A Mermaid Falls from the Sky

After wasting some time and taking advantage of Fan Hai’s extra training session with Liu Shicheng—when their attention was off him—Xiao Yu quietly slipped out of Divine Mechanism Peak.

Better you than me.

Hang in there, Brother Liu—I believe in you!

With a few crocodile tears, Xiao Yu glanced around but saw no trace of the Hundred Flowers Sect girls. They must’ve left long ago.

He gave it some thought, then rose and flew southward on his sword.

Time to do some business.

Meanwhile, back at the Hundred Flowers Sect group…

“Ahhhh… I saw something terrifying! That… that was a man’s uh…”

Most likely reliving the scene again, the soft-tempered leading disciple couldn’t help but cover her now-flushed face.

In contrast, the yellow-robed girl beside her wore a sulky expression. She shot annoyed glances at her chatting senior sisters, who were still gossiping about what they’d seen, making her even more resentful.

Great!

Turns out she was the only one who didn’t see anything. Why did *they* get to look while *her* eyes got covered?

She wanted to see a man’s body too!

Hundred Flowers Sect was an all-female sect. In fact, within the sect, not even a single male existed.

Many disciples raised inside the sect had never even seen what a man looked like.

If not for being washed up on Demon Gathering Island by accident, the yellow-robed girl would’ve still believed men were just slightly rougher-tempered women with large chests who also squatted when going to the bathroom.

Now that she learned all the other senior sisters had seen a real man’s body, yet she hadn’t because of her Senior Sister’s overprotectiveness, she felt deeply resentful.

“Big Senior Sister, you big dummy! I’m never talking to you again!” Thinking this, she blurted it out loud. It wasn’t serious—she didn’t really mean it—but to her, this act had been so unfair.

If you’re going to cover eyes, cover everyone’s, not just hers!

“Eh? Xiao Ling, what’s wrong? What did Senior Sister do wrong?”

Hearing the youngest junior sister suddenly scold her and say she wouldn’t talk to her anymore, Lu Sheng visibly panicked.

Her clear, moist eyes filled with confusion, like a helpless young fawn trembling nervously. Anyone seeing her would feel their heart melt.

Instantly, the yellow-robed girl regretted her words. She shouldn’t have said something so harsh.

Senior Sister had always tried her best—for them, the Hundred Flowers disciples.

Shy by nature and poor at socializing, she had been the most overlooked among the Sect Leader’s disciples.

Only because she had the highest cultivation and was the Sect Leader’s direct disciple had the group chosen her as Big Senior Sister and followed her lead.

For their sake, she had taken charge and worked tirelessly across Demon Gathering Island, eventually securing the right to establish Hundred Flowers Peak.

Plus, how kind-hearted she was—ever since arriving on the island, she had made sure every senior sister was well-fed and warm, especially the youngest among them—the one who received the most care.

Some of the others even jokingly called her “Mother Deer” behind her back.

How could she possibly stay angry at such a Senior Sister?

But the words had already slipped out. How was she supposed to take them back?

For a moment, the yellow-robed girl turned her head away from Lu Sheng, feeling conflicted.

“Eh? Xiao Ling, what’s wrong? Tell Senior Sister. If I did something wrong, I’ll fix it.”

Lu Sheng spoke gently nearby. Hearing that, guilt surged in the younger girl’s chest.

“I…” She opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words.

Luckily, someone noticed her embarrassment. A graceful figure stepped forward, ruffling her hair playfully with a teasing tone aimed at the worried Lu Sheng:

“Oh come on~ It’s just kid stuff. She’s upset because you covered her eyes earlier and she couldn’t see the guy, right? Just哄 her a bit. Buy her a candied hawthorn later at the market, and everything will be fine, won’t it, Xiao Ling?”

“Stop it! Don’t rub my head—it’ll stunt my growth!”

The yellow-robed girl angrily pulled away, like a little cat puffing up its fur.

“Nonsense! Rubbing your head doesn’t make you short!”

“Hmph! Well, don’t let you, Senior Sister Yin, rub my head either! You mess up my hairstyle, and it feels terrible!”

“Is that so? Waaah… Senior Sister is so hurt~ Junior Sister treats me this way!”

“You…”

“Alright, enough!” Lu Sheng finally stopped the bickering. She turned to the yellow-robed girl, her eyes shining with gentle light:

“Xiao Ling, Senior Sister didn’t think things through. But you’re still young. When you have your own husband someday, you can look all you want. For now, let me buy you a candied hawthorn. Will you forgive Senior Sister and stop being mad?”

“Um…” The girl flushed under that tender gaze. Turning her head aside, she stammered:

“F-Fine… whatever… I guess I’ll forgive you… for the candied hawthorn’s sake.”

“Yay! Great!”

Lu Sheng smiled brightly and immediately pulled her into a hug.

“Don’t say things like that to scare Senior Sister again, okay?”

“Waaah… Senior Sister… waaaah…”

Buried in the embrace, the yellow-robed girl flailed her arms, clearly trying to say something.

