âXuan Wei used to live in Rainbow Lake for a while.â
The first thing Chen Yuan said stunned Huanhuan.
He continued, âThat was 50 years ago. Xuan Wei was seriously injured. He accidentally barged into this forest and fainted by Rainbow Lake. Chen Yue⦠Thatâs my sister. She kindly saved Xuan Weiâs life.â
Huanhuan quickly guessed what would happen next. âThen they fell in love?â
Chen Yuan replied, âYes.â
Huanhuan clicked her tongue. This was the beast continentâs version of âLittle Mermaidâ. According to the final ending of the fairy tale, the male protagonist forgot that the mermaid had saved his life and married someone else. Then, the mermaid sacrificed herself for love.
Could this be the truth here as well?
Chen Yuan said, âChen Yue wanted to become mates with Xuan Wei, but Xuan Wei refused. He said that he still had very important things to do. He promised Chen Yue that he would definitely return in three years to become mates with her.â
Huanhuan touched her chin. This was a super big red flag!
As long as the other person said something like âIâll come back and marry you after taking revengeâ or âIâll wash my hands off this matter after doing this,â they would definitely never return!
As expected, Chen Yuan continued to speak.
âLess than three days after Xuan Wei left, two beasts came to Rainbow Lake. They said that Xuan Wei was in danger and needed help. Chen Yue didnât suspect anything and immediately went ashore to help. In the end, she was kidnapped by those two beasts. They used Chen Yue to threaten us to hand over all the shark silk and the blue crystals at the bottom of the lake. For Chen Yueâs safety, we had no choice but to do as they said.â
Huanhuan listened with relish. âAnd?â
âWe gave all the shark silk and blue crystals to those two beasts, but they still werenât satisfied. They even wanted us to hand over all the females in the tribe.â
At this point, the hatred in Chen Yuanâs eyes deepened.
As merfolk were gentle and beautiful, especially females, their figures were graceful. Many noble beasts in beast cities liked to keep mermaids by their sides. They did not become their mates and only played with them like pets.
He could not let the mermaids of his tribe fall to that state!
The two kidnappersâ requests touched Chen Yuanâs bottom line.
Chen Yuan said, âI refused their request, so they cut off all the fish scales on Chen Yueâs body in front of me.â
Huanhuan: ââ¦â
Not only her, but even Bai Di and Xue Ling frowned.
To the merfolk, scraping off their scales was equivalent to skinning them alive.
âChen Yue kept shouting that she was in pain, but I couldnât save her. In the end, she couldnât take it anymore and bit off her tongue to commit suicide. The two beasts were stunned by her determination. I took the opportunity to save Chen Yue, but it was too late. She was seriously injured. Our witch doctor couldnât treat her, so she died.â
Just thinking about it, Huanhuan could imagine Chen Yueâs tragic state when she died. She couldnât help but feel sad.
She asked, âWhere are the two beasts?â
Chen Yuan sneered. âThey were skinned and hung from trees. They were eaten alive by wild beasts.â
Huanhuan shivered, thinking that these beasts were really ruthless. They could probably even write a book called âThe Collection of the Ten Tortures of the Beast Continentâ.
Chen Yuan said word by word, âNot only did Xuan Wei deceive Chen Yueâs feelings, but he also caused her to die tragically. I canât forgive him.â
Huanhuan immediately said, âWe have a grudge against him too. As the saying goes, the enemy of an enemy is a friend. Youâre our friend!â
Chen Yuan glanced at her. âWhen you were discussing eating our people just now, why didnât you think that we were friends?â
Huanhuan waved her hand. âThat was a misunderstanding. You attacked first. We attacked in self-defense. We just wanted to scare them. We had no intention of eating them.â
Chen Yuan said, âIâve said everything I know. Whereâs the shark crystal?â
Huanhuan took out the shark crystal and was about to give it to him when Bai Di stopped her.
Bai Di looked at Chen Yuan and said calmly, âThatâs not all you know, is it?â
Instead of answering, Chen Yuan asked, âWhat do you mean?â
âFor the past 10 years, Iâve been searching everywhere for Xuan Wei. Heâs been around here before. Iâm guessing he must have been to Rainbow Lake.â
Chen Yuan was silent.
Bai Di said, âYouâre not good at lying.â
âIâm not lying.â
âYes, youâre not lying. Youâre just hiding half of the story.â
Hearing their conversation, Huanhuan quickly reacted. She immediately put away the shark crystal and looked at Chen Yuan unhappily. âYou donât keep your word. Youâre actually hiding information. How unkind!â
Chen Yuan frowned. âXuan Wei did come back, but it has nothing to do with you.â
Bai Di asked, âWhy did Xuan Wei return to Rainbow Lake? Is it because of Chen Yue?â
Chen Yuan immediately asked, âHow do you know?â
âFrom your reaction, I should be right.â
Chen Yuan shut his mouth and stopped talking.
Not only did the tiger beast in front of him look as annoying as Xuan Wei, but his thoughts were also meticulous and deep. He could get a lot of information with just a few words.
Bai Di continued to analyze. âLet me guess, Chen Yueâs body didnât rot, right? Her body has been well preserved by you, but a few years ago, Xuan Wei suddenly returned and stole Chen Yueâs body. Am I right?â
Even if Chen Yuan could keep his composure, the other merfolk could not.
Someone immediately blurted out, âHow did you know?!â
Bai Di gave a casual answer.
âI guessed.â
All the merfolk looked incredulous.
Huanhuan silently praised Bai Di. He was awesome!
Since Bai Di had already guessed the truth, there was no need to hide it. Chen Yuan was finally willing to tell the truth.
âYouâre right. Chen Yueâs body was sealed in an ice cave at the bottom of the lake. It was stolen 15 years ago.â
Huanhuan asked, âHow can you be sure that Xuan Wei stole Chen Yueâs corpse?â
Immediately, a merman said loudly, âNo one else would do such a thing.â
The corners of Huanhuanâs mouth twitched. It seemed that Xuan Weiâs image in the hearts of the merfolk was really terrible. The first person they thought of in regard to who stole the corpse was Xuan Wei.
Chen Yuan extended his right hand. âIâve said everything I know. Shouldnât you give me the shark crystal now?â
Huanhuan glanced at Bai Di. When he nodded slightly, she placed the shark crystal in Chen Yuanâs palm.
After getting the shark crystal, Chen Yuanâs expression finally eased a little.
Huanhuan said slowly, âWe already know everything we want to know. The shark crystal has been returned to its rightful owner. We should go. Goodbye.â
She prepared to leave with Bai Di and Xue Ling.
However, Chen Yuan suddenly stopped them.
âAre you going to look for Xuan Wei?â
Huanhuan turned to look at him. âYes.â
Chen Yuan clenched the shark crystal in his palm and seemed to have made up his mind. He asked word by word, âCan I go with you to look for Xuan Wei?â