Archive of good things

The merman clenches his hands around San Lang's palm that he's been holding, clearly panicking. 

“Little merman,” the siren speaks up, trying to ground the other one. “What's on your mind? Talk to me.”

“San Lang, it's all my fault,” the merman clicks in distress. “Qingxuan is in danger!”

“Calm down, I'm here,” the siren pushes his tail gracefully to swiftly pull the merman closer to himself and hug him in an attempt to put him at ease. “No innocent creature will ever get hurt in my territory.”

“San Lang… I've mentioned him briefly when I was talking to Yizhen while you were diving. Jun Wu must have been lurking around and heard me. I'm so stupid, I should have kept my mouth shut!”

“It's okay, you couldn't have known,” the siren caresses Xie Lian’s back. “Let's not waste time. It's best we catch him before he reaches the island. He teases us to follow him, so let's give him what he wants for now.”

Xie Lian nods and without further discourse he gets on the siren's back to travel faster at San Lang’s full speed. The siren takes off as soon as Xie Lian wraps his arms tightly around his neck and chest. 

They swim past the coral reef and head straight to the islands. They have a few advantages in this situation - first, Jun Wu is, or at least seems to be, injured, which gives San Lang an upper hand in combat; second, there's a few small islands in the area. It would be truly fortunate for Jun Wu to find the one with the human right away, unless Qingxuan happens to be on the beach at the moment. 

However, Xie Lian cannot help but worry, because what if they don't make it in time? The shape-shifting nature of tentacle monsters gives the merman an idea that he can probably not only merge his tentacles into a graceful tail, but also produce legs. Even without those, most octopus have no trouble traveling through sandy beaches. It's the opposite for merfolk - Xie Lian has no chance on land, he wouldn't even be able to chase after the former Emperor of the pod. 

When it comes to San Lang, the merman can't be sure and has no opportunity to ask at the moment. Taking into account that Black Water was able to develop legs and even pass as a human, San Lang might be able to do the same. However, Xie Lian also remembers the siren has admitted that only some sirens have this unique ability of shape-shifting. 

Their advantage can be cut short quickly if they don't catch up with the monster soon enough.

It doesn't take long for them to get in the area of the archipelago. However, as they approach, Xie Lian stops feeling the faint hints of Jun Wu’s presence. When they slow down, San Lang also admits that the monster must have gone into hiding, or, worse - he has gone onto one of the islands. 

“San Lang, what do we do?” the merman clicks, subconsciously tightening his grip on the siren's body. “If we go to Qingxuan, we will blow his cover completely.”

The siren nods, agreeing.

“We cannot split either. He might take the opportunity to seize you again, which I believe is his main goal,” San Lang speaks up, pondering over what to do. “Let's swim around the island, near the surface. We might be able to spot any of them that way, without pointing out the exact place the human is in. How does that sound?” 

“Yes, let's do it. Jun Wu probably is doing the same if he's still underwater, so we might bump into him. I will try my best to be one with the water,” the merman promises, letting go off San Lang. 

As decided, they start circling the islands. Xie Lian keeps hoping that Qingxuan doesn't pick this moment to come to the beach, so that Jun Wu has a harder time choosing a land to go onto. 

Xie Lian pays especially strong attention to any sounds from above the water when they get to the right island. San Lang swims a little in front, leaving the merman around a meter or two behind - so that he's not on the front in case of an encounter, but also to make sure he doesn't get attacked from the back if he was too far away. 

It seems like an endless loop, trying to come across the monster who might have already gone onto the island and might be tormenting the poor human now. However, Xie Lian knows they can't give in yet - this might be exactly what the monster is waiting for. 

Xie Lian can't help but grow more and more anxious. He would never forgive himself if the innocent human got hurt just because of his stupid mouth. Everyone has already suffered enough. No need to add more. 

The second the merman wants to ask San Lang if he thinks they should push forward with their strategy, he feels it. 

He feels the movement of something he has felt before only a few times and it terrifies him. Just around the corner of the rock formation. The same rock formation Xie Lian once used to hide from Black Water once. 

The rock formation that is right underneath Qingxuan’s favourite part of the beach on the desert island.

San Lang seems to have felt it as well, because he doesn't think twice before shooting forward, almost disappearing from Xie Lian’s sight. Just when the siren turns the corner, the merman meets Jun Wu’s gaze for a split second. 

The monster is clearly surprised, maybe a little startled. His eyes widen as the siren approaches him at the speed of light. However, he manages to smirk as he swiftly dodges San Lang’s deadly grip that was about to seize him. 

Xie Lian spots dozens of nasty wounds and burns all over the monster’s body, but it clearly doesn't make him any less dangerous. What's even worse, he is quick to flee up to the surface as the siren chases after him.

In only a few seconds both the monster and the siren break the water surface, jumping out of the water and landing heavily on the sharp rocks. However, on the land, not only is San Lang blinded by the sunlight, but he's also useless as a fighter. 

Xie Lian follows them a little less harshly, only sticking his head out of the water.

“San Lang!” Xie Lian yells once he spots the siren on the rocks and the tentacle monster only on arm length from him, already squirming on the sandy bitch. 

The commotion scares some of the birds that were singing in the tree branches. What's worse, it also attracts the attention of the human, who unfortunately happened to be nearby, hoping for his underwater friend to appear soon.

It only takes a few moments for Qingxuan to be visible in between the trees, as Xie Lian panics and San Lang struggles to pull his whole body weight on his elbows to reach the stunned monster. 

However, Jun Wu seems to adapt to the land conditions way better than the siren. Spotting a barely visible figure of the human approaching the beach gives him a boost of energy that helps him get up, supporting his weight on the strong tentacles. 

The monster smiles at Xie Lian, pleased with this turn of events. Just a moment later he turns around to face the forest, in which the surprised Qingxuan stops dead in his tracks, watching three different species of underwater creatures all around the beach. 

“Xie Lian…?” Qingxuan speaks up, uncertain of what is happening. 

However, instead of Xie Lian, Jun Wu speaks up in human language.

