Chapter Summaries

Shen Yangge asked Chu Xuanzhen to take him away from the bloodied courtyard, but black-clad attackers ambushed them, and Chu Xuanzhen killed them all. After bathing, Shen Yangge initiated a kiss that led to an exhausting encounter, leaving him sore and wary of the days ahead.

• Shen Yangge asked Chu Xuanzhen to take him somewhere else, and Chu Xuanzhen carried him from the pond while ordering Xia Zao to prepare a bath.
• A black-clad attacker nearly struck Xia Zao, but Shen Yangge pulled him clear and knocked the attacker away with his tail.
• Chu Xuanzhen held Shen Yangge back and killed the remaining attackers as Xia Zao went to prepare the bath.
• Chu Xuanzhen washed Shen Yangge in the tub, and Shen Yangge kissed him.
• After their encounter, Shen Yangge soaked in a second tub, sore and regretting that he had initiated the kiss.

Shen Yangge struggled to eat without help while Chu Xuanzhen was away, then resisted asking him to return and feed him. After Chu Xuanzhen came back and kissed him, a sudden thunderclap left him silent and visibly troubled.

• Xia Zao told Shen Yangge that Chu Xuanzhen had left and refused to bring the table or serve him, so Shen Yangge dragged the table over with a silk cloth and ate alone.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned and found Shen Yangge playing with a tea set in the wooden tub.
• Chu Xuanzhen tested Shen Yangge's water, kissed him, and said there were times when something was wrong with it.
• A sudden bolt of lightning and crash of thunder startled Shen Yangge, who noticed Chu Xuanzhen's expression change and received no answer when he addressed him.

Shen Yangge discovered that the cannon blasts and fires across the island likely marked a secret weapons test tied to an alliance with the Western Regions. He realized Chu Xuanzhen had only just uncovered the scheme too, leaving the island’s traitorous plans exposed to him.

• Chu Xuanzhen left Shen Yangge in the bath and ordered Xia Zao to keep him from being frightened.
• Shen Yangge learned that flames and thunder had been visible across the island for about two hours, then forced Xia Zao to open the door.
• Shen Yangge recognized the sounds beneath the thunder as explosive cannon blasts and saw lightning illuminate the distant fires.
• Shen Yangge connected the island’s unusual security and Ruthis’s arrival to a powerful alliance between the island’s lord and the Western Regions.
• Shen Yangge concluded that the islanders were test-firing cannons under cover of the storm and that Chu Xuanzhen had only just confirmed the conspiracy.

Shen Yangge passed out after his fish body overheated, and an intruder abducted him from the wooden tub. After regressing from a mermaid into an ordinary fish, he was brought before Ruthis, who failed to recognize him and suspected the real mermaid had been hidden.

• Shen Yangge waited for Chu Xuanzhen to return, then overheated in the tub and lost consciousness.
• An intruder searched the tub, scooped Shen Yangge into a burlap sack, and escaped through a window.
• Xia Zao discovered Shen Yangge missing and ordered a search while fearing Chu Xuanzhen's reaction.
• Shen Yangge woke in darkness, realized he had no hands, and discovered he had regressed into a fish.
• The intruder poured Shen Yangge into a basin, where Ruthis inspected him and dismissed him as an ordinary fish.
• The intruder apologized to Ruthis and suggested the mermaid had been hidden before the abduction.

Shen Yangge was mistaken for a fish sent to the Kitchen and narrowly escaped being butchered before Yue Hanshan rescued him. Yue Hanshan's men recognized him as the River God, but Yue feared disaster might arrive before anyone cooked him.

• Ruthis sent Shen Yangge to the Kitchen, where the woman prepared to cook him as a feast.
• Shen Yangge slapped the woman with his tail, escaped her grasp, and hid among the clutter.
• Yue Hanshan found Shen Yangge and took him away, arranging for another fish to replace him.
• Shen Yangge realized he could no longer produce golden specks of light at will.
• Yue Hanshan's subordinate confirmed Shen Yangge was the River God, and Yue worried over a troubling scene he had witnessed.

Chu Xuanzhen discovered that Shen Yangge had been abducted and sent Xia Zao to search a nearby mansion. Shen Yangge remained in fish form with Yue Hanshan when he noticed Chu Xuanzhen watching him.

