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The Cormorants were squawking endlessly. They continued to fly around a single spot, diving one after another into the dark water in a manner similar to how they would hunt for fish. But it wasn’t a fish that they were seeing. The birds dove and rose, sometimes kicking at the water's surface, making a commotion so loud that it was enough to wake an entire town — except that there was no town to be found in the middle of the sea.
On his little fishing boat, Xiao Chiye watched in bewilderment as his Cormorants were behaving unusually hostile and refused to listen to his order. He thus rowed his boat closer, with curiosity wanting to investigate the cause of it. Holding a long oar in his hands, he stood at the side of his boat, lightly shoving the wooden pole into the heart of the splashes made by the birds.
The tip of his oar seemed to have poked at something. Before he could see what it was, the water gurgled and a huge splash washed over him, toppling him backward that the youth fell disgracefully on his butt. Xiao Chiye was filled with irritation and his mouth was ready to release a torrent of curses, yet it was at this moment that he realized it wasn’t the force of the water that had forced him down to his back.
Hovering above him, a “creature” was pinning down both of his arms; its body was wet and dripping with saltwater. The “creature” was hissing at him; though its strength was nothing Xiao Chiye could not fight back against, it was still considerably powerful and should not be underestimated.
Xiao Chiye’s line of view was blocked by wet long strands that seemed to be the “creature’s” black hair. Just then, the grey clouds that had been covering the moon shifted as they were blown by the wind.
Under the pale moonlight, a face more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen in his life was revealed before his eyes.
But that face…did not belong to a human being.
***
The sea was vast and boundless. How many uncharted islands were there still waiting to be discovered? What secret was hiding in the unseen depth of the blue waves? For so many years, decades, even centuries, countless people had tried to become the first ones to unravel these mysteries. Some returned with testimonies, some returned empty-handed, while some others simply didn’t return at all. The stories brought back by those who lived to tell the tales varied in length and clarity. A few of those often sounded much too unbelievable to be true. There were also stories revolving around the same subject yet differed in details between one storyteller and the other, thus often living on as nothing more as myths and folklores.
Such grandeurs were certain to instill excitement in the hearts of the listeners — or fear for the more cowardly individuals. Either way, it made no difference what kind of emotions one felt after hearing those stories if they had no capability to ever venture into the high seas in their life to see what it looked like for themselves.
Xiao Chiye sat listlessly outside his house, in the courtyard overlooking the sea. The golden rays of sunset showered down upon his person; the ocean breeze gently caressing his long black hair that was tied up into a ponytail, making the tips flutter every now and then. He was a handsome young man, so handsome that anyone who saw him would turn their heads to have a glance at his dashing appearance. Even when he was sitting down, one could immediately tell that he had an extremely tall build — perhaps the tallest among all the townspeople.
Yet for such a young man brimming with virility, there was barely any liveliness that could be detected from his person. His eyes looked bored, so bored that it almost seemed as if he was about to melt into his surroundings, becoming an invisible shadow loitering without purpose in the corner. He barely possessed any energy; from the way it appeared, it would make no difference whether he was asleep or awake, for nothing seemed like it would be able to excite him.
All of a sudden, he let out a long, heavy sigh, probably heavy enough to pull his soul out of his body if it was to last just a few seconds longer.
“What’s taking Brother so long?” scratching the back of his head, he then curled up on the divan and hugged his knees, swaying back and forth while pouting, “I wanna leave soon. I’m going to die if I have to wait any longer.”
He let out a yawn, opening his mouth wide without a care whatsoever about manners.
Just then, amidst the squawking of seagulls flying to and from the sea, a different squawk reached his ears. The youth lifted his head, some of his spirits seemed to be restored a little. On the orange-colored sky, a large bird flew back to the shore, straight toward the house where Xiao Chiye was staying. Upon spotting his figure in the courtyard, the bird flapped its wings once and dove down in his direction.
Xiao Chiye thus rose to his feet and held up his right arm, giving the bird a place to land.
“Welcome back, Meng,” he said to the avian, “Are you done warming up?”
The bird called “Meng” squawked back at him in return.
It was a Great Cormorant, covered entirely in black feathers. Even its webbed feet were black, leaving only its yellowish beak to have a different color from the rest of its body. The bird was considerably large. Perching on Xiao Chiye’s arm, it was almost as tall as half a grown man with its wings folded.
“Brother isn’t back yet, so we can’t go out now,” again, he told the bird, “Go back to your friends first and reserve your strength. I’ll go meet you guys when I’m ready, okay?”
He stroked the bird’s head with his fingers.
Meng squawked at him once more. As if capable of understanding human language, it then proceeded to open its wings, flapping them and flying away.
Xiao Chiye watched the bird leave until its large shadow continued to shrink. It was unclear what he was thinking at the moment, only that the view of the vast sea lying ahead was reflected in the dark spheres of his eyes.
The sound of waves crashing against the sand and rocks were buzzing in his ears; the endless squawking of seagulls continued to fill the sky. If only he could turn into one of those birds, he would’ve easily…
“What are you looking at, A-Ye?”
Xiao Chiye was startled. Hurriedly pulling back his wandering thoughts, he turned around to see someone already standing in the courtyard, right next to him. That person smiled at him, gently but slightly teasing.
“What were you thinking just now that you didn’t even realize me walking into the house? If I had been a burglar, everything would've been emptied a long time ago.”
“...Brother, you’re back,” looking somewhat embarrassed, Xiao Chiye lowered his head and greeted the other person.
“I’m back. Sorry for being late. There were quite a lot of works today that needed to be done.”
This was Xiao Jiming, Xiao Chiye’s oldest and only brother. His visage was also that of a handsome man, but his appearance was much gentler compared to his little brother. He was considerably tall but not as tall as Xiao Chiye, the kind of person with a scholarly aura as opposed to his younger brother who had the makings of an adventurer. Now that they were standing face-to-face like this, the difference between them became more apparent to other people who happened to stumble upon the two siblings together.
“How is Yizhi doing?” Xiao Jiming asked him.
“Sister-in-law is resting right now.”
“I see. Thank you for looking after her.”
“It’s more like she’s the one looking after me,” Xiao Chiye waved his hand, “You know I always sleep during the day.”
“Still, I feel safer to know that you’re there with her instead of leaving her alone with the servants,” his brother patted his shoulder, ”Alright, now that I’m here, you can go out. Do be careful and come back immediately if the weather doesn’t look friendly, okay?”
“I know, I know. I understand," Xiao Chiye stretched his arms, "Then, I’m leaving.”
With that said, he ran off toward the shore.
Just outside the Xiao family's house, there was a small pier where a modest fishing boat was docked in. Not far from the boat, a large bird cage was standing, housing a flock of Cormorants of various sizes and colors. Perching atop the cage, as if supervising its subordinates inside, was the large Great Cormorant named Meng. When it saw Xiao Chiye approaching, it flapped its wings happily; an act that immediately drew the attention of the other birds in the cage. In an instant, the small area was filled with the sound of Cormorants squawking and jumping about in the cage.
"Yes, yes. We're going out now. No need to yell," the youth scolded his birds yet his lips were smiling subtly as he unlocked the cage.
For the fishermen in town, the Cormorants were no less important than nets and lures as their tools of trade. These avians would follow their masters out into the water, hovering above the surface and swiftly catching one fish after the other with their strong beaks. The fishermen would then pull the rope tied around the birds' necks to pull them back to the boat, as well as to prevent them from swallowing the large fish. There, those large fish would be regurgitated and collected — while the birds were allowed the chance to snatch some of the smaller fish in their hunt.
However, for Xiao Chiye, there were no ropes needed to control the avians for he had mastered the art of commanding the Cormorants from a young age, a skill that he learned from his late father, the renowned adventurer, Xiao Fangxu.
To the town's residents where the two Xiao brothers lived, the name "Xiao Fangxu" was known to all. The adults would speak of him in high regard, the children grew up listening to his heroic adventures.
Coming from a family of regular fishermen, young Xiao Fangxu had always had a particular obsession with the high seas. One day, he decided to broaden his horizons and joined the crew of a merchant's ship, embarking on his very first sail. From there, he slowly built his experiences, jumping from one ship crew to the other, be it merchants or adventurers, taking part in as many journeys as he could until he finally managed to obtain a large ship of his own, and a band of loyal crew that called him "Captain." He unearthed treasures hidden in uncharted islands, he established a trading network between his hometown and other prosperous cities across the ocean. After he married his childhood sweetheart and was blessed with two sons, every now and then, he would also bring his family on his ship to show them the world.
Among his sons, Xiao Jiming was the more reserved and intelligent one. He quickly understood the ways of trades and how to conduct businesses after watching their father for a while, but when it came to having the soul of a true explorer, possessing the talent and charisma to lead a large crew across dangerous water, there was no one else that resembled Xiao Fangxu more than his youngest son. In fact, even when he was still a babbling little brat who'd wet his bed at night, Xiao Chiye already bravely — and proudly — declared that once he grew up, he would take over his father's position as the captain of the ship. Everyone laughed at him then — his father, his mother, his brother, even the crew — but they all knew that the second young master did seem to have the talent for it if he trained hard enough.
Unfortunately, a few years afterward, a heavy storm raged and stirred the waves of the ocean. Xiao Fangxu and his crew were on their way back home after yet another fruitful adventure when their ship was caught in the tempest. Struggled as they might, but the strength of humans could never compare to the power of mother nature. That night, the renowned adventurer and his ships were swallowed into the unknown depth — a calamity that belatedly struck his family like thunder in broad daylight months after the incident when an acquaintance’s ship coincidentally sailed past the same water, discovering remnants of Xiao Fangxu’s ship floating on the now calm waves.
Ever since then, deeply scarred by the tragic death of her husband, Madam Xiao forbade her two sons from venturing into the high seas again for fear of losing them, and out of love for their mother, the two brothers continued to fulfill her wish to this day, even after she had passed away.
Xiao Jiming eventually worked up his way to become one of the town’s respected government officials. In a manner a bit much like their father, he married his childhood friend, Lu Yizhi, and their conjugal bliss would soon give birth to their first child.
