Chapter Text
That night, Xue Yang kept Xiao Xingchen locked inside his private quarters. A golden chain, inlaid with salt-silver charms, looped tightly around Xiao Xingchen’s wrists and the end of his tail. This is the enchanted bindings made specifically to subdue sea creatures. At first glance, the scene was cruel: a creature trapped like a trophy. But the chains were padded on the inside, carefully lined so they wouldn’t bruise or cut into his skin.
Xiao Xingchen sat silently on the edge of the bed, his damp hair clinging to his cheeks, seawater still dripping from his clothes. The moonlight streamed in through the narrow window, spilling across the wooden floor like milk poured from the sky. It caught the glint of his tail, casting a soft, luminous sheen that painted him in an almost ethereal light.
“You know,” Xue Yang said lazily, his voice breaking the silence, “I’ve slit men’s throats for fun. Burned entire villages to ash but none of it ever felt as good as watching you.”
Xiao Xingchen didn’t respond. His brows furrowed slightly, displeasure flickering in his eyes. Xue Yang’s words disgusted him but bound as he was, there was little he could do. His fists clenched in quiet defiance, nails digging into his palms.
After a beat, he asked cautiously, “What happened to the children?”
“They’re fine,” Xue Yang replied with a smirk. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, thoroughly enjoying himself. “And I’ll let them go... if you agree to come with me. Explore the seas together.”
Xiao Xingchen frowned deeply, his voice cold with conviction. “I would never.”
Xue Yang gave a careless shrug, the smile never leaving his face. “Then I suppose I’ll just have them walk the plank…..one by one.”
The threat hung in the air like a blade pressed to the throat.
“Fine, then,” Xiao Xingchen whispered, his voice tight with restraint. “I’ll go.”
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Before the first light of dawn touched the sea, Xue Yang gave the order to release the children. To everyone's surprise, not one of them was injured. Though thinner than before, with pale cheeks and tired eyes, they were otherwise unharmed—alive and well.
“Captain!”
“Captain Ge!”
“Captain Chen-gege!”
Their voices rang out as they ran toward him, calling with teary eyes and trembling smiles. The truth of their captain’s identity had already been revealed. The children feared what the notorious pirate might do to him now that the secret was out.
Xiao Xingchen had returned to his human form by then. His steps were unsteady as his body was still weak. Though he could walk on land again, his magic was far from recovered. Even so, he moved forward—slowly, carefully—and greeted the children with a gentle smile, hoping to ease their fears.
He knelt down to their level and opened his arms. The children rushed into them, clinging to him like the last anchor in a storm.
“It’s alright,” he murmured softly. “You will all be free.”
Reaching into the folds of his coat, he handed each child a small pouch, it was a soft velvet, tied with silver thread. Inside, glimmering jewels with each stone worth more than most people would earn in a lifetime.
“These will help you survive,” he said, his voice quiet but firm. “But use them wisely.”
The children listened with wide eyes as he gave them final instructions. “Go east. Find a place called Aster. When you get there, tell the owner that Neris sent you. He will take care of you.”
The name meant nothing to them, but they nodded solemnly, sensing the weight of the moment.
Xiao Xingchen watched them, memorizing their faces. He knew he might never see them again—but that was alright. Better they live peaceful lives on land than drift endlessly through the sea’s endless, unpredictable currents.
“Aren’t you coming with us, Captain?” A-Qing asked, clutching her doll close to her chest. She was one of the youngest—only six—while A-Hua, the oldest, had just turned twelve.
Xiao Xingchen smiled gently and knelt down to kiss her forehead. “No, little one. But promise me that you’ll all grow up well, alright?”
“Okay.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Yes, sir!”
“We will, Captain!”
A chorus of small voices answered him, innocent yet determined. The warmth in Xiao Xingchen’s chest swelled, comforted by their resolve. He nodded with a soft laugh.
“Good. Now off you go.”
One by one, the children climbed down from the ship. As they reached the shore, they turned to wave at him, little hands fluttering in the morning light. Xiao Xingchen stood there, watching them until their small figures disappeared into the horizon, heading toward the east—toward safety.
Once he was sure everything was in order, he quietly returned to his cabin.
There, he found Xue Yang sprawled in a chair, one leg casually propped on the table. In his hand was a worn map, spread out and held in place by calloused fingers. He was studying it with a rare look of focus—so serious, so intent, it almost didn’t suit him and yet, Xiao Xingchen had to admit, it made the pirate look… striking.
