You Don't Like Black?

As evening approached, Feng Rumeng still hadn't found a cave.

She simply took a tent out of her space and found a relatively broad branch to spend the night on. This little cub had already seen everything he should and shouldn't have seen anyway.

Once he returned to the sea and she went back to living on land, they probably wouldn't meet again for the rest of their lives.

Whenever Feng Rumeng took out something beyond the merfolk's understanding, his eyes would light up, and sometimes he would secretly touch it.

Feng Rumeng pretended not to notice. Yuejian had said the merman was a child. She couldn't tell exactly how old he was, but he was half a head shorter than she was.

It was bitterly cold at night. Feng Rumeng slept in a sleeping bag, wearing a down jacket and down pants and covered with several layers of beast hide, yet she still shivered nonstop.

She didn't know whether the merman was cold. When she offered him a sleeping bag, he shook his head and curled up in a corner of the tent, keeping watch until dawn.

When she woke the next day, Feng Rumeng boiled some strips of meat and added dried noodles. Eating something hot would warm her up.

After eating, they continued on their way. Having escorted the Buddha this far, she would see him all the way west. She also sincerely hoped the child would be safe.

On the sixth day, they found a natural hollow in a tree. Since it was still early, Feng Rumeng drew a few lines on the black panther hide and cut it with scissors. Then she took out a needle, threaded it, and began sewing, but after stabbing at the hide for ages, she still couldn't get the needle through. She even pricked her hand and drew blood.

The merman cautiously reached out. Feng Rumeng looked at him. "You can sew beast hides?"

The merman lowered his eyes and nodded. Feng Rumeng handed him the materials, and he studied the unfamiliar needle and thread for a long time, rubbing them with his fingers.

Feng Rumeng explained carefully, telling him how to sew. The merman listened attentively and began sewing once he understood.

The needle and thread flew through his hands, smooth as flowing clouds and water. In a quarter of an hour, he was finished.

Feng Rumeng took it from him in astonishment. The stitches were as neat as if they had been made by a sewing machine. If she hadn't known that males in the beast world could do everything, she would have been certain he had been a tailor before.

What a capable little cub, Feng Rumeng couldn't help praising him inwardly.

Feng Rumeng shook out the beast-hide jacket and said to the merman, "Try it on."

The merman looked at her and didn't move for a long while.

"You don't like black?" Feng Rumeng asked gently.

The merman's Adam's apple bobbed. He took it with both hands, glanced at Feng Rumeng again, and put it on.

"Mm, not bad. Now you won't be cold," Feng Rumeng said, giving him a thumbs-up.

The merman lowered his eyes to the jacket and gently stroked it, then looked at Feng Rumeng again.

"As long as you like it." Feng Rumeng's eyes curved with a smile. "Your handiwork is so good. How about letting me benefit from it too and making me an outfit while you're at it?"

The merman nodded a little hesitantly.

Feng Rumeng happily marked out and cut the remaining hide. The merman looked at the pattern, then at the clothes she was wearing, and began sewing diligently.

Feng Rumeng sat beside him and watched. Before long, her eyelids began to droop. Her eyes closed, and she nearly toppled over.

The merman hurriedly caught her.

Feng Rumeng smiled awkwardly. "I'm a little sleepy. I'll go get some sleep first." With that, she took out some beast hides, wrapped herself up, and leaned against the wall of the hollow. Before long, she fell asleep.

Not long afterward, the merman neatly folded the hides he had sewn and curled up in a corner. Looking at the hide he was wearing, he touched it from time to time, a faint smile curving his lips.

After ten days of traveling together, the merman gradually became a little livelier than before. When Feng Rumeng hunted, he would occasionally help, springing forward on his tail to pounce on the prey.

On the twentieth day, the two of them joined forces to hunt and kill a fourth-tier savage beast, a Sheli. Both leaned against a large tree, panting, their bodies covered in claw wounds.

The merman sprang over on his tail, took Meng's hand, and licked her wounds for her.

Although Feng Rumeng knew his saliva could heal, she still thought it felt rather strange. "Little Jiaojiao, I have medicine. I can take care of them myself. Go deal with the prey, and we'll roast some meat in a bit."

The merman obediently went to deal with the prey, while Feng Rumeng tended to her wounds.