Xiao Chiye, on the other hand, was perpetually torn for a long time between wanting to keep his promise to their mother and fulfilling his lifelong dream of journeying across the ocean. Unable to completely remove his attachment to the sea, he ended up picking up the Xiao family’s old occupation as a fisherman, leaving the shore every night only to come back the next morning, never departing too far from the town’s territory.
Pushing his small boat into the water, Xiao the Second nimbly jumped onto the wooden craft with a long oar in hand. Meng and about half a dozen Cormorants followed their master; some flying above him while some others perched leisurely at the side of the boat.
From a shining gold, the sky began to darken little by little. Xiao Chiye continued to row until he left the shallow water, letting the wind blow against his face and his hair. By the time he reached his usual fishing spot in the deeper part of the sea, it was already nightfall.
“Alright, guys. It’s time to work.”
Thus, he released Meng and the flock of Cormorants.
The birds squawked and hovered above the waves, one by one starting to dive into the water and came out carrying fish of all sizes in their beaks. They came back to the boat where their master was waiting, dropping the fish to be collected as tonight’s haul. Xiao Chiye watched as some of the birds sneakily swallowed the smaller fish as they left the bigger ones for him. A tiny smile blossomed on his handsome face, one that was immediately curbed when he looked at the vast expanse spreading beyond the bow of his little boat.
He had never forgotten the first time he sailed past this “boundary” when he was a child. To a little boy like him from back then, his father’s ship looked huge and majestic. He watched in awe as the crew worked swiftly in smooth teamwork, manning the capstan, hauling the mainbrace, rising the large canvases to catch the wind. He wanted to learn everything to be learned about controlling a ship and its crew, he wanted to stand at the helm, steering the massive craft wherever he wanted to go. He wanted to see things that others had never seen before, to go on adventure after adventure until his body expired or the waves swallowed him whole.
Xiao Chiye never once told this to anyone, not even to his older brother who had raised him singlehandedly after their mother followed in their father’s footsteps not long after the latter was lost to the sea, but he never saw their father’s death as a tragedy to be mourned.
Of course, he was deeply saddened. Of course, he despaired over the fact that he didn’t even get one last chance to see him. But deep down in his heart, he couldn’t help but hold his father with the utmost respect. To pursue his dream and brave the unknown, Xiao Fangxu was a true adventurer who lived and died with the sea. Xiao Chiye wanted nothing more than to be like him.
Alas, he was stuck here on his little boat, unable to travel any further past a certain depth and distance from the shore to collect fish, then came back to land in the morning. Would he continue to live this pointless life until he grew old and wrinkled, never having the chance to see the world again?
Yet his reverie was suddenly shattered by the incredible noises made by the Cormorants squawking in unison. Meng was making the loudest noise; it was like the leader of the flock, signaling for its comrades to frantically dive and rise from a single area of the water. Some of them even looked like they were trying to land and kick at something before flying away, then repeating the same motion over and over again. There were huge splashes in the spot where the birds were repeatedly “attacking.” Had they been making this sort of commotion in town, it would’ve been able to wake the entire population in the middle of the night.
“Meng?! Hey, you guys, what’s going on?!”
It could’ve been a shark and the birds were just trying to chase it away to protect him, but from Xiao Chiye’s experiences, not only this part of the water rarely ever had shark sightings, but also when one did appear to attack him, it would’ve swum away as soon as the birds started pecking and screaming at it. He’d had a couple of close encounters with sharks in the past, but in all of those times, the sharks would leave in an instant because Meng and the other birds were really too ferocious. The Cormorants never needed to “fight” this long over one or two sharks.
Driven by curiosity, Xiao the Second eventually picked up his oar and rowed the boat toward the endless splashes caused by the birds. He thought he could hear some noises — voices — amidst the Cormorants’ squawking. “What kind of fish could make a sound like that?” he pondered. Floating just about the perimeter of the birds’ attack spot, he held the long oar with both of his hands, standing at the side of the boat, and lightly shoved the long wooden pole into the water.
The end of his oar immediately poked at something, solid but not rock hard. Then, he got pushed back suddenly by a massive splash of seawater, strong enough to make him topple back and fall on his butt. Xiao Chiye tasted salt in his mouth; he was filled with indignation, the word “fuck” was just about to leave his tongue when he realized he couldn’t move freely.
“Something” was hovering above him, pinning down his arms, and making a threatening sound similar to a hiss.
Meng and the flock of Cormorants were squawking frantically. They were flying in a circle above the boat, wanting to fly down but for some reason hesitant to do so. Strands of long black hair, wet and dripping with seawater, were blocking most of Xiao Chiye’s line of sight. This “creature” was considerably strong; even though the youth was confident he could wrench himself free from its grasp, he didn’t want to act recklessly without knowing who, or what , his enemy was.
At this moment, the wind slightly picked up the pace. The grey clouds that had been covering the moon began to disperse, shifting away in the vast night sky. The pale moonlight thus reached the earth unhindered. Under this glow, a face more beautiful than anyone, anything Xiao Chiye had ever seen before was revealed before his eyes.
Dark eyes, dark hair. That face was so fair there was not a single word in the language of humans that could describe its beauty. The fine brows looked as though they were drawn with the brush of a renowned painter, the long and delicate eyelashes hooded over those charming eyes. Perhaps it was due to the light of the moon, the “creature’s” exceptionally fair complexion looked glowing; water droplets were sliding down its porcelain smooth skin. On his black and white countenance, a single red jasper hung from his right ear; this one drop of color seemed to spark a radiance that further accentuated his beauty.
If there was any flaw in this otherwise perfect visage presented before him, it was the fact that the “creature” was glaring at Xiao Chiye with a menacing expression, and that there was a small yet vivid bruise on its forehead, just above the left eyebrow.
“...Were you the one I hit just now?”
Of all the things that he could say on a first meeting, he just had to veer in this direction. Xiao Chiye instantly felt like he had become stupid after receiving the full blast of such unparalleled beauty right in front of his eyes.
Nevertheless, the “creature’s” hissing ceased and it stared at him instead.
Xiao Chiye had no idea what it was thinking, whether it even understood what he was saying in the first place. Now that he had calmed down considerably, he realized that this “creature” was actually a male. He was simply too beautiful for words that it was hard to determine at first glance. His figure was slender and graceful; his waist was small and if it wasn’t the softest, most kissable lips Xiao Chiye had ever seen, he didn’t know how else he was supposed to describe it.
Yet all of a sudden, the “beautiful man” raised his fist and knocked Xiao Chiye straight on the forehead. Immediately after, he let go of him and jumped off the boat, back into the water. The movement was so swift and calculated that there was nothing Xiao Chiye could do but stare at the ripples left on the dark water where the creature disappeared.
He did remember, however, that just as that creature leaped away from him, in the corner of his eyes, he saw clearly what made the entire lower part of that creature’s body.
Under the human body, it was a long and large tail of a fish, the scales were glimmering white and silver.
***
“A-Ye, are you alright? Does it still hurt?”
Xiao Jiming’s wife, Lu Yizhi, sat on a chair while applying medicine to a large bruise on Xiao Chiye’s otherwise fair forehead. She was a beautiful lady, one whose elegance and gentle demeanor had made her famous among the bachelors in town several years ago. Who knew how many men’s hearts were broken when she chose her childhood friend Xiao Jiming to marry? Likewise, it was also said that many maidens wept into their pillows when it was announced that the Xiao family’s kind and handsome eldest son was betrothed to her. The couple was loved as much as they were envied by others. And now that Lu Yizhi was pregnant with their first child, it seemed that their conjugal bliss was about to blossom even more.
“Weren’t you just going out to the sea to catch some fish as usual? How did you end up injured like that?” Xiao Jiming, who was standing next to his wife, folded his arms and frowned as he stared at the bump on his younger brother’s forehead, “Did you slip and hit yourself?”
“I…” Xiao Chiye paused, digging deep into his brain to draw up a logical excuse, “I saw Meng carrying a huge fish that looked too big for its body. It was really too heavy. When Meng dropped it, I struggled to catch the fish but it was fighting back.”
“And you were tackled down by a fish?”
Swallowing his pride, Xiao Chiye nodded reluctantly.
“...Yeah.”
Xiao Jiming didn’t say another word, but it was clear from his face that he was torn between wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. In fact, Lu Yizhi looked like she wanted to laugh, as well, but she quickly restrained herself and showed the impeccable manner of the lady of the house.
“Alright, alright. There, A-Ye, I’ve finished putting on medicine on your wound. Be careful next time so you don’t hurt yourself again,” she said, rising slowly from her seat then turning to her husband, “Dear, isn’t it time for you to go to work?”
“You’re right,” the eldest Xiao finally managed to curb his grin, “Very well then, I’ll be going now. A-Ye, I’ll leave Yizhi in your care.”
“You speak as if I’m a cripple who can’t take care of myself,” the wife complained.
“I mean nothing of the sort. It’s just in case…”
Xiao Chiye loved his brother and sister-in-law dearly, but he wished they would remember to exempt him before showing affectionate displays toward one another. Unfortunately, for now, he could only pretend to be a decoration and let the couple finish saying their daily goodbyes.
Because he worked at night, Xiao Chiye’s sleeping and waking schedule was naturally different from those who worked during the day. After his brother left for work, he helped out his sister-in-law a bit around the house, then went back to his room to sleep.
As his head hit the pillow, the young fisherman was instantly brought back to the strange encounter from last night.
There were many creatures making the sea their home. Living in a town close to the sea and being someone who also made his livelihood by venturing off the shore every night, Xiao Chiye had seen a fair share of them all these years. However, he was aware that there were many more that he had never borne witness to.
A long time ago, his father and the other grown-ups often recited stories of the unusual encounters they had in their adventures. Xiao Chiye always listened to them, using his limited imagination to pretend he was seeing the same things they did. Among those tales, some were of strange creatures very few humans had come in contact with before, and Xiao Chiye was sure he’d heard of a story describing the “thing” he met last night.
