The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Heh, see that? There are always some fools who think they're incredibly smart." He waved his hand with a sneer. "Enforcement team, go and bring those two back to the location shown on the celestial mirror!"

I want to see just how capable they are, to be able to break through the Golden Pagoda's restrictions so easily. They're really disregarding the clan's rules.

Remember, Lian Yunshang has the ability to bewitch people. When the time comes, make sure you don't make any verbal or eye contact with her; use the golden net to arrest her immediately.

"Yes!" The imposing enforcement team accepted the order and sped off in two directions at incredible speed.

The spirit woman stood at the doorway, shading her eyes with her hand as she peered out. She couldn't help but sigh, "The gods have their reasons. It seems that all this elaborate planning has been in vain."

Chief Si Zhuo stared solemnly at the water mirror, inwardly lamenting: if it weren't for the gods sending him a dream informing him of the serious criminal's attempt to escape, allowing him to close the barrier and make thorough preparations, otherwise these two cunning mermaids, one old and one young, would have already escaped!

Where will my authority be then?

Wouldn't the clan leader's punishment make him a laughing stock?

We must bring these two guys back this time and not let them off easily again!

Chapter Thirty-Three: Do you know your crime?

"Waaaaah... What should I do? Someone save me!" Lian Yunshang went from fear to anxiety to anger and finally to despair. She watched helplessly as the deep-sea fish, within reach, swam past her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't touch the cold seawater.

This feeling was very familiar before I became a child.

Back then, the little mermaids were all envious and longed for the outside world. They would often come in groups of three or five to touch the barrier at the border, which looked non-existent but made a "bang bang" sound when knocked on.

But ever since they came of age, possessed a complete soul, and drank the Spirit Woman's soup, the barrier that blocked the seawater and the underage fish seemed to disappear, and they could pass through it with just a light leap!

However, now...

Lian Yunshang trembled slightly, whether from anxiety, fear or pain, it was hard to tell.

Time ticked by, and she tried every method she could think of, but she couldn't get through the door to a new world and a new life.

"What should I do? God, please save me!"

"Why is this happening? We succeeded even in the most difficult step!"

"With so much time having passed, do the law enforcement teams already know I escaped? What if I get caught and brought back? Should I... pretend I don't know anything and shift the blame to Jiang Chen and Grandpa?"

"I... I just saw the tower gates were open and couldn't bear the suppression any longer. I was confused for a moment and tried to escape. I didn't do it, so I shouldn't be punished more severely, right?"

"What should I do? Who can save me?"

While Lian Yunshang prayed and wept in terror, the elderly Lian Qi had already lost all hope in his eyes.

"Am I really too old?"

Why is this happening?

"What should we do? Yunshang should have escaped by now, right? It's over! It's completely over!"

"If we go back now, confess to the clan chief, and beg for forgiveness, shifting the blame to Jiang Chen, is it still too late?"

…………

The grandfather and grandson both thought of how to shirk responsibility if they were captured, and neither of them gave up any chance to escape. After failing to cross the barrier, they tried to escape to the desolate land.

However, once you're in the mermaid world, how easy is it to escape?

The enforcement team quickly apprehended the elderly man and the child, following the instructions of the clan chief.

"Oh wow, did you arrange all of this, host?"

The fluffy little dumpling looked at Lian Yunshang and Lian Qi, who were being escorted back, with a look of amazement. Holding the golden conch shell, she asked in a low voice, "How did you do that? Tell me quickly!"

Jiang Chen had already pushed Wen Menglong to become Ye Qingyun's apprentice and discussed many matters such as his apprenticeship at Jishetang. Hearing the little white cat's curious question, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Isn't that simple? Since you can appear in Lian Yunshang's dream to discuss the prison break, you can naturally appear in the clan leader Si Zhuo's dream so that he can know about the prison break plan and make arrangements in advance."

Even if Si Zhuo didn't believe in the gods' warnings in his dreams and didn't take any action, Lian Yunshang would never escape the mermaid world.

"Don't forget I'm the Sea God. The barrier between the two worlds isn't something Si Zhuo can control unilaterally. He can decide whether to open the Mermaid World, and I can decide whether to allow Lian Yunshang and her granddaughter to enter the Deep Sea World."

Wow! You can do that?!

