allendalepharm Page 235
Page 235
“I need… soul power… so I can head upstream… I want to go to Mount Lehrman…”
"..." Latis loosened his grip slightly. He looked at the pale-faced, helpless, and weeping mermaid, took a deep breath, and asked:
"Then why did you tell me how to get to Mount Lierman? And you had several opportunities to ambush me while you were singing, so why did you wait until I was about to leave to launch your attack?"
"Because I promised you... I would tell you how to get there..." The merman wiped away her tears in a disheveled state, took a breath, and explained:
"Because that's the best song I can sing... I was afraid you wouldn't have the chance to hear it again, so... I wanted to finish singing it..."
Latis was stunned. He released the mermaid and looked at her, who was panting heavily. With mixed feelings, he lowered his head, picked up the bone spear from the ground, and glanced at it.
"Just like the bone gun from the skeleton gunner before, it seems she hid the gun that was stuck in her side..."
He was silent for a moment, then threw the bone spear back into the lake. After thinking for a moment, he asked:
"So you fought those two skeleton soldiers before? Were you trying to steal their soul power?"
“Yes…” The mermaid wiped away her tears, looked up at Latis, and whispered:
"But they have no consciousness and cannot communicate, and I can't defeat them, so I can only target you..."
"There's no need to be so honest, it's really unpleasant to hear!" Latis scratched his head helplessly, not knowing what to do with this mermaid. She was too weak and posed no threat at all, so he felt it wasn't really necessary to dwell on the matter.
"Never mind, I hope you can find someone more suitable later. I'm on my way." He shook his head and said this.
The mermaid nodded somewhat sadly, then glanced at the river again, a hint of determination suddenly appearing in her eyes.
"Wait!..." She reached out and tugged at Latis's sleeve, pleadingly saying:
"Sir, please do me one last favor!"
Latis paused, looked at the mermaid curiously, and asked, "What kind of help?"
Chapter 242 The Moon Under the Sea is the Moon in the Sky
"Hmm...that should be all!"
The mermaid emerged from the water, placed the last two eggs into Latis's shield, blinked, and smiled as she spoke.
Latis counted the ten fish eggs in the shield, nodded, and made a groove to secure them inside for easy transport.
"That……"
He stood up by the lake, glanced at the rocks in the middle of the lake, and stared at the mermaid for a while, unsure how to say goodbye.
"Huh?" The mermaid tilted her head, suddenly realizing something, raised her index finger, chuckled, and asked:
"Could it be... that Mr. 'Minor Fish' is too afraid to say goodbye?"
"Hey, what's with that girly tone of yours!" Latis couldn't take it anymore at this inexplicable safe word. He slapped his face, sighed, and said:
"Miss Mermaid, could you please forget about that 'small fish, small fish' thing?"
"Hmm..." The mermaid lowered her face into the water, blowing a string of bubbles, looking somewhat dejected. Suddenly, a sly glint flashed in her eyes, and she tilted her head back to ask:
"So, Mr. 'Mr. Minor Fish,' are you going to replace my 'Minor Fish' memories with your own name?"
"My own name?"
Latis scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said:
"Of course, my name is Latis."
"Latis..."
The mermaid murmured the name, remained silent for a few seconds, and then nodded vigorously:
“I will remember that, Mr. Latis! Until we meet again!”
"..."
Latis subconsciously rubbed his fingers together, squatted down and stroked the mermaid's head, hesitated for a moment, and asked:
"Miss Mermaid, what is your name?"
"Huh? My name?" The mermaid's eyes widened, her tail flicking twice at the bottom of the lake. She looked at the ripples on the surface, struggled for a moment, then leaned closer to Latis and whispered:
“My name is… Haiyue’er, which is pronounced ‘Xilana’ in the language of the merfolk.”
"Okay, I remember."
Latis thought for a moment, then took the small gray flag off his back and pointed to the empty space next to the phrase "What can I say, bro?" and said:
"Sea Moon, please write your name here for me. I will take it with me to Mount Liermang."
"what……"
Haiyue'er looked at the faded soul power flag with sparkling eyes, nodded, picked up a piece of sand from the lakeside, and wrote a line of words on it.
"We will definitely reach Mount Lierman! —Sirana"
“…Alright.” Latis slung the small gray flag back over his shoulder, picked up his shield and spear, and said with a smile:
"I'm leaving!"
"May you be well, Mr. Latis!" Haiyue waved, then added after a moment's thought, "If possible, please don't forget me!"
“Of course, I will remember you, Haiyue’er.” Latis stood up, looked at Haiyue’er whose face was slightly flushed, remained silent for a moment, and then revealed a grin.
……
Watching Latis's receding figure, Haiyue'er let out a weak breath and floated on the lake.