Beautiful creatures from the sea, partly resembling human beings, partly resembling fish. They appeared delicate and charming, when they sang, their voices were said to be heavenly. All people naturally appreciated great beauties; when they encountered one, they would obviously want to get closer. However, it was exactly this “charm” of theirs that made these creatures deadly. Fishermen, sailors, anyone who was sailing across the sea and was drawn by their beauty and voice, they would end up dragged into the water and eaten alive; their boats crashing against rocks and sinking into the bottom of the sea. They would be lost forever.
By logic, the wisest thing for him to do was avoid going off the shore for a while. At the very least, he should consider going to a different spot to fish if he still wants to go out. But Xiao the Second wasn’t always the most logical person. Maybe it was the adventurer’s blood running in him, maybe it was simply the arrogance of a youth — instead of looking for safety, he wanted to look for that creature again to satiate his curiosity.
And so, that night, he departed with Meng and the flock of Cormorants, rowing his boat directly toward the same spot he visited the night before.
Xiao Chiye released the birds to do their job. While waiting to collect the fish they caught, his gaze swept the surrounding waters intently. The sea was calm tonight, waves of dark water rocked his little craft slightly and the breeze brushed against his face. Aside from the splashes and squawking made by the Cormorants, there was practically nothing else of interest.
Would that creature not show up again? Or was it actually just a dream his mind conjured up during his sleep out of boredom? Xiao Chiye rubbed his forehead, feeling the slight pain from the bruise above his eyebrow.
…No, it wasn’t a dream. He was sure of it.
And as though to reciprocate his thinking, out of nowhere, a voice suddenly reached out to him.
Xiao Chiye’s feet staggered. The noisy squawks of Meng and the other birds gradually became distant; the murmuring waves no longer entered his ears. The voice was singing yet at the same time it wasn’t exactly singing. It was like a spell — one that was being recited so beautifully at that. Without his realization, he had picked up his oar and started rowing in the direction of the voice.
The little boat shook lightly as it sailed against the current. For some reason, the wind became stronger, causing the waves to rise higher. Xiao Chiye paid no mind to all of these, however, for he was focused entirely only on rowing forward and forward.
After some time, he finally seemed to notice a familiar figure waiting for him a small distance away.
Long black hair fluttering about in the wind, a complexion so pale yet glowing as though the body was made of the finest pearls, with a single red jasper dangling from its ear. He saw those pretty eyes looking at him, those delicate lips smiling sweetly as the melodies continued to spill and blended with the air. That “creature” extended its arm toward him, inviting him closer. Obediently, Xiao Chiye took a step forward, lifting his hand to reach out.
In the next second, a deafening squawk rang out in his ears, forcefully dragging back his wandering soul into his body.
Meng was leading the Cormorants to crowd the boat. They were screaming at the top of their lungs, the noises were more than enough to make one’s ears ring. The black Great Cormorant itself flew over Xiao Chiye and started pecking at his head. It hurt, but thanks to this, Xiao Chiye’s eyes were finally opened.
Ahead of him was a huge rock protruding above the water's surface, and his boat would soon smash against this immovable wall.
In his haste, Xiao Chiye grabbed his oar and flipped around, desperately rowing in the opposite direction. His muscles protested at the sudden hard labor, but he couldn’t be bothered to think about it at the moment. The boat’s speed was significantly reduced, but it was still heading toward the rock. In the end, it still hit the rock, only that instead of a crash, there was only a thud that broke a small part of the bow.
Xiao Chiye wiped his sweat and sighed. Nevertheless, his relief had yet to settle in when from the water, something jumped out and collided against him, pushing him off the craft and into the sea.
His surrounding became dark at once. He could only faintly see a white shadow flashing past him, after which he felt something pulling his feet. Frantically, Xiao Chiye waved his arms and strove to swim back to the surface, at the same time kicking around in an attempt to free himself.
Something strange happened at this moment. After he kicked a few times, the force pulling his legs suddenly let go without so much as a struggle. However, it then pulled his arms. Noticing his struggle, it let go again and switched to pulling his waist. At first, Xiao Chiye thought this creature was trying to drown him, but now he didn’t think it was the case. It would pull him, release, then pull again. There was no intention to do him harm; rather than an act of evil, it only looked like mischief.
And so Xiao Chiye swam with all his might, climbing his boat, and pushed the craft away from the dangerous rock. Then, he waited. As expected, the creature jumped out of the water to push him off again. But this time, he was prepared. Xiao Chiye caught him instead, pulling him down to the ground. They rolled about on the narrow deck, each trying to overpower the other. In the end, Xiao Chiye came out stronger. In what appeared like a reverse on their first encounter, he managed to pin that creature down beneath him, holding both of its wrists.
“I got you now,” he said, licking his canine tooth and not bothering to hide his satisfaction at all, “Care to explain now why you’ve been messing around with me for two days straight?”
The beautiful creature, the half-man half-fish sea dweller, did not seem afraid in the slightest bit. Instead, he was looking at Xiao Chiye with his eyes half-squinted, one brow raised, and his lips displaying a challenging smile.
“You’re a ‘siren,’ aren’t you?” Xiao Chiye tried to ask him again, “What do you want with me? You weren’t really trying to kill me, but you’ve been persistently bothering me. Do you have a grudge against me or something?”
The siren did not answer. Instead, he suddenly flapped his mighty tail, knocking Xiao Chiye away. The latter immediately rolled over and got back to his feet, preparing himself in case another attack was coming. To his bewilderment, the siren simply dragged his body over, sat at the bow, then started combing his pretty long hair with his fingers, completely ignoring Xiao Chiye.
“I asked him why he’s been messing around with me and he still continues to mess around now,” Xiao the Second thought to himself, partly annoyed but partly interested.
“What’s your name?” he decided to ask.
The siren looked at him from the corner of his eyes, then returned to tend to his hair. It was as though he was telling him that one should introduce himself first before demanding another’s name.
“I’m called Xiao Chiye. Courtesy name Ce’an,” the young fisherman chose to concede for the time being, “You understand human language, don’t you? Stop playing dumb.”
This time, the siren flipped his hair, letting the long black strands fall down his back, leaving only some of it to be scattered down his shoulders to his pale chest. His charming eyes looked at Xiao Chiye.
“Lanzhou,” the siren said curtly. His sudden response after remaining silent for so long stunned Xiao Chiye for a brief moment, even though he was the one who had been trying to make the other talk.
“...Lanzhou,” he repeated, hiding his surprise, “So you’re called Lanzhou. Okay, Lanzhou, now would you mind telling me why you attacked me yesterday and today?”
He was sure he didn’t intrude upon anyone’s territory because he’d been fishing on the same spot so many times over the years and yesterday night was the first time this creature came up at him.
“Birds bad,” the siren said, “I come look. They hit.”
Xiao Chiye raised his brow.
“You were just coming over to look? Then you got attacked by Meng and the others?”
“Then you hit, too. So Lanzhou hit back.”
On Lanzhou’s fair forehead, there were still signs of a small bruise made by none other than the tip of Xiao Chiye’s oar the night before. It really was a pity, a speck of flaw on his otherwise perfect beauty. Seeing that the creature really did have no intention to actually hurt him, Xiao Chiye felt rather bad.
“Fine, sorry about that,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “Meng and the others are all trained by me. If they see something suspicious, they might attack if they think it could be dangerous. I’ll make sure they won’t attack you again.”
“But Ce’an looks tasty. Lanzhou wants to try eat.”
“So he really was harboring an evil intention!”
Meng, who had been perching on the other side of the boat with its kindred, let out a squawk, as if trying to justify its action yesterday.
Lanzhou, on the other hand, was smiling at him, not even trying to hide his mischief.
Despite having just had his status reduced to mere fish food, the second son of the Xiao family still was unable to deny the fact that this sea creature was really very pretty.
“Alright, Lanzhou, how about this? You stop trying to eat me, and I’ll share some of the fish I catch with you,” he attempted to bargain.
“Lanzhou can catch fish alone. Lanzhou needs no help,” the siren refused flat out.
“...Fine. But this way, you just have to sit back and have food delivered to you. All you have to do is cross me out of your dinner course and you don’t have to go through all the troubles hunting food on your own.”
He saw the siren staring at him with an indiscernible expression. Who could tell a sea dweller’s train of thought? Xiao Chiye waited for what seemed like an eternity before he heard Lanzhou speaking to him again.
“Lanzhou agrees. Tomorrow, Ce’an come again, give Lanzhou food.”
“Alright, it’s a deal,” Xiao Chiye internally felt relieved, “So I’ll come here again tomorrow night to see you?”
“Ce’an can go anywhere,” the siren turned around, preparing to leave, “Lanzhou will find Ce’an.”
Just like that, he leaped off the boat and disappeared beneath the dark water, leaving Xiao Chiye who remained standing dumbly on the deck, receiving no opportunity to speak his piece of mind.
***
And thus, the days began when a young, handsome, and perfectly healthy bachelor became a slave to a bewitching sea dweller.
That said, Xiao Chiye soon discovered that Lanzhou was actually not very hard to please. When the siren was nitpicking about something, it was more about him being mischievous on purpose rather than actually being picky. When he wasn’t being naughty, Lanzhou would eat whatever kind of fish Xiao Chiye gave him, big or small. Sometimes, he didn’t ask for food and just sat at the bow of the boat, watching how the young fisherman dispatched the flock of Cormorants to assist him in catching fish in the sea. And as strange as it sounded, he even seemed to have started a friendship with the birds. Meng and the others no longer screamed and attacked him whenever he came close. In fact, Xiao Chiye had spotted the Great Cormorant perching at the bow right next to the siren, as though keeping him company.
Lanzhou was also a curious creature. He would often ask Xiao Chiye about this and that, about the most mundane things to humans yet unbeknownst to the siren. But at the same time, he very rarely talked about himself. Once, Xiao Chiye asked if there were other creatures like him around this water. Lanzhou only shrugged, saying that he never saw any. However, when asked if he had been living alone all his life, the siren would turn away and refuse to speak a word.
