan leader still stood in the center. But now that Shen Qing knew the truth, the face of the clan leader no longer seemed so kind.
The so - called self - immolation under the moon to atone for sins was just the clan leader's attempt to use his own flesh and blood for sacrifice to give the mermaid clan greater power.
It was a pity that while a phoenix could be reborn from the fire, the mermaids couldn't.
Just as Shen Qing was in a daze looking at the statue of the clan leader, Ling Zhou said tremblingly, "Little disciple, I'm not kidding. Do you have a bit of bad luck in you?"
Shen Qing was puzzled. "Master, you can't curse me like this."
Ling Zhou was speechless and reminded Shen Qing, "Why don't you turn around and take a look?"
Shen Qing frowned and turned around. She found that, at some point, several bubbles with sealed mermaids were floating at the closed door of the Mermaid Palace.
They rose and fell in the water, and their ferocious faces became vivid under the light of the night pearls.
"These bubbles were on the ninth floor. How did they get to the first floor?!"