Song Qianqian squatted in front of a roadside stall, meticulously selecting for a long time before choosing two hollow coral bracelets, one light red and the other pale purple.
She wasn’t just looking at the bracelets; her gaze often fell on a group of four or five men buying clothes at a distant stall. Their speech was mixed with an accent from an unknown region, and their language was exceptionally crude, causing the stall owner considerable displeasure.
Eventually, they haggled the price down by half and picked up the luxurious fabrics.
As the man paid, Song Qianqian had also made her choice. She brought her selections to Li Jianchun. “Choose one, which do you like?”
As long as Li Jianchun didn’t have to respond verbally, her reaction time was quite normal. She looked at them and chose the pale purple one to wear on her wrist.
Her fair wrist complemented the bracelet beautifully. As she extended her hand, a small white bird, riding the sea breeze, landed on it, tilting its head and looking at her with its pitch-black eyes.
Li Jianchun silently smiled.
Then, Song Qianqian, in high spirits, pulled her forward, saying, “I’ve never been here before. I’m definitely buying lots of trinkets before we leave.”
They appeared like ordinary travelers, but their attention never strayed far from the two men. The bustling market crowd was their best cover.
They had been in this distant island’s market for some time, unable to return to their station after receiving a warning.
However, the trip wasn’t entirely fruitless.
In a secluded bar, Li Jianchun overheard a conversation of the group of mercenaries, explicitly mentioning the word “blood.”
They also mentioned a “boss,” but it was unclear if it referred to the person they were pursuing.
However, the Blood Worshiping Church had always been linked with interstellar mercenaries, ideal for transporting exotic creatures and various illegal equipment. Plus, the large numbers of mutated individuals in star capital were caused by injections of merfolk blood, likely sourced from Bei’en.
So, from the bar, they followed this group of men to the market.
Soon, they reached the end of the market. There, a maze of alleys began, and the crowd thinned considerably. Song Qianqian and Li Jianchun deliberately lengthened their trailing distance.
Just around a corner, Song Qianqian suddenly stopped.
She whispered, “Why are there people from the Audit Department here?”
The group in gray and black hunter’s clothes spoke briefly with the mercenaries, exchanging just a few words before separating.
If spotted by them, their identities would likely be quickly exposed. As the Audit Department members started walking towards them, they quickly retreated a few steps.
Conveniently, a Bei’en pearl seller was arranging pearls in the alley. Song Qianqian quickly pulled Li Jianchun to the stall, turning their backs to the Audit Department people.
The seller gave them a strange look: “You two…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Song Qianqian laughed. “Your pearls are so beautiful, big and round, instantly catching our attention.” She casually picked one up, “Especially this pearl, it’s so translucent and sparkling…”
“That’s because,” the seller paused, “you’re holding a glass bead.”
Song Qianqian: “…”
Fortunately, the group of hunters didn’t linger long and soon walked past them, leaving the area.
Song Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief and continued to follow the mercenaries with Li Jianchun.
Turning back into the alley, they saw the group disappearing at the end. In a flash, Song Qianqian noticed the pattern on the last man’s clothing—
A faint dark pattern, a winged lion and a dragon locked in battle.
The emblem of a dragon-hunting family, slightly different from the Shen family’s design. It belonged to one of the ten dragon-slaying families, but theoretically, aside from the Shen family, they no longer wore this emblem.
Song Qianqian was startled: “Why are they…”
Li Jianchun also looked slightly astonished.
They continued to follow quietly.
…
The drones scanned the entire sea area.
Shen Zhaomu was thinking about how to get Long Shiyu back to the combat ship without raising suspicions when Long Shiyu suddenly tugged at him: “There seems to be something over there.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“What is it?” Shen Zhaomu followed his gaze, looking towards a deeper area beyond the coral forest.
“P vbc’a xcbk.” Obcu Vtlse rkjw j ofk ragbxfr lc atja vlgfmalbc, wbnlcu jkjs ogbw Vtfc Itjbwe ab ufa j mibrfg ibbx.
Vtfc Itjbwe ogbkcfv, lcralcmalnfis qgfqjglcu ab obiibk: “Gbc’a…”
Cr Vtfc Itjbwe’r kbgvr ofii, j afcajmif-ilxf jqqfcvjuf revvfcis rqgjcu bea ogbw atf vjgxcfrr.
Vtfc Itjbwe kjr rajgaifv, tlr ubivfc qrsmtlm qbkfg lcrajcais gfjvs ab rfnfg atf afcajmif. Lbkfnfg, Obcu Vtlse kjr delmxfg.
With his back turned, Shen Zhaomu didn’t see exactly what sharply severed the tentacle—a flash, and dark blue blood dispersed in the sea, quickly disappearing. The ferocious cut suggested a dragon claw’s attack.
When Long Shiyu turned back, he was holding the wriggling tentacle, cheerfully asking, “Can this be eaten?”
“…No, it can’t.”
“Okay.” Long Shiyu said. “I’ll toss it back then.”
