Feasibility of Mermaids Infiltrating Qilin

"Hiss!" Zhang Shengchun couldn't help but touch his arm, which was covered in goosebumps.

"So how did you get home?"

Zhang Heshan remained silent: "I was swallowed up by those insects, and then I discovered that those ugly insects all had a face that I recognized. These faces, whether familiar or ones I had only seen once, were all calling my name."

"There were so many bugs, some even had more than a dozen with the same face. The more familiar I was with someone, the more faces appeared. In the end, I suddenly realized that I myself had become a bug."

"When I saw my reflection in the insect's compound eyes, I suddenly realized that there was no Zhang Heshan at all, and I was just an insect living here."

"After I accepted this fact, I gradually lost consciousness, and when I woke up again, I was at my doorstep."

Even just listening in, Zhang Shengchun felt a chill run down his spine; one can only imagine how terrified Zhang Heshan and the others who experienced it firsthand must have been.

"It sounds like a nightmare."

Zhang Heshan's voice was hoarse: "I've thought about this possibility, but... it's too real."

He rolled up his sleeves, and Su Xingze and the other two could see the numerous bite marks on his hands.

“These are the marks left by the venomous snakes that turned into trees. These wounds are so real, it’s not a dream, it’s definitely not a dream.”

Looking at the wounds, Zhang Shengchun couldn't say that he had just had a nightmare.

“Your uncles and elders will definitely go to the back mountain to investigate and see what’s going on. Heshan, you can’t let fear get the better of you.”

"The snake wounds are real, but that doesn't mean your experience is real. Perhaps you were poisoned by snake venom, and it's all just your hallucination."

Zhang Shenglin looked down at the wound on Zhang Heshan's arm.

The little mermaid has scales and a tail, and the snake also has scales and a tail. Could it be that the little mermaid instructed the venomous snake to bite?

"Snapped!"

The little mermaid next to him patted his thigh, and Zhang Shenglin turned his head and asked with his eyes.

Su Xingze gave a forced smile: "I have a feeling you're thinking something rather impolite."

Zhang Shenglin remained silent, unable to offer any explanation.

His reaction said it all; Su Xingze glared at him.

After signing the contract with Zhang Shenglin, the two could vaguely sense each other's thoughts due to the connection between the contracts.

The contract is two-way, and it was modified by Su Xingze from the contracts he once possessed and the system-bound contracts. The connection brought about by the contract is passive.

The more trust there is between the two parties, the stronger the connection becomes; conversely, the less trust there is, the weaker the connection becomes.

This is why Zhang Shenglin is becoming increasingly at ease with the little mermaid.

After recounting the terrifying night he experienced, Zhang Heshan's expression improved considerably, or perhaps he was leaning towards Zhang Shengchun's theory of hallucinations.

At this moment, Zhang Shengxue also brought in steaming hot tea.

"How was your conversation?"

Su Xingze looked at her overly natural expression, as if she wasn't the one who had stood at the door for a long time until Zhang Heshan finished explaining everything before coming in.

The Zhang family are all movie stars.

Su Xingze relabeled the Zhang family.

Zhang Shengxue poured a cup of hot tea for everyone, not even sparing her eldest nephew who was huddled in the corner of the bed.

Beside Zhang Heshan's bed was a small table. Zhang Shengxue placed a teacup and some freshly baked pastries on it and said earnestly to her nephew:

“Heshan, our Zhang family’s heritage dictates that we must deal with these things. This may be a bit frightening for you, who is encountering something like this for the first time, but as a descendant of the Zhang family, this is your destiny.”

Zhang Heshan nodded with a pale face: "Auntie, I understand."

Zhang Shengxue raised her hand and touched his head, a gesture she hadn't made since he was two years old.

The Zhang family members are all precocious. Although they are not born with knowledge, they all have a complete sense of self-awareness at a very young age.

"Just have a good talk with your friend and don't overthink it."

Zhang Shengxue gave a few more instructions, and while the aunt and nephew were talking, Su Xingze held his teacup and sipped his tea.

While drinking, she didn't forget to remind the children to drink too.

Although it's called tea, it's actually a medicinal drink made from dozens of herbs that have the effects of invigorating yang, replenishing qi, and strengthening the body's foundation. However, instead of the bitterness of the herbs, it has an exceptionally sweet taste.

The specially made potion was so delicious that Su Xingze could taste it.

Children can drink more of this; it's good for their health.

Su Xingze and the others didn't stay long with Zhang Heshan. The child wasn't very familiar with Zhang Heshan either, and Zhang Shengchun and Su Xingze chatted the whole time.

Seeing that it was almost time, Zhang Shengchun bid farewell to Zhang Heshan.

Zhang Shengchun's house and the child's house were not in the same direction, so the three of them parted ways at the door.

Once it was just the two of them, Su Xingze noticed that the child was noticeably more at ease.

Once they were alone, Su Xingze reverted to his mermaid form, shrunk down, and flew to the child's shoulder to slack off.

"Will Zhang Heshan be in trouble?" The child didn't care what would happen to Zhang Heshan, but he was afraid that the little mermaid would be discovered because of this.

Su Xingze was braiding the child's slightly longer hair when he heard this and assumed the child was worried about his clansmen, so he pulled the hair in his hand fiercely.

Hearing the child's whimpering sound, he loosened his grip and did not deny that he had done it: "Didn't I already say it was just a hallucination? He's a coward, and he was so frightened that his energy was depleted. He'll be fine after a few days of weakness."

"Besides, with all the supplements his family prepared for him, you might see him at the clan school tomorrow."

Remembering the snake bite-like wound on Zhang Heshan's hand, the child asked curiously, "A hallucination?"

"It's just a hallucination, but this hallucination is a bit bizarre and dangerous."

He created a bizarre illusion; so what if it's a little bizarre?

"Little Qilin." Su Xingze looked around at the surroundings. "Isn't this the house where you exchanged things last time?"

Is the child going to need another dressing change today?

The child nodded and went into the yard.

There was still someone guarding the courtyard, but it wasn't the same person they had seen before.

The child walked up to the unknown Zhang family member and said his name.

"Zhang Shenglin, three months."

The Zhang family member glanced at the child, then went into the house. When he came out again, he handed the child a package and a small money bag.

On his way home, Su Xingze took advantage of his small size to thoroughly inspect the package from top to bottom.

"It's clothes, three sets, you even give out clothes? The quality is pretty good, and there's also a winter set, much better than what you were wearing before."

Su Xingze calculated the date and was quite puzzled: "It's neither the New Year nor a holiday, why would I give you new clothes?"

The child usually answers all the little mermaid's questions, and this time was no exception.

"It's a stipend from the family. As an orphan of the Zhang family, I receive a monthly allowance and three sets of new clothes every year." These things will be distributed until I start being released into the wild. After that, I will need to support myself.

"Monthly allowance?" I didn't expect that this family, which is so ruthless to its own children, would provide such good welfare to the orphans in the family who have no parents.