It really did make one wonder if there was more to him than what was seen on the surface, and Xiao Chiye had been racking his brains for ways to make the other speak. As it turned out, he didn’t need to think for long because the secret would soon reveal itself before him, albeit in a way that he didn’t quite expect.
That night, Xiao Chiye set sail on his small boat from the shore as usual. The Cormorants squawked one after the other as they flew over him, heading toward the deeper water where they would labor for the entire night. The waves were calm, the wind was nice. There was an abundance of fish to be caught and Xiao Chiye’s boat was soon filled with his catches of the day that the birds caught and dropped.
At a glance, it seemed like an ordinary working night like any other. Except this time, one significant thing was missing from his entire activity.
Lanzhou was nowhere to be seen.
Although their first meeting wasn’t exactly a pleasant one, over time, the siren’s presence had grown on him and it became a habit for Xiao Chiye to see him every night when he went out to fish. Lanzhou never failed to show up; even if Xiao Chiye’s fishing spots weren’t fixed, the siren always managed to find him as promised and jumped onto the deck, leaving only after morning came and Xiao Chiye was about to return to the shore. Now that he didn’t appear for the first time in weeks, it was impossible for Xiao Chiye not to feel the slightest bit concerned.
“Meng, come here.”
The black Great Cormorant squawked and hopped over to its master’s arm. Xiao Chiye stroked the bird’s feathers for a bit, causing the avian to lift its head and leaned toward him, making a happy-sounding noise. Meng was smarter than the other birds, perhaps the most intelligent among all the Cormorants owned by all fishermen in town. Xiao Chiye tamed it personally and taught it many tricks. While it was enough that the other birds could fish for him without needing to be tied with a rope, Meng was capable of many other things.
“Can you find Lanzhou for me?” he stroked the bird’s head, “You don’t have to go too far. Just look around here. If you can’t find him, that’s fine. We’ll go home and come back another day.”
Meng made a noise at him.
“Yeah, sorry to trouble you. I’ll give you that fat fish when you come back.”
Now that it knew there would be a reward, the Great Cormorant immediately opened its wings and flew away.
Xiao Chiye watched until the bird’s black shadow merged with the night sky and disappeared from his sight. He returned to attend to his duty on the boat, collecting all the fish he’d caught and feeding the birds as their reward for having worked hard. It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t expecting something. Should Meng return emptyhanded, he’d likely be disappointed — and became even more worried than he already was.
To his surprise, Meng returned less than half a shichen later, squawking loudly as if it was screaming at the top of its lungs.
“What? Did you find him?!” Xiao Chiye shot to his feet at once.
Meng responded to him with a loud noise. The avian landed for a short while on the side of the boat, made a squawk at him, then flapped its wings again, flying away toward one particular direction.
Without wasting another moment, Xiao Chiye picked up his oar and started rowing the boat, following Meng’s trail. He knew he was sailing past the “boundary.” Ever since his father died, he never went past a certain point whenever he went out to do his job. Now, he was heading into the deeper part of the sea that he never ventured to before. His heart was racing; he didn’t know whether it was out of excitement or fear of the unknown. Nevertheless, he never stopped rowing until at last, his eyes caught something in the distance.
It looked like a small island.
“Is he here? Meng, did you find him here?”
The Great Cormorant did not stop but continued to fly toward said island. On a closer look, it was actually more of an islet; the land was far too small to be considered suitable for a living. It was surrounded by a shore covered in white sand, with a groove of trees and rocks being the only other inhabitants of the place.
Among the rocks by the shore, a familiar figure could be seen lying unmoving, trapped in a fishing net.
“Lanzhou?!”
Xiao Chiye docked his boat and tied it to a nearby tree in a rush before running towards him.
The waves were crashing hard against the rocks. Half of Lanzhou’s body was in the water while the rest was barely hanging on dry land, being showered by saltwater with every wave that came. He wasn’t moving; he didn’t react even when Xiao Chiye had been calling him repeatedly as he ran to get him. The fishing net covering his body was thick and heavy, allowing only small parts of his pearl-white skin to show between the gaps. The only reason Xiao Chiye was able to recognize him was the color of his tail and the red jasper faintly sparkling by on his ear that was visible through the gaps in the net.
“Lanzhou!”
Xiao Chiye pulled him away from the rocks. Lanzhou’s body itself was not heavy, yet the nets dragging behind him proved to be troublesome even for someone as big and strong as Xiao Chiye. The latter had no choice but to sit there on the sand, with much difficulty pulling the nets and cutting the tangles one by one with a small knife. But even if he was able to free Lanzhou from the trap, it didn’t mean that his worry was instantly alleviated.
“He’s hurt.”
Xiao Chiye pursed his lips at the sight of various small cuts covering Lanzhou’s originally smooth skin. The siren had likely struggled when he was first caught by the net, causing it to tighten and graze against his own body. Who knew how long he’d been confined within these rough thick ropes? Xiao Chiye couldn’t even decide whether it was luck or misfortune that the siren was washed ashore instead of drowning to the bottom of the sea. Because if Xiao Chiye hadn’t told Meng to search for him earlier, came the next morning, Lanzhou’s body might have been burnt to a crisp under the blazing sun.
“Lanzhou,” he lowered his voice, gently patting the siren’s pale cheek, “Lanzhou, can you hear me?”
Lanzhou’s body was cold. His head fell limply to the side, resting against Xiao Chiye’s chest. The young fisherman refused to give up and continued to call him, shaking his shoulders.
“Lanzhou,” he called again, “Lanzhou, wake up.”
Finally, the siren stirred slightly. He squeezed his eyes shut, slowly curling on Xiao Chiye’s lap like an infant. Whether it was a conscious act or not, the siren caught a part of Xiao Chiye’s robes; his fingers clutching on the fabric so tight that his knuckles turned white.
“ S-Sh…in…iang… ”
His voice was softer than the wind breeze itself. Lanzhou’s lips trembled as he continued to mumble under his breath.
“ Shiniang… S-Shixiong… Don’t…go… Scared… Lanzhou…scared…”
“Lanhou, what are you saying?”
“ Shifu … Lanzhou…sorry… Cannot…protect… Shiniang … Shixiong… Shixiong, don’t leave, Lanzhou… ”
His breathing became short and rapid. All of a sudden, the siren was gasping and wheezing painfully, all the while still clutching onto Xiao Chiye’s clothes.
Xiao Chiye was at a loss for what to do. He hadn’t the slightest idea what was happening to the siren. Should he put him back in the water? Did he need medicine? Were there any other injuries that he couldn’t see?
“Don’t go… Don’t…go… Lanzhou…scared… Shifu… Shiniang…where…? Shixiong…? ”
“Lanzhou!” Xiao Chiye grabbed his shoulders and shook him, “Lanzhou, open your eyes!”
To his final call, the siren’s eyes flew open at last. But his pupils were unfocused; they darted a few times before looking in Xiao Chiye’s direction. Then, without warning, Lanzhou leaped up and pushed him down, hissing fiercely.
“Lanzhou?!”
Not expecting to be attacked out of the blue, Xiao Chiye’s back was slammed hard against the ground. White sands flew everywhere as they tussled and rolled about. Lanzhou was exceptionally vicious, so much more vicious than when he was trying to drown Xiao Chiye in their second meeting. There was no trace of jest in his eyes; he was biting, clawing, trying to tear the young human apart right then and there. When Xiao Chiye managed to throw him off and attempted to rise, Lanzhou jumped at him again, wrapping his cold fingers around Xiao Chiye’s throat and began to choke him.
“L-Lanzhou–”
“Humans!” the sirens hissed, showing his sharp teeth, “Humans hate! Must kill humans!!”
“LANZHOU!!”
Mustering his entire strength, Xiao Chiye grabbed Lanzhou’s delicate wrists and yelled at him.
Silence fell between the two of them; for a moment, time seemed to have been frozen.
The siren stared. His hands remained around Xiao Chiye’s neck but the force applied to them vanished in an instant. The pair of dark spheres in his eyes gradually regained some light. At last, they reflected Xiao Chiye’s visage, much like a mirror.
“...Ce’an…?”
“Yeah,” Xiao Chiye answered, slightly panting, “It’s me.”
“Ce’an…?”
“It’s me,” Xiao Chiye replied once more, gently rubbing Lanzhou’s wrists, “It’s me, Lanzhou.”
Lanzhou froze. His gaze was locked on Xiao Chiye’s figure — shocked, pained, disbelieving, regretful, all were blended into one, creating an indescribable stare that met Xiao Chiye’s eyes.
Then, something warm fell onto the young fisherman’s face.
“Ce’an…” the siren began to sob, “Ce’an…”
“I’m here,” cupping Lanzhou’s face in his large palms, Xiao Chiye smiled at him, “It’s alright, Lanzhou. Everything’s alright.”
The word “alright” was meant to ease a person’s anxiety but it seemed to have the opposite effect on the siren. Lanzhou’s delicate face contorted in pain, his tears continued to fall as though a dam had burst and the water spilled from the rims of his eyes. He no longer spoke; the quiet sobs and sniffles he made were nothing but heartrending.
In all his life, Xiao Chiye had never known how to comfort a person when the other was crying, mostly because he rarely encountered one. The first and last time he saw someone crying so terribly was when his mother wept upon hearing news of Xiao Fangxu’s death, but back then, he was still a child who could do nothing but stare in confusion at the adults wearing grim expressions around him.
Now, a siren — not even fully a person — was weeping right before his eyes. The cuts and bruises on Lanzhou’s skin were painful to the eyes but the invisible wound he’d been kept hidden all this time seemed to be much larger and deeper than the physical injuries he sustained. Xiao Chiye had no idea what exactly had happened in the past but he felt like he could understand a bit from the broken words the siren had murmured in his delirium.
“Come here, Lanzhou,” gently, he pulled the siren into his arms, “It’s alright. It’s alright now.”
Lanzhou did not stop weeping.
“The humans took your family, didn’t they?” he stroked those strands of black hair, “Did they catch them like this? Trapping them with fishing nets?”
“...Lanzhou couldn’t help… Lanzhou only watched…”
“It’s not your fault,” Xiao Chiye held him tight, “It’s those people’s fault, not yours.”