• Chu Xuanzhen found Shen Yangge missing, and Xia Zao explained what he had seen and volunteered to lead the search.
• Chu Xuanzhen restrained himself from punishing Xia Zao and left to find Shen Yangge.
• Xia Zao led guards into a nearby mansion, crawling through a dog hole while the others scaled the wall.
• Shen Yangge swam in Yue Hanshan's basin and watched Yue's subordinates treat him as though his mind had become fishlike.
• Shen Yangge raised his head from the water and met Chu Xuanzhen's shadowed gaze.

Ruthis uncovered Yue Hanshan’s attempt to switch the fish and questioned whether he had colluded with the Crown Prince of Great Chu. He approached Shen Mermaid in the tub, unaware that Shen Yangge was ready to slap him if he tried to grab him.

• Ruthis traced his unease to the switched fish and searched the residence until he found it.
• Ruthis confronted Yue Hanshan, who accepted responsibility and asked him to spare the uninvolved subordinates.
• Ruthis recalled his plan to abduct the Lord Divine Dragon in mermaid form and replace him with an impostor before the journey.
• Yue Hanshan explained that he had switched the fish because he could not bear to see it treated as food.
• Ruthis accused Yue Hanshan of withholding the fish’s unusual nature and asked whether he still considered him his master.
• Ruthis moved to scoop up Shen Mermaid as Shen Yangge prepared to slap him.

Chu Xuanzhen rescued Shen Yangge from Ruthis's residence, where Shen Yangge had been hiding in a basin as an ordinary fish. Yue Hanshan and his men were captured, while Shen Yangge returned with Chu Xuanzhen, knowing his identity had been exposed.

• An arrow forced Ruthis to retreat, and Shen Yangge recognized the archer as Chu Xuanzhen before hiding in the basin.
• Ruthis escaped with his trusted aides, while Yue Hanshan was restrained by Chu Xuanzhen's Death Soldiers.
• Chu Xuanzhen entered the room, stroked Shen Yangge in the basin, then carried him away without answering Yue Hanshan.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned to his residence with Shen Yangge, having found him with help from the City Lord's Adopted Son.
• Shen Yangge accepted that Chu Xuanzhen knew he had become an ordinary fish and began considering how to prevent him from taking revenge.

Shen Yangge, trapped in fish form, tried to get Chu Xuanzhen’s attention while Chu gave him the cold shoulder. Xia Zao waited outside the room to face punishment for failing to protect Lord Shen, but Chu Xuanzhen left without condemning him.

• Shen Yangge discovered he could use his mermaid abilities and spent an hour and a half complaining to Chu Xuanzhen in bubbles and thoughts.
• Shen Yangge stopped trying to get Chu Xuanzhen’s attention, then surfaced when he heard Chu undressing, only for Chu to disappear behind a folding screen.
• Xia Zao knelt outside the room all night, fearing Chu Xuanzhen would punish him for failing to find Lord Shen first.
• Chu Xuanzhen left the room without speaking to Xia Zao, and a courtyard guard told Xia that the matter was not his fault.
• Xia Zao tried to stand, fell onto the grass, then stumbled away in embarrassment and left one shoe behind.

Nan Jiaxi cleaned Ruthis’s room and asked to share his bed for a night, though Ruthis did not grant the wish. Meanwhile, Chu Xuanzhen kept Shen Yangge in a water-filled gourd tied to his waistband, leaving Shen Yangge cramped, nauseated, and hungry.

• Nan Jiaxi joined the servants in cleaning the coastal residence and insisted on cleaning Ruthis’s room himself.
• Ruthis lifted Nan Jiaxi by his collar, examined his eyes, and ordered him to clean the bed in exchange for one wish.
• Nan Jiaxi asked Ruthis to share his bed for one night, but he never got to sleep beside him.
• Chu Xuanzhen modified a large gourd to hold Shen Yangge and tied it to his waistband, carrying him around despite their cold war.
• Shen Yangge endured Chu Xuanzhen’s leaps over rooftops and walls while worrying about the water spilling from the gourd.
• Shen Yangge watched Chu Xuanzhen eat and silently complained that he wanted some food too.

