CH 31

Dark smoke billowed from the aircraft. Fu Ji slammed on the accelerator and veered sharply into an abandoned mineshaft. Remotely, he opened the door of the hidden base and rushed into landing before the aircraft completely fell apart.

As soon as the aircraft touched the ground, the lights inside died and the buttons on the overhead console became unusable. Fu Ji propped his elbows on the control panel and covered his face, not speaking for a long time. Finally, after one last loud noise from the back of the plane, he gritted out a few words. 

“Get out of here.”

“…”

The snowy haired angel who had melted the metal wall of the aircraft with a single shot quietly extinguished the light from his fingertips. He rolled the untouched water tank off the aircraft, whispering to Fu Ji as they passed, “Sorry.”

Huo Wuling tilted his head and chuckled, withdrawing the spirits that flew around him. He put his hands in his pockets and jumped down from the aircraft, leaving the red haired man alone inside. After a long while, Fu Ji stiffly turned back, saw the nearly destroyed aircraft and almost passed out. 

Floating inside the water tank as they left the aircraft, Ji Ning saw that the abandoned mining shaft had been carefully remodelled into an underground base. Originally, the mountain had been used to mine for energy stones. Once the work was completed, the mine was abandoned and Fu Ji later bought it for a low price. It was the main place he and Ark lived in during the early chapters of the novel.

Fu Ji didn’t care much for the base’s appearance, which meant its design looked outdated, but from reading the original novel, Ji Ning knew that its renovations had been very recent with a lot of attention paid to its security. Additionally, Fu Ji had spent a lot of money to equip the place with a high tech weapons arsonal.

As well as a high calibre aircraft, which had recently been destroyed by Ark and Huo Wuling…

Watching Fu Ji staggering out of the aircraft, Ji Ning blew out a spray of bubbles and sent him a silent apology from his heart.

As soon as the red haired man left the aircraft, he squatted low on the floor with his head in his hands. The emotional toil was obviously heavy. Ji Ning couldn’t blame him. He had thought he would make a lot of money by investing so much capital in this job. Now, not only had his haul burned up, he had even lost his aircraft…

“Fu Ji.”

Ark walked up to the red haired man, who looked up with a haggard expression.

“I want to keep him.” 

Ark said, pointing towards the mermaid inside the tank.

Fu Ji almost coughed up blood at the angel’s words. He had already felt a bad premonition when Ark proposed to buy the mermaid from Huo Wuling, but hearing Ark say that he still wanted to raise the mermaid was a heavy blow.

“Are you crazy?” He exclaimed incredulously, “Do you know how much it costs to raise a mermaid?”

As an experienced mercenary, Fu Ji was not actually short of money. He could even be considered a rich man, as a lot of the money he earned had been invested into stocks of genetic modification companies, which had doubled in value over the years. But even he couldn’t afford to throw money into the black hole that was keeping a pet mermaid 

If nothing else, just a mermaid’s demands over water quality were enough to hollow out a family.

Keeping a mermaid required a constant stream of large volumes of purified water each day. In the apocalyptic world they lived in, where resources were scarce, water of that quality was extremely expensive, almost equal in value to energy stones.

Even after finding Ark, if Fu Ji hadn’t withdrawn some of his stocks, he would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Ark had received near fatal injuries. Even if he was capable of slowly repairing himself, he required several rare medicines, which cost Fu Ji a fortune. 

But Ark was a powerful android. Since he had acquired him as a partner, Fu Ji could take on better paid jobs and earn more than he ever had before. Those medicines could be counted as investments for his future, but what return could he get from raising a mermaid? It wasn’t as if eating mermaid meat would make him immortal.

Fu Ji was unconvinced, and he was just thinking about how to reject this proposal when Ark spoke again.

“I want to keep him, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll take him away.” The angel bowed to his companion, then turned towards the mermaid, “Thank you Fu Ji, I have caused you trouble during this time and will slowly pay back the money I owe you.”

“No, no, have I said anything yet? You can raise mermaids, I won’t stop you!” 

The red haired man panicked when he heard this and rushed to stop him. Shit, how could he let Ark leave when he could make him thousands more in the future? Where could he find another man so good at fighting?

Ark stopped moving and looked back at him, “You agree?”

“Of course, I’m not such a stingy person.”

Fu Ji’s heart was bleeding but he could only force a smile and say, “It’s not too late, before the black market closes, you can quickly go and buy clean water for the fish. You’ll need to change his water in a few hours.” 

“Okay.”

Ark nodded and went into his bedroom to change into clean clothes before leaving the base.

Seeing him leave, Fu Ji let out a long sigh and listlessly carried his tools to the burnt aircraft to see if there was anything that could be scavenged. He said to Ji Ning,

“Welcome little fish.” 