He threw the tentacle back into the crevice from which it had emerged.
The octopus: “…”
Clutching its severed limb, it sadly fled.
This blue octopus was a harmless marine creature of Bei’en, inconspicuous and not perceived as a threat by Shen Zhaomu’s psychic powers. It just had the habit of grabbing everything it saw to see if it was edible.
In a way, it was quite similar to Long Shiyu.
Shen Zhaomu had overreacted, worried about Long Shiyu’s safety. But reflecting on the young dragon’s reaction speed and attack…
Shen Zhaomu narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss.
Long Shiyu, however, was looking around curiously: “Are you going back to the ship now? Maybe if we go a bit deeper, we might find more cages. I just sensed the scent of another exotic creature in that area.”
Shen Zhaomu paused: “You can smell it?”
“Yeah.” Long Shiyu nodded. “The scent is well-hidden, but I remember smelling it before.”
“Where did you smell it?”
“I don’t remember, it was a long time ago. But if you go deeper now, maybe I can follow the scent.” Long Shiyu said, “In a few hours, the sea will completely disperse the scent.”
Shen Zhaomu thought for a few seconds: “…500 meters, we can only go as deep as 500 meters.” That was the maximum effective support distance for the small combat ship.
“Okay.” Long Shiyu flicked his tail, swimming in a certain direction.
They passed corals and sea anemones, scaring away a few large fish.
As they descended, the anemones swayed. At the end of the coral platform, a dark, sunken area appeared before them.
A fault line.
Abrupt, sharp, a bottomless abyss.
It was the nightmare of those with thalassophobia. It was as if one wrong step into emptiness, would cause you to sink and drown without being able to utter a sound.
Long Shiyu said, “The scent goes down here.”
So Shen Zhaomu led the way, Long Shiyu following behind.
Descending, the water pressure indicator’s readings climbed, the exoskeleton’s system working to maintain his body temperature.
It was very quiet around them.
Shen Zhaomu wasn’t afraid, but he disliked this feeling.
Oppressive and dark, it reminded him of the island, of countless spirits in the trial hall.
When alone, not even a flicker of light would be there. They fluttered among dusty shelves like photophobic bats, forever living in darkness—or rather, it couldn’t truly be called ‘living.’
Born in an era rampant with exotic creatures, dedicating their lives to hunting them. They wanted to hear the wails of exotic creatures, to see the end of the throne, to close the gates of hell.
They were as much madmen as they were warriors. Or perhaps, these two terms had always been one and the same.
Descending, the bubbles of his breath surged, rushing to the surface in a desperate escape.
As a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the dragon-slaying family, challenging the throne was his destined goal. The path was arduous. Simply facing various exotic creatures just in the search for the throne was dangerous enough.
His elders, with hopeful eyes, told him countless times—
You must give it your all.
Even if it means death, it’s your destiny.
It was a task that shouldn’t involve others, so Shen Zhaomu had always refrained from joining other hunters.
Descending, the abyss approached.
“…” Shen Zhaomu forced himself out of his chaotic thoughts, regaining focus.
As they swam several meters deeper, concerned Long Shiyu might be scared, he turned around to say, “Here…”
He paused.
Above him was the ribbon-like undulating dark tide, rippling with dazzling starlight. Silhouetted against the light, Long Shiyu’s face was unclear, but Shen Zhaomu could nonetheless see the gentle outline of his body.
His back was facing the abyss, while the young man emerged from the starlight.
—It felt like a wondrous metaphor.
This thought quietly appeared in Shen Zhaomu’s mind, then, like words written on sand, was washed away by the sea tide.
“What’s wrong?” Long Shiyu asked.
“…Nothing.”
Further down, they came upon a massive stone.
It was a landmark. Long Shiyu said, “The scent… seems to have disappeared around here.”
“This is the entrance to the underwater tunnel,” Shen Zhaomu explained, “Someone probably used some means to escape into it.”
“A tunnel? Of the Bei’en dynasty?”
“Yes. The tunnel contains special marine crystals. If activated with Bei’en psychic power, it can control the nearby currents, thereby controlling whether the tunnel is filled with seawater. These tunnels start from the castle, branching into different routes; the farthest one goes to the Land of the Darkest Night. They used to transport ores and pearls through here.”
He continued, “Part of the legend of Karen Heknar also happened here. It’s said that the royal family forbade her from being with an unnamed poet. So, every full moon, when the sea in the tunnel receded and the guards were drunk, she would run through this tunnel to meet her beloved.”
“Now, only part of this long tunnel is open for visitors. After all, it’s very old and might be at risk of collapsing.”
Long Shiyu listened intently, then smiled with twinkling eyes: “You’re so knowledgeable, knowing so many things.”
Shen Zhaomu was dazed for a moment.
His erudition was indeed not inferior to any veteran hunter, and he was not unfamiliar with such praise.
But for some reason, this time, it brightened his mood.