Sensing movement, Xue Yang glanced up, smirking. “Done? Good. Look at this map—this is where we’re heading next.”
Xiao Xingchen approached him, halting just a few steps away. Xue Yang handed him the map, which he accepted in silence. His eyes scanned the parchment until they landed on a mark—bold and red—over a place called Yi Sea.
His heart sank.
That was once his home. The sea where mermaids thrived before they were hunted. The place he had fled long ago.
“Why there?” he asked warily.
Xue Yang stood and turned toward him, eyes gleaming with intent. “That place holds what I’m looking for. A magical artifact that can heal any wound… even bring the dead back. Control them, even.” His voice dropped, laced with something darker. “It was left behind by the Yiling Patriarch before he died from the backlash.”
He stepped forward. Instinctively, Xiao Xingchen stepped back—until his spine met the edge of the table. There was nowhere else to go.
Amused, Xue Yang’s grin widened. “I’m going to fix my little finger,” he said, wiggling the cut finger mockingly, “and have a little fun commanding the dead. We set sail tonight.”
Xiao Xingchen held his gaze for a long moment before finally nodding. “Very well.”
That seemed to satisfy him. Xue Yang gave a low chuckle, then turned on his heel and made his way to the door.
The cabin fell silent once more.
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The waves rolled gently against the shore, slow and steady, as if they were following the setting sun. On the horizon, the sky burned with hues of gold, crimson, peach, and soft violet. As the sun dipped lower, shadows stretched over the sand, driftwood, and tidepools, casting the world in a tranquil glow. There was a quiet kind of magic in the air, as if time itself had paused to admire the beauty of twilight.
The sea stretched wide and endless beneath a cloud-streaked sky—calm, for the first time in days. At the prow of the ship stood Xiao Xingchen. His black hair, dark as the night itself, flowed freely behind him, catching the wind like a banner. He was ethereal, motionless, eyes fixed on the horizon. The taste of salt clung to his lips, and the wind whispered through the rigging like a warning he couldn’t yet decipher.
Behind him, Xue Yang laughed—sharp, smug, and unbothered. His boots thudded across the deck as he barked out orders to the crew, his voice carrying like a crack of thunder. He seemed most alive out at sea, danger coiling off him like the smoke from spent gunpowder. Here, on the open ocean, he had everything he wanted: a fast ship, a loyal crew, and now—Xiao Xingchen, the prize he’d hunted through moonlit tides.
They sailed deeper into uncharted waters, beyond maps inked in blood and legend.
“We’ll find the Magic Artifact,” Xue Yang had promised, grinning like a wolf. “Or monsters. Either way, it’ll be fun.”
“You’re going to regret this,” Xiao Xingchen warned softly, eyes narrowing at the ever-shifting sea. “You don’t know what lies in that place.”
“Oh, but I won’t,” Xue Yang smirked, eyes on the distant horizon.
Xiao Xingchen glanced at him for a moment, then lowered his gaze to Xue Yang’s chest pocket—the place where the silver dagger was hidden. The one that could strip him of his power, bind his magic, cage what made him not human.
Sensing the tension, Xue Yang casually pulled out the dagger, letting the moonlight catch on its blade. The sight made Xiao Xingchen stiffen.
“We’re too far out at sea,” Xue Yang said, spinning the dagger once before tucking it back into his coat. “I can’t risk you escaping, so I’ll be keeping this close.”
“Land ahead!” one of the crewmen shouted, voice sharp against the wind.
Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen moved swiftly to the edge of the ship. In the distance loomed a massive cave—its mouth wide enough to swallow the entire vessel whole.
“Enter the cave,” Xue Yang commanded.
“Yes, sir!”
As they sailed closer, shadows thickened around them. The cave darkened with every foot forward, and jagged rocks jutted from the sea like the teeth of a great beast. The crew steered carefully, wary of striking one and sending the ship to its doom.
Then, a faint glow appeared.
“There,” Xue Yang said, narrowing his eyes. “Sail toward that light.”
They approached cautiously, the glow growing stronger and then they saw her.
A mermaid.
Her tail, a fiery red, shimmered beneath the waves like molten glass. She was beautiful in the way sea storms were beautiful yet dangerous and untamed. But the moment her gaze landed on the ship—on him—her expression twisted into one of pure hatred.
Xue Yang stood tall at the bow, arrogant and unconcerned, as if her presence were no more threatening than a ripple on the sea.
“Xue Yang,” Xiao Xingchen whispered beside him, tense with unease. “Let’s turn back. I can feel her hatred and it’s deep and old.”
