Redeem The Villain [Quick Travel] Chapter 7
byChapter 7 Jellyfish and the Sea Demon’s Conspiracy
The next day.
As dawn broke, the Merfolk emerged from their stone caves, and the fluctuating sounds of their conversations continuously reached Lu Qinian’s ears.
The long walk had left his body sore. As soon as he woke up, he sat on the sponge mat, massaging and patting his legs. He regretted not massaging them properly before falling asleep yesterday; the pain wouldn’t have been this severe otherwise.
A moment later, Lu Qinian heard the Merfolk discussing last night’s blood moon, and he quickly perked up his ears to listen intently.
“Last night, over there,” the speaking Merfolk pointed toward the Black Reef Zone, “three Merfolk were killed. They died terribly.”
“It was a blood moon last night. They deserved to die running around the Black Reef Zone instead of returning to their caves.”
“If you ask me, these Sea Demons are too rampant. Aleksi killed so many Merfolk when he ascended the throne, but he hasn’t done anything good like exterminating the Sea Demons. Hmph, I think he’s a coward who only dares to attack his own people.”
“Tsk, it’s useless to just kill Sea Demons if we can’t find the Sea Demon Leader’s lair. He killed plenty of Sea Demons when he lived here, too.”
Following that remark, the entire Reef Zone instantly fell silent.
Sea Demon Leader?
With no useful information, Lu Qinian stood up, dusted himself off, and walked out of the stone cave.
The Merfolk were standing on the reefs, holding small and large pieces of coral that they were grinding into tools, preparing for the hunt.
After a while, they seemed to sense something and all looked in one direction. The next second, their expressions turned strange.
The Elf stood casually in front of the stone cave, his gaze seemingly searching for a direction. When he spotted a familiar black color, he stepped toward it.
As the Elf moved, the Merfolk’s eyes followed, and then several Merfolk gasped.
That direction… was the Black Reef Zone.
The Elf’s figure had long since blurred, but the Merfolk remained frozen until one of them whispered, startling everyone.
“He… why is he living in Aleksi’s stone cave?”
*
The difference between the Gray Reef Zone and the Black Reef Zone was not just the color. The Black Reef Zone was smaller, only about a third of the Gray Reef Zone’s size, but it was the central point of the Gray Reef Zone.
The water temperature here was balanced, the water quality was clear, and the ground was not covered with sharp, broken stones. It was clearly a better place for living creatures to thrive. Naturally, many precious resources grew in the Black Reef Zone, which also led to a gradual increase in the danger level within the zone. Poisonous creatures and even fierce Sea Demons were everywhere.
As he ventured deeper, Lu Qinian focused entirely on his surroundings. Every time he passed a jellyfish, he would examine it closely for a long time.
Several pink gradient jellyfish floated together in the water. Fine, long tentacles hung outside, draped in a thin veil, like the skirts of dancing maidens. With every pulse, they resembled girls gracefully performing a dance.
Not blue. Lu Qinian felt a little disappointed.
“Could they be extinct already?”
After all, the Sea Demons had been capturing them for several months.
The Elf held a net bag, bleached slightly by the seawater, in his hand. According to Xiao Guo’s description, he should see the water-repelling mushrooms as soon as he entered the Black Reef Zone. But he had been walking for over half an hour. There were plenty of jellyfish, but not a single blue one could be found.
Looking around, Lu Qinian walked toward another direction.
The reefs here were not tall, and most of them were strangely shaped, suitable as shelters for small fish and crabs. Since Lu Qinian entered, he hadn’t seen a single stone cave that could house a person.
“Bang—”
“Hiss…”
Could it be a Sea Demon? Lu Qinian quickly hid behind a reef, peeking through a gap.
“Smash him to death!” a furious roar sounded.
The Merfolk behind him quickly picked up a large piece of reef and placed it on what looked like a weapon.
“Swoosh—”
Large reefs flew rapidly toward the Merfolk in front.
That Merfolk was in bad shape. His dark blue fish tail was covered in wounds, perhaps from being struck by the reefs. Many scales had been knocked off the tail. However, this wasn’t the worst part. The most terrifying sight was the Merfolk’s caudal fin, where there was a bloody, gaping hole. As the tail flicked rapidly, the shredded flesh inside the hole scattered into the seawater.
