Feasibility of Mermaids Infiltrating Qilin

The servants didn't know much; they mostly heard it from the old people at the inn after they'd had a few drinks.

All he knew was that twenty years ago, at the beginning of the famine, the innkeeper provided the venue, and Master Cai brought back young and beautiful women, including girls from nearby villages and women who had fled the famine.

The two men colluded to introduce these women to wealthy merchants in town, allowing them to exchange them for grain and silver. However, they were not acting out of kindness, because during the two years of severe famine, the women that Master Cai brought back gradually died, leaving only a few survivors.

According to the people who handled the remains, the women's remains were all incomplete, and they secretly speculated that these women had actually been turned into jerky by the boss and Master Cai.

Later, when the harvest improved, only a few women remained, but those women also died at the hands of Master Cai over the years, leaving behind only a girl they had adopted.

The servant said that the girl was also staying at the inn with Master Cai today.

The corpses left in the inn can only be described as body parts, but Zhang Fukong is certain that there are no body parts belonging to women among them.

He narrowed his eyes, recalling the monster's appearance, and roughly guessed its identity. However, he had no clue why the woman had transformed into a monster.

Several members of the Zhang family patrolled the area around the inn but found no trace of the monster. Just in case, they would take turns keeping watch until dawn.

When Zhang Fukong returned to the bedroom, he saw Su Xingze sitting on the edge of the bed, yawning sleepily, with a single crystal tear sliding down his cheek.

Noticing him come in, he yawned again and muttered a complaint, "So sleepy!"

Zhang Fukong stared at him for a long while, his expression unreadable.

In my mind, the place where the monster's empty eye sockets had been looking before it retreated flashed by.

Looking back now, it was looking in the direction where Su Xingze was.

Is this soft, seemingly harmless boy really unrelated to the appearance of that monster?

Zhang Fukong composed himself and realized that his sudden idea was somewhat absurd.

Such a terrifying and bizarre monster, even the Snow Kirin couldn't create it.

Having dispelled his doubts, Zhang Fukong turned off the light and went back to his bed to rest.

Su Xingze was in great pain. In the space he could feel, there were densely packed, overlapping world rules. These cold, unconscious rules were like silent guardians, constantly exerting invisible pressure on him.

An invisible restraint was imposed upon him, and Su Xingze rolled around on the bed listlessly. Even the excitement of having gained a new subordinate didn't last long.

Su Xingze cast an invisible barrier, opened the system, tapped Zhang Shenglin, and sent a video call.

He knew that Xiao Qilin had a very regular schedule, going to bed early and waking up early every day. It was already five or six o'clock, and according to Xiao Qilin's habits, he should be doing his morning exercise at this time.

As expected, the call request was answered immediately, and Zhang Shenglin appeared on the screen with a flushed face from exercising.

"Aze."

When Zhang Shenglin saw the little mermaid, he instinctively smiled, but the smile vanished instantly when he saw the little mermaid's slightly red eyes.

"Aze, who bullied you?" His face darkened slightly, and his usually calm eyes were unusually cold.

Su Xingze shook his head and shrank further into the blanket he had brought with him.

"I miss you."

Upon hearing the little mermaid say she missed him, Zhang Shenglin's eyes flickered for a moment before he lowered his voice and replied, "I miss you too."

They had never been apart for so long since the little merman appeared by his side.

"The king crab was delicious today."

Su Xingze smiled. Although the two were not in the same place, whenever Zhang Shenglin went to a new place, he would send him interesting food or gadgets through the system.

Playing with those uniquely regional trinkets and savoring fresh delicacies from all over the country always gave him the illusion that he was traveling with the little Qilin.

"Once this is over, we'll travel all over this country together, and then all over the world, to see the wonders and beautiful landscapes recorded in books and admired by all, and to taste the delicacies from all over the world."

Su Xingze spoke of his plans for the future, his green eyes sparkling.

He was born a hundred years after the Great Cataclysm. It is said that before the Great Cataclysm, there were no monsters or bloodlines in the world, no ghosts born from evil consequences, and no pollution or mutations existed.

There are no dangerous contaminated areas. People can go anywhere in the world without worrying about whether they have money or not.

Even though Su Xingze became a monster, the places he visited in his life were very limited. The city where he was born was a gloomy and terrifying area filled with ugly, low-level monsters and alien species. The Ghost Prison, built with the power of the whole country, was all the places he had ever been.

