The wait was not long — about two minutes — but to Bai Youwei it felt like an eternity.

The first person to surface was Ashalina.

Her face was ashen. Her skin had gone bluish from the seawater. She managed a few weak strokes and then ran out of strength, her body beginning to sink.

A-Long surfaced second, coming up behind her and supporting her from below.

Cheng Weicai was draped across his back, the two of them bound together with rope.

Bai Youwei exhaled in immediate relief.

But when she noticed that Cheng Weicai’s head was hanging limp, as though he had lost consciousness, the relief vanished at once, replaced by something that seized her throat.

No one who was completely unharmed would be unconscious. Teacher Cheng had very likely been injured…

Pan Xiaoxin attached the life vest to a rope and threw it out.

Ashalina grabbed hold of it, and with tremendous effort, all three of them made their way back onto the boat. None of them spoke. They lay on the deck breathing in ragged gasps.

Bai Youwei went to Cheng Weicai’s side and found that Teacher Cheng’s shoulder had been bitten through. The wound had been washed pale by the seawater, and his shirt was covered in scratches and bite marks.

She stared at it, motionless.

Teacher Cheng slowly opened his eyes and looked back at her.

Bai Youwei didn’t notice she was doing it — staring blankly at his wound. She thought, unbidden: when A-Qing had his accident, she felt nothing. Now she was about to understand firsthand what Ashalina had felt in that moment. If this was what heaven called justice… it was a crueler justice than she could accept.

A-Long helped Ashalina sit up, asking over and over: “Boss? Boss! Are you okay?!”

Ashalina twitched the corner of her mouth — rare for her not to lose her temper — and said in a hoarse voice: “I’ve told you a hundred times, call me Big Sister, you little brat…”

A-Long raised his arm and buried his face in it, sobbing.

Ashalina put on a show of fierceness and growled: “What are you crying for?… I’m not dead yet.”

No one spoke.

Being injured wasn’t the catastrophe. The problem was… no one knew whether Ashalina and Cheng Weicai would end up the way A-Qing had.

Ashalina turned to look at Bai Youwei. “The merfolk are stronger in the water. Both the old man and I got hurt in there. I’m sorry… it was my fault. I wasn’t watching A-Qing closely enough. That’s what led to all of this…”

Bai Youwei shook her head and said quietly: “It’s my fault. I didn’t manage to close the dollhouse door in time.”

Teacher Cheng interrupted them both: “Gold cannot be pure; people cannot be perfect. You’re not gods — how could you guarantee everything would go smoothly, exactly as you wished? If anyone deserves blame, it’s this old man here. I wasn’t any help, and on top of that I put you all in danger…”

He sighed deeply, heavily, and then added: “If it hadn’t been for saving me, she wouldn’t have been hurt.”

Ashalina gave a wry smile. “Old man, you were the one who saved me first.”

Bai Youwei lowered her eyes and tried to keep her voice steady. “Let’s get into the dollhouse first. Treat the wounds. Try to stay dry…”

But Ashalina disagreed. “I won’t go in. Find a rope and tie me up. If you notice anything wrong with me, don’t hesitate — aim for the neck… and make it quick.”

Teacher Cheng nodded at hearing this. “Tie me up too.”

No one spoke. Everyone looked down without a word.

Ashalina frowned, looking from one face to the next, until her gaze landed on A-Long. She ordered: “A-Long. Go. Get a rope.”

A-Long raised his arm to wipe his tears, then quietly stood, picked up the rope from the deck, and bound Ashalina securely.

Then he bound Teacher Cheng as well.

All the while, Bai Youwei and Pan Xiaoxin stood nearby in silence, watching.

When A-Long had tied them both, Bai Youwei’s voice came, low: “It’s not over…”

Everyone looked at her.

She closed her eyes, then spoke again: “It’s not over yet. As long as we can get out of here, you’ll all be fine…”

—