Both the man and the mermaid were finally in good spirits. The pleasurable quietness between the two people inside the carriage prevailed until the end of the journey. As the vehicle came to a stop, they heard the coachman inform:
"Your highness, we have arrived."
The first person to stand up was Zhen Feng, who swiftly exited the carriage without any words. The mermaid followed his lead, deciding to jump off by herself when the coachman offered his hand to help her descend the vehicle.
Since the pair had only reached the town when it was already late in the afternoon, many stalls and stores were already closing and a few lanterns had already been lit up to illuminate the streets. Nevertheless, a lot of people from different social statuses and ages were still circulating the area.
Children could be seen playing recklessly in the middle of the road while men on horses would occasionally pass by, almost running over the youngsters. Wealthier women would mostly be around clothing and jewelry stores, while the poorer were focused on selling their goods or trading them for other necessities. Among the people, there were also street artists trying to exchange a few moments of entertainment for some coins.
Lin Mei quickened her steps to match Zhen Feng's. The man wouldn't even look back to make sure she was still behind him. Lin Mei even wondered if the prince would notice it if she were to try to escape at that moment, but she didn't considered the thought too seriously.
A little bit ahead of them Lin Mei spotted a crowd of people grouping in a circle and making an uproar. Curious, the mermaid wanted to approach them to check what the commotion was about. But not before informing the quiet man walking in front of her.
"I'm going ahead to see why those people are all flocking together. I'll be back in a few moments, I promise." She said with a mischievous smile as she ran towards the noise.
Too many people were standing in the periphery of the circle, blocking Lin Mei's view of what was happening in the middle. Still, she could discern the strong scent of fuel and combustion, which left her even more interested in knowing what was going on.
With a lot of effort, she was able to squeeze past the humans and get a good view of the person garnering all of this attention.
In the center of the crowd, a foreign-looking woman dressed in red skimpy clothing was dancing with twirling flaming batons that moved so elegantly and rapidly that one could only perceive the beautiful luminous tracks left by the moving objects. Behind the dancer, a man played a rhythmic song with the drums accompanying the woman's motions. The public was so impressed they couldn't help but cheer fervently.
Upon looking at the captivating image of the dancing fire, Lin Mei found herself so drawn to it that she took a few steps further, standing a few passes closer to the performer than everyone else. Lin Mei had never seen fire being manipulated in such an alluring way. The intensity of the colors reminded her of the coral reefs back in the sea but in opposition, this fire wasn't stagnant and cold. It was alive, it was moving, it was warm.
"Warm?" She thought as she finally awoke from her daydream.
When the mermaid came to her senses, her hand was so close to the fire that she even startled the dancer. The alarmed performer took a step backward and stumbled on a protruding rock from the ground, losing grip on the flaming batons she had in her hands, which went flying in the mermaid's direction.
Fortunately, a sturdy arm took hold of her waist and moved the mermaid out of harm's way just in time, or else the female would have been hit and burned by the blazing sticks.
Lin Mei had once again been pulled into the familiar embrace of an annoyed demon human.
"Can you stop causing trouble?" The prince asked with a hint of exasperation in his otherwise monotonic voice, a small change that only Lin Mei could notice.
Zhen Feng quickly released the mermaid in his arms and took a few steps back.
The mermaid tried her best to suppress her embarrassment and proceeded to apologize:
"My apologies young lady. I was so enthralled by your dance that I couldn't help but get closer." She said as she bowed her head slightly.
The dancer was still taken aback so it took a few moments for her to get up and collect herself. Sensing the noble air of the person behind the beautiful green-eyed woman, the dancer chose not to be hostile towards the troublemaker.
"I am delighted to know that you enjoyed my dancing. If you are interested in watching our performance again, we will be staying at the Thousand Roses Pavilion for some time." The dancer remarked amicably.
"I most certainly will!" Lin Mei replied with a polite smile.
When she was about to take out a pearl from her sleeve to offer the performers, the prince suddenly threw a small piece of silver in their direction as he demanded:
"Let's go."
Lin Mei followed her savior, walking away from the surprised crowd and the two performers. She was relieved that she wouldn't have to give out another one of her pearls, since she had become a little short on them. She still had a long journey ahead of her and she needed to save all she could.
The prince walked in long strides and Mei was starting to find it hard to keep up so she ran a few steps toward him and grabbed his sleeve. As she grasped onto the fabric, the prince halted in his tracks and looked back.
Behind him, Zhen Feng found a helpless-looking female staring at him in the eye. His heart almost melted at the sight.
"Zhen Feng, you are walking too fast..." She muttered.
The crown prince turned his back to the mermaid once again and started walking slower so that the mermaid could follow him more easily. However, only a few moments had passed when Zhen Feng felt the person gripping his sleeve abruptly stop.
When he looked over he saw Ni Ni staring fixedly at a stall selling sugar figurines. Realizing that the sweet-loving mermaid had probably never tried one of these traditional delicacies before, he came up to the stall's vendor and ordered:
"One of those." He pointed at the figurines and gave the seller a few coins in return.
"You may choose whichever one you like the most." The merchant offered.
Zhen Feng gazed at the female next to him, hinting that she should make the choice.
Thrilled, the mermaid picked a figurine with the design of a dragon, which reminded her of the prince. He was being extremely generous on this particular day.
Not only had he allowed her to go out into the village, but he had also saved her from being burned and bought her candy. Unconsciously, Lin Mei's lips curled into a smile.
She happily licked the sweet figurine offered by the lofty person close by.
Zhen Feng was satisfied when he saw the delighted expression on Ni Ni's face. He was expecting the sweet-toothed mermaid to bite into the sugar figure at once but unexpectedly the mermaid broke the sweet in two pieces with her hands, puzzling the prince.
Lin Mei looked at the two pieces of candy and chose the one containing the dragon's head to give Zhen Feng, lest he be offended. She positioned herself in front of him and locked her provocative eyes with his. The prince's confused expression amused Lin Mei.
Because the man was quite a bit taller than her, she had to stretch her arms upwards to reach his lips with her hands. As soon as she did, Mei pushed the sugar dragon head against his lips as she stated:
"Zhen Feng, you have to accept it. Among us mermen, it is extremely disrespectful to reject food from someone close to us." A small frown creased her forehead.
Although Zhen Feng thought her customs were a little odd, he decided to accept the piece of sugar to appease her. Especially because she had mentioned the words "someone close".
However, he was not anticipating the mermaid to laugh as soon as he took the candy into his mouth.
"Your Highness, I was only joking. We don't have such a rule in the sea." She said, mockingly.
Even though the female beside him had just tricked him, Zhen Feng didn't feel angry or irked. On the contrary, his heart felt light and warm. And it warmed up twofold when the mermaid added:
"We really don't have that tradition. But we do have the custom of only sharing our food with people we are close to."
The people from the sea weren't so different from his own, the human crown prince thought as the corners of his mouth slightly raised upwards.