“I’ve been listening to you talking for so long,” Huo Wuling raised his eyebrow and said, “Aren’t you going to ask for my opinion? Have I allowed you to raise Ningning?”

Why ask you? You aren’t the mermaid’s master.

Fu Ji secretly mocked, but didn’t dare say it to his face. He gave a dry laugh, “You can discuss this issue with Ark when he returns.” After saying this, he quickly added, “Discuss it on the ground, don’t talk anywhere near my aircraft.”

“Actually, you can tell Ark that he doesn’t have to worry about me.” 

Ji Ning ignored Huo Wuling’s frosty gaze and said to the man, “I won’t stay here for long, you don’t have to prepare anything for me.”

“What do you mean?” asked Fu Ji.

“You should understand that my genes are unstable,” Ji Ning said after a moment of thought, “I’m not a pure bred mermaid. Most of the time, I’m actually human. When I return to being human, I should leave.”

“You’re not a pure bred mermaid?” 

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Coming to this conclusion, Fu Ji’s mood calmed down and he spoke quite kindly to Ji Ning, “Actually, you don’t have to leave. Both Ark and I would be happy to have you here. As long as you want to, you can live here for as long as you like.” 

Ji Ning smiled and didn’t press the issue. Fu Ji worked on the aircraft for a while, then abruptly seemed to remember something, pausing his movements as he asked with curiosity.

“I don’t know if it’s a bit presumptuous to ask this question. If it’s inconvenient to answer, you can just ignore me,” he said, “You seem to know Ark from before. What is he and what’s your relationship with him?”

“He took care of me.”

Ji Ning spoke in a vague manner, not wanting to reveal Ark’s identity as an Archangel. Letting it slip too early would only cause them danger. 

“The only people who can afford to keep a mermaid are the top dignitaries of countries. Ark is so powerful, so is he…” Fu Ji rubbed his chin with a dirty hand before bursting out with sudden laughter, “Could he be the missing Archangel?”

Ji Ning didn’t answer but Fu Ji wasn’t asking seriously. He didn’t really believe that Ark was the Archangel. How could the most brutal war machine of the colonies possibly appear on such a desolate planet?

Fu Ji didn’t take Ark’s name or eye-catching wings as clues.

Ever since the Archangel was created and became infamous across space, many young people found it trendy to install wings on themselves during genetic modifications, whether they were convenient or not. Nowadays the name ‘Ark’ and genetically modified wings are extremely common. Besides being unusually handsome, there was nothing rare about Ark’s appearance and there were many others that looked even more eccentric than him. 

But Fu Ji didn’t deny that Ark’s hidden past was very mysterious, which made him curious about what had happened to him. He wanted to ask Ji Ning a few more questions, but Ark had already returned with a water tanker and some fresh food.

Seeing the ingredients, Fu Ji winced. He and Ark usually didn’t eat so extravagantly. At a glance, he knew that Ark had specially prepared it for the mermaid.

“I don’t know what you like to eat… so I bought these.”

The angel walked over to the water tank and spoke to Ji Ning seriously, “What would you like to eat, tell me and I will prepare it for you.” 

“He doesn’t like to eat those things.”

Before Ji Ning could speak, Huo Wuling interrupted casually, “Don’t waste your time.”

“I can prepare anything.” Ark stressed again.

“He likes braised pork ribs, can you make that?” asked Huo Wuling. 

“Braised pork ribs?” Fu Ji looked blank, “What is that?”

“Don’t mind him.”

Seeing Ark frown, appearing a little distressed, Ji Ning quickly waved his hand and said, “I’m not a picky eater, I’ll eat whatever you make.”

Hu Wuling glanced at Ji Ning, “You always say things that make me sad.” 

Ji Ning also looked over at him, “I don’t seem to have any obligations to make you happy.”

“You’re so cold.” Huo Wuling slipped back into the water tank and moved to kiss him again.

At the sight of the familiar light on Ark’s fingertips, Fu Ji’s heart trembled, desperately he gripped his companion’s arm and pulled him into the kitchen, “Okay, okay, let’s prepare dinner quickly. You don’t want your little fish to go hungry, do you?”

Ark’s expression remained serious, eyeing Huo Wuling, “I’ll find out what ‘braised pork ribs’ are.” 

“You should take your time to study it carefully, you don’t have to report back to me.”

The dark haired man kissed Ji Ning’s cheek and flashed Ark a mocking smile.

“Run along chef.”

“…” 

“Ark, calm down-!!”

After a delicious meal, it was finally time to sleep. Fu Ji was exhausted. He had never experienced such a tiring day in his nearly thirty years of living.

“You two, I’m begging you.”

Fu Ji put his hands together and pleaded Ark and Huo Wuling in a low voice, “Please, please don’t fight. Even if you really want to fight, please do it on the ground. If this place is destroyed, I would have to die.” 