It grew colder and colder as they traveled farther and farther. When they woke on the morning of the thirtieth day, the forest had turned white, and snowflakes as large as goose feathers were falling.

Over the next few days, the heavy snow obstructed their vision, so they couldn't travel far each day.

On the thirty-sixth day, they finally heard running water. Two days later, they reached the water source.

It was a vast pink lake, dreamlike in its beauty. She didn't know where it led farther on. Feng Rumeng touched the water and found it warm. No wonder it hadn't frozen.

The merman happily jumped in and swam freely through the water.

Feng Rumeng's lips curved upward. She was happy for the child too. They had traveled together for so long, and she knew the merman cub had never let down his guard.

She looked at his face, which showed no sign of improvement, and felt sorry for him. Judging by his features, the child should have been very beautiful.

Feng Rumeng stood by the lake watching for a while. "Little Jiaojiao, big sister has to go. Once your injuries have healed, go back to the sea where you belong. Don't ever come to land again."

The merman swam to the shore and held out both hands. Feng Rumeng crouched down, and he cupped her cheeks and pressed his forehead against hers.

Feng Rumeng smiled faintly. "Go on, Jiaojiao."

The merman let go of her, and a fishskin pouch appeared in his hand. He handed it to Feng Rumeng.

Feng Rumeng froze for a second. He has a space too?

"Is this for me?"

The merman nodded. Feng Rumeng accepted it with both hands. Inside the pouch were many crystal-clear blue beads and several round pearls. "Thanks, Jiaojiao," she said, putting it into her space.

The merman held out his hand.

Feng Rumeng's gaze traveled from his slender fingers to his blue eyes. The merman tapped the punk-style black leather cord bracelet on her right wrist.

"You want this?"

The merman nodded.

Luckily, he hadn't pointed at her nano bracelet or her space bracelet. Feng Rumeng smiled, took it off, and put it on the merman.

She had had the bracelet custom-made at a leather goods shop for over a thousand yuan. Her name was on it too.

The merman looked at the bracelet on his wrist, his tail excitedly splashing the water.

Although the bracelet had been specially treated, it probably wouldn't hold up well if it stayed in the water too long.

Feng Rumeng smiled, gently shook her head, and stood up. "Jiaojiao, if there's danger in the water, run to shore. If there's danger on shore, run into the water."

She waved. "I hope you get home soon."

The merman copied her and waved.

Feng Rumeng turned and walked toward the forest, then fired her nano wire and leaped onto a tree trunk.

The merman waited until he could no longer see her, then swam toward the depths of the pink lake.

He looked at the bracelet, his lips curving upward. He dove underwater, and when he emerged again, his appearance had changed.

His tail was no longer dark blue, but a glittering, seven-colored tail. His face was no longer covered in scars either, but was breathtaking and impossible to describe.

He murmured in his heart, Nearly a hundred years. Mother, your son is finally free.

In the forest, Feng Rumeng took out her compass and made her way in the direction she had come from. Along the way, she gathered any familiar food she saw and hunted whenever she found prey. It wouldn't hurt to stockpile more.

When she wasn't too tired, she kept traveling even in the middle of the night. The snow lit the forest up like day, so she didn't have to worry about being unable to see, but it was falling so heavily that visibility was poor.

On the return journey, it took her seventeen days to reach the bird cave. She searched the area for two days before finding the Azure Rock Tribe.

The tribe's walls had already been rebuilt. Aside from two horned oxen on the tower above the tribe's gate, not a shadow could be seen in the tribe's square. The cave entrances had all been tightly sealed with enormous boulders.

She stood on the stone wall and watched for a while, then followed the route she remembered, searching in the direction of the Fierce Tiger Tribe.

On the fortieth day, she developed a high fever and grew groggy. Her whole body was nearly frozen stiff, and she had lost all feeling in her hands.

She had already taken four fever-reducing pills in a row, but before the fever had completely subsided, it rose again. If she still couldn't find the tribe, she really would die.

She gritted her teeth and held on until the next morning. In her daze, she seemed to see that familiar patch of low purple-fruit bushes. The snow was so deep that only the tops of the bushes showed.

There were no giant trees here for him to leap through. If she jumped down, the snow was deeper than she was tall. If she didn't go on, she would die.

After standing still for only a moment, her legs went completely numb. She leaned against a tree trunk, her eyelids growing heavy, and fell asleep amid the swirling snow.