He heard that the government was already forming teams to clean up the contaminated areas, but when he left, the closest contaminated area to them had only been half-cleaned.

But this world is different. It is a world without terrible pollution, and it still retains the natural and magnificent beauty of nature.

The Zhang family is too small. The world is so big, why should the little Qilin confine himself to the corrupt and feudal Zhang family?

Seeing the anticipation and longing on the little mermaid's face, Zhang Shenglin smiled and softly replied, "Okay."

Upon receiving his reply, Su Xingze's eyebrows curved into a smile, his green eyes reflecting the magnificent sunrise over the sea, refracting a beautiful shimmer that complemented the cat's-eye stone beside his ear.

“We will go into the mountains today. Zhang Fukong said that if all goes well, we can find the Warring States Chu tomb in three days.”

Zhang Shenglin's smile faded slightly. He knew how dangerous it was to go into the tomb, and even though he knew the little merman was very powerful, he still couldn't suppress his worry.

"Be careful," he warned worriedly, fearing the little mermaid might get hurt in the tomb.

Su Xingze rubbed against the soft pillow, his smooth hair flowing down his neck like water, causing a slight tickle.

He casually tossed his long hair over the pillow, a cunning glint in Su Xingze's eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll run away as soon as I encounter any danger. I won't care about that old fox Zhang Fukong."

He didn't think he would encounter any insurmountable danger, but he didn't mind saying some nice things to make the little Qilin happy.

The two were chatting happily when a head peeked out from the side, looking around curiously. When Zhang Haike found that there was no one else around except Zhang Shenglin, his face was full of suspicion.

Who were you just talking to?

The smile on Zhang Shenglin's face vanished instantly. He glanced coldly at Zhang Haike, who had suddenly appeared, and turned back to continue practicing martial arts.

He practiced the Zhang family's traditional martial arts, which every member of the Zhang family who practiced martial arts would learn, and Zhang Haike was no exception.

However, looking at the whistling sound created by Zhang Shenglin's punches and kicks, he felt a little guilty and touched his nose.

Did he ask something wrong? Zhang Haike looked completely bewildered.

In the end, Zhang Haike still didn't know who Zhang Shenglin was talking to, and the events of that day became one of the unsolved mysteries surrounding the Zhang family patriarch in Zhang Haike's mind.

Su Xingze watched the two exchange and couldn't help but smile. Little Qilin could be quite petty at times.

"Ah Lin, is this the Zhang Haike you were talking about?"

Zhang Shenglin glanced at the person next to him and nodded very slightly.

After a moment of confusion, Zhang Haike, who was standing to the side, put the question aside for the time being when he couldn't get an answer. He quickly stood next to Zhang Shenglin and started exercising together in this small corner.

The Zhang family members are very self-disciplined. They never slack off in strengthening themselves, because for them, only by being strong enough can they continue to live.

After accompanying Zhang Shenglin through his morning exercise via video call, it was already getting light on his end. As Zhang Shenglin and Zhang Haike headed to the restaurant for lunch, Zhang Fukong, who was in the next bed, opened his eyes.

One of the trainings the Zhang family received from a young age was how to recover energy in the shortest amount of time. Therefore, even though he had only slept for less than an hour, Zhang Fukong looked energetic after a short rest, showing no signs of having stayed up all night and fought a strange monster.

After finishing his video call with Xiao Qilin, Su Xingze followed Zhang Fukong to the inn's main hall, where the only remaining servant nervously prepared breakfast for them.

"My lords, what about those things in that room... what should we do with them? And that monster, will it... will it come back?" The servant asked fearfully, voicing the question that had been troubling him.

Zhang Fukong glanced at him: "That monster has already left. We didn't find any trace of it when we searched last night, so it's most likely no longer here."

"If you're still worried, you can report it to the authorities after we leave."

The current government is corrupt and incompetent, but at least it still has some effect.

After breakfast, the Zhang family began packing their luggage. Before getting into the carriage, Zhang Fukong glanced at Zhang Xiafei.

Seeing Zhang Xiafei nod slightly, he stepped into the carriage.

Su Xingze blinked curiously. He knew that Zhang Xiafei had secretly left the inn while the others were resting, but he didn't know what he had done.