He and It Chapter 19: The King’s Pearl (19)

Chapter 19: The King’s Pearl (19)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey

“But, doesn’t the tide text have to go to a fixed location in order to hear the specifics?” Jiang Mian opened his personal terminal and asked Raperth.

“I know… the contents of every Tidal Writings book.” Raperth replied. Including the one tucked in your cradle.

The light screen unfolded, and Raperth examined the photos, then opened his thin lips and let out a low chanting sound.

It was the receding of the ocean, the whistling of the tide, the passing of a thousand years of obscurity, of sun and moon, the mountains and rivers had not yet lost their color, and the stories recited there were still inexhaustible flowers to bloom.

Jiang Mian was completely fascinated, he listened intently. He didn’t understand the language and words of mermaids, but there were some things in common, such as sincere emotions, such as the gentle light of Raperth’s eyes.

“What does it say?” Jiang Mian asked softly.

Raperth replied, “It’s… like… a collection of stories.”

“A collection of stories?” Jiang Mian looked back, a little dumbfounded, “It’s… stories about what?”

“Tales from the ages… of the Strange… and their mates… united… born.” Raperth said, “The ruler of the icy sea… carrying his followers… the fierce god with the face of a man and the body of a snake… and his priests… at the far end of the ocean… and the magical horses with four hooves wandering in the deepest part of the magma of the earth… and the one who saved them… And so on and so forth.”

Raperth concluded, “The old legends… the fables… the things you call… bedtime stories… are slate books.”

Jiang Mian, “What?!”

That was all? Just a bedtime story, just a legend, not a record of some major event in the history of mermaids, community secrets, or even other untold secrets?

Even though he knew that there was no difference between high and low research, Jiang Mian felt a mixed feeling when he thought of Jiang Pingyang’s failure to find a solution even after more than ten years of struggling with the slate book.

Raperth asked confusedly, “Wait, what?”

“No, I mean, I mean…” Jiang Mian’s lips seemed to be knotted, “That red lady looked serious after seeing the slate book, and only because… Is this the tide script, which is only available to the kings?”

“I think…” Raperth hesitated in a rare moment, “Yes?”

The male mermaid probed Jiang Mian’s scowl, “It’s specifically for… for newborn pups… to put in swaddling clothes… the initiation book.”

Your adoptive father was able to get it precisely because it was placed in your cradle. This is your text, your book, do you remember anything, Pearl?

Jiang Mian sighed.

Forget it, people died like a lamp. Even if the slate book really contained some profound and mysterious secrets, for Jiang Pingyang, what was the use of it?

Although the combination of these two words, swaddling and enlightenment, brought a familiar sense of strangeness to Jiang Mian, but he didn’t look deeper, only smiled bitterly, “You know, over the years, my adoptive father and the Institute in order to decipher the slate book… the investment of human and material resources couldn’t be said to be too much. It’s just that the more they forced it, the more they couldn’t get it, and the more they couldn’t get it, the more they thought that the contents of the tablet book must be something of immense importance.”

Raperth pouted at his partner, “Bedtime stories… they’re important… too.”

“Of course.” Jiang Mian reassured him, “Even if they’re bedtime stories, they’re still mermaid bedtime stories, it’s just… Are they all based on real creations?”

Jiang Mian was confused, the ruler of the ice sea, the fierce god with a human face and snake body, the magic horse… This sounded much more metaphysical than mermaids… Were all the bedtime stories of deep-sea mermaids in this style?

“Not necessarily,” Raperth gave an ambiguous answer, “Just like… before humans… also thought… we were fake.”

Jiang Mian, still unconcerned by the “we” reference, held up his pen and paper with interest, “Excuse me, what are their specific plot points?”

Oh oh, Raperth twirled his tail fin and twisted underwater in a number of unpredictable patterns that he would never forget. Pearl had never heard these familiar cub stories, he had been stolen by humans, and if he asked for late baby time now, then Raperth would carry out the order as if it were law and order.

“Yes, yes.” The male mermaid let out a grunt of joy, and the waves swayed with a clatter, and he was like a ship, fully afloat as the water gushed down, soon fully revealing his scales, and dry, glistening skin.

