Chapter 366: Chapter 365: The Mermaid
"Iris No.?"
"That’s a massive luxury cruise liner, renowned for its stability and safety. There has never been any maritime disaster in its history..."
Peter paused for a moment, then continued, "After I finished the school year, I bought a ticket for the first-class cabin on the Iris No."
"Just by yourself? Didn’t you bring any servants?"
Peter nodded. "Just me. I prefer to be undisturbed when I travel."
"So, on the ship, did you have any conflicts with others? Or did you have prolonged contact with someone?"
"Not that I’m aware of."
Peter hesitated, then slowly shook his head. "The places I frequented were the library, the first-class smoking room, the dining room, the dance floor, and the deck swimming pool. I basically kept to myself. There were one or two women who tried to strike up a conversation with me, but I declined."
The Governor’s wife interjected, "Monk, Peter is a very obedient child. Moreover, he’s about to come of age, at which time we will arrange a suitable marriage for him."
Li Ang glanced at the Governor’s wife without saying a word, but she immediately understood, closed her mouth, and stopped talking.
"You mentioned in your medical records that a few days after boarding, you suspected someone was following you."
"It wasn’t suspicion; it was certainty. And it wasn’t a person, it was some ’thing’."
Peter seemed to recall something. His entire body shuddered as he said frantically, "During the first few days on board, I liked to lean on the deck railing to enjoy the sea view, but soon I felt as if someone was secretly spying on me. Do you understand that feeling? Cold, greedy eyes staring at your back at all times, from somewhere unknown..."
"Then you reported this to the ship’s security personnel."
"Yes, I explained the situation to them and even revealed my identity. They took it seriously and arranged two bodyguards for me."
"Did the situation improve?"
"Not at all."
Peter smiled helplessly. "If anything, it got worse. The bodyguards couldn’t identify the source of the gaze, which caused quite a few problems. I later discovered that if I stayed indoors and avoided going onto the deck, that annoying sense of being watched would disappear for a while. But soon, even that didn’t work anymore. Even when I was in the reading room or dining room, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being spied on. In the end, I had no choice but to stay in my bedroom all day, with the two bodyguards sleeping in another room in the suite. It was bearable during the day, but at night..."
Li Ang pressed, "What happened at night?"
Peter shivered. "At night, that sense of being stealthily watched was even more intense. It nearly drove me crazy. When I slept, I had to place two daggers under my pillow and blanket. Eventually, I sealed the door gaps and windows with black tape, which made it a bit better."
Li Ang nodded. "Do you think this strange occurrence could be related to Spellcasters?"
"It’s not Spellcasters," Peter said decisively. "Whenever I travel, I carry certain detection and protection tools specifically for Spellcasters. These tools only detected the Spellcasters responsible for security on the ship but didn’t reveal the source of the voyeuristic gaze."
Li Ang nodded. "Understood. Continue, please."
Peter continued, "After I sealed the windows, I felt much better, until the day of the maritime disaster."
He seemed hesitant as he went on, "Actually, it’s not quite right to call it a maritime disaster. That afternoon, because I felt I had finally escaped the gaze, I wanted to go to the deck to rest and relax a bit.
"The sea, which had been cloudless and tranquil, suddenly became shrouded in dark clouds, and a heavy downpour ensued.
"Waves as tall as six or seven-story buildings surged from the horizon, and the ship was filled with the screams of sailors and passengers..."
Peter said softly, "I wanted to run back to my cabin as fast as I could, but the deck and the entire ship began to sway so much that I could only hold on to the railings, unable to stand properly, let alone run below deck. Later, I saw mountain-like waves heading towards me..."
At this point, Peter fell silent, his eyes cloudy and lifeless.
Li Ang pressed on, "Then what happened?"
Peter took a deep breath and said solemnly, "What I’m about to tell you, you must believe me."
Li Ang straightened up, his manner serious. "I am an Exorcism Expert, and I will seriously consider what you say. Please go on."
Peter clenched his teeth. "In the water, I was kidnapped by a Mermaid."
Li Ang squinted his eyes slightly and leaned back a bit. "Which Mermaid are we talking about?"
"Not ’which,’ but a Mermaid! Half human, half fish!"
Li Ang nodded, taking out a notebook and pen from nowhere. He quickly sketched something on it, then tore the paper out and showed it to Peter.
On the paper was a creature that was human on the left and fish on the right, the drawing style somewhat cute.
Peter craned his neck, staring blankly for a second or two before correcting him, "Not left and right, but top and bottom."
Li Ang nodded again, began to draw once more, then tore out the paper and held it up with a serious face.
On the paper was a creature with a male human lower half and a fish tail for a head.
Peter was startled once more. "What about the head?! There’s no ’little bird’; she was female!"
Li Ang drew another one. The drawing showed a creature with a human head, and a fish head for its lower body.
"This?!"
Li Ang saw the frustrated and tight-lipped expression on Peter’s face, instantly got it, and added a few locks of long hair and lipstick to the head in the drawing.
Peter slapped the paper out of Li Ang’s hand with a POP, gesturing excitedly, "A Mermaid! The kind with a human upper body and a fish tail!"
"Understood."
Li Ang put down his pen and paper and asked earnestly, "So, this Mermaid you speak of, was she beautiful?"
"It’s not about whether she was beautiful or not. She was... that rarely seen kind of monster, so ugly it’s beyond any evaluation." Peter’s emotions had calmed somewhat, and he continued slowly, "Her skin was pitch black, her hair twisted into tight little braids, her forehead broad, and her eyes set very wide apart, like an anglerfish or a flounder."
Li Ang’s expression grew even more serious. "This Mermaid, she kidnapped you?"
"Yes." Peter’s voice was hoarse. "She swam towards me in the water, and even underwater, I could smell a strong, perfume-like scent. In great panic, I pulled out a dagger to resist, but she snatched the weapon from my hand and threw it into the water. Then, she hugged me from behind, choking my neck and causing me to pass out. The last thing I felt before losing consciousness was her lips pressing a kiss on mine."