You! Arrogant humans, don't think that just because saved a few of our brethren that you can treat us so disrespectfully!" The merman gave Qi Aoshuang a long look. He was already grasping his trident tightly, a stomach full of anger. Although the mermen behind him could not understand what their captain was saying, they could tell by his expression that something was wrong.
"Humph!" Qi Aoshuang humphed, her eyes darkening.
A powerful force greeted the captain, pushing him back a few stops. His blood churned madly. With a grunt, he finally steadied himself. His subordinates worriedly supported him, then all aimed their tridents at Qi Aoshuang's party.
The captain raised an arm, blocking them. He eyed Qi Aoshuang coldly, gritting his teeth. "I don't know what God Feather you speak of."
"Just because you don't doesn't mean your king doesn't," Qi Aoshuang said impatiently. "If you're going to pay our kindness with mistreatment, I'm not going to bother holding back!"
The mermaid captain's expression paled, then greened. He gritted his teeth, eyeing Qi Aoshuang for some time before responding coldly, "Wait here. I will report to the king."
The squadron hurriedly swam back to the city.
This time, the captain responded quickly, his expression serious as he hurried to them. He looked at Qi Aoshuang. "Benefactor, please follow me into the city. But the king said only you can enter."
Feng Yixuan and Leng Lingyun wanted to say something, but Qi Aoshuang turned to them and said, "Wait for me here." She did not leave any room for argument. Everyone could only wait.
Qi Aoshuang rode the aquafission beast, following the captain into the vibrant city. Qiao Chuxin worriedly watched Qi Aoshuang's leaving figure. "Aoshuang should be fine, right? That mermaid king shouldn't do anything strange, right?"
"Most likely." Dong Fenghou was also watching Qi Aoshuang's back. "If there is some kind of problem, the aquafission beast will immediately inform me."
"If the king dares to do anything strange, I will destroy the place." Feng Yixuan clenched a fist.
Xi Shaoqi and Xi Shaosi rolled their eyes. If something actually went wrong, would young master Feng even have to bother? The Miss alone was enough to raze the place to the ground. The mermen race should be more worried than the miss.
As she followed the captain into the city, the erect soldiers on each side of the city gates watched Qi Aoshuang warily, the apprehension evident in their eyes.
After passing through the gates, they were inside the immense underwater city. The city was not much different from a human city, with wide avenues and roads everywhere. All the passersby mermaids would stop to see human. Everyone knew what had happened and understood that the human behind the captain must have saved their brethren. However, their gazes continued to be unfavorable. Afterall, humanity had already left a deeply rooted, nasty impression.
Qi Aoshuang didn't have the time to appreciate the environment or architecture, following the captain on the thick avenue, passing through a large plaza to arrive before the tallest, most gorgeous building.
"Please follow me." Though unwilling, the captain still treated Qi Aoshuang respectfully, leading her up a long path of stairs.
At the top, past a large gateway, they arrived before a large shrine. In the middle of the shrine stood armed merman. Two mermaids sat atop a luxurious throne. One was tall, robust, with a long, black tail trailing on the ground, his expression lofty, wearing a dazzling, golden crown. Clearly, this was the king. Beside him was a gentle beauty who was wrapped in soft seagrass. She had a long silver tail, wearing a small and exquisite golden crown. This was the queen.
"Your majesty, the human has arrived." The captain bowed respectfully, then withdrew to the side.
All eyes landed on Qi Aoshuang.
"Are you the human who saved my people?" The mermaid king watched Qi Aoshuang from above, aloof. He was also fluent in the human language.
"You must know what I want." Qi Aoshuang did not feel like beating around the bush with the arrogant mermaids.
The mermaid king frowned with displeasure. This rude human did not even bow when they met him. Now, the human even ignored his question and was asking for upfront payment.
Everyone stirred at Qi Aoshuang's words. A few mermaids who understood the human language translated for the others. Everyone watched Qi Aoshuang disapproving gazes. The moment the king said the word, they would immediately expel Qi Aoshuang from the city.
"I cannot give you what you want. It is a special treasure. You should choose something else." The mermaid king clapped. A few mermaids carried out multiple trunks with exhaustion. At the mermaid king's signal, the mermaids opened the trunks. Dazzling light shot out, glimmering in all colors of the rainbow. It was clear they were priceless treasures."
