MASG chapter 24

 

“Siren?” Xia Yu was confused again.

He didn’t understand, and the effects of motion sickness hadn’t subsided yet. Everything he saw was blurry. The waves were black, churning out shards of white. A wet road stretched before them, and at its base stood a massive, dark gray brick lighthouse.

It was the first time that Xia Yu and Mi Dou had seen the complete lighthouse. They were struck by its majesty, which seemed to reach from the sky to the sea.

“Let’s go inside first.” The woman’s hair swayed in the sea breeze.

Xia Yu shuddered at the cold wind and followed her. There was only one path to the lighthouse: a line of black reefs. The ground was slippery beneath their feet, and seawater rushed in and out through the cracks in the reef. Occasionally, they caught sight of small crabs in the cracks.

As they passed, the small green crabs fled frantically into the water, disappearing in an instant.

“What are they afraid of?” Xia Yu asked.

“Me,” the woman replied without turning around. “With him.”

“Is it Mo An?” Mi Dou asked. “Mo An is so young. Are the crabs already afraid of him?”

“No matter how small he is, he’s still a mermaid—a predator.” The woman turned around and looked at her fellow mermaid hatching on the shore.

It was terrible, absolutely awful.

She had never seen or heard of a mermaid hatching on land before, but it had actually happened. Judging by Mo An’s eyes, ear fins, and pelvic fins, he must have emerged from the egg prematurely. The base of his dorsal fin hadn’t grown yet.

But did he actually have elbow fins?

At the elbows of both arms, bones were about to break through the skin; the translucent bones were visible beneath the flesh. Those are genuine elbow fins, there’s no mistaking it.

After that, she said nothing more, leading them into the lighthouse despite the wind and waves. Xia Yu’s eyes widened as he looked around. The lighthouse was even taller and grander than it appeared from a distance, looming over them like a giant. The stone outer walls were covered in moss and barnacles, resembling a miniature forest. In contrast, the other side was clean and bare, clearly the side constantly battered by waves. It was more weathered and aged. The ocean’s scent was stronger here, and the humidity and pressure made Mi Dou uncomfortable. After all, he was the only one among them who was completely unrelated to water.

“It’s so huge! Can people live here?” Xia Yu exclaimed as he entered the lighthouse.

The interior was hollow, and the lower level was used for storage. A spiral staircase led to the top floor. As they ascended, it felt like they were entering a new, spiraling world. Finally, they reached the top: the heart of the lighthouse, with its living room and observation deck.

The waves were high enough to crash against the window, and their spray transformed into tiny droplets. Standing by the window, Xia Yu felt as if it were raining. He was soaked but not uncomfortable.

“Hello, may I ask your names? My name is Xia Yu. This is Mi Dou, and this is Mo An.” After steadying himself, Xia Yu began to introduce them. “I’m the jellyfish, and Mi Dou is the little bear.”

“I know,” the woman said as she turned around. “His bear ears tell it all, and your eyes…” She walked over to Xia Yu. “I immediately guessed you had some connection to the sea. Now, put Mo An on the bed. Also, my human name is Meng Qingqing.”

Meng Qingqing? What a lovely name! Xia Yu and Mi Dou worked together to put Mo An down. Then, they turned and asked, “When will Mo An be able to talk? I really want to talk to him.”

Upon hearing Xia Yu’s words, Mo An shyly shielded his face with his tail fin. His scales were sharp when erected but smooth when retracted. He was a little embarrassed that the little jellyfish wanted to talk to him. “It should be ready tomorrow. Mermaids’ language skills develop quickly. We can understand languages from all over the world. We can speak after hearing just a few words.” Meng Qingqing looked at Mo An’s tail fin. “What’s going on?”

Xia Yu followed his gaze and frowned. “It’s all my fault. I was captured and almost died, but Mo An saved me…”

“It hatched prematurely.” She walked over to Mo An and held out her hand.

Mo An listened quietly to their conversation, subconsciously registering the human language system. Before him stood a pair of similar hands. Though the nails were trimmed into points, the webbed hands were undeniable. Mo An looked down at his own hand. They were so small that they had no advantage in comparison.

He placed his hand in hers; their palms were equally cold. But at that moment, something strange happened. Mo An’s eyes widened as if he were looking into a dark abyss unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Besides the water, he saw the magnificent spectacle of countless intertwined fishtails. Along with the sound of scales rubbing together, he heard a familiar language—not any human language, but an ancient mermaid chant.