“Poor thing, like a seal surrounded by orcas,” he sums up Qingxuan's situation. “Will your friend be able to help you before it's too late?”

Qingxuan blinks, fear growing in his chest as he understands that the enormous octopus with the human upper half of its body is not an ally. 

“Qingxuan! Run into the…” Xie Lian starts screaming, just as he sees the human taking a few steps back. However, before he can finish, Qingxuan already takes off into the forest, leaving the last words of the merman unheard. “...water!”

Jun Wu laughs out loud at this turn of events. His voice is even more chilling on land than it was underwater, oozing with cruel satisfaction.

“He can run. He cannot hide,” the monster says and without further ado slides on his tentacles deeper into the island with the intention of following the human. 

“Wait, please!” Xie Lian yells, almost getting on land himself. “Don't hurt him!”

“Try catching up and stopping me. You have it in yourself, Xie Lian,” Jun Wu speaks up, without stopping his slow, terrifying chase. “You're one of us.”

With those words, Jun Wu reaches the first trees, which helps him move even faster, as his tentacles catch on the trunks and use them to push him forward. It looks terrifying enough from where Xie Lian is. He cannot imagine how the human would feel looking behind his back and spotting this monster following him.

He bites his lips and slips out of the water in one smooth motion that he's already mastered from so many encounters with the human. 

He's desperate. He wants to save Qingxuan at all costs, but he knows it's a lost fight already. He cannot match Jun Wu underwater - there's no way he would stand a chance on land, even with San Lang on his side. 

He has to try, though. He focuses his mind and frowns, looking at his tail to figure out just how he would be able to change its form. Just when he lets out a frustrated groan when nothing happens, he sees a familiar hand reaching out to pet his delicate, white scales. 

Xie Lian looks up, finding the siren's worried eyes. His elbows are bleeding from the hard crash he had after jumping onto the rocks and then sliding across them to first reach Jun Wu and then Xie Lian. His left side and some parts of the tail are bruised as well, but it doesn't stop him from smiling gently at his beloved merman.

San Lang is trying his best to not squint, still having trouble with adjusting to the brightness on land. However, the emotions he wants to convey are clear before he even speaks up.

“Little merman, don't fall for his provocation. I will go. You have to stay in the water and hide. I am going to seek you out once it's over,” the siren says, hoping to calm down the other one.

“But, San Lang… I… Are you sure you can do it? Can you shape-shift?” Xie Lian asks, catching the siren's hand and squeezing it affenctionetly. “You're already hurt. I can't… I can't let you…”

The siren looks back at his tail and he changes his position to lie on his not injured side. He smiles at the merman and closes his eyes. 

The following sounds make Xie Lian instantly get a good hold of the siren, fearing for the other one's life. The crack of the bones, the splitting of the red scales, the low groan of pain. It's unbearable to the merman.

“San Lang! Stop!” Xie Lian tries, but the siren doesn't seem to catch on or want to catch on. “San Lang, please!”

It takes only a few horrifying moments, but it makes Xie Lian wish he had never asked the siren about shape-shifting. San Lang is lying in front of him now in the pool of red scales, blood and shed skin. The siren has no tail anymore. In its place, there are two bare human legs.

The siren has clearly thought it through - he has lied down in a way that prevent the merman from seeing his strategic parts, which, unfortunately, for humans are all out in the open. 

“I didn't think I could pull it off,” the siren speaks up finally, sounding a lot better than minutes ago. His vocal cords must have adapted to the land conditions alongside the lower half of his body. He's also not squinting anymore, his eyes more clear now. 

“San Lang, I swear—,”

“It's okay, my little merman,” San Lang is quick to interrupt whatever the merman wanted to say. “Let me protect you one more time, won't you?”

Xie Lian glurps, not keen on the idea. However, what can he really do? He has no clue how to make his own body change shape like the sirens or tentacle monsters. He's stuck with his useless tail, wishing he could for once aid people important to him in battle. 

“San Lang, you haven't done this before, ever?” 

“No,” the siren says, wiggling his toes, amused by the stupidity of their looks. 

“San Lang, how did you do it? I will try myself. Then we can both go and—,”

“Little merman, you came back to me only a while ago. Won't you give this monster a chance to prove himself as worthy of your company?” San Lang smiles at the merman again, reaching out to cup his face with one of his hands. 

“You're no monster, San Lang,” Xie Lian is quick to reply, leaning into the siren's touch. “You don't need to prove anything to me. I'd spend the rest of my life with you without any more confirmations. Please, be careful.” 

San Lang nods and changes his position to lie flat on his stomach. Slowly, he attempts to stand up just like the humans do but it turns out to be a task way more difficult than it seems.

He feels a little stupid turning his back on the merman right now, but it's better than letting him see his genitalia in broad daylight. He hoped it would be only a moment of embarrassment and then he would chase after the tentacle beast, but…

…he literally cannot stand up. 

He huffs, frustrated, crawling a little closer to the higher rocks, looking for some support. The merman doesn't speak at all, probably watching San Lang’s sorry attempts in silence. The siren is actually grateful for that - if Xie Lian has said anything, he would probably burn down in embarrassment immediately.

Rocks soon prove themselves very useful. San Lang clumsily gets on his feet, struggling to keep his back straight. He's so much smaller now, he can tell, but his body feels ridiculously heavier. Moreover, his throat quickly goes dry, as he tries to speak and breathe like humans do.

“San Lang,” the merman chimes in, earning the other’s attention. “Are you sure you can do it?”

No. He's absolutely not sure. However, what kind of provider and host would he be if he couldn't protect his merman and the innocent human in his own territory?

Besides, he still longs for vengeance. After only a glimpse, San Lang immediately recognised Jun Wu - it was the leader of the pack of monsters that tried to finish him off. He was the one to gauge his eye out. What is more, he abused his beloved. It feels like San Lang’s duty to get rid of that maggot.

“I will come back soon, little merman. Please, be careful. Remember that you're probably his main target, okay?” San Lang chooses to avoid the question instead of bluntly lying in the merman's face. 