The Star Police had granted all their access rights to the hunters, including the use of various Bei’en structures. Shen Zhaomu brought his terminal close to the stone, and it shimmered with a hint of blue light—the ancient marine crystals inside faintly glowing.
An invisible barrier enveloped them, creating a small spherical area where water was furiously expelled outward.
A few seconds later, they gently landed, feeling the solid ground under their feet while tons of water remained overhead.
The sensation was quite extraordinary. Long Shiyu looked up, vaguely seeing the starlight of the dark tide streaming down, dim and gentle.
“Let’s go,” Shen Zhaomu said softly, having already unlocked the door beneath their feet.
They jumped down.
The tunnel was deep and seemingly endless, with a few swamp merfolk corpses lying around. Shen Zhaomu stood beside the bodies, briefly examining them.
These creatures were scavengers, capable of hibernating for years without feeding. But these merfolk seemed young, probably having run into the tunnel from other entrances.
Beyond that, there was no other sign of life.
On Shen Zhaomu’s diving exoskeleton, excess water continued to drip to the dry ground. Armored, Shen Zhaomu was alright, but Long Shiyu, who had swum down directly, was drenched.
“Are you cold?” Shen Zhaomu asked.
“Not cold,” Long Shiyu replied. “I am a fire dragon, after all.”
Shen Zhaomu then surveyed the surroundings.
The black tracks on the ground continued into the depths as an old mining cart lay abandoned nearby.
The Bei’en people, in many places, reject modern technology, and everything here seemed ancient, so much so that Shen Zhaomu was unsure how to operate them.
The original power source of the cart was damaged, but a push-pole was left in the middle of the vehicle. After a brief inspection, Shen Zhaomu found that the cart could only be moved by manpower now.
He walked a few steps further, touching the walls of the mine, cold and damp. The ground contained a strangely scented mud, which probably wouldn’t have smelled much better even years ago.
It was hard to imagine a princess escaping through such a place.
And here… there remained a powerful psychic energy.
Everyone knew Shen Zhaomu had strong psychic powers, but most people had no concept of just how strong.
Now, as he traced his hand along the wall, golden flecks of light silently danced around him. In the dark corridor, it was like fireflies were dancing, flickering on and off.
His psychic power gradually blended with past images.
The walls became new, the mining cart’s energy source glowed, even the rails were rust-free. Water surged overhead, and footsteps echoed from the far end of the tunnel.
A girl in a pure white dress, breathless, ran towards him. Her skin was creamy, her blonde hair like sunlight, and her beauty rivaled the most beautiful pearl of the sea. Kicking off her elegant high heels, her delicate feet trod on the rough ground, causing excruciating pain. Mud splashed under her feet, staining her hem, yet her heart was filled with joy.
Through this long tunnel, through the foul and stifling air, stepping into the light, she was about to meet her beloved.
As she stepped onto the moonlit earth, Shen Zhaomu experienced a momentary daze.
Whenever he saw images from the past, he felt a sense of disorientation, as if he had stepped into someone else’s life.
But this time, he quickly regained his composure—
Primarily because Long Shiyu had plunged headfirst into his embrace, his forceful impact snapping him back to reality.
“…Afraid of the dark?” Shen Zhaomu asked, gently ruffling Long Shiyu’s hair.
“Not really, just thought your expression looked a bit odd.”
Shen Zhaomu smiled. “It’s nothing, just saw a glimpse of the past.”
“Oh.”
The two continued down the long tunnel, their footsteps the only sound.
“Aren’t you afraid of the deep sea?” Shen Zhaomu inquired.
After all, dragons belonged to the skies and couldn’t venture too deep into the ocean.
Long Shiyu replied, “Not particularly. Though I haven’t been to the deeper parts of the sea before. The last time I went, I even encountered some interesting exotic creatures.”
“Exotic creatures on the sea bed?” Shen Zhaomu recalled, “I remember them being quite fierce.”
“Not all of them. Last time, I met a talking yellow sponge and a starfish that looked rather dim. They were catching jellyfish together on the seabed.”
Shen Zhaomu: “…That combination sounds bizarre. What in the world are they?”
“Is it really that strange?” Long Shiyu, walking in Shen Zhaomu’s shadow, said with a laugh, “I found it quite fascinating. If you like, I can take you to see many more interesting things.”
The author has something to say:
One cutesy sob a day: 0/1
TL note: 3 guesses as to what the yellow sponge and starfish are, the last two don’t count
Can’t get that song out of my head
SpongeBob and Patrick….hahaha🤣 can’t believe the author went there 🤣🤣🤣
Aw must’ve been such an adorable encounter between long shiyu, spongebob and patrick. It would be so wholesome and entertaining as they went around eating food and ice cream (forgot the name in the show)
Thanks for the chapter ~~~• (*^ー^)ノ♪
Thanks for the chapter! ❤
SpongeBob and Patrick reference 😭😭 the last time it was ninja turtles
Lmaoo so the author is also a fan of spongebob squarepants as well as TMNT 😂 and curious and curioser, was shen zhaomu’s past life indeed that of a princess~?