The pearl-diving boat sailed out of the harbor and journeyed for two full days under favorable winds. In the early autumn sea, the shimmering, fragmented golden sunlight dazzled Haishi's eyes.
Her father sat on the gunwale, pulling the child close to his side. "Haishi, do you remember everything I taught you?" "I remember," the child named Haishi nodded vigorously, patting the rope tied around her waist. It was her father's first time taking Haishi out to sea to gather pearls, and she had memorized his instructions well. "All I have to do is dive down, find a beautiful sister, and pull her up. She'll give us lots of pearls, and this year's tribute pearls will be secured, right?" The child was only about seven or eight years old, stripped down to her bare torso, her sun-darkened body and flat chest indistinguishable from a boy's. Only her warbling, bird-like voice revealed she was a young girl. "Dad, Uncle Jin, Uncle Zhu, I'm going down now." Her father's purplish-tanned face suddenly twisted into a knot. "Haishi, you're not scared, are you?" Haishi let out a crisp, bright laugh, took a deep breath, flipped over, and plunged into the sea, stirring up molten-golden splashes before disappearing like a fish, trailing the rope around her waist.
Her father knelt on the deck, gripping the rope tied to Haishi tightly. After a while, Haishi must have reached the bottom, for she tugged on the rope, signaling him to let out more line. Her father hesitated, the rope taut in his hands. Uncle Jin, sitting silently nearby, reached out a hand and patted his shoulder. When there was no response, he pressed down harder. Her father shuddered, released his grip, and the rope slithered downward. It was as if his very sinews had been pulled out with the rope, and he collapsed onto the deck. After a long moment, he rasped, "Haishi's mother doesn't know I brought her to the mermaid sea... She'll surely hate me for it..." Uncle Jin mumbled, "I didn't dare say it earlier, but the night before we set sail, the soldiers collecting the tribute pearls arrived at Xiyu Village. They were just half a liter short of their quota, so the soldiers burned all their houses and boats, chained the men, women, and children together with anchor chains, and said they'd sell them at the autumn market to the barbarians in Hanzhou as slaves. This tribute... it's driving people to desperation. This year's pearls are devilishly scarce. If it weren't for that... how could we bring a child..." His words trailed off unfinished.
Uncle Zhu stammered to her father, "When Haishi brings the mermaid up later... let me do it. You shouldn't have to—Haishi's mother would hate you forever." Her father buried his head in his knees, staring blankly as he muttered, "No matter which of you does it, I'll hate you for the rest of my life. Haishi is a good child; she won't come back to haunt anyone... I'll do it myself, I'll do it..." His voice faded into a sob.
Uncle Jin and Uncle Zhu couldn't bear to look at this man, worn to the bone by years of harsh sea life, and turned their heads away.
A black-tailed gull swept swiftly by. The vast expanse of misty waves stretched endlessly to the horizon.
No matter how many times the human world turned upside down—whether with roads choked by the starving or in ages of glorious prosperity—the sea encircling this continent remained an indifferent, boundless expanse. Its vastness bred apathy, enduring far longer than any dynasty or nation.The small boat was but a speck in the vast sea, bobbing on the waves with three ragged pearl divers and their sorrows. Though one day the sea might dry up and become mulberry fields, they, mere specks of dust in the grand scheme, would never live to see that day. Their sorrows, like the sorrows of all the common folk of the world, were swallowed by the ever-indifferent tides of the sea, leaving no sound or trace.
This was the fourth year of the Tianxiang era. Since the Zheng dynasty had replaced the Duan dynasty of the Muyun clan, the imperial rule of the Chu family had spanned fifty-three generations. Though the wounds of the Prince of Yi's rebellion had yet to fully heal, people still believed that the great Zheng dynasty, now in its six hundred and sixty-first year, would continue to endure, much like its founding emperor, Chu Jing, who had emerged unscathed from countless battles, as if blessed by the heavens. They seemed to have forgotten—Chu Jing, the founding emperor, had ultimately died as well.