“Sorry, Fu Ji.” said Ark, “I won’t do it again.”

Huo Wuling curled his lip and said with a smile, “But my temper isn’t very good. Maybe if you kneel down and beg me, I will reluctantly agree.”

“Stop, that’s enough.” Ji Ning tapped on the glass.

Huo Wuling raised his eyebrows but became silent. 

Fu Ji continued to look worried. Gingery, he returned to his bedroom, but he opened the door several times to check on them before finally closing the door completely.

Ark also visited his bedroom, but instead of sleeping there, he brought his quilt and pillows and laid them flat next to the water tank, as if he planned to sleep there.

“It would be better not to stay here,” said Huo Wuling, “I have bad sleeping habits and might kill someone if I’m not careful. If we find you dead tomorrow morning, Ningning might blame me.”

“Then it would be better if you slept somewhere else.” said Ji Ning, “I’m scared you might accidentally kill me.” 

“How could that happen,” Huo Wuling pouted, “I would only kill someone I didn’t like.”

Ark didn’t speak, as if he had already made up his mind that no matter what Hu Wuling said, he would ignore it. He hugged the soft quilt and half buried his face in it, looking extremely well behaved as he stared at Ji Ning without blinking.

He had beautifully sculpted facial features, smooth milky skin and snow white hair. His eyes appeared like two full silver moons, pure and clear, with a trace of divine aura. He really did look like an angel.

The angel looked at the mermaid in the tank, silent for a moment, then said softly. 

“I don’t have any memory of the past, but I liked you from the first moment I saw you.”

“Fu Ji told me that you said I took care of you before. What was our relationship like back then?”

Ji Ning smiled with affection and replied, “It was almost the same as now, but you were a little more awkward when you first saw me.”

As a killing machine only suitable for war, Ark was overwhelmed when he first faced the mermaid. 

He had never seen such a delicate or beautiful creature. Even when the mermaid hooked its arms around his neck and gave him a hug, he did not dare hug him back, for fear that if he touched it even lightly, the mermaid would shatter like glass. Destroyed by him.

Once the mermaid let him go, Ark took a step back. He really didn’t know how he should respond. Should he say thank you?

“You don’t have to be so restrained.”

The mermaid looked up at him from the water, a gentle smile on his alluring face. His eyes sparkled like jewels similar to the water droplets scattered across his skin. His azure fishtail swayed like a blooming flower beneath the water as he stretched his hands out towards the angel temptingly. 

“Hug me like I just hugged you.”

“…Sorry.” Ark lowered his head, “I can’t do that, I might hurt you.”

“It’s okay,” the mermaid smiled, “I’m not as fragile as I appear and I don’t mind even if you hurt me. There’s a first time for everything, right?”

“…” 

After a moment, under the slightly surprised gaze of the mermaid, Ark walked into the pool. His uniform was quickly soaked and his wings submerged in the water. He opened his arms for the mermaid and gently hugged him into his chest.

“Does this hurt?” he asked.

“Of course not.” The mermaid closed his eyes, snuggled into his arms and said with a smile, “Your hug feels warm, I like it very much.”

After that, Ark carefully began to raise his own mermaid. He badgered the staff of the research institute with a lot of questions about mermaids and did everything for Ji Ning, whether it was feeding him or changing his water, without the help of others. 

“You’re too nervous around me, ‘honourable Archangel’.”

The mermaid lay on the edge of the pool, watching the frowning angel check the water’s temperature, as he shook out his tail. “It’s only a half degree below the optimal temperature, I’ll be fine. It would also be fine for me ten degrees either side of the optimal.”

“I don’t want you to get sick, “ Ark insisted, turning the temperature dial on the side of the pool to adjust the water.

“If you insist, although changes like this really won’t make me sick.” 

Seeing that Ark had finally finished adjusting the water temperature, the mermaid waiting on the shore smiled, propped up his upper body and stretched out his hands towards him, “Please help me down.”

Ark gathered the mermaid into his arms and gently helped him into the pool. After spending a lot of time with him, he felt more comfortable with touching the mermaid and no longer panicked like he had at their first meeting.

“I can smell…”

The mermaid leaned into his shoulder and murmured, “You have a faint smell of gunpowder and blood on your body. Have you just come back from the battlefield?” 

“Sorry,” Ark pursed his lips, “I know you don’t like the smell but I thought I cleaned it off. I’ll clean again.”

He was about to stand up and go ashore when the mermaid stopped him, “It’s fine, I don’t care about that. I want to ask you, how do you feel about killing?”

Ark considered the question for a few seconds then answered truthfully, “I don’t feel anything from it. I’m just completing the tasks given to me by the dignitaries”

“It seems that you have no special thoughts about those who died.” The mermaid said, “I want to know then. If I die, would your heart ache?” 

