RAM Chapter 10

Lu Xie drifted off into a restless sleep, his mind spinning with thoughts of the merman. His dreams were a chaotic mix of fish and money, shimmering scales and glinting coins. One moment, he seemed to have it all; the next, it slipped through his fingers, leaving him standing alone in a vast, white void. He tried to shout, to call out the name he’d given the merman, but no sound came. The harder he struggled, the more suffocating the silence became until he abruptly jolted awake.

The first thing he saw was the merman crouched by his side, his face full of worry.

“Lu Xie, are you okay?” Hai San’er reached out, pressing a hand to Lu Xie’s sweat-dampened forehead before placing his palm over Lu Xie’s chest. “Your heart’s beating so fast.”

For once, Lu Xie didn’t push him away. He sat there, panting, his chest heaving as if he’d just run a marathon. The warmth of the merman’s hand grounded him, gradually calming his racing pulse.

“I’m fine,” Lu Xie muttered, brushing Hai San’er’s hand away. He got up, poured himself a glass of water, and downed it in one go. The cold liquid helped clear his head. “What time is it?”

Hai San’er blinked, clearly clueless about clocks. Instead, he said, “I’ve been here too long. I need to go back. I can’t stay on land for too long.”

Lu Xie glanced at the clock on the wall-nearly five. He didn’t pay much attention to the merman’s words; after all, this guy had been impossible to get rid of before. Now that he was leaving, Lu Xie couldn’t help but feel a sliver of unease. What if he didn’t come back?

But Hai San’er leaned in, reluctant to leave. “I’ll come back tomorrow! Tomorrow’s the second day, right? That’s when The Little Mermaid DVD arrives!”

Lu Xie raised a brow. This fish had an unnervingly precise sense of time. For most animals, terms like “a couple of days” or “wait a while” were vague concepts, but Hai San’er seemed to take “two days” as gospel. Still, Lu Xie wasn’t about to let him slip away for good-if this fish vanished into the ocean, where would he even begin to look for him?

“Yeah,” Lu Xie grunted. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll head to town.”

Hai San’er lit up like a kid promised candy. He beamed, clearly thrilled. “Lu Xie, you’re the best! You never go back on your word!”

He took his sweet time leaving, waving at Lu Xie every few steps-by the coconut tree, by the reef, and even as he waded into the shallows. Rolling his eyes, Lu Xie finally waved back, figuring it’d shut him up. Satisfied, Hai San’er disappeared behind the rocks.

Just as Lu Xie was about to relax, he saw a splash in the distance, the flash of a colorful tail cutting through the air. Cursing under his breath, he bolted to the shore, but by the time he got there, Hai San’er was gone. All that remained were his discarded clothes on the rocks.

“Damn fish,” Lu Xie grumbled, picking up the clothes. He’d meant to remind Hai San’er not to prance around naked on land, but now it was too late. Dealing with a fish was a hassle. No watch, no way to set a proper meeting time-it was all up to luck.

The next morning, Lu Xie got ready to head to town. The sea was vast and quiet, with no sign of Hai San’er yet. He decided to make his trip quick.

To his surprise, when he reached the video store, the owner handed him the DVD right away.

“Here you go. The Little Mermaid, right?”

Lu Xie held the case, tapping it against his palm. “The Little Mermaid,” he echoed absentmindedly.

“Got kids at home clamoring for it, huh? You’ve been pretty diligent coming here,” the shop owner said with a chuckle. “It arrived just last night.”

Kids? Well, with Hai San’er’s IQ, the comparison wasn’t far off. Lu Xie didn’t bother correcting him. His attention was momentarily drawn to the TV in the corner, which was broadcasting war zone news.

The owner sighed. “There’s fighting everywhere these days. I doubt this place will stay peaceful for long.”

Lu Xie frowned. Their town was near an active conflict zone. While there weren’t any battles here yet, the economy was already taking a hit. Those with money were fleeing to safer countries. Lu Xie had the same plan-once his brother, Lu Hui, returned, they’d sell the merman and leave this place for good.

By the time he got back, it was nearing noon. To his surprise, a crowd had gathered outside his shop, and in the middle of it stood Hai San’er- completely naked.

“What the hell…”

Before Lu Xie could call out, one of the men grabbed a stick and swung it at Hai San’er’s head. Blood splattered in a vivid arc, painting the scene in stark red.

“Shit!” Lu Xie cursed, breaking into a sprint.

Hai San’er didn’t really expect the fish to remember what he told them. He was just too thrilled and couldn’t resist sharing his joy. After an entire night of excitement, he finally calmed down, but it left him so exhausted that he couldn’t get up in the morning. By the time he made it ashore, Lu Xie’s shop was still closed. He had no choice but to sit obediently at the door and wait. Feeling guilty for being late, he had specially brought a gold coin as an apology. As he sat there fiddling with the coin, the group of billiard-playing punks from last time showed up in front of him.

The punks were laughing and joking, but when they spotted a naked man sitting by the pool table, their laughter abruptly stopped. “What the hell?!” one muttered, aghast. A bare man, in broad daylight, sitting so brazenly by the roadside—it was downright unsettling. Even if this was a beach town, it was still outrageous. No amount of good looks could justify this!

One of them recognized Hai San’er and blurted out, “Isn’t this the guy who said he was pregnant last time?!”

The sight of Hai San’er’s tall, well-built figure made the skinny punks feel a twinge of inferiority. But once they caught onto a perceived weakness, how could they not press their advantage?