"East of Yuezhou, in the vast South Sea, lies the Jiaohai, a sea no more than a hundred li in circumference. Within it dwell the Jiaoren, living in the water like fish. When they weep, their tears form pearls. The Jiaoren are guarded by Jiaosharks, which go berserk at the scent of blood and can devour small boats. Emperor Xu adored pearls, and local officials, currying favor with the throne, imposed harsh demands for pearls. When the pearl divers could not gather enough to meet the tribute, they would tie ropes around children's waists and lower them into the sea to lure the Jiaoren to the surface. Once the Jiaoren appeared, the children would be strangled before their eyes. The Jiaoren, gentle and compassionate by nature, would weep at the sight, and their tears, upon meeting the wind, would turn into luminous pearls that glowed at night. To prevent the children's blood from attracting the Jiaoren's guardians, the method of strangulation was employed." — The Chronicles of Zheng: Consorts · Empress Huan Yi
Countless shades of emerald and sapphire shimmered and surged in the depths. Looking up, the faint sunlight filtered through the water, shifting and elusive. Haishi felt for the leather pouch at her chest, brought it to her lips, and took a breath, slowly releasing a stream of bubbles. The bubbles, crystalline and shimmering, floated upward toward the surface, eventually dissolving into glimmering specks of light. She dove deeper into the thickening darkness.
When people drown, they often cling to stones at the bottom of the sea. Haishi knew it was because they saw light down there, and in their desperation, they would clutch at anything, refusing to let go. Gradually, the darkness faded, and the path ahead grew bright. Almost there , she told herself. Swimming toward the light, her toes touched the warm, soft white sand.
As if descending from the heavens, Haishi stepped onto the land of another world. The deep sea muffled all sound, leaving only the gentle flow of water and the interplay of divine light. Schools of fish drifted by, and coral branches swayed like willow fronds. Amid the pale, agate-red tendrils, Haishi noticed a few strands of an unusual color and wondered: Since when does coral come in shades of azure? Carefully navigating around the coral thicket with the current, Haishi’s eyes widened in astonishment, and she nearly choked.
What swayed so gracefully were not corals, but the azure tresses of a woman. The woman reclined among the corals, languidly raising a hand to weave threads of translucent jade and cool blue from the seawater. She stretched the jade threads horizontally before her, using the cool blue as the weft, her slender fingers deftly interlacing the colors into a nearly invisible, ethereal gauze. Her movements were as graceful as plucking countless illusory blossoms from a dream.
Wasn’t this the sister Father spoke of, the one who could give them pearls? Haishi brought her legs together and shot forward like an arrow.
The woman started in surprise, but Haishi had already thrown herself onto her lap, her joy bubbling from her lips like an innocent, dark little sea creature. The woman, seemingly enchanted by this adorable being, reached out with an elegant, webbed finger and gently stroked Haishi’s short hair, the translucent blue membranes between her fingers shimmering in the water.The air in the leather pouch at Haishi’s chest was running low, so she dared not delay. She immediately took the woman’s hand and kicked upward toward the surface. The woman’s body was light and boneless, twisting and turning effortlessly in the water. Haishi watched her with envy, circling around her several times. The woman seemed amused and began circling Haishi in return. The two, one large and one small, frolicked joyfully, spiraling around each other as they rose toward the surface. At times, the rope tied around Haishi’s waist nearly entangled the woman, but with a graceful sway of her waist, the woman would glide upward and evade it. Gradually, they left the seabed, and the heavy darkness enveloped them like velvet. In the darkness, drifting flames flickered intermittently. One of these lights shot straight toward them. Haishi leaned in to examine it, startling the strange fish with a lantern-like appendage on its head, which promptly turned and swam away. Haishi reached out to catch the fish, but the woman gently blocked her. As if to console the disappointed Haishi, the woman spread her arms, and a soft, pearly glow slowly emanated from her body. Countless strange fish, drawn to the light like fireflies, gathered around them, swirling in a mesmerizing dance. Being a child, Haishi immediately forgot about catching the fish and stared wide-eyed in delight.
The surrounding seawater shifted from black to deep blue, with sunlight filtering through the waves, dyeing the water a translucent azure. Haishi, holding the woman’s hand with one hand and gripping the rope around her waist with the other, felt her body growing lighter. Finally, with a splash, they broke through the surface together.
“Dad! Dad!” Haishi waved and called out.