No wonder he was always alone. No wonder he never spoke of any other creatures similar to him. Truthfully, had this siren decided to kill every human on sight, Xiao Chiye couldn’t really blame him for it. But Lanzhou didn’t kill him. Even that first time around, despite having bared his fangs at Xiao Chiye, Lanzhou only knocked him on the head as payback for shoving him with an oar — nothing more, nothing less.
Sirens were creatures of the sea. In the tales of sailors and adventurers, they were always pictured as vicious beings that would call upon storms and bring ships to crash against rocks. But was it not the humans who first decided that they would sail across the ocean and subsequently intruded upon the sea dwellers’ territory?
“...I’m sorry I’m a human,” Xiao Chiye suddenly said.
To his words, Lanzhou lifted his face and looked at him, bewildered.
“I wish I wasn’t one of the creatures who brought harm to your family,” the young fisherman continued, “It’s unfortunate that I can’t change what I am.”
The siren stared, then shook his head.
“Ce’an is not wrong,” he said, “Ce’an is different.”
“I’m different how? Because I feed you fish and keep you company every night?” Xiao Chiye laughed.
“Ce’an is kind,” yet Lanzhou responded seriously, “Lanzhou likes Ce’an.”
Before Xiao Chiye could digest the meaning behind those words, something cool and soft was pressed against his lips. Xiao Chiye lay motionless on the sand; his eyes were staring dumbly at the beautiful creature above him.
The rims of Lanzhou’s eyes were red, but he gave Xiao Chiye a smile so sweet it could melt the moon and the stars.
“Lanzhou likes Ce’an,” he repeated.
Was there a spell hidden in that kiss? Was there some bewitching curse, laced in every word and smile intended for him? In his life, never had Xiao Chiye come across enticement so great it made him weak in the knees, causing shivers to raise from his lower back all the way up to his head.
The moon shone upon the shore covered in white sand. Against the dark sky, showering in the pale illumination, Lanzhou’s figure looked immensely beautiful. His skin was glowing in spite of the numerous wounds caused by the nets. His long black hair fell over his shoulders and down his chest; a few strands were dangling between his slender arms and small waist where the human body merged with the shimmering silver tail of a fish. The red jasper on his ear brushed against his cheek, swaying slightly in the wind.
It was not enough to just touch him gently. Xiao Chiye wanted to grab him, hold him, crush him in his arms, so much until this delicate creature could no longer run from him. He wanted to see those beautiful eyes crying not because of someone else’s doing but his. He wanted to hear those pretty lips calling his name in sighs and moans.
Xiao Chiye wanted him.
He wanted him so badly, here and now. He wasn’t willing to wait.
The sound of waves crashing against the rocks grew distant. On the shore, the shadows of two figures merged and tangled on the white sand. Lanzhou’s body was naturally cold; against Xiao Chiye’s warm temperature, their skins that were pressing against one another seemed to be complementing each other’s flaws while their lips were locked in a fervent exchange.
Xiao Chiye’s stature was tall and his shoulders broad. In his embrace, the siren’s figure looked exceptionally frail and small, surrounded by a pair of sturdy arms while resting against a perfect male body frame decorated with muscles and abs. Even when Lanzhou extended his arms to return the hug, he could not fully hold the young human in his hands. Xiao Chiye’s shadow enveloped him, shielding him from the wind and the moon while claiming him for his own.
Holding Lanzhou’s small waist, Xiao Chiye easily flipped their position. He pressed the siren beneath him, ravishing his lips until those soft lines turned red and swollen. Lanzhou’s breathing picked up pace when the human began to devour him from the neck downwards. His delicate throat was soon painted in obscene red and blue, possessive marks left there by Xiao Chiye to show the world that this creature was his. A pair of identical buds on his chest perked up with only a few touches from the young fisherman’s calloused fingers. Lanzhou inadvertently pushed his chest up, offering himself to the hungry wolf who wasted no chance devouring the “prey” presented before his eyes. At the sensation of another’s tongue caressing his body, the siren trembled and let out a pitiful whimper; his pale complexion was painted in an indecent flush of red.
“Lanzhou…” Xiao Chiye’s voice was deep and low, “Lanzhou…”
His sighs tickled the siren’s ears and made him shiver. Nevertheless, Lanzhou mustered his might to look into Xiao Chiye’s eyes, questioning him.
“Ce’an… Ce’an wants Lanzhou?” he asked.
“I want you,” Xiao Chiye kissed him deeply, “I want Lanzhou to be mine.”
His answer seemed to spark something in the siren’s heart. Lanzhou’s eyes were glistening when he looked at him. He snuggled into the crook of Xiao Chiye’s neck, holding his hand.
“...Then, Lanzhou will be yours…”
As he said this, he guided Xiao Chiye’s hand to travel down his body. From his chest, his abdomen, his waist… Xiao Chiye waited with batted breathing about what he should expect from this inexplicable act. He could feel Lanzhou’s cool and smooth skin beneath his palm; he was waiting for the sensation of when this familiar texture of human skin would merge with the cold scales of a fish. However, this sensation never came. When he looked down, Xiao Chiye’s heart nearly stopped beating for a brief moment.
What he was touching now was not a shimmering white and silver fishtail but a human’s thigh; the skin white and smooth like a shiny pearl.
“Lanzhou, you–?!”
“Only for Ce’an,” the siren said in a small voice, blushing all the way to his ears, “Other people…cannot see…”
Lanzhou’s tail was ethereal but his human legs were long and slender. Xiao Chiye could vividly imagine how they would look if wrapped in fine silk and satin — and how it would be if he were to strip them off the fabric. Blood immediately rushed to his head. He had to take a step back and breath deeply to collect himself.
“You’re really…” Xiao Chiye shook his head, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry, “You never fail to surprise me. I’m simply no match for you.”
Hearing his words, the siren smiled once more. He raised his arms, reaching out toward the young human. In return, Xiao Chiye accepted him wholeheartedly. He held that delicate figure once more in his embrace, intent on showering him with love until the moon retreated to rest and the sky brightened to start the day anew.
***
“A-Ye, your mood seems exceptionally great in the past few days. Did something good happen?”
Xiao Chiye was in the middle of stuffing himself full-on early dinner before going out to the sea when his brother approached him, hands behind his back. There was a smile on Xiao Jiming's face, gentle yet at the same time somewhat teasing.
"...Nothing. Nothing happened," Xiao Chiye averted his gaze.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I just happened to be getting lots of good catches recently."
"Really?" Xiao Jiming looked at him in doubt, "I remember seeing you coming back to the shore a few times in the morning. It actually looked like you've been catching fewer fish than usual."
"The number doesn't matter. The fish I caught are big and sold for a good price," the youth avoided his brother's stare, stuffing another spoon of rice into his mouth.
"If you say so… As long as you're having fun…"
Xiao Jiming smiled again and didn't press on the matter. However, looking at his expression, Xiao Chiye was sure his brother must be having other thoughts in his head — which usually was never far off the mark. That said, how could he tell Xiao Jiming that he'd been neglecting his actual job and "having fun" with a pretty siren instead?
From the moment their lips met one another's, Xiao Chiye knew he could no longer free himself from this creature's charm. Lanzhou's body was like a potent aphrodisiac; once one had gotten a taste of it, they would never be able to live without it ever again. Every night they would meet — sometimes on that islet, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, floating on the boat and letting the waves carry them away. They would fall into each other's arms, inseparable until the break of dawn. Lanzhou would sit on his lap, feebly rocking those delicate hips of his as sweet moans continued to spill from his red lips. Then Xiao Chiye would push him down, embrace him, ravish him until the beautiful creature was reduced into a crying mess who could speak nothing but his name. He would make sure to leave his mark inside Lanzhou, branding him in his scent, so that others — regardless of humans or not — would know that the siren belonged to him.
As for fishing, well… Meng and its fellow birds were more than capable enough to handle it. So what if they stole a little fish or two? They deserved to be rewarded and had a moment to relax while Xiao Chiye was "busy" taking care of a certain beauty.
"Brother, I'm leaving."
Once he was done eating, Xiao Chiye called out to Xiao Jiming to let the other man know of his departure. Xiao Jiming came out to see him off, nodding after hearing what he said.
"Alright, off you go then," replied him, "The wind seems quite strong and the clouds have thickened. A-Ye, it may start raining later so be careful."
"I know, I know."
"Also…" Xiao Jiming paused, "You… Have you encountered anything weird while you were out in the ocean lately?"
"What do you mean?" the younger brother raised his brow.
"I'm not sure. I've just been listening to people in the office talking about it. Yizhi also said that the servants heard similar rumors in the streets," replied Xiao Jiming, "They said that there have been sightings of a siren in our water. Some fishermen swore they caught sight of the creature when they went out to the deeper part of the sea to work at night. Though, this creature is very elusive. No one has been able to take a closer look, let alone catch it."
"...Did… Did they say what it looks like?"
"Other than the creature having a shimmering white and silver tail, I don't know much else. After all, it's still just a rumor. You won’t hear the same story when speaking to two different people," Xiao Jiming shrugged, "Well, if you happen to see the siren, your sister-in-law and I would like to hear about it. That creature is quite a wonder, after all. But do watch out. I heard sirens are often to blame for ships crashing into rocks and sinking to the bottom of the sea. Didn’t they say sirens eat human flesh, too?"
Xiao Chiye didn't comment on his brother's remark and his expression remained collected as though he was completely disinterested. Nevertheless, he could feel his blood running cold the more he heard about these rumors.
The siren those people were talking about was most definitely Lanzhou.
What would they do if they did see him? Would they try to catch him? Was the fishing net from before a failed attempt to capture Lanzhou? And if they did manage to catch him, what then? Were they going to display him in public, make people pay to catch a glimpse of said mythical creature? Would they sell him to some rich people to add to their exotic collections? Or would they hack him to pieces and sell his meat like livestock?
The more he thought about it, the more Xiao Chiye shuddered at the possibility that one of his fears would come true. He must go and find Lanzhou tonight, warn him to stay away from these waters for the time being so as to avoid other people's detection.
