The Supporting Male Characters Who Died Alone All Those Years Later

The other merfolk chattered, speculating about the origins of the golden-haired mermaid.

Their clan had come ashore 10 years ago, and even the oldest merfolk had made the move. This golden-haired mermaid was definitely not from their clan.

“That’s obvious; golden-tailed merfolk are rare, and there aren’t many of them. She’s so beautiful, with her golden-pink hue, which could be described as rose gold in human terms. If she were from our clan, I would have already pursued her!” one of the mermen rolled his eyes as he said that.

The Mermaid Clan didn’t judge beauty by faces, but by tails. Each one was obsessed with tails, and whenever they saw a beautiful one, they were so entranced that they could hardly move.

He Dongchen looked down at the rose-gold tail in his arms; it was indeed very beautiful. He freed one hand and reached out to touch the tail.

Suddenly, the tail quivered slightly, and its owner opened her eyes.

Her beautiful golden eyes showed a hint of confusion. She parted her lips, and after a moment, weakly uttered, “Where is this?”

“Deep Blue Clan,” He Dongchen replied.

The golden-haired mermaid’s eyes instantly flared with urgency. She pushed against He Dongchen’s shoulders with both hands and said, “Hurry and save my clan. Xitu has been hit by an earthquake, and the Mermaid Palace has been destroyed.”

He Dongchen and the other merfolk fell silent.

After a while, one of the merfolk spoke softly, “The Xitu Clan was destroyed by an earthquake 10 years ago.”

At that time, their clan had gone to provide aid, but by the time they arrived, even the Mermaid Palace couldn’t be found, let alone any merfolk. After an unsuccessful search, they had to return.

It was unexpected that besides Princess Hua Xue, there was another survivor from the Xitu Clan, who seemed to have been asleep for 10 years.

The atmosphere became tense. The golden-haired mermaid couldn’t accept the destruction of her clan and was very agitated. She pushed He Dongchen away, trying to return to her clan to save others. But after 10 years of sleep, her body had become very weak. She swam a few strokes before gradually collapsing, losing consciousness.

He Dongchen went over and caught her. For them, the destruction of the Xitu Clan was a matter of 10 years ago, but for her, the tragedy had just happened a moment ago.

The group returned to the Mermaid Palace and settled the golden-haired mermaid. Given her weakened state, it seemed she would need a few days of rest before she could travel.

The other merfolk were quite pleased; they could stay in the Mermaid Palace for a longer period and explore around.

He Dongchen took care of the golden-haired mermaid, feeding her some food; fish meat made into small balls that were surprisingly effective.

***

The next day, the golden-haired mermaid woke up.

She seemed to have accepted the passage of 10 years and was no longer as agitated, though she remained somewhat subdued.

She slowly finished the food that He Dongchen had given her, then glanced around the room. It was quiet, with no mermaid songs. She hesitated and asked, “What happened here?”

He Dongchen briefly explained the events of 10 years ago when their clan had come ashore.

“If we hadn’t returned to the Mermaid Palace this time, you might have…” He paused, then added, “By the way, what’s your name?”

“Xi Ya, Princess of the Xitu Clan,” the golden-haired mermaid replied.

He Dongchen paused, turned to look at her, and his gaze fell on her rose-gold tail. He suddenly said, “10 years ago, the Princess of Xitu had already appeared.”

“What?” Xi Ya’s eyes widened in disbelief. She quickly shook her head, saying, “Impossible! I’m the only recognized Princess of Xitu! Look, I have the Xitu merfolk lineage book.”

Xi Ya crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes flashed, and a golden book slowly appeared in front of her.

It was the merfolk lineage book.

He Dongchen also had one.

Xi Ya summoned the lineage book to prove her identity. Originally, the lineage book should have been in the hands of the clan leader, not a Princess who had married out. However, the earthquake had caused so much chaos that she had inadvertently taken the lineage book from the leader and fled with a few merfolk.

As Xi Ya opened the lineage book, she saw that all the names had been darkened, and she immediately burst into tears.

He Dongchen sighed lightly, stood up, and left the room. As he closed the door, the room erupted in crying.

Turning around, He Dongchen unexpectedly came face to face with a few merfolk.

They exchanged glances and quietly left.

After walking a good distance away, one merman remarked, “Princess Hua Xue didn’t cry this heartbreakingly even 10 years ago.”

“Well, Princess Hua Xue had a head injury and lost her memory at the time, didn’t she? She forgot everything, so of course, she wouldn’t be this sad.”

As they spoke, they suddenly remembered that Hua Xue had cheated on their leader, and they awkwardly swished their tails.

“Um, Leader, maybe you should find someone else to fancy? I think the one in the room isn’t bad; that tail is so beautiful!”

“Exactly, exactly! She looks more like a Princess than that dull Hua Xue.”

Hua Xue’s tail was dull and gray, like silver jewelry worn for years without polishing. Among a group of merfolk with shining gold, blue, or silver tails, she stood out in the worst way, looking entirely unremarkable.

He Dongchen lightly said, “You’re not wrong.”

The mermen were delighted. “Is Clan Leader going to choose someone else?”

He Dongchen coughed and spoke seriously, “What I mean is, Xi Ya is the true Princess of Xitu. She holds the Mermaid Lineage Book.”

The mermen were shocked. Years ago, they had found the severely injured Hua Xue outside the palace gates with two tokens of a tribal marriage alliance, and they assumed she was the Princess of Xitu. With Hua Xue’s memory loss and the destruction of Xitu, there was no way to verify it.

