Chapter 81: Merfolk Fairy Tales (V)

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Chapter 81: Merfolk Fairy Tales (V)

Lin flicked his beautiful fish tail, resting a hand against his abdomen for a moment. A faint smile lingered in his eyes, and the slight curve of his lips carried a trace of coldness, yet did nothing to diminish his natural pride and nobility. There was not the slightest hint of anticipation for new life on his face, only utter disdain.

He was the Prince of the Western Sea Dragon Palace, its Crown Prince as well. He had been, he was now, and he always would be. To preserve that position, some sacrifices were simply necessary.

Looking out through the window, he saw the courtyard filled with blooming red spider lilies. Everywhere the sunlight reached seemed swallowed by darkness, leaving only the red blossoms standing out vividly. Only the small cottage he now occupied remained the same creamy white as before, strangely out of place amidst its surroundings.

With a flick of his tail, Lin swam into the courtyard. His tied hair traced a graceful arc through the water as he approached the figure standing silently among the flowers, lost in thought. Resting a hand on Miao Lichen’s shoulder, Lin let out a soft laugh. “What? Regretting it already? If you chase after her now, you’ll still make it. That princess won’t have gone far.”

How could he fail to see the obvious affection the young princess held for this man? She had fallen in love with the wizard who had abducted her. In truth, this wizard was nothing like the ones described in legends. If it had been anyone else, Lin wasn’t sure he would have chosen this path to obtain power.

His gaze fell upon the red stain on Miao Lichen’s pale fingers, the juice of the red spider lilies. This wizard only appeared strong. In reality, he was far too soft-hearted. He had abandoned what he desired and yielded at every turn for the sake of that mermaid princess. A man who belonged to the darkness had accepted the light he disliked simply because of a single person. How… foolish.

Manjusaka. When the flowers bloom, the leaves are gone; when the leaves appear, the flowers have already fallen. Flower and leaf know and long for each other through endless lifetimes, yet can never meet. Remembering the description he had once read, the smile on Lin’s lips deepened. It was a beautiful sentiment, but not everyone longed for such weakness. He wondered whether this wizard, who lived in the darkness, still yearned for love… or had already despaired of it.

His fingers slid up to Miao Lichen’s neck as his tail loosely coiled around the other’s legs, his entire upper body pressing against him. Feeling the soft skin beneath his fingertips, Lin found it difficult to believe this was the only body he had ever seen capable of resisting the deep sea’s whirlpools. It seemed so fragile, as though a slight squeeze would be enough to stop his breathing. In truth, a wizard’s body was indeed frail, little different from that of an ordinary human. That was why very few wizards ever allowed someone dangerous to come so close.

Contrary to Lin’s expectations, Miao Lichen did not push him away. Instead, he wrapped an arm around him to keep him from slipping down. Their body temperatures intertwined, one almost burning hot, the other cool enough to seem lifeless. Together, they created the most comfortable warmth.

Meeting Lin’s surprised gaze, Miao Lichen smiled faintly. “Going back is what’s best for her. No matter how beautiful this place may seem, it was never the place she truly wished to be.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. That Princess Lian has probably fallen for you. Or rather, she’s in love with you.” As if trying to confirm something, Lin’s voice carried a trace of mockery. The arrogant curve of his lips was enough to make anyone dislike him, yet the look in his eyes never changed in the slightest.

“So what? You’re better suited to bear a wizard’s child than she is. Naturally, there’s no reason for her to stay.” Miao Lichen caught Lin’s wrist as it traced lightly across his neck. A mysterious power passed through the skin where they touched and flowed into Lin’s body. For a brief instant, Miao Lichen felt as though another heartbeat had appeared within him.

Miao Lichen narrowed his eyes, looking almost as though he were enjoying the sensation. It was Wizard Chen’s desire. That rapid heartbeat in that instant was the truest emotion this body possessed. He allowed himself to savor that fleeting sense of fulfillment, but never became immersed in it. He had always been an actor, one who would never lose himself in the role.

At last, Lin pulled away on his own. Looking at the wizard dressed in red, the image of him as a merman surfaced in his mind. He had to admit that this was the most beautiful wizard he had ever seen. Whether it was the striking red robes or the unusual white hair, nothing about him resembled someone who belonged to the darkness. If anything, he seemed even more detached from the world than the easily contented merfolk. A smile always lingered on his lips, yet it never reached his eyes. He was like an observer standing beyond the world itself, watching everyone perform the play he wished to see. Only when their eyes met did he seem truly real.