With this determination, Xiao Chiye went to get Meng and only Meng before heading for the small pier where his boat was docked. He definitely wasn't going out to fish and have fun tonight.
Rumors about the sightings of a siren seemed to have really spread among the townspeople as Xiao Jiming said. When Xiao Chiye had just started rowing his boat away from the shore, he noticed that there were more people departing like him than usual. He knew some of them weren't fishermen who regularly went out to the sea. Among the fishing boats, there were a few larger ships equipped with various hunting tools. He wasn’t paying much attention before, but seeing this now only served to raise his concerns.
He quickly rowed in the direction of his regular fishing spot where Lanzhou would usually find him.
Alas, before he could meet the one he was looking for, menacing rumbles began to resound in the distant sky. Flashes of lightning lit up the agglomeration of thick grey clouds hovering above the ocean. Then, chilling raindrops started to fall.
"Dammit!" Xiao Chiye cursed in his mind. Having been making a living from the sea for many years, he could tell whether a rain would stay as a rain or turn into a tempest. This one was definitely the kind of rain that would kick up a storm. Even the crew of large ships would thread with extreme caution under this weather, let alone a puny little fisherman like him sailing on a little craft.
He should go back to the shore before the storm caught up to him. But with those many people set on hunting for the siren, if he didn't warn Lanzhou tonight…
"...Meng, go on ahead without me," he told the Great Cormorant, "You can't fly around in this weather. Go back home before the rain gets worse."
Meng flapped its wings but didn't leave. It opened its beak and squawked in protest.
"I'll come back as soon as I find Lanzhou. Go! Now!"
He shooed the bird away, giving it no choice but to fly away. Afterward, he shifted his focus back to the dark sea. The waves had grown multiple times in size and started swaying his small fishing boat.
"Lanzhou!" in his desperation, Xiao Chiye continued to row while calling for the siren, "Lanzhou, where are you?"
Thunderbolt fell from the sky, almost deafening him. It didn't take long for Xiao Chiye's hair and clothes to become drenched; strands of black hair were sticking to his face and neck as the wind blew harshly against his body. There were several instances when he was almost thrown off the boat. Soon, he realized that he could barely control his craft any longer. It was too late to return to the shore now; he was already too far gone into the deep water and the wind’s direction was not in his favor.
“Lanzhou! Lanzhou, where are–!”
All of a sudden, a huge wave appeared before his eyes. The massive body of water came crashing upon him and the small fishing boat was flipped over in an instant. Xiao Chiye was thrown off the deck; the surging current rolled around him and pulled his body into the dark sea below. Caught off-guard, he choked on a mouthful of saltwater while forcing his limbs to move and swim back to the surface.
Try as he might, however, the rain had turned into a fierce storm. Xiao Chiye hadn’t even breathed enough air when another wave dragged him down once more. He struggled, but the sea seemed to be alive and persistently attempted to drown him. At last, as if wanting to subdue his futile effort for good, when Xiao Chiye had just taken himself back to the surface, the surging current pushed his capsized boat toward him; the wooden bow of the deck knocking right into the back of his head.
Blood seeped out between his thick hair and blended with the dark water, invisible to the eyes. Xiao Chiye’s sight immediately turned dark. Unable to keep his consciousness together, his body fell into the merciless hands of the raging storm, devoured by the waves as he got pulled deeper and deeper into the unknown abyss below.
Unbeknownst to him, a white shadow was approaching his drowning body from the distance.
***
Xiao Chiye had a dream.
In this dream, his limbs were numb and heavy like logs; they refused to listen to him, unwilling to move no matter how hard he tried to use them. It was cold all around. He felt like he was placed in a room full of ice with no illumination whatsoever, his surroundings were pitch black with not a single flicker of light in sight. But in this darkness, a familiar voice was calling out to him.
“Ce’an! Ce’an!”
“Ah, it’s Lanzhou’s voice,” Xiao Chiye thought to himself. He hadn’t been able to meet him for just one night, but it felt as though he hadn’t heard that beautiful voice for a long time.
Where was Lanzhou now? Was he able to avoid the people pursuing him? Had he gone to a place far away to steer clear of their hunting eyes? It would be great if he was safe. But at the same time, Xiao Chiye couldn’t help but regret that he wasn’t able to become the one to protect him. He couldn’t even survive a single storm, how could he hope to protect Lanzhou from anything?
“Ce’an!”
Lanzhou’s voice grew more and more distant. Xiao Chiye wanted to extend his hand and grab him, pull him close, and never let him go again. But his body was as good as a rock. He couldn’t move them, he couldn’t even open his eyes and see where Lanzhou was going.
If only he could just force his mouth open and call him back…
“...L…an…zhou…”
There was a commotion. The siren’s voice became smaller and indistinct amidst the noises.
“Lanzhou…”
The commotion only stretched out to fill his eardrums and besieged him from all sides. He could no longer hear Lanzhou’s voice; it had been swallowed by the indistinct noises.
“Lanzhou!”
Xiao Chiye shot up to a sitting position with both eyes wide open, drenched in cold sweat. A terrible headache struck him instantly; the back of his head was pounding so hard he could feel his sight spinning. Xiao Chiye groaned. He put one hand on the mattress below him and one other hand on his face, covering his eyes. His tall stature was swaying as though he could collapse at any given time.
At this moment, he came to a realization.
“When did I get home?”
“...A-Ye?”
Lu Yizhi’s voice reached his ears. The lady of the house was standing at the door, carrying a tray in her hands with a clean towel and some medicines on it. Seeing that Xiao Chiye was awake, she looked like she almost fainted on the spot.
“A-Ye, you’re awake!” she rushed into the room, abruptly placed the tray on a nearby table, and sat next to him, checking Xiao Chiye up and down with a worried look before calling for her husband, “Jiming! Jiming, come quickly! A-Ye is awake!”
Soon, a set of rapid footsteps approached and Xiao Jiming burst into the room. His usually impenetrable composure was nowhere to be seen. When he saw his younger brother sitting there on the bed, staring at him in a mix of shock and confusion, the eldest Xiao seemed as though he, too, was about to collapse from overwhelming relief.
“Thank goodness. You’ve been unconscious for three days, A-Ye,” Xiao Jiming sat next to his wife, sighing deeply, “How are you feeling now? Does your head still hurt? You were bleeding quite badly when you were found.”
“...I was found?” Xiao Chiye’s hand that had been holding his head fell, “Where was I found?”
It was a simple question, yet Xiao Jiming and Lu Yizhi looked at one another with a complicated expression instead of answering him. Seeing their strange reaction, Xiao Chiye could feel uneasiness rising in his heart.
“Brother?”
“...On the shore, just a little outside of town,” Xiao Jiming replied, eventually.
“On the shore? But I fell off my boat in the middle of the sea! Who brought me back here?”
“A-Ye…” this time, it was Lu Yizhi who spoke to him, “Is there… Is there something that you haven’t been telling us?”
“About what?”
“...About what you’ve been doing every night while out in the sea. Have you… Have you really been working as usual all this time? You haven’t been…going out to meet with…’someone?’”
Xiao Chiye was just about to open his mouth when Xiao Jiming raised his hand slightly, as if to tell his wife to take a little step back. He gave Lu Yizhi a reassuring nod, then, he returned his attention to Xiao Chiye.
“A-Ye, when I told you that the townspeople were talking about rumors of a siren’s sighting, you were already aware of the creature’s existence, weren’t you?” he asked, “It wasn’t your first time going off the shore. You know how to recognize it when the weather is turning bad. Back there, you went out to the sea not to fish, but to search for that creature, didn’t you?”
“...You saw him?” Xiao Chiye stared at his brother, astonished, “Brother, you saw him? You saw Lanzhou?”
“Lanzhou? Was it the siren’s name? He is called Lanzhou?”
“Where? How?” ignoring his still wounded head, Xiao Chiye dragged himself to the side of the bed, reaching out to his brother, “When did you see Lanzhou? How did you find him?”
“A-Ye, be careful,” Lu Yizhi tried to calm him down, “You’ve just recovered.”
“Where is he?” yet Xiao Chiye ignored her, “Where is Lanzhou?”
“...Last night, Meng returned to us all by itself, pecking at the window and screaming until it woke everyone in the house, “Xiao Jiming sighed, “We all thought it was strange that it returned without you, not to mention that we found out you apparently didn’t bring the other birds when you left. It was already a downpour by the time Meng came back. I figured you must still be somewhere out there in the sea.”
Rubbing his forehead, the eldest Xiao shook his head.
“All of the other fishermen had come back right before the downpour turned into a tempest except for you. I tried asking the townspeople to send a search team, but no ships could leave the shore under that weather. I was almost certain that you were a goner by then, I don’t even know where you would be able to find shelter in the middle of the sea like that. But the morning after, there was a commotion at the shore outside the town’s gate.”
Xiao Jiming stared at him.
“You were lying there, unconscious, bleeding from the head. Next to you, there was a male siren…” he paused, “...No, I shouldn’t say he was next to you. He was holding onto you, covering you with his body. He would hiss, bite, and claw at everyone who tried to come closer. I heard he put up a lot of fights and injured several people until they managed to subdue him. By the time I heard this news and came running there to get you, he was already captured. The siren was squirming and struggling even when he was already thrown into the nets. He kept trying to reach out his hands toward you. I distinctly heard him crying out when they took him away. ‘Ce’an’ — he screamed over and over again. A-Ye, he was calling your name.”
Xiao Chiye fell into a daze upon hearing Xiao Jiming recounting the events he witnessed.
Had Lanzhou saved him when he drowned? Had he carried him all the way from the deep water to the shore? How long did it take? How hard was it for him? Why didn’t he flee when he saw those people coming? Why did he stay there and let those people capture him?
What would happen to him now that he’d fallen into the hands of humans?
“...Where is he?” once more, Xiao Chiye repeated his question, “Where is Lanzhou now? Where did they take him?”
“What are you going to do if you find out where he is now?”
“I’m going to save him!” Xiao Chiye nearly jumped from his bed, “There’s no way I’m letting him be captured and…and I don’t know what they’re going to do to him. I have to save him before it’s too late!”
