Chapter 77: Merman
Lin Huahua laughed so hard that her whole small body almost bent in half, and her fluffy white rat tail swished wildly behind her while Feng Yiren ran farther and farther away from the riverbank, slapping at his own body and cursing so loudly that even the birds in the trees flapped away in alarm.
It was truly too funny.
That shameless fox had been using her failure to catch fish to rub salt into her heart the whole time, and now look at him. His red hair was in a mess, his fox ears were flattened in outrage, and he was no longer the arrogant annoying beastman from a moment ago. He was just a suffering fox running for his life from a cloud of furious honeybees.
Lin Huahua laughed until her eyes became wet.
Mu Qingyi let out a helpless sigh, though even the calm deer beastman could not fully hide the smile that touched his lips, because he really had not expected their tiny female to throw the spear at a beehive with such terrifying accuracy. To be honest, he had thought she was only trying to threaten Feng Yiren again, not actually launch an attack from the heavens.
Hu Baiyu, however, reacted faster than the other two.
The moment the bees scattered up into the air, the lion immediately moved to Lin Huahua’s side. He did not need words. He simply took two quick steps, crouched in front of her, and then used both hands and a stern look to tell her to stay exactly where she was and not move one step closer. He even tapped the flat stone beneath her feet and then pointed down with such seriousness that Lin Huahua understood at once.
Stay.
Stay put.
Do not run around.
Do not go after the fox.
Do not let the bees decide you are another target.
Lin Huahua looked at him and nodded obediently, because this was one of those rare moments when even she herself knew it was better to listen.
So she stayed.
And while she stayed, she laughed.
She sat there on the warm flat stone under the tree and swung her legs back and forth, her face bright with victory, because for the first time since meeting Feng Yiren, she truly felt that the heavens had watched over her and supported her revenge.
Served him right.
That stupid fox had finally learned a lesson.
Or at least that was what she hoped.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Far away, Feng Yiren’s yelling still drifted back, and every time Lin Huahua heard one especially pitiful shout, her little shoulders shook again with laughter. "Little rat demon, I will get you!"
Hu Baiyu glanced between her and the direction the bees had gone, still looking tense, because even while Feng Yiren was being chased, the lion’s first instinct was to make sure no stray bee came back near her. Mu Qingyi was the same.
The deer beastman had already gone to gather broad leaves and crushed them in his hands, because if Feng Yiren really got stung badly, he would need something cool to soothe the swelling. That was how these males were. Even while annoyed with each other, they still prepared to care for one another, because in the end they all shared the same female and the same roof and the same dangerous world.
Lin Huahua laughed for a long time and then, after a while, finally calmed down enough to sit still and look around.
The riverbank had become quiet again.
The reeds swayed.
The water flowed.
The sunlight shimmered.
Feng Yiren’s suffering sounds grew fainter.
And once the excitement of revenge faded, Lin Huahua quickly felt bored.
Her little white rat ears twitched once.
Then again.
She swung her legs a little more and looked around with wandering eyes, because the place near the river was big, wild, and beautiful in that primitive-age way that always made everything feel both fresh and dangerous.
The water they had been standing in was only one part of the river. Farther away, beyond a curve lined with dark wet stones and low hanging branches, the stream widened and connected to a much larger body of water that looked deeper, heavier, and quieter in a way that made it feel older than the rest.
Lin Huahua did not notice anything strange about it.
She only thought it looked pretty.
But beneath that darker stretch of water, someone was watching her.
A figure moved silently below the surface, blending into the shifting light and shadow. He was not beastman, not like the land ones. He was a merman. His long blue hair floated around him in the water like the ocean itself, and his sharp eyes were fixed on the little white rat female sitting on the stone and laughing like she had not a single danger in the world. There was something amused and hungry in his gaze, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a smile that did not look kind at all.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
He had never seen a female like that wander this near.
And she smelled sweet.
Sweeter than the fish and sweeter than the water plants and sweeter than the little blood scent still clinging faintly to the skin of her feet.
The merman began drifting closer.
Then Hu Baiyu shifted position.
Mu Qingyi turned.
And both males moved back toward Lin Huahua at the same time.
The moment they did, the merman paused.
He watched the lion and the deer beastman draw near her with those instinctive protective movements, one checking the ground around her and the other crouching to ask if she was hot under the sun and whether she wanted more water. Their bodies were relaxed, but their senses were not, and the merman could tell at once that if he came any closer now, he would be seen.
So he only smiled again.
Then sank backward into the deeper water without a sound.
Later.
He could always come later.