Why Are You Being So Bashful?

Feng Rumeng took a step back, a string of question marks appearing in her mind as she met those eyes, which looked extremely dangerous at that moment.

"Little one, big sis won't hurt you. Relax and take a deep breath."

"I'm from the land. I can't speak sea beast language. If you don't understand something, use your hands to show me. Can you do that?" Feng Rumeng gestured as she spoke.

The merman's chest heaved, and a violent presence radiated from his body as he stared at Feng Rumeng like a hunter watching his prey.

Feng Rumeng backed up until her back pressed against the cave wall. "Little brother, I know something bad happened to you before, and you're scared. But I absolutely won't hurt you. I promise. Please believe me—not all beastmen are bad."

With that, Feng Rumeng sat down and rummaged through her space for canned fish. He knew that someone who had suffered so much torture couldn't easily trust others again. He would only think that someone being kind to him was the beginning of the next round of torture.

The merman didn't lower his guard, but he was only holding on by sheer force of will. He hadn't eaten in five days. The food the female had eaten had a very distinctive aroma, and he wanted it badly, but he was afraid. Countless times, every hand that had been kind to him had been followed by even sharper beast claws.

Feng Rumeng found two cans of fish, pried them open and slid them beside the bathing tub. She also unwrapped several pieces of bread and tossed them over. "See if there's anything you like."

The moment the merman smelled the canned fish, he nearly couldn't hold himself back. His breathing grew heavy, and his eyes turned scarlet.

Feng Rumeng moved as far away from him as she could, took out a beast hide and covered herself with it. She closed her eyes, and before long, her breathing grew even.

The merman gradually relaxed, then suddenly collapsed into the bathing tub. In an instant, his eyes flickered, and he fixed them tightly on Feng Rumeng again.

After a long while, he reached into the tub and fished out the half sausage he had thrown away. He lowered his eyes and stared at it for a long time before taking a tentative bite.

He cried, pearls pattering into the tub. Then he finished the sausage in two bites.

He climbed out of the tub, curled his fish tail around the food and retreated into a corner. He stuffed it into his mouth as hard as he could, as though afraid someone would snatch it away.

Feng Rumeng wasn't actually asleep. She heard the movement and could hear him wolfing down the food.

The merman kept his head lowered and continued chewing. When he was done, he licked every crumb from each of his fingers.

It's good that he ate. Feng Rumeng's lips curved. Though he had been tortured until he was covered in wounds, he still hadn't abandoned her and had even treated her injuries. He really was a good child. She pulled the beast hide around herself, and before long, she really did fall asleep.

The morning sun shone at an angle across Feng Rumeng's face.

She opened her sleepy eyes and turned to look at the merman curled up in the corner. His fish tail was covered in dust and filthy, and there was a hint of fear in his blue eyes as he looked at her.

"Morning, little merman brother." Feng Rumeng covered her mouth as she yawned, then took some more food from her space and tossed it over.

She took out water to rinse her mouth and began eating as well. She looked at the shafts of light in the forest. Although it still hadn't snowed, the weather was growing colder and colder. The thermometer she had secretly taken out showed that it was already minus ten degrees.

She had to get back to the Fierce Tiger Tribe before heavy snow sealed off the mountains. No matter how she looked at it, the forest wasn't as safe as the tribe.

She couldn't take the merman cub back to the tribe, or he would only suffer worse. She wasn't strong enough and was bullied herself, so how could she protect him when his whole body was worth a fortune?

Feng Rumeng looked at the merman. "You can heal me, so why haven't all those wounds on your body healed?"

The merman gave no response.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" Feng Rumeng asked, gesturing as she spoke.

Feng Rumeng knew he was wary of her and asked patiently, "Can you sense which direction a water source is in?"

This time, the merman's eyes flickered.

Feng Rumeng lifted her arm. "Hiss." Her face scrunched up in pain. It hurts so much. "Wait a few more days. Once I'm feeling better, I'll take you there."

The merman's eyes flickered again, but he still said nothing.

Feng Rumeng asked no more. She took out the beast hides she had tanned and laid them at the cave entrance to dry.

She took out the beast-hide bag she had gotten from the ape beastman and emptied it. The bag didn't look big, but it held quite a lot. There were over a hundred Beast Crystals alone, all either green or orange.

