Children’s laughter rang across the busy beach. Warm sunlight spread over the endless sea, lending everything a peaceful beauty. A few young people whispered among themselves, glancing toward the long, porcelain-pale legs stretched out on a beach chair. Wen Sheng was easily the most striking sight on the sand. Some wanted to approach him, but hesitated to disturb the beauty enjoying the sun.
Balala had noticed that Yan Shiqing truly loved sunlight. In every little world, he found a place to bask in it.
As evening fell, Wen Sheng smiled and accepted a mask from a palace attendant. The attendant faltered at that smile. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as the young man before him, bright as a jewel. “Take care of yourself, beautiful sir. This beach is full of admirers with wandering eyes.”
He was joking, and waved goodbye to Wen Sheng.
“I heard Prince Lan Zhai met his beloved in these very waters. Isn’t that romantic? A prince in distress and a kind, gentle young man.”
“That’s right. My uncle works at the palace. Apparently, Prince Lan Zhai’s beloved is called Yun Yin. Though…”
The speaker paused. When he saw that no one else was listening, he lowered his voice. “I hear he can’t speak.”
His companion looked surprised, but before he could ask more, the two people they were discussing appeared.
Wen Sheng wore a sky-blue mask. Its fishtail design followed the contours of his face in a beautiful curve, and a faint smile rested on his lips. On the flower-decked platform, the handsome Prince Lan Zhai led his supposed “savior” down by the hand.
Lan Zhai glanced tenderly at Yun Yin, who had tightened his grip without realizing it. The young man’s nervousness softened Lan Zhai’s heart. “Don’t be afraid,” he said gently. “This is where we met. These waters will give you courage.”
Lan Zhai faced the crowd on the beach and raised his voice. “My dear people, today I formally introduce the one who will walk beside me for the rest of my life. He will be my consort. He is kind and gentle, and together we will pray to the Sea God for our kingdom’s prosperity!”
In this little world, humans and merfolk lived alongside each other. Love between the two peoples was not unheard of. Long ago, a sea witch fell in love with a human and created a potion that could turn a tail into human legs so they could be together. In the end, the witch dissolved into sea foam.
Within three short months, the human’s heart had changed. Or perhaps that human had never loved the witch at all, only wanted the pearls formed from merfolk tears. Once a merperson came ashore, however, their tears no longer became pearls.
The hundredth day after gaining legs was the crucial test. During those three months, a merperson’s tears would not turn into pearls, nor could their legs become a tail. On the hundredth day, if the person they loved pledged their love—or if that love remained unchanged—those gifts would return. Their tears would become pearls again, and water would turn their legs back into a tail. Countless merfolk had gone ashore, but very few remained with the people they loved. Human hearts changed easily; merfolk chose only one mate in a lifetime. Falling in love with a human rarely ended well.
Wen Sheng watched the pair on the platform, mockery touching his lips.
Love was the frailest, least reliable thing in the world. Yet even when the road ahead was piled with bones, people still rushed toward it without fear.
Wen Sheng, Wen Sheng—how could you fail to understand?
An unfamiliar sound reached his ears. A band had begun playing a lovely tune.
“It’s a melody unique to this kingdom,” Balala explained. “They use it to call upon the Sea God. Whenever someone in the royal family chooses a partner, they hold a ceremony like this. See that crystal sphere? It’s a tear left behind by the oldest Sea God. If it lights up when Yun Yin touches it, the Sea God has accepted him. It won’t matter whether he’s mute or a beggar from the roadside. But if it stays dark, the Sea God has withheld his blessing, and the royal family can’t accept him.”
Wen Sheng looked at the dull gray sphere. “So there really is a Sea God in this little world?”
Balala couldn’t answer that. After checking the world’s settings, he said uncertainly, “The Sea God never appeared in the original story. But Yun Yin did make the crystal sphere light up.”