"Human, you can take all of these. This is the thank you gift for saving our people." The queen smiled as she indicated for the mermaids to carry the trunks over to Qi Aoshuang. The trunks were not filled with simply silver or gold, but was each worth half a country. The king and queen exchanged a glance, certain. They doubted the human would not be moved by these treasures.
But who knew that the next moment, Qi Aoshuang would smash the trunks to pieces with a wave of her hand. The treasures inside spilled out. Qi Aoshuang did not even bat an eye at the priceless treasures, frowning even more deeply instead. "Did you not hear what I said?" Their insufferable domineering attitude had driven Qi Aoshuang's patience over the edge. Her plan had been to take it by force if necessary, which had not changed. Now that their attitude was so insufferable, Qi Aoshuang had even less qualms.
"You dare!" The king's expression finally changed. He immediately slapped the chair arm of the throne, angrily staring at Qi Aoshuang.
All the mermaids in the shrine aimed their tridents at Qi Aoshuang. The moment their king gave the order, they would turn this arrogant human into a porcupine!
Seeing their positions, Qi Aoshuang laughed coldly. "Is this the true nature of the mermaids? To treat their benefactors as enemies?"
"You saved our mermaids, but you were just another human who wanted something from us!" The queen's beautiful face was also angry.
"Regardless, I still saved your brethren and safely returned them. Otherwise they would still be having their tails cut off to be replaced with legs, their eyes plucked out for pearls, and their corpses turned into wax. I am your benefactor, this is unquestionable," Qi Aoshuang declared coldly.
"You!" The queen shook angrily. She had never met such a shameless human! Actually saying such shameless things so righteously! But thinking of how cruelly they had been treated, she trembled.
The armed mermaids all glared at Qi Aoshuang, gnashing their teeths, as if Qi Aoshuang was the one who had mistreated the mermaids.
"You merfolk sure are ridiculous. Look at your expressions, as if I mistreated your brethren, when I was in fact the one who saved them." Qi Aoshuang laughed coldly, seeing their fiery gazes. Her voice was full of derision. The mermaid king's eyes filled with loathing.
It was the first time a human dared to look down on him this way. His mood was evident. It was the day the proud mermaid race was being looked down upon by a human.
The mermaid king was still a king though. Gradually, he cooled down. He motioned for the armed mermaids to lower their weapons. No matter what the intentions of this human was, the human had still saved their fellow mermaids.
"Cough, cough…" the mermaid king coughed to cover up the awkward atmosphere. "Benefactor, we are very grateful you have saved our brethren. Please our impulsive rudeness. However, we cannot give you what you have asked for. Please request something else."
"I already said, I came for only one thing. I don't need anything else." Qi Aoshuang eyed the mermaid king coldly. There was no indication of backing down.
"You! Don't be unreasonable! Where do you think you are? This is our mermaid kingdom. You very feet rests on our territory!" The queen stood up angrily. That a mere human would dare to continue disobey their authority. "Grab him! Send him away with some jewels and treasure!"
The mermaid king watched on with narrowed eyes, tacitly agreeing with the queen's order. The human youth had been too ruthless, continuously crushing their pride, hispride.
The mermaid soldiers in the shrine had long disliked the human before them. The youth was simply asking for a beating. Giving him riches was already a great gift, but the human continuously provoked them.
The mermaid soldiers gripped their tridents tightly, starting to march forward.
"Humph!" Qi Aoshuang had a completely ice cold expression. With a thought, she raised a terrifying force. The mermaids only heard a boom, as if their heads were about to explode. Then, they started to fly back without their control, landing heavily on to the shrine walls. The entire shrine shook. The next moment, none of the mermaid soldiers could stand up, all lying on the ground. Only Qi Aoshuang stood in the center of the shrine, coldly regarding the king and queen. They shivered at his cold countenance.
The mermaid king stood up abruptly, shocked at the youth. His lips moved, but not a single word came out. The mermaid queen was even more shocked, her beautiful eyes filled with terror. She did not think that the delicate looking youth would actually have such power.
"I'll only repeat myself once. I want the God Feather." Qi Aoshuang's eyes were now piercingly chilling. An indescribable incorporeal power shone out.