Chapter 139: The Merfolk’s Quiet Obsession and the Entrance That Vanished

The spot Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing had chosen to camp was some distance from the river, yet in the serene emptiness of early morning, she could still hear the relentless roar of the flowing water.

Gazing at the ceaseless river, she realized how many memories it carried in its currents.

Meng Yingxing looked toward the other tent—empty now—and his expression grew heavy.

“Master, we didn’t even hear when Miss Lim o left.”

Xiu Qingcheng stood behind him with arms crossed, her face betraying little emotion. “Who’d have thought—a merfolk who hid among humans for years without detection would be so skilled at moving silently? Even I’m impressed.”

In her spirit or sword form, she too could glide without touching the ground or making a sound.

Her words were undoubtedly praise for Li Mo.

She watched Meng Yingxing’s gaze drop, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, lost in thought.

After a brief moment of contemplation, resolve hardened his features. He turned to her.

“Master, let’s check Nilanke one more time.”

Without waiting, he abandoned the two tents on the ground and headed straight for the riverbank.

Xiu Qingcheng didn’t know what had spurred his urgency, but after a glance back at the tents, she followed without hesitation.

At the river’s edge, Meng Yingxing scanned the water for a while.

Xiu Qingcheng arrived leisurely, a rolled-up tent tucked carelessly under each arm.

“You think Li Mo came looking for Nilanke?”

Her tone was casual.

Meng Yingxing searched the shore for any sign of her before turning and nodding. He noticed the tents she carried.

Silently, he took them and stowed them away before answering. “Yes. From what Old Bai and Li Mo told us, the entrance to Nilanke’s secret realm is protected by a formation—not everyone can break it. Miss Li Mo probably can’t open it herself.”

“She deliberately told us about Nilanke and pointed us there. She likely wanted us to open the entrance for her.”

Xiu Qingcheng watched him analyze it all so clearly. The calm focus of the young man lent him a special aura.

She asked quietly, “And her reason for wanting to enter Nilanke?”

Meng Yingxing looked up—rarely meeting her eyes directly. “One year in the human world, a hundred in Nilanke.”

“Ignoring all other factors… if she took her reincarnated husband inside, he could grow into an adult in a very short time.”

“A clever idea.”

Approval showed on Xiu Qingcheng’s face.

She’d considered the possibility herself but dismissed it as too far-fetched. As Meng Yingxing said, it required ignoring countless risks.

The entrance to Nilanke wasn’t fixed—she’d need a way to locate it consistently and ensure she could leave. She’d also have to keep a helpless infant alive inside alone.

But… if Li Mo was desperate enough to try—

Then nothing would be too great a sacrifice.

Xiu Qingcheng suddenly recalled the intense emotion in Li Mo’s eyes when they’d last seen her—the love for the reincarnated infant, and later, the calm as deep as still water.

She couldn’t laugh anymore. She inwardly berated herself for not noticing sooner.

Now she believed Li Mo was the type who would cast everything aside for even the slimmest chance to see her husband grown in the shortest possible time.

Hadn’t Xiu Qingcheng told her to wait for him to grow up and let him decide? Fine—Li Mo agreed. But she never said she wouldn’t force the growth herself.

Xiu Qingcheng’s self-reflection lasted only a second.

Ultimately, whatever Li Mo did was none of her business—she couldn’t control it.

She’d only righteously returned the infant to its family because she considered herself the type to help when she saw injustice.

The kind who’d die if she meddled too much.

She glanced at Meng Yingxing.

He clearly cared about this. Fine—she’d reluctantly help her disciple manage Li Mo’s affair.

Wherever he got involved, she’d follow.

“Master, let’s go check Nilanke’s entrance.”

Meng Yingxing looked at her earnestly, hoping for her agreement.

Typical of a boy his age—his passion burned bright, undimmed even by the icy spring-thawed river.

Since she’d decided to help, Xiu Qingcheng naturally agreed.

They dove back into the water and, relying on memory, found the area where the entrance had been.

Seeing nothing—no trace of any portal—Meng Yingxing stared blankly, a mix of sorrow and relief washing over him.

Sorrow that he might never see Old Bai again; who knew how much time had passed inside overnight?

Relief that he and his master had left yesterday—otherwise they’d be trapped. And it meant Li Mo probably hadn’t entered either.

Xiu Qingcheng, using her limited sensing range (and admittedly not her strongest skill), scanned the area and indeed detected no entrance.

She surfaced first, shook off the river water like a dog, then hauled the dripping Meng Yingxing ashore.

The moment he rolled onto the bank, a graceful figure burst from the water beside them.

It was Li Mo—but not the Li Mo they knew.

She wore only thin inner garments, soaked and clinging to her exquisite curves. Vast expanses of skin were exposed, her scales glittering like jewels under sunlight and water.

More striking was the lower half hidden beneath the surface—a lush, treasure-blue fishtail thrashing gently.

Her revealed true form showed the vertical pupils common among demons, fin-like scaled ears, and sharp fangs as she held a fat fish—clearly a water spirit demon—in her mouth.

Li Mo radiated the unearthly, bewitching beauty unique to her kind.

Perhaps seeing a true merfolk for the first time, Meng Yingxing stared, transfixed.

Xiu Qingcheng silently reached over and covered both his eyes. She didn’t care if he was captivated by the merfolk’s beauty or the exposed body.

She simply didn’t want him looking.

“Kids shouldn’t stare at this stuff. She’s a married woman.”

Xiu Qingcheng said coolly.

Meng Yingxing: …

What could he even say? Nothing.

Li Mo spat the fish onto the bank, then another two from below the surface.

Only after completing this did she smile gently at them.

“Little benefactors, what were you searching for underwater? Need help? I’m quite good at swimming and diving.”

Her words and demeanor were as gentle as ever, yet Xiu Qingcheng couldn’t shake the feeling there was an edge to them.

“We woke up and you were gone—thought you’d fallen in while walking by the river.”

Xiu Qingcheng eyed the merfolk floating on the surface, her voice flat.

Li Mo laughed softly, propping herself on the bank like it was a bathtub, her demonic beauty on full display.

“That was my mistake. To repay your kindness for sheltering me yesterday, I rose early to catch fish from the river for your breakfast.”

Xiu Qingcheng covered Meng Yingxing’s eyes even more firmly.

“Since Miss Li Mo is safe, we’re relieved. The water’s cold—come ashore soon.”

With his eyes covered, Meng Yingxing’s world was pitch black.

Listening to the exchange, he couldn’t shake the sense of gunpowder in the air. Was it just his imagination?

Now that Nilanke’s entrance had vanished, at least Li Mo couldn’t follow through on Meng Yingxing’s feared plan to force growth at any cost.

A slight weight lifted from his heart.

After sharing breakfast with Li Mo, she parted ways with them outside Zhongyang Town, showing no unusual behavior.

Yet Meng Yingxing remained uneasy. He dragged Xiu Qingcheng to secretly watch Wang Zhuihai’s reincarnated family’s home for several days.

He feared Li Mo still harbored intentions to steal the child.

Only when they remembered their promise to meet the Golden Hound did they leave—and Li Mo never appeared near the family.