Wen Sheng knew that much. Main characters always had fate on their side. He simply hated seeing that favor bestowed on someone who had done so much harm.
“If we don’t know whether the Sea God exists, let’s assume he doesn’t. A crystal sphere can’t just light up by itself, can it…?”
Balala was silent for a moment. “No.”
Lord Shiqing clearly wanted to finish this mission and go home as soon as possible. Normally, he wouldn’t ask Balala to interfere in something like this.
But Balala didn’t dare tell him to slow down. If Lord Shiqing eventually learned what had happened to the Lord God… Balala would be done for.
Help! Could someone please save this poor system? At least this was the final little world. Those two gods and their love life were going to give him a heart attack…
Wen adjusted his mask and watched Yun Yin wash his hands in a large jade bowl filled with seawater.
Someone who looked so harmless was willing to spend his whole life pretending he couldn’t speak, all for wealth and status. What a shame to put that kind of determination to such wicked use.
As soon as Yun Yin lifted his hands from the bowl, an attendant stepped forward with a cloth and dried them. Only when every drop of seawater was gone did the attendant withdraw.
Yun Yin bit his lower lip, looking frightened. Lan Zhai couldn’t touch his freshly washed hands, so he gave his back a reassuring pat instead. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “All you have to do is place your hand on it.”
Every royal consort underwent this blessing ceremony. Very few failed to light the crystal sphere. Legend held that only someone of exceptional kindness and purity could awaken it. Yun Yin was the kindest, most innocent person Lan Zhai had ever met. He never doubted the sphere would shine for him.
In the past, the palace had attached less importance to the ceremony. One prince had insisted on marrying someone who failed to light the sphere. That person turned out to have been a spy for an enemy kingdom all along, and the prince died at the hands of the one he loved.
Strangely, everyone who failed the test was eventually found to harbor a cruelty utterly at odds with their outward appearance. From then on, the palace treated the Sea God’s ceremony with reverence. They no longer doubted that the Sea God, though never seen, had always been protecting them.
Lan Zhai’s reassurance steadied Yun Yin’s racing heart a little. Only one step remained. If he could make the Sea God’s Lamp shine, he would become the kingdom’s sole royal consort. Lan Zhai was its only prince and would one day be king—which would make Yun Yin queen consort. His life of luxury was almost within reach.
Yun Yin closed his eyes and slowly reached out, praying for the Sea God’s blessing. If he became Lan Zhai’s consort, he would offer the Sea God lavish gifts.
The lamp felt cool against his palm. Yun Yin opened his eyes and waited. One second. Two. Three…
A minute passed. The Sea God’s Lamp remained dull gray, without the faintest glow. Yun Yin’s face grew paler. How could this be? He had knelt in sincere prayer before the Sea God’s temple every day, sending offerings there in abundance. A few days earlier, to be certain nothing would go wrong, he had even touched the lamp in secret. It had lit up then!
He let go and stumbled back a few steps. His mouth opened, ready to protest, but he remembered himself just in time. He could only shake his head frantically and look at Lan Zhai’s grim face.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. The lamp had to shine. It had shone only days ago!
The Sea God had chosen him!
He was meant to be the consort!
Lan Zhai looked deeply troubled. People below the platform had begun to whisper. Their earlier reverence and anticipation had given way to awkward, uncertain looks.
The Sea God’s ceremony had to take place beside the sea. Lan Zhai had deliberately chosen the waters where he believed he and Yun Yin had first met. It had never occurred to him that Yun Yin might fail the test.
He had imagined their greatest obstacle would be his father’s objections to Yun Yin’s background and inability to speak—or perhaps Yun Yin’s own reluctance to marry him. He had considered all those possibilities and planned how to handle them. This was the one thing he had never expected.
His father already opposed the marriage. Lan Zhai had thought that once Yun Yin gained the Sea God’s approval, every difficulty would fall away. Instead, the most important step had gone wrong.