Her father reached out, scooping her onto the boat. Haishi, ticklish under her arms, curled up in his embrace, giggling. But then she felt a few heavy, scalding drops fall on her head and face. Before she could turn to look, her father suddenly grabbed her slender neck from behind. Haishi cried out in pain, repeatedly calling, “Dad!” Her father didn’t answer, only tightening his grip, nearly lifting her small body off the deck. She tried to scream again, but her throat produced only a hoarse rasp. Haishi kicked and struggled, clawing at her father’s bony hands, but to no avail. A faint ringing filled her ears, like the distant roar of a hurricane heard through a seashell, mingled with her father’s voice: “Haishi, my dear Haishi, be good… Don’t come back to the village to haunt us… I’ll make offerings for you every Qingming, Pudu, and Ghost Festival, so you won’t go hungry down there…” Was she going to die? Was her father, who had always doted on her, trying to kill her now? If he wanted her dead, why was he sobbing? Summoning all her strength, Haishi twisted her head and bit down hard on her father’s hand. The warm, metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Her father’s grip loosened abruptly, and Haishi collapsed onto the deck, coughing. Through tear-filled eyes, she saw Uncle Zhu and Uncle Jin, who had jumped into the sea at some point, bobbing up and down near the woman, frantically scooping something from the water.
The woman! The woman floated half-submerged in the water, her turquoise eyes fixed anxiously on Haishi, tears streaming down her face. As soon as the tears met the air, they shimmered brilliantly, sinking into the water one by one. Even a foot or two below the surface, they retained their lustrous, gem-like glow. Haishi, the daughter of pearl divers, had never seen pearls of such exquisite quality. Uncle Zhu and Uncle Jin surfaced and dove repeatedly, ecstatically gathering the pearls formed from the woman’s tears.None of them had noticed that Father stood rigidly at the prow, his gaze fixed on a single point in the sea. On his rough, bony hands, the wounds inflicted by the sea market had left several trails of dark, dried blood.
Sin, such sin... Father stared at the drop of blood in the water, long since dissolved without a trace. A faint, coppery scent drifted toward the unknown depths. Beneath the calm, emerald waves, unseen undercurrents began to stir.
A faint commotion caught Ah Jin’s attention. He looked up, and his expression abruptly changed. In the distance, under a clear and windless sky, a massive wave rose without warning. As far as the eye could see, the sea for miles around began to boil. Churning white foam swiftly closed in on them from all directions, and within the crests of the waves, over a dozen enormous iron-gray dorsal fins surged and vanished.
This sea was called the Jiao Sea.
In an instant, a towering wave loomed near, but then it suddenly slowed, rising like a wall of jade, foot by foot, until it blotted out the sun.
"Father, Father!" Hai Shi’s shrill, childish voice screamed as she rushed toward her ashen-faced father. At her tug, he snapped out of his daze, tears streaming down his face, his parched lips trembling as if he wanted to say something to her. Just then, the monstrous wave, already two or three men high, crashed down, obscuring his face. Hai Shi’s vision went white, and a deafening roar filled her ears.
When she opened her eyes again—she didn’t know how much time had passed—she realized she had been plunged several yards deep into the sea. Looking up, the murky green surface seemed like the sky of another world, with the wreckage of the pearl-diving boat scattering and sinking around her. A massive shadow shot up from the depths, brushed past Hai Shi, burst through the surface with a splash, then plunged back heavily into the dark abyss. Amid the foam and turbulent currents, Hai Shi still managed to see it clearly—a shark longer than the pearl-diving boat, scaleless, its iron-gray skin gleaming with a bluish tint in the water.
Then, with another thud, something fell from above into the water, sinking before her eyes.
As it turned, Hai Shi nearly screamed underwater.
It was unmistakably Father—but only the upper half of him.
The small girl lunged forward, desperately clutching her father’s sinking corpse, dragging it through a thin, crimson mist of blood as she swam toward the surface. Behind her, she faintly sensed the water pushing and surging, as if the sharks had caught the scent of blood and were pursuing her from the depths. Gritting her teeth, she glanced back—there were three of them, far off! The currents grew increasingly chaotic and violent as the bloodthirsty giants closed in. Tears of terror and despair welled up in her eyes, dissolving into the seawater without a trace, and the last vestiges of warmth within her seemed to fade away with them.
She finally broke the surface, gasping for breath, but there was nowhere left to go. The sky and sea stretched vast and boundless in every direction, offering no refuge, nothing to hold onto.
