Volume One: Hidden in the Depths of the Azure Abyss Chapter Nine

Over the next few days, the two of them practiced archery and swordsmanship together in the hills behind the estate.

“Look, you need to do it like this—raise your hand a bit higher, keep your gaze level,” the girl explained, gently guiding Geng Yuan’s hand. They stood so close that it seemed they could hear each other's heartbeats.

Jinli noticed the boy's gaze and smiled, “Don’t look at me, look at the arrow.”

The boy smiled softly, drew the bow, but missed the target.

She comforted him, her face radiating a rare combination of tenderness and playful charm. He, the young lord of the Southern Sea, surely should know how to shoot an arrow.

Two peaceful months passed before Jinli discovered a side of Geng Yuan little known to others. He could laugh and joke with her like any other youth, and occasionally reveal a childlike innocence.

Geng Yuan smiled more often now, and spoke to her with increasing openness. He began to share amusing stories.

“Lady, Lady, do you know what happened at the marketplace today?” he would say, picking vegetables with a conspiratorial air. “Aunt Lu and Grandpa He got into a quarrel—do you know why?”

She set aside her book and asked, smiling, “Why?”

“Lu’s youngest daughter has fallen for He’s son, and declared she’ll marry him and bring him home.”

“Is that true?”

“It’s true.”

Seeing his certainty, Jinli marveled at how the once aloof young lord had become so well-informed and cheerful—perhaps his true nature was finally emerging.

“In Lianchuan, people follow their hearts. If you like someone, you unite with them. Just as I like you—I want to hide you away, so no one else can see you, only I can.”

The sudden confession startled the boy; his expression froze for a moment, then a faint smile curled his lips. He didn’t reply, only pinched the vegetables in his hand.

Jinli flipped her palm, producing a wedding invitation. “I’ve already received their invitation,” she said.

Geng Yuan grinned, tossing the vegetables to Jiang Ji. “Jiang Ji, wash these.”

“Shall we go join the festivities?” Jinli asked.

The boy nodded.

They lived as ordinary lovers, without quarrels, always finding new things to talk about. As the tranquil days passed, summer neared its end. Among the verdant leaves, the pears ripened.

“Is it this one?” Jiang Ji asked, perched in the tree, as Yun Xiang directed him from below.

“Yes, yes, that’s the one.”

Watching them pluck pears, Jinli read her book, while Geng Yuan silently peeled lotus seeds for her.

“Here,” he offered.

Jinli naturally accepted. As Geng Yuan stood, she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Picking pears.”

“Are you sure you can?”

At her skeptical tone, he lowered his gaze and raised an eyebrow. “You doubt your man’s abilities?”

At those words, they both froze, and Geng Yuan’s cheeks flushed instantly.

Jinli didn’t know how to respond; she slowly raised her book to hide her face and said, “Go on, then.”

She couldn’t help but laugh quietly.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected himself to blurt out such words. She lowered the book and watched him pick pears under guidance, smiling at his awkwardness.

His smile was pure, his eyes bright—the very image of a boy in summer.

Jinli was suddenly struck by a thought: if this little merman ever faced danger while she was away, what would happen?

She rose and left.

She didn’t return until late that night, when she found Geng Yuan waiting with dinner prepared.

“Where did you go?” he asked.

Jinli shook her head and chuckled, “Nowhere special.”

Yun Xiang called out, “Lady, young lord, come quickly.”

Jinli pulled Geng Yuan’s hand. “Let’s go.”

After dinner, Jinli smiled at Geng Yuan. “Come, I have a gift for you.”

“What is it?”

She led Geng Yuan to the lotus path. Under the night sky, lotus flowers glimmered with firefly lights, their fragrance filling the tranquil air. The heavens above were clear and deep, stars scattered, adding to the serenity.

“Here.” She placed a ring in Geng Yuan’s palm, then slid it onto his index finger. He looked at the jet jade ring, noticing how its dark hue accentuated his slender, fair fingers.

“This is a Meteor Ring. If you ever miss me, you can use magic to open it and come to my side. If you’re in danger, it will bring you to me.”

Geng Yuan stared at the ring, momentarily dazed. “What’s wrong? Are you so happy you’ve gone silly?” Jinli teased.

He lifted his head and smiled, “Thank you.”

“Thank me? Isn’t it my duty to protect my little merman?”

Geng Yuan smiled faintly, “Don’t say such things.”

“Such things? How is that nonsense?”

“You’re acting rather like a lunatic now.”

“Lunatic? If we’re comparing lunacy, young lord, you’re not far behind.”

Geng Yuan laughed, his eyes full of joy as he examined the Meteor Ring.

“Young lord, have you fallen for me?” Jinli asked.

He said nothing, his smile dimming. Though all this was due to the spell of the Beauty Gu, he found himself increasingly unable to control his feelings.

“I’ll go now,” he said.

He didn’t answer her question. After another word of thanks, he departed. Jinli watched his retreating figure, thinking he must be shy, and couldn’t help but laugh.

No matter, there was still time; she could wait.

Three days later, Lu’s youngest daughter was to be wed, and they planned to join the celebration. After preparations, Jinli transformed herself into a young man.

Geng Yuan almost didn’t recognize her. “Can’t you show your true face?”

Jinli glanced down at her robes. “Don’t I look good?”

