The youth was taken aback.
"And, the Captain was too stupid," Su Ming'an judged, "If he had learned to communicate effectively with the mermaid princess, nothing like this would have happened."
The youthful anticipation in his eyes had now turned dim.
"...Is that all?" he asked.
"What else could I think?" Su Ming'an wondered.
"What about those sailors, the king, the deceived common people? Don't you have any other thoughts?" the youth pressed on.
Even though he had stated that he was there "on someone else's behalf" to tell a story, he now seemed slightly agitated, as if desperate for an answer.
