“Kill me or torture me, do as you please.”
Wei Yang was stunned. ‘This girl looks like the stubborn type, but she admitted defeat that easily?’
“You… you’re just accepting your failure like that?”
“Is there something confusing about that? The code of the Mermaid race is that the strong dominate the weak. I lost, so I am your captive. You can do whatever you want with me.”
Wei Yang still didn’t understand.
“But didn’t you lose to White Dragon last year? Back then you played dead, so why are you surrendering now? Besides, if we’re talking about pure strength, I’m definitely no match for White Dragon.”
Fu Ping sighed.
“The Dragon race is full of rule-breakers. I will never acknowledge them.”
Wei Yang’s mouth twitched.
‘She’s unexpectedly stubborn, and even a bit old-fashioned.’
“Fine, but I won’t kill you as long as you listen to me. No matter what you want to do, you must wait until after the Zhuji incident is over.”
Fu Ping nodded, though she looked confused.
“I still want to know, though… do you know White Dragon?”
Wei Yang spread her hands, avoiding a direct answer.
“I’m not telling you. That’s that. That’s all I wanted to say. You can go now.”
Fu Ping’s eyes widened at her words. Her red lips parted slightly, her face filled with disbelief.
“You’re driving me away?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you say you’d listen to me? Then go.”
Fu Ping shook her head, completely unable to accept this.
“You—you’re chasing me off just like that? Why?”
Wei Yang thought this woman was being bizarre and strange.
“Otherwise, what? Do you want to stay and play games?”
“But in our family teachings, the loser must become the winner’s servant. I cannot leave your side by even half a step.”
Wei Yang was speechless.
“Then let me be clearer. I don’t need you. Do you understand?”
“Don’t say such things!”
Wei Yang jumped, not expecting Fu Ping to suddenly get angry.
“What… what do you mean?”
“I am the last Mermaid Princess. I absolutely cannot violate the code of our race. Therefore, I cannot leave you.”
Now it was Wei Yang’s turn to have a headache. This woman was so incredibly fixated.
“The place where I live is someone else’s home,” she explained. “I can’t just take you back with me.”
“I can sleep in the bathtub. I won’t take up any bed space.”
“…Sigh, aren’t you just making things difficult for me?”
Wei Yang saw a hint of anticipation in the girl’s eyes, even as she tried to act like it didn’t matter. Wei Yang wasn’t a cold-hearted person; she couldn’t be that ruthless.
But even so, it still wouldn’t work.
“Ignoring the bed situation, if I bring you into Huyin Town and you hurt my companions, what then?”
Fu Ping’s eyes dimmed.
“I suppose so. I just met you and I’m already being this clingy. I really am overstepping, aren’t I?”
She lowered her head and hugged her knees, falling silent.
Looking at her like that, Wei Yang felt a bit guilty. But she had no choice; she couldn’t take the risk. The Zhuji incident involved too many people, and she couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Just then, Fu Ping suddenly looked up.
“I thought of a way.”
She raised her hand, and a thin stream of water from her artifact, Water Six, surged out like a blade, cutting a strand of her long hair.
Then, a watery light shimmered at her fingertips as she began to weave the hair in her hands. Soon, a palm-sized doll appeared in her palm.
“This is my substitute,” Fu Ping said, handing it to Wei Yang. “Take it. If I try to do anything that might harm you, you can snap her in half.”
Wei Yang blankly took the doll and gave it a squeeze. It felt soft and a bit elastic.
Then, as if possessed, she reached out a finger and poked the doll’s face.
“Ngh—”
A soft moan came from beside her.
Wei Yang turned her head and saw Fu Ping blushing. Her body was trembling slightly, and she was covering the spot on her face where the doll had been poked.
“You—what are you doing? Don’t play with it like that right now!”
Wei Yang looked at the doll in her hand, then back at Fu Ping, a look of realization dawning on her.
‘Is she synchronized with it?’
“Yes, so don’t just poke it randomly.”
Wei Yang narrowed her eyes.
She poked the doll’s stomach.
“Ugh!” Fu Ping clutched her belly, her face turning even redder. “How can you be so mean!”
Wei Yang stifled a laugh and prepared to poke the doll again.
Fu Ping lunged forward to grab it, but Wei Yang quickly hid the doll behind her back.
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Fu Ping finally gave in and looked away.
“Is that enough? Can you trust me now?”
Wei Yang shrugged.
“Fine. You wait here. I’ll go inside and ask.”
“Ask what?”
“Ask the owner of the house if she can take in one more guest.”
Fu Ping nodded obediently.
Wei Yang carefully tucked the little doll into her clothes and headed toward the barrier.
—
After crossing the barrier, she immediately headed toward Lu Ran’s house. She arrived at her destination quickly.
“Lu Ran, I’m ba—”
The words died in her throat.
There was only one person in the room, but it wasn’t Lu Ran.
The person sat by the table, legs crossed one over the other. She had black, shoulder-length hair, and her yellow eyeliner flicked upward at the ends. A mischievous smirk played on her lips. Seeing Wei Yang enter, she tilted her head.
“Yo, baby, long time no see.”
Wei Yang froze in place. That face—
Yu Tu?
No!
She wasn’t Yu Tu. She was just someone else who looked exactly like her!
‘Who is this? Why is she in Lu Ran’s and my house!’
“Whoa, how heartless. We haven’t seen each other for only a few days, and you’ve already forgotten me? I’m Yu Tu.”
Wei Yang bared her teeth, not believing a word of the stranger’s nonsense.
“Even though you have the same face, your soul is definitely not hers. Who are you!”
The woman gave a mysterious smile, seemingly finding this very interesting.
“How disgusting,” she said, tilting her head back slightly as her hand gave a gentle tug at the side of her neck. “How did you tell us apart?”
Wei Yang watched her in absolute shock.
At that moment, the face that looked exactly like Yu Tu’s was peeled off like a mask, revealing her original features. What was truly chilling was that her entire face was covered in scars left by burns.
“You…”
“No need to panic. I only wore that mask because I didn’t want to scare you. I am Yuchan,” the woman said, placing the mask back over her face to hide her disfigured appearance. “Even though you didn’t ask, I’m a kind soul, so I’ll tell you anyway. Yu Tu is fine. Something just came up, and she can’t come here for the time being.”
Wei Yang scanned the room but couldn’t find Lu Ran.
“Where is Lu Ran? What did you do to her?”
Yuchan sat comfortably at the table. She rested her chin on her hand and blew a kiss.
“Wow, are you angry because you can’t find her? Don’t be like that. I’m a good woman; I wouldn’t do anything to hurt a child.”
Wei Yang no longer wanted to play along. Divine power gathered at her fingertips as she threatened Yuchan.
“Give her back to me right now, or you’ll definitely regret it.”
Yuchan made a face and rolled her eyes at Wei Yang.
“Ah… honestly, why are you being so boring? You aren’t usually like this. You’re supposed to be—”
Before she could finish, Wei Yang’s strike came flying at her. But Yuchan simply waved her hand dismissively, deflecting the slash. It tore a hole into the side wall of the house.
“I’m a girl too, you know. Don’t be so cruel. Besides, with how recklessly you’re using your slashes, do you even have enough divine power left?”