After showering, Amy wrung her wet hair with a look of relief. She stepped out of the wooden tub, dried herself, and wrapped her body in a long bath towel.
Looking back, she saw the blue-haired girl still soaking in the tub, hugging her legs and curled up with only half her head peeking above the steaming water.
"A-Xin, what are you thinking about?"
Tang Xin asked, "Is that siren miracle real?"
Amy’s expression stiffened slightly. Seeing the girl staring at her so earnestly, she laughed it off and said, "It’s just a story written by the show’s scriptwriters. A-Xin, you didn’t take it seriously, did you?"
"I don’t like being kept in the dark."
"Huh?"
Tang Xin said no more. She stood up and stepped out of the tub, her slender, fair ankles lightly touching the floor. Droplets of water fell from her deep blue hair, clinging to her distinct neck and shoulders. Her youthful and soft silhouette, hidden in the steam, was soon wrapped in a long towel.
Amy’s lips curled upward at the sight, but after meeting Tang Xin’s clear eyes, she gave a few dry coughs.
"Cough, cough... Anyway, don’t think too much about it."
Before she could finish, Amy froze. Tang Xin had somehow moved right in front of her. She caught the faint scent of irises.
The heat from the nitrogen box still radiated from the girl’s skin, making Amy retreat a few steps awkwardly until her back hit the wall.
"If I went to drink the water here right now, would you stop me?" Tang Xin asked, her eyes fixed on Amy.
"A-Xin, what are you saying all of a sudden..."
Seeing that Tang Xin remained silent, she turned toward the washroom. She turned on the faucet and was about to cup the water in her hands to bring it to her lips. Amy’s pupils shrank, and she lunged forward to intercept the girl, stopping her.
"So, what exactly are you hiding from me?" Tang Xin asked calmly.
Amy had never seen this pressuring side of the girl. Her gaze wavered as she turned her head away, only for Tang Xin to pull her back.
"Is the water here contaminated by something? Does it have to do with that siren king miracle?"
Tang Xin recalled the scene when their jeep had first entered the town. A dozen or so fish-men had been standing in the distance, watching them with an eerie intensity. She was familiar with that kind of malicious gaze. She had also noticed that most of the ordinary people seemed listless, their eyes bloodshot. Those city dwellers had settled in Mermaid Town for their livelihoods or families, integrating into the local tourism industry and staying for over a decade.
All sorts of bizarre signs were pointing to the fact that this town, no...
This entire island had a problem.
Seeing how serious Tang Xin was, Amy finally relented.
"It’s true that the water is contaminated. I can’t reveal more details to you. I’m sorry, A-Xin."
"I don’t want to be a riddler either, but this matter is truly serious."
Amy thought for a moment and spoke in a cryptic manner.
"A-Xin, how were your grades in mystery and miracles?"
"I only missed an A+ once because I accidentally fell asleep during that exam. I only answered twenty minutes' worth of questions, so my final grade was a B."
Amy’s expression turned wooden.
The courses for mystery and miracles were universally acknowledged as being as dense as celestial scripts. The content was as obscure as it could be. The major questions usually required candidates to have a certain foundational understanding of the 'mystic.' To still get a B after only answering for twenty minutes... how was she, a senior who had scraped by with C- grades for years, supposed to feel?
"My theory grades were all decent. It was the practical art classes and combat arts practicals that were always on the verge of failing," Tang Xin added.
Amy took a deep breath and recalled, "In the mystery and miracles supplementary textbook, Miracle: A Basic Introduction, what is the content of the fourteenth sentence on page one hundred and twenty-three?"
Almost the instant she heard the question, a passage of text surfaced in Tang Xin’s mind, but she did not say it aloud.
"Knowledge is a miracle, and at the same time, it is a pollution."
This sentence had been proposed by her teacher, the occult scholar Lady Vandoni. The woman had spent her entire life researching the mystic,
Her cognition and understanding of the domains of miracles and mysteries were far deeper than those of ordinary people.
Knowledge is a miracle, and at the same time, it is a pollution.
This sentence itself was the best interpretation of its literal meaning. Anyone who had ever seen it or learned of it from anywhere would be contaminated and eternally cursed. However, the effect of the curse was negligible—it simply ensured that people would never forget those words.
