Chapter 29
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“Have your meals on time.” Duan Zhen furrowed his brows, worried that Li Xi might just lick him directly, so he reached out and pinched his mouth, forming a small duckbill shape, warning him, “No sticking out your tongue.”
Li Xi’s cheeks puffed up.
With his good looks, even with this expression, he looked adorable.
Duan Zhen only lightly pinched him, not daring to touch him too much. As he let go, Li Xi complained while looking at him, “Brother Duan, what if you squash my mouth flat!”
“…Speak properly.” Duan Zhen was slightly shaken by his use of the term ‘mouth.’
Li Xi chuckled and placed a hand lazily on Duan Zhen’s waist, saying, “I didn’t mean to take advantage of you. It really smells good. After all, humans are on the mermaid menu.”
He licked his lips. “But I can resist. If it were someone else, they might not be able to resist taking a bite to taste.”
Duan Zhen’s face turned somewhat unpleasant. “Is it that hard to control?”
“I won’t bite you.” Li Xi felt a bit tired, resting against Duan Zhen’s arm. “Duan Duan, let’s go to sleep.”
Using a deliberately childish tone, he mumbled, “I won’t bite you, okay?” Duan Zhen remained silent for a while, then sighed softly, “You go to sleep first; I’ll go out for a bit.”
“Are you avoiding sleeping with me?” Li Xi immediately woke up, sitting up abruptly and grabbing his arm. With a sad gaze, he lowered his head and choked, “Do you dislike me that much?”
“No.” Thinking that Li Xi was about to cry, Duan Zhen hastily consoled him, “You’re not crying; I just suddenly remembered something and need to check.”
This time, he wasn’t leaving to escape Li Xi. The situation was urgent, and he was afraid that if he slept until tomorrow morning, they would end up collecting the corpses of the few humans inside the room… Well, he did have the intention of leaving this water bed while dealing with this matter.
Li Xi squinted suspiciously. “Really?”
After thinking for a moment about something serious, he suddenly realized, “Are you worried about those people outside?”
Duan Zhen nodded. “Yes, those mermaids haven’t eaten anything today. I suspect that they might attack the people in the room when they’re hungry.”
Li Xi yawned. “It won’t happen. There’s a restaurant outside that specializes in fish. Although it’s raw fish, it’s better than directly gnawing on human flesh. They’re mermaids, not zombies.”
Moreover, if they bite, then so be it. It would save him from looking for so many different ingredients.
But, of course, he dared not say such words in front of Duan Zhen. He could only silently swallow back those thoughts and cling to Duan Zhen, saying, “Don’t worry.”
Duan Zhen wasn’t as optimistic as Li Xi thought. For him, the information provided in the mission was definitely not useless. If not taken seriously, it could lead to the worst possible outcome.
Li Xi, not wanting those people to disturb their pleasant time, tried various ways to change the topic, “Did you also not eat today? I have sashimi here…”
“No need.” Duan Zhen interrupted him, pausing before saying, “I’ll go out and take a look.”
Li Xi peeked at him. “Brother Duan, being picky about food is not good. We’re underwater now, and there’s only fish to eat.”
Duan Zhen pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
Since their team often ate together with Li Xi, he had already gained more information over Duan Zhen’s diet—loved meat, whether it was beef, pork, or lamb, he accepted all, and he ate a lot. To maintain a balanced diet, he also ate vegetables often. Occasionally, he would eat fish, but every time he did, he unconsciously wrinkled his brow and drank a few more sips of water afterward.
It was evident that Duan Zhen didn’t like eating fish or, more accurately, disliked anything fishy.
“Fortunately, we’re just on a mission. If you really turn into a merman and live here, not liking fish means you’ll probably only have humans left for food,” Li Xi said with a smile.
Duan Zhen reached out and ruffled his hair.
Li Xi knew he had the kind of character that liked to meddle in everything and would save anyone he thought could be saved. If it weren’t for this character, Li Xi wouldn’t have paid attention to him.
“I’ll go with you.” He yawned, leaning against Duan Zhen’s arm lazily. “If nothing happens, you have to come back and sleep with me.”
“Okay.” Duan Zhen nodded.
They walked out together.
The house was large, but it was just a villa. They crossed a corridor, and they could see the room specifically used to store humans. The room was dimly lit, very quiet, and seemed undisturbed, without a hint of the smell of blood.
