Chapter 370: Chapter 369: The Child
"Your husband?"
Leaning on a sickle, Li Ang asked with interest, "Are you talking about Peter Taylor? Does he know he’s your husband?"
"Honorable Monk," a young spellcaster employed by the Governor said indifferently, "This ugly and filthy creature reeks of an evil, morbid aura and possesses bizarre and formidable powers of concealment. I suggest we destroy it right now..."
Li Ang didn’t pay attention to the spellcaster’s rude interruption, but gave him a meaningful glance.
Like Peter, this spellcaster also used "it" to describe the mermaid and called it "ugly and filthy," not at all like ordinary people who carefully choose politically correct vocabulary in their speech.
It seems that the spellcasters of Fairy World, like those high-ranking officials such as the Governor, can slightly diminish the brainwashing influence from the Snow Queen...
Li Ang looked at the spellcaster, neither endorsing nor opposing the plan to kill the mermaid directly.
What a joke. The Little Mermaid is one of the most famous stories in Andersen’s Fairy Tales. This modified, low-budget, beggar-bankrupt version of a mermaid before him was still a princess of Fairy World, no matter how you looked at it. Li Ang was the kind of person who would pluck feathers from a passing swan and boil them to eat, a miserly freak and iron rooster who would squeeze out the last bit of value even from a stone. Encountering a magical creature, and a princess at that, how could he possibly just destroy her?
"As for how to deal with her, I have my own judgment."
Li Ang gave a slight smile towards the spellcaster, then turned back to the mermaid. "Answer my question, does Peter Taylor know he’s your husband?"
"Of course, he knows."
Resting against the padded wall, the Black Fish did not show any signs of panic or fear. She stretched out her webbed palm and applied seaweed mucilage to her wounds, speaking calmly and unhurriedly, "We’re a loving couple, a match made in heaven. We’ve exchanged the blood of our hearts.
"This is a very solemn ritual for us mermaids, and now even the gods cannot separate us."
"The blood of the heart? You cut open Peter’s chest and then healed him with the mucilage on your hands? No wonder, according to previous medical records, he has a barely noticeable surgical wound on his chest."
Li Ang grinned. "But you say you’re a loving couple, which doesn’t sound very credible coming from a stalker."
"I am not a stalker."
The Black Fish furrowed her brow, and both of her widely-spaced eyes rolled in unison. "That’s your human definition.
"To us mermaids, courtship is an instinct rooted in our biological nature. If I like a man, I’ll follow him, pursue him, without regard for the eyes of others, without being confined or restrained by so-called social graces.
"In the words of your queen, this could be seen as a more pure and natural way of life that should definitely not be discriminated against."
Li Ang raised his eyebrows in some surprise. This Black Fish was smarter than he had expected, even capable of quoting the politically correct propaganda of the Snow Queen to justify her own behavior.
If this were a courtroom, perhaps the Fairy World jury might even acquit her because of her words.
"Moreover, compared to my kin, I am already considered restrained, controlled, and shy."
The Black Fish stated with a hoarse but clear voice, calm and indifferent, "From the moment I saw Peter in the ocean, I decided to make him my husband.
"I watched him in the sea as he leaned on the mast, looking out at the water.
"During the day, I became mist to watch him eat, walk, dance, and read.
"At night, I transformed into a fish, perching outside his cabin window, gently tapping the walls with my fingers and tail fin to lull him to sleep.
"Sometimes I’d even become mist, slip through the window, and slide into his lungs while he breathed, feeling the warm and tender love he held for me..."
As the mermaid spoke, her strange visage gradually took on what could be described as a "gentle" expression, yet everyone present shuddered, feeling a deep sense of unease.
It was truly disgusting, exceptionally disgusting—so repulsive.
Li Ang’s face showed no particular reaction. After all, mermaids are a different species, whose physiology, psychology, and social culture vastly differ from those of humans.
What humans consider monstrous behavior might be nothing more than normal courtship to mermaids.
Li Ang casually asked, "According to past mermaid sightings, you seem to engage in the killing of sailors. Is that also part of your courtship rituals?"
"Most of the time, yes," the Black Fish said calmly. "Mermaids are a peaceful species. We live deep in the ocean, away from worldly strife, uninterested in human culture.
"However, as we are all females, to reproduce, we must charm passing sailors with our singing—most sailors end up being eaten afterwards because the mermaid reproductive process requires a great deal of energy.
"It’s just like the mantises on land.
"Besides courtship, mermaids sometimes attack sailors to vent their anger and seek revenge, because fishing boats often overfish and brutally kill the dolphins and whales that are friendly to us.
"Sometimes it’s due to hunger—our food consists of fish, and when our food source becomes scarce, we target passing ships. They are like cans full of food, easy to deal with.
"But I am different from my kin; I would never harm my lover..."
"Never harm?"
The spellcaster employed by the Governor scoffed. "What about that sudden shipwreck? Are you saying that had nothing to do with you?"
"It was a pure accident," the mermaid said expressionlessly. "No one can predict maritime weather accurately, not even us mermaids.
"Moreover, it was I who rescued Peter from the towering waves and safely brought him to the deserted island.
"And despite the agony of my heart shattering into pieces, I guided your rescue ships to him, because I believe that only by returning to his homeland could he avoid a mental collapse."
"..."
The spellcaster was momentarily speechless, unsure what to say. It took him a moment to regain his composure before he questioned again, "What about now? You brought him back, yet you still cling to him. Do you want to torture him to death before you’ll be satisfied?"
A look of pain and helplessness crossed the mermaid’s face. "I know. I’ve made up my mind to let him go, but I just can’t bear the longing and love I have for him.
"I abandoned my own kind and came to the land quietly by drifting with the ocean currents, hiding in the filthy rivers of this city. Only at night do I dare to turn into mist and watch over my lover,
"The father of my child."
"Wait a minute!"
The young spellcaster’s eyes widened suddenly. "What did you say?! The father of your child?!"
"Yes." A wistful smile touched the Black Fish’s lips as she extended a slender hand to slowly caress her abdomen.