“What could a mere mermaid possibly do against us?” Xue Yang scoffed. “Against me?”
The woman rose from the black water, gliding toward a sharp rock where she perched like a queen on a throne of coral. Her hair tangled like seaweed, her eyes glowing with stormlight. Silver-scaled arms caught the glint of moonlight as she pointed an accusing finger toward the ship.
“You,” she hissed, voice like salt and sorrow. “You killed my sister.”
Xue Yang only smirked, unfazed. “Which one? I’ve lost track.”
The sea stilled for a heartbeat.
Then she screamed.
The sound cracked the air like lightning. The ocean surged, wind howled, sails flailed against the mast as waves rose—towering beasts that threatened to devour them whole. The ship groaned under the storm’s fury.
With a voice that cut through the storm like a blade, the mermaid chanted an ancient curse, her words laced with the raw power of the deep.
“For what you’ve done,” she snarled, “your blood will burn like fire within your veins and only the kiss of a mermaid will unbind you from this curse.”
Xue Yang staggered, clutching his chest as though an invisible hook had lodged deep beneath his ribs. His lips turned ashen. He collapsed against the helm, breath shallow and eyes wide with disbelief. He had miscalculated.
The crystal—the one artifact that could counter a mermaid’s magic—he had left it behind and the silver dagger, powerful as it was, lay useless at this distance. It was too far and most importantly, too late.
He cursed under his breath.
Then everything went black.
The crew rushed to him in alarm, some shouting his name, others drawing weapons and scrambling to capture the mermaid there was chaos erupted across the deck.
Xiao Xingchen pushed through the fray, reaching for Xue Yang but his own limbs felt heavy, his strength ebbing like the tide. He tried to summon the call of the deep, to draw power from the sea, but instead pain seared through his body like a whip. Something blocked him.
Then he remembered: the silver. Xue Yang had kept it close. His magic, already depleted, could no longer pierce its interference. His essence—once fluid and boundless—was now tangled and weak, like seaweed caught in drift.
He could not fight…. not like this.
The storm answered the mermaid’s fury. Wind shrieked through the sails and the ship slammed against jagged rocks hidden in the darkness. Wood cracked, men screamed, and the mast splintered with a thunderous snap.
Xiao Xingchen fell—no, he dived, arms slicing through air, body cutting into the waves.
Beneath the water, amidst the chaos, the mermaid watched from the shadows.
And there—Xiao Xingchen reached him. Xue Yang’s body drifted downward, blood curling through the sea like ink in water. His eyes were closed and his body was limp….. too still.
The mermaid surged forward, face twisted in rage. Her voice echoed like thunder underwater.
“You’ve betrayed your kin!” she screamed. “How dare you help the one who butchered your kind!”
Xiao Xingchen didn’t flinch. Though pain flickered in his gaze, it did not shake his resolve.
“I haven’t betrayed anyone,” he said, his voice quiet but firm, like a lullaby in the storm. “I’m choosing to end it. Revenge won’t bring them back. But maybe… mercy can keep their memory from drowning with me.”
“You are unbelievable!” she spat, voice trembling with fury. Then, like a shadow caught in a current, she vanished into the dark.
Xiao Xingchen pulled Xue Yang closer, cradling him as he swam. Every stroke burned, his muscles screamed. The weight of the curse wrapped around them like chains. The sea thrashed and fought, but the tide remembered its child and it led them forward.
Through darkness, through pressure, through pain until at last, a hidden cave yawned before them. Black-mouthed, waiting for them to enter.
They emerged into a hollow of stone shaped like a cathedral, its ceiling cracked open to let in slivers of moonlight. Xiao Xingchen dragged Xue Yang onto a rocky shelf, collapsing beside him, chest heaving. His wet clothes clung to his skin like a second soul.
“Come on,” Xiao Xingchen whispered, voice barely audible over the sound of dripping water. “Don’t die.”
Xue Yang didn’t move.
Now that the silver dagger was out of sight, Xiao Xingchen could feel his strength returning, his magic flowing slowly back into his limbs like a tide. He placed a hand over Xue Yang’s chest and tried to channel his healing, but nothing happened. The magic sputtered, flickered, then faded. His magic was rendered useless by the curse.
He leaned closer, breath trembling. It shouldn’t have to be like this…
Xue Yang was dying. He could feel it in the shallowness of his breathing, in the pallor clinging to his skin. If magic couldn’t save him, there was only one other way.
A mermaid’s kiss…
But that kiss was no simple thing. It would bind the human to the mermaid for life. If one died, the other would follow. It was a vow. A curse. A tether.