However, Li Xi no longer had the relaxed look from before. He bit his lips, and his sharp canine teeth pressed into the tender lip, causing a sharp pain. This kept him awake, preventing the anger overflowing from his heart to control him.
“Brother Duan, it’s so dark here.” He moved closer to Duan Zhen, adopting a fragile posture. “It seems like nothing happened. Let’s go back; I’m a bit scared.”
Duan Zhen put an arm around his shoulder, a hint of sharpness flashing in his eyes, but his voice remained soft. “Don’t be afraid.”
He could already feel the greedy gazes hiding in the darkness.
Those gazes seemed to be assessing him, fearing his aura, but the ravenous hunger and the scent of human flesh quickly dissipated that last shred of sanity.
Four mermaids appeared, surrounding the two of them.
“Brother Duan, they want to eat you,” Li Xi trembled.
“It’s okay, I can handle it.” Duan Zhen wasn’t afraid alone, but with Li Xi, he guessed that mermaids probably didn’t have a habit of turning on each other. He gently pushed Li Xi aside.
Sure enough, none of the mermaids took their eyes off him.
“Their target is only me.” Duan Zhen said in a low voice. “You go aside and wait for me. Don’t worry; nothing will happen.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young man already trembling in fear. The beautiful tail curled up, wanting to come over and grab him, but hesitated, worried about causing trouble for him.
In the blink of an eye, four mermaids lunged at Duan Zhen.
The sharp sound waves of the mermaids entered Duan Zhen’s ears through the water, even shaking him momentarily. But in an instant, he grabbed the claws reaching towards him, using the mermaid as a weapon to sweep away the remaining three.
They had gone mad due to hunger, and Duan Zhen dodged their attacks in the water. Seizing the opportunity, he delivered strike to the neck of the red-tailed mermaid with the back of his knife. The force he used was enough to make a trained adult man faint, even a bit more, but the red-tailed mermaid only howled in pain and reached back to claw at him.
Duan Zhen was momentarily careless and got scratched on the neck.
The scent of human blood spread in the sea, making the surrounding four mermaids even more agitated. Their attack speed increased, but they lost coordination.
Duan Zhen intentionally probed, using seventy percent of his strength to knock out one mermaid. His eyes darkened.
Following that, he followed the same method to knock out the other three and dragged them together.
Li Xi approached, holding several long bottles similar to test tubes, containing green transparent gel inside. With a cold face, he forcefully shoved the contents of the test tubes into the mermaids’ mouths one by one. Then, he walked to Duan Zhen’s side with an unhappy expression. “Those are like potions developed by mermaids. After eating them, they won’t go mad anymore.”
Of course, they tasted terrible.
When he bought them initially, he intended to study them, never expecting they would be useful in this way.
Duan Zhen, having experienced a one-against-four battle, still didn’t show any signs of fatigue. Seeing Li Xi’s unhappy expression, he chuckled lightly. “Why so angry suddenly?”
“You tell me.” Li Xi snorted, pulling his hand. “Let’s go back to the room.”
While pulling him along, he grumbled, “When you were fighting with them, the people in the room had already awakened. I saw the door open a crack, probably peeking from behind, but not a single person came out to help you!”
They were all at the intermediate level, yet they could be so cowardly. When collecting medicinal herbs, they also didn’t make a move. Did they plan to let Duan Zhen do all the work alone?
Li Xi bit his lip tightly, his eyebrows knitted, looking indignant. Mumbling something, he seemed to be complaining about something.
Duan Zhen, slightly understanding a few sentences, smiled and patted his head. “What’s the use of being angry about this?”
“It should make you angry.” Li Xi, with a face full of dissatisfaction, walked to Duan Zhen’s side, touching his neck with concern. “You’ve been scratched by them, and you’ve been in the sea for so long.”
Duan Zhen was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to say that.
The small wound on his neck couldn’t be compared to any of the injuries he had received before. In fact, the sensation was not as pronounced as when Li Xi’s fingertips brushed his skin.
Li Xi moved his nose, suddenly hugging him and burying his head at his neck.
Mermaids in places without water could only support their bodies with their tails. Balancing was not easy. Now that he was deliberately tilting towards Duan Zhen, Li Xi hugged him and, with a swift motion, licked the small wound on his neck.
Duan Zhen almost instinctively pushed him away.
In fact, he did push him, but because Li Xi hugged him so tightly, he didn’t dare to use force. So, he didn’t succeed, and Li Xi licked a second time.
