Although those descriptions looked very similar, Miaomiao knew perfectly well that they were entirely different races.
"I'm one of the Merfolk. There should be legends about us among land humans, too. The elder said that every generation of Merfolk has some contact with land humans. Um, the ones in the East, with black hair and black eyes."
Given the Chinese that had slipped out of Miaomiao's mouth, Tim knew exactly what to search for: legends of Merfolk from the ancient country in the East.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas contained one of the earliest records of beings resembling mermaids: "The Di People Country lies west of Jianmu. Its people have human faces and fish bodies, with no feet." This was considered an early precursor to Merfolk legends.
The Bowuzhi, written by Zhang Hua of the Jin dynasty, recorded: "In the waters of the South Sea dwell Merfolk. They live in water like fish, yet never cease their weaving. Their eyes can weep pearls."
In Search of the Supernatural, written by Gan Bao of the Jin dynasty, mentioned: "A Merfolk emerged from the water and lodged in a human household, selling silk over many days. When about to leave, the Merfolk asked the host for a vessel, wept enough pearls to fill the dish, and gave them to the host."
Records of Strange Matters, written by Ren Fang during the Liang dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, recorded: "Merfolk are Quanxian, also called Quan Ke. The South Sea produces mermaid silk, woven underwater by Quanxian. Also known as dragon silk, it is worth a hundred pieces of gold. It is said not to become wet when submerged."
The Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, compiled by Li Fang and others during the Northern Song dynasty, described Merfolk as a kind of mermaid. The larger ones measured five or six feet long, with flesh and skin as snow-white as jade, no scales, and extraordinarily beautiful appearances. People along the coast would fall in love with Merfolk and keep them in ponds.
These passages were all recorded in the ancient script of Hua Country, with translations into its modern script alongside them. Everyone could just about grasp the general meaning. Still, it was obvious that some of the traits described matched Miaomiao, while others did not.
That was perfectly normal. As stories spread, they inevitably changed from their original forms to some degree.
"A human upper body and a fish tail, born in the sea, fair skin, beautiful looks, skilled at weaving, and pearls from tears. All those traits match."
"Okay, let's make a correction. Miaomiao is a little Merfolk from the East."
Without so much as a change in expression, Tim downed another large cup of extra-strong coffee, forcibly keeping his brain running when it was on the verge of shutting down. "So that robe Bruce had the drone bring back earlier was woven by Miaomiao, using... water?"
Miaomiao nodded obediently. "Yes. We Merfolk weave water into silk. It's light, thin, and lustrous, supple and comfortable, and it doesn't get wet underwater. It also helps regulate body temperature a little."
"All right." Tim worked hard to convince himself that these were merely legendary supernatural abilities. It wasn't as though he'd never seen those before. He wasn't jealous at all. "Then there's still one very important question-"
"Does Bruce's unusual behavior have anything to do with your abilities?"
"Unusual behavior?" Miaomiao hurriedly looked Bruce up and down, studying him from every angle, but couldn't find anything "unusual" about him. "No? Bruce is perfectly fine. He's not hurt."
"No, that's not what he means."
Bruce closed his eyes briefly. This was the first time he had ever had to admit to such an almost un-Batman-like mistake in front of his entire family. Still, Batman had always been willing to face his own mistakes.
"What Tim means is that I'm not someone who trusts others easily, yet I trusted you easily. And throughout the days we've spent together, I never questioned those obvious details. I firmly believed you were a child who had escaped from an illegal laboratory. That is a lapse that should be impossible for me."
"You thought I'd escaped from an... illegal laboratory?"
Miaomiao tried hard to work out what a laboratory was. Since Bruce had used words like "illegal" and "escaped," she supposed it couldn't be anything good.
"I never said that. Why would you think so?"
Bruce didn't want the innocent Miaomiao to learn about humanity's ugly side too soon, so he offered only a simple explanation. "The ship where we met was a base for certain bad people. In pursuit of their own unrealistic fantasies, they hurt many people, including some children. I thought the unusual things about you were the results of their experiments, just like those poor children."
"I think I understand a little. So, Bruce, you thought that when you first saw me, right?"
After Bruce confirmed it, Miaomiao carefully thought back over how she and Bruce had met and seemed to discover where the problem lay.
"It's like this, Bruce. You're the connection I've formed in this world. You're my anchor. That connection goes both ways, so we naturally feel fond of each other and find it easier to trust each other. Also... those sea monsters and sirens you mentioned earlier can use their voices to bewitch sailors. That's a little like our Merfolk's Illusion Song. Merfolk have an innate ability to cast illusions with their voices. The powerful ones can even create an illusory realm directly through song."
"You cast an illusion on Father?"
It wasn't that Damian looked down on this little Merfolk. Seriously, he didn't think she had the brains for something like that.
"No..."
At this, Miaomiao lowered her head slightly, her cheeks faintly flushed with embarrassment.
"I'm not an adult yet, and I don't have very good control over my Illusion Song ability. Sometimes... maybe... possibly... um, a little bit of power... slips out by accident..."
Miaomiao raised a hand and held her thumb and forefinger a tiny distance apart to show that it really was only a little bit.
"That little bit of power might have reinforced Bruce's idea that I was a 'test subject,' making him subconsciously ignore the things that didn't make sense."
Back in the sea, all the young Merfolk did this. But since it was an innate Merfolk ability, their own people had a certain resistance to it. Young Merfolk weren't allowed to approach land humans on their own, either. At most, they played with marine creatures like dolphins and orcas, so no one had ever thought there was anything wrong with it.
"I'm so sorry. I really didn't do it on purpose. I'll work harder to keep it under control from now on!"
Miaomiao raised her right hand to show her resolve, stopping just short of swearing an oath to the heavens.
Well, mystery solved.
Batman, whose plans had always accounted for every possibility, possessed a meticulous mind and terrifying powers of observation. Known as the "world's greatest detective," he had subdued all manner of monsters and fiends in Gotham with nothing but his mortal body, despite having no superpowers of his own, and uncovered Superman's true identity from the faintest clues.
One careless misstep, and he had taken a spectacular tumble over an innocent, naïve Merfolk girl.
This truly was a day worth remembering.
The little brats exchanged glances, all holding back their laughter, and decided to record this incident in their private little notebook, in the folder titled "Batman exclusives Batman doesn't know about."
Also-
"Looks like we'll have to redo Miaomiao's file..."
Before you continue