Quite good—in fact, even as a man, she looked striking.

He nodded. “...It suits you.”

“Then all is well.”

The four of them had just left Lianchuan and arrived at Pear Blossom Valley when they encountered the Crown Prince of the Southern Sea and Nan Mo.

Yun Xiang remembered, “Lady, I forgot—the Crown Prince sent a visiting notice before, saying he wanted to come thank you in person. I forgot to mention it.”

Jinli raised her hand, “It doesn’t matter.”

But beside her, Geng Yuan’s face darkened. The Crown Prince supported the frail Lady Nan Mo, whose injuries still showed no signs of improvement.

“Immortal Yun Xiang,” the Crown Prince greeted.

Yun Xiang nodded. “This humble immortal and his beloved wife come to thank the Lady.”

“Beloved wife?”

Jinli, in her male guise, signaled to Yun Xiang. Yun Xiang replied, “Lady is away; if the Crown Prince has anything to say, you may tell me, and I’ll relay it.”

“Then I’ll trouble you, Immortal.”

Jinli glanced at Geng Yuan and noticed the deep affection in his eyes, which quickly shifted to surprise and frustration. He lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable, and his grip on her hand turned cold.

Lady Nan Mo spoke, “Little Yuan.”

The boy stiffened, raising his head in embarrassment, as if caught in a misdeed.

He hurriedly released Jinli’s hand.

She was taken aback.

“Aunt.”

Nan Mo asked, “Why are you here? Didn’t Azhe say you’d gone traveling?”

Azhe, of course, was the Crown Prince.

At that moment, the Crown Prince gazed at Nan Mo with an intensity of love he could hardly conceal.

The boy looked up at Nan Mo, and Jinli was startled—she had never seen such tenderness in his eyes before.

But then she wondered if it was just her imagination.

She felt an inexplicable discomfort in her heart.

“Lady Nan Mo, Geng Yuan now belongs to me,” Jinli declared.

Lady Nan Mo’s elegant face went pale with shock.

“Little Yuan, you...”

In just a few months, the boy had acquired a taste for the sleeve.

Jinli felt her anger rise—what was wrong with Lianchuan? Was it some dangerous place?

She wrapped an arm around the boy’s neck, stood on tiptoe, and pressed a kiss to his lips, then looked challengingly at Nan Mo.

Geng Yuan frowned, but before he could push Jinli away, she stepped aside.

She cast him a cold glance. “Whether you stay or go, it’s up to you.”

With that, she vanished in a swirl of mist, leaving Pear Blossom Valley behind.

Truly, it was not a good day to venture out.

Less than half an hour later, Geng Yuan returned.

Jinli was reading.

“So, you didn’t leave?”

The boy said nothing; when she looked up, his cool lips gently brushed her forehead.

Then, he spoke softly, “Don’t make me leave, please?”

Geng Yuan must have thought himself mad—exposed before the one he cared for most. When Nan Mo told him she would marry Azhe, he realized how ridiculous his feelings were. They were both similar in temperament; why had Nan Mo chosen Azhe over him?

He still had to wish them happiness. Absurd.

Perhaps it was because Azhe was the true son of the Sea Lord, and Geng Yuan merely an adopted child.

To keep someone, one needs power.

Jinli listened to his plaintive words, feeling a strange heat rise within her. Only by drawing closer to Geng Yuan could she calm the fire.

Perhaps she had misread the situation earlier.

“All right.”

A few days passed. Jinli sat beneath the pear tree, sipping tea and leafing through her book, speaking to Yun Xiang at her side, “Yun Xiang, tomorrow I must descend to the mortal realm for my tribulation. Watch over Pear Blossom Valley, and return all visiting notices sent to Lianchuan.”

Yun Xiang answered respectfully and continued, “And the young lord—after I leave tomorrow, send him back to the Southern Sea. Choose a few careful attendants from Pear Blossom Valley to escort him. Understood?”

“Rest assured, Lady, I’ll see the young lord safely home.”

Jinli smiled, set down her teacup, and glanced around. “Where’s the young lord? I don’t see him.”

“It’s nearly time for dinner; he must be busy.”

Jinli nodded, saying no more.

In the kitchen, Jiang Ji watched the young lord, arranging the food before him. “Young lord, all the tribal leaders are ready, just awaiting your next instructions.”

Geng Yuan paid him no heed, continuing to carve a pear blossom, and asked, “Jiang Ji, do you think what I’m doing is right?”

Tomorrow was the day of Nan Mo’s wedding, and yet he planned to launch a coup. In doing so, he would hurt the one Nan Mo loved. Was it right or wrong?

Geng Yuan asked, “How are the tribal leaders progressing?”

Jiang Ji replied, “Rest assured, young lord, all is going smoothly. Now the western and southern seas are ours. Tomorrow, as the Lady weds, the leaders will rise up and overturn the West and South Seas with ease. These past months, you’ve been in Lianchuan; no matter how the Lady thinks, she won’t suspect you.”

Geng Yuan stroked the dagger in his hand, his handsome face showing a profound, inscrutable smile.

Lost in thought, the blade snapped.

He looked at the broken knife with indifference, his expression one of disdain, and said carelessly, “Pass the order: not a single one of the Southern Sea’s dragon clan is to be spared.”

“Not a single one?”

Jinli’s voice rang out behind them, echoing through the room.