The carriage entered the Han estate with a circle of gloom. The kidnappers, who had in turn turned into being kidnapped, were dreadfully afraid. As for the young prince stuck in a barrel, he was silently listening to the dialogue.
"Someone bought us?" he slightly wiggled his tail. He still hadn't regained any of his energy to do anything. If he escaped, he would not be able to swim even a few meters. He had already known the method of devolution would be very dangerous and damaging to his body, but at that time, he did not have any other ideas as to what to do.
"It will take a few days for me to regain my strength… I have to hold on until then," he resolutely decided in his heart.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop, and his barrel, along with the other kidnappers, was removed from it.
Thankfully, the barrel he was in was carried very cautiously inside the house.
"Whoa, what a bountiful harvest. So much mer meat and a hybrid…" Han Guilin got off his seat and came close to the unconscious man in his guard's arms. "Is this the hybrid?"
He had only heard of mers and hybrids in passing stories, told to be the most beautiful and captivating creatures in the world. Their song so beautiful that it can bring down a ship.
Han gently touched the hybrid's blood-soaked cheeks. Because the creature was covered in blood, he was not able to make out his features. "Bring him to my private bath. Do they live in fresh water?"
"Yes, Lord, they can survive," his personal servant gestured for the guard to take the hybrid away.
"Wait, I'll take him with me," Han Guilin took the hybrid from his guard's arms. To his surprise, the young man was as light as a feather.
'Is it because they have to swim around? Maybe his bones are hollow.' He shuffled the boy in his arms and happily walked towards the bath.
But something else caught his eyes.
"Check that," he skeptically peered at the barrel. The guards quickly opened the barrel. Inside, there was water sloshing around.
"That guy would not just carry water around. See if they had stuffed some meat at the bottom or something," one of the guards put his hand in. "Ah!"
Surprised, the man backed away. "I… I touched something slimy."
Guilin gazed at him, eyes narrowed. "Meat is slimy."
"No, no, Young Lord. I felt scales… something is moving in there."
"Don't tell me…" Guilin walked up to the barrel. "Bring me a light." His servant brought a huge lantern to him. Through the reflection of the golden light, a pair of deadly blue eyes peered up at him.
"Oh my God. They caught a mer. A live one," his hand servant exclaimed in shock.
Guilin dazedly watched the young mer. "It looks young… why isn't it moving much?"
"The young one might be starved, my Lord."
"Quick, get the mer to the bath," he hurriedly carried the young hybrid with him to the bath.
It was a huge room filled with up to five feet of water. There was a small hot spring under it, making the water warm throughout the year. But now it was going to be a fish tank. He smiled softly at that. "Empty the barrel."
The barrel was tilted and poured directly into the water. A small mer flopped in and sank to the bottom like a rock. "He isn't swimming much. Call the medics."
"As for this one," Han Guilin gazed at the hybrid in his arms. "We need to have a look at his face first." He knelt down beside the bath and slowly poured a bit of water on his face.
"Those brutes. They had beaten him bloody." He wiped the young man's face with a cloth to reveal a slightly tanned face.
The creature's skin was smooth to touch, even smoother than that of a human's.
His fingers gently caressed his sunken cheeks. "He… he looks ethereal. I guess the rumors are true."
"Our medicines won't help them, my Lord… you can add the hybrid to the water. I have heard that water heals all their wounds."
"Is that so?" he carefully held the hybrid in his arms. "Why... I feel so reluctant to let go of him. He fits right in my arms. None of my playthings have been such a great fit," he snuggled against the unconscious man's face.
Suddenly, a piercing gaze fell on him.
Frowning, Guilin peered at the water. The little mer was peering at him with deadly still eyes, like that of a sharp dagger ready to cut him to pieces. "Interesting..."
"We can't keep him, my Lord," the manservant reminded softly.
Han Guilin instantly snapped out of his dazed state. "Yes, I know," he placed the young hybrid on the water and watched him float to the center of the bath. "Let the hybrid and the mer heal a few days, and then we'll send the message to the mer king."
"What about the traffickers, my Lord?"
"What about them? Throw them in the dungeons and cut off their tongues. I don't want those ones blabbering nonsense."
"Yes..." They both walked out of the bath. Aok silently watched the hybrid afloat atop the water. It looked like he was breathing fine through his gills.
Unlike what the humans spread, their wounds would not magically heal. It was true that their wounds would heal in water, but that was because they had magic herbs growing underwater.
They smeared the raw wounds with it. He wiggled his tail a bit. His whole body was numb and unmoving like a rock. He was not able to reach the hybrid.
Gritting his teeth, he simply resorted to watching him float above. 'When he's healed, I must take him out of here too... that man is too lecherous.'