“A siren is a dangerous sea dweller who’s brought countless sailors to their demise. Surely, you know this, A-Ye? Even when he was already surrounded, he still injured a good number of people.”
“He’s my lover!!”
As soon as these words left Xiao Chiye’s mouth, the room fell into complete silence.
Xiao Chiye looked at his brother, at his sister-in-law. They were both shocked still to the point that they were petrified; their eyes looking at him as if he’d gone d mad from his injuries.
“...Lanzhou is my lover,” yet Xiao Chiye reiterated, this time in a softer voice, almost to the point of pleading, “Brother, Sister-in-law, please tell me where they’re keeping him now. He’s lost his family to humans before. I can’t possibly let him… I don’t even want to imagine what will happen to him if we let those people continue whatever it is they’ve been doing.”
“If you do manage to save him, what are you going to do afterward?” Xiao Jiming asked him.
“I’m going to let him go. I’ll take him back to the sea and tell him to swim as far away as possible from here so no one will be able to find him.”
“Won’t you still end up losing him then? What’s the difference between letting him go like that and letting the townspeople have him?”
“At least he’ll be free,” Xiao Chiye replied without hesitation, “At least I know nobody will hurt him, that he’ll continue to live in the place where he belongs, not in some…some cages where he’ll be displayed to other people like merchandise, or kept as a pet, or…or got his limbs cut off and cooked to be served in expensive restaurants like some exotic meals.”
There were various myths and legends about what the sirens were capable of doing. Tempting sailors to crash into rocks, eating their victims alive, calling out rains and storms, and many other outrageous things that one couldn’t tell whether they were true or false. But similarly, there were various rumors about what a human could do with a siren. Some said their flesh was the key to gaining immortality, some said their fins could be made into some rare medicines, and a multitude of other stories that no one had ever been able to provide evidence for. In the first place, it wasn’t every day one could encounter a real living siren. All sirens were said to be bewitchingly pretty, and Lanzhou undoubtedly had a very pretty face. Why wouldn’t there be some rich people out there who wanted to keep him as an exotic pet they could show off to their friends and relatives? Would Lanzhou have to live in captivity for the rest of his life then?
“......The warehouse behind the City Hall. They kept him there,” Lu Yizhi suddenly said.
“Yizhi, why are you telling him?”
“Oh, Jiming… I’ve known your brother for as long as I’ve known you. If you don’t give him what he wants, he’ll go and find another way to get it,” the lady of the house smiled and shook her head with a sigh, “If we don’t tell him, he’ll probably turn the entire town upside down screaming at everyone until he gets an answer. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”
“A warehouse?” Xiao Chiye completely ignored the rest of her words and focused only on the first sentence, “Why would they keep him in a warehouse?”
“...While you were unconscious, the townspeople argued the whole day about what to do with him. I tried to convince them to release the siren back into the sea in return for saving you, but they wouldn’t listen. They said something along this creature is dangerous and might cause trouble for fishermen and sailors if let go, things of the sort,” replied Xiao Jiming, “In the end, they agreed to put him up for an auction and let the highest bidder decide what to do with him. The auction’s going to take place tomorrow morning. In the meantime, they kept him locked up in that warehouse. Of course, the city guards were deployed to patrol the vicinity day and night.”
“I see…” Xiao Chiye cast his gaze down, “I see… Thank you, Brother, Sister-in-law.”
“So you’re really going to save him? How do you plan on doing that?” Lu Yizhi appeared doubtful and worried.
“I’ll find a way,” not deterred in the slightest bit, Xiao Chiye answered firmly, “I’ll find a way. Don’t worry about me.”
***
The town by the sea was quiet at night. While those making a living by hunting in the water were commonly the most active after darkness fell, the majority of the population led a life as ordinary as one could imagine. Once the sun had set, everyone returned to their respective homes; places crowded with visitors during the day were emptied so thoroughly that one could probably hear the sound of the night breeze slipping through the crack in the window. Save for the night guards assigned to patrolling duty, nobody would wander the streets so late into the evening.
The big warehouse behind the City Hall was a place where merchants stored and picked up their goods when doing business in the city. Naturally, it was as bustling as it could get when the day was still bright out but now the place was bereft of visitors and workers alike. There were various goods entrusted to be kept in there past business hours; many of them were rare and valuable goods that would fetch a high price in the market. Because of this, it was among the heaviest-guarded building in the entire town with patrolmen stationed at virtually every corner.
Inside the warehouse, a space had been specifically emptied out to place a large water tank filled to the brim with seawater. It was surrounded by thick glasses making up all four walls of the tank, with a metal base at the bottom and a metal covering at the top — the latter had several small holes to allow the flow of air into and out of the tank’s interior. A set of iron chains surrounded the tank, adjoined by a heavy lock at their ends, looking not much different from a prison cell.
Within this prison, a white-and-silver-tailed siren sat curled up in the corner, burying his face in his arms.
Sirens weren’t exactly the most likable sea creatures. From a young age, Lanzhou was aware of this. He knew of the fatal mischiefs often carried out by his peers that had harmed unknowing sailors more times than he could count. However, he couldn’t understand why those humans would speak badly of his kin when they were the ones who came barging into his people’s territory.
A long time ago, he had witnessed brute sailors trapping his family in those large fishing nets. He was still small then, he managed to slip out at the last moment, but he could not save his family in time. Powerless to stop it, he could only watch as those humans took his entire family away to an unknown place. He never saw them again ever since, and something inside him was certain he should not keep his hopes up. Perhaps he should’ve gone along with his family back then. Perhaps he should’ve died together with them. Perhaps all this time, he had been living on borrowed time. And now, fate had finally caught up with him to deliver his delayed end.
Of course, it could’ve been avoided. Of course, he had brought this calamity upon himself. But no matter how hard he thought about it, if he was given the chance to turn back time, he was sure that he’d still do the same thing he did that night.
“...Ce’an…”
He shouldn’t have let his curiosity get the better of him. If only he hadn’t approached that little boat, he wouldn’t have met that person. If he hadn’t met that person, he wouldn’t be bothered by this inexplicable infatuation that rendered him unable to think of anything else. He wouldn’t have to save him from the storm, and he wouldn’t be sitting in this prison now, anxiously wondering about what grim fate was awaiting him tomorrow.
But it remained a fact that he had decided to approach that little boat. It remained the fact that he had let his heart be swayed by that person, even if he was also a human like the people who had robbed him of his family. The siren knew there was no use regretting a choice he had made. He only wished that person would be alright, even if he might not be able to see him again after this.
At that moment, all of a sudden he heard a knock on the glass wall.
Lanzhou whipped around at once, barring his sharp teeth despite knowing it was a futile attempt to protect himself. Nevertheless, his fangs had yet to be fully revealed when his eyes caught sight of the person who was knocking at the glass just now.
“It’s me,” aware that his voice couldn’t be heard through the thick glass and water, Xiao Chiye mouthed those words to him.
Relieved, excited, and panicking at the same time, the siren pressed his hands against the glass wall, as if wanting to jump out right into the youth’s arms but was unable to do so. He tried to push the metal covering above him but the plate simply wouldn’t budge due to the chains locking it in place.
Xiao Chiye saw him struggling in the tank and quickly placed his index finger on his lips, shushing him. Then, his eyes followed the lines of the iron chains carefully, soon finding the heavy lock sitting at the other side of the tank. The young fisherman weight the object in his hands for a while, pulled out something that looked like a long, thin piece of metal from his lapel, then started tinkering with the lock. It didn’t take long for him to unbolt the lock, but he did take his time moving the iron chains away so that they wouldn’t cause too much noise that could attract the guards. Once this was done, he removed the metal covering, placing the plate slowly on the floor.
The siren poked his head out of the tank and threw his upper body into Xiao Chiye’s arms at once, splashing saltwater all over him.
“Ce’an! Ce’an!”
“Shush…” Xiao Chiye patted his back gently, “Careful. There are guards outside. If they heard you, they’ll come in here and catch us all.”
The siren didn’t say another word and remained clutching at him, burying his face on Xiao Chiye’s shoulder.
“Are you alright?” softly, Xiao Chiye whispered to him, stroking his hair, “Are you hurt anywhere? Did they do anything to you while you were here?”
Lanzhou only shook his head.
“Good,” the youth secretly let out a sigh of relief, “You were caught because you tried to save my life. I’m sorry…”
“Ce’an…bleeding… Lanzhou…scared…” the siren trembled, “Lanzhou thinks…Ce’an will die…”
“I won’t die,” Xiao Chiye kissed his hair, “Thanks to you, I’m alright now. And I’m here to get you out of this place before they sell you to some disgusting pervert tomorrow.”
Lanzhou finally lifted his face. The rims of his eyes were red and his beautiful dark eyes were glistening as they stared at Xiao Chiye. This sight struck deep into Xiao Chiye’s heart; it was too endearing that he forgot what he was about to say for a moment. Had they not been in such a dire situation, he would’ve kissed his Lanzhou silly until the latter passed out from the sheer intensity of his love.
“...Can you walk?” he asked, “I know you’re not used to it. If it’s hard, that’s fine. I’ll carry you.”
To his question, the siren gave him a nod.
“Lanzhou…can walk…”
“Alright. Hold on to me.”
Thus, Xiao Chiye carefully lifted the siren out of the glass tank. Water dripped down onto the floor; when his body touched the ground, Lanzhou’s tail gradually turned into a pair of human legs, smooth and slender. He was stark naked like a newborn child; his appearance was extremely pitiful that Xiao Chiye had to take off his outer robe and wrapped it around him like a mantle.
“Come,” he put an arm around Lanzhou’s body, “We’ll sneak out of the back door before the patrolmen notice you’re missing.”
The siren tottered as he struggled to follow Xiao Chiye’s rapid pace. They slunk past a few wandering guards, taking cover behind the mountain of boxes and crates in the warehouse, switching between running and crawling until they finally managed to see the exit. The two hadn’t even taken a step out when the alarm was raised and the watchmen started yelling at one another, screaming how someone had stolen the creature that was to be auctioned off tomorrow.