Jiang Mian watched in awe, the mermaid’s ability to control water was undoubtedly uncanny, and he was about to say something about it when Raperth stretched out his strong arms, his large coveted paws gently passing under Jiang Mian’s armpits like he was picking up a cat, and impatiently hugged him to his chest.

“Whoa!” Jiang Mian shouted, as he seemed to turn into a small spoon, so inseparable and firmly attached to the big one behind him. The mermaid hugged him happily, and for the first time Jiang Mian was visually aware of the size difference between the two of them — he was sitting at Raperth’s chest and belly, while both legs rested on the sinuous fish’s tail, and only his toes could barely touch the water’s surface.

It was like a cradle, except that it had to be the hottest, best-fitting, most precious cradle in the world.

Jiang Mian couldn’t sit or lie still, even through the material of his clothes, he was almost cooked by the heat of the close proximity. He blushed and stammered, his tongue almost tied in eighteen knots in his lips, “I-I, you… no…”

Raperth’s arms nestled tightly around him, shoulders trembling with delight as he carefully shook Jiang Mian, muttering an explanation, “To hear a bedtime story… then I’m the bed.”

Jiang Mian bit his lip, and for some reason his heart clamored and his stomach seemed to fill with a flock of excited fluttering butterflies.

God, that was so silly and ridiculous and cute, could anyone believe that Raperth was actually such a big, sweet marshmallow mermaid?

“Lie down…” Raperth sniffed his mate’s soft black hair, his two hearts alternately roaring and his pupils rising wide. He shifted the angle of his tail to avoid scraping the scales erected by his arousal on Jiang Mian’s calves and continued to coax him with a sweet voice, “Lie down.”

Jiang Mian decided to give up the struggle.

He lay down on his chest, and the mermaid’s breath surrounded him, the heat radiating through him, the silence and coolness underwater, while the water blazed with an ocean kingdom.

“Long, long ago… the ancient ice sea… inhabited by ancient gods and men…” Raperth said, if the sound could be collected in a bottle, then the mermaid’s voice must be the clearest and mellowest wine, called Jiang Mian to take a sip, could be drunk all the way to the spring of next year.

The butterflies in his stomach gradually melted into sticky honey, his hands gradually loosened, and the paper and pen unconsciously rolled down on the male mermaid.

Jiang Mian closed his eyes and fell asleep.

—

Jiang Mian, admittedly, had a good night’s sleep. He woke up from a deep sleep, like a sun-drenched plant, his whole body was warm.

He stretched comfortably, wondering what time it was and why the bed beneath him fit so well… 

Jiang Mian suddenly froze.

Raperth hugged him, shook him lovingly, and whispered, “Awake?”

Jiang Mian stared at him blankly and asked, “I… How long have I been asleep?”

Raperth grinned, and his sharp teeth flashed coldly, “No, not long… it was very short.”

He was telling the truth, even if Jiang Mian slept in his arms until the end of time, he would be willing to do so, and how could a few hours be considered long? He would like Jiang Mian to lie down longer.

Jiang Mian’s bones were weak, and his tongue stumbled, unable to speak. He was like a chocolate man who had been in the palm of his hand for too long, every hard edge had melted into a sticky mess, and he just wanted to drip all over Raperth… No, forbid, forbid such thoughts!

He realized with desperation that Raperth’s arms were wrapped around his side, and his large, powerful palms were covering his tailbone, almost squeezing his rear end with one hand.

——Mermaids really could lift you up with one hand, couldn’t they?

The thought made him choke, and Raperth stared at Jiang Mian with burning golden eyes, his nostrils twitching as he inhaled as much of his mate’s scent as he could.

What had happened? Pearl’s scent was sweeter. He could smell the impending fever surging just beneath his mate’s skin, like ripe sweet fruit, honey soaked in human spice. It made every inch of Raperth’s muscles ache with tightness and his fangs tingle with restlessness.

He couldn’t help but hold tighter, and Jiang Mian was forced to move closer, their breaths mingling and the tips of their noses on the verge of brushing against each other’s cheeks… The feeling of being hunted was so strong that Jiang Mian hurriedly stopped Raperth’s chest with his arms and said aloud in a panic, “I’m hungry! I’m… I’m going to eat!”

Hungry?

