The heavy curtains moved without wind, silently falling and blocking the light from the palace lanterns outside.
"Look at me." Han Tao gazed at him almost obsessively, her eyes tracing every inch of his face as she leaned down. "You'll like it."
The clear approach was more nerve-wracking than a sudden embrace. Fu Mingxu couldn't help but clutch the collar of his black shirt. The golden hair ribbon hanging down swayed slightly, as if it were pulling him back into a hazy dream.
The darkness brewing in his golden eyes was deeper than the night itself, and the hand that had once again covered the scales was just a hair's breadth away from finding the Achilles' heel. Han Tao didn't miss a single reaction from him, and his breathing became heavy and disordered.
A familiar yet dangerous feeling rose within him, short, sharp breaths escaped his throat, and Fu Mingxu's hands, clutching his clothes, began to tremble. He was afraid of something, yet also anticipating something.
Their relationship had undergone a qualitative change without them even realizing it. Their hearts pounded, and their surging emotions drew them closer.
"Is it okay?" Han Tao's hand stopped at the edge of the Reverse Scale, suppressing the boiling of his blood.
Fu Mingxu glared at him, his breathing ragged: "Enough nonsense. Once I regain my human form, let's see what you'll do..."
That one glance made Han Tao's soul flutter, and he wished he could drown in his body.
Just as the curtains were about to completely shut out the outside air, a commotion arose outside.
"Lord Han!" someone shouted loudly from outside the hall, with a hint of urgency.
Upon hearing the noise, Fu Mingxu seemed to be jolted awake from a hazy dream. His heart trembled, and he instinctively flicked his tail and pushed hard with both hands.
"Bang."
Before Han Tao could react, he was pushed to the ground and looked at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?" He looked at Fu Mingxu with a puzzled expression, his voice slightly unsteady.
All the romantic feelings in Fu Mingxu's heart vanished when he saw him plop down on the ground. He rubbed his forehead and pointed to the tightly closed palace door: "Someone is calling you."
Han Tao said "Oh," and then, as if waking from a dream, he got up from the ground. His figure was still agile, and there was no trace of the dishevelment he had suffered from falling to the ground.
Seeing that his gaze was still fixed on him, Fu Mingxu quickly pulled the blanket next to him over his tail. His black hair swayed back and forth with his movements, occasionally revealing half of his snow-white neck.
"Go and see what's going on." The two had been having a happy time together by chance since they met, and they hadn't recovered yet. Fu Mingxu felt that things were progressing slowly.
As for the previous plan to enter the Merfolk King's Palace, it now seems unnecessary.
Fearing that Han Tao might get aroused and cause trouble, he thoughtfully suggested, "If all else fails, just take a Heart-Clearing and Desire-Suppressing Pill."
Upon hearing this, Han Tao stiffened and said, "No need."
Then he went around the screen in front of the bed and opened the palace door.
Fu Mingxu leaned against the bed, only able to see him standing backlit through the screen, his tall and upright figure completely blocking the palace door.
He whispered something to the merman outside, then quickly closed the palace door and came back inside.
Fu Mingxu quickly checked if the blanket was properly covering him, then cleared his throat and looked up to ask, "What are you doing here... um, what are you doing?"
“Besides the previous answer,” he emphasized deliberately.
"I've come to find you." Han Tao glanced at the expression on his face and added, "To bring you a flying artifact."
Fu Mingxu tugged at the curtain beside him, clearly disbelieving, and gestured with his chin: "Where's the stuff?"
Han Tao opened his palm, and a flying magical artifact, like a small boat, appeared before him.
Fu Mingxu craned his neck, looked for a while and thought: Hmm, apart from being shiny with gold, I can't see anything else different.
"This is the fastest flying magic weapon on the Cangling Continent?" he exclaimed in surprise, picking it up to examine it closely. "But how did you forge it so quickly?"
As soon as he said this, he met Han Tao's somewhat resentful gaze.
“I noticed you ran away, so I shortened the forging time.” He stared at Fu Mingxu’s eyebrows and eyes for a long time, his hard jawline seemed to be tinged with a hint of grievance. “The flying magic weapon was perfectly forged, but the dragon soul is cracked again.”
Having spent so much time together, he had mastered the technique of how to evoke emotional fluctuations in him.
