Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

Numazumi respectfully said, "Lord Yaoling, please speak."

Ning Fusang walked to a rock by the pool and sat down. With a flick of his wrist, a bamboo slip appeared in his palm, which he handed over. "Do you recognize what characters these are?"

The old merman squinted and stared for a long time before saying, "This is an ancient word of the merman race, it's the character for 'star'."

He returned the bamboo slips with both hands, and asked hesitantly, "Why are you interested in our tribe's ancient language, sir?"

The mermaid girl's heart trembled for a moment, and she whispered, "Grandpa Numazumi, you must not offend our honored guest."

"It's alright." Ning Fusang was very tolerant. She ran her palm across the bamboo slip and carved the character "star" for a human. She handed over another bamboo slip. "I once obtained a copy of 'The Preface to the Song of Forgetfulness' written by a sage of the merfolk. I just don't recognize a few characters."

Nusaquan looked nostalgic and sighed, "This piece is extraordinary, and few people in the world can play it anymore. I never expected that Lord Yaoling would have such attainments in music."

Ning Fusang smiled and said gently, "I don't know anything about music, I only know how to listen to music. I happen to have a friend who specializes in music and is interested in 'The Song of Forgetfulness', so I thought I would complete the preface and give it to you as a gift."

"I see."

Zhaoquan had no suspicions. The "Preface to the Song of Forgetfulness" was quite long and contained many obscure words. In addition, the bamboo slips that Ning Fusang gave him were in a disordered order, so he did not find anything wrong.

After he finished translating all the bamboo slips, he had completely forgotten the rest of the words, except for the first few he translated.

Ning Fusang left with the bamboo slips.

The mermaid girl squatted by the water's edge and asked curiously, "Grandpa Swamp Spring, what is the 'Song of Forgetfulness'?"

The old merman glanced at her and sighed, "Xingzhi, you are young, so naturally you haven't heard of 'The Song of Forgetfulness.' It was composed by the second-generation Holy Maiden's deputy envoy, the Holy Maiden of Yuewu."

"Grandpa Swamp Spring, can you hum a tune?"

The young starlet finished her task ahead of schedule today, so she seemed particularly relaxed.

Numazumi paused for a moment and said, "Hmph, I do know a little, but not completely."

Xingzhi said, "Grandpa Zhaoquan, I want to hear you hum a tune."

Swamp looked around and shook his head: "In the center of Sunset Glow Residence, you may not hum without the permission of the Sunset Glow Hermit."

Her face paled slightly; she had just forgotten this rule.

Xingzhi lowered her eyes, feeling downcast. Merfolk and Mirage Maidens are both very good at singing; chanting is their nature. But in the Zhongling World, they must restrain their nature, otherwise they will bring disaster upon themselves and their people.

Numazumi felt a pang of pity and softened his voice, saying, "You can't hum 'The Song of Forgetfulness' anymore, but I can recite the prologue to you."

The mermaid girl's eyes lit up, and she nodded emphatically, listening to the swamp's chanting.

The prologue tells the story of the Queen's son, Di Gong, who, because of his deep affection for the Holy Maiden of Le Wu, gave up his status as a prince and ran for the position of deputy envoy, wishing only to stay by the Holy Maiden's side day and night.

However, things did not go as planned. The royal court was in turmoil, and Emperor Gong needed to give up his position as deputy envoy, marry a noblewoman, and consolidate his royal power.

Emperor Gong was deeply in love with the Holy Maiden of Lewu and could not extricate himself. In this state of mind, he created the "Song of Forgetting Sorrows". He used the lingering sound of the spirit zither to play the score, cut off the threads of love, and forget his feelings for the Holy Maiden of Lewu. Only in this way could he overcome his heart barrier, marry the noble lady, consolidate his royal power, and quell the rebellion.

After listening, Xingzhi frowned deeply. Numazumi thought she was moved by the story and said, "The Holy Maiden and the Vice Envoy could never be together. This ending is already a happy one." Xingzhi clenched her hands, hesitating to speak, but in the end, she swallowed her words.

