Chapter 2: She’s Really Kind

Jiang Yang guiltily averted her eyes and stroked Angry Bird’s feathers, “Little Hua Xiao, are you full?”

Angry Bird let out a contemptuous coo and rotated its big head 360 degrees, turning its back to her.

Jiang Yang: “……”

Fortunately, at this time, the merman had already been carried away by the crowd. It took a long time before Lan Qian returned, her clothes and hair all soaking wet as if she had just been fished out of the water. She ran excitedly to Jiang Yang’s side and said, “Second Miss, the merman has been tied up and the training has begun.”

Jiang Yang grunted. Actually, her original intention was just to save that handsome fish’s life. Although being a pet fish for the dog emperor wasn’t great, at least he would still be alive. If he didn’t become a pet, he would really be chopped up on the spot and refined into oil, how pitiful.

But pity was pity. She didn’t dare risk implicating the entire Jiang family just to forcefully save an unfamiliar fish.

She just hoped this handsome fish could be more obedient and honest. Jiang Yang thought to herself.

In the evening, Jiang Yang was having dinner. She didn’t have much appetite today and didn’t want to eat meat and seafood, so the kitchen made her a plate of cold tofu and stir-fried mung bean sprouts. Don’t be fooled by these two very ordinary vegetable dishes. On the ocean far from land, the crew could only eat fish and shrimp caught from the sea. Vegetables were even more expensive and rare than big fish and meat.

Lan Qian was attending to her on the side, almost crying from the craving.

Jiang Yang couldn’t stand her gaze and gave her some, “Eat.”

“Thank you, Second Miss.” Lan Qian gratefully picked up a chopstick of crisp and refreshing mung bean sprouts and sighed, “So delicious, I’ve never felt mung bean sprouts tasted so good.”

Jiang Yang put down her chopsticks and leaned on the soft couch. She took an apple from the fruit basket and began to peel it leisurely.

On the sea, what was even rarer and more precious than vegetables? Of course, it was fruit.

After finishing the after-meal fruit, Jiang Yang patted her bulging belly with satisfaction and got up, preparing to go for a stroll on the deck to aid digestion.

“Second Miss, I’ll accompany you.” Lan Qian casually wiped her mouth with her sleeve and followed.

The sun was half-submerged in the sea, the melting golden light flowing into the seabed like molten gold. The magnificent sunset dyed the entire sky and sea red. Her ship rose and fell in the waves, as if sailing into a mysterious oil painting.

“Where did that merman go?” Jiang Yang thought of that handsome merman.

Lan Qian said, “We locked it in a room in the wheelhouse. At this time, the sailors should be training it.”

“Take me to see.”

Ever since discovering the merman in the morning, Lan Qian’s seasickness had miraculously been cured. She got excited whenever the merman was mentioned. She led Jiang Yang, panting, towards the room in the wheelhouse.

Before reaching the door, Jiang Yang heard the sound of a whip lashing, a woman’s sharp scolding from inside, and a strained endurance.

“What’s going on?” Jiang Yang muttered and casually pushed open the small window next to the door to look inside.

The merman was stuffed into a large wooden barrel, a very heavy iron collar around his pale, delicate neck. The iron collar was connected to a very thick and heavy iron chain at the back, severely restricting his movement.

Beside the wooden barrel stood a sailor Jiang Yang didn’t recognize, haughtily waving a whip and heavily lashing the merman’s body. The merman was whipped until his skin split and flesh gaped. The huge wound on his waist and abdomen was not bandaged. Fresh blood gushed out, dyeing the water overflowing from the wooden barrel bright red.

No illegal fish abuse! You group of idiots!

The merman leaned against the barrel wall, covered in wounds, giving off a sense of battle-worn male beauty. Although he had suffered such inhuman torture, there was not a hint of weakness or compromise in the merman’s eyes, only hostility towards the person in front of him.

Ah—— what a fish with backbone!

“Humph, I’d like to see how long you can hold out!” Perhaps it was because the merman’s toughness aroused the sailor’s abusive desire. The sailor raised the whip again.

The merman didn’t dodge either. More accurately, he had nowhere to dodge with such a thick collar around his neck. He couldn’t even run.

Jiang Yang couldn’t bear to watch anymore and kicked the door open.

“Second Miss??” The sailor blankly held the whip and knelt down with a thud, “Greetings, Second Miss!”

Jiang Yang had been quite skilled at putting on airs in front of subordinates since crossing over.

She put on the aura of a disciplinary director and said in a deep voice, “Come out with me for a bit.”

“……Yes.” The sailor felt even more apprehensive and looked at Lan Qian for help.

But Lan Qian was also at a loss.

“Didn’t I tell you to train the merman? Why are you beating him?” Jiang Yang asked after reaching the deck.

The sailor said tremblingly, “Second Miss, you don’t know that merman is intractable and even tried to injure people. Us sisters discussed and decided to subdue him with violence first, then think about how to train him.”

Lan Qian nodded like a big idiot on the side, “That’s right, that’s right. That merman is really fierce. He injured several sailors.”

Jiang Yang rolled her eyes at the big idiot and said, “This fish is meant to be presented to the Emperor as a pet. You whip him left and right, leaving him covered in injuries. How am I supposed to give him away now?!”

Lan Qian had a sudden realization, “That’s right.”