The warm and moist tongue slid over the wound, causing a slight pain and even an uncontrollable itch.
“Mermaid saliva can disinfect.” Li Xi licked a few times, then restrained himself and mumbled, “I really wasn’t trying to take advantage of you.”
This vividly illustrated what is called ‘no silver three hundred taels here1It’s an idiom that refers to a story about a man named Zhang San who buried 300 taels of silver in the ground with the banner “There are no 300 taels of silver (buried) here”.
Duan Zhen rubbed his temples with a headache, not wanting to argue with him about this. Mainly because he was afraid that Li Xi would do something he couldn’t bear, he simply pushed him onto the bed. “Sleep.”
“Okay.” Li Xi obediently closed his eyes. Reporting the situation, he said, “I’m asleep.”
Duan Zhen, coolly pushing away the fish tail on his leg, said, “If you’re asleep, don’t talk or move around.”
“Maybe it’s sleepwalking.” Li Xi, earnestly, snuggled up to him and, in a low voice, muttered, “Brother Duan’s blood is especially sweet, and Brother Duan’s body is especially fragrant. Holding you can make me sleep better.”
Speaking while his eyes remained tightly shut, he looked completely like a child throwing a tantrum.
Duan Zhen fell silent for a moment. Seeing that he was indeed quietly nestled in his arms, he sighed. “Don’t let it become a habit.”
Sure enough, he’s still a child, he thought. But when he lowered his gaze and saw Li Xi’s face, he felt otherwise. In the end, he could only reluctantly close his eyes, afraid that he was thinking too much.
Author’s note:
Duan Zhen: Setting boundaries is gradually not working.
I have a feeling it’s going to end badly for the other taskers lol
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
“Have your meals on time.” Duan Zhen furrowed his brows, worried that Li Xi might just lick him directly, so he reached out and pinched his mouth, forming a small duckbill shape, warning him, “No sticking out your tongue.”
Li Xi’s cheeks puffed up.
With his good looks, even with this expression, he looked adorable.
Duan Zhen only lightly pinched him, not daring to touch him too much. As he let go, Li Xi complained while looking at him, “Brother Duan, what if you squash my mouth flat!”
“…Speak properly.” Duan Zhen was slightly shaken by his use of the term ‘mouth.’
Li Xi chuckled and placed a hand lazily on Duan Zhen’s waist, saying, “I didn’t mean to take advantage of you. It really smells good. After all, humans are on the mermaid menu.”
He licked his lips. “But I can resist. If it were someone else, they might not be able to resist taking a bite to taste.”
Duan Zhen’s face turned somewhat unpleasant. “Is it that hard to control?”
“I won’t bite you.” Li Xi felt a bit tired, resting against Duan Zhen’s arm. “Duan Duan, let’s go to sleep.”
Using a deliberately childish tone, he mumbled, “I won’t bite you, okay?” Duan Zhen remained silent for a while, then sighed softly, “You go to sleep first; I’ll go out for a bit.”
“Are you avoiding sleeping with me?” Li Xi immediately woke up, sitting up abruptly and grabbing his arm. With a sad gaze, he lowered his head and choked, “Do you dislike me that much?”
“No.” Thinking that Li Xi was about to cry, Duan Zhen hastily consoled him, “You’re not crying; I just suddenly remembered something and need to check.”
This time, he wasn’t leaving to escape Li Xi. The situation was urgent, and he was afraid that if he slept until tomorrow morning, they would end up collecting the corpses of the few humans inside the room… Well, he did have the intention of leaving this water bed while dealing with this matter.
Li Xi squinted suspiciously. “Really?”
After thinking for a moment about something serious, he suddenly realized, “Are you worried about those people outside?”
Duan Zhen nodded. “Yes, those mermaids haven’t eaten anything today. I suspect that they might attack the people in the room when they’re hungry.”
Li Xi yawned. “It won’t happen. There’s a restaurant outside that specializes in fish. Although it’s raw fish, it’s better than directly gnawing on human flesh. They’re mermaids, not zombies.”
Moreover, if they bite, then so be it. It would save him from looking for so many different ingredients.
But, of course, he dared not say such words in front of Duan Zhen. He could only silently swallow back those thoughts and cling to Duan Zhen, saying, “Don’t worry.”
Duan Zhen wasn’t as optimistic as Li Xi thought. For him, the information provided in the mission was definitely not useless. If not taken seriously, it could lead to the worst possible outcome.
