Guilin ran out in a hurry, following the servant. "Go quickly, inform the other servants to guide them to the guest room." His heart was pounding in his chest. "How did they know… I made sure no rumors spread around. How…" He pranced around in a panic.
Calming himself, he walked over to the guest room. His house was designed in a way that the guest room could be viewed through a screen from the other connecting room. Silently, he crept in there, peering at the new intruders.
It was four mermen, all with long braided hair and dressed in expensive-looking blue silk.
"Fuck…" Guilin cursed under his breath. From their clothing alone, he was able to guess who these people were. They were the royal guards. Blue silk is officially given only to them and only to be worn by the mer guards.
"You…" He pulled the servant beside him close. "Go prepare a bag with clothes, some food for travel, and some money. Quick."
Saying so, he quickly adjusted his napels and entered the guest room casually. "I wasn't expecting guests so early in the morning. Sorry if I appear unkempt." His long hair had been left free-flowing behind him, and he was only wearing pants and an upper coat draped on his body.
The mer with striking blue eyes gazed at him with contempt. "We heard that you have mers in your possession. According to the mer-human treaty, no human is allowed to possess a mer. We would like to apprehend them."
Guilin picked up the cup of tea and took a sip to hide his anxiety. 'How in god's name did they know?' With a casual smile, he gazed their way. "I don't know where you guys heard this, but I do not have any mers with me. Who even told you such obscene lies, tsk…" He pretended to smirk casually.
The mer guard gazed at his subordinates. The other mers whispered something. "We have a reliable source from your side. Please do not make this difficult."
"Tsk, if I had a mer, I would have already sold it to you guys. Do you even know how much they are worth for my business? I want my trade route to open up again. Why would I hide a mer and not give it to you? It's simply absurd. This 'reliable source' you have is not that reliable, I guess." He casually stood up, gazing at the translucent screen.
The other room can't be seen from here, but the person on the other side can definitely see inside. He quickly hand-signed his servant to hide the mers.
"You, sirs, I can attest to this. We do house two mers in our mansion," a voice suddenly interrupted.
Eyes wide open, Guilin gazed at his trusted personal servant kneeling on the ground. "They have been here only for a few days, sirs. Please do apprehend them as soon as possible."
His heart was pounding loudly in his chest.
Guilin smiled softly. "You wish to listen to this lowly servant? He is a pathological liar. Lying about everything."
The mers all stood up, ready to storm in.
Guilin reached into his coat and quickly sprinkled a powder in their faces.
Soon, the whole room was covered in a hazy white powder.
Covering his nose, he dashed out of the guest room, locking it from the outside. "Quick! Are the supplies ready?"
"Yes, young master," the servant ran to him with a cloth bag.
Guilin plucked it out of his hand and dashed into the bath. "Kui! Kui, we have to go! They are here to take you guys!"
The mers did not budge from the bottom of the pool.
"I'm not playing around! They really are here. Gods…" He jumped in and swam to the bottom, holding his breath. To his surprise, he did not see the mers, rather a dark shadow… it was a piece of cloth wrapped around the rocky walls to mimic their silhouettes.
Guilin quickly swam up, panting loudly. This bath was closed off from outside; there was no way to escape out of here without his help. "Kui! Please… I'm trying to help…" He quickly ran to the bed and looked under.
Two figures huddled close together.
"We have to go."
Kui glared up at him. "Go where? To give us to them?!"
"No. To run off." He grabbed a hold of Kui's arm and yanked him out.
"Let go!"
"Shhh." Guilin cupped his face. "Please trust me. We have to go." He yanked him toward the door.
But the marching footsteps made him freeze. "This way," he dragged him to the corner of the room behind the bed.
"This is not a good hiding spot," Kui growled under his breath.
"It's not," Guilin pulled down a lever. "This is an escape route." He pushed them both in and followed, closing the door silently behind him.