The male mermaid froze, it was logical that the first time Jiang Mian ate, his degenerated organs took more time to absorb the nutrients of raw meat, slowly, the more and better he ate, the stronger the mermaid’s organs became, until he resumed his normal eating and eating frequency.

He’s hungry now, how? Is there some sign coming up that I didn’t notice, or am I being remiss?

Raperth sat up in fright and loosened his grip in a heartbeat, trying to hold Jiang Mian’s face for closer inspection. Taking advantage of this, Jiang Mian moved from the mermaid’s arms.

“I’ll go to the dining room first!” Jiang Mian fled, afraid to turn his head back, and afraid to take the paper and pen.

Raperth, whose reaction time was lightning fast, was able to rip up a group of sprinting white sharks, but might not be able to catch a Jiang Mian intent on escape. he stared blankly at his mate’s back, ear fins flapping twice, a frustrated gurgle in his throat.

Cunning little Fluffy, next time, next time I’ll be sure to… 

Raperth wanted to go after him, but he knew better than to rush and push too hard, so he rested his chin on the terrace unhappily and sullenly tapped the water with his big tail.

Jiang Mian, who escaped to the cafeteria, was still a bit stunned and kept wiping his sweat with his sleeve. In fact, he was lying, he didn’t know what happened, he obviously went a day without water and rice, but he just didn’t feel hungry. Jiang Mian wanted to go to the doctor to check, but according to the current situation of the Institute, the doctor may not be as reliable as he himself… 

Jiang Mian walked through the wide, empty dining room, without a gap in the cloud marble floor tile was originally smooth as a mirror, now hanging mist of water droplets, but also reflected the silhouette of people.

Even if he was not hungry, he had to force himself to eat something.n’

He absentmindedly walked to the pickup counter, still using the back of his hand to keep his cheeks cool. After grabbing his plate, Jiang Mian walked to the snack area and was about to reach out when he remembered he forgot to wear gloves and turned around to pull disposable gloves… 

——The chef was already standing behind him unnoticed, half of his face covered by a mask, showing only a pair of dark, bottomless eyes.

Jiang Mian’s breathing stagnated, his hands shook, and his plate almost fell to the floor.

Seeing Jiang Mian’s eyes widen, the chef asked in a low voice, “What would you like to eat?”

Jiang Mian, “I, you, this…”

He gasped for a moment, smoothed his mind, and carefully observed the bizarre chef’s situation, seeing him just staring at him, his eyes dark and frightening, the gaze was actually a bit sullen-like.

Jiang Mian hesitantly asked, “Do you make whatever I want to eat?”

Without hesitation, the chef replied, “I will make whatever you want to eat.”

Jiang Mian, “…”

How bad was the infection of the Immortal Water? How could even the back kitchen be affected? Did the agent enter the Institute’s water circulation system directly?

Jiang Mian frowned deeply, it was like a big net, using the aqua-red immortal water as the net rope, using the first infected senior management of the institute as the node, gradually spreading and wrapping the whole institute.

The fog didn’t dissipate, and the air was filled with the smell of water, if any, and he was so hot that he couldn’t help but tug at his collar to free his neck.

According to Raperth’s ability, he may not be unable to do this, but the mermaid nature was intense, used to a straightforward social style, and disdain for human power and wealth… Even if he flooded the Institute with Immortal Water, what good would it do?

If Raperth didn’t do it, then it was the uncontrollable behavior of the researcher who fell into the hallucination that led to this result.

Jiang Mian was puzzled. In any case, professionals like cooks and healers were much more innocent than the top brass, and he had to speak to Raperth about it to see if there was any way to unlock the blood poison.

They also work in the Institute, and signed a confidentiality agreement with harsh terms, but these people’s hands were not stained with mermaid blood, after all. When Raperth’s revenge operation was over and they left the Institute, Jiang Mian still hoped that innocent people would be left untouched.

“No need,” he said softly, “I… I’m not hungry, I’ll just get something to eat.”

Strangely, when he said “I’m not hungry” to the chef, Jiang Mian’s eyes couldn’t help but wander, and he actually felt a little bit of weakness.

The chef stared at him with a strange look, as if he was saying “I knew it”, and Jiang Mian was so uncomfortable by his look that he couldn’t resist the condemnation of his conscience.