CH 58

The island where Ren Shuhan was currently located was on the border of the tribe where Jiang Qingyue’s family resided.

The tribe was small, consisting of only one large island, with several dozen merfolk households. There were also two or three small islands made of rock formations. Perhaps due to the long river on the main island, most of the residents had the surnames Xing, Jiang, or He. Among them, the surname Jiang was the most prevalent, and the people around referred to them as the Jiang Tribe.

A more powerful tribe with over a hundred residents was situated to the north. Perhaps because of the lagoon on the main island, it was known as the Hu Tribe. The two tribes shared an unclear boundary in the middle of the sea, often causing tensions as the people from the Hu Tribe monopolized fishing along the coastline of the Jiang Tribe. With fewer people, the Jiang Tribe could only yield the northern beach to the Hu Tribe and squeeze into the southern shore.

Ren Shuhan’s spacecraft crashed in the area between the Hu Tribe and the Jiang Tribe.

Currently, Ren Shuhan was on the northern beach of the Jiang Tribe.

However, there hadn’t been anyone around recently.

It wasn’t because the merfolk elders were afraid to investigate the “meteorite.” Both the Jiang Tribe and the Hu Tribe were curious about this extraterrestrial object and planned to observe it for a while before checking its origin. However, the elders of the Jiang Tribe warned the young merfolk to stay away from the area. They were afraid that they wouldn’t be able to compete with the Hu Tribe’s merfolk and might provoke a conflict.

However, the children didn’t know fear. Jiang Qingyue, not knowing the potential dangers, had overheard the elders discussing the possibility of someone being inside the stone and that humans couldn’t survive underwater for very long.

He was afraid someone might suffocate inside.

The elders of the Jiang Tribe considered that if there was someone inside, they might be bad people. Even if they weren’t, if the Hu Tribe found out, there could be suspicion and potential trouble. Moreover, a foreign object falling from the sky was an ominous sign for the marine civilization. So, they agreed not to approach for the time being.

But the child wasn’t afraid. Jiang Qingyue decided not to tell anyone, fearing that if someone discovered Ren Shuhan, it might lead to trouble for his family.

If he kept quiet, he could bear any consequences on his own!

Jiang Qingyue was very responsible. He never thought that just because he was a male fish child, he could get by just by looking good and being able to do a bit of housework in the future.

There were many types of merfolk, and many were patrilineal tribes. However, the Jiang Tribe was a matrilineal tribe. Due to their low reproductive rate, the females, who had stronger fish tails, mainly hunted in the sea and were responsible for the family’s main duties. Males usually stayed at home, doing tasks like building their homes up and harvesting on land. Jiang Qingyue’s family, led by his mother Jiang Chen, belonged to this system.

However, Jiang Qingyue’s father was unique. His surname was Zheng, which was exclusive to the nearby islands, and his full name was Zheng Zhilai. He was the only teacher on the island. Therefore, he often educated Jiang Qingyue, telling him not to grow up like other male merfolk who only cared about maintaining their appearance and relied on female merfolk.

Zheng Zhilai’s job was to enlighten the young merfolk. Although his work was only to give the young merfolk basic knowledge, in this civilization, he was considered knowledgeable. There were rumors that he had some connection with humans a few years ago, so Jiang Chen would consult Zheng Zhilai on various matters and listen to his opinions.

Yesterday, Jiang Chen was out fishing, and Zheng Zhilai was at home cooking and cleaning. He noticed that the clothes Jiang Qingyue had found were too clean and cute.

“Oh, are these little holes?” Little Jiang Qingyue’s eyes flickered.

“Our little guy is really capable. Going out to play and bringing back such a cute dress.”

Zheng Zhilai lifted his little son and spun him around. No matter how you looked at him, he was adorable, and there weren’t too many uniform holes that would pierce through the dress.

After hearing about the lighter incident, Jiang Chen was so happy that she didn’t pay attention to the dress. Worried about potential trouble, she discussed with Zheng Zhilai whether to inform the tribe. Zheng Zhilai suggested keeping it a secret for now and advised her not to go to deep sea the next day.