He still doesn't feel fine with it, but it's the best option.

“Okay. San Lang, come back to me in one piece. Promise,” Xie Lian requests, looking at the siren with his big doe eyes. 

San Lang looks back at the merman through his shoulder, not daring to turn around fully. 

“I will always find my way back to you, my beloved merman,” the siren says with a smile, before starting to clumsily walk away through the sand into the forest. 

He really hopes his words will turn out to be truthful.

***

However, the octopus doesn't waste much time. It looks Xie Lian up and down as it floats back a little from the merman and then proceeds to grip on the cuffs on his hands. 

“It's no use, the Emperor has the…” Xie Lian's words are quickly interrupted with a magical ‘click!’,”...keys?”

The octopus gives Xie Lian a look that could be interpreted as either a raise of an eyebrow or a sign to not underestimate it. It quickly reminds Xie Lian that, after all, Ruoye and Jun Wu could be viewed as distant relatives - and so the octopus's intelligence and ability to adapt should not be treated lightly. 

“I love you so much, you are truly a friend of mine,” Xie Lian says, tearing up, as Ruoye works on getting him out of the chains. The octopus seems to ignore his words, but Xie Lian notices the small change in its colour - it suddenly became a little pink instead of the original white. “How did you find me? I thought the Emperor made sure to leave me in the cave with the smallest light holes so that even fishlings couldn't get in.”

Ruoye gives the merman another disappointed look immediately when he mentions small holes. It quickly reminds Xie Lian that octopuses can really squeeze through anything. He's instantly embarrassed with his own stupidity, but before he can apologize, he's already free. 

He swims around the octopus once to stretch and smiles, ready to hug his friend again, but Ruoye interrupts him. It points into the distance with one of its tentacles, so Xie Lian obediently follows to meet the pretty, luminescent jellyfish floating in the direction of the cave exit. He doesn't even realise his heart is beating like crazy - he's happy and scared to the bone at once.

Xie Lian looks back at Ruoye, as it follows the jellyfish and changes its colour a little bit, to be less visible. The merman nods, deciding to not question the octopus - after all, if it came here to rescue him, he could be more than sure it had a plan of some sort. At least he hoped so.

The three of them slowly sneak out of the cave Xie Lian was kept in, into a corridor leading to various other chambers. They quietly swim past Jun Wu's resting chambers, but as soon as they get closer to the places directly above the main hall, Xie Lian hears some cheers and singing. 

He frowns, catching up with Ruoye to quietly ask it a question.

“Wasn't the celebration supposed to be tomorrow? Or did I sleep for a whole day and didn't realise?” Xie Lian is quickly met with two taps on his shoulder, signalling the second option. “Oh…”

The octopus seems to pity the merman a little, so it wraps one of its tentacles around his wrist and guides him through the darkest parts of the corridor. 

It quickly becomes clear to Xie Lian that they're heading to the day chambers - it's the only place in the whole cave complex that has a hole big enough for Xie Lian to swim past and that is probably not guarded as thoroughly as the entrances, since it serves more as a window than an exit. 

He also realises they probably don't have much time until someone discovers his disappearance. One of Jun Wu's servants usually brings him breakfast at the crack of dawn and judging by the slowly disappearing darkness, it's almost time. He involuntarily speeds up at that thought, but the octopus by his side wraps another tentacle around his hand and squeezes him lightly, signaling to slow down his pace, so that they don't outswim the poor jellyfish. 

“Right, I should keep calm,” Xie Lian clicks to himself, looking at the tiny luminescent creature already going at its full speed. “Ruoye, do we have a plan? I'm afraid The Emperor won't let me off the hook so easily…”

The octopus seems to be fed up with Xie Lian’s nervous questions, so it travels quickly to the back of his neck and puts two tentacles over the merman’s mouth, forcing him to keep quiet. Xie Lian hums and nods. Even though he knows the noise he's making isn't helping them, he cannot make himself shut up when he's nervous.

When they reach the huge window, there are sun rays already wandering through the water outside of the chambers. Xie Lian’s heart skips a beat when he realises it's already daytime. The octopus leaves his back, deciding to go first and probably check the surroundings.

Xie Lian knows it's only a matter of time until someone comes to capture him - the tentacle monsters have probably already found out he's escaped. 

The little jellyfish doesn't seem to care though - in fact, it can't care much, since it doesn't even have a brain. It swims out through the window, leading the merman and the octopus out of Jun Wu’s caves into the open waters above the capital. Xie Lian swims up to it and takes it into his hands gently, making sure not to hurt it. The tiny creature settles peacefully on his palm, seemingly resting after such a workout. 

“Take a break, little friend. Thank you for helping me. I will take you to safety now,” Xie Lian whispers, looking around, only to not see any guards nearby. 

He almost gets a heart attack, when he notices an unknown creature hiding in the shadows right beside the window he has just swum out of.

At first Xie Lian mistakes it for a huge, beige jellyfish, but he's quick to realise he's partially wrong - it's a jellyfish-like creature, resembling merfolk from waist up. It seems to be a male as well as Xie Lian. When he notices the merman staring at him with unease, he sheepishly waves at him, signaling to come to him.

The creature is indeed uncanny - its tail is replaced with a storm of nematocysts, which are also visible between the jellyfish’s long hair. On the top of his head, there's a huge hat, hiding most of his face. It flows with the water as if it was made of only a thin membrane, but when the creature starts to swim, it moves like tentacles of a squid, visibly granting him way more movement freedom and speed than in an ordinary jellyfish.

“You must be Xie Lian,” the creature says quietly. “I'm Yin Yu. I'm here to escort you to safety.”

When Xie Lian nods in response, too stunned to speak, Yin Yu smiles and taps the merman's closed hands. Only after a few moments does Xie Lian understand what the other one means. The merman quickly opens his palms and sets the tiny jellyfish free, just for Yin Yu to gently catch it and guide towards his hair. The small creature seems to be used to this treatment, because it immediately nests between Yin Yu’s hat and hair, hiding from any danger that might come. 

