Chapter 126: After All, You’re So Beautiful
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“I didn’t die,” Lin Xu said. “I just went to another dimension. I’ve run into the Spiritual Monarch a few times lately, but I haven’t met them face-to-face. Do you think they’ll come to Thales again?”
Lun Yuesheng replied, “They usually visit every few years.”
Lin Xu’s eyes widened. “I want to see them.”
“Ah… well…” Lun Yuesheng looked troubled. “Even though the Spiritual Monarch comes often, we don’t have any way to summon them. They show up when they want and leave just the same.”
“…Alright.” Lin Xu knew this wasn’t something he could force. All he could do was wait for the right moment. For now, he had another concern. “What about the silver-white dragon that was with me before?”
“He was too heavy. We couldn’t move him,” Ji Yu explained. “He’s probably still on the beach. Mr. Lin, may I ask… is that dragon your…”
“He’s mine,” Lin Xu interrupted, pausing for half a beat. “My husband.”
He and Heinrich had been legally married for nearly two weeks now. This was the first time he had used that word aloud. It felt a little strange—but also kind of magical.
“H-He…” Ji Yu stammered. Wasn’t he… a bit too large?
There were mermaids who’d fallen in love with orcas before, but those relationships were almost entirely spiritual. Their bodies simply weren’t compatible. But Lin Xu and a dragon… they had an egg.
Ji Yu thought about it for a long while. The only explanation she could come up with was that the first-generation mermaids must have had extraordinary physical traits—more muscle flexibility, perhaps? Maybe their bodies could accommodate… She didn’t get a chance to finish that confusing mix of science and philosophy. A few shrill mermaid cries shot straight into her mind.
“Steward Ji Yu! Trouble! There’s a dragon crashing around in the ocean! He’s heading this way!”
Heinrich. Lin Xu reacted instantly, his tail whipping as he shot out into the water. “I’m going to him!”
“Mr. Lin!” Ji Yu tried to catch up, but Lin Xu was already gone—faster than an arrow loose from a bowstring. In a flash, he’d vanished beyond the glowing edge of the deep-sea biome, plunging into the black ocean beyond.
Ji Yu was a deep-sea homebody, practically a recluse. Most other merfolk lived in the shallows, where sunlight still reached. But in just a few minutes, Lin Xu surged from the depths to the sunlit shallows, diving straight into the heart of the mermaid settlement.
He didn’t even need to see the dragon yet. The tremors from Heinrich’s destruction below were enough to track him. Sunlight filtered through the waves as stirred sand muddied the water, revealing the glimmering crystal layer beneath.
Lin Xu powered through the clouded water, swimming hard toward the source of the shaking. At full speed, he was like a cannonball—leaving a frothy wake of bubbles and rippling trails. Up ahead, the silver-white dragon appeared in his view.
The merfolk didn’t live in centralized cities. Their delicately carved crystal homes were scattered all over the shallow sea. Heinrich’s massive form swept over the seabed and past these homes, eyes scanning restlessly for any sign of Lin Xu. But every curled-up mermaid hiding from him had pale scales. None of them were the black-tailed one he was looking for.
The dragon let out a deep, echoing roar. His wings beat underwater, smashing a colorful coral reef and sending countless fish fleeing in panic. The mermaids scattered in fear from the colossal creature. Suddenly, one of their own darted through the chaos. Most merfolk didn’t catch a clear glimpse of the figure, but as he passed, they saw the strong, sleek flash of a black tail.
“It’s Mr. Lin!” someone cried. The black-tailed mermaid shot straight toward the dragon at full speed. Even when there were only ten meters between them, he didn’t slow down. The watching merfolk saw him spread his arms and slam into the dragon’s neck head-on, like a missile.
The impact was like an underwater explosion. A violent shockwave rippled outward. Merfolk too close were thrown tumbling through the water. The deafening sound rolled through the currents and into their ears.
The dragon was blasted back dozens of meters, clutching his neck as he let out a sharp cry. His wings fanned wide against the current, slowing his momentum. Once he steadied himself, he thrashed, stirring the ocean floor again.
“Alright, Heinrich, that’s enough,” Lin Xu’s voice rang clearly in Heinrich’s mental domain.
The dragon froze. They had long since opened their mental realms to one another, but Lin Xu had never told Heinrich that mental energy could be used directly—without any machines.
It was a rare skill. Even in the tech-advanced Empire, using mental energy without aid was nearly forgotten. People relied so heavily on tech, few ever considered using it directly.
“Try using your mental energy to talk to me.” The dragon lowered his head, nuzzling Lin Xu’s hair with his snout. “Like this?”
“Yeah, I heard you.” Lin Xu stroked the dragon’s scales, checking to make sure the creature hadn’t been hurt by their earlier impact. “You…”
Before Lin Xu could finish, Heinrich spoke directly into the mental domain.
“Lin Xu, you were gone the moment I woke up.” I was so scared.
Heinrich froze at the raw emotion that echoed within the mental link.
Why did I say that out loud? What if Lin Xu thinks I’m too emotional, or that I don’t trust him? But I was really so scared of losing my precious one. Why can’t I stop talking? What if he thinks I’m crazy? What if he thinks dragons are just destructive beasts? I shouldn’t have been so reckless.
Lin Xu…
…
“I…” The dragon lowered his head, meeting Lin Xu’s gaze, completely at a loss.
He didn’t have the years of practice that mermaids did in controlling the mental domain. He couldn’t separate what he wanted to say from what he was thinking, and everything came flooding out all at once—nearly burying whatever Lin Xu had been about to say.
