The Merman's Lament - Wangxian

~02~

One day, Nie Huaisang, just like any other day, told Lan Wangji to follow him to yet another shipwreck. Lan Wangji made sure his uncle was not around and fled, meeting with Nie Huaisang at their secret hideout. Together, they swam all the way to the border of the underwater kingdom, almost reaching the sea wizard's territory.

Even if they were told time and time again to never get so close to Wen Ruohan's territory since he was considered the worst creature to ever exist, their thirst for treasure hunting was bigger than anything else.

Still, to say they were scared was an understatement, at least for Nie Huaisang, who was a scaredy cat. Lan Wangji, however, was not scared at all.

"Brother Wangji, let's hurry up," said Nie Huaisang with a face paler than a sheet of paper. "The sea wizard might kill us if he catches us being so close to his lair!"

"Huaisang, he won't kill us. I have been to this area many times before and he doesn't really mind it as long as you don't fully get into his territory without the intent to make a deal with him."

Still, Nie Huaisang still trembled as if a cold wind was hitting him. It was hard to believe otherwise when he had heard nothing but horror stories about Wen Ruohan.

Nobody seemed to find anything he ever did good and thus would spread bad rumors about him. It was said that he would kill whoever approached his lair and then used their remains for creating spells or he would just keep them as trophies on the walls. Whoever made a deal with him was said to always meet a tragic end, but even if many would never even think about ever trying to make a deal with him to fulfill their greatest wishes, there were still a few creatures that were desperate enough to do so.

Whether they did meet a tragic end or not was unknown as, even if they lived, they were shunned by everyone else for even doing something so forbidden.

The shipwreck was bigger than many others they had found. The wood was of greater quality compared to others, but since there were many storms in the area, it had still managed to sink. Taking a better look at it, they saw that it had a purple flag with a lotus flower on it and several other emblems around its entire structure. Lan Wangji didn't think twice before getting inside and starting to search. He tried to find something that wasn't already in his collection, and that's when he was met with the sight of a statue that had miraculously not broken.

It represented a young looking man, probably of his same age. His hair was long, tied in a ponytail. He was dressed in elegant and fancy looking clothes, which gave the image of someone who was either a prince or a noble.

Lan Wangji, as if hypnotized, couldn't stop looking at his face. He was probably the most handsome being he had ever seen. No merfolk was that beautiful in all seven seas and none of them could even awaken his interest like this unknown human could.

Nie Huaisang, who was even more scared then, pulled at his arm to try and get him to come back to his senses.

"Brother Wangji, stop staring at that statue and let's leave!" he whined while trying not to tremble. "I don't want to be used for spells or be anybody's trophy!"

Lan Wangji reacted and gave into his friend's request to leave. However, he decided to take the statue with him even if it was really heavy. He was determined to place it in his garden so he could admire it peacefully.

"Brother Wangji, why are you taking the statue with you?! It's too heavy and if he goes after us you won't be able to swim fast enough!" cried Nie Huaisang as they swam away.

"Huaisang, he is not going after us nor he probably has any interest in doing so," reassured Lan Wangji after looking behind them.

"What if he used an invisibility spell or something like it?!"

Lan Wangji was so done with his scaredy cat friend he had the urge to leave him right there and swim away with the statue. Still, he didn't act on it and just kept swimming until they reached their secret hideout again. They were both tired from going so quickly, so they had to stop for a moment to recover.

"That was so close!" exclaimed Nie Huaisang.

Lan Wangji chose to not say anything and just began staring at the statue again, leaving Nie Huaisang slightly concerned.

"Brother Wangji, you are scaring me looking at the statue as if you wanted to eat whoever that human is!"

It was hard for Lan Wangji not to do so. It made him feel butterflies in his stomach whenever he did and he could feel his heart beating quickly.

Now he wanted to know who that boy was and where he was.