The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Does It Have a Tail?

Ah Da was petrified by his fierce expression, staring blankly at him, unable to hold back the tears welling up in her bloodshot eyes, pearls falling one by one.

Lu Jing was startled, his fingertips scalded by her tears, followed by a scene that he would never forget in his life.

The teardrops slid down his hand, not touching the skin, and solidified into a pale pink solid at a visible speed, dropping to the ground and turning into pearls the size of a fingertip.

The little girl showed no sign of stopping, as if she had broken a pearl jar, tears clattering down.

Lu Jing caught two, holding them in his hand for a closer look. The pearls were as smooth as jade, and by appearances, were not much different from ordinary pearls, except they carried a kind of warmth.

“So it’s not just baseless talk after all…”

[The tribal chronicles of Xiling record: deep-sea merfolk are beautiful and gentle by nature, indistinguishable from land dwellers except for their fish tails. Their tears turn into pearls, and their entire body is a treasure, invaluable, with buyers in the city every day, and coastal residents have relied on capturing merfolk for survival for generations.]

Lu Jing remembered a section he had read as a child in a dark room and suddenly found the world to be very mysterious. He had known about the existence of merfolk for a while, but still found their real presence before his eyes to be incredible.

Perhaps it was because the unknown always had a fatal attraction, the rarer the more irresistible.

According to records of the Lu Family, merfolk were slaves, a race that could be killed at will to make lamp oil, a glorious and vast species marching toward extinction, with the Lu ancestors as executioners.

Lu Jing looked down at the girl in front of him, petite and delicate, with cherry lips and a delicate nose, every bit of skin seemingly carved from fine white jade, clear and flawless.

The advantage of merfolk?

Indeed, far beyond what humans could compare to.

How to put it, facing the creature before him that had caused his family to shoulder a curse for more than a thousand years, or rather a demon, Lu Jing felt very conflicted internally. Reason told him he should capture her and take her back; perhaps she could be the key to lifting the curse, ending the generations of pain for the Lu Family.

But did the Lu Family deserve it?

Lu Jing scoffed. To linger in the gutter, struggling to survive, was the fate of the Lu Family, and what did that have to do with him?

Ah Da’s chin was released, and she leaned against the wall, her body trembling slightly as she sobbed. Hearing him speak, although he sounded contemplative, there was a smile on his face and mockery in his eyes, truly a peculiar person.

Lu Jing grabbed her hand, having noticed something unusual in her palm when she was struggling earlier. “Touched a Prohibition Talisman?”

“What’s a Prohibition Talisman?” Ah Da asked warily, trying to remain calm given the current situation.

Lu Jing pinched her wrist, slender and fragile, the skin so translucent that the veins beneath were faintly visible. He chuckled as he exerted a slight force, his tone somewhat cruel: “It’s a talisman specifically for capturing merfolk, still effective after a thousand years, how have you not learned to adapt?”

The little merfolk was astonishingly weak. How had she survived? Hiding in the deep sea?

Lu Jing was indeed curious.

Ah Da’s wrist hurt, her eyes began to moisten, and biting her teeth timidly, she looked every bit the picture of indignation yet dared not speak.

Tsk tsk, pitiful.

“Why are you glaring at me? You should be thanking me.” Lu Jing let go of her wrist, his handsome face backlit casting a wicked shadow, and he continued with a smile, “But from your expression, you probably don’t want to thank me. It’s okay, you just have to answer one question for me.”

“Why should I answer your question?” Ah Da’s voice was tearful as she stubbornly turned her face to look out the window.

Thinking about the enemies outside the door, it might be better to jump out of the window—after all, she was protected by Spiritual Power and wouldn’t die from the fall.

The little girl’s eyes were as clear as a spring, revealing every meticulous thought perfectly clear. Lu Jing grabbed the back of her neck, forcefully leading her to the bed, her pink skirt trailing on the carpet, partially overlapping with the snowy white bathrobe.

“You… let go of me…”

Who exactly was he?

His grip was so strong, it really hurt her.

Ah Da desperately wanted to bite him, but she didn’t know what he had on him. She had tried attacking him with Spiritual Power earlier, and the backlash had been excruciating.

She was afraid of pain.

Lu Jing picked up his smartphone one-handed, leisurely opened the album, and found a photo to hold in front of her eyes.

“See it? Does it look familiar?”

Ah Da’s eyes widened, little droplets hanging from her lashes, her eyes rimmed red pitifully; upon seeing the photograph, she was instantly stunned.

The Little Pink Bottle and Jade Pot were placed inside a box, and the surroundings in the photo were obviously not the Kyoto Museum.

Had they been captured? How could this be?

Ah Da was in complete disarray.

Lu Jing curled his lips, loosened his grip, and sat down on the bed sideways, “Can you answer my question now, little merfolk?”

Ah Da clenched her dress tightly, suppressing the worry in her heart. She remembered the Bronze Sword had said the security level of the Kyoto Museum was especially high and that theft was impossible; at most, they would lend items to other museums for exhibitions.

It could be that he was deliberately creating a fake photo to deceive her.

She couldn’t be fooled.

Lu Jing hadn’t expected the little merfolk to be so cautious, actually not falling for it immediately. He had underestimated her.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, you might not know that the Kyoto Museum actually has investments from the Lu Family. In short, one of the background owners is me.”

Is that even possible?

Ah Da’s eyes rounded, and it took her a few seconds to react, “You… what do you want to do?”

The young girl’s gaze was filled with disbelief, her pathetic appearance looking like she was about to cry again.

Lu Jing stood up, approached her, lowered his voice almost touching her cheek. The little merfolk’s eyes were very beautiful, clear and bright like an autumn lake under the moon, each of her long lashes trembled with fear.

No wonder the Xiling Nobles were keen on wearing Merfolk Eyes. Beautiful things, after all, were born with value.

Lu Jing asked, “Can you grow a tail?”

“…What?” Ah Da was dumbstruck, her eyes unblinking, suspecting she had heard wrong.

Lu Jing sneered, resting a hand behind her with a teasing and roguish glance, “Aren’t you a merfolk? Tears turn into pearls, so surely your legs can also turn into a fish tail, right?”

Ah Da was so angry she was at a loss for words, her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest in rage. This man in front of her must be a devil.

“What, can’t change into a tail?”

Lu Jing raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on her slender legs. She wasn’t wearing shoes, barefooted, her ten little toes were cute and pink, gently pressing into the carpet.

“Tsk, what a pity.”

The man sounded disappointed, and Ah Da was completely driven to tears. She raised her hand to hit him but didn’t succeed, as her hand was caught.

…

The guard lost track of her in the restroom, and it wasn’t until after that Qin Yu realized his grave oversight.

Firstly, from the name “Merfolk” company, he should have suspected that Lu Yuan’s target was Ah Da, not him, and that the bait of the bronze lamp wasn’t meant to catch him either. Today’s setup had nothing to do with the Qin Family and secondly, he should have had a female bodyguard follow Ah Da.

There were two exits in the women’s restroom; Lu Yuan and Wanrong clearly came prepared. Qin Yu stood in the corridor with a gloomy expression.

Long Jiu was leading the search room by room, and Long Qi came over with a man whose nose and face were swollen.

Wei Lan spoke, “Third Young Master, Wan Jinlong has been captured.”

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Wan Jinlong was so frightened he nearly pissed himself; if it wasn’t for the guard holding his arm, he may have collapsed to the ground already.