RAM Chapter 26

“Lu Xie, look!” Hai San’er emerged from the water, splashing waves everywhere. For Zhenzhu, it was like being caught in a downpour. He was drenched and looked like a little drowned rat, but he wasn’t upset at all. His eyes were bright with excitement—fish, after all, still preferred water the most.

“Be careful, what are you looking at?” Lu Xie asked, standing up. He saw Hai San’er holding a cloth bag. “What’s that?”

Hai San’er swam with Zhenzhu to the rocks. Neither of them came ashore but instead handed the bag to Lu Xie.

The bag was soaked with seawater and felt heavy. When shaken gently, it made a clinking sound. Since Hai San’er had previously sent him a poisonous octopus, Lu Xie wasn’t willing to casually accept whatever mysterious creature Hai San’er had fished up from the sea. However, seeing the joyful and expectant expressions on the mermaid father and son, he finally took the bag, opened it slowly.

Inside were about ten gold coins. No wonder it felt so heavy, and the clinking of metal was unmistakable. Hai San’er sometimes fished up a coin here and there, which Lu Xie had already gotten used to. But this time, it was an entire bag—worth quite a lot of money.

“You guys…” Lu Xie was so stunned by the sight of the coins, he couldn’t find the words.

Hai San’er made a “clinking” motion with his hands toward Zhenzhu. “I told Zhenzhu you like gold coins the most. He said he’d find you some no matter what. This bag was found by Zhenzhu at the bottom of a wrecked ship. It was buried pretty deep!”

Although  Zhenzhu didn’t know what use gold coins had, since his human father liked them, and since he had found so many all at once, the little mermaid couldn’t be prouder. He puffed out his chest, eyes twinkling with pride, waiting for praise from his human father.

“This is such a surprise. You did great, Zhenzhu.” Lu Xie said, holding the bag in his hands, somewhat at a loss.

Upon hearing his human father’s praise, the mermaid father clapped his hands from the side. Zhenzhu put his hands on his hips and beamed, his eyes spinning in delight, his smile practically reaching his ears.

There was something Hai San’er had wanted to ask for a while. He leaned closer to Lu Xie, resting his hands on the rocks, and little Zhenzhu imitated him, both father and son leaning forward in front of Lu Xie.

“Lu Xie, what exactly are gold coins used for?”

You can’t eat them, you can’t do anything with them. They’re hard, so Hai San’er couldn’t understand why Lu Xie liked them.

Lu Xie sighed deeply, sitting down on the rocks for support. “Didn’t I tell you? Being human is troublesome. Everything you buy at home requires money to exchange for it.”

Hai San’er pointed at the coins. “Are gold coins money?”

“Something like that. They can be exchanged for money, and money can be used to buy things.”

Even Hai San’er didn’t fully understand, let alone little Zhenzhu. The little mermaid held his cheeks with both hands, looking left and right at his dads, unable to understand, but enjoying the sound of his dads talking.

“Do you understand? You’re shaking your head so much,” Lu Xie said, emptying the seawater from the bag and tying it shut before tapping little Zhenzhu gently on the forehead.

Zhenzhu didn’t understand, but as long as his dad liked it, that was enough for him. He grabbed Lu Xie’s finger and pointed toward the sea.

Lu Xie finally understood what Zhenzhu meant. The little mermaid wanted him to join them in the water. Lu Xie hesitated, unsure how to explain to little Zhenzhu that he was afraid of the water, not wanting to disappoint him. It was Hai San’er who helped him out.

“Dad is different from us. He’s not a fish and can’t swim.” To preserve Lu Xie’s image as a strong and admirable figure in little Zhenzhu’s eyes, Hai San’er didn’t mention that Lu Xie was afraid of the sea.

Zhenzhu looked at Lu Xie in confusion. He knew there was a difference between him and his human dad, but now he understood that the difference was here—humans couldn’t swim. They couldn’t stay in the sea like mermaids for long. It was so pitiful. Upon realizing this, Zhenzhu’s gaze at Lu Xie was full of sympathy.

“Do you have to look at me like that?” Lu Xie said helplessly. Perhaps in the eyes of mermaids, not being able to swim was a tragic thing. He patted Zhenzhu’s head. “Go play with your dad. I’ll wait for you on the shore.”

Seeing that Lu Xie wasn’t upset, little Zhenzhu, though confused, respected his dad’s choice. He turned and dove into the water, continuing his first experience in the ocean.

At first, Zhenzhu didn’t swim far. After disappearing for three minutes, he would surface again. Hai San’er let him be, not following him.

Lu Xie was still anxious. “Aren’t you going after him? What if Zhenzhu swims too far and can’t find his way back?”

“Zhenzhu is a mermaid. He knows the sea better than anyone. He won’t get lost.” Hai San’er replied casually.

Though Hai San’er said that, it was Zhenzhu’s first time in the sea. As a father, Hai San’er’s heart was quite bold. If it had been Lu Xie looking for his son in the trash can, he would have been frantic.

Noticing Lu Xie’s silence, Hai San’er added, “Don’t worry. Even without me, there are so many creatures under the sea that will take care of Zhenzhu. That’s how I grew up.”

“Hmm?”

