Chapter 135 – A Difficult Decision to Make

“Miiing…”

A clear, melodious, pitiful moan faintly echoed through the moonlit night, distinctly audible.

Yet, hearing such a sound and witnessing the scene before him, Su Ming remained stunned for a long time, his face full of astonishment and bewilderment.

“Wh-what’s going on here?”

Pointing at the ethereal figure on the Ice Platform, Su Ming asked Xu Qianqian in a somewhat flustered manner.

Xu Qianqian didn’t think Su Ming was acting inappropriately.

After all, when she first saw this scene, her reaction hadn’t been much better than Su Ming’s.

Xu Qianqian then said to Su Ming:

“Don’t you think this child looks very familiar?”

Xu Qianqian couldn’t help but use somewhat affectionate terms, referring to the mermaid lying on the Ice Platform as a “child.”

There was no helping it.

Although the mermaid lying on the Ice Platform was incredibly beautiful, her appearance was still very youthful, like that of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl.

However, this little girl was truly excessively beautiful. Her skin was as smooth and delicate as pearls, and her features were exquisitely refined beyond words. She couldn’t merely be described as a “budding beauty”; rather, she should be regarded as the very embodiment of “beauty” itself.

At the very least, Su Ming thought to himself, if she’s already this stunning at such a young age, how devastatingly beautiful would she become once she grows up?

If such a little girl were human, she would undoubtedly become the Princess in everyone’s eyes—either doted on beyond measure or inspiring improper, wicked thoughts in others.

One thing was certain: if she were human, she would become the center of countless whirlpools, receiving endless adoration and just as much covetous attention.

Unfortunately, she clearly wasn’t human.

Humans couldn’t have a fishtail, nor could they possess such a dreamlike, unreal beauty that seemed to exist only in fantasies, just like this child.

This child’s beauty transcended the realm of living beings, as if she didn’t belong to this world.

Even if one searched the entire globe for the most exquisite and beautiful works of art, none would likely compare to this child.

Su Ming had seen quite a few great beauties himself. Whether it was Xu Qianqian, An Zijin, or Yun Langyue—even Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei were rare beauties. On a scale of one hundred, the lowest among them would score at least ninety.

Especially Xu Qianqian, An Zijin, and Yun Langyue—giving them ninety-nine points wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

As for a perfect score, in Su Ming’s view, it simply didn’t exist.

Because that represented perfection, flawlessness—and in Su Ming’s opinion, such a woman didn’t exist in this world.

Yet, even Su Ming, who held such views, couldn’t help but be deeply shocked the moment he saw this child.

So much so that Su Ming felt that if there truly was such a thing as perfection, if there truly was such a thing as flawlessness in this world, then it probably referred to this child.

However, this still couldn’t avoid one issue.

That was, this child wasn’t human.

She was, without a doubt, a Phantom Demon.

Moreover, according to Xu Qianqian, it seemed he had encountered this Phantom Demon before.

Su Ming began racking his brains to recall.

In the end, it didn’t take much effort for Su Ming to remember many things.

For instance, the faint mist of water swirling around the mermaid.

For instance, the rather familiar scales on the mermaid’s tail.

And also, that pitiful yet melodious cry.

These were all things Su Ming knew.I still remember that night in Warehouse Street, during the fierce battle with the Underground Mercenary Group, I vaguely heard that “meow-like” cry.

When Yi Junchuan was desperately fighting back before his death, the being that saved Su Ming and Xu Qianqian at that time was shrouded in dense water mist.

As for the beautiful, mirror-smooth scales, Su Ming had personally found them, held them, and later handed them to Xu Qianqian for identification by an expert.

All these characteristics, when combined, pointed to only one possible identity.

“So this child is the Phantom Demon Cub that both the Base City higher-ups and the Underground Mercenary Group have been hunting?”

Su Ming finally recognized the identity of the mermaid before him.

“You think so too, right?” Xu Qianqian nodded and said, “That proves I wasn’t mistaken.”

That night in Warehouse Street, Xu Qianqian had also seen the Phantom Demon Cub enveloped in water mist, who released an ice spear and saved both her and Su Ming.

So, after some effort, Xu Qianqian recognized this mermaid’s identity and learned her origins.

The question was…

“Why is she here?” Su Ming asked puzzledly. “Logically speaking, shouldn’t she have escaped back to the Spirit Demon Abyss?”

As a descendant of a Hazardous Species with a high probability of evolving into a Nightmare Species, this Mermaid Girl carrying superior Phantom Demon Bloodline had been constantly pursued by Professionals with ulterior motives, always on the run.

With the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance appearing in Huaming District, in their Longyao City, this cub had shown signs of trying to escape back to the Spirit Demon Abyss for self-preservation.

Su Ming had always believed that after that night in Warehouse Street, this cub who managed to escape should have returned to the Spirit Demon Abyss and no longer remained in the human world.

Who would have thought that now, with the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance sealed and the war about to end, this cub would appear here.

What exactly happened?

Su Ming furrowed his brows.

Xu Qianqian had already considered this question and reached an answer.

