Chapter 176 - 129: What, Planning to Trade Me for New Boy Toys?

"Young lady~"

Those words gave the Merfolk King an idea. He forcefully pushed Jiang Li and another golden-tailed merman forward, looking at Jiang Yunnuan with immense enthusiasm.

"These are my clan’s princes, Jiang Li and Mo Ye. Neither is married. As long as you agree to let the esteemed one have a child with our princess to pass on his bloodline, you can have both of these princes as compensation."

"If that’s not enough, our clan has many other unmarried princes. You may take your pick, young lady."

For the grand plan of evolving his clan’s bloodline, the Merfolk King was going all out.

Jiang Yunnuan was rather surprised by his generosity. Just as she raised a hand to refuse, a cold scoff suddenly sounded in her ear. The next instant, her cheek was grabbed, and the man stared at her with icy eyes.

"What, are you planning to trade me for some new boy toys?"

"Which one of your eyes saw me about to agree?"

Speechless, Jiang Yunnuan retorted, slapping his hand away before turning to face the Merfolk King.

"My apologies, but I have no need for your Mermaid Clan’s princes. As for the matter of the bloodline, he has already refused you. You should give up on the idea, Merfolk King."

"Hey, pretty lady, don’t be so quick to refuse! Why don’t you take another good look at me?"

Having been rejected, Jiang Li didn’t give up. He took a step forward and continued to sell himself.

The moment he finished speaking, his world suddenly spun. He found himself hanging upside down, with chains formed from seawater binding his beautiful blue fishtail tightly.

"Who—who strung me up? Let me down, quick...!"

He immediately began to struggle violently, shouting nonstop.

The expressions of the surrounding Merfolk changed drastically, and they all gathered around him in concern.

"Hey, why did you string up my brother? I’m warning you, let him down right now!"

The Merfolk Princess glared at Fu Yuan and shouted in anger.

Fu Yuan’s previous refusal to marry her and produce an heir was tantamount to throwing her face on the ground and stomping on it in public. She had lost all face.

In the future, she would surely be secretly ridiculed by the other Mermaids, becoming the biggest joke in the entire clan. Because of this, she didn’t have the slightest bit of goodwill toward him.

’That damn guy looks down on me, but it’s not like I’m interested in him either! So what if his bloodline is a little more advanced? What’s so great about that?’

"Insolent girl! How dare you speak to the esteemed one like that? If you can’t control that mouth of yours, I can sew it shut for you."

The Merfolk King nearly fainted from her words. He hastily reprimanded her and looked toward Fu Yuan, but before he could even plead for mercy, he was cut off by a cold voice.

Fu Yuan’s gaze swept past everyone, landing coldly on the suspended Merfolk Prince.

"This is just a small lesson for you. If you don’t want to die, then get rid of any covetous thoughts. She is not someone you are worthy of desiring."

With that said, he wrapped an arm around Jiang Yunnuan, and in a flash, they vanished.

Jiang Yunnuan only felt a blur before her eyes, and then she found herself in an unfamiliar part of the sea. The beautiful crystal palace and the crowd of Merfolk were nowhere to be seen.

"Since your business is finished, can we go treasure hunting now... Wait, why do you look so awful? Don’t tell me you’re still angry? I’m not even mad anymore, so what are you still angry about?"

She glanced around casually and couldn’t help but start to hurry him along.

Halfway through her sentence, her tone shifted abruptly. She narrowed her eyes to study him seriously and saw that his deep-set eyes were full of agitation. His face was faintly flushed, and he didn’t look normal at all.

"I’m about to advance. We can talk about anything else after I’m done. Remember, don’t wander off."

The immense power within his body was rampaging like a headless fly, making him feel unbearably uncomfortable. He urgently needed to channel it.

With a slight movement of his fingers, he manifested a Barrier. After giving a hurried instruction, he sat down on the spot and began his Cultivation.

Jiang Yunnuan was speechless.

’He’s in such a hurry to advance. It must be because of that Heart of the Ocean.’

’Advancing is a good thing, but it might take a very long time to finish. If I wait here the whole time and can’t get back by morning, won’t Si Xie be worried sick?’

’He might even start imagining what we’re doing.’

’Honestly, this guy. Couldn’t he have held on a little longer and sent me back to the surface before starting his advancement?’

Sigh...

’I’d better use the Light Brain to let Si Xie know.’

She opened her Light Brain and placed a video call directly.

It rang for a long time until it disconnected automatically, unanswered.

"Did that guy fall asleep?"

She muttered to herself, switched to the camera function, and took a short video of Fu Yuan. She sent it, then followed up with a voice message.

"Si Xie, Fu Yuan is in the middle of his advancement. I can’t get back on my own. If I don’t return on time, just wait patiently and don’t worry. Contact me on the Light Brain if you need anything."

’So sleepy... why am I so sleepy?’

After sending the voice message, Jiang Yunnuan felt her eyelids become incredibly heavy. Even her consciousness began to fade. Soon, her eyes closed, and she collapsed to the ground, dead asleep.

After she lost consciousness, a black figure emerged from a coral grove, watching her quietly through the watery curtain.

A moment later, the figure raised a palm, and an incomparably powerful force struck the Barrier.

CRACK...

The transparent, water-like Barrier shattered instantly.

Fu Yuan coughed up a mouthful of blood. His advancement was forcibly interrupted. He struggled to open his eyes, only to see a tall, imposing black figure standing before him.

The person wore a hideous, terrifying mask and was completely covered from head to toe. Their eyes were so cold it was startling.

’This aura... it’s so familiar. Who is he?’

Fu Yuan tried to get a better look, but his vision grew increasingly blurry. The next instant, with a THUD, he collapsed to the ground, his consciousness completely fading to black.

Looking at the two unconscious figures on the ground, the black-clad person kicked Fu Yuan aside, then bent down, picked up Jiang Yunnuan, and strode away.

「That night.」

Si Xie finished his Cultivation and saw that the two of them still hadn’t returned. He couldn’t stop his mind from racing with wild thoughts, and the more he thought, the more bitter he felt.

But soon, he discovered the missed video call and messages from Jiang Yunnuan on his Light Brain.

’Nuannuan actually sent him a video, and he didn’t hear a thing! Damn it all!’

He impatiently tapped the voice message and, after listening, immediately called her back on video.

However, the other end rang and rang without an answer.

’What’s going on? Why isn’t Nuannuan answering the video call?’

’Could something have happened to her?’

An uneasy feeling surfaced in Si Xie’s heart, and he couldn’t help but start blaming Fu Yuan.

’That damn guy! Why did he have to choose a dangerous place like the bottom of the sea to advance? Why didn’t he send her back first?’

’What if something unexpected happened during his advancement?’

’Nuannuan can’t use any of her powers right now. If he ran into trouble during his advancement, wouldn’t Nuannuan be a sitting duck?’

He sent seven or eight video calls in a row, but none were answered.

Helpless, he could only force himself to wait patiently.

’Damn you, Fu Yuan. You’d better bring Nuannuan back safe and sound. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next.’

*

DRIP, DRIP...

An unknown amount of Time had passed. In a daze, Jiang Yunnuan suddenly heard the rhythmic sound of dripping water.

Her consciousness snapped into focus. She jerked her eyes open to find herself in a dim cave.