Chapter 270: Praying to a God for Blessings

Yusen had never understood why he was all alone on the Glacier.

From the moment he broke out of his shell and came into this world, all he saw was a vast expanse of white, the cold boundary where the sea and sky met.

It wasn’t until he returned from Moonrise that he slowly began to learn more.

Yu Zhizhi gently took Yusen’s fingers and led him back to the room. The Black-clothed Steward brought a fresh set of patient’s clothes, his expression one of immense relief upon seeing that the Prince finally had someone by his side who truly cared for him.

The spring sun was warm, but Yusen felt a bone-chilling cold.

He leaned against the hospital bed, his voice slightly hoarse. "...I’m not okay."

"I have the blood of an Enchanting Shark in me..."

"It’s... very bad."

"When my mother was pregnant with me, she tried many ways to terminate the pregnancy. But I was shamefully born anyway."

Yusen slowly clenched the white bedsheet. "No one looked forward to my birth. To my mother, I was just a stain she never wanted to speak of."

"That’s not true, Sensen..." Yu Zhizhi grasped his hand and said earnestly, "Don’t think that way. So what if you’re part Enchanting Shark? I think it’s great."

The first Mermaids were born from the union of humans and Enchanting Sharks.

The Enchanting Sharks gifted them with special powers unlike any other race, including an aura that members of the opposite sex found extremely addicting.

Yusen murmured, "At first, they were in love. I suppose you could call it love. They spent a long time together undersea. Later, they often argued... because of other males."

"I never blamed her. I know she had lost her freedom and was in great pain."

"She probably deeply regretted meeting my father, but what she found most unacceptable was giving birth to me. My very existence was a constant reminder of the past she loathed most."

"Especially after her first Beast Husband died in battle, she grew to despise the Mermaid Clan even more—she couldn’t even accept that the blood of the Enchanting Shark also flowed in her own body."

"However much she loathed my father, she loathed herself just as much... and me, the one who perfectly inherited their traits."

"Sometimes I think... it would have been better if I’d never been born..."

"After all, no one was waiting for—"

Suddenly, Yusen felt the girl in front of him cup his cheeks. Before he could react, she abruptly brought her forehead forward and bumped it against his.

THUD!

A soft sound echoed.

Yu Zhizhi’s forehead had bumped the mermaid’s. She’d used a little too much force, and a faint pang of pain radiated from the spot.

She had forcibly cut off Yusen’s words.

The Mermaid Youth’s ice blue eyes widened slightly in a daze. He had no idea what Zhi Zhi was doing.

At the door, the Black-clothed Steward also looked over.

Yu Zhizhi’s action was a bit rash, a bit crude. She cupped Sensen’s cheeks, her forehead pressed against his.

She recited softly, "Today, here, I pray to the Beast God."

"May you be safe and successful, healthy and long-lived. May all go as you wish, and may your life be full of joy, free from sorrow."

The Black-clothed Steward’s eyes widened slightly.

Yusen’s heart nearly stopped.

The moment Zhi Zhi spoke the first words, he realized she was praying for him...

At a Beast cub’s shell-breaking ceremony, this duty was performed by the closest relative or a clan elder. The arrival of every new life was met with anticipation and blessings.

On the vast Glacier, a small, light-blue Sensen, having just broken out of his shell, gazed out in confusion at the brand new world.

A bitter wind blew as he shakily crawled out.

Worried his parents wouldn’t be able to find him,

he obediently sat back down.

He sat in the broken eggshell for seven days and seven nights, but still, no one came.

The little whale bit his own tail, lost in thought.

Eventually, he finally accepted that no one cared if he was alive or not.

The little whale ate the last piece of his eggshell.

From a hole in the Glacier, he slipped into the icy undersea world.

Hearing the girl’s devout prayer, Yusen’s eyes gradually turned red.

Zhi Zhi said, "I’m so happy that Sensen came into this world. I’m so happy I got to meet Sensen."

In that moment, it was as if the Glacier deep in his heart was gradually beginning to melt.

The Mermaid Youth slowly lowered his head, resting his forehead on the little rabbit’s shoulder, his body trembling slightly.

Tears rolled down, drop by drop, turning into translucent, sparkling pearls.

「After that.」

Yu Zhizhi clearly noticed that the middle-aged Steward from the Undersea Palace was becoming more and more cordial toward her.

Before, he had been polite but distant, with a hint of respect, just as he would treat any other noble young lady.

But now—

He was already treating the little rabbit as the future Princess.

Shen He had been keeping a close eye on things at the treatment center.

Soon, he received a report from his subordinate.

The seagull youth was extremely diligent, reporting every last detail, including how Miss Rabbit had prayed for Prince Merfolk, how the Prince had cried for a long time, and finally, how she had collected every little pearl, one by one, and put them in a glass bottle.

Of course—

—that also included Prince You Sen, with red-rimmed eyes, asking for a kiss. Many people inside had seen it through the floor-to-ceiling window.

They looked just like a couple passionately in love, so blissful.

The news from the treatment center spread throughout the entire Royal Palace in less than a day.

Now, it had even spread through every street and alley of the Imperial City.

Prince You Sen would soon be taking a wife.

Shen He was wiping his long blade. He listened to the entire report dispassionately, his deep, cold gray eyes, hidden in the shadow of a rock, becoming even more impossible to look at directly.

"When are they departing?" Shen He asked, looking at the brown-haired youth.

Buli replied, "Reporting, my lord. Tomorrow evening. They will depart from the Imperial City’s Seven Stars Station on a steam-powered airship bound for the border. They will be traveling in plain clothes. Prince You Sen is only bringing one attendant, the Undersea Steward."

"Go and prepare," Shen He said.

"Yes, my lord!" Buli replied.

Buli would also be going on this trip to the Chelsea Territory. Besides protecting Ms. Zhi Zhi, he had another very important mission: to investigate the new Lord of the Chelsea Territory.

Bordering the Deep Sea Empire, the Chelsea Territory had existed for a thousand years.

It was originally the leader of the undersea Octopus Clan who pioneered the land and established their own territory. They propagated, developed, and thrived endlessly.

Later, another branch of the Octopus Clan split off and traveled to the Beast God’s Homeland to serve the Beast God Temple for generations.

That line has since dwindled. Today, the spiritual power of the Octopus Clan’s Young Master is extremely weak; he doesn’t even possess the ability of Illusion Form.

The Chelsea Territory had always been on good terms with the Deep Sea Empire; after all, they were both part of the Sea Clan.

However, after the new Lord took his position, the situation underwent a subtle change. The Chelsea Territory possesses a large military force and has repeatedly clashed with the Deep Sea Empire at the border. It also has close ties with other Empires in secret.

Buli’s purpose for this trip was to conduct an in-depth investigation.

At the same time, he knew this journey would be extremely dangerous. If war really broke out, he wasn’t sure if he could protect Ms. Zhi Zhi.

All he could say was that he would give it his all.

Yu Zhizhi returned to Bishui Pavilion to pack her luggage.

She didn’t have many things, packing only a few simple outfits for daily wear, keeping it very low-key.

She was still in contact with Mimi.

Upon learning they were leaving, Mimi said she would definitely come to see them off tomorrow.

Yu Zhizhi placed her brown suitcase in the corner. Hearing footsteps outside the door, she happily ran over—

"Sensen~"

The name had barely left her lips when she stopped in her tracks.

The figure slowly approaching in the moonlight wasn’t Yusen, but Shen He.

(One more Chapter left, keep reading~)