The little white cat was stunned. "The Sea God is so cool! No wonder the original owner was able to 'mend the sky' by burning himself. It's too frustrating that someone with such powerful strength was tricked to death."

He strolled along the street, rubbing his temples. Although his Soul Weapon had grown quite powerful, it was still too far away from the Mermaid World, separated by the deep sea. His energy was being severely depleted, and he had a slight headache.

"You can just watch the show from there. When you come back, remember to find me near Jishetang. To protect Wen Menglong, I need to buy another small courtyard here and keep watch over him at all times to prevent the female lead from succeeding in her schemes."

"Hmm, my host is indeed helping to repay a debt of gratitude! Okay, meow, I'm going to go watch the fun. There are so many merfolk watching them get caught!"

The palace square in the Mermaid World was bustling with activity.

Mermaids of all shapes and sizes gathered together, whispering and pointing at each other from time to time.

With her fishtail almost transparent, her face pale and her hair disheveled, Lian Yunshang lay half-lying on the ground, her hands supporting her on the ground and her eyes filled with tears, yet she did not appear disheveled. Instead, her whole body radiated a poignant beauty.

"Tsk tsk, even in this state of destitution, the female lead's halo is still so dazzling." The fluffy ball hopped over, and before the trial began, it aimed at the protagonist's halo, scratched away a bit with its little paw, and then wrapped its paw around the fluffy, round, almost boundless neck.

Then it crouches to the side and waits quietly, ready to grab another handful whenever it gets the chance!

More and more mermaids gathered in the square to watch. Many of the mermaid boys who had grown up with Lian Yunshang looked at her with a pained expression, but for a moment they didn't know what to say or do.

"Did they really escape from under the Golden Pagoda? How did they manage that?"

"That's why this is so strange. How could an old man and a child possibly break through the Golden Pagoda's defenses?"

"There must be a powerful figure helping them behind the scenes!"

"A master? Even a god would find it difficult to break through the golden pagoda's restrictions, right?"

"I heard that Lianqi went to the Spirit Woman to get the sleeping incense and drugged the golden-armored mermaid guarding them. They were lying on the ground without any disguise, and by the time the patrol team found them, no more than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea had passed. They had both vanished without a trace!"

"Is that really the case?! There must be something fishy going on!"

"These two, grandfather and grandson, are shameless! They've caused such great losses to the clan and don't even think about repenting or making amends; they actually want to run away!"

"Pah! Shameless!"

"Heh, I don't know how they managed to pull off the prison break through a conspiracy between insiders and outsiders. Luckily, the law enforcement team discovered and arrested them in time..."

…………

The buzzing of voices was filled with all sorts of comments, and the mocking and scolding words sounded extremely harsh to Lian Yunshang's ears.

Her eyes were lowered and blurry with tears, making her look pitiful; while Lianqi, who had been hit and was covered in blood, lay slumped on the ground with lifeless eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Holding a golden scepter and wearing a black and red robe symbolizing the clan leader's authority, Si Zhuo slowly flew out of the palace with a golden crown on his head, followed by two solemn and dignified teams of law enforcement officers.

"Lian Yunshang and Lian Qi, do you know your crimes?"

He used a secret technique to demand an answer, and his majestic voice instantly reached the ears of everyone in the square. Everyone fell silent and looked at the clan leader on the high platform with reverence.

"I...I know I did something wrong." Lian Yunshang raised her head and replied in a trembling voice, "I admit that I was tempted by freedom and couldn't resist the temptation when I saw the tower gates open."

But I just took the opportunity to leave the Golden Pagoda.

Chieftain, the one who should be severely punished in this incident is the golden-armored mermaid guarding the Golden Tower. If they hadn't broken the rules and opened the tower door to lure me out, how could I have escaped in my weakened state?

I was just confused for a moment, but I don't deserve to be blamed!

The person who opened the tower gate without permission to lure me out is truly despicable! I was merely weak-willed and had no intention or action to escape. Please understand!

Chapter Thirty-Four: I'm Sorry, Grandpa

"Where is the golden-armored mermaid?" The protagonist's halo quickly took effect, and Si Zhuo turned his head slightly to look at the side with a gloomy expression.

The captain in charge of guarding the tower had already woken up. He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and replied, "Your subordinate is here! Reporting to the clan chief, your subordinate only has the right to open the sound restriction granted to him, but not the key to open the tower door. Please investigate further!"