It’s your uncle, you idiot! Jiang Yang wished she could kick this imbecile into the Pacific Ocean.

The sailor raised her head and asked tentatively, “Then what is Second Miss’s intention?”

“I know!” The very smart Lan Qian raised her hand to answer.

Jiang Yang raised an eyebrow, “You say it?”

Lan Qian proudly lifted her neck, “Reform him with love!”

Reform my foot! The sailor dejectedly returned to the mer-taming room. After they left just now, another sailor had taken over guarding the merman.

The two sailors met up. One asked, “Hey, what did Second Miss want with you just now?”

The sailor snatched the whip from her hand, threw it aside, and said with great regret, “Second Miss won’t let us whip the fish anymore.”

“What?!” The other person exclaimed, “Has Second Miss gone mad? How are we supposed to tame the merman then?”

“Sigh…… In any case, we can’t beat him anymore.”

The merman Chi Mei quietly lay at the bottom of the water barrel. The numerous wounds on his body made every movement unbearably painful. The conversation between the two sailors was transmitted to his ears through the water ripples.

Second Miss?

Was it that human female who barged in just now? She seemed to have a lot of prestige.

It seemed she was also the one who stopped the others from killing him on the deck before. It appeared what Brother said was right – not all humans were bad.

Chi Mei, who had already despaired, felt a glimmer of hope for survival.

The two sailors were still talking non-stop when the door suddenly opened. Lan Qian walked in while Jiang Yang stood far away by the door.

The sailors who had some reservations about Jiang Yang’s decision just now fawned over Lan Qian in a sigh-inducing manner when they saw her, “Sister Lan is here! What else does Second Miss instruct?”

Hearing that familiar form of address, Chi Mei moved at the bottom of the water. He emerged from the water surface and lay on the edge of the water barrel, looking towards Jiang Yang in the distance through the window.

If he could curry favor with her, perhaps she would let him go home.

Lan Qian glanced at the merman who suddenly emerged from the water. She casually threw the medicine to the sailor, “Second Miss was afraid his wounds would get infected, so she specifically had me bring this.”

“Second Miss is really attentive!”

Lan Qian glanced at the merman again. Seeing him staring fixedly at Jiang Yang, she inwardly exclaimed ‘Oh no!’ and hurriedly ran to Jiang Yang’s side, “Second Miss, that merman is glaring at you!”

Jiang Yang was watching the sailors on the deck catch rats. She hadn’t provoked or offended anyone, so why was he glaring at her?

Lan Qian said breathlessly, “Really, I’ve been staring at that merman for a long time. He’s been glaring at you since just now!”

Jiang Yang looked towards the mer-taming room and indeed saw that handsome merman staring straight at her, his tail even raised behind him.

“Look! Look!” Lan Qian said excitedly, “He even raised his tail. It means he has deep hostility towards you!”

Huh?

“Raising the tail means hostility? Don’t dogs also raise their tails?” Jiang Yang doubted. Wasn’t it a sign of friendliness?

Lan Qian vigilantly shielded the female lead behind her, “Second Miss, have you forgotten? Cats also raise their tails. Raising the tail means urgency! That merman’s tail is also a sharp weapon. He just used his tail to injure several sailors. Now he must hold a grudge against you, knowing you’re the mastermind who caught him, so he wants to kill you!”

It sounded quite reasonable.

So I became the villain?! I just helped you get rid of torture, dude. Are you human? Oh, he really isn’t human…… What a heartless, venomous fish!

The more she looked at the merman’s pitch-black eyes, the more unsettled she felt. The beautiful fish tail that once made her gasp in amazement now seemed like a scorpion raising its stinger, not knowing when it would strike at her. It was quite creepy.

Forget it, if you can’t provoke, you can avoid. Jiang Yang turned and walked upstairs.

Seeing Jiang Yang leave, Chi Mei dejectedly retracted his tail and sank to the bottom of the water.

Didn’t they say humans all liked merpeople’s beautiful fish tails? Why was there no reaction from her at all even when he tried so hard to please her? It was really difficult to curry favor with humans! How exactly did Brother manage to please humans?

The two sailors casually sprinkled the medicinal powder Jiang Yang sent into the water.

The white medicinal powder’s ingredients dissolved in the water, causing Chi Mei’s wounds to feel a slight sting. Although he was heavily injured, merpeople had merpearls protecting their bodies. Even if injured severely, as long as it wasn’t a fatal wound, they could recover quickly. They didn’t need things like wound medicine at all. Instead, it would aggravate his body’s discomfort.

“Really don’t know what Second Miss is thinking, not allowing to injure this merman, then giving him medicine for his wounds.” The sailor finished sprinkling the medicinal powder and tossed the bottle aside, complaining.

“Enough, we just need to listen to Second Miss’s orders. After all, she has the highest status on this ship.” The other person persuaded, “I heard there’s alcohol to drink tonight. Let’s finish up quickly and go eat and drink together later!”

They weren’t worried about grumbling behind his back being heard by Chi Mei because there was a barrier between the human race and merpeople. They couldn’t understand each other’s languages.

But they never imagined that Chi Mei could actually understand the human race’s language.

Hearing the sailors say Jiang Yang gave him medicine for his wounds and even specifically ordered not to harm him……

What a kind human female!

Chi Mei’s disappointed heart reignited. He happily swished his fish tail, the color at the end of his tail that had dimmed also became vibrant again.