Xiao Xingchen had sworn never to use that part of himself again—not after everything. But time was slipping through his fingers. He could feel Xue Yang’s life fading with every heartbeat.
“Ugh…” A groan escaped the pirate’s lips. His body convulsed in pain. He was pale as death.
Xiao Xingchen couldn’t bear it any longer.
He bent down, hesitated for only a breath, and then pressed his lips to Xue Yang’s.
It was like lightning striking the sea.
The curse crackled between them—twisting, snarling—then shattered, dissolving into nothing. Xue Yang jolted upright, choking on air, chest heaving. His eyes snapped open, unfocused and wild.
“How dare you!” he snarled—the first thing out of his mouth. He was still dazed, vision blurry, but he could feel someone above him. Someone had kissed him and he didn’t care who it was.
Unless it was that person.
With a sudden growl, he grabbed the figure above him and choked them with one hand, fury blinding his senses.
“Xue… Yang…” The soft voice broke through his haze.
His grip loosened. He blinked and saw him.
Xiao Xingchen. Soaked, breathless, eyes wide with emotion.
He blinked again, as if to make sure it wasn’t a hallucination. Then, despite everything, a grin tugged at his lips.
“…That’s one hell of a way to wake up.”
Xiao Xingchen said nothing. He sat back, water dripping from his hair in slow, glistening rivulets. His long black locks clung to his pale skin, trailing over his shoulders and down his back like strands of midnight silk. His shimmering blue tail with streaks of silver like moonlight caught in deep water curled beneath him, scales gleaming faintly in the dim cave light. There was something haunting in the way he looked just then, ethereal and distant, like a spirit born of the sea and sorrow.
Xue Yang should’ve been focused on the pain still echoing in his ribs yet, the sight of that glistening tail, the weight of that silent gaze, stirred something dangerous in him. A longing that wasn’t just lust, It was obsession.
“You kissed me,” Xue Yang said, grin widening, voice hoarse but unmistakably pleased.
“You were dying.” Xiao Xingchen still wouldn’t look at him.
He couldn’t. Not yet.
He was afraid—afraid of what he might see in Xue Yang’s eyes because for the first time in a very long time, his heart was trembling, and he didn’t know what to do with the way it beat.
“That’s what they all say.”
The cave echoed with the quiet drip of water, the storm outside dulled to a distant murmur beyond layers of stone. In the hush, something shifted between them it was gentle as the tide, inevitable as the moon’s pull on the sea.
Xue Yang tilted Xiao Xingchen’s chin up, his fingers rough but careful. Their eyes met, and in that gaze swelled a storm of emotions, it was wordless and undeniable.
“Can I?” Xue Yang whispered, his breath warm against the space between them.
Xiao Xingchen gave the smallest nod, his cheeks tinged red, throat bobbing in a nervous swallow. He closed his eyes, lashes trembling like seafoam caught in a breeze. He didn’t know what would happen next. He had never let himself dwell on mortal desires not even after spending so long among them.
Xue Yang leaned in, and their lips met.
What started as a brush ignited into something more breathless, consuming. Xue Yang deepened the kiss, tongue sliding past parted lips, claiming what he’d hunted across tides. His hands moved with purpose, tugging open the remains of Xiao Xingchen’s torn shirt, fingers tracing along his bare chest with reverence and hunger.
Xiao Xingchen gasped softly, overwhelmed, clutching at the fabric of Xue Yang’s shirt as though it were the only thing keeping him from drowning in sensation.
When they finally broke apart, their breaths were ragged. Xiao Xingchen looked away, face flushed, lips swollen and hair clinging to his damp skin. Embarrassed, he bowed his head, saying nothing.
Xue Yang laughed—low and pleased—and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“Feeling shy, are we?”
“Xue Yang… I took advantage of you.”
Xue Yang raised an eyebrow, amused. With the way Xiao Xingchen looked—dazed and kiss-bitten—it was hard to believe he had been the one taking advantage.
“Really? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks the other way around.”
“You don’t understand,” Xiao Xingchen said quietly, guilt flickering in his eyes. “When a mermaid kisses a mortal… that bond becomes eternal. Even death can’t sever it.”
So that was why he looked so burdened.
But Xue Yang only grinned wider, unbothered.
“That’s supposed to scare me?” he said, voice soft and smug. “Even without a curse, you'd still be bound to me. For all eternity.”
He reached out and brushed damp hair away from Xiao Xingchen’s face, his touch unexpectedly tender.
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”