The Mermaid’s Rebirth

Rumors once spoke of a monkey born from a stone in ancient times.

Yu Lian, however, held a skeptical view of such tales.

In an era where everyone could cultivate to pursue immortality, she wondered why she had never heard of or seen such a creature.

But—

“Goddammit, I was struck by lightning, and I’m not even fully dead.”

Yu Lian struggled free from the coral reef.

Her fishtail, which reached her navel, swayed gently.

Her skin was as tender as a newborn’s, as if she had just come into existence.

“A tail?”

“Wait, what… what did I reincarnate as?”

“My chest… these, these are seashells?”

“And this bulging, fair, and soft expanse—is this something a normal man should possess?”

Yu Lian pressed her right hand to her chest, swallowing hard as cold sweat trickled down her back.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this was a chest, and specifically, a woman’s chest.

She tried to pry open the shells clinging to her chest, wanting to confirm if it was real.

From the surface, the shells seemed to be an inseparable part of her chest, with no discernible gaps to pry open.

Yet, Yu Lian herself knew better.

It was her body, and her consciousness told her that they could be opened.

Sure enough, one shell detached, revealing a vast expanse of fair skin.

The sight instantly flushed Yu Lian’s face; in his past life as a man, his only experience with such things was secretly perusing explicit pamphlets bought from the black market.

She nearly fainted from a nosebleed.

‘So real!’ she thought.

This was far more vivid than anything in those pamphlets—flawless, rosy-white, perfectly sized, and even slightly exceeding expectations.

It was simply perfect.

Yu Lian furtively touched it once, like a thief, then quickly covered it back up with the shell.

‘Cough, even if this is my own body, I don’t have the courage to face it directly,’ she mused.

After all, she had been a man just a short while ago, and this sudden transformation was something she couldn’t adapt to yet.

Taking a breath, her pounding heart finally settled.

Yu Lian looked down at where her thighs should have been.

No, she no longer had legs; only a tail remained.

“A fishtail, seashells, hands, a human torso.”

She pondered for a moment, then her eyes snapped wide open.

“Wait, isn’t this a mermaid, a species long thought extinct?”

“The last recorded sighting was fifty thousand years ago, wasn’t it?”

In her spare time as a mortal, she had enjoyed reading records of immortal families and the world and had memorized most species.

Now, seeing her own body’s characteristics, Yu Lian had reached a concrete conclusion.

“In ancient times, a monkey was born from stone; now, a mermaid is reborn from a coral reef.”

“Why would such a terrible fate befall me?”

“I, a dignified man, was never unfaithful.”

“I haven’t even held a girl’s soft hand, let alone spoken of romance.”

“Is this how the heavens treat me?”

“I was just taking shelter from the rain!”

“How can I get struck by lightning while standing under an eaves? Is there any justice left?”

Yu Lian muttered to herself, seething with anger.

She didn’t want to be a woman when she was perfectly fine as a man.

Moreover, she wasn’t even human anymore.

“No, I must go ashore!”

“I don’t want to live in the sea. I don’t want to be a mermaid.”

“I haven’t lived enough as a human; whoever wants to be this mermaid can go ahead!”

Without a backward glance, Yu Lian departed from the coral reef that had birthed her.

She propelled herself upward with her fishtail, aiming for the surface.

To return to land, she first needed to find her bearings.

Splash—

Breaking through the surface, Yu Lian shook her wet, silvery-white long hair.

Instinctively, she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the dazzling sunlight above.

“This sun is too blinding; it’s so uncomfortable.”

She frowned, pouting her small lips.

“Ah, the air is so free! It smells wonderful.”

“It’s much more comfortable than staying underwater.”

She swam around joyfully, suddenly diving beneath the waves, then leaping out again.

Under the sun’s rays, her form was graceful, her silvery-white scales on her fishtail gleaming with a golden hue.

“Complaints aside, this body is much more agile than my human one.”

“Hmph, but I still want to be human, not a mermaid.”

After playing for a while, she grew tired.

Yu Lian rested briefly, then fixed on a direction and swam swiftly.

When she had started, she hadn’t known where she was.

All she could see was the boundless ocean, with no sign of land.

But it didn’t matter; as long as she kept to one direction, she would eventually reach shore.

After three days and nights, Yu Lian finally saw land—a beacon of hope.

Without waiting to celebrate, she sped up, her fishtail thrashing more vigorously, eager to surge onto the shore in one go.

However, just as she was about to reach the land, Yu Lian suddenly hesitated, stopping short.

“In this state, can I even stand on land?”

She gazed at her fishtail, her face etched with worry.

“If people saw me like this, wouldn’t it cause quite a stir?”

“This is an extinct mermaid, you know.”

“If greedy people saw me, I’d probably be captured and sold to wealthy collectors to be kept in a fish tank.”

Land was right before her eyes, so close, yet Yu Lian felt it was a world away.

Perhaps this was a sign that she was no longer human.

Humans found safety on land, but she now felt safer in the sea.

“I don’t care! I’d rather die on land than be a mermaid!”

With a resolute heart, Yu Lian launched herself from the sea, tracing a graceful arc through the air as she leaped toward the ground.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

Yu Lian had mentally prepared herself to crawl on land, as she had no legs.

But upon successfully landing, her fishtail miraculously transformed into legs.

“Huh, I have legs?”

“Heavens, you do have a conscience! I’ve wronged you.”

The joy came so swiftly that Yu Lian was momentarily overwhelmed.

She bounced back and forth on the ground, as if confirming whether it was reality or a dream.

“It even comes with clothes, hehe.”

“Now I don’t have to worry too much.”

“As a woman, it’s better to be decent; being half-naked would be a bit embarrassing.”

Yu Lian didn’t want to be seen naked by others.

She hadn’t even had a good look at herself yet; how could she let others see her so easily?

It was only right that she be the first to see, wasn’t it?

She immediately acted on the thought.

She had already inspected her upper body; next was her lower body.

Yu Lian swallowed hard, pinching a corner of the form-fitting, silvery-white long dress, and slowly squatted down.

As a mermaid, her lower body had only been a tail.

Now, as a human, it was no longer a tail.

With a soft ‘puff,’ it sounded as if a nosebleed splattered to the ground.

Yu Lian fell backward, her eyes swirling like mosquito coils, blood rushing to her head as she fainted.

Her life had been worth it; she had no regrets, even in death.

****

“Hey, have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Recently, a rumor has spread that eating mermaid flesh can grant immortality.”

“Really? Is it true?”

“Why would I lie to you? Many cultivation families have already set off for the deep sea, searching for mermaids.”

Yu Lian, who had been eagerly watching a plain steamed bun and salivating, froze.

She stiffly turned her neck.

‘What? Did I hear that right? Eating me grants immortality? Why didn’t I know about this?’