“I know it's not a very good moment, but why did you come here? Has one of my friends contacted you? And how did you not get caught by the guards?” Xie Lian shoots some questions at the jellyfish-like creature, trying to keep quiet.

“My Master got some information about the potential place our past oppressors might be staying at. We came with a peace celebration to the pod in order to investigate. I deeply hope I'm wrong, but from what we've already seen… there's many monsters amongst your kin.”

Yin Yu’s statement makes Xie Lian go numb. His blood seems to have stopped circulating. 

“How could it have come to this…” Xie Lian whispers to himself. 

Yin Yu offers him a sorry smile, but doesn't dwell on that. Instead, he looks around again, catching Xie Lian’s wrist and drags him into the shadow of the rock formation, noticing a few guards in the distance.

“I will need your help with navigating our way out of here. We should flee the city while everyone’s busy with the celebrations,” Yin Yu says, looking at Xie Lian’s wrists, bruised from the chains. The jellyfish-like creature presses his lips as if angry. “And make sure to not come too close to me. I can't control my body fully, I don't want to sting you by accident.”

“Got it,” Xie Lian nods. “Let's not waste time then, I know which route we should take to come across the least amount of guards.”

“Wait, one more thin—,”

“Shixiong!”

They both spook and turn around at the sound of a third person’s voice. 

“I've told you to keep quiet,” Yin Yu glares at the newcomer, as Xie Lian tries to make out who it is in the darkness. “And I'm not your shixiong. How many times do I have to tell you?”

The third person appears to be a special type of merman - one that closely resembles another species, just like it happens with jellyfish and octopus-like creatures. This one though seems to have taken after sharks. Tiger sharks, to be exact.

The male merman, with curly hair following his fast movements, is covered in darker stripes, even where his strong, gray tail becomes the well-built torso. He has some on his face as well, equal and symmetrical on both his cheeks.

“But you are my senior and we study together,” the shark-mer pouts at Yin Yu. “What else can I call you? Gege?”

“Forget it,” Yin Yu waves his hand, visibly terrified of that idea. He turns to Xie Lian and points to the shark-mer. “This is Quan Yizhen. He will follow us in the shadows and in case of an emergency, he will help us distract the opponents and make an opening for an escape.”

“I see. Thank you both so much,” Xie Lian nods, looking at the sharp claws decorating Yizhen’s fingers. 

“Let's go then, shall we?” Yin Yu asks, diving in between the rock formations.

“Shixiong and you go first. I will follow and drag shixiong if we have to go faster. He can't really swim long distances,” the shark-mer overshares, clearly not thinking much of it. However, as soon as Xie Lian looks at Yin Yu, he can see the jellyfish’s face turning red in embarrassment. 

However, Quan Yizhen’s last comment goes without any answer, as Yin Yu chooses to stay silent and focus on the task at hand. 

Xie Lian picks up a steady, rather slow pace as they swim through the capital. The darkness slowly gets replaced by the first rays of light making their way through the water surface, which makes Xie Lian even more nervous and impatient to get away. What's more, it turns out that the shark-mer wasn't lying, because Yin Yu does struggle to keep up whenever they have to speed up a little. However, Yizhen is always there to help, gently catching the jellyfish from the back and giving him a little boost here and there. 

It is all going well, until they're almost at the border of the capital. It is then, at the full crack of dawn, when Xie Lian suddenly feels a terrible, choking pain. The collar stings like it never has before, probably fueled by Jun Wu’s anger. 

The merman goes paralyzed the moment his neck starts burning. Yin Yu stops and signals Yizhen to check what's going on, since he's too afraid to sting Xie Lian by accident, but as soon as the shark-mer swims up to the white-scaled merman, they hear muffled voices of someone approaching them.

Xie Lian can't think clearly. The pain is awful and there's no way of getting rid of it. The small glimmer of hope he had for an escape dies down quickly.

However, he doesn't want to drag anyone down with him. Especially another species that tried to save him. 

Before Quan Yizhen can react, Xie Lian uses all his might to push him away into the direction of a darker alley. He manages to strike two birds with one stone - or a jellyfish with a shark, because the force he uses, sends Yizhen right into the direction of Yin Yu and since the latter has way less control over his movements, they both comically float in between the rock formation, away from the view. 

“Hide!” Xie Lian exclaims hoarseily, turning away from the alley to face whoever came after him. 

He doesn't have to wait long to get an answer.

There's a whole group of merfolk turning the corner - with Jun Wu leading the guards. Pei Ming and Feng Xin are amongst them too, both visibly puzzled by the sight of the white-scaled merman convulsing in pain in the middle of the main street, but still not giving in completely.

“Xie Lian, here you are,” Jun Wu says with a gentle, almost concerned look on his face. “What is going on? I've been informed you left your chamber when you're still sick. Has someone tried to kidnap you? Look at you, all in pain.”

Xie Lian grits his teeth looking back at the Emperor and the few guards behind him. He sees Jun Wu raise his eyebrow, as if he was impressed with how well the merman was holding himself together despite the pain he was causing him with his venom.

“Poor thing, can't even say a word,” Jun Wu continues his façade, swimming up to Xie Lian. “Or has someone hurt you? Do we, perhaps… have intruders in our territory?”

Xie Lian’s heart starts racing when he sees Jun Wu slowly turning his head into the direction of the dark alley. The merman can't be sure if the peculiar duo has hidden or not, but he knows he can't let them get caught.

“No.”

Jun Wu’s gaze immediately flies back to Xie Lian when he hears the merman speak up clearly. He raises an eyebrow, letting a little bit of irritation crawl up on his face when nobody behind can see his expression.

“No? Don't waste your valuable strength on speaking now. I will take you back to your chamber so you can rest and heal, we will talk later,” Jun Wu clicks, content with his plan. 

However, he doesn't expect to hear even more words leaving Xie Lian’s mouth.

“No. I will… not… come back,” he says with difficulty, putting his hands over his throat. 