It was branded as deeply as a mark in the depths of everyone’s soul; even memory erasure could not wipe it away.
Words had power. When they formed a sentence involving any information regarding the 'mystic' and became knowledge,
They became a source of pollution. The closer one got to the truth of the 'mystic,' the higher the level of contamination. Ordinary knowledge might only cause skin itching or a drop in resistance, but even a single glance at forbidden knowledge could drive an ordinary person directly into madness.
This was also why the core knowledge of all societies, companies, and the Holy See was preserved on paper scrolls, and why any leak would trigger high-level anxiety from the upper echelons. First, it could not be replicated; the personnel responsible for recording that knowledge were often death row inmates,
Whose final end was invariably a death in madness. Aside from them and the machines responsible for carrying the knowledge and issuing operational commands, no one knew the content of that knowledge. Second, they could not bear the catastrophic consequences of such knowledge spreading on a large scale.
"Do you understand now, A-Xin?"
Tang Xin nodded and stepped back, asking Amy no further questions.
"A-Xin, be careful of those fish-men during the day tomorrow. Try not to be alone," Amy said.
Just then, Xu Xiaoyou walked through the door. Seeing that both girls were still awake, she gave a greeting.
In the dead of night, the wind outside blew the branches into a chaotic flutter, making a howling sound like a malevolent spirit.
Xu Xiaoyou lay on her side, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what. Voices echoed constantly in her ears. The silver-haired girl and that eerie heart surfaced before her, the fleshy mouth opening and closing as if saying:
"I hate you, I hate you."
"You are the source of all my pain."
"Selfish people will be abandoned by everyone."
"You will eventually be all alone; you will lose everything."
By the end, the voices seemed like they were trying to drill into her brain. The feeling was definitely not pleasant.
It was getting stronger—the connection between the Gaze of Spiritual Vision and the Heart of Desire. Could it be that Anya was currently active in Mermaid Town?
"You will have nothing."
Xu Xiaoyou woke up from her light sleep, her breathing somewhat hurried. She found herself drenched in cold sweat, feeling an inexplicable palpitation and a sense of emptiness in her heart. Opening her eyes, she saw the blue-haired girl lying on her side next to her, watching her quietly.
"You aren't asleep?" Xu Xiaoyou asked, rubbing her brow.
"You still have nightmares?" Tang Xin said.
The two girls' floor beds were very close to each other, their bedding becoming a jumbled mess together. If they moved just a little closer, they could feel each other’s breath and body heat. Pale moonlight spilled in, allowing them to see each other’s faces clearly.
"I was thinking about some things from the past," Xu Xiaoyou said, intending to close her eyes again.
"Those words on the curtain... can you say them to me again, in person?" Tang Xin said softly, as if sharing a secret between just the two of them.
Xu Xiaoyou hadn't expected her to bring this up now. After a moment of thought, she averted her gaze.
"I am deeply aware that my thoughts strayed from the right track. I promise that if there is anything important in the future, I will discuss it with you. I promise to the Stars... as much as I can."
Tang Xin let out a small laugh.
"Are you embarrassed to say it to my face?"
Xu Xiaoyou didn't speak. Tang Xin reached out from under the covers, gently hooked her palm, and held it.
Xu Xiaoyou’s eyelids fluttered open. Warmth was transmitted to her through the girl’s soft palm.
"Your hands are freezing," Tang Xin said.
Xu Xiaoyou’s lips moved slightly, but Tang Xin placed her index finger against them. "Shh, no need to say more. Let's sleep. I'll stay by your side."
"You aren't mad at me anymore?" Xu Xiaoyou asked.
"How could I..."
Tang Xin gently pulled Xu Xiaoyou’s shoulder, cradling the girl’s head into her embrace. Her cheek rested against Xu Xiaoyou’s slightly messy blonde hair as she gradually closed her eyes.
The fragrance of irises wafted from the white nightgown, lingering at the tip of Xu Xiaoyou's nose. The warmth and softness caused the voices in her head to gradually fade away. The world went quiet; the sound of wind and rain outside was gone, and the empty palpitations vanished. Following the girl’s steady breathing, Xu Xiaoyou’s thoughts settled, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Rate on N.U.