Panic filled Yun Yin’s eyes with tears. They spilled down his cheeks and fell to the ground. His looks were merely delicate, but few people could remain unmoved by such a sight—least of all Lan Zhai, who cared for him. The prince gathered Yun Yin into his arms. The people below were still waiting for him to speak, however, and the situation had become difficult.
“The Sea God’s Lamp hasn’t been used in so long. Could it be broken?”
“Young man, don’t say such things. How could the Sea God’s Lamp break?”
The person beside Wen Sheng had been about to scold him. Then he saw the lower half of Wen’s face, uncovered by the mask, and recognized the exquisite young man from the beach that afternoon. When he spoke, his tone was as gentle as he could make it.
Wen’s smile didn’t waver. He stepped out of the crowd, his ivory silk shirt following the graceful lines of his body. “The lamp hasn’t been used in twenty years. If it really is broken, it would be a shame for this gentleman to lose the person he loves over a mistake.”
Some people were born to command a stage. Wen Sheng was one of them. Even with a blue mermaid mask covering half his face, his presence alone made him impossible to overlook.
Lan Zhai watched Wen approach, and for reasons he couldn’t explain, his heart missed a beat. Yun Yin turned in his arms. He didn’t notice the change in Lan Zhai; instead, he looked at Wen almost pleadingly. This stranger had said what Yun Yin couldn’t say for himself.
The lamp had to be broken. Why else had it failed to light for him today?
It was broken.
Yes…
It had to be.
Wen stopped at the steps leading up to the platform. He didn’t climb them. A lazy, unhurried smile rested on his lips.
Yun Yin looked from Wen to Lan Zhai, then quietly tapped the prince’s palm. The helplessness and unease in his eyes made Lan Zhai’s heart ache. Lan Zhai turned to Wen. “I’ve never heard of the Sea God’s Lamp breaking. Do you have a way to test it?”
“If Prince Lan Zhai doesn’t mind, I could try the Sea God’s ceremony.”
Lan Zhai’s eyes flickered. There was no precedent for an ordinary citizen touching the Sea God’s Lamp. It was a royal relic, and the odds of a commoner making it shine were slim.
Still, Yun Yin’s future was at stake. If this young man failed to light the lamp too, it would resolve every doubt.
Lan Zhai hesitated briefly before deciding. The lamp was only an object; Yun Yin was a person. He knew Yun Yin to be gentle and kind. Perhaps something really was wrong with the lamp. It had, after all, gone unused for a long time.
Lan Zhai was one of only two princes of his generation. As for his older brother, he was unlikely to have a chance to marry in this lifetime. The last ceremony had been held for their father.
“Attendants, prepare seawater for this gentleman to wash his hands.”
An attendant invited Wen Sheng onto the platform. Wen slipped his long, pale fingers into the cool seawater and found the sensation wonderfully soothing. Perhaps merfolk were born with such an affinity for the sea. He longed for its salt water.
When an attendant moved to dry his hands, Wen stepped aside. “I’ll do it myself.”
He didn’t like being waited on that way. He gave his hands a cursory wipe and, once no water remained, placed one on the Sea God’s Lamp. He moved so casually that no one had time to react, as though he didn’t care whether the Sea God would bless him.
Lan Zhai frowned, displeased by what looked like a lack of reverence. He was about to speak when his eyes widened. Almost the instant Wen’s hand touched the lamp, brilliant blue light burst from it, illuminating nearly the entire stretch of sea.
Even Wen was stunned. “Isn’t that a bit much?”
He had asked Balala to tamper with the ceremony a little, but he hadn’t expected anything this dramatic…
Balala said nothing. Wen grew puzzled. “Hm?”
Two seconds later, Balala answered in a voice that was visibly shaking. “Um, Lord Shiqing, I lost my connection just now… I didn’t make it light up. You did that yourself…”
???
“When did you lose the connection?”
“Before Yun Yin touched the Sea God’s Lamp…”
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