He and It Chapter 8: The King’s Pearl (8)

Chapter 8: The King’s Pearl (8)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey, getting the popcorn ready

 

After coming up from underneath, Jiang Mian stood in the center of the crowd at the experiment station, trying to hide his inner restlessness.

“There’s no doubt that the mermaid is learning. You all heard it, it corrected one of the feeders’ personal pronouns by replacing ‘you’ with ‘me’.”

“What did that female individual say six years ago? We did tens of millions of words of written accounts, research papers around it, and back and forth around that twenty days of video material after it died, and it didn’t manifest that!”

“That was Dr. Jiang’s project, we can only say that he was too unique, and unique and stubborn, not even giving us old guys a little chance.”

Having heard the unkind comments about his adoptive father over several murmurs, Jiang Mian didn’t immediately open his mouth to defend himself, or to fight back; he had learned his lesson. So he just controlled his face and slowly drew in a breath, covering the back of his right hand with his left hand in passing, where the skin was still glowing with a constant heat that didn’t dissipate at all.

Fabian’s gray-blue eyes glanced downward, catching his small movement in their full glory.

“She— I mean the female mermaid from six years ago… she hadn’t made a sound since she was brought back to the Institute.” Jiang Mian restrained the uncomfortable feeling, “Even during… during the experiments, it was the same.”

Someone grunted lightly, “Yeah, that’s pretty weird for a livestock with an intact voice and undamaged vocal cords.”

Fabian shrugged, smiling warmly, “Let bygones be bygones, what matters most is always the present.”

He turned to Jiang Mian, the curve of his smile still soft, “Mr. Jiang, ignoring your disgusting enough interactions to put normal people to shame, I think you can certainly teach the experimental subject human language.”

Turning to the others, he asserted, “In my opinion, its value cannot be limited to the laboratory. In the near future, we will certainly need a road map, a navigator, or, perhaps, a key to the real treasure trove. What do you say, gentlemen?”

Jiang Mian didn’t move a muscle, and a vicious chill instantly rushed through his body, turning all his earlier joy into a sickening feeling of revulsion.

After a moment of silence, Dr. Brown sighed and spoke hungrily on behalf of the group of scholars behind him, “What else can we say? One mermaid is still too small and too few. The blood samples collected earlier are just about used up. Did you get permission from the group to cut it, Dr. Fabian?”

The German shook his head regretfully, “I’m sorry, Dr. Brown, as you know, the Group’s executive officers will be arriving in the next few days, and until then we still have to ensure the integrity of the experimental subjects.”

“Hypocrisy!” The scholar accused with a face full of disgust, then turned to Jiang Mian, “So, young man, you go ahead and do that! Teach the experimental body to speak human, we’re bound to have to use some of the information it provides at the moment of need.”

Jiang Mian’s cheeks flushed an unnatural red, and some might have misread his performance as exuberance at being entrusted with an important task, but he himself knew that the feeling had come back — the feeling of being squeezed hard, of being forcibly shaped, of having fought against it all his life — it had come back.

In full view of the crowd, Jiang Mian slowly clenched his right hand and, without looking up, simply whispered, “…I understand.”

—

And so, in addition to being a handler and observer, Jiang Mian took on the role of Raperth’s language teacher.

But after calming down, Jiang Mian’s instincts told him that something was wrong, very wrong.

It was certainly not the first time that the executive officers of the Sigma Group had visited the Institute. In those years when Jiang Pingyang was still alive, the leaders of this behemoth had visited many times for the presence of the female mermaid, and each time, Jiang Pingyang had kept him in his apartment or sent him to do some other insignificant work.

It was a form of protection and an insurance policy that Jiang Pingyang understood his adopted son and Jiang Mian understood his adopted father equally well.

But nearly ten days after Raperth’s capture day, the big shots came late to the Institute, “arriving in a few days”…

It was impossible to say they didn’t care, and Jiang Mian could never forget how the last mermaid had been extracted, maimed and destroyed to get enough blood and flesh from her to develop the so-called “Immortal Water” — The legend said it could cure major diseases and even greatly extend life.

Thanks to the powerful self-healing function of the mermaids, not to mention the group’s top management, even the most prestigious directors and doctors in the research institute all had a little Immortal Water. Jiang Mian witnessed that many of the elite scholars who should have finished their last journey in the intensive care unit miraculously reappeared in the research institute, and gradually took a certain say in matters concerning mermaids.

So, did they attach too much importance to the project, or was there a problem within the group that forced them to delay the date of the visit?

