Feasibility of Mermaids Infiltrating Qilin

The Zhang Family Mansion is a typical northern building, lacking the exquisite and beautiful garden landscapes of southern China. However, this vast mansion also boasts many beautiful and romantic scenes.

For example, a peach tree not far from their home.

It is said that decades ago, a gluttonous boy from the Zhang family stole a peach here and threw the pit into the corner of the wall. Decades later, the pit grew into a tall peach tree.

It was the season when peach blossoms were in full bloom, and Su Xingze suddenly remembered that this peach tree was a rare bright spot in the Zhang family's home, and he thought of the sour fruit that the peach tree bore.

So I strolled here with my child, ready to enjoy this beautiful sight of falling petals one last time.

However, they were not the only ones with this idea. While most of the boys who would come to the peach tree were still at the clan school, a young couple was whispering sweet nothings to each other amidst the falling pink petals.

Perhaps the scene was just too beautiful, because the two boys, one tall and one short, embraced and kissed passionately.

Unexpectedly, there were people here. Caught off guard, Su Xingze saw them kissing and was momentarily stunned, forgetting to look away.

Suddenly, a pair of hands covered his eyes. Zhang Shenglin glanced at the two people under the peach tree, his expression indifferent as if he had seen two little birds pecking at each other.

Zhang Shenglin half-embraced the little mermaid who was trying to pry his hand away, and only let go when the area where the peach tree could no longer be seen.

Knowing there was no gossip to see, Su Xingze looked disappointed.

Life at the Zhang family's house was so routine and monotonous that after a while, he even had the illusion that he was practicing Buddhism while still keeping his hair.

It was rare to encounter a couple in love, and Su Xingze was genuinely curious.

He only caught a glimpse before the little Qilin covered his eyes, but he still managed to see that the two people under the peach tree were both men.

It's a guy!

Su Xingze enjoyed chatting with Zhang Shengchun because he always brought out all sorts of fresh and interesting gossip, which was a complete source of joy during his monotonous training.

From Zhang Shengchun, he learned that due to endogamy and the scarcity of women within the clan, there were actually quite a few same-sex couples living together within the Zhang family. The clan might not be unaware of these things, but as long as they didn't come to light, the clan would turn a blind eye.

When Su Xingze first heard about this, he was quite shocked by the Zhang family's openness.

Despite being a feudal family that stubbornly insisted on endogamy, they actually tacitly approved of same-sex couples within the family.

In the eyes of those stubborn clan elders, it's probably better for family members to stay together than for them to stay with outsiders and cause blood to flow out.

Anyway, the Zhang family doesn't have that many women, so it won't affect anything if they just get together internally among the same sex.

Su Xingze recalled the appearance of the two people he had just seen.

The two people kissing under the peach tree were both quite young. He knew all the boys who trained with them at the clan school, but these two looked unfamiliar to him. They must have been some of the boys who had left the clan school long ago to complete their wild release test.

The two were probably around eighteen or nineteen years old. The one on top had the Zhang family's unique "tomb raiding finger" style, but when Su Xingze recalled the fingers on the shoulder of the person he was holding, he confirmed that neither of their index or middle fingers was longer.

That person did not have the "tomb-hunting finger".

Su Xingze also did not practice the Fa Qiu Finger technique; in the Zhang family, his situation was actually an exception.

He wasn't actually a member of the Zhang family; he merely used the blood of a Zhang family child who died in Sizhou City as a medium, employing cognitive interference to make the Zhang family accept his identity.

He wasn't interested in the ability to "demonstrate the tormentor" that was obtained through self-torture. He casually found an opportunity to lead his martial arts teacher to believe that he wasn't suitable for practicing the "demonstrate the tormentor," and the teacher didn't force him to practice it.

According to his observation, apart from him, all the Zhang family children who entered the clan school could not escape the training of the tomb raiders.

He recalled how he had curiously gone to spy on the training of the younger Zhang family children, who were only three or four years old and were already being forced to learn the "Tomb Raider" technique.

The screams of the little ones as they were forced to practice their "tomb-slaying" technique by their teacher sent chills down Su Xingze's spine.

Zhang Shenglin had already led Su Xingze away from the area where the peach tree was, but even though Su Xingze knew they couldn't see it anymore, he still couldn't help but look back.

"Ah Lin, is there anyone in the Zhang family who doesn't have the 'Hairpin' technique?"

Zhang Shenglin knew what he was asking, and he also saw the person without the "Father of the Tomb Raider" finger, but he wasn't surprised.

"Yes, none of the Zhang family members who voluntarily gave up training have developed the 'Tomb Raider' technique."

"The Zhang family members who gave up training..."

Su Xingze looked surprised: "Is it the person who lives in that little courtyard?"

Noticing the look in Zhang Shenglin's eyes, Su Xingze realized he had let something slip.

He secretly slipped away to check on that strange little courtyard, but Little Qilin had no idea. As a result, he exposed himself today.

