Chapter 48: The Merman

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    Ge Xiu closed his eyes and lay quietly on the rock, his long fishtail curled up in the dark, his pearly white tail fin swaying slowly in the waves.

    This was the dungeon.

    In addition to the mermaids who wounded people, some crippled mermaids that have been abused and discarded and couldn’t be resold any more would also be thrown here to deteriorate and wait for death.

    The entire dungeon was dark, dull, dirty and damp, and the water in the pool has long decayed.
It had not been replaced for a long time and there was an unpleasant fishy stench.

    But Ge Xiu didn’t really mind this.

    Water was the same as air, in the final analysis, it was just the medium to survive.
Whether it was the Garbage Star or Calvary from before, the environment had been much more unbearable than it was now.

    What he couldn’t understand was his present state.

    It was really impulsive to do something with that Great Duke before.
Normally, in accordance with his habits, he would first become familiar with the surrounding environment, the background of this world, the his own identity and other characters around him, and so on.
Only then would he focus on the current situation, make a perfect plan, and finally put it into action—however, what happened this time was completely different.

    He couldn’t control the violence that was deep in his heart.

    In fact, this violence has always existed, and has never left.

    Ge Xiu knew from the beginning that there was a beast living in his heart, craving for excitement and stimulation from bloodshed, fascinated by the danger of wandering on the edge of life and death.
He has always controlled himself well, reason and madness in him were like twin brothers, entwined with each other, so most of the time he didn’t lose control.
He was like a calm and shrewd gambler who knew how to make the best use of his character.

    But this time, Ge Xiu was very convinced that he really wanted that person’s life at the time.

    Regardless of the consequences, regardless of gains and losses, the violent beast broke through the barriers of reason, eager for bloody sacrifice.

    So he did it.

    From the beginning of entering this world, his emotions seemed to have been affected by something indescribable—Ge Xiu wasn’t sure if the group of people outside did something, or if  it was something else…

    But he knew it that whether it was those fishtanks, glass walls, or the swaying water waves around him will aroused inexplicable irritability in his heart.

    Ge Xiu curled up quietly, his eyes tightly closed.

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    The dark water around him was flowing soundlessly, and he could hear the faint sounds coming from a distance, the splashing sound when the other mermaids moved, crying, and meaningless babble, but other than that, it was very quiet.

    In fact, for him, this place was actually much more comfortable than the Great Duke’s fishtank.

    Without the false and unrealistic decorations, and without the omnipresent looks and prying, the previously uncontrollable desire for destruction had also reduced a lot.

    At this moment, the stream of water in his ears transmitted the creak of the heavy iron door in the distance opening.

    The clear sound of footsteps, boots clanking on the cold and hard floor, came from afar and got closer, and finally stopped besides the fishtank.

    Then there was a long period of silence.

    Time passed minute by minute, but the whole space was still filled with endless silence.
No sound came through the medium of water flowing around him, not even the sound of someone leaving.

    Ge Xiu frowned, finally opened his eyes and looked in the direction where the sound came from.

    The light in the dungeon was dim, and through the dark and murky waters, only the vague silhouette of a man could be seen.

    He was tall and had broad shoulders.
Just by standing in the dark like that he could give people a sense of heavy pressure and aggression.

    The man just stared at the dark waters, his face hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to guess his expression and emotions, let alone his true intentions.

    Ge Xiu narrowed his eyes, his tail swung slightly subconsciously, and the soil piled on the ground has stirred up and then slowly sank back.

    The irritability and violence rose from the bottom of his heart again.

    He slapped aside heavily with his powerful tail, and a rock with the size of a fist was send flying and spinning in the water, piercing through the water quickly, rushing towards the man’s face, and then slamming hard on the piece of glass in front of him.
The strengthened glass did crack in the slightest, but it still made a heavy and loud clash along with the vibration of the water.

    The man was taken aback, as if he didn’t expect Ge Xiu to react like this.

    The attendants and soldiers waiting outside the water prison seemed to be surprised by the loud noise, and went in accompanied by the sound of messy footsteps.

    A faintly provocative smile appeared on Ge Xiu’s lips.

    “Haha*…” The man’s vague figure vibrated slightly, and the deep and suppressed laughter overflowed from his throat, and then gradually turned into an uncontrollable laugh: “Hahahahahahahaha!”

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    -Ge Xiu didn’t expect this.

    “What’s the matter?” “Your Majesty!” The soldiers had already rushed through the narrow door of the water prison at this moment, and the sound of footsteps shook the water with tiny splashes.
Their worried and panicked exclamations instantly broke the heavy silence in there: “Your Majesty, are you…?”

    The man’s breathless laughter suddenly stopped.