Clutching her father’s corpse tightly, she closed her eyes.
Yet, the surrounding undercurrents gradually began to calm.
Hai Shi opened her eyes in disbelief and, after a long moment, mustered her courage and submerged her head once more. In the deep, dark blue depths, a shimmering white light swayed. A strange woman, her hair drifting like seaweed, extended a hand, blocking the path of five or six sharks. The ferocious creatures were subdued by the white light in her hand, shrinking back hesitantly before eventually dispersing in frustration. The sea slowly returned to its former tranquility, with fragments of wood and clothing swirling and sinking gently around her.Only then did Haishi realize she had exhausted the last of her strength. Her limbs trembled, and her left arm wrapped around her father had stiffened, unable to move. She gave up struggling, closed her eyes again, and her limp body sank downward.
For a moment, Haishi felt as if she were still lying at the bottom of the pearl-diving boat, just waking from a deep, sweet slumber. She kept her eyes shut and her ears closed off, yet she could still clearly feel the gentle rise and fall of the waves beneath her and the warmth of the sunlight on her face. But soon, the pain of torn flesh, the ache of weary bones, and the dull throb in her head gradually reawakened.
She furrowed her brow and opened her eyes.
Before her stretched an endless sea and the iron-gray back of a shark, its dorsal fin standing like a flag. Haishi suddenly realized she was riding on the shark’s back—and it was about to dive underwater! She tried to escape, but a pair of hands tightly held her by the waist. She screamed and struggled, choking on a mouthful of water. Moments later, the shark resurfaced, and Haishi, slightly calmer, looked down to see the hands embracing her from behind—their fingers connected by translucent, crystalline blue webbing.
It was the woman. In the daylight, Haishi could now see her clearly: her delicate, pointed ears, her slick skin, her deep blue curls, and her deep blue eyes with only dark pupils and no whites. Beneath her light, gauzy robe, her slender ankles were visible—each adorned with small fins that swayed gracefully with the splashing water. Haishi’s heart raced. This woman was not human. What had her father sent her into the sea to find? Noticing Haishi’s gaze, the woman pointed ahead. On the horizon, a faint gray shadow was visible. Land was not far away.
The shark swam on, rising and falling with the waves. Haishi’s mind felt hollow—not entirely empty of thought, yet she dared not dwell too deeply. Tears fell from her eyes, leaving no trace on the shark’s back.
After more than an hour, they were still three to five li from shore. The water had grown shallow, and the shark could go no farther. The woman retrieved a bundle from behind her and tied it to Haishi’s back. The bundle’s cloth was a pale, bluish-green, impossibly thin, and inside were heaps of pearls—enough to fill seven or eight handfuls—glowing brilliantly even in the daylight. The woman took Haishi’s hand and traced characters on her palm with her finger. Where her fingertip touched, a white light emerged, forming the characters "Lang Huan," which glowed faintly on Haishi’s palm. So this woman was named Lang Huan? Lang Huan gave Haishi a gentle push, sending her off the shark’s back, and pointed toward the shore, as if urging her to return home. As soon as Haishi entered the water, she noticed the characters "Lang Huan" on her palm glowing brightly. She swam underwater for a while without feeling short of breath and even swam another half-li without needing to surface. Haishi emerged from the water and looked back. Lang Huan sat astride the shark, her robes billowing in the emerald waves. She said nothing—perhaps she could not speak—but her deep blue eyes watched Haishi quietly.
Haishi tightened her grip on the bundle strapped across her chest and swam toward the shore, never looking back.
"Is that all?" asked the leader of the soldiers, reaching into the wooden bucket filled with pearls and grabbing a handful.
"Yes, my lord, that’s all..." the village chief replied, trembling.The leader withdrew his hand, flicking a pearl as small as a grain of rice from under his fingernail. "You call this a pearl? Even grains of sand are bigger than this!" He swept a cold gaze over the surrounding villagers and roared, "You lazy, unruly peasants!" The village chief, hunched over, replied, "Sir, this year there have been many storms, disturbing the pearl oysters, so the pearls haven't grown large. Our men have been diving day and night, gathering these little by little. Our village has always offered fine tribute pearls in the past. Please consider our consistent..." Before he could finish, the leader kicked a wooden bucket, sending it flying into the chief's face. Pearls scattered across the ground with a clatter. "Take them all away!" In the distance, on a small hill, a carriage covered in dark oilcloth rumbled along.
