Chapter 175 - 128: Have You Forgotten? We Have an Equal Contract

Startled by these words, Fu Yuan glanced instinctively at Jiang Yunnuan.

At the sight, Jiang Yunnuan scoffed, indignantly shoving his hand away. Then, she raised her leg and aimed a vicious kick at him.

"What? Feeling tempted? Then go ahead, stay here and have children with your Merfolk Princess."

He caught her ankle, a small smile playing on his lips as he pulled her into his arms.

"Jealous?"

"Jealous my ass. Have you forgotten? Our contract is one of equals. You can perform a Contract Termination at any time and send me back to the surface. As for you, do whatever you want—whether that’s staying here to be the Sea Emperor or marrying the Merfolk Princess."

’Make her jealous? Not a chance.’

’Her only regret now was coming down here with this bastard. She couldn’t even get back to the surface without having to ask him for help.’

Fu Yuan felt a pang of anger.

’Does this heartless woman really not care about me at all?’

"Is that what you really think?"

"Yes, that’s exactly what I think! Now let go of me!"

Radiating pure irritation, she shoved at him, struggling restlessly to break free from his arms.

No matter how he looked at it, she was clearly saying the opposite of what she felt. Frowning, Fu Yuan scoffed.

"So stubborn. Would it kill you to say something sweet to humor me?"

’Would it kill me?’

’Yes, it would kill me!’

Enraged, Jiang Yunnuan tried to slap his face. Unsurprisingly, he caught her wrist.

"Why are you trying to hit me?" he asked, displeased.

"I’m hitting you, you shameless bastard! You’re already thinking about having kids with someone else, yet you still want me to say sweet things to humor you? How can you be so shameless? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone who wants to have their cake and eat it too!"

Fu Yuan: "..."

"When did I say I wanted that?"

"You didn’t want to have kids with someone else? Or you didn’t want me to say sweet things to humor you? Hmm? Go on, tell me!"

Seeing how utterly furious she was, Fu Yuan felt a headache coming on, and his heart filled with deep regret.

’I shouldn’t have deliberately provoked her just to see her get jealous.’

’If I had just refused them from the start, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point.’

「Below.」

The members of the Mermaid Clan were still waiting for a reply when they suddenly saw the honored one getting an earful from the exquisite, beautiful Human Clan woman beside him, followed by a flurry of punches and kicks. The Merfolk were all dumbfounded.

Then, they grabbed their popcorn and settled in to watch the drama.

"Royal Father, what do you think their relationship is? Could that beautiful human woman be his mate?"

The Merfolk Prince leaned in close to the Merfolk King, his voice low with curiosity, his amber eyes fixed on Jiang Yunnuan.

He had seen many women of the Human Clan, but never one so beautiful. She was stunning, with an aura that seemed sacred and inviolable. For a moment, he thought he was looking at the legendary Goddess.

Hearing this, the Merfolk King’s heart sank. He shook his head. "I don’t know. But I hope not."

It is said that among the Human Clan, males and females can form a contract where the female is the Master of Contract and the male is the servant. If they are partners, then the future Sea Emperor would be unable to defy the contract to sire a bloodline for the Mermaid Clan.

’Wouldn’t that mean his grand plan to evolve the Mermaid Clan’s bloodline would be ruined?’

The more he thought about it, the more his heart sank. Mustering his courage, he pressed on.

"Excuse me, Honored One, have you reached a decision?"

Fu Yuan was just wondering how to appease Jiang Yunnuan, and this clueless Merfolk King had just walked right into the line of fire. Fu Yuan scoffed, deciding to make an example of him.

"There is nothing to consider. I will not marry any Merfolk Princess, nor will I ever allow the Mermaid Clan to get its hands on my bloodline. You’d best give up on that idea right now."

"As for the Heart of the Ocean, it chose me of its own volition. Your Mermaid Clan did not hand it over to me. Therefore, I do not need to compensate you for anything. If you’re not satisfied, then by all means, let’s compete for it fairly."

As he spoke, he waved his hand. The Heart of the Ocean, as if summoned, flew straight over. Upon reaching him, it transformed into a streak of light and vanished into his brow.

Witnessing this, the Merfolk stamped their feet in frustration, but there was nothing they could do.

Although they were numerous and had many members with high Cultivation, they were all subject to bloodline suppression. In Fu Yuan’s presence, they couldn’t use even a sliver of their power and were incapable of harming him in any way.

"Your Majesty, Elder, what do we do? Are we just going to stand by and watch him take the Heart of the Ocean and refuse to sire a bloodline for our Mermaid Clan? We’ll end up with nothing!"

An elderly Merfolk stepped forward, his voice filled with indignation.

’To think that something from beneath our royal palace was just taken away like this... It’s infuriating!’

"What else can we do? We have no bargaining chips. We can’t stop him!"

Besides, the Heart of the Ocean wasn’t really theirs to begin with.

Their ancestors had simply known the whereabouts of the Heart of the Ocean and built this palace here, hoping to lie in wait for a lucky opportunity. They had hoped that one day, someone with incredible luck would be able to acquire and refine it.

Unfortunately, after guarding it for so many years, they were still beaten to it by an outsider.

What’s meant to be will be; you can’t force what isn’t.

As it turned out, you simply couldn’t force something that was never meant to be yours.

"Robbers! They’re nothing but robbers! WAAAH! Our Mermaid Clan’s Heart of the Ocean... stolen by robbers just like that! Where can we even go to plead our case...?"

The elderly Merfolk pounded the ground and began to wail, and though he didn’t shed a single tear, he successfully caught Jiang Yunnuan’s attention.

Jiang Yunnuan felt a pang of awkwardness, guilt, and shame.

Even though she knew the Heart of the Ocean had chosen Fu Yuan on its own and that they hadn’t done anything wrong, she still felt a bit bad for the Mermaid Clan.

After a moment’s thought, with a flick of her finger, she retrieved two bottles of Innate Spirit Water from her storage space and tossed them in front of the Merfolk.

"This is good stuff. Consider it your compensation."

"You’re trying to trick us, human. How can this be anything special? Isn’t it just water?"

The Merfolk Princess took the bottles and looked at Jiang Yunnuan with curiosity.

Jiang Yunnuan laughed. "Anyway, I’ve given them to you. My part is done. Whether you believe me or not is your business. Throw them away for all I care—it’s up to you."

"If the pretty lady says it’s good stuff, then it must be good stuff! I believe you, Miss! I’ll take this water."

The Merfolk Prince quickly reached out, snatched the bottles from his sister’s hands, and looked at Jiang Yunnuan with a wide grin.

Jiang Yunnuan gave him a generous thumbs-up. "You’ve got a good eye!" she praised.

Elated by the praise, the Merfolk Prince grew bolder and couldn’t resist recommending himself.

"Hello, Miss. My name is Jiang Li, and I’m nineteen years old. I’ve heard that you human women can take on multiple Contractors. Are you in need of another one?"

"What do you think of me? I can cry tears into pearls, you know. And I have two of them... plus a lot of other strong points. Do you want to hear them? I can tell you everything..."

Jiang Yunnuan’s eyes widened in shock.

’Are all Merfolk this forward?’

’How can he just say something like that out loud?’