Yinli didn’t answer.

The Serpent Witch Clan was a group that existed outside the three realms. Legend said the witches of the Serpent Witch Clan could communicate between the human world and the heavenly realm. They could fulfill anyone’s wishes, as long as one could provide suitable compensation.

Yinli found the witch.

He had heard that the witches of the Serpent Witch Clan were temperamental and didn’t grant everyone’s wishes. So before meeting the witch, he smoked his eyes with tear grass for an entire night, accumulating a full box of pearl tears as a meeting gift for the witch, requesting that she fulfill his wish.

The pearls in the box were large and round, pure white and translucent. The witch, her face covered with black gauze, took only one glance and said indifferently: “You have a request of me.”

The little merfolk nervously said, “I want to become human.”

“For a woman?”

The Serpent Witch Clan could see the past and the future. Without Yinli saying anything, she could glimpse the whole story. Yinli looked up at her: “I want to stay with Princess. Can you make a deal with me?”

Her answer was two cold words: “No.”

“Why?”

“Because,” the Serpent Witch calmly lowered her eyes, “she is someone who will die.”

“What?” Yinli anxiously raised his head, “How could she be someone who will die? She’s perfectly fine.” As he spoke, he suddenly realized: “Did you see her future? What exactly happened to Princess?”

The Serpent Witch didn’t speak. This was a heavenly secret, naturally not for him to know.

“If she’s in danger, then I must stay by her side even more…” Yinli murmured. He looked at the witch: “I know there are conditions for making deals with you. I’m willing to offer my most precious thing in exchange, just asking you to turn me into a human so I can stay by her side.”

Perhaps it was the earnestness in his gaze that moved her, or perhaps she was intrigued by his phrase “most precious thing.” The Serpent Witch finally looked at him directly for the first time. The woman’s gaze carried a kind of indifferent pity as she said, “Humans and demons follow different paths. Love between them violates heavenly law. Forcibly defying heaven to change fate never ends well.”

“My life was originally saved by her. At worst, I’ll just return it to her.”

“She won’t fall in love with you, and she won’t remember you. The fate between you two will arise and perish in just an instant. Even so, do you still want to become human? Won’t you regret it?”

In the merfolk’s azure blue eyes, clear as the sea, he said softly: “I won’t regret it.”

The Serpent Witch stared at him fixedly. After a long time, she sighed: “Then, use your demon core to exchange for it, Yinli.”

The demon core was the inner core of demons.

Once a demon race lost their demon core, years of cultivation would be destroyed in an instant, becoming like ordinary mortals in both lifespan and body. He would become as weak as humans, equally lacking in self-protection ability. Perhaps some small magic might remain, but it would be useless.

The demon core slowly floated out from Yinli’s body. That snow-white pill looked without a trace of impurity or flaw, just like his heart at this moment.

The Serpent Witch took away his demon core and said, “From now on, you are a mortal. But the demon bones in your body remain. If you encounter cultivators, they will still see through your true form at a glance. You must remove the scales yourself, and you can never speak in front of Princess Lizhu, lest you reveal heavenly secrets.”

The witch waved her hand, and a crystalline fragment was planted in his body.

“This is a Spirit-Locking Crystal. You and I have unfinished fate. This Spirit-Locking Crystal is my repayment for the pearls you brought.”

The Serpent Witch disappeared. Yinli felt his entire body plunge into severe pain. When he awoke, his fish tail had already become a pair of human legs.

Yinli was extremely happy.

When Yinying learned of this, he angrily had a big fight with him, saying: “You sacrificed your demon core for a woman and became a mortal? You’ll regret this, you’ll regret this!” He swished his tail and swam into the West Sea, never to be seen again.

Yinli waited by the West Sea for a long time without seeing him again, so he decided to go ashore first to find Princess Lizhu. He knew Princess Lizhu had already married into the royal palace. To stay by Princess Lizhu’s side, he could only find a way to become a guard.

Merfolk were beautiful. After he removed the scales from his body, this beauty amazed everyone. People were always tolerant toward beauties, so he smoothly entered the royal palace and became a small guard in the outer halls.

Transforming from merfolk to human was Yinli’s first time. The feeling was very novel.

The fish tail was gone. Humans used two legs to walk, but for the little merfolk, this wasn’t easy. When walking, he also had to endure the pain in his toes. He often stumbled and fell. When the palace guards saw this, they would always tease him: “Brother, do you have knives under your feet? Why do you walk so slowly?”

He would smile bashfully, stand up, and pat the dust off his body, then continue walking forward.

But there were also happy things. He could walk openly among crowds. Human food wasn’t cold like seafood – it was always steaming hot with various flavors. He also loved the wind and the moon over Yunhai Garden.

The happiest thing, what he loved most, was occasionally being able to see Princess Lizhu when on duty in the outer halls.

Princess Lizhu often strolled through the gardens with Emperor Shengning. Yinli would guard from afar, catching glimpses of Emperor Shengning placing a flower in Princess Lizhu’s hair. Princess Lizhu would smile at him, more beautiful than the flower by her temple. Watching this, the little merfolk’s heart would ache.

He didn’t know what he was aching about, and felt inexplicably angry. But at night, when he saw Princess Lizhu alone in the outer halls gazing at the moon in a daze, that bit of anger would dissipate, quickly turning into worry and indignation.

Yinli guessed that Princess Lizhu probably didn’t like the flowers from the daytime. A woman who could carry a bow and arrows to kill pirates would find flowers too ordinary. She should like something more special, like… a blue conch shell? He had once found one in the sea and hidden it in a box behind the reef. Next time he went back, he’d bring it out. Princess Lizhu would be happy to see it.

But making Princess Lizhu happy seemed very difficult.

On the ship in the West Sea, Yinli had seen Princess Lizhu wearing red wedding clothes, sitting at the bow, drinking and laughing with her attendants. Her expression was bright and spirited, her smile genuine. The West Sea didn’t have such vivid, captivating red that was unforgettable at first sight. But now, in the palace, she wore snow-white robes with light makeup. Although she often smiled at Emperor Shengning, Yinli knew that Princess Lizhu often sat alone at night on the windowsill outside the hall, staring into the distance in a daze.

She wasn’t happy.

This distressed the little merfolk. He secretly paid attention and even took time during his rest days to return to the West Sea once, taking out that precious conch shell, thinking of secretly placing it on the ground where Princess Lizhu would pass in a few days.

But that night, he encountered Princess Lizhu.

She had drunk some wine and wasn’t completely clear-headed. Carrying her horn bow, she tried to climb the wall of the outer hall. Halfway up, she suddenly sobered up and turned back toward the sleeping quarters. Yinli couldn’t help but step out – he was afraid Princess Lizhu would fall.

Princess Lizhu turned back to look at him, and there were tears in her eyes.

Yinli was stunned.