Someone inside the carriage lifted a corner of the window curtain and asked softly, "Is that the tribute pearl collection?" Strangely, the seemingly plain dark oilcloth curtain was lined with bright yellow satin.
A handsome young man hurried to the window and replied respectfully, "Yes. The soldiers are arresting people in that village. It looks like they might burn the houses." "Let's observe a little longer," the person in the carriage instructed. From afar, commotion and unrest rose from the village at the foot of the hill, and the hand that had lowered the curtain paused.
A small figure dashed into the village entrance, positioning himself between the soldiers and a woman. His dark face was stubborn. "Don't take my mother!" Before the soldiers could react, the woman struggled up from the dust and fishing nets, pulling the child behind her. "Haishi, run! Go find your uncle! Don't come back!" But Haishi stood his ground, untying the bundle on his back and pulling out a handful of pearls, holding them up to the soldiers. "Look, aren't these pearls?" Those who had been fleeing, chasing, weeping, or shouting suddenly forgot what they were doing. Their souls seemed stolen away.
The pearls were neither large nor of rare colors like gold, pigeon green, or jet black, but they were remarkably even and smooth. Yet, in the dimming twilight, that handful of pearls shone brilliantly, casting Haishi's faint shadow on the ground. Luminous pearls from the deep sea were priceless, not easily obtained for a thousand pieces of gold. Yet here was this child, holding a full handful in his palm—how many more were in that bundle? The soldier leader pushed through the crowd, held out his palm, and Haishi poured all the pearls into it. The leader's dull face lit up under the pearls' glow. After a moment, he snapped out of his daze, blinked, and chuckled, "Brothers, did you see that?" "Captain, we saw nothing," one of the soldiers replied. Haishi shivered, a chill running down his spine.
The leader's gaze clung to the bundle in Haishi's arms like a sea slug. "So, do you think this village's tribute pearls have been fully paid?" "Not even close," a few stifled laughs broke out sporadically.
"What pearls could this wretched village possibly have?" the leader said, pulling open his collar to tuck the pearls into his chest.
"Exactly, Captain. We've searched high and low, and there are no pearls to be found!" The soldiers, gripping their swords, closed in on Haishi from all sides, their eyes blazing like eerie green phosphorescence from the underworld.
Haishi instinctively hugged the bundle and stepped back, only to be blocked by an unfinished fishing net strung between the trees behind him.Her hand brushed against something sharp and cold within the fishing net, and an inexplicable calm settled in her heart. Clutching that icy object tightly in her palm, she held her breath and waited. She did not want to die—she wanted to live.
The chieftain swung his blade toward Haishi’s wrist, which clung to the bundle. In the instant the blade descended, Haishi threw herself at the chieftain. Whether she had tugged on something or not, a section of the fishing net hanging from the tree—over ten feet long—suddenly tore loose. Small and swift, she lunged into the chieftain’s chest just as his blade swept past her back, missing her entirely.
"Don’t just stand there—run!" Haishi shouted, lifting her head. The villagers, jolted awake from their daze, hurriedly scattered, supporting one another as they fled.
The chieftain grabbed Haishi by the collar with his left hand, ready to exert force, when a faint numbness spread across his abdomen, followed by a sharp, piercing pain. His eyes widened in fury as he released Haishi, clutching his wound in disbelief. A hemp thread was pulled taut from the injury, and blood slowly gathered along it, forming a single drop before falling.
Haishi took another step back. As the chieftain mustered his strength to swing his blade again, she merely wound the hemp thread around her hand and yanked it back with all her might. A spray of blood speckled her young face.
The chieftain’s body slowly toppled forward with the force of the pull. Until his dying breath, he never knew that the object that had pierced his abdomen and ultimately claimed his life was nothing more than the hardwood shuttle Hai Shi’s mother used for weaving fishing nets.
Hai Shi flung the hemp thread from her hands and turned to flee toward the back of the mountain.
Shouts echoed from the foot of the hill. A man inside the carriage asked, “Zhuo Ying, what’s happening?” “That child killed a soldier and is running toward us,” replied the youth named Zhuo Ying. Though his words were unhurried, his voice was taut with tension.