“That's enough, Xie Lian, you will only hurt mor—,”

“The only one… causing me pain… is you!” Xie Lian shouts, closing his eyes when Jun Wu makes the collar tighten to an impossible extent. “You're the intruder! You're not a merman! You're a monster! Our Emperor... is a monster!”

***

Hello, everyone!! I have pushed myself to finish the breakthrough chapter before I have to focus on the exams TT~TT I hope you liked the appearance of Yin Yu and Yizhen! Please, let me know your thoughts on how do you think this is going to unfold and, as always, see you soon!

The Emperor's gaze seems to never leave Xie Lian whenever they're around other mers, and if it's not the gaze, then it's the burning sensation on Xie Lian's gills which are being squished by that horrible collar. 

Xie Lian slowly loses hope about reconnecting with San Lang. What's worse, he worries that the siren might get suspicious of the situation and comes to investigate it himself - met with the whole pod's power in their own territory.

No matter how capable of a fighter San Lang is, this would surely leave him in a troublesome position.

The merman tries to not think about the siren much. Deep down, he feels an impossible disgust with himself. The blood of the kin that killed San Lang's mother runs in his veins. He feels unworthy of even meeting San Lang ever again, not to mention coming back to live with him. 

These thoughts sting way more than any collar ever could. 

With each passing day Xie Lian slowly learns to not listen to whatever Jun Wu is saying to him as much as he can. He just pretends to, nods and follows the Emperor, but pays less and less attention to his words - this, at least, grants him the illusion of having the peace of mind from time to time. 

However, he can't turn a blind eye to the concerned stares he gets from his two friends. Mu Qing seems to not care much, but Feng Xin looks more and more anxious whenever he spots Xie Lian somewhere in the capital. Moreover, Jun Wu seems to be picking to run errands exactly when both his friends are on duty - so that none of them would have time to swim up and chat with Xie Lian.

Although the pod members are busy everyday, today when they leave Jun Wu chambers, the traffic seems to be way higher than usual. Twice as many mers bump into Xie Lian, one even almost swimming into the Emperor himself, which is unacceptable on a normal day. This makes Xie Lian wonder what's actually going on and so he stop dissociating to catch the brief conversation of other merfolk they come across. 

“Everything needs to be prepared for tomorrow! We can't risk doing everything on the same day!”

“I'm trying my best, but we don't have enough long algae for the decorations you came up with! If you want me to work, give me the materials first!”

Xie Lian frowns, as they're passing the pair of mers that are the part of a team responsible for decorating the main hall and the capital for big events and celebrations. However, Xie Lian doesn't recall any holiday coming up - they're still almost in the middle of Warm Waters Season and the temperatures don't seem to go down at all. 

“Kids, today after breakfast we're going to revise the most important manners during celebrations. I hope everyone remembers how to behave and it's going to go smoothly, huh?” 

Xie Lian hears one of the nursing guardians from afar, heading to the canteen with a bunch of merkids that complain in unison about the revision. However, what exactly the kids are saying, he cannot tell apart. 

“Remember to come to your duty tomorrow, we were told to double the security around the capital in case of an emergency,” says one of the corporals, as she ends the night shift duty of the main hall guards. The guards nod, but don't seem too enthusiastic about the upcoming day of work.

It seems that there actually is going to be a big celebration going on in the pod's territory. However, after a few hours of following Jun Wu around, Xie Lian still can't put the pieces of this puzzle together. The information he got was good for nothing - no name nor visitors were mentioned in the conversations all around the capital. 

He grows a little frustrated and disappointed in his ‘spying’ skill when he and Jun Wu come back to the Emperor's caves in the evening. There's nothing he can do about it, though - the probability of Jun Wu answering him is as low as the ocean trenches.

“You don't look so good, Xie Lian,” Jun Wu says suddenly as he chains the white-scaled merman to the wall as usual. 

Xie Lian looks at him, dumbfounded. He's sure he's feeling healthy, apart from being completely annoyed with how stupid he is. 

“What are you talking about? I'm f—,” Xie Lian doesn't finish the sentence, as the invisible collar around his neck, that hasn't been actually used much since the day he was put in it, starts to hurt him impossibly yet again.

Mechanically, he tries to reach his throat, but the Emperor catches his hands and chains them way more harshly than usual. Xie Lian starts feeling dizzy already, but Jun Wu seems to know exactly when to stop to not kill the merman, but just push him closer and closer to the edge. 

“Mhm, yes. You're sick, aren't you? It's a shame you haven't told me you were feeling unwell, maybe we could have prevented the disease lying you in bed for the next few days? You're really such a selfless mer, huh?” 

Jun Wu's mocking tone unpleasantly rings in Xie Lian's ears, joining the collar in causing the merman as much discomfort as possible. 

“You gotta stay here, well attended, as the pod takes care of the… upcoming celebrations. I'm sure you've seen it already, aren't they working so hard? It would be very bad if your sickness has spread amongst them and the guests.”

“What… guests?” The merman manages to choke out, feeling the collar tighten yet again. “S-st-hungh-op!”

“I won't stop until you learn to not ask me excessive questions,” the monster smiles, slowly petting Xie Lian's reddening gills. “You're so fragile yet so stubborn. Just like your mother.”

“I… I don't have a mother! I'm not one of you!” Xie Lian yells, despite the pain.

“Yes, yes. You've told me many times already. You can't keep lying to yourself forever, Xie Lian,” the Emperor laughs at the end, finally loosening the grip of the collar. “However, until the celebration is over, you're bed-ridden and cannot take visitors. I will come here from time to time to check on you, so don't worry. The food will be delivered as usual. Until tomorrow, Xie Lian.”

Jun Wu waves at him with a mocking smile and leaves. 

Xie Lian waits a few moments for the monster to actually leave and then he huffs out loudly, getting all the pent up annoyance out of his body. He lays flat on the sharp algae that irritate his skin almost every night, and grips a few of the plants to crush them to pieces in his fists. 

It's easy to understand that there will be some important guests during the celebration and Jun Wu is not taking any risks for slip ups. The frustration doubles when Xie Lian realizes it might have been his opportunity to break free, but Jun Wu put it out before the merman could even think about it.