Shen Yangge shrank to a small fish and was reluctantly carried by Chu Xuanzhen through a bustling seaside town, where a stranger suddenly snatched him from the gourd. The chapter ended with Shen Yangge preparing to strike the fish thief with his tail.

• Shen Yangge discovered that he had shrunk again and evaded Chu Xuanzhen’s attempts to touch him.
• Chu Xuanzhen put Shen Yangge into a large gourd and carried him out after promising to have the kitchen make him something delicious.
• Shen Yangge became dizzy in the gourd and watched the townspeople and their children as Chu Xuanzhen walked through the streets.
• A scrawny hand seized Shen Yangge and pulled him out of the gourd.
• Shen Yangge realized someone had stolen him and prepared to lash out with his tail.

Shen Yangge reunited with System 615 after both were stolen and endured a rough journey in a water bag before Chu Xuanzhen rescued them. While Chu Xuanzhen fed them flower cake, Shen Yangge accidentally bit his finger and suddenly grew feverishly hot, leaving Chu Xuanzhen alarmed.

• Shen Yangge found System 615 in a filthy water bag, and the two recognized each other after he smacked it with his tail.
• System 615 told Shen Yangge it had woken up in the cramped bag, where fish were constantly brought in and taken away.
• The water bag shook violently, injuring Shen Yangge and System 615, until Chu Xuanzhen opened it and rescued Shen Yangge.
• Shen Yangge and System 615 ate flower cake that Chu Xuanzhen fed them while he studied a map of the island.
• Shen Yangge leapt for a piece of cake, accidentally clamped onto Chu Xuanzhen's finger, and turned red and burning hot, prompting Chu Xuanzhen to inspect the other fish.

Shen Yangge transformed from a little fish back into a mermaid after drinking Chu Xuanzhen's blood. Once he woke, Chu Xuanzhen repeatedly kissed him, leaving Shen Yangge flustered and trying to find a way to make him stop.

• Shen Yangge bit Chu Xuanzhen's finger and swallowed his blood as a little fish, cooling his feverish body.
• White light surrounded Shen Yangge, and he transformed into a silver-haired mermaid in Chu Xuanzhen's arms.
• Chu Xuanzhen kissed the sleeping Shen Yangge, then kissed him again when he woke.
• Chu Xuanzhen put Shen Yangge in a bathtub, where Shen Yangge examined and bit a cut on his finger.
• Chu Xuanzhen coaxed Shen Yangge out of the water and kissed him repeatedly while Shen Yangge struggled to make him stop.

Shen Yangge realized the island was under attack and feared Chu Xuanzhen would refuse to abandon Great Chu’s territory. As the room began to collapse, Little Stutterer carried Shen Yangge toward the exit.

• A Death Soldier reported that unidentified forces and more than a dozen ships were approaching the island, then urged Chu Xuanzhen to leave.
• Chu Xuanzhen told the Death Soldier he could leave, and the room’s door collapsed as the soldier departed.
• Chu Xuanzhen placed Shen Yangge in a bathtub and left Little Stutterer to watch over him.
• Little Stutterer became captivated by Shen Yangge’s beauty while Shen Yangge worried that Chu Xuanzhen would stay and defend the island.
• A tremor shook the room, and Little Stutterer lifted Shen Yangge and rushed toward the doorway as the remaining door toppled.

After an earthquake wrecked the estate and island, the little stutterer carried the injured Shen Yangge to safety until Chu Xuanzhen arrived. Shen Yangge grew dangerously hot from lack of water, and the little stutterer realized that both men were far more than ordinary people.

• The little stutterer carried Shen Yangge through the collapsing corridor and into the courtyard as the earthquake split the ground.
• After the shaking stopped, Shen Yangge told the little stutterer to loosen his painful grip, then began overheating and developing scales from being out of water.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned and took Shen Yangge into his arms, while the little stutterer backed away under Chu Xuanzhen's intimidating gaze.
• Chu Xuanzhen realized the earthquake had destroyed their water supply and coaxed Shen Yangge by promising he would not become a dried fish.
• The little stutterer heard Shen Yangge address Chu Xuanzhen as 'Your Highness' and recognized that the two men were not ordinary.

