Chapter 134 – The Beautiful Existence from Fairy Tales

“Speaking of which, why hasn’t that Young Miss returned yet?”

After organizing all the obtained items and storing them properly in his backpack, Su Ming glanced at the time, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward the door as he muttered to himself.

Over an hour had passed since Xu Qianqian left, and she still hadn’t returned. Even for a walk, this was taking too long, wasn’t it?

“It’s not even daytime anymore – it’s already late at night,” Su Ming murmured. “Could something have happened to her?”

Little did Su Ming know that his guess was correct.

Xu Qianqian, who had gone out for a walk, had indeed encountered something.

Though, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.

……

“I should head back.”

On the other side of the Mountain Forest, Xu Qianqian stopped in her tracks when she realized how far she had unconsciously wandered.

Her mood had somewhat calmed down by now.

Although not completely resolved, such was Xu Qianqian’s nature – she wouldn’t obsess over things she couldn’t figure out.

After all, worrying wouldn’t solve anything. At this point, she could only let things take their natural course.

Moreover, upon careful consideration, becoming like this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

“At the very least, that guy’s blood was truly delicious.”

Xu Qianqian shifted her mindset but didn’t dare dwell on it too much.

If she thought about it too deeply, her body would likely heat up again. She needed to exercise some self-restraint.

“However, after drinking his blood, my Bloodline seems to have undergone some changes too.”

Xu Qianqian contemplated while assessing her current condition.

“Never mind, I shouldn’t overthink it.”

After a while, Xu Qianqian shook her head, dispelling her chaotic thoughts as she turned around to head back to the cabin.

Just then, Xu Qianqian suddenly sensed an unusual chill.

“What’s going on?”

The unnatural cold made Xu Qianqian stop once again, furrowing her brows as she turned toward the direction where the chill was coming from.

It was the direction leading deeper into the Mountain Forest.

From that direction, a cold breeze gently blew, causing the dew on the trees to begin freezing.

Frowning in thought, Xu Qianqian eventually lifted her foot and began walking slowly toward the deepest part of the Mountain Forest.

“Rustle, rustle…”

In the Mountain Forest, sounds of either trees swaying in the wind or grass rustling occasionally emerged, reaching Xu Qianqian’s ears.

Walking along the artificially cleared forest path, Xu Qianqian didn’t hear any birds, animals, or insects along the way.

As she ventured deeper, Xu Qianqian clearly felt the temperature around her dropping, with even the humidity in the air increasing noticeably.

“Something’s wrong.”

Xu Qianqian realized this.

Just to be safe, she took out her phone to notify Su Ming, but then stopped.

“After receiving so much help from him already, should I really bother him with such a trivial matter?”

This thought occurred to Xu Qianqian.

Not only had he saved her life and helped treat her injuries, but she had also just given in to drinking his blood, leaving him weak and lying in the cabin, unable to get up for hours. Even Xu Qianqian didn’t want to trouble Su Ming unnecessarily at this point.

Besides, Xu Qianqian wasn’t the type to depend on others for everything anyway.

Rather than relying on others, she preferred to overcome difficulties through her own strength.

“I’ll go check it out first.”

Thus, Xu Qianqian made her decision.

However, she didn’t put her phone away either.Better safe than sorry.

If a situation truly arose that she couldn’t handle herself, Xu Qianqian wouldn’t hesitate to notify Su Ming.

Otherwise, if something happened because she tried to tough it out, she’d only be causing him even greater trouble.

With this in mind, Xu Qianqian kept her phone in hand, ready to dial at any moment as she continued deeper into the Mountain Forest.

She walked for what felt like an eternity.

But Xu Qianqian knew she was nearing her destination.

The surrounding chill had reached bone-piercing levels, frosting the roots of some trees.

Then, the seemingly endless Mountain Forest scenery before her eyes suddenly vanished.

Her vision abruptly opened up as another landscape entered her view.

Xu Qianqian had emerged from the Mountain Forest and arrived at a new location.

“A lake?”

Yes.

What appeared before Xu Qianqian was indeed a lake.

The lake wasn’t large—less than a hundred meters in diameter—but its water was exceptionally clear.

Faintly visible around it were some water pumping devices, indicating to Xu Qianqian that this was a specially developed Artificial Lake, likely used for irrigating the artificially planted greenery in this Mountain Forest.

The gentle sound of flowing water seemed particularly tranquil and peaceful in this silent, uninhabited night.

Yet, gazing at this rather beautiful lake, Xu Qianqian suddenly held her breath.

The reason was simple.

Xu Qianqian saw it.

Saw a figure at the center of the lake.

“She” lay on a piece of floating ice, with water mist gradually dissipating around her.

“She” appeared to be in deep slumber, yet occasionally emitted one or two painful-sounding moans.

“She” bore some bloodstains on her body, looking to be in poor condition.

“She” remained unaware of Xu Qianqian’s arrival, merely emitting cold energy that caused the lake surface to lightly freeze over.