Li Xi, not wanting those people to disturb their pleasant time, tried various ways to change the topic, “Did you also not eat today? I have sashimi here…”
“No need.” Duan Zhen interrupted him, pausing before saying, “I’ll go out and take a look.”
Li Xi peeked at him. “Brother Duan, being picky about food is not good. We’re underwater now, and there’s only fish to eat.”
Duan Zhen pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
Since their team often ate together with Li Xi, he had already gained more information over Duan Zhen’s diet—loved meat, whether it was beef, pork, or lamb, he accepted all, and he ate a lot. To maintain a balanced diet, he also ate vegetables often. Occasionally, he would eat fish, but every time he did, he unconsciously wrinkled his brow and drank a few more sips of water afterward.
It was evident that Duan Zhen didn’t like eating fish or, more accurately, disliked anything fishy.
“Fortunately, we’re just on a mission. If you really turn into a merman and live here, not liking fish means you’ll probably only have humans left for food,” Li Xi said with a smile.
Duan Zhen reached out and ruffled his hair.
Li Xi knew he had the kind of character that liked to meddle in everything and would save anyone he thought could be saved. If it weren’t for this character, Li Xi wouldn’t have paid attention to him.
“I’ll go with you.” He yawned, leaning against Duan Zhen’s arm lazily. “If nothing happens, you have to come back and sleep with me.”
“Okay.” Duan Zhen nodded.
They walked out together.
The house was large, but it was just a villa. They crossed a corridor, and they could see the room specifically used to store humans. The room was dimly lit, very quiet, and seemed undisturbed, without a hint of the smell of blood.
However, Li Xi no longer had the relaxed look from before. He bit his lips, and his sharp canine teeth pressed into the tender lip, causing a sharp pain. This kept him awake, preventing the anger overflowing from his heart to control him.
“Brother Duan, it’s so dark here.” He moved closer to Duan Zhen, adopting a fragile posture. “It seems like nothing happened. Let’s go back; I’m a bit scared.”
Duan Zhen put an arm around his shoulder, a hint of sharpness flashing in his eyes, but his voice remained soft. “Don’t be afraid.”
He could already feel the greedy gazes hiding in the darkness.
Those gazes seemed to be assessing him, fearing his aura, but the ravenous hunger and the scent of human flesh quickly dissipated that last shred of sanity.
Four mermaids appeared, surrounding the two of them.
“Brother Duan, they want to eat you,” Li Xi trembled.
“It’s okay, I can handle it.” Duan Zhen wasn’t afraid alone, but with Li Xi, he guessed that mermaids probably didn’t have a habit of turning on each other. He gently pushed Li Xi aside.
Sure enough, none of the mermaids took their eyes off him.
“Their target is only me.” Duan Zhen said in a low voice. “You go aside and wait for me. Don’t worry; nothing will happen.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young man already trembling in fear. The beautiful tail curled up, wanting to come over and grab him, but hesitated, worried about causing trouble for him.
In the blink of an eye, four mermaids lunged at Duan Zhen.
The sharp sound waves of the mermaids entered Duan Zhen’s ears through the water, even shaking him momentarily. But in an instant, he grabbed the claws reaching towards him, using the mermaid as a weapon to sweep away the remaining three.
They had gone mad due to hunger, and Duan Zhen dodged their attacks in the water. Seizing the opportunity, he delivered strike to the neck of the red-tailed mermaid with the back of his knife. The force he used was enough to make a trained adult man faint, even a bit more, but the red-tailed mermaid only howled in pain and reached back to claw at him.
Duan Zhen was momentarily careless and got scratched on the neck.
The scent of human blood spread in the sea, making the surrounding four mermaids even more agitated. Their attack speed increased, but they lost coordination.
Duan Zhen intentionally probed, using seventy percent of his strength to knock out one mermaid. His eyes darkened.
Following that, he followed the same method to knock out the other three and dragged them together.
Li Xi approached, holding several long bottles similar to test tubes, containing green transparent gel inside. With a cold face, he forcefully shoved the contents of the test tubes into the mermaids’ mouths one by one. Then, he walked to Duan Zhen’s side with an unhappy expression. “Those are like potions developed by mermaids. After eating them, they won’t go mad anymore.”
Of course, they tasted terrible.
When he bought them initially, he intended to study them, never expecting they would be useful in this way.
