“Beyond the South Sea, there are shark demons who dwell in the water like fish. They do not stop weaving, and when they cry, their tears turn into pearls.”
Yin Li was a shark demon.
He was different from other shark demons; he was very timid and spoke softly. He was often bullied by the other shark demons, and whenever he was bullied, he would cry incessantly.
His twin brother, Yin Ying, would always scold him, “Stop crying, stop crying! If you keep crying like this, if those humans catch you, they’ll make you cry every day without end.”
Yin Li would then be so frightened that he would hide behind the rocks and secretly wipe his tears.
Although people feared monsters and demons, shark demons were gentle by nature and rarely harmed anyone. There were often people who made a living by hunting shark demons on the sea. Once caught, they would either be sold at a high price to the rich as playthings or kept at home to shed tears and produce pearls daily. The number of shark demons in the depths of the Western Sea was dwindling. Yin Ying and Yin Li planned to move to a different place, away from the Western Sea.
But before they could leave, one day, Yin Li was captured.
The one who caught him was a group of pirates. They tied him to the mast at the bow of the ship and used knives to cut the scales from his fish tail. Yin Li was trembling with fear, tears streaming down his face.
Seeing that he could cry pearls, they became even more excited. Someone spoke up, “Once we reach shore, we’ll sell this shark demon to those wealthy folks. We’ll make a fortune!”
“Take a closer look, he’s quite handsome,” another person crouched in front of him, somewhat regretful. “It’s just that he has scales on his face.” He gestured as if to use the knife to cut the scales from Yin Li’s face. “Should we remove them?”
Yin Li’s face turned pale.
The pirate captain cursed, “Remove what? If we’re missing a scale when we deliver him, do you know how much money we’ll lose? Useless!” He signaled to his men, “Lock him up for me, don’t let this shark demon die!”
Yin Li was then locked in the second deck cabin.
This ship was a cargo ship that the pirates had hijacked. They killed all the men and children on board and kept the women for their pleasure. Every night, Yin Li could hear the sounds of women crying and struggling from the deck above. Occasionally, there would also be a heavy object falling into the sea, followed by the sound of splash. Having lived in the water for years, he could hear clearly; those were the echoes of the dead falling into the water.
The shark hunters used specially made demon-binding ropes, and he couldn’t break free, so he could only stay on the ship. He also felt fear in his heart; the fate of the shark demons bought by the rich varied greatly. Some of the luckier ones could keep their lives but would spend their entire lives trapped in small water tanks in courtyards as playthings, while the unluckier ones, like Yin Li had seen, would have their oil extracted from under their skin auctioned off by the seaside. This oil, made from shark demon fat, could keep a flame burning for thousands of years.
Yin Li thought he was probably going to die soon.
However, someone actually saved him.
One night, Yin Li was leaning against the corner of the ship’s cabin, on the verge of falling asleep when he heard the sounds of swords clashing and fighting from above. He blinked, opening his eyes, and someone entered from outside, bringing with them the sea breeze from the Western Sea. This swept away the stuffy, suffocating air, and he saw a woman in red clothing holding a bow and arrow, who immediately noticed him.
To avoid trouble from attracting attention when they reached land, the pirates had draped Yin Li in a large robe, covering his silver fish tail. The areas of his face covered by scales were also smeared with black mud, making him look like a dirty ordinary boy.
The woman in red obviously didn’t notice anything unusual about Yin Li. She thought he was one of the people bound by the pirates on this cargo ship. She walked up to him, crouching down beside him, and began to untie the demon-binding rope on his body while asking, “Are you one of the people on this ship?”
Yin Li was extremely nervous. He dared not speak, fearing that the woman would discover his identity as a shark demon. As soon as the ropes were removed from his body, he quickly leaped out.
“Huh?” The woman in red was startled. “You—”
Yin Li jumped into the sea.
Humans were all the same. Whenever they saw shark demons, they wanted to capture them and sell them off. He couldn’t afford to fall into human hands again.
Yin Li saw the woman hastily running to the bow of the ship, instructing someone to search for his tracks, while she herself leaned against the railing, looking down. Yin Li finally got a good look at her. She was dressed in what looked like a shortened wedding gown, with her sleeves rolled up, giving her a somewhat peculiar but not unattractive appearance, quite unique.
The guards didn’t find any trace of Yin Li and returned to the ship. Yin Li followed from afar. He saw the woman in red releasing the women from the cargo ship. He heard those people call her Princess Lizhu.
So, that’s her name, Yin Li thought.
Princess Lizhu was the princess of the Lin Kingdom and also the future queen of the Li’er Country. She embarked on this journey to the Li’er Country for a political marriage alliance. However, she didn’t expect to encounter pirates plundering ships halfway through the journey. This skilled archer princess personally led her guards and caught the pirates off guard.
The little shark demon hid behind the reef, watching the ship from afar, feeling amazed. She was truly brave. Those pirates were ferocious and cruel, but she remained calm and fearless, not paying them any mind. Her bullhorn bow looked majestic, perfectly complementing her demeanor.
“How long are you going to keep following her?” Yin Ying swam up from behind, grabbing his brother’s tail, attempting to drag him away. However, Yin Li remained as motionless as if he were rooted to the reef.
Yin Ying sighed in resignation. “You’re not falling for her, are you?���
Love? Yin Li was momentarily stunned.
Approaching a hundred years old, by human standards, he would be equivalent to a sixteen or seventeen-year-old human youth. He had heard his kind of talk about those passionate love stories, but he didn’t know what love was.
He hugged the reef, lifting his head to gaze into the distance.
Princess Lizhu leaned against the railing of her bed, wiping her longbow in her hands.
As the ship sailed on the sea, moonlight illuminated the surroundings. The woman in red lowered her head to look at the longbow in her hands, wiping it carefully. She was beautiful and dignified, her jet-black hair tied up in a simple bun. The red robe fluttered in the breeze, making even the sea breeze seem cheerful around her.
However, her expression seemed somewhat lonely.
A sour and bitter feeling welled up in Yin Li’s heart as he watched her. He didn’t know what it was, so he spoke softly, “I want to accompany her.”
“How do you plan to accompany her?”
The little shark demon thought for a moment, then joyfully flipped over and splashed a beautiful wave with his tail on the shore. He spoke with anticipation, “Isn’t it often said in the human world that one should repay a life-saving favor with one’s own body? She saved me, so I must repay her.”
Yin Ying poured cold water on his idea, “Repay her? Think it through. We’re demons, she’s human. Forget about falling in love, if you ever appear in front of her, you’ll immediately be seen as a monster and captured.”
Yin Li knew he was right.
But he still wanted to accompany Princess Lizhu.
So, he found a snake witch from the Snake Shaman Clan and asked her to make a deal with him.
The torches on the wall burned quietly, but Zanxing felt a bit chilly. Pausing for a moment, she asked, “The deal you mentioned wouldn’t involve the witch turning your fish tail into legs, would it?”