An earthquake devastated the island, separating Ruthis from Nan Jiaxi and leaving Shen Yangge injured and dehydrated. Ruthis rescued Nan Jiaxi, while Chu Xuanzhen brought Shen Yangge to water and saw the wound in his tail.

• System 615 finally contacted its host, but the host’s icy voice frightened it into severing the connection.
• Nan Jiaxi hid in the kitchen during the earthquake, and Ruthis found him behind the firewood and carried him to safety.
• Ruthis told Nan Jiaxi to keep up, and Nan Jiaxi eagerly followed him.
• The earthquake left nearly every building on the island collapsed, and Chu Xuanzhen put Shen Yangge into a surviving water vat.
• Chu Xuanzhen saw a wooden splinter lodged in Shen Yangge’s tail and silently showed pain and regret.

After an earthquake devastated the islands, the City Lord ignored the people’s suffering and sentenced scholars who challenged him to death, while secretly planning to rebel. Black-clad rescuers brought food and helped survivors, leading the people to hope that Great Chu would send help.

• Shen Yangge’s injured tail drew the little stutterer’s sympathy and admiration, while Chu Xuanzhen released a lock of his hair.
• The earthquake buried islanders in collapsed homes as survivors struggled to rescue their loved ones.
• The City Lord and his aides bypassed people needing help, and the City Lord had scholars who confronted him sentenced to death.
• The islanders discovered that the City Lord intended to ally with an enemy nation and rebel, but stayed silent for fear of execution.
• Black-clad rescue teams distributed rations and helped survivors dig through the rubble, prompting the islanders to hope that Great Chu would save them.

Chu Xuanzhen seized the city lord’s hidden weapons and gunpowder with help from moles embedded among the city lord’s trusted aides, while the city lord realized his rebellion was exposed and feared arrest. Back at his residence, Chu Xuanzhen tended Shen Yangge’s injured tail, and their flirtatious moment grew awkward when Shen Yangge draped it across his chest.

• The city lord grew resentful of Great Chu’s officials and decided that helping the enemy nation would bring him power and reward.
• Chu Xuanzhen split his forces, sending some to rescue civilians and others to destroy the city lord’s concealed forces.
• Chu Xuanzhen’s embedded agents opened the way for him to seize the city lord’s gunpowder and deadly weapons and ship them to the mainland.
• The city lord learned that his weapons were gone and feared the court would soon arrest him, while his daughter asked why he could not simply capture Chu Xuanzhen.
• The city lord explained that people believed Chu Xuanzhen was the River God after he rode a huge fish to find the Sea Demon.
• Chu Xuanzhen applied ointment to Shen Yangge’s injured tail, and Shen Yangge draped it over Chu Xuanzhen’s chest before Chu Xuanzhen pressed and stroked it.

Shen Yangge recovered System 615 from the ruins, and it warned him that the island was unusually abnormal. After another earthquake devastated the island, Shen Yangge grew anxious as he kept hearing a baby cry that no one else could hear.

• Chu Xuanzhen secretly caught a scale that fell from Shen Yangge's tail and tucked it into his sleeve.
• Shen Yangge found System 615 buried beneath a house and had Little Stutterer and the Imperial Guards dig it out.
• System 615 told Shen Yangge that the island's data was abnormal and that the earthquakes had reinforced its suspicions.
• A second earthquake struck the island, and the City Lord rescued wealthy families while commoners rejected his belated help.
• Displaced commoners left the island's central region for Linhai, where local residents accepted them despite the flooding.
• Shen Yangge repeatedly heard a baby crying at night, but Little Stutterer and others said they heard nothing.

Shen Yangge rescued an abandoned baby, gave his spare clothes to earthquake survivors, and changed back into human form. When he overheard a plot to assassinate him, he hid in an empty water vat with the baby and the little stutterer as the attackers approached.

• Shen Yangge found a crying baby beside a corpse and arranged for an Imperial Guard to care for him.
• Shen Yangge gave most of his spare clothes to the scantily clad commoners, and Chu Xuanzhen backed his decision.
• Shen Yangge discovered that his fish tail had turned back into human legs and left the water vat.
• Shen Yangge overheard men planning to assassinate him while Chu Xuanzhen was away and warned the Imperial Guards.
• Shen Yangge emptied the water vat and hid inside with the baby and the little stutterer as the attackers approached.