A Secret Retreat and a Jade Bracelet’s Meaning

Within an hour, Xiyue had devised a solution. Ruoli, submerged in the water, felt only slightly better, her spirits still low as she lay there, yawning softly.

“Xiaoxiao, is Ruoli doing alright?” Xiyue gently knocked on the door.

Su Xiaoxiao’s heart clenched. She quickly glanced at Ruoli’s mermaid tail, then pressed against the door, as if fearing the other woman might suddenly barge in.

“She’s fine now.”

“May I come in?”

Su Xiaoxiao grew even more nervous. “If there’s anything, please say it outside the door. It’s… not very convenient right now.”

Xiyue could imagine the scene inside. Standing by the door, she spoke to Su Xiaoxiao. “Gu Yan said the establishment would be closed for three days. With this intense summer heat, Ruoli’s condition today suggests she might have suffered from heatstroke.”

Su Xiaoxiao listened quietly, offering no response.

Xiyue continued from outside the door, “I know of a summer retreat, a villa that can be reached within half an hour. It’s nestled in the mountains and has clear spring water.”

On such a scorching day, the mere mention of “clear spring water” made Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes light up.

She turned to look at Ruoli, who was swishing her tail in the wooden tub. The little one’s reaction mirrored her own, her eyes sparkling as she softly called out, “Mama…”

Su Xiaoxiao hesitated no longer and agreed immediately. “When should we depart?” she asked.

Xiyue replied, “Anytime.”

“Then please wait a moment while I pack the child’s belongings.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you.”

Xiyue was in a good mood, but Gu Yan, upon seeing the carriage disguised as a demonic beast, felt a headache brewing.

Gu Yan sighed. “I knew it. A summer retreat reachable in half an hour? You’re just taking advantage of how little Xiaoxiao has traveled. This area is all islands; where would you find mountains and clear spring water? You clearly intend to take her…”

Xiyue interrupted her without a change in expression. “I know. That’s precisely why it’s disguised as a demonic beast, so I can take her hundreds of miles away in half an hour.”

Gu Yan was speechless.

Frowning, she asked, “What if Xiaoxiao discovers the truth?”

Xiyue hadn’t considered such a possibility. Though she didn’t particularly dote on infants, Ruoli was undoubtedly a piece of Su Xiaoxiao’s own flesh and blood, and indeed, Xiyue’s kin. There was no denying it.

Xiyue didn’t claim to be a doting mother, yet she couldn’t bear to see the child suffer so much.

Of course, a greater reason was her consideration for Su Xiaoxiao. Su Xiaoxiao, too, was a Mermaid. While her condition was much better, she was still sensitive to heat, and Ruoli’s crying and fussing only wrung Su Xiaoxiao’s heart.

When Gu Yan asked, Xiyue had no answer. Even she hadn’t thought about how she would explain herself to Su Xiaoxiao if the truth were exposed.

However, facts proved that both Gu Yan and Xiyue had worried too much.

They had overestimated Su Xiaoxiao’s intelligence and vigilance, and underestimated her singular focus on Ruoli.

When Su Xiaoxiao emerged, cradling the child, she didn’t notice anything different about the carriage at all. Instead, as if afraid of delay, she quickly boarded the “carriage” and urged Xiyue and Gu Yan to hurry inside.

To create some family time for the trio, Gu Yan volunteered to drive the carriage.

The “carriage” was surprisingly spacious inside—far more so than it appeared from the outside. During the journey, there was only a slight bump at the very beginning; the rest of the ride was exceptionally smooth.

At one point, Su Xiaoxiao tried to lift the curtain to peek outside, only to find the windows sealed shut.

“Sister Niansi, why can’t I open it?” Su Xiaoxiao asked her with confusion.

Xiyue, without batting an eyelid, lied to her. “I don’t know either. This ‘carriage’ is one I rented.”

Su Xiaoxiao gave a soft, naive “Oh,” then added with a sweet smile, “Even though the windows are sealed, it’s surprisingly not hot inside.”

Of course it wasn’t hot. The demonic beast wasn’t running on the ground but flying thousands of meters high in the sky.

However, Su Xiaoxiao was too slow to react and too trusting of both Gu Yan and Xiyue, not doubting their words in the slightest.

Half an hour was enough to travel hundreds of miles. Upon disembarking, they indeed felt no stuffiness or heat; the breeze that met them carried a perfect coolness.