Miao Lichen was not the first wizard Lin had ever met. In fact, he had raised many wizards. Not every wizard wished to spend a lifetime researching alone while risking being hunted down by merfolk. No matter how powerful they were, even wizards feared being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Naturally, some had accepted being kept by him instead.

Their relationship had always been one of mutual benefit. Both sides understood perfectly well how guarded the other was. It was precisely because Lin knew enough about wizards that he had allowed himself to approach this one, even if Wizard Chen was hailed as the greatest prodigy, even a legend, among their kind.

The so-called open secrets of the wizard world were no secret to him. Countless wizards wanted to know why Wizard Chen was so powerful. But… perhaps only Lin knew the real reason, and that was exactly what he intended to exploit. His hand unconsciously rested against his abdomen. As he felt the faint heartbeat within, his expression softened for just a moment.

Unfortunately… this life would never experience the touch of the sea. What he wanted was the purest wizard’s power within that small body, power capable of perfectly merging with a merman. He would break the taboo between wizards and merfolk. The price of breaking that taboo was a life, but since it would not be his own, it was insignificant. “What a practical wizard you are. But I like that.”

Not everyone who lived in darkness yearned for the light. Some preferred to roam freely within the darkness rather than dream of standing in the sunlight as nothing more than a shadow. Once someone had become part of the darkness itself, they had long since lost the right to yearn for anything else.

Miao Lichen glanced at him, narrowing his eyes slightly. With a casual wave of his hand, the flower-covered ground gave way to a massive workbench rising from below. The ivory-colored table made anything placed upon it stand out clearly. It was vastly different from any Lin had seen before, just as the man dressed in red before him was nothing like the other wizards clad in black. Wizard Chen was the genius of the wizarding world, but he was also its outcast.

“You didn’t let Lian see your true self, so why are you letting me know so much? Aren’t you afraid…” Lin left the sentence unfinished. An ordinary merfolk could never understand a wizard’s power. In a sense, he was an outcast as well, a merman who had dreamed of becoming a wizard since childhood.

The luxurious life within the royal palace, so lavish it was almost a prison, had twisted his heart. He had always known that the brighter his smile, the crueler his thoughts became. More than once… he had imagined slaughtering everyone in the Western Sea Dragon Palace, leaving behind nothing but halls stained red. Fortunately, he still possessed enough reason to restrain himself. That was why he remained the Crown Prince of the Western Sea.

“Because you won’t be repulsed by it. You won’t interfere with what I’m doing. On the contrary, you’ll even cooperate. In a way, our goals are the same.” Miao Lichen took out a potion the color of seawater. A faint blue flame flickered within it, disappearing in an instant unless one looked very closely. “The reason I chose you to bear the child isn’t because your bloodline is purer than Lian’s, but because…” His words faded away as the flame within the potion turned a deep blue.

“Drink it.” He placed the potion into Lin’s hand.

Lin tilted his head back and drank it in one swallow. He immediately felt the call of the surrounding sea grow much stronger, as though the ocean itself had become more intimate with him. He even had the sensation that he could command the surrounding waters. When a merfolk became powerful enough, they could bring an entire sea under their control. But both extraordinary talent and countless years were indispensable. Even the greatest prodigy in merfolk history had required several thousand years to achieve such a feat, while he was only five hundred years old.

Yet as his powers increased, the distinct heartbeat within him gradually grew quiet. Thinking back to Miao Lichen’s unfinished words, Lin let out a faint laugh. The same goal? His own goal was to ensure the death of the child Wizard Chen longed for most, while Miao Lichen wanted that child to become stronger. His grip on the crystal vial tightened, only for another hand to take it away without hesitation.

∇ Capture Target Lin Favorability: 50.

Miao Lichen said nothing. The crystal vial crumbled into ashes in his hand. After giving Lin one last glance, he turned and walked out of the barrier surrounding the area. His hand traced a gentle arc across the water before him, forming something like a watery mirror. Yet the reflection it displayed was not his own, but that of a young woman with determination written across her face. The childish innocence that had once belonged to the princess seemed to have vanished overnight.

When the heroine of a fairy tale lost her original innocence, did that mean the fairy tale had already reached its end? No. Perhaps from the moment he entered this world, it had already ceased to be a fairy tale. Without a dark wizard to contrast the prince’s justice and light, without lovers brought together through life and death, the story had been destined to end ahead of time.

He opened his palm. The lines across it had turned redder. According to the wizard’s grimoire, every potion used on Lin from now on required red spider lilies, flowers that could never survive beneath the sea, as their catalyst. But to him, that greatest obstacle was no obstacle at all. He would fulfill Wizard Chen’s wish, then continue pursuing the goal that had never changed—death.

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