Grandpa Nusaquan is old. After reading the prologue, he didn't even notice that several of the words Lord Yaoling had asked him to translate were not from the prologue at all!

Xingzhi didn't plan to tell Numaquan about this, since she was the one who brought the person over. If there were any problems, it would be understandable if Numaquan's grandfather was unaware of it.

It's better to mind your own business than to get involved in something else. Why bother with so much?
She was merely a slave trapped in this Sunset Residence. The Mermaid Royal Court and the Holy Maiden Deputy Envoy were so far away from her that she had never even seen them.

Xingzhi bid farewell to the swamp, clasped his hands in front of him, and hurried back home.

Suddenly, a hand pulled her into the lake and she sank to the bottom.

"Who are you?" Xingzhi's legs transformed into a fish tail, allowing it to breathe freely in the water, as it stared at the girl in front of it and questioned her.

Zhu Bei released her arm. "You don't need to worry that I have any ill intentions towards you. I am a merman too."

Xingzhi's gaze shifted downwards, landing on Zhubei's legs, clearly disbelieving: "A mermaid's legs turn into a fish tail when they get wet, but your legs haven't changed at all. How could you possibly be a mermaid?"

"This is the residence of the Hermit of Sunset Glow. I advise you to leave as soon as possible. If you are discovered, you will not be able to leave even if you want to."

Zhu Bei said, "I am indeed a merman. Have you ever heard of the merman race's forbidden technique of floating bubbles?"

Xingzhi gasped softly, her clear, innocent eyes widening: "You used the forbidden technique of floating bubbles?"

"Yes," Zhu Bei said without any attempt to hide his feelings. "I used the Floating Bubble Forbidden Technique, and since then I have become almost indistinguishable from humans. My legs no longer turn into fish tails when they get wet, my blood is no longer blue, and my tears are just tears."

“I don’t have any water-repelling beads on me, nor have I used any water-repelling spells, yet I can breathe freely underwater. Doesn’t that prove my identity?”

"Okay, I believe you."

Xingzhi's statement relieved Zhu Bei, and she got straight to the point: "I want to ask you something. Do you know where some of the women who have recently been guests of the Hermit of Luoxia live?"

"You're looking for them?" Xingzhi shook her head repeatedly. "I can't tell you where the distinguished guests are staying. You'd better leave as soon as possible."

The words "distinguished guest?" and Xingzhi's protection of humanity stung Zhu Bei. She sneered, "It seems that the life-and-death talisman of Zhongling Tianxia has softened your bones. You only know how to serve humanity as your master, with servile and obsequious manner. You are truly hopeless!"

Xingzhi didn't like hearing this, and her eyes turned cold: "I don't know where you, a mermaid, came from. Perhaps you haven't suffered the torment of the Life and Death Talisman, so you can so easily criticize other people of your race."

"Whether it's servility or groveling, we just want to survive. In Luoxia Residence, Luoxia Hermit is the one who decides our life and death. Betraying her is tantamount to sending all our clansmen to their deaths."

Xingzhi didn't actually have the Life and Death Talisman in her body. After all, this talisman wasn't easy to obtain. She was young and clever, and knew how to read people's expressions, so the Hermit of Sunset Clouds didn't make her drink the Life and Death Talisman water.

But Xingzhi had grown up in Luoxia Residence since childhood and had witnessed too many of her people suffer a fate worse than death because of the Life and Death Talisman. When even life cannot be guaranteed, what does dignity matter?
Unless one day a member of their tribe comes to them with the antidote to the life-and-death talisman, they will not rise up in rebellion to pursue dignity, freedom, and liberation.

But right now, Xingzhi only wants himself and his people to live.

Even among clansmen, there are degrees of closeness and distance. The clansmen of Luoxia Residence naturally carry more weight than these unfamiliar clansmen.

(End of this chapter)