Oddly enough, Hai San’er didn’t react to their sneers. He simply glanced at them nonchalantly before lowering his head again to toy with his gold coin. The clueless punks didn’t realize that a merman wouldn’t understand human sarcasm.

Nothing irked the self-absorbed punks more than being ignored. One of them stepped forward, snatching the coin from Hai San’er’s hand.

“A gold coin? Is it real?” The punk bit into it, only to find it solid and unyielding. His face lit up with glee as he turned to his buddies. “It’s real!”

“Give it back!” Hai San’er shot to his feet. His tall and imposing stature made the punk hesitate for a moment. But the realization that they outnumbered him quickly emboldened the group. The punk backed away, dodging Hai San’er’s attempt to reclaim the coin, and taunted him with a smug grin.

“Come on, try and take it! Let’s see if a big idiot like you can manage.”

Even if Hai San’er couldn’t pick up on sarcastic undertones, this straightforward insult was hard to miss. He was furious.

With a sweep of his long arm, he sent the punks in front of him sprawling to the ground. The group stared at each other in stunned disbelief, unable to comprehend how they had been knocked over so easily.

No one stood in Hai San’er’s way as he lunged for the one holding his coin, pinning the thief to the ground with ease. The others scrambled back to their feet, rushing to pull him off, but Hai San’er’s strength was overwhelming. No matter how hard they tugged and pushed, he didn’t budge. Two of the punks even ended up with scratches on their faces.

Frustrated and outmatched, they resorted to more extreme measures. Grabbing a nearby stick, one of them waited for an opening and swung it hard at Hai San’er’s head. The impact landed with a sickening thud.

Blood trickled down Hai San’er’s smooth forehead, painting his vision red. The metallic scent of blood filled the air. The sight of the injury froze everyone in place until a furious shout broke the tense silence.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Lu Xie stormed in, leaping into action with a flying kick that sent the punk with the stick tumbling across the sand. The man rolled several times before coming to a stop. Without missing a beat, Lu Xie grabbed the stick off the ground, veins bulging as he gripped it tightly, and swung it in a sharp arc, striking another punk who looked like he was about to join the fray.

Finally, he snatched the coin back from the dazed punk’s hand, glaring at them with a murderous aura.

“Get lost!” he roared.

The punks scrambled away, stumbling over each other as they fled in terror.

Hai San’er, still bleeding, seemed stunned by everything that had happened. Only when Lu Xie’s voice cut through his haze did he snap back to reality. He blinked at Lu Xie, tears welling up in his eyes, before bursting into loud, pitiful sobs.

“Waaaaaaahhhh!”

Lu Xie tossed the stick aside and rushed to check Hai San’er’s injuries. His arm was bruised, his forehead sported a massive swelling, and blood was oozing out steadily.

Damn it, Lu Xie thought. Would this leave a scar? Would it affect his appearance? Lower his value?

Quickly, Lu Xie led Hai San’er into the shop. Injuries were part and parcel of being a bounty hunter, so the house was always stocked with medicine. Lu Xie was no novice at wound care either. The cut wasn’t too deep and didn’t require stitches. After disinfecting it thoroughly, he applied medication and finally wrapped Hai San’er’s head with gauze.

Hai San’er was still sobbing non-stop, his face red and his eyes swollen from crying. Lu Xie, not one for comforting words, packed up the medical kit and said stiffly, “Alright, stop crying.”

The words had the opposite effect. Hai San’er burst into even louder wails. “Waaahhhh…”

“Tch.”

Feeling aggrieved, Hai San’er sniffled and tried to explain between sobs, “They… sniffle… took my stuff… and… sniffle… beat me… waaahhh…”

Lu Xie shoved the recovered gold coins back into Hai San’er’s hands and pulled out The Little Mermaid DVD from his pocket. “Didn’t I get your stuff back? The disc you wanted is here too.”

Seeing the shiny DVD, Hai San’er wiped his tear-streaked face with his bloodied hands, making his cheeks an even messier shade of red. He was still shaking and crying but couldn’t help feeling that Lu Xie was really good to him. Not only had he saved him, but he had also retrieved the DVD.

Sniffling, Hai San’er extended the gold coins toward Lu Xie. “Waaahhh… These… these are for you…”

Lu Xie hesitated. Taking the money felt like owing a favor. Still, seeing Hai San’er sobbing pitifully, tears rolling down like pearls from a broken necklace, he accepted the coins with a sigh, trying to soften his tone. “Alright, stop crying already. And why did you come ashore naked again? At least wrap yourself in some seaweed next time.”

“I… sniffle… I overslept this morning and… sniffle… left in a hurry and forgot…”

Lu Xie turned on the TV and DVD player, loading The Little Mermaid. As soon as the screen lit up, Hai San’er’s attention was completely captured. True to the stereotype, fish had terrible memories. The injuries were forgotten as quickly as the tears dried.

Still, it wasn’t acceptable to let someone sit around stark naked in the shop, not even a fish.

When Lu Xie returned with a basin of water, Hai San’er was utterly engrossed in the cartoon. “Wash off the blood first before watching.”

Hai San’er didn’t even react. Just as Lu Xie was about to lose his temper, his eyes landed on the blood-stained coin sitting quietly on the table. He sighed, pocketed the coin, and decided he might as well treat the fish a little better for now.

Resigned, Lu Xie cleaned the blood off Hai San’er, then patiently helped him into some clothes. Once the fish was cleaned up and decent, Lu Xie grabbed a bag of pumpkin taro buns from the shelf.

“Here, eat.”