A moment passed. Lu Sheng seemed to wait for a promise, but trapped in that generous embrace, the girl couldn’t speak—and was nearly suffocated.

A woman nearby finally intervened:
“Little Lu, let go—you’ll smother Xiao Ling!”

“Ah! Xiao Ling, are you okay?!” Snapping out of it, Lu Sheng immediately released the yellow-robed girl.

“Pant… pant… saved…”

Gasping for air, the girl shot a wary glance at Lu Sheng’s impressive curves.

That’s why she’s Big Senior Sister!

Probably no one else could truly carry that title.

Lu Sheng’s looks were merely average, but those two assets boosted her charm tenfold—hardware simply couldn’t be beaten. Who doesn’t love the grand view?

Compared to her, others might as well be hills next to mountains, streams beside rivers—truly awe-inspiring.

The yellow-robed girl often wondered—didn’t Senior Sister ever get tired carrying that around?

And yet her waist was so slim.

Seeing her junior sister was alright, Lu Sheng relaxed.

Looking around, she realized they had不知不觉 wandered near the entrance of Demon Gathering Island.

Demon Gathering Island was a unique place within the Sea of Forbidden Tides. According to elders she had consulted, the island itself was actually the shell of an enormous ancient tortoise. Long ago, nearing the end of its lifespan, the tortoise had drifted here and fallen into eternal slumber.

Over thousands of years, oceanic whirlpools carried sediment onto its shell, forming soil and eventually growing into the island known today as Demon Gathering Island.

Yet all these years, aside from Xiao Yu—who freely came and went—she hadn’t seen anyone else enter or leave from outside.

Perhaps… she should seek out this Xiao Yu fellow. Maybe he knew a way off the island.

Though, the chances weren’t high.

If Xiao Yu could leave, it must’ve been due to some special condition—likely extremely strict and practically impossible to replicate. Otherwise, many would’ve escaped before her.

Sighing softly, Lu Sheng felt a tinge of melancholy.

Though life on the island was peaceful, being surrounded only by her fellow sisters made her homesick. She missed Hundred Flowers Sect. Here, all communication with the outside world was cut off.

Still, today’s Demon Gathering Island felt different from its usual calm.

“Hmm, what’s ahead?”

At the island’s entrance, a crowd had gathered, clustered together.

It looked like they were watching something unusual.

This piqued the curiosity of the other Hundred Flowers disciples. Could it be someone from the outside had been swept here?

“Let’s go, Senior Sister! Let’s check it out!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

Women loved gossip—and even more so when they were a group of women. Lu Sheng was dragged along as they pushed through the crowd and quickly saw what everyone was staring at.

A “person.”

Just as Lu Sheng had guessed—a person from the outside, caught in the sea’s currents and brought to Demon Gathering Island.

However, this “person” was somewhat unusual.

“So… so beautiful! Sparkling!”

The yellow-robed girl gasped in awe. Lu Sheng blinked, her eyes flashing with surprise. Even as another woman, she couldn’t help but marvel:

Truly breathtaking!

Lying on the ground was a stunning woman—or rather, a stunning mermaid woman.

Carefully, almost holding her breath, Lu Sheng examined this human-bodied, fish-tailed mermaid woman.

She appeared to be in her youthful prime—graceful, fair-skinned, with pearl-like teeth and flowing black hair. Her jade-like face was exquisitely beautiful. Unlike humans, however, delicate, pale scales adorned her eyes and forehead, giving her an exotic charm.

Her ears resembled fish fins, larger and more pronounced, with gills located behind them. From her snow-white abdomen downward, scales gradually increased until fully covering her skin—these were mostly pale blue, shimmering like gems. Below that stretched a long, silver-blue tail—elegant and radiant, like a masterpiece of art, captivating to behold.

Her tail was long and refined, like a beautifully painted scroll glowing with light. Yet, perhaps because she was on land, it lay limply on the ground—like a salted fish pulled from the sea.

During the observation, someone attempted to check if she was breathing but gave up upon encountering a faint blue barrier surrounding her.

Clearly, it was her innate protective artifact. Thanks to it, the mermaid woman had safely reached Demon Gathering Island.

Though the barrier had dimmed and developed cracks, it remained intact. For now, the crowd couldn’t approach her.

Seeming freshly arrived, soon officials from Guest Reception Peak showed up.

It was a lazy-looking woman with violet eyes and pink hair—one of the deputy sect leaders of some sect called Heaven & Earth One Sect.

Lu Sheng remembered she had been the one who welcomed her and her juniors when they first arrived.

Quickly, the unconscious mermaid woman was taken away by the deputy leader. Seeing this, the crowd dispersed.

*A mermaid…*

Lu Sheng mused, sensing something odd—this mermaid felt… different from ordinary ones.

……

Meanwhile, deep beneath a tavern somewhere on Demon Gathering Island, a secret transaction was underway in a hidden underground chamber.