Duan Zhen, having experienced a one-against-four battle, still didn’t show any signs of fatigue. Seeing Li Xi’s unhappy expression, he chuckled lightly. “Why so angry suddenly?”
“You tell me.” Li Xi snorted, pulling his hand. “Let’s go back to the room.”
While pulling him along, he grumbled, “When you were fighting with them, the people in the room had already awakened. I saw the door open a crack, probably peeking from behind, but not a single person came out to help you!”
They were all at the intermediate level, yet they could be so cowardly. When collecting medicinal herbs, they also didn’t make a move. Did they plan to let Duan Zhen do all the work alone?
Li Xi bit his lip tightly, his eyebrows knitted, looking indignant. Mumbling something, he seemed to be complaining about something.
Duan Zhen, slightly understanding a few sentences, smiled and patted his head. “What’s the use of being angry about this?”
“It should make you angry.” Li Xi, with a face full of dissatisfaction, walked to Duan Zhen’s side, touching his neck with concern. “You’ve been scratched by them, and you’ve been in the sea for so long.”
Duan Zhen was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to say that.
The small wound on his neck couldn’t be compared to any of the injuries he had received before. In fact, the sensation was not as pronounced as when Li Xi’s fingertips brushed his skin.
Li Xi moved his nose, suddenly hugging him and burying his head at his neck.
Mermaids in places without water could only support their bodies with their tails. Balancing was not easy. Now that he was deliberately tilting towards Duan Zhen, Li Xi hugged him and, with a swift motion, licked the small wound on his neck.
Duan Zhen almost instinctively pushed him away.
In fact, he did push him, but because Li Xi hugged him so tightly, he didn’t dare to use force. So, he didn’t succeed, and Li Xi licked a second time.
The warm and moist tongue slid over the wound, causing a slight pain and even an uncontrollable itch.
“Mermaid saliva can disinfect.” Li Xi licked a few times, then restrained himself and mumbled, “I really wasn’t trying to take advantage of you.”
This vividly illustrated what is called ‘no silver three hundred taels here1It’s an idiom that refers to a story about a man named Zhang San who buried 300 taels of silver in the ground with the banner “There are no 300 taels of silver (buried) here”.
Duan Zhen rubbed his temples with a headache, not wanting to argue with him about this. Mainly because he was afraid that Li Xi would do something he couldn’t bear, he simply pushed him onto the bed. “Sleep.”
“Okay.” Li Xi obediently closed his eyes. Reporting the situation, he said, “I’m asleep.”
Duan Zhen, coolly pushing away the fish tail on his leg, said, “If you’re asleep, don’t talk or move around.”
“Maybe it’s sleepwalking.” Li Xi, earnestly, snuggled up to him and, in a low voice, muttered, “Brother Duan’s blood is especially sweet, and Brother Duan’s body is especially fragrant. Holding you can make me sleep better.”
Speaking while his eyes remained tightly shut, he looked completely like a child throwing a tantrum.
Duan Zhen fell silent for a moment. Seeing that he was indeed quietly nestled in his arms, he sighed. “Don’t let it become a habit.”
Sure enough, he’s still a child, he thought. But when he lowered his gaze and saw Li Xi’s face, he felt otherwise. In the end, he could only reluctantly close his eyes, afraid that he was thinking too much.
Author’s note:
Duan Zhen: Setting boundaries is gradually not working.