Xu Qianqian was stunned, rendered speechless.

For no other reason.

Simply because the most extreme form of “beauty” had appeared before her.

……

“Why hasn’t she returned yet?”

Meanwhile, back in the small cabin, Su Ming—who had been waiting for Xu Qianqian’s return—was growing restless.

“Could something really have happened?”

Su Ming frowned deeply, pulled out his phone, and called Xu Qianqian.

The phone rang for a long time with no answer.

Just as Su Ming began feeling uneasy and agitated, the call finally connected.

“It’s me,” Su Ming quickly spoke up, his voice carrying a hint of displeasure. “Where did you go? Why aren’t you back yet?”

Su Ming completely failed to notice that his current words and tone resembled those of a lonely, resentful wife waiting at home.

But Xu Qianqian’s response was somewhat strange.

“Are you at the cabin right now?”

Instead of answering Su Ming’s question, Xu Qianqian remained silent for a moment before speaking in a whisper, as if trying not to disturb something.

“I’m at the cabin,” Su Ming replied, somewhat puzzled. “Why? Is it inconvenient for you to talk?”

“A bit,” Xu Qianqian seemed to purse her lips, speaking hesitantly. “I’m considering whether I should disturb her or not.”

“Disturb her?” Su Ming was taken aback. “Who?”

Could there be someone else with Xu Qianqian?Was it the private soldiers under her command who had come looking?

Su Ming thought so.

But Xu Qianqian’s reaction remained somewhat strange.

“You know her too,” Xu Qianqian said. “Or rather, you’ve seen her before, just not her true face.”

“What?” Su Ming was immediately puzzled.

What did she mean by “seen her but not her true face”?

Did he know someone who had never revealed their true appearance?

Was it Lie? Or Yin?

Su Ming began to recall carefully.

Unfortunately, Xu Qianqian didn’t give him the time.

“Come and see for yourself,” Xu Qianqian said. “How to deal with her might depend on your opinion.”

With that, Xu Qianqian told Su Ming her location and asked him to come over.

“So mysterious…”

Su Ming could only stand up, full of doubts, putting away his phone as he walked out of the small cabin.

Xu Qianqian’s reaction had piqued his curiosity somewhat.

“I’ll see exactly who you’ve encountered.”

After saying this, Su Ming left the Scaled Horn Demon Mutant, which was preparing to follow him, and ordered the Phantom Demon Legion to continue patrolling the surroundings. He then headed toward the deepest part of the Mountain Forest.

……

“Whoosh—”

Amid the howling wind, Su Ming’s figure swept past like a ghost, leaping across the canopies of fruit trees as he sped forward.

Unlike Xu Qianqian’s slow, step-by-step exploration, Su Ming traveled in this manner, making his speed much, much faster.

But Su Ming also felt the same sensation as Xu Qianqian.

“Why has it suddenly gotten so cold?”

Su Ming shivered as he felt the gusts of chilly wind, rubbing his skin.

The sudden drop in temperature, even with his current Physique, caught him off guard, leaving him somewhat frozen.

“This isn’t a natural phenomenon, is it?”

Like Xu Qianqian, Su Ming noticed something unusual.

“It seems she’s indeed encountered some situation.”

Understanding this, Su Ming quickened his pace even more.

Soon, as he leaped high into the air, he saw the Artificial Lake.

“What’s that…?”

Su Ming looked down from above at the center of the Artificial Lake and froze in place.

The surface of the Artificial Lake had already turned to ice.

At the center of the ice, Xu Qianqian stood, seemingly observing something.

Su Ming descended from the sky, the howling wind quieting as he landed.

“You’re here?”

Noticing the commotion, Xu Qianqian turned and looked up at the sky.

Su Ming landed right in front of Xu Qianqian.

“What’s this all about?”

As he stepped forward, Su Ming asked directly.

“Take a look at this.”

Xu Qianqian shook her head and stepped aside, allowing what was behind her to enter Su Ming’s line of sight.

And so, Su Ming saw it.

He saw an Ice Platform and the figure lying on it.

“Miling…”

A pleasant, low hum sounded softly, like wind chimes or ocean waves.

Tendrils of mist swirled around, dreamlike and ethereally beautiful.

“She” lay before Su Ming, groaning as if in pain, her brow furrowed tightly as if trapped in a nightmare, pitiful and sorrowful.

Su Ming was stunned.

Truly stunned.

His heart was shaken, and his eyes involuntarily revealed profound astonishment.The figure lying on the Ice Platform was not large, even quite petite, yet in a brief moment, it occupied Su Ming’s entire being.

A head of wavy, water-blue hair cascaded to the waist.

A scaly fish tail swayed gently.

Human from the waist up, fish from the waist down.

“A mermaid?”

Instantly, Su Ming equated this figure with the beautiful being from fairy tales that countless people yearned for.

The figure before his eyes was precisely such an existence.

(End of Chapter)