"I didn't run away!" Fu Mingxu shouted, then felt a pang of guilt, his voice trailing off. "I left you some pills and a message."
Han Tao said quietly, "I know, ninety pills of the Heart-Cleansing and Desire-Severing Pill."
He was afraid that Fu Mingxu would forget him after six months, as he still had six months until his return.
Fu Mingxu was speechless for a moment. He decided never to mention the words "Heart-Clearing and Desire-Severing Pill" again, but fearing that the other party would bring up the topic again, he quickly asked, "Let me see your Dragon Soul."
He played with the golden flying artifact between his fingers, making his fingertips feel exceptionally smooth and lustrous, like jade.
Han Tao glanced at the magical artifact and smiled, "It's alright now. It's been repaired by your chaotic energy."
Fu Mingxu instinctively disbelieved it, but just as he was about to refute it, he met his gaze and suddenly understood something.
His ears felt like they were on fire. He threw off the covers and got up, swishing his tail as he took a few steps. "It's good that Long Po is alright. I have to go out now."
That conversation simply couldn't continue.
He hurried out of the Luoguang Palace and bumped into several merfolk. They were taken aback when they saw him, and their gazes swept over his face before they exclaimed in surprise.
Fu Mingxu vaguely understood their ambiguous glances, especially when the merfolk bowed to the people behind him.
"Lord Han," they said, their tone both friendly and respectful, "our king invites you."
He still remembered the group of merfolk he and Han Tao encountered when they came out of the garden, and the old and frail one among them was the Merfolk King.
If Han Tao hadn't held his hand tightly, he probably would have gone berserk with shame on the spot.
When he came out, he learned that he had not entered the back garden of a royal palace, but the Garden of Pleasure that every merman entered when he came of age.
Once a mermaid's body emerges from the Joyful Flower, it will mature, meaning it can be used for courtship and dual cultivation.
To put it bluntly, the Huanhua is an aphrodisiac flower unique to the deep sea.
The world is full of wonders. Even though Fu Mingxu recorded many records about exotic flowers and plants, the human race did not have a deep understanding of the deep sea and missed the joy flower unique to the merfolk.
As he pondered these random thoughts, he let Han Tao lead him away, their palms touching, their gold and cyan hair ribbons complementing each other, their intimate aura preventing anyone else from interfering.
Several merfolk followed behind, exchanging glances. They no longer had any doubts about Fu Mingxu.
After all, the newborn merfolk who grow fish tails and emerge from the Joyful Flower are no different from the native merfolk in body and mind.
There has never been an exception.
What amazed them was that this merman was actually quite lucky to have won the favor of the dragon leader.
Those are dragons! They are born with powerful bloodlines and are incredibly strong. If one were to engage in dual cultivation with them, the merman's own bloodline could be imbued with dragon energy and advance, perhaps even becoming an ancient merman.
The ancient merfolk were fierce and powerful; they were beautiful killing gods from the abyss, far superior to the delicate and fragile merfolk of today.
Compared to humans who are bound by ethics, the demon race pursues honest desires and great power.
Envy flashed in their eyes, but when they recalled the merman's features, they could only reluctantly accept it.
In front of many merfolk, Fu Mingxu did not break free from the intimate hand-holding. He obediently let Han Tao lead him, perfectly embodying the affectionate devotion of a merfolk.
The sound of musical instruments came from ahead, and the two knew that they were approaching the Merfolk Palace. The place they had stayed before was just a guest quarters within the palace grounds.
Fu Mingxu ignored the gazes of the other merfolk, suppressed the complex thoughts in his mind, composed himself, pursed his lips, and followed forward.
"Don't be nervous. Although the Merman King has demonic energy, he can't beat me." Han Tao glanced down at his tense jaw and subtly transmitted his voice to him, "I will protect you."
Demonic energy?
Hearing this, Fu Mingxu became even more nervous.
A crystal-clear, semi-transparent palace appeared before them, with colorful marine life swimming outside the barrier at the top of the palace, creating wave after wave.
Fu Mingxu guessed it must be daytime, because he saw faint sunlight pouring down from the rippling waves, mixing with the light of the palace lanterns, adding even more shimmering beauty to the already dazzling palace.
