Chapter 779: 999 Stream of Light Shells (3k)
“He… is Iron Turtle Immortal?”
The mechanical voice made Su Jiu and the other person stunned. They never expected Iron Turtle Immortal to be such a handsome young man. However, Su Jiu suddenly thought of something, looked up at the youth telling the story, and examined him with a scrutinizing gaze.
Hadn’t her previous guess resurfaced? Was this person perhaps the one in the story?
“Facing the opponent’s self-destruction, ‘Ugly Egg’ was also startled and quickly bowed three times like the older generation. This was Iron Turtle Immortal! An immortal who could protect a region, a divine being of the sea in legends!”
“On the other hand, Iron Turtle Immortal was very interested in this young man with an ugly face. His gaze fell on Ugly Egg, and his sapphire-blue eyes, as clear as seawater, held a hint of mockery. Without opening his mouth, he let Ugly Egg know his meaning…”
As the mechanical voice sounded, Mu Qi picked up a few shells, expertly pried them open with chopsticks, and began to eat them piece by piece. His large bowl covered his face, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
“What happened next?”
Su Jiu ate the meat in her bowl, and as she heard the story abruptly pause, she almost choked. She coughed twice and decided to stop eating for a moment, taking out some sauce from her ring to make a dipping dish.
“Miss, eat slowly, don’t choke.”
Bernice smiled as she picked up the small booklet and started drawing again. However, she wasn’t drawing Su Jiu eating; instead, she was working on an extra chapter based on the story Mu Qi was telling, titled “Song and the Mermaid.”
“…”
Seeing Su Jiu’s reaction, Mr. Mu Qi couldn’t help but smile, as if looking at an amusing junior. He then tapped the table twice, letting his fingers, which were molding external qi, continue to tap on the keyboard.
“Iron Turtle Immortal told Ugly Egg that he had heard his story with the mermaid and could help him. He even extended three fingers, indicating he could grant one wish, but with a condition.”
“Ugly Egg heard the condition and, without much thought, blurted out a wish—”
The electronic voice paused for a long time before continuing. Mu Qi kept his head down, not showing any excitement as the story reached its climax. Instead, he appeared somewhat dejected.
“He said, ‘I want a face as handsome as yours.'”
“This…”
As soon as these words were spoken, Su Jiu understood the fairy tale instantly. She turned to look at Bernice and saw her put down her pen. Her small mouth was slightly ajar, and a ripple seemed to stir in her blue eyes, as if she had also understood the story.
They were all adults, not young girls reading fairy tale books.
What the storyteller said was likely not a story, but an experience.
The mechanical voice did not stop.
“Iron Turtle Immortal examined him up and down, then smiled mysteriously, pointing at Ugly Egg’s throat, and still telepathically said: How about your voice as a price?”
“Ugly Egg hesitated. His singing voice was the most distinctive in the entire South Sea, even participating in variety shows like ‘King of Masked Singer’ and winning first place.”
“He really liked his voice.”
“But his past experiences with the Little Mermaid were like a poisonous snake entwined around him. In a moment of impulse, he agreed to Iron Turtle Immortal.”
“The next moment, Ugly Egg fainted. When he woke up again, he found he could not speak. When he went to the sea’s surface to look in the mirror, he suddenly discovered a face like that of an immortal on his visage.”
Mu Qi frantically scooped up rice, as if trying to conceal something through eating, like a child angry at their parents in childhood who would eat furiously without tasting anything.
“So… the protagonist of the story is Uncle Mu, right?”
Without waiting for the mechanical voice to continue, Su Jiu asked. She understood that by this point, the story he was telling was quite clear.
“…”
Mu Qi put down his bowl with a “bang,” remained silent for a while, and then nodded. However, a slight redness could be seen in his eyes as he continued to control his external qi and press his phone.
“After Ugly Egg became Handsome Egg, he frantically searched for the Little Mermaid. Day and night, he guarded the shore where he used to sing, but he never waited for that small figure. He wanted to sing out loud like usual, but he couldn’t make a sound…”
Mu Qi got up and walked towards the box of shells, bent down to look below, and slowly closed his eyes again, as if the Little Mermaid’s voice was resounding in his mind again.
And the mechanical voice continued to sound…
In the night, a bonfire was lit, the lights dim. Two figures leaned against each other quietly, without desire, only companionship.
The ugly youth held a bowl of warm shell meat soup and gulped it down. After he had his fill, he suddenly asked, “If one day, I want to find you, but I can’t reach you, what should I do?”
“Collect nine hundred and ninety-nine Stream of Light Shells, and I will come find you.”
Hearing this, the Little Mermaid looked up at the sky, tilted her head, and with a soft hum, she also drank the meat soup, a youthful smile on her face.
“Ah? That’s too much! Stream of Light Shells only appear on the beach on sunny days, and there are very few of them…”
The youth’s face fell. He lowered his head, using the disposable bamboo chopsticks to pry open the meat shells. He was clumsy with words and didn’t want to say anything that would disappoint her.
“Is it a lot?”
The Little Mermaid pouted, turned her face away, and stood up as if sulking, crossing her arms. She spoke again, “Not only do I want Stream of Light Shells, but they must be blue. As long as you collect enough, I will appear by your side immediately!”
With that, she jumped into the sea without looking back, like a grain of sand disappearing into the ocean, leaving the youth standing alone, watching the waves churn…
Did he feel like something was missing?
“Actually, there have been countless overflows of shells, do you think Ugly Egg will continue to wait for her?”
Mu Qi’s memories contracted. He suddenly smiled, produced a bottle of wine from a corner, and gulped it down. The liquor slid down his throat and into his chest, soaking his floral shirt.