They hadn’t expected the true Princess of Xitu to emerge 10 years later.

The mermen exchanged glances and spoke in unison, “That’s great!”

Hua Xue wasn’t smart or beautiful, and she had even cheated on their leader! But Xi Ya was stunning! That tail made them want to touch it, to hold it.

***

Xi Ya cried for a long time, then began to sing. It was a song of mourning and blessing for the deceased, hauntingly beautiful in its sorrow. She sang deep into the night before finally stopping.

He Dongchen checked on her and saw that she had fallen asleep from exhaustion. He quietly left some food by her bedside and left the room silently.

The next day, the tightly closed door opened. Xi Ya seemed to have found new life. Though she looked haggard, there was a spark in her eyes.

“You said the Princess of Xitu appeared 10 years ago? Was it Hua Xue?” Xi Ya went straight to He Dongchen, asking directly.

Yesterday, she had looked through the Mermaid Lineage Book, and only her name and Hua Xue’s were still illuminated.

He Dongchen nodded. “Yes, at the time, Hua Xue was severely injured and had lost her memory. She also had the tokens of the marriage alliance, so we believed she was the Princess of Xitu.”

Xi Ya’s expression was complicated as she slowly spoke, “Back then, I was gravely injured and could barely move. All I could think about was finding you all to help save my clan, so I gave the tokens to Hua Xue and then sealed myself in sleep. I never expected that when I woke up, everything would have changed.”

Now that the clan was reduced to just her and Hua Xue, Xi Ya lacked the energy and desire to pursue whether Hua Xue’s actions were intentional.

He Dongchen said, “Actually, the reason we returned to the Mermaid Palace this time is related to Hua Xue.”

“Tell me,” Xi Ya said, forcing herself to stay focused.

“Our Mermaid Clan has come ashore, so we must hide our identities. It’s forbidden for our people to fall in love with humans, yet Hua Xue has fallen for one. Now, the Mermaid Clan faces the danger of being exposed. I returned to the palace this time to search for a secret method within our clan, hoping to turn that human into a mermaid and resolve the crisis.”

“Unfortunately, there was no such record in the library.”

Xi Ya’s expression became even more complicated.

He Dongchen noticed this, raised an eyebrow slightly, and asked, “What do you know?”

Xi Ya nodded and slowly began to speak, “Actually, Hua Xue’s father was a human who was turned into a mermaid.”

“Hua Xue’s mother was my aunt, a mermaid of noble blood, with a golden tail. She had the potential to compete for the position of clan leader, but she fell in love with a human. The clan tried to dissuade her but eventually allowed that human to be turned into a mermaid, fulfilling their love.”

“For a human to be turned into a mermaid, a mermaid must offer half of their blood. After my aunt gave her blood, her golden tail became tarnished, and her combat abilities were halved. That human, inheriting half of my aunt’s bloodline, could live in the sea but had limited abilities. He couldn’t even fight off small fish and shrimp. Unable to adapt to life in the deep sea, he soon fell into despair and died. Their child, Hua Xue, was born dull, with a tail even duller than an ordinary silver one. Since then, no mermaid has ever fallen in love with a human.”

Who could accept that their offspring would be doomed to be dull and weak?

When Xi Ya was young, she didn’t understand why the clan leader allowed that human to become a mermaid instead of simply killing him. It was only after seeing Hua Xue that she gradually realized the truth.

That was the best warning to the clan.

Who would have thought that Hua Xue would fall in love with a human as well?

Xi Ya gave a bitter smile. “If you turn Hua Xue’s lover into a merman and divide their bloodline, they might become the ugliest and dullest merfolk in the clan.”

She wasn’t sure just how ugly or dull they might become.

And their offspring would be even worse.

He Dongchen understood. “So, you know how to turn a human into a mermaid?”

Xi Ya blinked. “I do.”

***

Meanwhile, on Pearl Island.

Hua Xue was being affectionate with An Yanshang, while the merfolk secretly observing them cursed inwardly.

Over the years, Hua Xue had lived under someone else’s roof, feeling inferior. An Yanshang’s appearance undoubtedly helped her regain her confidence.

Though An Yanshang had lost his memory, he hadn’t lost his intelligence. Over the past few days, he had thoroughly figured out Hua Xue’s personality. He felt both disdain and pity for her. After all, they were the same kind of people.

An Yanshang had been stringing Hua Xue along for days, gradually familiarizing himself with the island’s terrain. He had a strong premonition that he wasn’t meant to stay there and that he had something far more important to accomplish.

“Hua Xue, how often does a boat leave the island?” An Yanshang asked directly, knowing that if he was too subtle, she wouldn’t understand.

“It’s not on a fixed schedule, but whenever a boat is leaving, we’ll be notified by the singing of our Mermaid Clan. You humans can’t hear it,” Hua Xue revealed the secret without a trace of caution.

An Yanshang looked at the naïve Hua Xue, his gaze darkening slightly. Maybe when he left, he could take her with him. After all, she wasn’t truly happy here, was she?

A butterfly fluttered by, and Hua Xue, delighted, chased after it. An Yanshang chuckled and followed her.

After they walked away, the nearby bushes rustled slightly. Moments later, two heads poked out, teeth clenched in anger. “Hua Xue, that traitor!”

“Exactly! This human knows our secret; we should just throw him into the sea!”

Sensing something was off after a few steps, An Yanshang abruptly turned around. He saw the bushes rustle briefly before a wild chicken burst out, flapping its wings as it darted into another thicket.

An Yanshang sighed in relief and rubbed his temples.