I have a feeling it’s going to end badly for the other taskers lol
Have your meals on time. Duan Zhen furrowed his brows, worried that Li Xi might just lick him directly, so he reached out and pinched his mouth, forming a small duckbill shape, warning him, No sticking out your tongue.Li Xi's cheeks puffed up.With his good looks, even with this expression, he looked adorable.Duan Zhen only lightly pinched him, not daring to touch him too much. As he let go, Li Xi complained while looking at him, Brother Duan, what if you squash my mouth flat!Speak properly. Duan Zhen was slightly shaken by his use of the term mouth.'Li Xi chuckled and placed a hand lazily on Duan Zhen's waist, saying, I didn't mean to take advantage of you. It really smells good. After all, humans are on the mermaid menu.He licked his lips. But I can resist. If it were someone else, they might not be able to resist taking a bite to taste.Duan Zhen's face turned somewhat unpleasant. Is it that hard to control?I won't bite you. Li Xi felt a bit tired, resting against Duan Zhen's arm. Duan Duan, let's go to sleep.Using a deliberately childish tone, he mumbled, I won't bite you, okay? Duan Zhen remained silent for a while, then sighed softly, You go to sleep first; I'll go out for a bit.Are you avoiding sleeping with me? Li Xi immediately woke up, sitting up abruptly and grabbing his arm. With a sad gaze, he lowered his head and choked, Do you dislike me that much?No. Thinking that Li Xi was about to cry, Duan Zhen hastily consoled him, You're not crying; I just suddenly remembered something and need to check.This time, he wasn't leaving to escape Li Xi. The situation was urgent, and he was afraid that if he slept until tomorrow morning, they would end up collecting the corpses of the few humans inside the room Well, he did have the intention of leaving this water bed while dealing with this matter.Li Xi squinted suspiciously. Really?After thinking for a moment about something serious, he suddenly realized, Are you worried about those people outside?Duan Zhen nodded. Yes, those mermaids haven't eaten anything today. I suspect that they might attack the people in the room when they're hungry.Li Xi yawned. It won't happen. There's a restaurant outside that specializes in fish. Although it's raw fish, it's better than directly gnawing on human flesh. They're mermaids, not zombies.Moreover, if they bite, then so be it. It would save him from looking for so many different ingredients.But, of course, he dared not say such words in front of Duan Zhen. He could only silently swallow back those thoughts and cling to Duan Zhen, saying, Don't worry.Duan Zhen wasn't as optimistic as Li Xi thought. For him, the information provided in the mission was definitely not useless. If not taken seriously, it could lead to the worst possible outcome.Li Xi, not wanting those people to disturb their pleasant time, tried various ways to change the topic, Did you also not eat today? I have sashimi hereNo need. Duan Zhen interrupted him, pausing before saying, I'll go out and take a look.Li Xi peeked at him. Brother Duan, being picky about food is not good. We're underwater now, and there's only fish to eat.Duan Zhen pursed his lips but didn't say anything.Since their team often ate together with Li Xi, he had already gained more information over Duan Zhen's dietloved meat, whether it was beef, pork, or lamb, he accepted all, and he ate a lot. To maintain a balanced diet, he also ate vegetables often. Occasionally, he would eat fish, but every time he did, he unconsciously wrinkled his brow and drank a few more sips of water afterward.It was evident that Duan Zhen didn't like eating fish or, more accurately, disliked anything fishy.Fortunately, we're just on a mission. If you really turn into a merman and live here, not liking fish means you'll probably only have humans left for food, Li Xi said with a smile.Duan Zhen reached out and ruffled his hair.Li Xi knew he had the kind of character that liked to meddle in everything and would save anyone he thought could be saved. If it weren't for this character, Li Xi wouldn't have paid attention to him.I'll go with you. He yawned, leaning against Duan Zhen's arm lazily. If nothing happens, you have to come back and sleep with me.Okay. Duan Zhen nodded.They walked out together.The house was large, but it was just a villa. They crossed a corridor, and they could see the room specifically used to store humans. The room was dimly lit, very quiet, and seemed undisturbed, without a hint of the smell of blood.However, Li Xi no longer had the relaxed look from before. He bit his lips, and his sharp canine teeth pressed into the tender lip, causing a sharp pain. This kept him awake, preventing the anger overflowing from his heart to control him.Brother Duan, it's so dark here. He moved closer to Duan Zhen, adopting a fragile posture. It seems like nothing happened. Let's go back; I'm a bit scared.Duan Zhen put an arm around his shoulder, a hint of sharpness flashing in his eyes, but his voice remained soft. Don't be afraid.He could already feel the greedy gazes hiding in the darkness.Those gazes seemed to be assessing him, fearing his aura, but the ravenous hunger and the scent of human flesh quickly dissipated that last shred of sanity.Four mermaids appeared, surrounding the two of them.Brother Duan, they want to eat you, Li Xi trembled.It's okay, I can handle it. Duan Zhen wasn't afraid alone, but with Li Xi, he guessed that mermaids probably didn't have a habit of turning on each other. He gently pushed Li Xi aside.Sure enough, none of the mermaids took their eyes off him.Their target is only me. Duan Zhen said in a low voice. You go aside and wait for me. Don't worry; nothing will happen.