Chapter – 68
A Jiao
“Ugly?” Li Qingqing glanced around the cave.
All of their caves looked like this.
Feng Hao came in carrying a bowl of food. “Ugly? If you think it’s ugly, you stupid fish, then sleep outside every day!”
Xiao Ziye couldn’t take it anymore when he heard the word “ugly.” He had worked so hard digging this cave himself.
“You brat! How dare you call it ugly!” He was about to charge in, but Ling Mo and Chi Lin each grabbed one of his arms and stopped him.
Although Li Qingqing was a little annoyed too, she suppressed her temper.
“Ahem. We should find a better stone and make him a proper bed,” she said, glancing at Su Han.
She figured the cave only felt lacking because there wasn’t a bed.
“I’m not going! No matter what we do, he won’t be satisfied!” Feng Hao glared at Su Han and stuffed another large bite of meat into his mouth.
Su Han pouted, his blue eyes glistening with tears as he looked at Li Qingqing. “I didn’t mean to say it was ugly. It’s just… it’s different from where I used to live.”
His aggrieved expression melted Li Qingqing’s heart. She hurriedly reached out to wipe his tears. “Alright, alright, don’t cry. It’s their fault!”
Then she turned to the other five. “Don’t bully him!”
Xiao Ziye: Green tea.
Ling Mo: Green tea fish.
Chi Lin: Dead green tea fish.
Feng Hao: Super dead green tea fish.
Bai Yuan: A super dead green tea fish even greener than me.
Li Qingqing frowned. “What are you five muttering about?”
“Nothing,” the five replied in unison.
She nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s split up and look for stones.”
“Su Han, you stay by the pool and play in the water or something.”
[Host, you’re being way too biased.]
Li Qingqing: Shut up.
The six of them separated.
Li Qingqing planned to check the western mountain for a suitable stone—preferably jade. In this summer heat, jade would be nice and cool.
After only a few steps, she ran into Feng Hao.
“Feng Hao, why are you heading toward the western mountain?” she called out.
He paused and waited for her to catch up. “Hmph. I’ll search wherever I want.”
Li Qingqing saw right through him. “Oh please, I know you. You’re trying to sneak back to your cave and sleep, aren’t you?”
His cave was right by the western mountain. Of course she knew.
Exposed, he coughed awkwardly. “What are you talking about? Why would I sleep in broad daylight?”
Then he abruptly changed the subject. “Why are you always biased toward Su Han?”
Before she could answer, he continued, “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about marrying again?”
“Li Qingqing! Aren’t the five of us enough? You want another mate?”
“Feng Hao, are you jealous?”
“As if! Don’t talk nonsense. Why would I be jealous over you?”
He denied it vehemently, then awkwardly turned and walked off with stiff, synchronized steps.
Which only made his jealousy more obvious.
[Congratulations, Host. Feng Hao’s affection has increased by 10.]
Li Qingqing smiled in satisfaction. Sure enough, males were easier to win over when they felt a sense of crisis.
She quickly caught up. “Wait for me! Let’s look for stones together!”
They arrived at an open area scattered with rocks. Li Qingqing used her earth-element ability to search for suitable stones.
Just then, Feng Hao lightly tapped her and gestured ahead. “Who’s that? I’ve never seen him before.”
Li Qingqing followed his gaze.
A blue-haired male wearing thin fish-skin clothing was walking toward them. His features were strikingly similar to Su Han’s.
He approached and spoke. “Hello. I’m a merman living by the sea. One of our clansmen recently disappeared. Have you seen him?”
Wasn’t that obviously Su Han?
Thinking about Su Han’s past, it was hard not to suspect this was his twin brother.
Afraid Feng Hao might let something slip, Li Qingqing quickly grabbed his hand and said, “Merman? What’s a merman? Can you eat it?”
The male looked at her as if she were an idiot. “Sorry to bother you.”
Once his figure disappeared into the mountains, she let out a sigh of relief.
Then she noticed Feng Hao’s face was still red, his gaze fixed on their clasped hands.
Suppressing her laughter, she thought, When did this little gray wolf become so innocent?
Feng Hao quickly realized she was holding back a laugh and immediately shook her hand off.
“What are you laughing at? It’s not like I’m happy just because you held my hand.” His face grew redder and redder, and he deliberately turned his head away so she wouldn’t see.
Li Qingqing couldn’t suppress her smile. Keep being stubborn.
“Fine, you’re not happy because I held your hand.” Then something occurred to her. “No, I need to go back and check on Su Han. That guy was probably looking for him.”
“Wouldn’t that be even better? Then he wouldn’t have to stay in our tribe, and we wouldn’t need to make a bed,” Feng Hao said irritably, thinking about how kindly Li Qingqing treated Su Han.
Li Qingqing knew he was just speaking out of anger and patiently explained, “That man is probably his twin brother. Among merfolk, twins are considered ominous. The older twin is often left to fend for himself.”
“After he grew up, he escaped and killed their father. Su Han was beaten half to death too. If you let him go back now, you’d be sending him to his death.”
“He was just a baby back then. His brother blaming him and trying to kill him is completely unreasonable.”
Feng Hao fell silent for a long time. The drama of family turning against family felt all too familiar to him.
“Then I’ll go with you,” he said, his eyes filled with pity and sorrow.
Li Qingqing knew he was thinking of that painful past again.
She grasped his hand tightly once more. She wished she could tell him that even if he had no family left in this world, he still had her.
—
Meanwhile, Su Han was waiting in the cave for them to return when he caught a familiar scent—his brother’s.
The brother who had been deemed inauspicious at birth.
Their father never gave him a name. In Atlantis, when people discussed him as idle gossip, they simply called him “A Jiao.”
But that wasn’t really his name either—because all merfolk were called A Jiao.
Su Han didn’t want to run into this brother. He felt an innate sense of guilt toward him and didn’t know how to face him.
And besides, he couldn’t beat him.
Without hesitation, Su Han jumped into the pool.
The pool was quite deep. As soon as he entered, his fish tail emerged. He hoped to avoid everything this way.
Soon enough, someone clearly entered the cave. A Jiao’s scent grew stronger and stronger. Su Han stayed underwater, not daring to move.
But if Su Han could smell A Jiao, then A Jiao could naturally smell him too.
“Su Han, I know you’re here. Stop hiding. Get out!” A Jiao’s cold gaze swept across the cave before settling on the large pool.
“Good little brother. Raised too well by Atlantis—you’ve become foolish enough to hide like this.” As he spoke, a droplet of water condensed in his palm and transformed into an ice blade as he strode toward the pool.