Lu Qinian frowned. If this Merfolk continued to swim so fast, he might escape but would still die.
“Stop chasing… I didn’t take your stuff!” Yu vigorously flapped his injured tail, shouting while tucking a tightly gripped, blue, transparent object into his chest.
Lu Qinian was particularly sensitive to the color blue right now. The moment the object appeared, his attention was fixed on it.
When the Merfolk turned and created some distance, Lu Qinian finally confirmed it was a blue jellyfish.
His tail was painful and stiff, and Yu had run out of strength. He turned to glare at the deep-red-tailed Merfolk in the distance, pulling out the already fragmented jellyfish. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, “Leaving aside that I caught this jellyfish, I absolutely won’t give it to you if you want it to curry favor with the Sea Demons!”
Currying favor with the Sea Demons was an act that, if heard by any Merfolk, would result in expulsion from the tribe. The deep-red-tailed Merfolk’s intentions were exposed, and his face looked awkward. “Yu, give me the jellyfish, and I won’t kill you.”
“Heh.” Yu curled his lips and slowly spat out two words: “In your dreams.”
As he spoke, he suddenly tightened his fingers, ready to burst the jellyfish in his hand, but a hand suddenly pried his fingers open.
“Excuse me, may I interrupt?” Lu Qinian smiled gently. “Can I have this jellyfish?”
Yu’s mouth slightly opened in surprise, staring at the man before him. Short golden hair, and emerald green eyes that seemed to smile, gazing at him gently. He thought, he’s truly handsome.
Then, the man spoke softly. Oh? His voice was also very pleasant, so gentle.
The deep-red-tailed Merfolk was completely ignored. He only paused for a second before snapping back to reality. Seeing something suddenly pop out and covet the jellyfish he intended to offer the leader, he became enraged. He grabbed a machete from a nearby Merfolk, swung it, and roared, “Damn it! Who the hell are you! Get lost, you nobody, or I’ll chop both of you to death!”
“Can I?” Lu Qinian waved his hand in front of the stunned Merfolk.
“Y-yes, you can!” Yu instantly snapped back, realizing he had been staring blankly at the other person. A delayed sense of shame rushed over him. “It’s yours!”
Yu shoved the jellyfish into Lu Qinian’s arms. His flushed face turned to confront the red-tailed Merfolk swinging the machete, and his fractured nerves immediately reconnected.
Crap, crap, crap! I’m still running for my life!
Lu Qinian hadn’t expected to get the jellyfish so easily. He thought it would take more effort. He calmly put the jellyfish away before looking up at them.
If he remembered correctly, the red-tailed Merfolk wanted the jellyfish to offer to the Sea Demons. Logically, there was a deep-seated hatred between Merfolk and Sea Demons. Why would this red-tailed Merfolk help the Sea Demons capture jellyfish?
Unfortunately, there was no time to think.
The red-tailed Merfolk was fast, reaching the Elf in seconds. He raised the machete with both hands, his expression extremely excited. “You bastard! Go to hell!”
Yu was frantic on the side, forcefully pulling the other man’s arm, but the young man didn’t budge. “Are you an idiot?! Run!”
Lu Qinian himself couldn’t fight, but that didn’t stop the Elf Thor from having extremely high combat power. It was just that the original owner was stubborn and usually preferred to persuade people with words, otherwise he wouldn’t have been directly stabbed to death by Aleksi.
Lu Qinian was different. He was an absolutely law-abiding citizen, but he hated being nagged. He always preferred to use his hands rather than his feet if action was needed.
The thought of kicking someone flashed in his mind—bang.
“Ah!”
The red-tailed Merfolk flew like a kite with a broken string, crashing rapidly into the reef and then into the embrace of the seabed mother.
“Big Brother! Big Brother! How dare you kick us…” The Merfolk behind him shouted, picking up their weapons and rushing toward the culprit to avenge their leader.
Lu Qinian glanced at them indifferently.
The next second, the rushing Merfolk quickly turned and ran toward their leader.