Ruoli had slept through the journey and awoke much more energetic, no longer wanting to frolic.

“This truly is a wonderful place to escape the heat,” Su Xiaoxiao said foolishly.

Xiyue acknowledged her words and led her into the villa. The place was empty of other people but exceptionally clean and tidy, with everything they might need already prepared.

“Is it just us?” Su Xiaoxiao asked, holding Ruoli’s hand, a hint of confusion in her voice.

Gu Yan watched Su Xiaoxiao and couldn’t help but sigh. This little fool was so naive, without a shred of wariness. If Xiyue were truly remorseful now, given Su Xiaoxiao’s muddleheadedness, she would have been terribly taken advantage of.

“It’s just us,” Xiyue told her. “This villa belongs to an old acquaintance of mine.”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded, but then, still a little uneasy, she added, “Is it alright for us to just show up unannounced?”

Gu Yan stood silently by, not uttering a single word, simply watching Xiyue brazenly tell one lie after another.

“It’s fine. I… I paid for it. Consider it rented by us.”

Only then did Su Xiaoxiao relax. Ruoli, meanwhile, had already spotted the channeled mountain spring water upon entering the villa and couldn’t wait to frolic.

She nearly transformed her tail and leaped in, but Su Xiaoxiao saw through her intentions and scooped her up. Discontentedly, Ruoli said to Su Xiaoxiao, “Mama, why are you stopping me? Ruoli wants to play in the water.”

But Su Xiaoxiao merely looked at her with a meaningful gaze and said, “No.”

At these two words, Ruoli suddenly understood. She hastily covered her mouth, mumbling in a muffled voice, “Ruoli didn’t say anything just now.”

Xiyue witnessed this scene. She had to admit that Ruoli’s foolishness was quite endearing at times.

Pretending to know nothing, she told Su Xiaoxiao, “Children naturally love water. Let her play if she wants to.”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded, then whispered something only she and Ruoli could hear.

In the end, Ruoli didn’t transform her mermaid tail and leap into the spring. Instead, she dutifully shed her clothes, donning a small bellyband before running into the water.

She was well-behaved and beautiful, laughing continuously, completely unlike her loud wailing from an hour ago.

Ruoli was very fair, just like Su Xiaoxiao. Normally, dressed in clothes, and with Xiyue not paying much attention to her, the red jade bracelet on Ruoli’s tender, exposed arm looked exceptionally striking in the sunlight.

Xiyue froze. The red jade bracelet on the child’s hand was like a heavy knock on her heart, briefly throwing her thoughts into disarray.

“What she’s wearing on her wrist…” Xiyue started to ask, “Is that one I gave her?” but quickly changed her words to, “What is that?”

Su Xiaoxiao followed her gaze, smiled faintly, and in a calm tone, replied, “It’s for protection and peace.”

These few words made Xiyue’s breath hitch. Her body, from head to toe, felt as though it had been stimulated by something, tingling for a long while.

Her heart felt as if it would leap from her chest, making Xiyue’s emotions incredibly complex. She thought that feeling must be joy.

Earlier, when she knew she was about to undergo a tribulation, facing a near-certain death, she had wanted to seek Su Xiaoxiao’s forgiveness but knew it was too late. Selfishly, she didn’t want Su Xiaoxiao to forget her, so she used her heart’s blood and cultivation to forge another red jade bracelet, intending to give it to the child.

When Xiyue gave it, she even thought Su Xiaoxiao would throw it into the sea. But she never expected Su Xiaoxiao to keep it, and even truly wear it on the child’s wrist.

What did this mean? Did it mean Su Xiaoxiao had already forgiven her in her heart? Or perhaps, she no longer hated her as she once did?

With a thousand words on her tongue, Xiyue found herself unable to speak them. In the end, she could only suppress her surging emotions and pretend to be calm, saying, “It suits her well.”

But she didn’t remain calm for long. As evening approached, Xiyue saw Su Xiaoxiao playing in the water alongside Ruoli.

On Su Xiaoxiao’s hand was the red jade bracelet Xiyue had personally placed on her, identical to the one on the child’s hand.

Su Xiaoxiao smiled gently with the child, and that dazzling splash of red, silent yet immensely, satisfied Xiyue’s possessive desires.