Lu Xie was still puzzled and was about to ask when the sound of helicopter rotors cut through the air. Lu Xie looked up in confusion, seeing several military helicopters circling in the distance. Before he could react, a bright light fell from the sky, and almost simultaneously, an earth-shattering explosion erupted. The spot where the light landed instantly ignited.

“San’er!” Lu Xie shouted, grabbing Hai San’er by the head and pulling him down behind the rocks. But soon, Lu Xie realized something was wrong, his face filled with panic as he looked out at the sea. “Zhenzhu? Zhenzhu is still in the water!”

The flames lit up Hai San’er’s pupils as he stared at the scene in shock. He quickly regained his composure, broke free from Lu Xie’s embrace, and said only one word, “Careful,” before leaping into the sea.

“San’er!”

Lu Xie reached out, trying to stop him. His fingers barely brushed Hai San’er’s tail, but he couldn’t grasp anything. He lay on the rocks, his heart in turmoil, whispering Zhenzhu and Hai San’er’s names in desperation. All he heard in response was the crashing waves that refused to settle.

The firelight illuminated the beach and the buildings nearby, and the flames spread quickly. Screams filled the air, and chaos erupted. The helicopters didn’t drop any more bombs, but they hovered in mid-air, as if enjoying the terrified expressions of the people below.

Lu Xie slammed his fist against the rocks in frustration. He tried to go into the water several times, but the salty scent of the sea made his body stiff and unable to move. He hadn’t even entered the water, but already he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Damn it!

How could he be so useless?

Just when Lu Xie felt like giving up, a white spray shot up from the sea. Hai San’er’s head emerged from the water, slowly swimming toward Lu Xie.

“Lu Xie.” Hai San’er stretched out his hand, and in his palm, Zhenzhu—still a tiny mermaid—was curled up, nestled in the warmth of his father’s hand. “Take good care of Zhenzhu.”

Lu Xie let out a sigh of relief. He was about to ask Hai San’er to come back to shore, but then he heard a question, “What about you? Where are you going?”

“There are many injured fish. I have to save them.” Hai San’er clung to the edge of the rocks, his rounded shoulders just visible above the water. Sea water ran down his forehead, and under the cool moonlight, his face shimmered with a silver-gray glow.

In the distance, the sea had turned blood-red. Lu Xie didn’t want Hai San’er to take such a risk. He pointed at the dead fish floating in the water. “Do you know what those are? They’re beyond saving after being blown up like that. And who can guarantee that there won’t be a second or third bomb? You can’t save them. You might even lose your own life. Don’t you want to become human? You were so close to being human. Don’t throw it all away now.”

Hai San’er, usually so delicate, was now incredibly calm. He pressed Lu Xie’s hand.

“I have to help them. Some of the injured ones will die without my help. And I haven’t become human yet. I’m still a mermaid. They need me, so I have to fulfill my responsibility.”

He gripped Lu Xie’s hand harder, and Lu Xie stared at his face, the light in his eyes flickering. His grip tightened so much that even the scar by his eyes seemed to grow fierce.

Hai San’er wrapped his arms around Lu Xie’s neck, kissed him gently, and said, “Lu Xie, are you worried about me? Don’t worry. This is the ocean. Mermaids have strong vitality.”

He looked down at Zhenzhu in Lu Xie’s palm, still unsure what to do, and gently reminded, “Listen to your dad.”

With that, Hai San’er pulled his hand free from Lu Xie’s fingers and disappeared into the sea without looking back.

Lu Xie’s hand grasped at the air. The sound of the helicopter blades brought his thoughts back. It seemed the helicopter was coming closer. He quickly placed Zhenzhu back in the glass bottle and ran back to the small shop.

The house was old and rickety, surely not capable of withstanding the bombardment, but it was better than being out in the open as a live target.

Since returning to the glass bottle, little Zhenzhu had been tapping on the glass, signaling that he wanted to go out. But it wasn’t until Lu Xie reached the second-floor room that he finally let the little one out.

Little Zhenzhu anxiously hopped up and down in the water. He wanted to return to the sea, he wanted to help his dad.

Lu Xie gently held onto little Zhenzhu’s arm and comforted him with Hai San’er’s words. “Zhenzhu, don’t worry. Dad’s fine.”

Perhaps Zhenzhu didn’t yet understand what war and killing meant, but the thunderous sounds were enough to make this little mermaid, who had only just been born, feel a sense of danger. He knew that his mermaid dad was in danger, and all he could do was wait helplessly. Tears fell uncontrollably from his eyes.

“Don’t cry.”

The TV was probably out of signal. Lu Xie turned to the radio, hoping for any sort of update. He turned it on and, holding Zhenzhu, stood by the window. This spot faced the sea directly, giving him a clear view of what was happening out there.

The radio was only emitting a harsh static sound, like an old, broken machine. Lu Xie stared at the helicopter still hovering in the air, his heart in his throat, thudding like it was about to leap right out of his chest.

He was terrified—terrified that the helicopter might continue bombing. He was also scared that the fact that Hai San’er being a mermaid might be discovered by others.

After what felt like an eternity, Lu Xie could barely breathe. The helicopter that had been circling finally left, and the radio slowly began to pick up sound again, though it was still broken and intermittent. However, Lu Xie could still make out some key information through the fragmented news broadcast: the war zone had finally spread to their country.