The Unconvincing Lie and a New Arrival

Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes were swollen and red, giving her a fierce, determined look. Gu Yan, upon waking and finding no trace of Su Xiaoxiao, immediately sensed trouble. Just as she suspected, she discovered the little fish, Su Xiaoxiao, in the main hall of the Mermaid Clan, ready to lodge a complaint.

As Gu Yan stepped inside, she saw several elders of the Mermaid Clan, all from the ‘Yun’ generation, gathered around Su Xiaoxiao. Even Empress Yunfa was there, offering soft words of comfort.

“Xiaoxiao, why are you here? I was just looking for you,” Gu Yan said, forcing a cheerful tone despite the awkwardness.

Yunfa, known for her fiery temper, immediately felt the urge to draw her sword and demand Gu Yan’s true intentions regarding Xiyue. However, with Su Xiaoxiao present, she couldn’t speak so directly.

Suppressing her anger, Yunfa instead said, “Come outside with me. We need to talk.”

Gu Yan was far too shrewd to fall for that. If she were to step outside, she knew she’d likely be packing her bags and summarily expelled from the Mermaid Clan’s waters.

“Is there something you can’t say in here?” Gu Yan retorted. Unlike the naive merfolk, her skill in deception was naturally superior.

“Xiaoxiao, I told you last night it was just a nightmare. Why did you run to your elders to complain so early in the morning?” Gu Yan smiled, her tone so sincere that she seemed utterly incapable of deceit.

As she spoke, her gaze burned into Yunfa, silently pleading for her to play along and help gloss over the matter.

Yunfa remained silent for a moment. The Clan Leader, rubbing his forehead, glanced at Yunfa and remarked, seemingly out of nowhere, “Perhaps you truly were the most suitable choice to be the Clan Leader back then.”

Yunfa merely flicked her eyes towards Gu Yan, instantly grasping the underlying meaning. She then offered a faint smile and replied with serene composure, “But I am not.”

Su Xiaoxiao, bewildered by their veiled exchange, was about to ask for clarification when the Clan Leader cleared his throat. He spoke in a dry, strained voice, “Xiaoxiao, last night, no anomalies were detected with the barrier. It might indeed have been a nightmare.”

He had set the precedent, and the others naturally understood.

The merfolk were terrible liars, each one appearing more awkward than the last. Su Xiaoxiao, however, seemed to twist her pain into a strange, almost defiant certainty.

“Yes! The most…”

“That’s right!”

Her voice boomed, practically screaming the words ‘I’m lying to you’ across her face.

Gu Yan’s expression froze, threatening to crack under the strain.

Yunji nudged Yunxian, who then gritted their teeth and managed, “It must have been a nightmare. Demon Venerable Xiyue wouldn’t dare to come here.”

Gu Yan merely stared, speechless.

‘They’re truly terrible liars! Do they honestly think Su Xiaoxiao is so foolish she’d believe such obvious falsehoods?’ Gu Yan thought, exasperated.

Su Xiaoxiao, however, paused, then turned her tear-reddened, rabbit-like eyes to Yunji, who sat beside her.

Yunji simply offered a gentle smile. She didn’t lie, but instead offered comfort: “There’s no need to be afraid. We are all here with you.”

If only Gu Yan had said it, Su Xiaoxiao would never have believed her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dragged her heavy body to the Clan Leader and elders at dawn.

Yet, Gu Yan said it was a nightmare, and now the Clan Leader and the others were saying the same thing. With everyone affirming it,

“So, it really was just a dream,” Su Xiaoxiao murmured.

Gu Yan’s mind reeled. ‘…She actually believed it! Su Xiaoxiao truly believed it!’

She couldn’t help but wonder: if Su Xiaoxiao was so simple-minded and easily swayed, why had Xiyue gone to such lengths? Wouldn’t it have been effortless to manipulate Su Xiaoxiao’s feelings if she truly liked her?

If Su Xiaoxiao was foolish, then Xiyue, the esteemed Demon Venerable, must have cultivated herself into an idiot as well, proving herself no wiser.

Just then, Jingling, whose turn it was to deliver breakfast, entered. Her hands were empty, as Xilin, walking beside her, carried everything.