Subconsciously, Jiang Mian preferred to believe in the latter possibility.

“Concentrate, concentrate.” Raperth sniffed the air and said slowly.

His expression was indifferent, but a light of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes. The little human’s mood was shifting intensely again, and he had been alone in his own world for a while now. He was hating something, which led to a hot and spicy smell emanating from his skin, stimulating the mermaid’s senses; he was grieving something else at the same time, so his smell was mixed with a lot of dull coolness, like the dusk after the rain.

Perhaps the elders of the king’s court were right when they said that humans were creatures immersed in dreams. Contrary to mermaids, human thoughts permeate everything, more swift and unpredictable than their movements, such a fragile body, but carrying such a complex and chaotic mind, no wonder they were always unsatisfied, always sullen.

Jiang Mian instantly returned to his senses, and the notebook in his hand shook, “…Sorry! I just got a little lost in thought.”

“What were you thinking about?” The mermaid narrowed his eyes, “You should only be thinking about me.”

Jiang Mian raised his eyebrows in surprise, his face heating up a bit. Wow, wow, this is really straightforward and bold… 

He cleared his throat and corrected himself covertly, “You mean I should focus on teaching, yes, that’s right.”

Raperth looked at him slyly, and doggedly drew back, “Focus on me.”

Jiang Mian, “…Okay.”

Perhaps for reasons of observation, the feeding opening had expanded considerably, though it still couldn’t accommodate the passage of the mermaid’s massive body, though Raperth had been able to rest his arm on the edge of the pool.

Remembering the first time he saw such a scene, Jiang Mian put his open notebook over the bridge of his nose and stole several glances — the sinful elbow fins, like wet muslin, clinging to the thick muscular line, really called for the mind to fill a few large glasses of water to relieve the pressure of thirst, hmmmmm… 

…No, this isn’t the time to think wildly.

The youth fiddled with the old fountain pen in his hand, unconsciously fondling its lacquered cap. In the silence, he suddenly realized that Raperth was still waiting for him to answer the question, perhaps the mermaid was such a relentless hunter that any anchor he threw had to be responded to in a solid manner.

Jiang Mian tensed up for no apparent reason, and like a schoolboy facing an accompanying test, he went to his mind in a panic, urgently grasping at an impulsive thought, one that had been hovering for a long time in confusion.

“So… Raperth?”

The mermaid stared at him.

“If you would allow me, could you tell me…” Jiang Mian stumbled, hoping that this small talk would pass unscathed under the watchful eye of all, “Of course, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to answer at all, and please forgive my rudeness…”

It’s just a little social problem, get over it! Jiang Mian ordered himself, his head in a tizzy, the words coming out in rapid succession, his lips seemingly separated from his body until the volume got lower and lower, almost turning into a shaky grunt.

“I mean, I’m really curious, you know… there’s such a difference in the physiology of mermaids and humans, it’s like — we walk on land, and you guys can breathe underwater. You see, the skeleton and muscles of mermaids are so much more complex than humans, and the physical abilities and endurance are incomparable…”

Jiang Mian choked for a moment, and the more he said, the more he felt how inexplicable he was, and how ill-thought out his impromptu ideas were. His face turned red, as he was feeling completely chagrined.

Why do you always learn not to control your emotions, and when you get nervous, you have to say some long-winded and stupid things?

Finally, his volume went to zero, and Jiang Mian slowly closed his mouth and looked at Raperth in shame, not daring to meet his deep golden eyes.

“…Forget it,” he murmured, “I… Pretend I didn’t do anything…”

I can hear you thinking aloud as you move, Raperth’s eyes widen as he examined him boldly. Poor thing, you don’t even have the courage to ask. If this was the sea kingdom, how would you survive? I’m afraid I’d really have to be a little pearl, worn by me day and night to do so.

“Tell me straight.” Raperth spoke succinctly, “I forgive you.”

“How did you get caught?” Jiang Mian blurted out.

“Hey! Conversation aborted!” Ted risked his life against Fabian’s cloudy gaze and snatched up the communicator, his voice as loud as thunder, “You touched the ground, man! Get back to business now!”

Jiang Mian was startled, the suddenly disturbed mermaid’s face simultaneously grim and lightning-like, turning to the high viewport. His broad shoulders bulged, his lips turned up, his sharp fangs bared, and he was about to burst out of his chest with a bloodthirsty roar—

“Yes, yes!” Jiang Mian shouted, “Sorry, right back to business! Don’t be impulsive, okay?”