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young man already trembling in fear. The beautiful tail curled up, wanting to come over and grab him, but hesitated, worried about causing trouble for him.In the blink of an eye, four mermaids lunged at Duan Zhen.The sharp sound waves of the mermaids entered Duan Zhen's ears through the water, even shaking him momentarily. But in an instant, he grabbed the claws reaching towards him, using the mermaid as a weapon to sweep away the remaining three.They had gone mad due to hunger, and Duan Zhen dodged their attacks in the water. Seizing the opportunity, he delivered strike to the neck of the red-tailed mermaid with the back of his knife. The force he used was enough to make a trained adult man faint, even a bit more, but the red-tailed mermaid only howled in pain and reached back to claw at him.Duan Zhen was momentarily careless and got scratched on the neck.The scent of human blood spread in the sea, making the surrounding four mermaids even more agitated. Their attack speed increased, but they lost coordination.Duan Zhen intentionally probed, using seventy percent of his strength to knock out one mermaid. His eyes darkened.Following that, he followed the same method to knock out the other three and dragged them together.Li Xi approached, holding several long bottles similar to test tubes, containing green transparent gel inside. With a cold face, he forcefully shoved the contents of the test tubes into the mermaids' mouths one by one. Then, he walked to Duan Zhen's side with an unhappy expression. Those are like potions developed by mermaids. After eating them, they won't go mad anymore.Of course, they tasted terrible.When he bought them initially, he intended to study them, never expecting they would be useful in this way.Duan Zhen, having experienced a one-against-four battle, still didn't show any signs of fatigue. Seeing Li Xi's unhappy expression, he chuckled lightly. Why so angry suddenly?You tell me. Li Xi snorted, pulling his hand. Let's go back to the room.While pulling him along, he grumbled, When you were fighting with them, the people in the room had already awakened. I saw the door open a crack, probably peeking from behind, but not a single person came out to help you!They were all at the intermediate level, yet they could be so cowardly. When collecting medicinal herbs, they also didn't make a move. Did they plan to let Duan Zhen do all the work alone?Li Xi bit his lip tightly, his eyebrows knitted, looking indignant. Mumbling something, he seemed to be complaining about something.Duan Zhen, slightly understanding a few sentences, smiled and patted his head. What's the use of being angry about this?It should make you angry. Li Xi, with a face full of dissatisfaction, walked to Duan Zhen's side, touching his neck with concern. You've been scratched by them, and you've been in the sea for so long.Duan Zhen was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to say that.The small wound on his neck couldn't be compared to any of the injuries he had received before. In fact, the sensation was not as pronounced as when Li Xi's fingertips brushed his skin.Li Xi moved his nose, suddenly hugging him and burying his head at his neck.Mermaids in places without water could only support their bodies with their tails. Balancing was not easy. Now that he was deliberately tilting towards Duan Zhen, Li Xi hugged him and, with a swift motion, licked the small wound on his neck.Duan Zhen almost instinctively pushed him away.In fact, he did push him, but because Li Xi hugged him so tightly, he didn't dare to use force. So, he didn't succeed, and Li Xi licked a second time.The warm and moist tongue slid over the wound, causing a slight pain and even an uncontrollable itch.Mermaid saliva can disinfect. Li Xi licked a few times, then restrained himself and mumbled, I really wasn't trying to take advantage of you.This vividly illustrated what is called no silver three hundred taels here1It's an idiom that refers to a story about a man named Zhang San who buried 300 taels of silver in the ground with the banner There are no 300 taels of silver buried here.Duan Zhen rubbed his temples with a headache, not wanting to argue with him about this. Mainly because he was afraid that Li Xi would do something he couldn't bear, he simply pushed him onto the bed. Sleep.Okay. Li Xi obediently closed his eyes. Reporting the situation, he said, I'm asleep.Duan Zhen, coolly pushing away the fish tail on his leg, said, If you're asleep, don't talk or move around.Maybe it's sleepwalking. Li Xi, earnestly, snuggled up to him and, in a low voice, muttered, Brother Duan's blood is especially sweet, and Brother Duan's body is especially fragrant. Holding you can make me sleep better.Speaking while his eyes remained tightly shut, he looked completely like a child throwing a tantrum.Duan Zhen fell silent for a moment. Seeing that he was indeed quietly nestled in his arms, he sighed. Don't let it become a habit.Sure enough, he's still a child, he thought. But when he lowered his gaze and saw Li Xi's face, he felt otherwise. In the end, he could only reluctantly close his eyes, afraid that he was thinking too much.Author's note:Duan Zhen: Setting boundaries is gradually not working.I have a feeling it's going to end badly for the other taskers lol