“Then let us test his luck and see if he can make it to us. If this child has no luck, following us would only lead him to his death,” the voice from the carriage remained calm and clear.
Zhuo Ying gave a slight bow and fell silent. The sky had darkened completely, and by concentrating, one could hear the rustling of several pairs of footsteps trampling through the grass as they rushed uphill. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the voices drew near, just a few zhang away. From the sounds, it seemed one of the soldiers had caught up to the child but was met with a desperate bite, crying out in pain. Immediately after, sharp whistling sounds cut through the air—likely the soldiers lunging forward with their blades. A tearing sound followed, and the child must have been struck, his steps faltering instantly, stumbling and unsteady, yet he did not stop for even a moment.
Zhuo Ying tightened his grip on the golden hilt at his waist, his palm growing slightly damp with sweat.
The man in the carriage murmured softly, “It’s about time. Go.” “Understood!” Before the words had fully left his lips, Zhuo Ying had already leaped more than two zhang away. Using the sounds to pinpoint the child’s location, he reached out, grabbed the child, and tossed him toward the carriage. Without pausing, he surged forward, his golden blade ringing as it left its sheath. In the darkness, a cold gleam flickered and rolled through the air, accompanied by the crisp sounds of torn fabric and splattering blood. The soldiers fell to the ground one by one. With a final horizontal slash to the right, Zhuo Ying used the momentum to spin halfway around, landing lightly on his feet. He lifted his gaze to search for the child but found himself momentarily breathless.
The child had collapsed to the ground, the bundle on his chest coming undone, spilling objects that, in the darkness, seemed to burn the eyes with their brilliance. The radiance was alive, undulating like a mirage. One of the pearls rolled all the way to the carriage wheel, striking it with a clear, crisp sound. The carriage curtain was lifted, and a man stepped out. A lean, strong hand reached down to pick up the pearl, holding it up for closer inspection. The pearl’s glow illuminated the man’s face—narrow, phoenix-like eyes, and an old half-inch scar at the right corner of his mouth that curved upward slightly, lending his dignified and gentle countenance a faint, ambiguous smile.
The child lay prone on the ground, looking up at him without moving, yet his hands were busy, slowly and deftly gathering the scattered pearls back to his chest. The child’s eyes were the eyes of a wild animal—fearful, yet extraordinarily sharp and alert. He was not refusing to flee; he was merely assessing the situation, waiting for the right moment to act. At the slightest sign of movement, the child would instinctively turn and bolt, perhaps even throwing a handful of dirt in his direction.The man slowly crouched down, extending a finger to firmly still the child's subtly twitching hand. Where their hands met, he could feel the tremors running through the child's small frame. With a gentle exertion, he lifted her to his chest, but she resisted, her eyes fixed on him with something akin to hatred. The man did not flinch, merely reaching out to softly stroke her delicate, palm-sized face. The child's resisting arms trembled for a moment before she abruptly buried her head in the crook of his neck, clinging tightly to him. A faint smile touched the man's lips as he held her close, straightening up and letting the pearls scatter from their garments.
"What is your name?" the man asked in a calm voice.
A hoarse, tiny voice, choked with emotion, replied, "Haishi." "Would you like to come north with us?" Haishi did not loosen her grip on his neck, thinking for a moment before asking, "If I go north, can I earn money to support my mother?" The man fell silent briefly. "If you become my son, you will have everything except ease. If you become my daughter, you will have nothing but ease." "Then... I will be your son." The fabric of the man's chest was dry and soft, carrying a faint, pleasant scent. Haishi buried her head deeper, her sore muscles gradually relaxing, her voice growing faint as she drifted into a deep sleep.
Zhuoying gathered the scattered pearls, lit a white silk lantern, and lifted the curtain. The man carried Haishi into the carriage, and Zhuoying leaped onto the driver's seat. The carriage moved forward silently. As the lantern swayed, Zhuoying's curly hair and eyes reflected a dark golden sheen against the pure blackness.
"Zhuoying, when I found you in the Scarlet Medicine Plains amidst an army of a hundred thousand, your eyes were just like this—like a wild beast's." Zhuoying replied briefly, "Yes." "Four years have passed in the blink of an eye." "Yes." They fell silent as the night deepened around them.
OpenNovel