“I think she didn’t fail to escape back to the Spirit Demon Abyss, but rather tried to escape and failed,” Xu Qianqian said.

“Tried to escape and failed?”

Su Ming was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood.

A closer look revealed that this Phantom Demon Cub’s condition was clearly abnormal, seemingly having suffered quite severe injuries.

Her bloodstained appearance not only didn’t diminish her beauty, but instead added a touch of tragic fragility and pitiful atmosphere.

“Although we don’t know what exactly happened, it’s obvious that before escaping back to the Spirit Demon Abyss, this child encountered a powerful enemy,” Xu Qianqian stared intently at the mermaid on the ice platform, calmly analyzing. “I did a rough examination and found that her injuries don’t appear to be caused by Phantom Demons, but rather by alchemical weapons.”

In other words, before this Phantom Demon Cub could return to the Spirit Demon Abyss, she encountered an enemy using alchemical weapons.

And who could such an enemy be, besides human Professionals?

“Was it someone from the Base City higher-ups? Or from the Underground Mercenary Group ‘Sin’?”

Su Ming’s frown deepened.

“Not necessarily either of them,” Xu Qianqian shook her head. “It could also have been caused by unrelated Professionals.”

This wasn’t impossible.Huaming District had become a battlefield between humans and Phantom Demons, with numerous Upper-Rank Professionals gathered at the frontline, many of whom were powerful individuals wielding alchemical weapons.

They likely didn’t recognize the mermaid’s origins or identity, choosing to attack her mercilessly simply because they encountered a Phantom Demon.

If Su Ming were in their position—suddenly encountering a Phantom Demon in the wild without understanding the circumstances—he would probably also choose to strike without hesitation.

Under these conditions, those who attacked this Phantom Demon Cub weren’t necessarily people with ulterior motives.

Rather, if those scheming individuals had known the cub’s background, they wouldn’t have wanted to harm her severely, fearing damage to the Bloodline within her that could affect extraction.

Given how severely injured the cub was, it was more likely that unaware individuals were responsible.

“Of course, who attacked her is no longer important. What matters now is how to handle this child.”

Xu Qianqian turned to Su Ming, her eyes carrying a questioning look.

“You’re throwing this problem to me?”

Su Ming immediately felt overwhelmed.

He understood Xu Qianqian’s intention.

He also knew that Xu Qianqian was feeling conflicted.

Logically speaking, since this was a Phantom Demon—a monster that treats humans as prey—the most appropriate action for human Professionals would be to eliminate this Phantom Demon.

At the very least, they should capture it to extract its Bloodline, either to create a Hunter with Advanced Bloodline or to establish a Family that could pass down this Legacy.

Especially since this cub had a high probability of evolving into a Nightmare Species—even Xu Qianqian had previously been tempted by its Bloodline.

This illustrated the difficult choice regarding how to handle this cub.

The problem was, neither Su Ming nor Xu Qianqian could bring themselves to take action now.

The reason was simple.

Not only because the cub looked too pitiful and adorable to harm, but more importantly, because this cub had saved both of them that night on Warehouse Street.

If the Mermaid Girl hadn’t intervened and delivered the final blow to Yi Junchuan, Su Ming might have survived, but Xu Qianqian—who had sacrificed herself to save Su Ming—might not have made it.

Therefore, even the typically ruthless and taciturn Xu Qianqian found it difficult to harm this Phantom Demon Cub now.

As for Su Ming, he was never someone who would repay kindness with betrayal. Having seen the cub’s true appearance, if he could still bring himself to harm her, he would be heartless.

Thus, Su Ming found himself in a dilemma.

Maybe… pretend we didn’t see anything?

Su Ming entertained this thought.

But Xu Qianqian seemed to see through his thinking and coldly remarked, “This child can’t return to the Spirit Demon Abyss anymore. If we pretend we didn’t see her and she’s discovered by Longyao City’s Professionals, there’s an eighty percent chance it will cause the massive chaos and turmoil we previously anticipated.”

Xu Qianqian had clearly considered the same possibility.

“Then should we save her?” Su Ming hesitantly suggested.

“Are you sure?” Xu Qianqian looked at him. “She’s still a Phantom Demon after all. What if she turns violent and attacks people after we save her?”

Hearing this, Su Ming scratched his head.

Indeed, it remained uncertain whether this child was friend or foe.

Even though this cub had saved him and Xu Qianqian that night on Warehouse Street, who could guarantee that she had specifically come to their rescue?Perhaps she only came out because she saw Yi Junchuan, the enemy who had been hunting her, on the verge of death, and couldn’t resist giving him the final blow herself. That might be more plausible.

Considering it this way is perhaps more reliable than the notion that she specifically came to rescue Su Ming and Xu Qianqian.

Just as Xu Qianqian said, Phantom Demons are ultimately Phantom Demons, feeding on blood, making it hard to believe they would save two humans.

Thinking this, Su Ming reached a decision.

“I can first use the Demon Binding Spell Formula to restrain her.”

This was the most prudent course of action at the moment.

(End of Chapter)