It wasn't that she didn't want to leave with Latis, but on the shore she could only rely on her tail to move. Even if Latis could treat her as a teammate and help her along the way, she didn't want to slow him down like that.
"The White Moon is terrifying, Mr. Latis..."
Haiyue murmured to herself. She was silent for a moment, then sighed and returned to the reef.
"Will I die in the white moon? How can a person die a second time?" She stroked her abdomen, which still seemed to retain the warmth of Latis, and whispered, "Does Mount Lierman lead to the sea of stars? And what lies beyond the sea of stars?"
"What exactly does 'miscellaneous fish' mean?"
A hint of confusion appeared on Haiyue'er's face. She subconsciously straightened up and looked in the direction where Latis had left. The next second, she splashed into the water and floated on the lakeside.
“Mr. Latis, I will remember you too.”
She gazed in that direction for a long time, then turned to look at the river that had formed the rift valley.
The current was extremely rapid. In fact, Haiyue knew in her heart that even if she took out Latis's soul bone, she would not be able to use it. She could only forcibly activate the soul power within it to slightly resist the impact of the river.
"Hehe, I just want someone to remember me... It's so good to have met Mr. Latis in this world!"
Haiyue gazed at the river, recalling for a moment the passionate encounters that had just taken place. Then, she took a deep breath and leaped up with all her might.
Her strong, dark blue fishtail swung in the air, scattering tiny water droplets as she jumped into the river.
“Sirana…”
As soon as the mermaid surfaced, she saw that her slender, smooth arms had turned into bones, and at the same time, she forgot her name and origins.
"Mermaid..."
She swam forward with all her might, covering fifty or sixty meters in just a few seconds. Suddenly, she stumbled and looked down to see that her perfectly curved body, the body that had just been gently caressed by Latis, and all those alluring thoughts had been washed away by the river.
"Miscellaneous fish..."
She swung her whole body with all her might, and her dark blue fish tail burst forth with unprecedented power, propelling her straight up from the river. She surged across the water and instantly traveled a hundred meters.
Latis!
She strained to lift her head, looking at the figure that had reappeared in her sight, and revealed the last sweet smile of her life. Then her fishtail paused and unconsciously sank a little downwards.
When she resurfaced, Latis's figure was no longer in sight. She felt she should sing, but she forgot how to sing... Then she also forgot what she was following, whether it was Lerman or Latis.
Haiyue'er's body and memories will flow with the river to all corners of the Bone Spirit Realm. Perhaps some of them will pass through places where Latis once ventured, but they will eventually reunite in this inescapable white torrent when the next white moon arrives.
In the rushing river, the mermaid's bones will swim forever, until the end of the world.
……
……
"I keep feeling like I hear someone calling me..."
Latis turned and glanced at the rushing river, then looked towards the now-obscured lake and sighed.
"...Mr. Bones?" Seren's head suddenly popped out from his shoulder, looked around, and asked in a low voice:
"Is it finished yet?"
“…Holy crap!!” Latis looked at Seren, who was sitting on his shoulder again, in shock. He had completely forgotten that there was a little bone spirit maid watching from the sidelines while he was having his intimate moment with Haiyue’er!
"Huh? What's wrong?" Seren looked at Latis curiously for a moment, then floated to the ground amidst Latis's terrified expression. He bent down to look at the fish eggs in the shield and said in surprise:
"These are the mermaid lady's... eggs?"
"I guess so..." Latis was still reeling from the shock. He chuckled awkwardly and asked, "I think so..."
"Sai Leng, cough...did you see what happened just now?"
"What happened just now?"
Sai Leng straightened up, a troubled look on his face. He floated around Latis twice with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself:
"Did I see it or not...?"
"Gaia!!" Latis screamed in a fit of impotent rage, clutching his head and crying out in anguish, "It's all over... My image in the little maid's eyes... is completely ruined!"
"Every now and then, I'll mutter a couple of underhanded 'Mr. Bones's name under my breath... Hehehe!"
Seren sat back on Latis's shoulder, covered the corner of her mouth with her hand, and said with a smile:
"Although it's not very common on this land... I've seen it quite a few times, you know?"
"Huh? What have you seen?" Latis, with a sullen face, picked up his shield and started walking forward again.
"Yeah...that kind of thing."
Sai Leng braced himself with his hands on either side, gently swinging his legs, and said in a suddenly heavy tone:
"Memories and the physical body are both very precious things to the beings in the Bone Spirit Realm. When they encounter someone they can communicate with, they usually choose to preserve the present moment."
"Staying in the present?"
"Yes... For creatures like them, who may lose their memories of their past life at any time and may enter eternal death at any time, creating a new and vivid memory seems to be something they desperately crave."