Jingling was particularly shy. The little crown princess, Xilin, wagged her tail towards Yunji and let out a soft cry of “Mama!”

Jingling, meanwhile, politely greeted everyone, even bowing slightly to Gu Yan, an outsider.

Yunji, seeing Xilin’s flippant demeanor, bristled with irritation. “Can you not behave yourself?”

Xilin ignored her, instead asking Su Xiaoxiao, “Little Sister Xiaoxiao, why are you here so early? Are you feeling unwell?”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head weakly, her spirits low. “It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Didn’t sleep well?” Xilin’s eyes widened in sudden understanding. “Oh, is it because you saw…mmph!” The name Xiyue was cut off before she could utter it.

Yunji had already stepped forward, clapped a hand over Xilin’s mouth, and, with a tight, humorless smile, dragged her out of the room.

“Xilin, you’ve arrived at just the right time. Have you forgotten the move I taught you a few days ago? There’s no time like the present; Auntie will test you today.”

“Mmph! Mama—” Xilin reached out, pleading for Yunji to save her, but Yunji merely shook her head gently in response.

‘Elder Yunji, Xilin…’ Jingling watched with concern. Her clear, sapphire-like eyes never left Xilin.

Su Xiaoxiao felt a vague sense of unease. She couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, but something felt off. “Was she trying to say something?” she asked.

“No!”

Everyone, except Jingling and Yunji, denied it in unison.

Yunji placed the breakfast on the table, then picked up a pair of chopsticks from the food box and handed them to Su Xiaoxiao. “You didn’t rest well last night. After you eat, I’ll take you back. Sleep soundly during the day and don’t overthink things.”

She soothed Su Xiaoxiao gently, “If you’re unhappy, your little fish pup inside will know, and she’ll worry about you.”

Su Xiaoxiao, trusting Yunji’s words implicitly, nodded shyly, no longer dwelling on the events of the previous night.

Gu Yan had intended to warn Xiyue not to appear before Su Xiaoxiao again for a while. If she truly frightened Su Xiaoxiao, causing irreversible harm, regret would be too late.

However, for several days, Xiyue did not return. Gu Yan had just begun to think Xiyue had a rare moment of self-awareness, when another wave of trouble arose.

This time, the unexpected guest was none other than Emperor Weili, the ruler of Shanghua Heaven.

Unlike Xiyue, Weili arrived at the Mermaid Clan in broad daylight, accompanied by a retinue of trusted Heavenly Soldiers and a procession of lavish gifts, making a grand display.

By Clan Leader Yunxiao’s command, the barrier had been locked, and she should not have been able to enter. However, the Emperor possessed a barrier token, obtained from Yunji years ago, which allowed even non-merfolk to pass through the enchantment.

The barrier’s energy had sensed Weili the moment she stepped in. Yunji was not in the Mermaid Hall; she was in the mountain’s spiritual herb fields, a small bamboo basket on her back, toiling alongside other merfolk.

A little mud had stained the hem of her pristine clothes, but Yunji paid it no mind. A fine sheen of sweat dotted her brow. As she straightened to wipe it away, she didn’t forget to glance back at Xilin, who was playing and splashing with several younger merfolk in a nearby stream.

The little merfolk had all transformed into their original forms, swimming playfully in the water, occasionally splashing their companions with their tails.

Xilin, too, was overcome with a playful spirit. When she joined them, she also shifted into her true form. Unlike the other merfolk, whose upper and lower bodies differed from their human forms, Xilin’s original form was a golden dragon.

Though still young, her true body was somewhat small, yet it shimmered with such blinding golden light that it dazzled the eyes, making her particularly conspicuous among the group of small merfolk.

Yunji’s fair fingers were smudged with a bit of earth, but she didn’t care. Instead, she watched the young merfolk play with a warm smile, her mood exceptionally bright.

“Elder Yunji, you don’t need to do these tasks with us,” an older merfolk, toiling alongside Yunji, gently remarked.

Yunji had been away from the Mermaid Clan for too long. All other races likely only knew Empress Yunji, unaware that such an exalted life was not what she truly desired.

As it was now, living a simple, ordinary life, free from schemes and power struggles, with her child, clan members, and friends by her side—that was truly enough.