“Big Brother, let me help you up. That damned Elf is too hateful! We’ll definitely avenge you next time!”
“Get lost! You bunch of useless trash! All of you, get out!”
“…” Yu swallowed hard.
The person next to him was an Elf, right? It must be. Only Elves had these green eyes. He had heard that the Elf was thrown in here after committing a mistake and receiving punishment.
This one next to him… Yu cautiously glanced at the Elf.
Are all Elves this powerful?
Lu Qinian lightly fanned away the dust in front of him, then turned and asked, “Do you know where else I can find this kind of jellyfish?”
“I know! I’ll take you!”
Lu Qinian’s gaze slid down to the Merfolk’s injured tail. “…Or, you can just tell me the location, and I’ll go myself.”
Yu had forgotten about his injury until it was mentioned, realizing the sharp pain in his tail. “It’s very dangerous there, and the Sea Demons have been capturing water-repelling mushrooms on a large scale recently. It’s very dangerous for you to encounter a Sea Demon alone. Besides, the water-repelling mushrooms here in the Black Reef are almost extinct. Even if I tell you, you might not find them.”
Lu Qinian genuinely couldn’t find the route, but he could ask System 009. “In that case, let’s find a place to rest first. Your wound needs treatment.”
Yu quickly nodded in agreement. Normally, he would have run home to apply medicine already. If the Elf hadn’t helped him, he wouldn’t have stayed to say all this. “Then let’s go back to my place. It’s relatively safe there.”
Upon reaching the vicinity of the stone cave, Lu Qinian understood why the Merfolk said it was safe. The Merfolk’s home was not a stone cave, but an underground pit. The entrance was covered by a flat black reef, making it look like an ordinary rock from the outside.
Inside the pit, living supplies were quite complete. Several recently deceased fish hung from the top of the cave, emitting a faint, not unpleasant, fishy smell.
He hadn’t expected this Merfolk to be so good at finding a place.
Since it was an underground pit, the entire cave was filled with seawater. Lu Qinian had intended to help the Merfolk apply the medicine, but the moment he withdrew his hand, the seawater rushed in and washed the medicine away.
In the end, the Merfolk slowly applied the medicine himself.
“My name is Yu, and I’ve lived here since I was little. Are you an Elf?”
Hearing the voice, Lu Qinian withdrew his gaze from surveying the surroundings. “My name is Thor, the Holy Son of the Elf tribe.”
“I know you, at the banquet half a month ago…” Before he could finish, Yu gasped and covered his mouth, swallowing the rest of his words. He looked at the other person nervously, only relaxing when he confirmed the Elf hadn’t reacted.
That was close. He almost got beaten up.
“Why are the Sea Demons capturing water-repelling mushrooms?”
Water-repelling mushrooms could only be used to make water-repelling potions, which were useless to Sea Demons who already lived Undersea.
Yu’s eyes darted around, and he lowered his voice. “I heard that the Sea Demon Leader is collaborating with the Witch Doctor to create a potion that allows them to land on the surface.”
“Land on the surface?” Lu Qinian looked surprised.
“Oh, I forgot you’re an Elf. You probably don’t know. Merfolk can freely transform their fish tails into legs, so we can go onto land. Sea Demons are different. They commit many wicked deeds, and legend says they were cursed by the seabed to never possess legs, so they can’t go onto land.”
“I guess those Sea Demons are capturing water-repelling mushrooms to make a potion that lets them go ashore.”
Lu Qinian asked, “Are there any Merfolk living on land?”
“I haven’t heard of any.” After thinking for a moment, Yu added, “Although Merfolk can transform into legs, they still become uncomfortable if they stay away from seawater for too long.”
Having gathered enough information, Lu Qinian stood up. “I’m going to catch some food.”
What was the Sea Demon’s goal? It couldn’t just be to breathe fresh air after going to all this trouble.
Author’s Note:
Aleksi (Angry): “Hmm? I’m not in this chapter!?”
Lu Qinian (Soothing): “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.”
Author (Trembling): “…”
I’ve checked for typos once. If there are any more, I’ll fix them tomorrow, hehe.