He loosens his grip and slowly opens his fists to see the miserable pieces of the innocent plants he has crushed. He immediately feels guilty - he's just like those algae, so why is he causing them the same pain he is suffering?

“I'm sorry,” he mumbles, but the plants don't seem to accept his apologies nor reject them. They simply start floating away, just like his brief hope for seeing San Lang ever again.

As the sudden wave of misery hits Xie Lian, he curls up on himself as much as he can. He tries very hard to push back his tears, but he ends up sobbing anyways. He's been at his limit for way too long. 

He feels like a piece of fish shit. A string of used up materials, floating with nowhere to go, waiting to dissolve in the water. He wishes he actually could just break apart and flee his prison, this way or another.

He wishes he could see San Lang, just one more time.

Those thoughts don't help him at all in calming down. He tries to be as quiet as possible, but he can't lie to himself - anyone passing on the other side of the walls would hear him sobbing. If it was Jun Wu who could hear it, he would probably grin from ear to ear. 

Xie Lian is tired. He only realizes this when he drifts in and out of slumber for the next few hours. His body tells him he needs some rest, but his mind makes him wake up every now and then, keeping him on high alert. 

He wakes up yet again when the darkness outside is overwhelming at first sight. However, when he looks around, he's a little dumbfounded when he sees a… light source?

He squints, trying to focus his eyesight. Normally there's nothing glowing in the dark in Jun Wu's chambers. However now, there is, but it takes Xie Lian ridiculously long to make up what the floating green shape actually is. 

It's a jellyfish. Tiny, luminescent jellyfish that must have squeezed through some of the small holes that allow light into the caves during the day. 

Xie Lian blinks and gets up, trying to swim up to the little creature, but the chains prevent him from moving as far as he would like to. He huffs, desperately trying to get closer to the jellyfish. It seems to understand his pathetic attempts, because it itself swims towards the merman. 

“Hi, little one,” he clicks quietly, afraid that if someone hears him speak, they will take his new friend away. “Did you come to keep me company?”

The jellyfish has no comprehension of what he's saying, but it spins, as if it was happy that the merman noticed it. Xie Lian smiles to himself, watching the creature's little dance as it unfolds.

Then, all of the sudden, he feels a very familiar sensation on his arm. 

The touch of a tentacle. 

A shiver runs down his spine and his whole body tenses as he turns around quickly, to face whatever is touching him.

However, this time, it's not the disgusting golden tentacles that give him nightmares. The ones in front of him are white, decorated with blue rings. And they even wave at him happily, delighted with the long awaited reunion.

***

Next part: PART XXVII

It takes Xie Lian two whole days and nights to get out of that wicked state of apathy. When he wakes up, chained to the wall in Jun Wu's caves as usual, he finally feels something crawl underneath his skin - anger and haunting distress. 

How could it come to this? Is everything Jun Wu told him really the truth? How could his own father let those beasts merge in between the merfolk and how could noone notice? 

When Jun Wu enters the room that he keeps Xie Lian in, he immediately senses the shift in the white-scaled merman's mood. He meets him with a smile, but all he gets in return is a fierce look in Xie Lian's eyes. 

“Feisty much? Did you sleep well?” The Emperor asks mockingly, swimming up to Xie Lian.

Xie Lian chooses to remain silent while Jun Wu unlocks the chains on his wrists, neck and base of the tail fin. However, the Emperor doesn't seem unsettled with the lack of answer. What's more, he brushes his fingers around Xie Lian's neck, as if inspecting his skin and gills. 

This sends chills down Xie Lian's spine. He jerks, trying to back away from the monster's reach, but he's too slow. 

The gentle touch of Jun Wu's fingers is replaced with a whole hand closing around the merman's throat in a blink of an eye. A pained yelp of surprise leaves Xie Lian's lips. He looks Jun Wu in the eyes that are glowing golden again, as if he was having the time of his life while playing with the merman's fear. 

“I wasn't expecting you to come to peace with your identity so quickly. I have to admit I might have underestimated you,” Jun Wu speaks up, clenching his hand, preventing Xie Lian from replying or breathing. “You still seem to not understand where you belong, I suppose. You're one of us, yet you look at me as if everything that went wrong in your life was my fault. It hurts me, Xie Lian.”

When Jun Wu notices the merman starts feeling light headed due to lack of oxygen, he loosens his hold and again starts brushing his neck with his fingers and golden claws. Xie Lian's gills retract a few times, burning the merman's throat, desperately trying to filter more oxygen (let's pretend that's how gills work for merfolk/a.n.). The merman doesn't know what's happening for a moment, just floating around, as Jun Wu slowly works around his neck and abused gills. 

“I will… never be one of you,” Xie Lian chokes out, coming back to his senses. “You're all cruel beasts. I despise you.”

“That's some really harsh words for such a kind merman like you, huh? Is this what I get in return for giving you a place to stay and food to eat?” Jun Wu says, clearly faking the pain in his voice. 

“I'd rather die than have a monster like you care for me,” Xie Lian fires back, earning a short laugh from the Emperor. 

“I'm sure some of your peers would say the same, but after all, how many of you would be able to face us head on?” Jun Wu smiles, but then he signs and shakes his head. “That siren is really a grain of sand under my eyelid. First we lose our territory to him, now he puts a quick end to my brilliant plan and, at the top of that, he steals my friend's son for a while. What a greedy beast he is.”

“Don't you dare insult him!” Xie Lian bursts, but then frowns, processing Jun Wu's words. “What brilliant plan are you talking about? He doesn't even know you're here and never mingled into the pod's interest unless provoked.”

The Emperor smiles, as if he was waiting for Xie Lian to figure it out himself. Suddenly his grip on Xie Lian's throat tightens yet again, or so the merman thinks for a second. However, when Jun Wu's hands come into Xie Lian's vision, the hold remains on his neck without the Emperor's assistance. 