“Quickly!”
Xiao Chiye almost dragged Lanzhou as he rushed out of the warehouse and into the dark alleys of the sleeping town. It wasn’t until they reached the shore did he finally slow down. Quietly, he brought the siren toward the small pier near his house — now empty and abandoned as he had lost his fishing boat in the storm.
Lanzhou’s legs changed back to a familiar white and silver tail when he was returned to the water.
“There,” Xiao Chiye took a deep breath. He knelt by the pier, caressing the side of Lanzhou’s face before giving him a pat on the shoulder. “Go now, Lanzhou. They’re going to search all over the town. It won’t be long before they reach this place.”
“Ce’an?”
“Go quick. The further the better. Don’t let them catch you again”
Yet instead of swimming away, the siren half climbed onto the pier’s wooden structure and grabbed Xiao Chiye’s arm.
“Ce’an comes, too,” he looked up at him, “Go together with Lanzhou.”
“...I can’t…” in a low voice, Xiao Chiye replied, “This time, I can’t go with you.”
“But Lanzhou will see Ce’an again?”
Xiao Chiye did not answer. Seeing this, the siren’s expression went pale in an instant.
“No… Lanzhou not go!” he clutched onto Xiao Chiye’s arms, looking already on the brink of tears, “Don’t want to leave Ce’an!”
“Lanzhou…”
“No leave Ce’an!” the siren pleaded, “If Ce’an not go, Lanzhou will stay–”
The rest of his words were left unsaid for the siren’s lips were sealed shut before he could realize it. Xiao Chiye cupped Lanzhou’s face in his palms; he pressed their lips together, staying like that for a long time as though wishing to savor every bit of taste, every drop of emotion that grew when they were connected to each other. He took words away from his lover’s mouth. When the two of them finally parted, Lanzhou could only stare at him — confused, fearful, questioning what he meant with this kiss.
“One day…” Xiao Chiye smiled at him, “One day, I’ll go out to the sea to find you. I won’t need to leave every morning. I’ll go with you wherever you want to go. You’ll take me to places I’ve never seen before, and I’ll never let you be alone ever again. We’ll see the world together, just the two of us. But until then…”
He stroked the siren’s face gently.
“Until then, I need you to be safe. I need you to take care of yourself. Don’t get hurt and don’t let other humans catch you again,” he said, “Can you do that for me, Lanzhou?”
The siren stared. He didn’t speak a word; his hands remained clutching onto Xiao Chiye, still unwilling to let him go.
For a moment, Xiao Chiye wondered if Lanzhou would insist on being with him. What should he do then? Should he push him away, chase him off, pretending to hate him? Could he even do that? He’d rather drown to death than be the one who caused this beautiful creature even the slightest bit of suffering.
Just then, he saw Lanzhou reaching for his own ear. Before Xiao Chiye’s inquiring look, the siren removed his red jasper earring and gave it to him.
“Ce’an keeps this,” he said, “Ce’an must return this to Lanzhou. Promise?”
At first, Xiao Chiye didn’t quite understand what he meant. The siren placed the earring on his palm; the red stone was glowing under the moon. Seawater was dripping from the smooth surface. It showed a blurry reflection of his face, much like a murky mirror.
Then, his lips curled into a smile. He clasped his palm and brought the stone close to his heart.
“I promise,” replied Xiao Chiye, “The day we meet again, I’ll return this jasper to you and put it back on your ear.”
The siren’s face blossomed into a sweet smile.
“The ocean is large and there is no end to it wherever I look,” Xiao Chiye said again, “But you’ll find me no matter where I go, won’t you, Lanzhou?”
To his words, the siren extended his arms, circling them around Xiao Chiye’s neck. Xiao Chiye pulled him close and kissed him again. Who knew when he’d be able to touch these soft lips again, gazed into these endearing eyes again? It might be a few months, it might be a few years. But he wouldn’t stop until he saw this beautiful creature again with his own eyes and embraced him in his own arms.
“I love you,” he whispered as he let the siren go, “Lanzhou, I love you so much.”
He seemed to see Lanzhou mouthing the same words at him. Afterward, that beautiful visage vanished into the water, leaving only a splash as he dove into the depth, away from the land of man.
Then, everything fell into silence.
“...You shouldn’t make promises you couldn’t keep.”
Xiao Chiye whipped around.
He didn’t know since when. Xiao Jiming was standing there at the pier, one hand resting behind his back and the other hand holding a small lantern.
“Brother…”
“We both made a promise to Mother, that we would never go anywhere near the high seas ever again. Have you forgotten?” the eldest Xiao walked toward him, looking at the expanse of dark water spreading before them, “Father was swallowed by the ocean. To this day, we haven’t even recovered even a strand of hair from his head that we could bury. What should Yizhi and I do if you were to meet the same fate? Should we erect yet another gravestone on top of an empty tomb again?”
Xiao Chiye cast his gaze down. There was nothing he could say to Xiao Jiming’s words. His brother was speaking the truth, not out of anger but out of love for him. After all, which family wouldn’t be devastated to lose a member and not be left even with a body to bury? All this time, he’d been scrounging off them without a clear purpose in his life but they never said a word. He trained Cormorants all day long, went out to catch some fish at night for some meager income, but they never criticized him. Was he going to leave them now after everything they’d done for him?
“...But your heart doesn’t lie with this town, does it? Even if you stay with us, you’ll still long for the sea, for that creature roaming in some faraway place while waiting for you to return that jasper to him.”
Hearing this, the young fisherman looked up. Unexpectedly to him, he saw his brother smiling calmly. There was not a trace of anger on his face, no disappointment, no sadness.
“Fine. You can go,” Xiao Jiming let out a long sigh, “But don’t think that I’ll lend you my money to get a ship. You have to work for it on your own.”
He saw his younger brother staring dumbly with his mouth half-opened. Finding this sight amusing, Xiao Jiming only shook his head.
“When Yizhi and I visit Mother’s grave in the future, I suppose I need to find an excuse to explain to her why you’re not with us,” he chuckled, “Maybe I’ll just tell her that you’re too much like Father, stubborn and difficult to handle.”
***
The sea was vast and boundless. How many uncharted islands were there still waiting to be discovered? What secret was hiding in the unseen depth of the blue waves? For so many years, decades, even centuries, countless people had tried to become the first ones to unravel these mysteries. Some returned with testimonies, some returned empty-handed, while some others simply didn’t return at all. The stories brought back by those who lived to tell the tales varied in length and clarity. A few of those often sounded much too unbelievable to be true. There were also stories revolving around the same subject yet differed in details between one storyteller and the other, thus often living on as nothing more as myths and folklores.
Such grandeurs were certain to instill excitement in the hearts of the listeners — or fear for the more cowardly individuals. Either way, it made no difference what kind of emotions one felt after hearing those stories if they had no capability to ever venture into the high seas in their life to see what it looked like for themselves.
Only those who were bound by nothing, free to sail toward the horizon, braving the waves and storms, would find some use in those stories.
Xiao Chiye stood on the open deck facing the bow. A tall mast was erected behind him; the white canvas was spread wide to catch the wind and push his ship forward. It was not as large and grand as the ones ridden by famous sailors in various tales of adventures, and it certainly couldn’t compare to the one his father had brought him to travel the sea when he was little. But it was enough to carry him away from the boundary of his hometown, out into the high seas where he would wake under the sun and sleep under the stars, holding full liberty of when and where he wished this ship of his to harbor.
He was still an exceptionally tall and handsome young man but the traces of youth he once possessed had matured into those of a full-grown adult’s. His once listless eyes were now full of vigor.
And right next to him, perching on the side of the deck, was a Great Cormorant coated entirely in shiny black feathers.
Five years had passed since he obtained his brother’s permission to venture out into the high seas. Ever since then, Xiao Chiye had been working hard day and night, saving up to gather enough gold and silvers for him to afford a proper ship. He had just recently reached his goal about half a year ago. Having kowtowed in front of his mother’s grave and saying goodbye to his brother, sister-in-law, and his toddler nephew, he finally set sail to pursue the dream he’d always been longing for, to fulfill a promise he once made to a certain someone.
As a fisherman, Xiao Chiye used to go out to the sea after the sun went down. He rarely had the opportunity to sail across the water when it was still bright out. The blue expanse of saltwater spread before him now was certainly invigorating and much less intimidating than a pitch-black abyss. Sweeping his gaze around, he never stopped looking at the water, at the furling waves smashing against the hull, never missing even a splash made by the passing wind.
All of a sudden, a loud squawk resounded on the deck.
Meng opened its beak and let out a loud noise. The Great Cormorant opened its black wings, flapping them as it took off from the ship. The bird hovered for a moment above the calm waves. Soon, it started squawking again, pecking at a part of the water and causing splashes to jump all over.
From the spot where it was pecking, something jumped out and chased the bird away.
Xiao Chiye caught a glimpse of a white and silver tail glimmering under the sun and disappearing beneath the surface. He rushed to the side of the deck, squinting his eyes to find any signs of that “sighting” appearing once more.
For a while, there did not seem to be anything of interest down there aside from a vast body of blue. However, just as he was about to take a step away, the water was separated and a shower of saltwater fell upon him without warning, so much that he toppled over and fell on his back.
Xiao Chiye looked up only to realize that the bright sun had been blocked by a large shadow hovering above him. Strands of long black hair fell to his chest, wetting his clothes. Before his eyes, he saw a face more beautiful than anyone, anything he had ever seen in his life.
“Found Ce’an!”
That beautiful face was smiling at him, so sweetly that it tugged at his heartstrings, the same way it did five years ago.
Dark eyes, dark hair. That face was so fair no words in the language of men could describe its beauty. It matters not whether it was the sun or the moon shining upon it; the “creature’s” exceptionally fair complexion was glowing like a rare pearl, pure and untainted. Only one thing was missing from this charming visage: a drop of color to spark a radiance in its black-and-white countenance.
And Xiao Chiye had been holding onto that very much-needed color all these years. Now, it was time he returned it to its rightful owner.