The warning lights began to glow red, and the underwater CIWS system activated swiftly again, pointing directly at the mermaid’s back. He could care less, as he hurriedly leaned down and grabbed the back of his opponent’s taut hand, feeling Raperth’s muscles hard and unbeatable, more than steel alloy, “We’ve delayed too much, it’s time to learn, learn… Let’s not talk about anything else, okay?”

He pleaded, the mermaid’s nose moved, and through close observation, Jiang Mian could clearly see how his deep dark diamond-shaped pupils were rapidly expanding, then engulfing large swaths of burning copper-gold, transforming the eyes into two black holes that wanted to devour people.

To look into such a pair of eyes was like gazing into the abyss itself.

Jiang Mian anxiously complained, seeing that the mermaid didn’t move, but also didn’t restrain his gesture of attack, he had to grit his teeth, determined to pull off a rubber glove, the palm of his hand quickly touching Raperth’s cold, smooth skin.

The effect was immediate, and Raperth drew a sharp breath, and his cheek lines fluttered unnaturally for a while.

He slowly loosened his erect fins and turned his head to stare at Jiang Mian again, a soothing purr escaping his throat.

You’re scared? Don’t be afraid, no one here is qualified to make you afraid.

…It’s so hot, it’s like a burn.

Jiang Mian breathed deeply, the sensation of impending melting making his vision lax and his throat tickle. He didn’t know how his contact with the mermaid could trigger such an unusual chemical reaction, and he couldn’t figure out if the strange stirring was due to species differences, or psychological reasons, or some other allergic reaction, but it worked, so he used it.

Jiang Mian tried his best to hold back the dizzying after-effects and forced a small smile.

I know, thank you.

The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated and Ted put his mind at ease, drying the sweat off his back and muttering, “Fuck…”

Then, half warning, half reminding, he said to Jiang Mian, “Watch your mouth, handler! There will be no next time!”

In the past, Jiang Mian wouldn’t have had the good fortune to get away with it, too many people have died in the Institute for saying the wrong thing. This was the critical period, the mermaid and the mermaid’s caretaker were the focus of attention, so Jiang Mian was spared.

Jiang Mian’s lips moved slightly, trembling with a long breath. Even though the imminent crisis was lifted, his belly was about to cramp up and his stomach twisted into a ball.

The air had become really stuffy and sticky… It was time to stop touching and pull back his hand! He screamed in his mind, however, Jiang Mian’s bones were like cooked noodles, and the wet sweat was like glue, sticking him tightly to the male mermaid, moving every inch with difficulty, like he was fondling him.

Eyes like magnets, the longer they stared at each other, the more Jiang Mian could see how Raperth’s expression, and physical state was changing.

He was no longer so angry, so eager to kill, but his demeanor was more tense… His hungry eyes widened, a rosy flush of heat that swiftly swept across the mermaid’s pale cheekbones and surged beneath the diamond-glittering skin.

Raperth’s fin bones curled together involuntarily as he flicked his long tail, his arm seeming to jerk backwards for a moment before he tore away with difficulty from his contact with Jiang Mian.

“Learn…?” He muttered vaguely.

Jiang Mian had every intention of making amends, but with difficulty swallowing, he had to break the sentence into three stammering paragraphs, “Sure, learn, learn, yes! No problem…”

Raperth looked at him steadily. Learn? What else could he learn? His brain, which he used to hunt and kill and rule over, had already been fully occupied by the human in front of him, and he could only grab a fragment of the human’s conversation with his instinctive ability to imitate and remember.

“…Fuck.”

In the experiment station, someone let out a shocking choking cough.

Jiang Mian froze for a moment before reacting that the mermaid was mimicking Ted’s low curses from earlier, and even the tone was different.

“This… This isn’t what we’re going to learn, no swearing!” The youth choked out, ” Forget about it!”

Hmmm, cute.

Raperth repeated meekly, “Fuck.”

“No!” Jiang Mian cried, “No, no way! Let’s… Let’s just forget the word and not learn the wrong thing!”

Raperth repeated giddily, “Fuck!”

Jiang Mian, “……”

Jiang Mian had just gotten out of one hell and was about to fall into another.

Ted… the mermaid learned it all, and now you’ve contaminated his human vocabulary! Just wait, soon he’ll be able to spontaneously innovate all sorts of cuss words. Look what you’ve done!

Jiang Mian covered his face and was suddenly a bit bewildered by life, he leaned back weakly and also muttered, “Shit…”

The mermaid, however, looked at him with a serious face.

“No swearing.”

Jiang Mian, “?”