“W-what is, ugh, this,” Xie Lian struggles, immediately wrapping his own hands around his throat. He feels as if there was a plastic string tightening on his neck - a state in which he sees animals very often. Following his usual course of actions, he tries to push his fingers in between the skin and the string to eventually break it, as he does when rescuing turtles and fish, but it's futile. He cannot get underneath the string no matter how hard he tries, not even his fingernails fit. “Take… take it off!”

“I'm afraid I cannot do that. It's a little gift I commissioned just for you,” Jun Wu smiles. “My friend made it for you using some of my venom. This way, I will be able to stop you from talking whenever I wish. The best part? It's just like my skin - it's already merged with you so perfectly that no one is going to notice this pretty collar around your neck.”

Suddenly, Xie Lian feels a horrible pain hitting his throat. He tries to catch his breath, but it's impossible - his gills feel as if they got glued and refuse to work. He shoots Jun Wu a helpless glance, not being able to make a single sound. The Emperor's wicked grin sends nauseous spasms through Xie Lian's stomach, but in this very moment he also feels the collar loosen up. 

Xie Lian's gills burn as if he just got pressed down on a boiling hot rock above the surface in the middle of a sunny, summer day. He tries to massage his neck, but it doesn't help much. For a slight moment, he feels another sting and thinks he's about to experience the same pain again, but it goes away very fast, as the smirk on Jun Wu's face widens.

Xie Lian quickly understands that the Emperor is showing off - the merman is at his complete mercy now. 

“As for the brilliant plan I've had, well, let me put it this way,” Jun Wu swims around Xie Lian, not leaving his eyes of the merman. “There are some of you who, possibly, maybe, wouldn't be as easy to kill for us in case of a riot… so we had to somehow get rid of them without raising suspicion. However, before we even got into it, you and that vicious siren had to ruin everything. It took me a lot of patience that day to not kill you on the spot, Xie Lian. You should be grateful my self-control is so in tact.” 

Xie Lian blinks, taking a longer while to process Jun Wu's words. He wants to ask what the tentacle monster is talking about, but then it suddenly hits him.

“You… you brought Black Desolation upon our pod? And you wanted the strongest guards to go and drown in the trenches looking for the algae that merfolk cannot reach… you…,” Xie Lian shuts his mouth, not being able to embrace the cruelty of Jun Wu's kin. “Is it caused by your venom?”

“Quite clever of you, Xie Lian. Indeed. How do you think the siren knew about the disease? We inflicted it on the pod years ago when we were merging in. That's why we forbade you from even going near the trench in his territory. But, of course, you had to go out of your way. Always stirring up trouble for everyone else,” the Emperor rolls his eyes in annoyance, swimming up to the entrance to his caves. “Thankfully the siren didn't put two to two and haven't connected us with the disease itself. Thinking about it, you two are quite a match - both not too bright.”

Xie Lian wants to say something, but a small sting on his gills makes him shut up immediately. He only shoots Jun Wu a furious glance.

“Now, come, my assistant. I have business to attend to. Only remember to smile and don't even try to act suspicious.” 

And so they leave the caves - Jun Wu swimming out gracefully and Xie Lian following him gloomily to spend yet another day with the impostor who's in charge of the pod. 

***

They go around the city, running a few errands and greeting some mers. They are already heading to the great hall when they come across Mu Qing.

The purple-scaled merman doesn't notice Jun Wu at first, so he just swims up to Xie Lian to catch up with him and chat.

“Where were you tonight? We wanted to visit, but you weren't home. Big idiot got scared you left without a word again,” Mu Qing clicks, not beating around the bush. Only then does he look forward, realising Xie Lian is accompanying Jun Wu. “Oh, Emperor! Greetings!”

Mu Qing bows slightly towards Jun Wu, who only waves his hand dismissingly. 

“Ah, A-Qing, I…,” Xie Lian speaks up, feeling an unpleasant tingling on his neck. 

If he were to spill everything right here and there, he would not only get himself in trouble, but also take Mu Qing down with him. He cannot risk that. 

“I've been… helping the Emperor with simple tasks to save his time! You can say I got a promotion,” Xie Lian smiles sheepishly as the tingling sensation goes away. He hopes the purple-scaled merman isn't going to dwell on the topic.

“Really? That's great! Why haven't you told us right away?” Mu Qing however doesn't follow the script Xie Lian came up with in his own head in which the merman doesn't ask any more questions. The tingling comes back, a little more rough this time, forcing Xie Lian to think more effectively of a believable excuse. 

“I've been very busy, I have even slept closer to the main hall so that I could get to work right away when I wake up. I'm sorry that I have worried you, please, tell Feng Xin I'm fine, okay?” Xie Lian smiles again. “I have to get back to my responsibilities, I'm really sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, when are you getting off work? We can catch up then,” Mu Qing asks, tilting his head as if he was a curious seal. He also looks at the Emperor, as if looking for answers in him. “Emperor, may I be so bold to say it, but I hope Xie Lian isn't overworking himself on your account? He tends to forget about the whole world around him when there's an important task at hand.”

Jun Wu slows down and turns around gracefully, smiling gently at Mu Qing.

“Do not worry about your friend, Mu Qing. I'm making sure he has everything he needs. It is just more convenient to always have him around,” the Emperor clicks with confidence that leaves no room for argument. Mu Qing nods and smiles back. “Now, if you excuse us, we need to hurry to another meeting.”

“Of course, it's great to hear my friend is being taken good care of. Thank you for the reassurance, Emperor,” the purple-scaled merman turns to Xie Lian to bid farewells with him too. “Come seek us out when you have some free time then, okay?”

Xie Lian agrees with an enthusiastic nod, knowing very well this will not happen anytime soon. 

When the purple-scaled merman waves goodbye at him and swims away, he feels the pain in his neck go away, but instead his heart starts hurting. His fake smile fades away just like the small glimmer of hope he had for maybe miraculously getting recused by his friend.

There's no escape for him and he starts to fully embrace it.

***

Next part: PART XXVI

So... this au is officially 100+ pages in my document. Somehow it ended up being longer than I expected, but we're slowly heading to the culmination (very slowly, it will probably take me another 50 pages to wrap it up, help)! I hope you guys like this creppy part for now, but no worries, it's not gonna last forever!