    He turned his head and looked at the door, and the light from outside the prison covered the deep contours of his face with a light golden light.
From Ge Xiu’s angle, he could see his high and sharp brows and the straight bridge of the nose, he had a kind of dangerous handsomeness.

    His voice didn’t betray his mood: “Go out.”

    All the soldiers were silent for a while, and quickly turned and retreated outside the water prison, making it quiet and dark again almost in only one breath.

    Ge Xiu watched this scene quietly.

    Your Majesty……?

    This one is obviously the Emperor that the Grand Duke talked about before.
Based on what he saw just now, the Emperor was obviously unpredictable and had a deep respect and prestige from his rule**.
Why did he come to the water prison at this time?

    Could it be because the prince he killed was close to him? Maybe he wanted to see him getting executed with his own eyes?

    Ge Xiu lowered his eyelids and glanced at his expression—if the group of people who created this punishment world tried to punish him with pain this way, he would be very disappointed.
After all, the torture he had to go through every night in the last world was better than peeling the skin and crushing bones, after getting used to that degree of pain, no amount of terrible punishment had any effect on him.

    Moreover, for him, death was just another punishment world.

    As for those who bother to build this world, the expression on their faces must be very interesting when they see it stop after a few minutes after starting it.

    The man standing in front of the isolating glass turned his head back and looked into the dark water.

    He raised his hand, pressed it on the spot where that had just been struck by the stone, and finally spoke—his voice was unexpectedly calm, and even sounded a little pleased: “The environment here is not suitable for you.”

    Huh?

    Ge Xiu raised his head and looked in the direction of the man, frowning in confusion.

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    “How much space do you want?” The man asked unhurriedly: “What colour do you like? Do you have any food preferences?”

    Huh??

    Ge Xiu stared at the direction of the man in even more bewilderment.

    … Is this person sick?

    Seeing that Ge Xiu didn’t answer, the man didn’t care, he just chuckled lowly, and then said to himself: “It doesn’t matter if you don’t say it, I can just replace it if you’re not satisfied.”

    After speaking, he retracted the hand that was pressing on the glass, then lightly tore off the gloves on the hand one by one, and threw them to the ground without pity.

    “Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take long.”

    The man glanced at the dark and murky waters, then turned and walked in the direction where he came from.
The surface of the heavy and hard boots hit the ground, and the slow and calm footsteps gradually moved away, followed by the creak of the iron door opening and closing.
Finally, after this sound, the entire dungeon once again sank into the previous silence.

    Ge Xiu straightened his upper body and thought quietly for a while in the dark.

    He swung his tail and swam toward the glass.

    From this angle, he could see where the man was standing and where his palms have touched.
On the ground, a pair of white gloves was laying quietly in the soil, and the cuffs were engraved with intricate golden patterns.

    Ge Xiu frowned for a while, then looked up at the door of the water prison again, wondering with some doubt.

    What that person said just now—

    Could it be that he wanted to raise him?

    ·

    Ge Xiu really didn’t have to wait long.

    Only after just two days, the water began to smell of a familiar anaesthetic, and his memory cut off immediately.

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    When he woke up, he found that he was no longer in the dark and cold water prison.
The water around him was clear and soft.
The warm sunlight above his head spilled in through the skylight made of glass, illuminating the entire water floor.
The rocks and corals seem to have been transplanted directly from the natural seabed.

    The space here is very large, almost three or four times the size of the Grand Duke’s luxurious pool, and all the edges have been ingeniously decorated, covered with seaweed or other plants and rocks from the bottom of the sea.
If you didn’t observe carefully, you would almost feel like you’re still in the sea.

    Ge Xiu waved his tail and swam upwards.

    To his surprise, the surface of the water was not covered with any tempered glass, nor was there any protection.

    ——Seems like they haven’t learned any lesson from his former owner.

    Or was he so confident in his ability to tame him?

    Ge Xiu leaned his upper body out of the water, and clear water drops fell from the tips of his hair.
The long wet blue-purple hair clung to his cheeks and neck, and the tips of the hair were still submerged under the water, floating like tentacles of a living being swaying with the waves.

    He looked at this place.

    This was a huge glass house with only a pool, as if it was built specifically to contain him, and some subtle traces could tell that it was completed not long ago.

    Ge Xiu’s gaze moved toward the side of the pool.

    ——Then he faced his new owner.

———————————————————

Emperor: *gets violently attacked by a merman the second they meet*

Emperor: WANT TO RAISE HIM!

Ge Xiu: …are you an M?

 

*actually this ”haha” sound is a different character than the ”hahahahha” from next part, I think it’s more like chuckle than the loud uncontrollable laughter.
Just wanted to add a cool funfact

**积威 – pronounced jī wēi, a Chinese word, means majesty and power formed over a long period of time.
Didn’t quite know how to phrase it…