Li Xian noticed that Shen Qing's eyes were fixed on him without a blink, and an indescribable shyness welled up from the bottom of his heart.
"Shen Qing, do I look... strange like this?" Li Xian asked cautiously, touching his ears uneasily.
Following Li Xian's movement, Shen Qing then noticed that Li Xian's ears had transformed into the shape of fish fins. Their outlines were as transparent as crystals, faintly glinting with a soft light. This unique shape caught Shen Qing's attention.
Shen Qing walked forward dazedly, reached out his hand, and touched Li Xian's ears.
They're different from those of humans...
Having reached this conclusion, Shen Qing found it extremely novel and couldn't help playing with them.
Li Xian's amber eyes flickered. He raised his hand and grabbed Shen Qing's mischievous hand. In a deep voice, he asked, "Shen Qing, don't you dislike me like this?"
Shen Qing didn't detect the awkwardness in Li Xian's tone. With a hint of novelty, he said, "Why would I dislike you? You look so good like this. I like it very much."
Like!
Li Xian swallowed hard, and his eyes became scorching.
"Do you really like it, Qingqing?"
"Don't you think the merman clan is dangerous? They use their voices to bewitch others, love luxury, and have an extreme possessiveness towards their partners. Aren't you afraid, Qingqing?"
Shen Qing watched Li Xian's lips part and close as he spoke. The voice that came from Li Xian seemed to have a great bewitching power, making Shen Qing's mind start to grow hazy.
"Of course not. You're a merman, but you're also Li Xian. If it's Li Xian, I don't dislike you."
Shen Qing mumbled in a daze, pouring out confessions like spilling beans.
Chen Xi, standing aside, watched Li Xian with a satisfied look helplessly. He endured it for a while, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, he said with a complicated expression, "Li Xian, the sound enchantment technique of the merman clan isn't used like this..."
Li Xian gave Chen Xi a cold look, and Chen Xi immediately shut his mouth and didn't dare to say another word.
Oh well, young people's romance is none of his business.
By the end of the sweet talk, Shen Qing didn't even know what she was saying. She only felt parched and had an urge to kiss those bewitching lips.
But Li Xian's soft laugh made Shen Qing suddenly regain her senses. She saw Li Xian trying hard to hold back his laughter, his face turning a bit red. Only then did she belatedly realize what she had said.
"Li Xian! What did you do to me?!"
Shen Qing glared at Li Xian angrily. She had just taken a look at Li Xian's ears and listened to him say a few words, and it was as if she had lost her mind.
The sound enchantment technique of the merman clan was truly terrifying.
Seeing that Shen Qing was a bit angry, Li Xian quickly begged for forgiveness. "I didn't do it on purpose. After transforming into a merman, there are some things I can't control."
When Li Xian spoke, he deliberately added a hint of grievance. Sure enough, Shen Qing's expression softened. When she looked at Li Xian again, she was no longer as angry as before.
"Don't do it again!"
Shen Qing broke free from Li Xian's hand. When she saw that Li Xian's skin was as white as pearls and faintly shining, she felt a bit resentful in her heart.
Previously, Shen Qing had thought she was fair enough. But compared with Li Xian in his merman form, she felt like a piece of charcoal.
Family genes were really important!
"Gentlemen, can we set off? If we delay any longer, I'll fall asleep." Chen Xi reminded them helplessly.
Shen Qing turned around and patted Li Xian on the shoulder. "Let's go. Today, I'll have to trouble you to be my mount."
Li Xian desperately suppressed the urge to smile and said, "Yes, ma'am."
---
Over the waters of the South Sea, clusters of blood - red mists were floating.
When Pei Xuanjing and the other two's boat sailed here, they thought they had accidentally entered some blood - filled hell.
"Senior Brother, what's going on? Why is there so much... blood on the sea?" He Yu frowned, not sure if the blood - red substance was really blood.
There was such a large expanse of red, but they didn't smell the expected stench of blood.
Pei Xuanjing had once come to the South Sea with Master Heng Ling and knew the hunters' habits of hunting the red - silk pearl fish. So he explained.
"The red - silk pearl fish is so expensive because it's extremely difficult to catch. Once it leaves the South Sea, it will turn into a pool of blood. Even if it's fished out with the water from the South Sea, this can't be avoided. So every year, there are people trying various methods to hunt it."
"And this blood - red color is from the red - silk pearl fish that failed to be caught and turned into blood."
He Yu nodded in disgust. After knowing that it wasn't something dangerous, he stopped looking.
Not far away, Shen Chuyun still had a gloomy face. Since the fight between Pei Xuanjing and He Yu last time, he had become so silent. He didn't talk much on weekdays and just sat quietly in the corner, seemingly lost in thought.
Pei Xuanjing didn't want the relationship among the disciples of their sect to turn sour, so he pulled He Yu to apologize. Unfortunately, Shen Chuyun didn't even lift his eyelids. He just said indifferently that it was okay.
This really infuriated He Yu, the young master. After that, he never bothered with Shen Chuyun again.
The hunting season was almost over, and many boats had already returned. Along the way, they could see some fierce - looking cultivators glaring at them fiercely, afraid that they would come to snatch their prey.
Now only a few small boats dared to come and take a chance after the big boats had left.
Pei Xuanjing looked at the same scenery all around and felt a bit irritated in his heart.
All the way, he had been looking for traces of Shen Qing and Li Xian.
Unfortunately, among the many boats they passed by, there was no familiar figure. The South Sea was so vast that it was too difficult to find someone.
"Senior Brother, we've been out at sea for almost half a month. You can see that there aren't many boats on the sea anymore. Moreover, after the hunting season, the South Sea will enter the rainy season. If we stay here any longer, we'll be in danger."
After analyzing the situation, He Yu carefully probed, "How about we go back to the shore first? Maybe Shen Qing has already returned."
Pei Xuanjing shook his head firmly. "No. If Shen Qing had appeared on the shore, your He family's spies would have already sent the news. Since there's no news, it means Shen Qing is still at sea."
"You also said that the rainy season is coming soon. What if Shen Qing is in danger and doesn't have time to go back? Let's keep looking."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Pei Xuanjing, He Yu felt secretly annoyed but helpless.
He couldn't beat Pei Xuanjing.
But then, their boat shook violently, as if it had been hit by something at the bottom.
Shen Chuyun snapped out of his thoughts and stood up in surprise.
All three of them tensed up. Such an impact could only be caused by a reef or a huge sea beast.
"Junior Brother Four! Come here!"
Hearing Pei Xuanjing's call, Shen Chuyun lifted his legs and ran towards Pei Xuanjing and He Yu.
But before he could run a few steps, under the horrified gazes of Pei Xuanjing and He Yu, Shen Chuyun felt something wrap around his waist. A powerful suction force firmly trapped him.