The tentacle comes into Xie Lian's view a little more, sending cold shivers down his spine. He blinks, hoping he's hallucinating, but the golden limb doesn't go away. He looks back at Jun Wu, terrified to see his sly smirk.

“Now, do you really trust your judgement the same way, Xie Lian?” 

Xie Lian glurps, not having the courage to reply. When his brain finally stops screaming out of fear, all the new information starts connecting like pieces of a puzzle.

Jun Wu is a tentacle monster. He's the part of the group that Hua Cheng hunted down and chased off from their territory. His peers probably ki—

“Y-you! Your kin killed his mother!” Xie Lian bursts out, starting to trash and struggle in Jun Wu's hold. “How could you do something like that!” 

“Mother?” Jun Wu raises an eyebrow and looks in the distance, trying to recall a foggy memory. “Oh, right, I remember something like this. So that's why he came that day, for revenge? Interesting.”

“She was just innocently passing by with a child! Why did you do that?!” Xie Lian yells again. Jun Wu must have not expected the merman to get so furious, because for a second he looks genuinely surprised. However, his demeanor quickly changes into something mysterious and terrifying. Even cruel.

“If she wanted to pass safely, she shouldn't get so close to our territory. She was a threat. Besides  you know only Hua Cheng's part of the story. Why do you trust him so much if you've lived under our guidance for so long?” 

Xie Lian wants to argue again, but then what Jun Wu said suddenly hits him.

“... our guidance…”

“Our?” Xie Lian spills out, as he tries to recall all his memories to find any signs of other monsters in his pod. Nothing comes to his mind after all, at least not before Jun Wu laughs out loud.

“Do you really think I'm the only one amongst you?” The Emperor caresses Xie Lian's cheek. “I've already told you. Merfolk are very naive.”

“That's how you knew about the algae… That's how the Medic Elder knew! He's a monster too!” 

“You look terrified, Xie Lian. No need for those unnecessary emotions. You won't get in trouble if you follow my rules,” Jun Wu states with a confident smile. “Since I can't have you spill this secret of ours to the siren, I will make you my personal assistant. From now on, you will always be by my side. As for the night… I guess chaining you down in my chambers should prevent any attempts on escaping.”

Xie Lian's eyes widen as he listens to the Emperor. He tries to get out of his hold yet again, but it's completely fruitless. The more he struggles, the more suffocating the tentacles around his body feel. 

“Stop wasting your energy, it's futile,” Jun Wu says in a scolding manner. 

“What if I actually manage to get out and tell someone else?”

“Oh, it's already guaranteed you won't, Xie Lian. Besides, even if you got a chance, do you really think anyone would believe you?” 

Xie Lian wants to say “of course”. However, he is quickly reminded of his position in the pod. There's no way anyone would believe his words over those of the Emperor. Maybe Feng Xin and Mu Qing would, but what could the three of them do against who knows how many monsters that have been lurking among them for so long?

The cruel fear crawls all around Xie Lian's body just like the golden tentacles. Have they really been amongst them since Hua Cheng avenged his mother? 

“Exactly. I'm glad you know your place,” Jun Wu speaks up again with a smile. 

“Why not just kill me?” Xie Lian says with a frown. “I’m no valuable mer. What's the point?”

“Ha, I suppose I can actually tell you. Not like you're going to do anything with that information,” the Emperor smiles as he starts swimming, dragging Xie Lian with him. “It's a debt I have to pay to your mother. After all… haven't you noticed you're quite different from a normal merman?”

Xie Lian falls silent, not sure if he wants to ask the question that lurks in his mind. What… does Jun Wu mean? 

“That has been your problem your whole life, hasn't it? Now you can finally embrace the truth - you're no merman, Xie Lian,” Jun Wu says with the most stoic tone Xie Lian has heard today.

“...what?” 

The single word is all he is able to spit out.

“Yes. You're a cross-bred, Xie Lian. Your mother was one of my kin, yet your father belonged to the merfolk. You already know where our territory fell long ago. This pod has always mingled in our business, so naturally hatred and love would grow between some. Shortly after you were born, Hua Cheng invaded our home. Your mother was small, but a lot better of a fighter than me. She saved my skin after I didn't succeed in finishing His Cheng off with a bite, but at the cost of her life. In the chaos, no-one knew where you fled, but when those two young mers found you, I immediately recognised you. That's the only reason I let you stay after we merged into the pod with the help of your father. However… he knew too much about us. I got rid of him before we found you. It's a shame. I don't think he was even aware he was a father.”

The silence that falls after Jun Wu words rings in Xie Lian's head. He tries to process all of the information. He tries to be angry about losing both his parents. However, all he feels in a growing despair - about his own identity. 

He's as much a merman as he is a tentacle monster. 

He has no idea what to say or do. Jun Wu releases his hold on him, but Xie Lian couldn't care less. This state is what Jun Wu has been waiting for - like this, Xie Lian would not resist any further, too dumbfounded and scared of himself.

The Emperor smiles and puts his tentacles all together to imitate a tail, like it used to be for most of the time during all those long years. His skin shifts it's shades and suddenly, the tentacles do look like a normal tail. Terrifying as it is, it doesn't even affect Xie Lian in this moment. 

“Now that we have the important matter settled,” Jun Wu chirps like a happy bird, “I need to go to the main hall. Come with me and behave yourself, or else… there will be consequences that you don't want to see coming.”

The threat is as obvious as the darkness in an ocean trench, but Xie Lian doesn't seem to pay it any mind. He stares into the distance as he mechanically follows the Emperor to the exits of his caves. 

Torn apart everything he's heard, apart both types of blood running in his veins, all he feels is emptiness. It doesn't go away for the rest of the day, even when they return to Jun Wu's caves and Xie Lian gets chained down to the wall for the night.

Instead of sleeping, he wonders if that horrible feeling of nothingness in his chest will ever leave him and let him live in peace again.

***