This morning, the guards under my command did not deviate from the prescribed procedures in the slightest.

Even if they wanted to bend the law for personal gain, their subordinates had no ability to help Lian Yunshang open the tower gate;

Moreover, my subordinates and colleagues were all lured to Lianqi's side under the pretense of distributing snacks, and lost consciousness after inhaling the sweet fragrance. The tower gate was only opened after we fell into a deep sleep. My subordinates were indeed negligent and deserve punishment, but the clan chief, with his keen insight, would never allow a criminal to escape!

"Chieftain!" Lianqi, who had been lying on the ground with lifeless eyes, struggled to his feet upon hearing this and cried out hoarsely, "Chieftain, I'm innocent!"

After crying out his innocence, Lianqi paused slightly.

He pretended to be out of breath, but in reality, he was weighing the pros and cons.

It was a mistake that caused the golden-armored mermaids to be drugged by accidentally biting the bottle cap off, and that he himself had also fallen into a deep sleep but woke up early to find the tower gate already open, thus making a grave error and fleeing in panic.

Or should we just "tell the truth" and shift all the blame to Jiang Chen?

Strange... Why didn't we see Jiang Chen being arrested? Could it be that he still had the ability to escape after burning his life force to break the Golden Pagoda's restrictions?

Judging from her granddaughter's situation, she was probably in a similar predicament to herself, as she hadn't been able to pass through the barrier successfully.

In other words, neither the extremely weak young mermaids nor the elderly mermaids with weakened magic could leave the mermaid world, so it was even less likely that Jiang Chen, who was the most exhausted, could escape!

Pretending to be stupid and ignoring the truth is not enough to make a coherent story. After being investigated by the clan leader, Jiang Chen was arrested and implicated. Deceiving the emperor is a serious crime!

It would be better for Jiang Chen to confess and only take responsibility as an accomplice. Since he planned and carried out the crime, he would face the clan chief's wrath directly. He is old and has a reason to care for his only granddaughter, so his punishment would probably be a little lighter...

In a moment of desperation, after weighing the consequences of the two versions of the story, Lianqi made up his mind and gritted his teeth, saying, "I was only tempted and deceived by others, and I wanted to take a risk because I cared about my only bloodline. Although I made a big mistake, I am not the main culprit."

I am willing to accept the punishment!

But Chieftain, you know perfectly well that I was merely following orders to go to the Spirit Woman under a pretext to ask for the Sleep-Inducing Incense, and then used that as an excuse to make the guard inhale the incense and fall into a deep sleep. I know nothing more than that!

"Hmm?" Si Zhuo frowned slightly and sneered, "Even Yunshang didn't know, the golden-armored guards didn't know, and even you, Qi, didn't know. Then tell me who was behind it all? Who is the one who planned and broke the Golden Pagoda's restrictions?"

The clan leader's voice, enhanced by magic, was filled with an aura of authority and oppression.

The rebuke made all the mermaids present tremble involuntarily, falling silent as if they were cicadas in winter.

Lian Yunshang was a little better off. With the protagonist's halo, she naturally wouldn't be at a disadvantage. She just lowered her head slightly and pretended that she didn't know anything.

When she heard her grandfather's explanation that he wanted to implicate Jiang Chen, a bad feeling flashed through her mind—if Jiang Chen was caught, wouldn't the plot to escape from prison in the dream be exposed?

Is Grandpa getting senile?

Didn't you hear him just now claiming he didn't know anything and only ran away because he was tempted by freedom when he saw the tower gate open?

Whatever you do, don't reveal the secret plot in your dream!

Otherwise, wouldn't that confirm his crime of deceiving the clan chief?

What should we do? We can't let him continue!

Lian Yunshang was terrified and tried to signal to her grandfather with her eyes. However, Lian Qi was so shocked by the clan leader's reprimand that he prostrated himself on the ground and trembled. He didn't even look at his granddaughter and blurted out the words that were favorable to him, "Clan leader, this rescue of Yunshang was planned, plotted, and the destruction of the Golden Pagoda's restrictions by Jiang Chen. What I said is not a lie."

Jiang Chen, that kid, has the ability to control dreams. He created a dream and made Yunshang come to me for help, saying that she was about to die under the Golden Pagoda!