The merman who led the way took them to the entrance of the banquet hall and then left. The music stopped when the two arrived outside the hall.
The air fell silent instantly, and all the audience's gazes turned outside the hall, landing on the two figures.
Fu Mingxu subconsciously straightened his back and looked ahead, just in time to see Li Chixue on the left side of the Mermaid King. The other party looked at him with a strange expression when he appeared.
The merman king, seated at the head of the table, was dressed in elaborate and magnificent attire and looked very solemn. However, his face was pale, his cheeks were sunken, and even the scales on his temples had lost their luster. Only the remaining royal majesty was awe-inspiring.
"Lord Han has arrived." The Merman King looked at the two clasped hands in surprise, then revealed a relieved smile. "As you all may not know, this is the Dragon Clan leader who is about to marry into my Merman Clan, and next to him is the new generation of Merman from my clan."
The other aquatic creatures present, unaware of the situation, suddenly realized what was happening and began to congratulate them.
Li Chixue stared at the two in shock, her sharp eyebrows showing a rare look of astonishment, clearly stunned by their actions.
The music at the banquet continued amidst the congratulations of the crowd. Even as merfolk filed in from outside and began to dance, none could match half the beauty of him.
Under the heavy gazes, Fu Mingxu had a shy smile on his lips, his expression gentle and obedient, just like a virtuous wife and loving mother.
Only Han Tao could hear his irritable telepathic transmission: "Have these aquatic creatures never seen merfolk before? Why aren't you looking at me when there are merfolk dancing? What exactly do you want?"
"Calm down." Han Tao's deep voice soothed him. His expression was cold and distant on the surface, but it softened noticeably when he looked down at him. "I suspect that the demon seed is related to the merfolk."
Upon hearing the words "demon seed," Fu Mingxu immediately stopped being annoyed. "Then why didn't you tell me before?"
Han Tao's expression remained unchanged, and his voice conveyed sincerity: "I didn't have time."
Fu Mingxu deeply regretted his excellent comprehension skills. He gritted his teeth and tried his best to maintain the persona he had created for himself.
The two arrived at their reserved seats. Fu Mingxu sat down, facing Li Chixue directly. He tilted his head slightly, and Meng Lian, who was diagonally opposite him, was sizing him up.
The blue and black sleeves fell together as the two sat down, and no one could see whether their clasped hands separated.
Li Chixue's face was as cold and stern as the unmelting ice and snow of a high mountain, which frightened the merman who was pouring wine for him into not daring to move.
While communicating telepathically with him, Fu Mingxu surveyed the layout of the palace. They were in the main hall, and he assumed that the records about the Wu tribe should not be located here.
After the merman song and dance that he couldn't understand ended, Meng Lian, who had been glancing at him earlier, finally stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Han Tao: "As expected, you are the city lord of Yunhan City."
Han Tao raised his eyes and looked at him with a calm expression.
Meng Lian's gaze swept across Fu Mingxu's face for a moment before she slowly spoke: "I heard that Lord Han City already had a partner for a marriage to ward off bad luck. Could it be that he can also marry into my Merfolk clan?"
The Merman King's slightly cloudy pupils widened instantly, his sunken cheeks bulged, and his voice was rough: "Is what you're saying true?"
The scene fell into an awkward silence once again, probably because many aquatic creatures hadn't expected things to change so quickly.
Is this a case of joy turning into misfortune?
Meng Lian seized the opportunity to speak again: "Could it be that the dignified leader of the Dragon Clan intends to commit marriage fraud?"
Seeing that things were about to be exposed, Fu Mingxu immediately sent a telepathic message to Han Tao: "Don't move, let me handle it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience saw him sway and slide into Han Tao's arms with a boneless grace. His dark pupils were surrounded by a ring of blue, and his eyelashes trembled as if they were an impressionistic landscape painting.
"Wow, this fish tail is really silky smooth," he thought to himself.
Han Tao let him do as he pleased, and even put her arm around his waist in cooperation.
"A partner for bringing good luck?" Fu Mingxu repeated the four words, his smile more captivating than a flower blooming at the bottom of the sea. "The city lord told me long ago that he only likes me and that the person for bringing good luck is just a figurehead. He will get rid of that person after he marries me in the East Sea."