“Our home has enough food reserves, don’t overwork yourself,” Zheng Zhilai said. “I think Qingqing has been acting strange today. Spend more time with him.”

“He has been playing too recklessly lately,” Jiang Chen said with concern. “He’s still so young, and we hardly see him all day. How can a male fish child be raised so carelessly?”

“It’s okay. Our island is very safe,” Zheng Zhilai reassured. “Observe him tomorrow, and you’ll know where he likes to play.”

Jiang Chen couldn’t sleep and got up early the next day. Anxious to go to sea, she saw her little fish child returning in a hurry. Instantly furious, she lifted him up but couldn’t bring herself to scold him.

Jiang Qingyue, feeling guilty, burst into tears.

“Oh, my dear Qingqing,” Zheng Zhilai hurriedly comforted him, holding him for quite some time. “What’s bothering you?”

Being a small child, Jiang Qingyue talked about the little brother.

Hearing that there was a human child in the shell, and it gave something for Qingqing to eat, Jiang Chen was determined to discipline the troublemaker who led Qingqing astray. However, when she found Ren Shuhan, her husband had already changed sides.

“Let me hug him. Oh, so soft, these short legs and little feet,” Zheng Zhilai playfully lifted both children, rocking them in his arms. “They are so adorable!”

Jiang Chen glared at her husband and scolded Ren Shuhan, “How dare you corrupt my Qingqing? He never dared to stay out all night!”

Ren Shuhan acknowledged his fault, but Jiang Qingyue said, “It was me who came to find the little brother willingly!”

Jiang Chen felt very tired.

“Can the little brother come to our house?” Jiang Qingyue asked quietly.

“My parents are on the other side of the sea. They should come to find me soon,” Ren Shuhan hesitated. “It won’t trouble you for too long.”

Zheng Zhilai immediately agreed, but Jiang Chen slapped him on the head.

In the end, Jiang Chen did not agree with Zheng Zhilai’s suggestion and decided to discuss it with the tribe.

The two children were very uneasy. Zheng Zhilai had discussed with Jiang Chen earlier that they must not reveal Ren Shuhan’s identity to prevent potential harm due to others’ jealousy. He also advised Ren Shuhan to hide his belongings in the spatial node. Before leaving, he reminded Ren Shuhan and Jiang Qingyue again, and both nodded obediently.

Then Ren Shuhan became the focus of attention.

“Wow!”

“So cute!”

“It’s a human child!”

At first, there was a burst of cheers. Ren Shuhan almost cried when faced with dozens of big brothers and sisters who weren’t wearing clothes. Fortunately, he managed to hold on, relying on his willpower not to hide behind Zheng Zhilai.

Jiang Qingyue, on the other hand, hid behind his dad and secretly pinched Ren Shuhan’s clothes, trying to pull him further back.

Two families of merfolk even brought two little fish children each. They huddled together and whispered:

“I like him…”

“I like him too. We can’t let him go to Jiang Qingyue.”

“But I also like Qingqing…”

“The Jiang Tribe allows females to marry multiple males, and you’re a male fish child, so you’ll be a male adult in the future.”

“In our tribe, males can marry two people!”

“True, but I heard that human males cannot marry multiple people, just like us.”

“In that case, should I marry the human in the future, or marry Qingqing…”

These two little fish children spoke without the discretion of adults, making Ren Shuhan and Jiang Qingyue nervous. They were from the Hu Tribe across the sea, and their tone sounded as if they could dispose of them casually.

The attendees at the meeting were not many that time, only the Hu Tribe’s chief, elders, the Jiang Tribe’s chief, elders, and Jiang Qingyue’s family. Despite the tribes being relatively large, the news had already been communicated to other families by the chiefs, and discussions about the spaceship had taken place between the elders and chiefs of both tribes yesterday.

