Chapter 51: From Now On, I Am Your Fish

A current seemed to wrap around her, draining her of all strength. The white scale—the forbidden scale of the White Fish clan. No one was allowed to touch it! Anyone who touched it would either become a lover or face death. Only the closest of kin could lay a finger on it; it was sacred. Yet, seeing Sun Erniang now, she didn’t look ready to fight Lin Qiu to the death. Instead, she appeared to be enjoying the moment.

“You touched my forbidden scale. From now on, I’m your fish! You must treat me well!”

“Forbidden scale?!” Lin Qiu’s heart trembled. He could swear to the heavens, his intention was simply to sacrifice a bit of his dignity, hoping not only to escape danger but to gain some advantage. He never expected this would be her forbidden scale.

What was a forbidden scale? Lin Qiu knew well! Though his previous life had been as a human and this one as a fish, whether human or fish, everyone had their forbidden scale. Was it something anyone could touch at will? If she didn’t get angry at him, it meant he touched it rightly! Fate had arrived!

“I…” Lin Qiu’s lips twitched before he sighed softly, “She’s beautiful indeed, but I never thought about finding someone.”

“Besides, earning money for one person is easy, but add a woman and there’s another mouth to feed. Food, drink—everything costs money.”

“Wait, that’s not right! I’m the Lord of the City of the Other Shore—do I lack money?” Suddenly, Lin Qiu realized he was no longer the small fry of his previous life. Why should he keep scrimping and saving? The world had changed; who knew if he’d survive another day—why bother saving now?

Having figured this out, his brows relaxed, and he convinced himself. But the next moment, he hesitated again.

“What if I never die? Then I could keep saving money, couldn’t I?” That was how Lin Qiu was—enlightened one moment, withdrawn the next.

“It’s really too hard for me!” He sighed again, but his mind was made up.

“Yes, that’s it. From now on, I’ll earn money for this woman to spend. One woman for my whole life is enough.”

“I’ll settle down and never mess around again!”

“With a woman comes responsibility, ambition, and eventually children.”

“For the sake of the children, for the sake of their mother, I must live as a proper fish!”

“Xiao Ze, Kitajo, Saito—I won’t seek you out anymore. I understand now, completely!” Lin Qiu’s eyes shone with a sacred light as he gazed at Sun Erniang in his arms, his expression softening.

“From now on, I’m your man; I’ll give you all the money you want.”

“If I meet someone unpleasant, I’ll stash the money away, deal with them, and take their money too.”

“Your food, your clothes, the baby’s milk, diapers—I’ll rob…no, I’ll work hard with my own hands to buy them all.”

“I’ll give the baby a big room, a big crib…” Lin Qiu rambled on, while Sun Erniang stared at him, stunned.

Was this sweet-talking fellow a fraud? At some point, her hand found the knife again.

But when Lin Qiu’s eyes shone with that sacred light and he declared loudly, “From now on, I’ll be a proper fish, a worthy head of the family, never letting wife or children suffer.”

“If anyone bullies you, I’ll wipe out their whole family!”

A fierce, domineering aura burst from him, along with a lofty kingly presence. Sun Erniang’s knife fell once more, and she gazed at him, lost in a daze.

Though love at first sight was cliché, for Sun Erniang it was real. The women of the White Fish clan were pure of heart; when they met someone they liked, they gave their whole heart.

Lin Qiu, on the other hand, was a lecherous recluse. For him, love at first sight was simply lust at first sight.

But if he could take responsibility for his lust, he was a rare good man!

In that kitchen, the two made a lifelong promise.

“Erniang, come home with me. I want to marry you, make you my wife!” Lin Qiu wished and acted at once, planting a gentle kiss on Sun Erniang, his eyes so intense they seemed to melt her.

“Despicable!” came a mocking, clear voice from outside, as melodious as a lark.

Sun Erniang shuddered at the words and quickly slipped from Lin Qiu’s arms.

At that moment, the door was pushed open and a beautiful woman entered.

“There really is a mermaid?!”

Lin Qiu looked at her—she was far more beautiful than Sun Erniang. Before meeting this mermaid, Sun Erniang was the most beautiful woman in his eyes. But now, compared to this woman, Sun Erniang was just a country girl. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pretty, but her aura couldn’t compare.

Lin Qiu felt himself falling in love again, ready for another instant attraction. Yet seeing Sun Erniang’s panic, he drew a breath, smiled, and gently pulled her behind his back.

“You must be the Lord of this city?” Lin Qiu tilted his head, sizing her up, his heart pounding in fear.

Because this woman was a level five master.

Level five! He’d struggled so hard yet hadn’t gained any level points—in fact, he’d lost some.

“Host, don’t compare yourself. Fish comparing fish only drives fish mad!”

“She’s a descendant of the ancient mermaid clan, princess of the entire ocean.”

“In the nine ancient cities, aside from the City of the Other Shore as the chief, among the other eight, there’s a Mermaids’ Royal City.”

“And this city, though small, is still a city.”

“She’s clever—not choosing the royal city, but ruling here as a city lord.”

“If she went to the royal city, she’d just be another ordinary mermaid!”

The system explained, making Lin Qiu tremble in his boots.

A level five master was just an ordinary fish in the ancient royal city.

He had no idea how formidable the nine ancient cities really were, as he only inherited the memories of his ancestor who’d evolved partway.

His ancestor was nothing more than a gatekeeper in the City of the Other Shore.

A gatekeeper...

Whenever Lin Qiu recalled those inherited memories—a hulking, sly ancestor with a steel spear guarding the royal city’s gate—he couldn’t help but feel tears welling up.

“So humiliating! So humiliating!”

He barely had the courage to remember the beautiful scenes in his inherited memories!

The mermaid city lord, Poseidon Beatrice, wore her golden hair loose, appearing fragile, dressed in regal gold robes and crowned with a diadem.