LSDWTWHA chapter 8

Chapter 8

Yi Qing felt a bit moved but hesitated: “How do we exchange?”

Su Su said: [I’ll wear your dress and stay here for you. You can disguise yourself as me and sneak out. There are still over ten hours until dark, which is enough time for you to say goodbye to Pang Pang.]

Yi Qing gestured between them: “But you’re male and taller than me, besides, we don’t look alike…”

Su Su mischievously blinked: [Height is easy to manage; I’ll wear a longer dress to cover my tail. As long as I don’t stand up, they won’t notice. As for appearance, as long as I don’t let them see my face, it doesn’t matter if I look like you or not.]

Yi Qing was silent for a moment. Su Su’s idea was indeed bold, but thinking it over, it wasn’t without feasibility. With Su Su here to attract the guards’ attention, combined with her years of experience in escaping home, it wouldn’t be difficult to leave.

After discussing various plans, Yi Qing sent someone to find the soft armor made with shark shield scales, removed some of the shark scales, and glued them on the little mermaid’s face and exposed skin until she was completely unrecognizable.

Before leaving, Yi Qing recalled the High Priest’s earlier words, her feelings a bit complicated, and said to Su Su: “You’re really strange. Aren’t you afraid that I might never come back? Helping me escape from marriage is a grave sin; have you considered the consequences?”

Su Su didn’t take it seriously.

Death was a common occurrence in nature. During his short eighteen years, he faced life and death crises almost every day, endless hunger, and predators attempting to eat him. Compared to all that, this risk was almost negligible.

The little mermaid helped him realize his wish to transform into a mermaid, enabling him to go into the human world without starving. He also regarded her as a friend. The textbook said that friends are supposed to be there for each other.

Su Su felt that although he did not have the kind of loyalty to go so far as to stab himself for her, wearing a dress wasn’t a big deal.

Su Su jokingly replied: [Then I can only sacrifice myself to marry them for you.]

Following Su Su’s arrangements, Yi Qing squeezed into the model, assisted by her maid, and was transported onto her private shuttle. The shuttle followed the track, taking her straight to the fortress gates.

“Get out, inspection,” the guard at the gate routinely stopped the shuttle ready to leave the Mermaid Kingdom.

Several maids exited in turn, leaving behind the princess who was covered in scales and was pretending to sleep on the chair.

One of the maids said to the guard, “This is our Princess’s friend, Su Su. He just ate a mermaid potion and is in the differentiation period. The princess is about to go marry, and she doesn’t have time to take care of him, so we’re taking him back.”

The guard peered through the car door. Inside the compartment was only a sleeping mermaid, curled up with closed eyes, and some unwashed shark scales on his face and body. Besides that, there was no space to hide anyone.

The simple-minded mermaid guard didn’t think much of it and waved them through.

After sending Yi Qing away from the fortress, the four maids immediately returned to the palace to reunite with Su Su and continue to provide cover for him. Anyone who came was turned away, claiming that the princess was in a bad mood.

The guards tasked by the king to watch over the princess’s residence didn’t dare to scrutinize too closely, peering through a window from outside.

The silhouette of a figure in the princess’s long dress sat with her head down at the table, quietly sobbing, clearly saddened by the early arrival of her betrothal.

Having successfully eluded the city, Yi Qing peeled off the scales stuck to her body.

As sunset approached, she hurried to the agreed meeting place.

Pang Pang, the orca, arrived even earlier and greeted her joyfully, nudging her with his nose.

“Pang Pang…” Yi Qing embraced her beloved orca, her voice choked with countless regrets and grievances.

Pang Pang sensed that today his beloved seemed off and tilted his head, focusing his large eyes on Yi Qing.

Yi Qing felt tears well up again but fought to hold them back: “I’m here to say goodbye. I’m going to marry a human and will never come back.”

The more she spoke, the sadder she became, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks like pearls. Losing her composure, she went on: “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. Please don’t come here to see me again; just forget about me. Find a beautiful female orca and pretend… pretend you never knew me.”

After saying this, seemingly afraid to face Pang Pang’s reaction, she pushed him away and swam back toward the Mermaid Kingdom without looking back.

But Pang Pang wouldn’t give up, whining affectionately as he followed Yi Qing closely, trying to nudge her like they used to play.

“Don’t follow me!” Seeing Pang Pang’s innocent attachment made Yi Qing even sadder; she really wanted to stay and become an orca, forever with Pang Pang, but as the princess of the Mermaid Kingdom, she couldn’t…

Suddenly, a heat surged through her body, and Yi Qing’s swimming speed involuntarily slowed. It felt like every bone in her body was heating up and softening, and her head grew extremely dizzy.

Initially, Yi Qing thought she felt unwell because she was too sad and didn’t notice her physical discomfort. However, as the sensations grew stronger, she finally realized the problem.

How could this be? The doctor clearly said her body was still immature, that she still had at least a year until differentiation? If not for that assurance, she would never have dared to keep sneaking out to meet her beloved orca.