At that time, no agreement had been reached, but now with the appearance of a human child, things were easier to resolve. The decision was that the Jiang Tribe should no longer touch the spaceship in this area; the human belonged to the Jiang Tribe, and the material resources would go to the Hu Tribe.

So the Hu Tribe’s merfolk were naturally pleased and brought their little fish children to watch Ren Shuhan.

Ren Shuhan was also observing them.

Their fish tails were not like Jiang Qingyue’s, with shiny and glittering soft scales. They resembled more of a shark’s tail. When they spoke, their teeth looked sharper and more intimidating. Ren Shuhan could see that although they were “discussing”, the Jiang Tribe had almost no say.

Yesterday, the Jiang Tribe could argue with reason, but today, they found that their little fish child had already rescued the humans inside, and naturally, they had lost their bargaining capital.

“Our people have searched your tribe, and indeed, there is nothing hidden. So there is nothing more to say,” the Hu Tribe’s chief said with a triumphant look.

They gained a human child, fresh but just a burden.

The chief of the Jiang Tribe still wanted to say something, but the Hu Tribe’s chief showed his fangs, implying: whether you agree or not, you have no say.

Therefore, the meeting quickly concluded. The Hu Tribe’s merfolk dispersed, and the chief of the Jiang Tribe gave Jiang Chen a look of “take care of yourselves,” saying, “From today on, you can stay on the northern coast. Don’t go to the southern shore for fishing anymore.”

“What?” Jiang Chen had already prepared herself mentally, knowing that she would be punished. However, she didn’t expect her family to be completely expelled. “What about my husband, who usually teaches students?”

“Learning so many words is useless. There are no teachers in the surrounding tribes. Your husband, Zheng Zhilai, has only a few students. The school will be closed tomorrow,” the chief said disdainfully.

“I understand. I’ll move my family here tomorrow,” Jiang Chen said.

Although there weren’t many things in her house, Jiang Chen was resourceful and had stored a considerable amount of food. After all, she had two young children to feed, and moving to a farther place required half a day.

The chief said, “Move tonight. The people in the tribe don’t want to see you anymore.”

Jiang Chen nodded this time and didn’t say anything more.

Her parents had passed away early, and she had grown up in the wild, practicing and honing herself. Even though there were sudden changes in her family, and she would face Ren Shuhan’s parents in the future, whom she didn’t know yet, she didn’t waver. She also knew that she couldn’t ignore the human child. When the time came, she could only take it one step at a time.

It was good that the children didn’t hear the chief’s words.

After returning, Zheng Zhilai exchanged a glance with Jiang Chen and understood. He said to the children, “How about camping here tonight?”

Jiang Qingyue felt strange, but he never opposed anything, saying happily, “Okay.”

Ren Shuhan actually guessed a bit, but he was not too sure. He didn’t think too much about it because he had spent the whole day at Jiang Qingyue’s house and felt uncomfortable.

It was just a simple wooden shed, although decorated with some seashells. They slept on the beach without blankets. So, he hoped that Jiang Qingyue’s family could stay in his house. Although he couldn’t use his abilities too obviously, the system would provide suitable items for him.

Jiang Chen and Zheng Zhilai were not as optimistic as the children.

The human child did bring some magical items, but they were all of a size suitable for the child. Besides, Jiang Chen didn’t like using other people’s things, and even if she wanted to exchange them for food, Ren Shuhan would definitely refuse to let her take them out, or he would be punished severely.

Fortunately, the merfolk could sleep outdoors on the beach or directly on the seabed. This was just going to make the fragile human child suffer a bit.

And Jiang Chen felt a bit embarrassed.

Fortunately, the children were obedient and didn’t bring up any embarrassing questions. Unexpectedly, Ren Shuhan pulled out a large tent.

“Yesterday’s tent was too small. Let’s use a bigger one today!”

I’m actually kinda confused about the world building of these mermaids lol… But I can say that these tribes are full of ******* ://// Thankfully Jiang Chen’s parents are good people!!