I Received Messages From Future Self!

Chapter 279: Chapter 275 Mermaid Oil Chapter 279: Chapter 275 Mermaid Oil Taotie still didn’t know that the unsuspecting him had been tagged as a tiger by Fang Xiaocao again, as he stood there with his big mouth cocked, proudly showing off.

“Hehe~”
“Finally, it’s my turn to show off some knowledge!”

Taotie felt so delighted he almost bubbled snot.

Previously, it had always been Tom, setting up a scholarly persona.

Taotie was incredibly envious, and now it was finally his turn.

Could he help feeling proud?

Everyone has vanity, and Taotie was no exception.

Looking smug, with an expression that screamed “ask me,” Fang Xiaocao rolled her eyes, “Alright, if you know then spit it out, we still need to hit the road!”

“Hehe~”
Upon hearing Fang Xiaocao’s words, Taotie let out a cheap laugh.

He cleared his throat and began, “Regarding the oil in this lamp, it’s not simple at all. Guess what it’s made from?”

Taotie’s words successfully earned him three pairs of rolling eyes.

Fang Xiaocao glared at Taotie, “Out with it!”

“Aww~”
“Guess~”
Taotie said in an almost coquettish tone.

Hearing this, Fang Xiaocao and the others felt a chill.

They shivered together.

A burly man being coquettish is unbearable!

“If we knew, would we still need you to tell us?”

Fang Xiaocao said irritably.

“Spit it out!”

“If you don’t, I’m going to hit you!”

Fang Xiaocao clenched her little fist, threatening him.

Seeing Fang Xiaocao’s menacing expression, Taotie suddenly recalled the scene where he got beaten up after killing the Giant Serpent, and instantly deflated.

“Really lack a sense of humor~”
Taotie muttered gloomily.

“Out with it!”

Fang Xiaocao shouted, puffing up with anger.

“Alright, alright…”

“Am I not telling you now!”

Taotie said reluctantly.

“This transparent oil has a significant history. When I first started out, I spent a few days with a group of tomb robbers. During a tomb raid, I saw this transparent oil; it was a Han Tomb, apparently of some lord.”

“I was curious about what it was then, so I asked those tomb robbers, and one old sly fellow, seeing how cute I was, told me…”

“Guess what the old tomb robber said?”

“Ahem…”

“Let me continue…”

Taotie wanted to show off, but recoiled under Fang Xiaocao’s fierce glare. He coughed twice to ease the awkwardness.

“That old tomb robber said that this transparent oil is the legendary mermaid oil!”

“You know what mermaids are, right?”

“They are the legendary mermaids from abroad!”

“This transparent oil is made from mermaid oil, refined from mermaids!”

Taotie said with a mysterious look.

“Mermaid oil?”

Fang Xiaocao couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Aren’t mermaids just legendary creatures?”

“Do they really exist?”

Fang Xiaocao asked curiously.

“They exist!”

“How could they not exist!”

“Just because you haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they don’t exist!”

Fang Xiaocao was challenged by Taotie and refuted strongly.

“Have you seen it?”

Fang Xiaocao rolled her eyes at Taotie and asked.

“Not a living one…”

Taotie shook his head.

“Have you seen a corpse?”

Upon hearing Taotie say this, Fang Xiaocao was greatly surprised and asked further.

“Not… not that either…”

Taotie stammered in his reply.

Fang Xiaocao was rendered speechless.

Jumping up, she thumped Taotie on the head.

“You talk as if you’ve seen them!”

Fang Xiaocao said annoyed.

“But I have seen statues and murals!”

“Right there in that Han Tomb!”

In his panic, Taotie cried out.

“Oh?”

“What about the mural?”

Fang Xiaocao asked curiously.

“It depicted the tomb’s owner representing Dahan in the East Sea, attempting to subdue the Mermaid Tribe. The mermaids did not comply, so the tomb’s owner launched a genocidal massacre against them. The Mermaid Tribe suffered heavy casualties. Some of the mermaids were captured by the tomb’s owner and presented to the emperor of Dahan, who kept them in a pool in Weiyang Palace. Others escaped to the deep sea, beyond the reach of the Han Dynasty’s ships. The tomb’s owner could not pursue them further, so he only collected the mermaid bodies and refined them into mermaid oil.”

Taotie vividly narrated the contents of the mural he saw in the Han Tomb.

Fang Xiaocao blinked: “So there really were mermaids?”

“Just like in the legends, with a human upper body and a fish tail?”

Curiously eager about such mythical creatures, Fang Xiaocao eagerly pressed on.

“Yes!”

Taotie nodded, “That’s how it was depicted on the mural.”

While explaining, Taotie paused briefly.

Smacking his lips, he continued, “But, it seems a bit different from the legends. Those mermaids, although they looked human, didn’t quite resemble humans. They rather resembled dugongs, but they also had hair and hands. I don’t know if that was their actual appearance or if the artist, having not seen one, simply painted them out of imagination.”

Fang Xiaocao blinked: “Perhaps!”

The Han Dynasty had been a thousand years ago.

Through the ages, there have been legends of mermaids.

Moreover, it seems that the royal nobles preferred to use mermaid oil as lighting oil in their tombs, claiming that mermaid oil could burn for a thousand years, keeping the tomb chambers bright.

Therefore, many unofficial histories mention the imperial court’s widespread slaughtering of mermaids.

Maybe the real mermaids have already been extinct.

Or, just like in the legends.

Maybe the original form of mermaids was that of dugongs?

Certainly, dugongs fit the descriptions of mermaids and mermaids from legends well.

After hearing a segment of the story, Fang Xiaocao’s curiosity was satisfied, and she no longer dwelled on these matters, yet she secretly made up her mind that if she were to return by the same route, she would definitely take some of this mermaid oil to study carefully.

“Now that the story is over, let’s continue on our way!”

Fang Xiaocao said with a smile.

“Tom, lead the way!”

Fang Xiaocao waved her hand.

“Yes!”

Tom nodded and continued to lead the way.

This time Fang Xiaocao had learned her lesson, her eyes constantly on where Tom was stepping, and she followed closely.

Fearing she might step on something and trigger a mechanism.

Compared to Fang Xiaocao, Taotie and Hummingbird were much more casual; with their skills, even if they did step on a mechanism and set it off, they could easily dodge it.

Walking along this Mermaid Oil Tomb Passage for about five hundred meters, Fang Xiaocao and her companions encountered a stretch of sand, lying across the path and splitting a complete tomb passage into two sections.

The sandy area was more than ten meters wide, filled with stark white sand, laced with Iron Caltrops and blades. Trying to cross it seemed inevitable to be stabbed or cut, and although Fang Xiaocao and the others wore high-top combat boots with anti-cut features, they did not dare try crossing without knowing how deep the sand pit was.

But not crossing would mean not being able to jump over either.

Fang Xiaocao and her companions had to stop.

They pondered how to get across.