anwhile, thousands of ters down in the dark depths of the sea, clusters of giant rocks ford a grand and majestic undersea palace.
Staggered stone pillars crisscrossed the palace’s interior, exuding an invisible, oppressive aura, like towering giants that had witnessed countless eras yet remained unchanged since ti immorial.
Countless schools of fish andered around the palace, while rmaids of various colors swam in and out.
The palace was inhabited by the Blue Sharks of the purest bloodline.
Within the palace, a massive cage hung from high above. Chains suspended it from its four corners, and locked inside was a young Blue Shark.
Each ti the current swept by, the hanging chains would sway and emit a dull clang.
Trapped in the cage was a blue-tailed rfolk, head bowed as he hugged his right knee, listlessly gnawing on a piece of dried at.
The rfolk was breathtakingly beautiful and pure, enough to charm all living beings. His glistening blue eyes held a lancholic, fragile gaze fixed on the distance. His lips were bitten pale, his delicate appearance both moving and pitiable.
A length of his long, slender, azure fishtail dangled through the bars of the cage. Every so often, the current would lift and sway it, the delicate tail fin fluttering in response.
After a mont, another Blue Shark swam out of the palace. He bore a passing resemblance to Xi—young and handso, but with a prouder, more aloof expression. It was Xi’s own Beast Father.
He stared coldly at his good-for-nothing son. Though inwardly seething with rage, he put on a nonchalant air. "Where is your Shark Pearl?"
"I gave it to soone."
A vein throbbed on Xi’s Beast Father’s temple. "Who did you give it to?"
"A female..."
"..."
"?"
The exchange lasted only a few seconds, just a handful of words, but it felt like a century had passed.
Xi’s father was inwardly coughing up blood, so furious he thought his life as a rman was about to end then and there.
He forced a smile. "You an you gave it to that female the Priest ntioned?"
"That’s right..."
"A-are you an idiot!?"
The color drained from the face of Xi’s Beast Father, the last of his composure cracking. "The Priest was just teasing you for fun! He told you that the first female you t after leaving the deep sea would be your future partner. Couldn’t you tell from his smile that he was joking? Are you really my son? How can you be this stupid!?"
"I’m not stupid!"
Xi retorted angrily, puffing up his cheeks. He wrung his slender fingers, looking aggrieved. "I don’t think the Priest was lying to . After I left the sea, I really did et a female. She was so nice to , and she even cooked lots of delicious fish for !"
"I like her a lot, so that’s why I left my Shark Pearl with her!"
His father sneered. "Has it never occurred to you that it might just be an act? That she’s putting on a show to deceive you?!"
"Let tell you, aside from the females of our own rmaid Clan, those land-dwellers are ugly and treacherous!"
"They only want to lure you onto land to use you, to trick you out of your Shark Pearl! Once your life force is depleted on land, they will cast you aside without a shred of rcy. Then you will see their true colors!"
"Do the many male rfolk who disappear from our tribe each year not serve as any kind of warning to you?"
His father squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. He looked at his foolish, good-for-nothing son and sighed. "I don’t care what you think. Your partner can only be a female from our rmaid Clan, never one of those ugly, duplicitous land-dwellers from the outside world!"
"You will stay in this cage and calm down. I am doing this for your own good. As for the Shark Pearl, once you can fully transform your legs, you must bring it back!"
"Barely an adult, and you’re already dragging that fishtail of yours to sneak off to the surface and chase after females. I honestly don’t know if you have a death wish."
Having unleashed a torrent of words and thoroughly lectured his son, Xi’s father vented his frustrations and resud his earlier cold and aloof posture.
He shot a glance at his worthless, foolish son, only to see the boy clutching his heart with a grief-stricken expression. His face was pale, and he wasn’t even looking at his father. The anger instantly surged anew. "You!"
"Father..." Before he could finish, Xi cut him off. "I can feel Ah Jin... she’s using the power of the Shark Pearl..."
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