“You won’t die.” Ark carefully held his wrist.

“It’s just a hypothesis. Would your heart ache?”

“I would be very sad.” Ark’s cold expression wavered, as he appeared slightly puzzled, “But I’m sorry, I don’t understand the usage of ‘heartache’ very well, I thought ‘heartache’ only occurred in the body when people are unwell.”

“It’s an expression, it means that the heart feels very painful, as if it’s being torn apart.” 

The mermaid took Ark’s hand and pressed it against his chest.

Through the thin layer of skin, Ark could clearly feel the mermaid’s heart beating quickly inside his chest.

“I’m very happy that you’re here with me which causes my heart rate to quicken.”

The mermaid looked at Ark with eyes filled with his figure. 

“Similarly, if something happened to you, I would be very sad. It would be an intense pain that makes it hard to breathe and would cause my heart pain. This is ‘heartache’.”

“Then I don’t want your heart to ache for me,” said Ark, “I don’t want you to suffer.”

“You are very considerate and gentle, ‘honourable Archangel.”

The mermaid laughed suddenly, hugging the angel. His voice was as sweet as the whispers of a dream but left an indelible mark on his heart, like a curse. 

“But I’m a selfish person and I hope your heart aches for me.”

“That’s proof of your love for me.”

“If one day your heart would ache for me, even if I was about to die, I would be happy.”

Ji Ning looked at Ark for a bit, then suddenly said, “I’ll sing you a song as a reward for taking care of me. It was your favourite song in the past.” 

The angel blinked and nodded quickly, sitting up straight to indicate he would pay careful attention when listening.

“You can lie down,” Ji Ning said, “This is a mermaid sleep melody.”

So Ark put his wings away and obediently lay on his side underneath the quilt. Ji Ning opened his lips slightly and began singing a low, ethereal note.

Although the sleeping song had lyrics, they were in the mermaid’s native tongue and sounded unfamiliar to the angel, like a song from a foreign land. As if it held a strange power, it soothed the unease in his heart and relaxed his whole body. 

After a while, the bedroom door opened a crack, Fu Ji pushing it open as he leaned back against the wall. He folded his arms and closed his eyes, quickly listening. After a while, he sighed and said wistfully.

“Raising a mermaid… must be very good.”

Amid the soporific singing, Ark slipped into a deep sleep. Cocooned inside his large wings, only the smallest glimpse of his peaceful sleeping face could be seen.

Fu Ji also fell asleep, leaning haphazardly against the wall. Seeing this, Ji Ning stopped singing and glanced around, only to find that Huo Wuling had disappeared. 

Where had he gone?

Ji Ning muttered something in his heart, but didn’t wait for Huo Wuling to reappear. It was already late at night, and he was getting tired, so he gave up looking for Huo Wuling and fell asleep himself.

In his dream, he entered the grocery shop again.

It was thundering with rain on the dark street and only the grocery shop emitted a warm, gentle light. Ji Ning stood in front of the counter, the storage racks around him filled with produce, as a melodious female voice sounded from the gramophone in the corner. Huo Wuling sat behind the counter, stirring a cup of hot coffee. He looked up at Ji Ning with a smile. 

…Why was he here again?

Ji Ning looked around the grocery store. This was the third time he had come here. If the first two times were coincidences, this one couldn’t be.

Did this place mean something important to Huo Wuling?

Ji Ning wasn’t very clear about this because Huo Wuling’s past was never explained in the infinite flow novel, ‘God Killing’. Even after spending three years with him, Huo Wuling never mentioned his past. His background was a mystery to Ji Ning. 

“You’re so nice to him.”

Huo Wuling took a sip from the coffee cup and looked at Ji Ning, who was back in his human form inside the dream, “Why don’t you come and sing me a song? I didn’t know you were so good at singing.”

“That’s just because I was in mermaid form, my normal singing ability is only average.”

Ji Ning decisively rejected Huo Wuling’s proposal, sat on the single sofa beside him and asked him, “Did you pull me in here?” 

“That’s right.”

Huo Wuling put down the coffee cup, walked out from behind the counter and sat on the armrest of the sofa next to Ji Ning. He put an arm around Ji Ning’s shoulders, leaning in towards him slightly. He stared at Ji Ning with dark eyes, then the corners of his lips suddenly twitched and he said with a light smile.

“It’s just the two of us here.”

He leaned closer to Ji Ning and brushed a kiss against his lips. 

“What do you think I should do to you?”

I admit the amnesia trope is cliche, but since it’s used for a novel inside our novel, I think it cancels out.

Ark is so unbelievably cute – just the image of him holding his duvet to come and sleep next to Ji Ning’s tank makes me want to urghwguafuiuh *punches wall*