Lin Xu gently kissed the dragon’s silvery snout. His tail swayed lightly, soft and graceful, and the fin brushed against the dragon’s throat.
“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. And even if you do go around wrecking everything, I won’t think less of you,” Lin Xu said, reaching up to touch the dragon’s golden eyes. “After all, you’re so beautiful.”
Why would Lin Xu call me beautiful… Can I even be described that way? He’s the one who’s beautiful…
Hearing the uncensored flood of thoughts from himself, Heinrich squeezed his eyes shut and quickly severed the mental link.
“Heh…”
But he thought he heard a quiet laugh. Heinrich opened his eyes, wanting to see if Lin Xu had actually laughed—but when he looked, Lin Xu still wore that same calm, slightly tender expression. Had he really laughed?
Lin Xu’s voice came through again, this time gently knocking on the mental domain’s high walls. “I was taken to the ocean floor by the mermaids. I’d only just woken up when I saw you.”
As Lin Xu tried to soothe the dragon, a few mermaids swam toward them through the coral ruins. In addition to Ji Yu and Lun Yuesheng, who had finally arrived, out of breath, there were three other mermaids Lin Xu hadn’t seen before.
Although Lin Xu had managed to calm the dragon’s emotions, the five mermaids were still visibly shaken by the ruins around them. They didn’t dare approach too closely and kept at least three meters between themselves and the dragon as they spoke with Lin Xu.
Ji Yu introduced them. “These three are also stewards on duty. After some discussion, we’d like to invite Mr. Lin to stay and rest in Thales for a while. The Spiritual Monarch hasn’t visited in some time, but there’s a chance they may appear soon.”
“I can’t stay long,” Lin Xu replied.
Heinrich’s vacation was limited. Once time ran out, he’d have to return to work with the Abyss Fleet.
“You can still rest for a few days, and make sure your egg is well settled,” Lun Yuesheng said. “It’s currently lacking energy, but the sea crystals on Thales can help replenish it.”
Lin Xu wasn’t surprised they knew about his physical condition. Now that they brought up the egg, it actually seemed like a good opportunity to ask—surely the mermaid race would be more experienced in these matters.
“I’ve never… laid an egg before. How long is the usual gestation for mermaids? And what should I be aware of after it’s laid?”
That was a long topic to explain. Ji Yu wanted to help him find a place to stay first and then send a more experienced mermaid to explain everything. But since the dragon had been clinging to Lin Xu this whole time, they needed a more open space.
In the end, Ji Yu chose the Blue Sea Plaza, the gathering place used by the mermaids for important discussions.
On the way to the plaza, another steward—one who was more articulate—swam alongside Lin Xu, explaining the history of the mermaid race as if giving a formal report. Lin Xu held onto the dragon’s neck as they swam forward, listening as the steward spoke.
Thales had originally been a scorching planet covered in lava. After bringing the mermaids from Earth, the Spiritual Monarch had transformed the entire world. First, they infused the planet with seawater and energy. The combination of water, silicon, and high temperatures caused crystal mines to form across the surface. Later, the Spiritual Monarch introduced plants, animals, and fish to populate the world.
The Spiritual Monarch then altered Thales’ gravity and dragged an asteroid into orbit to serve as a moon, imitating the function of a sun-bound satellite. Finally, the Monarch cast a divine descent barrier over Thales, shielding the mermaid race from extraterrestrial interference.
The vast energy the Spiritual Monarch had poured into the sea infused every drop of water on the planet with magical vitality. The sea crystals growing from the ocean floor were pure concentrations of that energy.
Mermaids lived exceptionally long lives but reproduced slowly. Even without war or disease, only about ten thousand merfolk existed on Thales after several millennia. The planet’s energy remained in a constant cycle of renewal under the law of conservation, rendering it inexhaustible.
With no worries about food or shelter, and a small population supported by abundant resources, war had long faded into the realm of myth.
The divine barrier disabled all electronic equipment, but the merfolk had never developed metallurgy, much less electronics. The inability to use electronic communication simply wasn’t a concern for them.
Perhaps it was a lesson learned from ancient Earth’s downfall, or maybe it was the nature of Thales’ environment, but the mermaid race had never needed advanced technology. Their civilization remained largely primitive—except in one area: crystal carving.
When Lin Xu and the others arrived at Azure Sea Plaza, Ji Yu went to invite a highly respected elder—a mer who was said to have witnessed the birth of over a hundred mermaids. While they waited, Lin Xu had the chance to study the magnificent and ornate architecture surrounding him.
Azure Sea Plaza sat in the shallows, with its tallest carved pillars reaching just three meters below the ocean’s surface. The entire structure was made of crystal and shimmered like starlight beneath the sunlit waters.
According to the merfolk steward, any mermaid who believed they had talent in carving could contribute to the construction of the plaza after passing an evaluation. Over the course of three thousand years, the plaza’s surfaces had been adorned with exquisite relief carvings, and countless delicate crystal statues now stood around its perimeter.
The plaza served as the primary gathering place for the merfolk. With their peaceful way of life, the species had little need for governance. The rare matters requiring attention were handed over to a steward—chosen by lottery—who served a ten-year term.
Because it was random, the draw sometimes selected individuals like Ji Yu, a socially anxious mer forced into duty despite their nature. The plaza was large enough to accommodate Heinrich’s full dragon form.
Lin Xu and the steward sat together on the steps while Heinrich rested his head near Lin Xu’s tail, blowing bubbles from his nostrils at a slow, rhythmic pace. After a short while, Ji Yu returned, bringing the elder mermaid with him.
Author’s Note:
The fish swam over—bonk.
Dragon: “The weight of my wife’s love… is immense.”
This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.