Feng Rumeng's eyes lit up. She picked up a green one, wiped it off and ate it, then rummaged through the other things. She picked up a white pill and held it to her nose.

With a smack, the merman knocked it away with his fish tail.

Feng Rumeng looked at him, but he had already drawn his tail back.

She looked at the pill that had rolled to the cave entrance, then glanced at the merman. Without dwelling on it, she picked up another green crystal. The merman stared at it intently, but when she looked up at him, he turned his face away.

Feng Rumeng chuckled softly and walked over to squat beside him. "Do you want to eat it? This one's yours."

The merman hurriedly moved away as she approached. Feng Rumeng felt a little awkward. She had only gotten darker; she wasn't creepy, was she? Why was the child so frightened?

"I won't do anything to you." She put down the green crystal. "You can eat it yourself."

The merman watched her return to her spot and cover herself with the beast hide. He was stunned for a while. He hadn't expected her to really give it to him. Only a fool would give away such a precious crystal...

Was she really not being kind to him so that he would develop legs sooner and mate with her?

Or did she... really have something wrong with her head?

This female didn't even know the most basic common sense. Beast Crystals from land-dwelling fierce beasts were useless to the sea folk. Otherwise, how could he have...

His eyelashes trembled. He picked up the green crystal and slowly ate it.

Feng Rumeng put the crystals into her space. She had to get better quickly. There were too many uncertainties in the forest. The merman before her looked to be second tier at most. If they ran into a pack of fierce beasts, all their struggling over the past few days would have been for nothing.

That evening, Feng Rumeng took out some rations for the merman. Speaking and gesturing, she told him, "The forest isn't safe. There are pythons and spiders in the trees. You keep watch for the first half of the night, and I'll take the second half. Call me if anything happens."

Without waiting for the merman to respond, she wrapped herself tightly in the beast hide and went to sleep against the cave wall. She knew he still hadn't gotten past his misgivings and wouldn't respond anyway.

The merman didn't eat the food she had given him. He gathered it up and put it behind him, then looked at Feng Rumeng's arm.

Feng Rumeng slept soundly, and the merman didn't wake her.

She slept without dreaming and only opened her eyes when the morning light fell into the cave entrance. Once she came to her senses, she blinked. "Sorry, I overslept."

The merman still ignored her, and Feng Rumeng had gotten used to it.

They settled down in the tree hollow. The merman slept during the day and soaked in the bathing tub while keeping watch at night, staring at the sleeping Feng Rumeng all night long.

To help her ribs heal faster, Feng Rumeng ate one Beast Crystal every day. Whenever she tossed one to the merman, he would slap it back with his fish tail.

Feng Rumeng didn't insist. Apart from the wounds on his face, the merman's injuries had mostly healed.

On the tenth day, Feng Rumeng had fully recovered. She took out a clay pot and dry branches and heated some water, then made each of them a tub of instant noodles, adding a sausage and a braised egg.

"Sense where the water is in a little while." Feng Rumeng handed the tub of noodles to the merman and showed him how to eat them.

For the first time, the merman accepted the food. He looked at the strange noodle tub, then at the female eating happily, and began eating in big mouthfuls too. In the end, he drank every last drop of soup.

Feng Rumeng raised an eyebrow. This child is making progress. She took his noodle tub and fork, along with the wrappers from the food they had eaten lately, and threw them all onto the fire to burn.

"Jiaojiao, have you sensed a water source?"

The merman shifted his gaze from the fire and pointed toward the cave entrance.

Feng Rumeng took out a compass. It was east. She nodded and put the beast hides, clay pot and bathing tub into her space. Finally, after everything had burned completely to ash, she put out the fire.

She took out a cloth and dried the merman's fish tail. "Little Jiaojiao, I'll carry you on my back. It'll be faster that way."

The merman moved back a step on his fish tail and shook his head.

Feng Rumeng stroked his head. The merman didn't resist, but he still wouldn't let her carry him.

Feng Rumeng turned around and half-crouched in front of him. "Get on. Even I'm not being bashful, so why are you? Big sis has to get back to the tribe before the cold snap, or I'll freeze to death."

The merman stopped being bashful. Once he was tied on securely, Feng Rumeng shot out her nanowire and traveled among the tree trunks.

The merman wrapped his arms around her neck, his face resting quietly against her back. His eyes were closed, as though he were asleep.