Under Zhang Shenglin's gaze, Su Xingze looked away with a slightly guilty expression.

"I remember that the people in that courtyard were all people abandoned by the Zhang family, and they were not allowed to leave the courtyard normally."

So, did they stumble upon a secret relationship?

Zhang Shenglin silently watched as the little merman changed the subject, secretly noting in his mind that he had sneaked into Wuyuan. Seeing that the little merman was very curious about this, he finally spoke up to explain, "He is not from Wuyuan."

Wuyuan is that small courtyard, where the Zhang family members, who are marginalized, live.

They have no status in the main family and are not allowed to leave the courtyard unless necessary, but they hold many insignificant positions in the main family.

For example, they were responsible for many dirty and tiring jobs that the Zhang family members were unwilling to do, such as cleaning, cooking in the canteen, and washing training uniforms.

Of course, this is only part of their work. There are many more tiring and difficult tasks that also fall on them. They are the lowest-ranking members of the Zhang family.

They have no right to refuse dangerous drug trials, poison trials, or even more undignified situations.

Under the questioning gaze of the little mermaid, Zhang Shenglin recounted an old story.

"His name is Zhang Xiaoye, and his mother was also once an orphan."

The Zhang family has few women, and those who enter the Wuyuan (a type of courtyard house) rarely stay for more than a few days before being betrothed to meritorious members of the clan.

Zhang Xiaoye's mother was the same. After she got married, she soon gave birth to Zhang Xiaoye's half-brother. He never met his half-brother because his half-brother died in the grave with his mother's first husband before he was born.

Not long after her first husband died, Zhang Xiaoye's mother was betrothed to a second man and had a new child, Zhang Xiaoye.

Zhang Xiaoye's father was an expert in mechanical devices, especially in solving them.

When Zhang Xiaoye was still a fetus, his father entered an ancient tomb and brought back a batch of antiques. Zhang Xiaoye's mother had not undergone the rigorous training of the Zhang family, and her bloodline was also very thin. She was accidentally poisoned by a hidden poison on the antiques, which caused Zhang Xiaoye to be born weak and unable to accept the training of the clan.

Even so, he had his parents, and even though he himself wasn't very capable, his father was enough to protect him. Unfortunately, his father died in his grave when he was eleven years old.

His mother was forced to remarry again, and soon had a new younger brother, while he continued to live in the house left by his father.

Because he is unable to receive training and has no special talents, if he cannot demonstrate his value before the age of twenty, the clan will take back his father's house and he will be sent to an orphanage.

Zhang Shenglin knew about this because his adoptive father had taken him to the grave with Zhang Xiaoye's father once.

It wasn't the grave that killed Zhang Xiaoye's father, but shortly after they entered that grave, Zhang Xiaoye's father died there.

He still remembers the expression on Zhang Xiaoye's father's face when he talked about his child.

While they were talking about Zhang Xiaoye, Zhang Xiaoye was also discussing the two of them.

“Yuanshan.” Zhang Xiaoye buried her face in her lover’s arms, her body trembling slightly with fear. “Someone saw us. What if they tell the tribe?”

Zhang Yuanshan patted him on the back to comfort him: "I know them, they won't tell the clan."

With her lover's comfort, Zhang Xiaoye calmed down a bit and looked up, asking with curiosity, "Yuanshan, who are they? I saw that the child has a head of white hair. Is he sick too?"

"Yes, he seems to be in poor health as well. I heard that he was having a hard time getting training at the clan school."

Zhang Xiaoye looked melancholy: "I really envy him. We both have poor health, but he can still receive training at the clan school, while I can't even do the simplest training. In two more years, I'll have to go to the Wuyuan Academy. Yuanshan, I'm really scared."

Zhang Yuanshan couldn't bear his self-loathing, so he hugged him and comforted him.

"You are the best in my eyes, Xiao Ye. I will not let you go to the hospital."

"I believe you." Zhang Xiaoye took out a piece of yellowed silk cloth from her bosom and handed it to Zhang Yuanshan.

“Yuanshan, this is a map of my father’s tomb. He said it contains a secret about the Zhang family. Can you help me retrieve it?”

“As long as you retrieve this item, and I have this merit, I can be with you. I don’t want to go to Wuyuan or Yuanshan. I want to be with you.”

Zhang Xiaoye was handsome, but also physically weak. When he cried, his face was like a pear blossom in the rain. Zhang Yuanshan, who already liked him, couldn't resist his request.

"Okay, Xiao Ye, don't cry. I'll get the things out. I will definitely not let you go to the hospital."

Zhang Yuanshan lowered his head and kissed his cheek, making a solemn promise to him.

Having received Zhang Yuanshan's promise, Zhang Xiaoye finally stopped crying and smiled. He wrapped his arms around Zhang Yuanshan's neck, stood on tiptoe and leaned against him, his smile sweet and his face full of affection.

"I believe in you, Yuanshan."

Zhang Yuanshan embraced his lover, so engrossed in their love that he didn't see the fleeting coldness in her eyes.