Chapter 65: The Man-Eating Monster

For Quanxi, the memories of the royal court were nothing but beautiful. Father, mother... everything around him revolved solely about him, as if he were the protagonist of this world, the pride of all. Later, when his younger brother Quan’an became the King of the Mermen, his own status was just as unshakable. He did whatever he pleased, encountering no resistance at all.

When he wished to pursue the unfinished business of the late king, countless people came to his aid; when he wanted to go ashore, the entire Whitefin clan supported him wholeheartedly. Yet, how young and ignorant he had been! He believed all of it to be his due, never realizing how many people he had frustrated, hurt, or disappointed along the way.

The follies of youth, those wild acts of adolescence and early manhood, always demand repentance in old age. The closer he drew to the royal court, the more anxious Quanxi became.

The nearer the homeland, the more timid the heart; he dared not even ask the travelers.

“What is it? What are you worrying about?” The voice of Tiger Jiao sounded at his ear. Quanxi looked up to see Tiger Jiao’s four eyes staring at him in unison.

Those four eyes seemed to possess some strange power, making Quanxi’s head ache as if it would split. He endured the discomfort and managed to say, “Your... eyes are out.”

“Sorry,” Tiger Jiao replied with an awkward chuckle, then—under Quanxi’s startled gaze—the two extra eyes on his forehead withdrew.

Witnessing this, Quanxi breathed a silent sigh of relief, though his heart grew more wary.

After the first seven days, Quanxi had already seen through Tiger Jiao’s true nature.

In essence, Tiger Jiao remained a monster—a man-eating beast. Quanxi had once kept a clever wild merman follower named Xingwu, whom he was quite fond of. Yet Tiger Jiao had taken no liking to him, swallowing him whole in a single bite.

As for other living creatures, few could escape Tiger Jiao’s clutches, including some mermen.

To say Tiger Jiao had grown gentle meant only that he no longer slaughtered indiscriminately as before, but he certainly had not become a paragon of civility, warm and refined as jade.

He was a monster, a monster wearing human skin.

The bitter irony was that this monster truly regarded him as a friend.

To Tiger Jiao, Quanxi was both merman and friend. Mermen who were not friends were simply food.

This distinction was clear in Tiger Jiao’s mind, but far less comforting in Quanxi’s. He felt deeply uneasy.

After all, no matter what, the mermen were his kin—once the only intelligent species in the ocean, the chosen of the gods.

And now, all was lost.

“How far are we from the royal court?” Quanxi took a deep breath and asked.

Tiger Jiao, unconcerned, grinned and replied, “The royal court? We should be close. That ahead should be Zhicheng—not far from the court, I’d say.”

Zhicheng?

The name was vague and unfamiliar. It must have been a settlement established after he left the royal court; he knew nothing of it.

Still, whatever the city, once inside all would become clear.

With this thought, Quanxi turned to Tiger Jiao and said, “Tiger Jiao, can you promise me not to go on a killing spree or devour mermen within the domain of the royal court?”

Tiger Jiao snickered, baring his sharp teeth. “When have you ever seen me go on a rampage? If I ate all the mermen, where would the next ones come from? Don’t you agree?”

He maintained his smug, self-satisfied air.

“I’m a merman too,” Quanxi could finally hold back no longer. “Given time, will you eat me as well?”

“You’re not like the others. We’re friends,” Tiger Jiao replied, teasing.

Quanxi fell silent, finally nodding in reluctant acceptance.

The two said nothing more as they approached Zhicheng.

From a distance, they could see mermen toiling everywhere. Patrols marched by, binding up mermen and herding them into the city; soldiers drilled in formation, and massive sea-ink beasts were being hastily trained outside the walls.

The city walls were battered and broken. Though the surrounding waters no longer ran red, Quanxi could still sense the lingering stench of blood—a battle had only just taken place.

Even from afar, Quanxi could see that Zhicheng’s guards exuded a formidable air, seasoned by many fights.

The royal court’s division was not a lie.

His emotions were complex, but Tiger Jiao remained as breezy as ever. “I hear Zhicheng is some city of the southern frontier—the southernmost city of the royal court. Not many soldiers here. The king of the court is a brother to the one here. Mostly, they’re at war with Qu Shui City.”

It was almost comical: Tiger Jiao, who usually treated mermen as snacks, seemed quite informed about the affairs of their royal court.

But, after all these years, Tiger Jiao had found no one he could speak with as an equal. He spent most days sleeping out of boredom, sometimes listening to refugees tell tales from afar. If their stories pleased him, he’d let them go. If not, he’d eat them.

Quanxi nodded, took a deep breath, and strode toward the city.

“Halt! Who goes there?” The merman guards on the gate spotted Quanxi and Tiger Jiao from afar and immediately barked a command, ordering them to stop.

Startled by this, Quanxi instantly felt a chill creep up his back. He turned to see Tiger Jiao’s forehead begin to twist, as if the extra pair of eyes was about to open.

“Wait—!” Quanxi’s heart sank. He barely had time to speak before—bang!—the stench of blood exploded in the water.

The merman soldier who had shouted was sliced clean in half, dissolving into the waves.

“What?!” “What happened?!”

Panic erupted all around. Tiger Jiao’s expression grew icy.

“Wait!” Without hesitation, Quanxi stepped forward, summoning all the energy from his core and shouting, “I am Quanxi, son of the late king and elder brother to King An! How dare you behave so rudely?!”

His spirit-infused voice echoed far and wide, carrying in all directions.

The declaration stunned the surrounding mermen.

Son of the late king, brother to King An?!

They were but common mermen, unfamiliar with royal affairs. Among the slaves who had migrated from the court, only vague legends remained—that long ago, a prince had vanished. No one remembered his face or details.

“Quanxi, it seems your name isn’t as useful as you thought,” Tiger Jiao’s mocking voice sounded again. “Shall I help you out?”