Moreover, during their last meeting, her physical condition was stable. Why was it that this time…

Perhaps it was the strong reluctance at the moment of parting, or perhaps the orca’s unabashed affection ignited her deep-rooted desires.

Just as the king feared, she was differentiating. She was about to acquire the orca’s form, which also meant she would never grow legs and could no longer fulfill her marriage duty to become a human partner.

“Oh no, I can’t go back… What about the marriage? Su Su is still in the room…”

This was the last thought Yi Qing had before losing consciousness.

The time for differentiation was not fixed, but the general rule was that the greater the difference from the current body, the longer the time required for differentiation.

For a mermaid to change into a human might only take a few hours to grow legs. But to transform into an orca, it could take several days to complete the physical change.

During this time, Yi Qing’s consciousness would fall into a deep sleep, and the genes within her body would quietly change, while her body would slowly transform into the appearance of an orca.

Su Su waited from sunset until deep into the night. The agreed time had long passed, but Yi Qing had yet to return.

Close to midnight, Yi Qing’s maid brought the wedding attire, a gorgeous train dress, complete with a veil and ribbons. The veil would cover everything below the nose, and the ribbon would loop around the eyes, blinding her.

This was a unique custom for mermaids marrying humans. Initially, it was because nobles treated their mermaid partners as private possessions; the beauty of the mermaid had to be appreciated by their partner first, and conversely, the first sight the mermaid should see must be her partner.

When the partner unties the ribbon, if the mermaid shows signs of differentiation and grows legs, it signifies her deep love for her partner, and the marriage has received blessings from the gods.

If no differentiation occurs, the mermaid would be locked in a space and would only be allowed to see her future partner daily until the differentiation transpired.

Facing this wedding attire, Su Su and the four maids exchanged glances.

Several maids fretted: “What do we do? The human suitor has come and is waiting for the princess to change her clothes.”

“But where is the princess?! It’s this late and she hasn’t returned; she wouldn’t run into any trouble, would she?”

“The princess’s mental strength is strong, her singing voice is very enchanting, plus she has the orca protecting her. It should be safe…”

“Do you think she might just coincidentally differentiate at this critical moment?”

“Ugh, stop talking nonsense! Differentiation is still early… it couldn’t really have happened, right?”

The maids fell silent. Apart from that, they couldn’t think of any reason why the princess hadn’t returned by now.

[What is differentiation?] Su Su, who was sitting nearby, raised his head and asked.

“It’s when a mermaid matures and seeks a partner. When a mermaid develops feelings for anyone or any sea creature, it can trigger differentiation, fully transforming into the appearance of that species,” a maid explained to Su Su.

“Once the direction of differentiation is chosen, it can never be changed. If the princess differentiates into an orca, she can only shift between orca and mermaid forms. She won’t be able to participate in the marriage anymore. Moreover, after differentiation, there’s a three-day period of unconsciousness for gene reconstruction and repair.”

“Simply put, the princess would never abandon us. If she hasn’t returned yet, it’s highly likely she has differentiated.”

There was a knock at the door and the guards urged, “Are you ready with the clothing? It’s time to depart.”

The maids grew even more anxious. If they were discovered harboring the mermaid princess during the marriage, it would be a serious crime. Not only would they be punished, but their families would be implicated as well. As the main accomplice, Su Su would be doomed.

[Well, then it looks like I have to go to the marriage in her place.] Su Su said.

“How could you do that?” The maids exchanged bewildered glances.

Su Su picked up the scarf and wrapped it over his face, then proceeded to tie the ribbon: [With so much covering my face, those outside shouldn’t be able to recognize me.]

The maids hesitated; indeed, it wouldn’t be easy to be discovered on the way to the wedding. Mermaids didn’t make a grand parade for marriages, typically leaving quietly at night. Moreover, the ones picking them up were not palace mermaid attendants but humans.

“But once the potion wears off, you’ll turn back into a shark! If people discover that, won’t you be doomed? Besides, your gender is wrong. They marry mermaids to have offspring; even if you turn into a mermaid, you’d still be male and couldn’t bear children.”

[Of course, I wouldn’t go to the human world like that.] Su Su held the ribbon tight, peeking through the gap with one eye.

[You all need to go send a message. Have the orca take Yi Qing with him to meet me on the way. We’ll create confusion; I’ll take the opportunity to leave and then switch clothes with Yi Qing. After that, if the humans chasing us come, just say there was a shark attack on the shuttle and a kind orca passing by rescued Yi Qing, causing her to differentiate uncontrollably.]

Su Su became more excited as he crafted the plan: [Yes, very reasonable! That’s it!]

The four maids exchanged glances; although the plan was rough, they couldn’t think of a better method at the moment.

Su Su changed into the outfit, the magnificent skirt enveloping his tail, the train trailing behind. The misty gauze concealed the lower half of his face, while the red ribbon covered his eyes.

Under all the layers of concealment, his original features had become indistinguishable, only a vague outline remaining that hinted at the beauty within.

Before leaving, Su Su didn’t forget to hide the medicine box that the High Priest gave him inside the dress and, guided by the maids, walked out of the room.