“Excuse me, what did you just say… A siren? What is that?” Xia Yu wondered. He desperately wanted to know everything about mermaids. Wasn’t Mo An just a small fish? Why had he suddenly become a siren? Was he a mutation or a monster?

“Can Mo An grow human legs?” Mi Dou was curious, too. “Like yours, legs that can walk freely on land?”

“Yes, he’ll grow them soon. Mermaids have very fast metabolisms,” Meng Qingqing answered, unbuttoning her long trench coat. Xia Yu had initially thought that she was covered in scales under her clothes, but her skin was so smooth and delicate that the scales were completely invisible.

The only difference was that her elbow bones seemed more prominent than normal.

“This is what we look like once we’re ashore. We try to mimic humans. We imitate humans; we look like humans, but we’re not human,” Meng Qingqing explained. “The bone you see now is my elbow fin. Once in the water, my bones will quickly pierce the skin and pull out the fin hidden beneath.”

Xia Yu was amazed. So mermaids could go ashore and take on human form. Then, was Meng Qingqing’s current body just a disguise?

“If Mo An had hatched in the sea, he would have had ample time to get to know his tribe and have siblings.” Meng Qingqing turned around. “We’re divided into nine branches, one of which is called the Sirens, like me. Haisiruola is our deity. In ancient times, she created mermaids much like Nuwa fashioned people out of mud in your human mythology. The Sirens are her first creations and the only mermaids with elbow fins. We are naturally violent and competitive, and we serve as guardians of our race. At the same time, we are also the only branch that cannot sing—the gift of song was never ours. When we die in battle, our bodies quickly dissolve into foam.

“So that’s how it is…” Xia Yu quickly absorbed the new knowledge. He had no idea that mermaids had their own world in the sea. Then he thought, The oceans on Earth are much larger than the land. If humans rule the land, then mermaids must rule the sea.

Mermaids are the people of the sea.

“Then why did you say that Mo An couldn’t be a siren?” Xia Yu asked again. “You two are from the same race. That’s great. Can you teach me how to raise him?”

Mo An tilted his head. This was the first time he had heard this. Back in the hatchery, the mermaids hadn’t finished their story when disaster struck.

“Because sirens are all female,” Meng Qingqing said suddenly.

Xia Yu and Mi Dou were both stunned.

“Oh my God!” Mo An was also stunned.

“We’re a matriarchal society where females have more power and status than males. Sirens have always been exclusively female, never male. Of course, there’s another possibility: Mo An is actually female but appears male.” Meng Qingqing muttered to herself, stopping in front of Mo An.

“Me?” Mo An, now able to speak clearly, pointed to his face. “You doubt me?”

Then Meng Qingqing grasped his waist and spun him upside down as if he were an ordinary fish, not a mermaid. Mo An was practically ready to fly, but his strength and reflexes were far inferior to an adult’s, so he could only allow her to examine him.

“Don’t… touch me in front of… xla. I’m mad!” Mo An’s head hung down and his tail swayed in her grasp.

“After the examination, it’s a boy. This is truly bizarre—a male among the siren fish… And mermaids usually only develop their branch after adulthood. How did he manifest it so early? Why is he so special?” Meng Qingqing asked, “Where was he kept before?”

“In the research institute,” Xia Yu replied. “In the glass observation chamber. They sometimes gave him injections.”

“Was he given drugs to induce labor?” This was the only way Meng Qingqing could make sense of it. “Now, he hatched prematurely and has no siblings. If he gets into trouble at sea, there won’t be any fish to save him. He’s still male among the sirens. His tear membranes and gills haven’t developed properly, and his tail fin isn’t symmetrical. Whether he’ll be able to swim properly in the future is uncertain. It’ll probably be difficult for him to gain recognition from his clan. He’s been away from the ocean for too long.

“Let me go. I… order you,” Mo An said upside down in protest, utterly confused.

“What?” Xia Yu’s heart grew colder as he listened. Did Mo An actually have so many problems? Could he ever return to the sea?

“We’re different from humans. From birth, we face life and death. In the deep sea, it’s survival of the fittest—cruel beyond compare. Besides blood alliances after hatching, we need to be incredibly powerful to gain recognition from the group.” Meng Qingqing shook her head. “If he were from another branch, he’d be accepted once he grew up as long as his abilities were recognized by the other fish. But he’s a siren. His tail will never be larger than a female, and he won’t be able to compete with us. Oh my god! I have to ask Haisiruola. Male sirens are so special.”

“What should we do? Is it too late to send him back to the sea? Could you please take him back?” Xia Yu was at a loss.

