Zanxing

Chapter 111 - End of Fate (3)

Watching the royal family's secretive demeanor, Yin Ying felt a sense of satisfaction.

He hadn't forgotten the man's conditions.

The secret realm of the Lier Kingdom opens once every ten years. To open the secret realm, a direct royal bloodline must ascend the Xingxiu Platform and personally open the entrance. 

If the royal family is coerced into opening the secret realm, the entrance will collapse on its own.

 The Liuli Sect had few members, only Rong Yu and his senior brother, making it easy to hide. So, he hid within Rong Yu, planning to sneak in when the time came.

However, he didn't expect Gu Baiying and his group to come. Even more unexpectedly, the members of the Taiyan Sect accidentally discovered the truth from years ago.

He hadn't come for revenge, at least not entirely. But now that the truth was revealed, Yin Ying felt that entering the secret realm no longer mattered. After all, he had achieved his goal.

"What do they want you to find in the secret realm?" Gu Baiying asked.

"I won't tell you."

"It seems you don't want the demon core."

"It's a painting, a portrait of a woman! He said I would understand once I saw it," Yin Ying said angrily. Not everyone could endure the pain of having their demon core cut open.

"I still don't understand," Zanxing said seriously, looking at him. "Whether it's for revenge or entering the secret realm, I've never been hostile to you. But why did you sneak into my room at night?"

Yin Ying was stunned, his gaze falling on Zanxing, becoming somewhat strange: "That's because you..."

Just as he said this, the black scale on his chest suddenly flashed.

"Danger!" Gu Baiying's face changed, pulling Zanxing behind him.

From Yin Ying's chest, large amounts of black mist rose. Rather than mist, it was more like beams of light formed from black mist, piercing through Yin Ying's chest in an instant. The merman's expression became pained, as if enduring great torment. The beams of light gradually spread, enveloping Yin Ying like a foggy swamp.

"Yin Ying!" Yin Li shouted in panic.

But he was just a wisp of a soul and couldn't even touch his brother's body. He could only watch as Yin Ying was swallowed by the black mist, leaving only a tattered robe on the ground.

"Is he... dead?" Tian Fangfang asked dumbfoundedly.

"That scale was problematic," Gu Baiying said, his face unusually grim. "Perhaps the other party used it to give him demon power, holding his weakness in their hands. Once something went wrong, they took the merman's life."

It was a foolproof deal.

"Yin Li..." Zanxing looked at the little merman. He had wandered alone in the royal tomb's passage for decades, thinking he could touch freedom, even if just for a moment. But just after reuniting with his closest kin, they had to part.

She wanted to fulfill Yin Li's wish, but this long story was destined to end in tragedy from the beginning.

The cultivators watched him from afar, and in the vast world, the little merman's figure was pitiful.

Until a woman's voice rang out: "Yin Li..."

Yin Li moved, slowly turning around.

The woman in red stared at him, with a bow and arrow fallen beside her. Her gaze pierced through the years, like their first encounter at sea, confused and warm, making him never forget.

Princess Lizhu slowly approached, standing before Yin Li.

Forty years had passed since then.

Forty years, a mere moment for a merman, but enough to turn a human girl into an elderly woman.

She still loved wearing red, just like when she killed pirates on the merchant ship, cutting her robe short and rolling up her wide sleeves, looking heroic. Her hair was still tied high, but it had turned white. Her eyes were still bright, but wrinkles had crept up the corners.

Life had passed for a long time.

"Yin Li... is that your name?" Princess Lizhu asked softly.

He was stunned for a moment, then shyly nodded.

Tears flowed from her eyes: "I'm sorry."

The merman smiled: "It's okay."

Those truths, hidden deep in the royal tomb and turned to ashes with the demon-slaying array, burned alone like the ever-burning lamps in the underground passage. Perhaps one day they would see the light of day, or perhaps they would never be known.

The white jade palace of the royal tomb seemed insignificant for a moment. The wind blew from all directions, and the earth was empty. The merman's silver tail gradually appeared, drawing a vivid streak in the empty night sky.

The young man looked at the white-haired woman before him, then shyly and firmly kissed her forehead.

Time seemed to stand still.

He remembered long ago, the moon over the western sea illuminating the great ship. He saw the woman in red and black hair standing at the bow, carefully wiping her horn bow. He eagerly followed her to a foreign land from behind the reef.

That night, the princess first acknowledged the silent little guard and said to him, "Thank you." He gave her the blue conch he had polished countless times, hoping to see her smile.

Walking was painful, but he was happy inside.

Humans and demons were always on different paths, and there was no good ending together. But he never hoped to be with her. This humble young man liked someone but couldn't say it, only... only hiding it in his heart.

The merman said, "I want to become human."

The shaman of the Snake Witch Tribe looked at him: "I want your demon core in exchange."

He said, "Okay."

"You have to pluck all the scales from your body one by one."

He said, "Okay."

"It's not easy for demons to become human. Even if you have legs, it will be like walking on the edge of a blade every day."

He said, "Okay."

The witch's eyes were filled with compassion, as if she had seen through everything. She said, "Fate is already determined and cannot be changed. Your relationship with her will begin and end in an instant. Why force it?"

An instant?

Yin Li felt his body becoming light, like the summer wind at the end of the western sea. He looked at the woman before him.

Her eyes clearly reflected him, and she called out his name.

That was enough.

Zanxing once joked: Fish have short memories, only an instant.

But she didn't know that sometimes, that instant is an eternity.

In the sky, the night turned into a dark blue sea. From the merman's tail, it gradually turned into countless brilliant white stars, floating over the vast plain, scattering slowly in the darkness.

From his tail to his body, then to his arms, until his entire being turned into light and disappeared. Only those stunning stars burned brightly and grandly, then returned to tranquility.

The night sky darkened again.

There was no more merman Yin Li in the world.