Seeing that the Thirteenth Prince was too frightened to speak, the maiden hooked the corner of her lips and smiled, then opened her mouth to ask, "Where are you from? You... you're not one of the sea monsters from down here, are you?"
Upon hearing the maiden's voice, the Thirteenth Prince swallowed and, suppressing the urge to retreat, choked out, "I am indeed not a sea monster, I am human..."
"Human?"
The mermaid raised an eyebrow. "What is a human doing here? Did you accidentally swim here when you were trying to commit suicide by jumping into the sea?"
Thirteenth: "......"
After a moment of silence, Thirteenth glanced at the mermaid before him and the handsome man in red, thought for a moment, and hesitantly asked, "Do you have any spare scales...?"
Mermaid: "...What do you mean by that?"
Thirteenth swallowed and took out the small booklet he was holding, then began to recount the events that had transpired...
After listening to the entire story, the mermaid said, "...You, the son of a human, came all the way here just to get mermaid tears and scales?"
Honest and upright Lan Shisan: "Yes, so, can you help me...?"
The mermaid smiled, lifted a hand to sweep the hair falling in front of her chest, and casually said, "Yes, but... what will you offer in return?"
Thirteenth: "How about... I go back and steal my father's scepter for you? I'm telling you, his scepter is so beautiful! You'll definitely like it!"
Upon hearing this, the mermaid's mouth twitched, and she said, "I'm not interested in such external possessions."
Thirteenth: "Then what do you want?"
The mermaid tapped her chin with her finger, thought for a moment, and said, "How about you become my little brother."
Thirteenth: "......"
He quietly looked at the mermaid before him, then nodded without the slightest hesitation, "Okay!" This mermaid didn't seem like a bad person, and she looked very strong. So, after calculating, he wasn't losing anything. If she really was a bad person, he believed his elder sister would definitely come to save him!
Upon hearing this, the mermaid nodded in satisfaction, turned, and left, "Follow me."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and said something to the man in red beside her. The next second, Thirteenth saw that man in red disappear in a blink of an eye.
Thinking about it, Thirteenth still followed the mermaid.
Thirteenth swam in the sea for a while, and suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe properly, as if he were about to die.
The mermaid beside him saw his face gradually turn pale, remembered something, took out a pale blue pearl, and said to him, "Eat this."
The innocent Thirteenth took the pearl and, without thinking, put it in his mouth, making the mermaid beside him somewhat speechless.
......
Soon, the person and the fish arrived at a place filled with mermaids.
Thirteenth looked at everything before him curiously, "Where is this?"
Mermaid: "Mermaid Kingdom."
Thirteenth: "......"
Before long, the mermaid brought Thirteenth to a palace with tall buildings.
Thirteenth looked at the palace built of pearls and crystals with a look of someone who had never seen the world. He had to say, these mermaids were too extravagant...
As Thirteenth was constantly observing the palace, he saw a merman with a golden tail and a crown, holding a trident, swim in and ask loudly, "Hai Li'er, I heard you brought a human back, is that true?"
Upon hearing this, Thirteenth saw Hai Li'er, the maiden who had brought him back, calmly nod, reach out, and pat his shoulder. She then said to the merman with the golden tail, "This is my new little brother, and he's also the next king of the human race. Do you want to become sworn siblings with him?"
Merman King: "......"
Finally, the merman king's gaze fell on Thirteenth, and then, he frowned and hesitantly said, "Are you a descendant of Lan Ji?"
Lan Ji? Why did that sound familiar? Wait! Wasn't that his father's name?