To be fair, it was not exactly selfishness. Mu Chen was bored, and he wanted to make a little mermaid's dream of seeing the sky and the world above come true. Of course, he had other ideas too. All sorts of motives were tangled together. It was normal for an older brother to worry about his sister. At least Mu Chen had helped Shyarly learn to tell good people from bad ones, which was a step up from the fish-men in Fool's Street who thought all humans were evil.
Mu Chen did not linger long before leaving Fool's Street. Shyarly was reluctant to see him go, which surprised him. They had spent less than half a day together. Then again, she was only about ten years old and easy to win over. Arlong's expression, though, was something Mu Chen figured he would remember for the rest of his life. He looked as if Mu Chen had stolen his sister away. Mu Chen then found Qi Yuan, who was sitting alone, lost in thought, and pulled her into his arms.
"Zhiyuan, what are you thinking about?"
Qi Yuan did not struggle when Mu Chen hugged her. She was used to it by now. Mu Chen grinned mischievously. "Now it's just the two of us. Tell me, where do you want to go? How about Sky Island?"
Mu Chen had wanted to take Qi Yuan to Sky Island for a while. It was a wonderful place, and he was starting to miss his Little Crayfish.
Qi Yuan was delighted to hear the suggestion. Sky Island was the stuff of legend; of course she wanted to go. But something else was on her mind. She turned and fixed Mu Chen with a serious look. Why did that make him feel a little guilty?