Techniques and Dao

Chapter 171 The Mermaid Points the Way
Although she was standing far away, the sudden scene still startled Hua Sheng so much that she fell to the ground.

The woman who surfaced had golden curly hair and was almost naked from the waist up, with only two white seashells attached to her chest.

The blonde foreign woman then submerged her body in the sea, leaving only her head above water.

Even if only her head was visible, it was perfectly concealed by Jian's large magic robe.

Hua Sheng touched his heart and said, "I was really scared just now! If that woman in the sea hadn't glanced this way, I would have thought it was a corpse."

Mieying quickly nodded and said, "That's right! Jian was already in the act of summoning spirits, how could it not be scary?"

But upon closer inspection, the woman in the sea was surprisingly beautiful.

However, the sound she made when she opened her mouth was unusually high-pitched, like a hissing dolphin's call. Although Hanamori couldn't understand what she was saying, he was certain it wasn't French, English, or any other human language.

Jane lowered her head and talked to the woman in the sea.

After exchanging only two words, the blonde woman caught a glimpse of Mie Ying on the beach out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly dove into the sea like a mouse seeing a cat.

Jane turned around, waved at Mie Ying, and said, "Hey! Mie Ying, don't stand in the back, stay away from us!"

Mie Ying was somewhat dissatisfied upon hearing this.

"What! Am I taking up your air by standing here?"

Jane cried out, “She says you’re a big bird that eats fish. She’s scared.”

Mieying replied, "She's not a fish, what's there to be afraid of?"

Jane said, "She's a mermaid! You'd better get out of here, or you'll scare her away and I won't be able to find out the angel's address!"

Mieying seemed to have a grudge against the way the mermaid expressed herself. She pointed to Huasheng next to her and said, "Then he is Fengling. Isn't a phoenix a bird? She's not afraid."

Jane said, "The merman said that birds like him don't eat fish, but birds like yours might."

Mieying wanted to lash out, but in the end she pouted and backed away, muttering to herself, "She's just a barbarian woman, pretending to be some shrimp soldier or crab general from the Dragon Palace."

Hua Sheng then said, "I have heard that mermaids are beautiful women. They have the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a fish tail. It seems that they do exist in the sea. I've heard before that they can lure sailors and lead merchant ships astray..."

"Look at you men! You only care about looks."

Hua Sheng quickly stopped when he saw that the discussion had turned to a topic that was not in his best interest. He walked to the side, squatted down, and pretended to pick up pebbles.

After Mieying stood far away, the mermaid floated back up.

After speaking with Jane for a short while, the mermaid flipped over, revealing half of her white-gold scales on her tail, and disappeared into the sea.

Jane returned, her magic robe still damp, and said, "Go towards Masséna, which is in the direction of Place Masséna. There's a small market nearby, and after passing through the market, there's a road leading uphill. Just walk along the sea for a while, and you'll get there. We don't need to drive; we can ride bicycles."

"Fine! I want to ride a bicycle!"

Seeing the bicycles parked on the seaside avenue, Mieying was eager to try them out.

So the three of them walked back from the seawall to the main road and rented three bicycles by the roadside.

Hua Sheng, Mie Ying, and Jian rode their bicycles northward along the coastline, accompanied by the clanging of trams passing through the city.

Place Masséna is bordered by Nice's Old Town to the south and Avenue Jean-Médesande to the north. Built in 1840, the square largely retains its 18th-century design.

In the center of the square stood a huge white sculpture fountain. After passing the fountain, the three arrived at the Old Town Market. At the market, Mie Ying insisted on buying a transparent glass bottle from a stall and put it in his backpack.

At the end of Anglo Street next to Angel Bay is a hill called Albertburg, which can be reached by climbing uphill.

Looking down from the mountain road, the Bay of Angels with its perfect curve and the entire beautiful old town of Nice come into view.

After crossing the more crowded front of the mountain, the three of them left the crowds and walked onto a slightly muddy country path.

A few more steps and they couldn't even ride their bicycles anymore. The three of them had no choice but to park their bikes and continue on foot.

As Hua Sheng walked, he asked, "Jian, have you been here before?"

“No. But there is a legend that an angel lives on Mount Nice. He is the closest angel I know of to live among us,” Jane replied.

Why does this angel usually live among humans?

"Because they betrayed God's will. Therefore..."

Upon hearing this, Mieying said, "Isn't this serious enough to make someone a traitor? Does it mean this angel has a problem with his character?"

“It went against God’s will. That’s why it fell.” Jane rested her chin on her hand and thought for a while. “The mermaid just told me that this angel fell because he fell in love with a human woman, and that’s why he was banished from heaven.”

Upon hearing this, Mieying immediately asked, "Isn't that very similar to the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?"

"Weaver Girl? Cowherd? Sounds like a story between a textile worker and a nightclub hostess?" Jane asked, frowning. "It seems like the two lovers come from very different backgrounds. I guess it must be a very bumpy love story."

Hua Sheng quickly explained, "The story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is indeed quite bumpy, but it's not the kind of bumpy story you're describing, where a textile worker falls in love with a nightclub hostess."

What became of them?

Hua Sheng thought for a moment and said, "It's really not good. Even now, the two of them can only meet once a year on Qixi Festival."

Jane shook her head and said, "That's just how reality is. There's a reason why you Easterners value marriage between people of similar social standing. It's very difficult for a relationship between people from vastly different social classes to have a happy ending."

"You're only fifteen, don't act like you've seen it all," Hua Sheng said.

Jane continued, "It's not just in the East. According to the Book of Enoch, there are about two hundred fallen angels hidden in this world. Most of these angels betrayed Heaven for love, but their fates on Earth are mostly tragic. I don't know if it's worth sacrificing so much for so-called love."

"Why are those angels so pitiful?"

"The fall is a one-way street of despair; once you leave Heaven, there is no going back. And after living in the human world, most people face various practical problems, which will exhaust the love they once had. Some of them do not live together for long. Others leave because their spouses are ill or have a short lifespan, leaving the angels to secretly live in seclusion in the human world, experiencing endless loneliness."

Hua Sheng casually asked, "Why doesn't that angel find another one? Given her qualities, it shouldn't be too difficult for her to remarry, right?"

Upon hearing this, Mieying nudged him in the waist with her elbow.

Before Hua Sheng could even cry out in pain, Jian said, "After all, there are many kinds of fallen angels. If they haven't fallen into demonhood like Lucifer, they actually retain the simple personality of an angel. This is the current situation of most fallen angels."

Mieying said to Huasheng, "Look, look, she is an angel after all. Huasheng, don't judge an angel with the mind of a scumbag."

Hua Sheng wanted to argue a few more points.

Suddenly, Jane said, "It should be here."

(End of this chapter)