“I can only try, but I’m not sure if it will work.” Meng Qingqing was clearly stumped by the question. “Mermaid social relationships are complex yet simple. You humans probably can’t understand them.”

“Please tell me. I’ll definitely understand, and then I’ll tell Mo An.” Xia Yu clenched his fists.

“You don’t have to teach him. He’ll understand once I explain.” Meng Qingqing knew the wisdom of her kind all too well, mermaids had no secrets. “Our bond is called ‘sister.’ Regardless of gender, all mermaids hatched in the same batch are sisters. ‘Sister’ transcends blood ties. We grow up together, living in groups and protecting each other until we separate as adults. Even though we’re separated, we remain inseparable partners and will do our utmost to protect each other.”

“What about Mo An’s sisters?” Xia Yu asked.

“He doesn’t have.” This was Meng Qingqing’s biggest concern. Without anyone of his kind to identify Mo An’s bloodline, he’ll grow up alone.

“I’m not alone. I have xla. You, don’t you have xla?” Mo An asked.

Lonely? Xia Yu understood it all too well. The loneliness of being alone was his constant companion. Mo An would suffer the same pain in the future. He had no sisters to protect him and was an outlier among the sirens.

Why was this happening? Because humans had abducted him and taken him to a research institute?

“That’s strange! How did you get to shore back then?” Meng Qingqing fiddled with Mo An’s ear fins. “If they were able to snatch the eggs from the ‘double-tails,’ are we going to flatten that area of the sea?”

Mo An frowned and let his arms droop. “Tell me, what are double-tails?”

“Double-tails are one of the branches. They have two large tail fins and hover over the hatching grounds year-round, protecting the eggs. If they took you away, I’m almost certain they killed a large group of double-tails. Without the double-tails’ protection, the other eggs likely met with disaster.” Meng Qingqing paused, clearly unable to continue. That day, the hatching grounds must have been filled with pale blue blood.

“Talos hasn’t returned yet. Looks like Leviathan’s still chasing him.” She changed the subject. “Has Mo An eaten since hatching?”

“Not yet, but I have this.” Xia Yu hadn’t forgotten the nutrient injection, so he pulled it out.

“That’s not enough. We have an astonishing appetite…” Meng Qingqing uncapped the injection and plunged it directly into Mo An’s shoulder.

“It hurts.” Mo An groaned and opened his mouth. He turned to look at Xia Yu and stretched out his arms, clearly wanting to be held.

“Don’t act pitiful.” Meng Qingqing pinned his arm down. The Sirens were known for their cruelty and aggressiveness, so how could they have produced such a small creature?

Xia Yu trembled with fear, afraid that Mo An would die in Meng Qingqing’s hands. She truly didn’t care. When Meng Qingqing grabbed Mo An’s injured tail fin and threw him out of the lighthouse window, Xia Yu and Mi Dou both screamed.

“Ah!” Xia Yu regretted leaving Mo An with Meng Qingqing. He had been so foolish. They ran down the spiral staircase one after the other, heading for the end of the rocky path without looking back. All they faced was the sea.

The waves were even more terrifying than before, rolling and crashing against the rocks beneath their feet. Xia Yu stared at the water in a daze. “Professor Wang Qin, I’ve fulfilled one of your three wishes. I can see the ocean, but why aren’t you there?”

The ocean is so close to the research institute.

Real seawater splashed onto his face and fell into his eyes like tears. Xia Yu wiped his hands and looked out to sea. “Mo An? Mo An, where are you?”

“I can’t see Mo An!” Mi Dou took two steps back.

“Where’s Mo An?” Xia Yu took two steps forward, trying to spot the bright, silver fishtail in the water. Unconsciously, Meng Qingqing approached from behind. Xia Yu was so anxious that he was about to jump in, but she pulled him back.

“The wind and waves are too strong. You’d die if you went in,” Meng Qingqing said.

“But Mo An will die, too, right? He just got born, and his tail fin still hasn’t stopped bleeding!” Xia Yu tried to wriggle out of her grasp. “I’m just a little jellyfish. Let me find him. Please let me go…”

“If he can’t withstand these waves now, it’s better for him to die than to grow up unable to.” Meng Qingqing looked toward the boundless horizon as if she could see the perilous undercurrents lurking deep within. “My sisters are here, welcoming their new comrades.”

“Where?” Xia Yu glanced at the sea again, but saw nothing but waves.

“At your feet,” Meng Qingqing said.

Xia Yu quickly lowered his head and saw countless powerful fish tails pressed against the black reef’s surface. Clumps of long black hair were faintly visible, like ghosts in the ocean.