If Li Qingshan’s meeting with Zhu Yan had occurred after the battle, Zhu Yan probably would not have been so impatient and short-tempered with him. If he had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, Zhu Yan definitely would have heard out what he was offering in exchange for the divine wutong tree. Even if it irritated him, he would not directly turn against him.
If he had reached the Great Banyan Tree King’s realm of cultivation, Zhu Yan would have to consider whether he should go forward with the deal or not. Even if he declined, he would do it relatively politely and demonstrate a different side of the fire devourers.
At the end of the day, even the quick and clever tongue of the weak was no match for the nonsense of the strong.
The cultivators under Ji Changfeng’s lead only saw Li Qingshan ride in on a whale in the wind, clearly standing at the highest point among the Merfolk. It was as if he was the centre of the show this time.
“Kid, if you want to stand on my back, then so be it, yet you actually choose to stand on my head! Do you know how to respect the elderly or not?”
Li Qingshan was slightly surprised and realised the speaker was the blue whale beneath his feet. He could not help but smile. “Respecting the elderly is a human concept. If age is what determines seniority, daemons would be at the very top. Fellow, why do you serve the otherfolk instead of wandering the deep sea like the Great Whale King?”
“Hmph, sharp-tongued brat. Once the fair begins, I’d like to have a contest of strength with you!” Elder Blue said, rather unconvinced that he was any weaker than Li Qingshan.
“Sure!” Li Qingshan knew that Gong Yuan had probably suggested this to probe out his true strength. His empty reputation alone was not enough to keep her at bay. However, he had expressed some of his hostility toward the fire devourers, so she decided against taking action personally. She sent this blue whale Daemon Commander instead and only described it as a contest, not openly antagonising him.
“Hmph, then try it! You’re so young, yet you mention the Great Whale King so casually. Do you even know what the Great Whale King looks like?”
Elder Blue’s instincts told him that Li Qingshan was a tough nut to crack, but he was still surprised by how readily he agreed to the request.
“I was fortunate enough to hear his whale song.”
“Ah, then you really do have good fortune.”
“You have good fortune too!”
“Hmph, I’ve obviously heard the whale song too.”
“I’m not talking about that.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about meeting me?”
“How is that good fortune?”
“In the future, you can tell people that I had ridden on your back once. You can even say you’ve held a conversation with me before. They’ll definitely say you have good fortune!”
“Damned brat, how dare you make fun of me! I’ll throw you off right now!”
“Who’s making fun of you? I’m serious.”
“Serious…” Elder Blue was taken aback. He was so serious that he seemed like he was describing a truth that would happen in the future, like how the sun would set in the west and the tides would rise and fall. “Pah! You almost fooled me. Just you wait, kid!”
Li Qingshan laughed aloud, and his laughter echoed through the entire port. Because he had been communicating with elder Blue with his soul sense, no one had any idea what he was laughing about, which made them stare at him in surprise.
When the whale pod reached the coastal waters, the sky had already darkened completely. The starry sky above the ocean was particularly resplendent. The large clouds were like islands in the sea of stars, obscuring the brilliant moon at times and casting a shadow.
There was absolutely no firelight on the beach or in Three Sails city. Merfolk disliked fire, so lighting fires right before merpeople was a form of disrespect. In the very beginning, the people who attended the sea fair had no choice but to avoid lighting fires, but it became a tradition on Giant Ship island afterwards, where the island would put out all flames during every sea fair.
However, the bay was brightly lit. A huge school of fish swam about in the dark-blue, transparent water, giving off a gentle, green glow. Thousands of jellyfish glowed with a dim, blue light, bobbing up and down in the water. There were even strange fish with horns that seemed to be bearing lamps, as well as krill that resembled fireflies, flickering about as they swam around. It seemed like someone had grabbed a handful of stars and scattered them in the sea water, leaving the ocean utterly magnificent.
However, what shone even brighter were the baskets of goods constructed from coral and seaweed on the whales’ backs. They were filled with luminous pearls of the deep sea, giving off a gentle, pure-white glow. They glimmered away, contending against one another in resplendence. The item that attracted the most attention was a stack of coral around the same size as a fake mountain, constantly changing in colour. It was dazzling.
The whales seemed to carry the precious treasures of the entire world, contending against the resplendence of the moon and stars in the sky.
Clouds and mist rose up from the surface of the ocean. The merpeople rode the mist and moved the dazzling array of goods onto the fluffy clouds, which drifted to the beach with the sea wind. Merpeople could split their tails into legs, but most of them were unaccustomed to that sensation.
The disciples of the Cloud Sail sect went up to receive the goods. They were responsible for recording the goods, separating them into groups, and delivering them to the Sea Pavilion of Remote Corners for people to pick and choose.
However, the most eye-catching part was the beautiful mermaids. Every single one of them was a natural beauty, but they were beautiful in their own way. They were not bound by the norms and rules of humanity, smiling and acting about freely, but they did not come off as improper at all. They seemed extremely pure.
Under the curling mist and within the illumination of the treasures, the bay seemed like paradise. Let alone the mortals who had been completely stunned by this sight, even the cultivators were unable to look away.
Even with all that Li Qingshan had seen and heard, he was still amazed by this. Otherfolk really were not boasting and glorifying themselves when they called themselves “godfolk” in the ancient times. In the eyes of the mortals, they really were like creations of the divine!
In particular, races like night roamers, fire devourers, and merpeople were naturally endowed with strength and longevity far greater than mortals. Even their appearances were utterly perfect, enough for people to completely forget about the unique characteristics of otherfolk, even treating it as a special form of charm. Even if human beauties could match them in appearance, they were nowhere close when it came to bearing.
In terms of value, these mermaids were indeed the most precious “good” out of everything present. If a mermaid had been taken to the Dragon province to be sold, she would definitely fetch a greater price than all the goods on the back of a single whale.
Their tears could turn into precious mermaid pearls, their eyes could be made into priceless Condensed Jade pearls, and their scales were a precious medicinal material. Even their tails were a supreme delicacy, a dish essential to the banquets of the imperial court.
In order to taste the freshest and most delicious Merfolk flesh, some of the most dedicated foodies would shackle a mermaid in a specially-made jade dish before using extremely sharp ice blades to slice off extremely thin pieces of flesh. They would consume it immediately without any other seasoning. The coldness from the ice blades would freeze the wounds, preventing even a droplet of blood from being spilt.
The mermaid would have to remain conscious. Not only would she have to endure the pain of the slow slicing, but she would have to endure great mental agony too. The sobs of despair she gave off, combined with the sounds of her tears striking the jade dish, was the most wonderful music the world had to offer. Combined with admiring the mermaid’s beautiful figure and appearance, multiple senses—sight, hearing, and taste—of the foodie would be appeased. This dish was called Flowing Pearls of the Brilliant Moon.
When Li Qingshan first heard about it, he could not help but sigh. “If you aren’t heartless, how can you eat that, let alone enjoy it?”
However, Ru Xin said, “Anyone can resort to cannibalism if they’re desperate enough, let alone otherfolk. Apart from races like the fire devourers and giant lumbermen that aren’t carnivorous, godfolk also had different ways to eat human flesh in the ancient times! They even specially ate infants that had just taken shape in their mother’s womb, a dish called Cart-puller of Placenta. It’s all just preying on the weak in the end.”
