Chapter 124: The Fire at the Siren Pavilion
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
In the southern part of the city, where the Siren Pavilion stood, the air was thick with tension.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of a heavy heartbeat echoed through the enclosed space on the fifth floor, causing ripples to spread across the pool of water in the center of the room. A blue heart, glowing with an eerie light, occasionally leapt out of the water before sinking back down, as if it were agitated.
The siren, who guarded the pool, had no idea what was happening. For the past ten days, he had been plagued by a growing sense of unease that he couldn’t shake off.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, a possibility he had not considered before.
Years ago, his grandfather, along with the last surviving members of their race, had fled into the depths of the ocean, hiding in an underwater palace to escape the relentless pursuit of countless cultivators. His grandfather had been their last hope, the one who had ensured their survival.
Could it be that something had happened to his grandfather?
Fear gripped the siren’s heart tighter than ever. If something had happened to his grandfather, the last remaining bloodline of the sirens would be lost forever. The future of his kind would be extinguished.
Anxiety and helplessness gnawed at him as the water in the pool churned violently, splashing up in larger waves.
Suddenly, there was a sharp sound—crack—as the stone door to the room began to move.
The siren’s frustration flared. “Another fool coming to die?” he thought irritably.
But then, a voice rang out, a voice he recognized. “Is it…you?”
The siren’s humming faltered as he surfaced from the water, his gaze fixed on the figure before him in shock.
“You’re still alive? Didn’t Teng Xiao find you?”
He couldn’t believe that Yu Zhao had managed to survive. The only explanation he could think of was that she had been incredibly lucky to evade Teng Xiao’s grasp.
As the thought crossed his mind, his voice grew urgent. “Teng Xiao must be searching for you everywhere. You should leave South Sea City immediately and never come back.”
“Teng Xiao is dead,” Yu Zhao said, her voice steady as she approached the edge of the pool.
“Impossible!”
The siren’s denial was swift and absolute. Teng Xiao was notorious for being a coward, easily frightened by the slightest disturbance. But he was also an old monster with the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator. How could he possibly be dead?
“I saw it with my own eyes,” Yu Zhao replied calmly. “His Nascent Soul was dragged into the deep sea by a sea beast.”
The siren studied Yu Zhao’s expression, and the seriousness in her eyes made it clear that she wasn’t joking. As absurd as it seemed, a small part of him began to feel a surge of joy. If Teng Xiao was truly dead, the Siren Pavilion would no longer be able to hold him captive.
Could it be…that he was finally free?
But before he could fully grasp the idea, Yu Zhao’s next words brought him back to reality. “I’ve come to take you back to the underwater palace.”
The siren heart was taken aback. “How do you know about the underwater palace? What have you done to my grandfather?” Anger flooded his veins, turning the blood in his pumping heart a deep, unnatural blue.
“So, that elder siren was your grandfather,” Yu Zhao said, her eyes filled with guilt.
She took a deep breath and began to recount everything that had happened in recent days, leaving nothing out.
When she finished, the siren heart floated there in stunned silence, unable to process it all.
He wanted to hate Yu Zhao. After all, his grandfather had died to save her. But the decision to self-destruct had been his grandfather’s alone. Yu Zhao hadn’t forced him into it; he had done it for the future of the siren race.
“I don’t know what I can do for the siren tribe,” Yu Zhao said solemnly. “But I, Yu Zhao, owe the siren tribe a life, and I will repay it with all my strength.”
The siren remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. “Let’s leave this place.”
He had no desire to stay in the prison that had held him captive for hundreds of years any longer.
“Alright,” Yu Zhao replied.
She took out a large, glass-like container and filled it with water from the pool. Without hesitation, the siren heart leaped into the container. Yu Zhao then cast an illusion spell over the container to conceal it, and together, they began their journey out of the Siren Pavilion.
As they reached the exit on the fifth floor, the siren suddenly spoke up. “Wait.”
Yu Zhao turned to look at him.
The siren let out a cold laugh. “The Siren Pavilion was built on the bones of my people. It should have been destroyed long ago. Let me borrow your hand.”
Yu Zhao extended her hand, feeling a searing heat as it passed into her palm. Instinctively, she opened her hand, and a ribbon of ice-blue flames emerged from her palm. The flames quickly spread, splitting into smaller strands that scattered throughout the Siren Pavilion.
Soon, the shouts of panicked voices echoed from the floors below.
Amidst the chaos, Yu Zhao and the siren slipped out of the Siren Pavilion unnoticed.
Outside, a crowd of curious onlookers and cultivators who had just escaped the pavilion gathered, discussing the sudden fire.
Yu Zhao’s presence among them went unnoticed as she and the siren heart stood in the crowd, watching as the ice-blue flames gradually consumed the Siren Pavilion.
“Let’s go,” the siren said coolly.
Yu Zhao nodded and made her way toward the outskirts of South Sea City, where she had agreed to meet Ji Han Zhou.
“Senior! Senior!”
Just as Yu Zhao was about to leave the city, a voice called out behind her, full of excitement.
Yu Zhao turned around, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Senior, it really is you! I thought I was seeing things!” A young girl, with large, dark eyes, looked up at Yu Zhao, her hands nervously fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.
It was Little Red, but she had changed so much in the past two months. Her once-round face had become gaunt, and her clothes hung loosely on her small frame, all the spirit and liveliness she once had completely gone.
“Little Red?” Yu Zhao was surprised. She remembered leaving Little Red with six high-grade spirit stones when she left, enough to drastically improve her living conditions. How had things gotten worse for her?
“Senior, it’s really me, Little Red! I’ve missed you so much… How have you been?” Little Red stammered, clearly nervous.
“Little Red, do you have something you want to tell me?” Yu Zhao asked, noticing the worry written all over the girl’s face.
“I… I…” Little Red’s face flushed red as she hesitated, struggling to speak.
“She probably wants to borrow spirit stones from you,” the siren, who had remained hidden, stated bluntly.
Yu Zhao didn’t respond, but she had also suspected that Little Red might need her help. But would Little Red really ask someone she had only met once for something as valuable as spirit stones?
“Senior… The spirit stones you gave me… I lost them,” Little Red finally confessed. “I have three younger brothers to take care of, so I’ve been working three jobs every day. Could you lend me some more spirit stones? I’ll pay you back when I’m older and can earn more.”
Little Red’s eyes were filled with desperation. After the spirit stones had been lost, she and her brothers had moved back to their old home, but the main house had been damaged by intruders. Now, the four of them were cramped into a tiny side room. Little Red could bear the hardship herself, but seeing her little brothers suffer broke her heart.
She had been working tirelessly, but the spirit stones she earned were never enough. Seeing Yu Zhao today had felt like a sign from the heavens, a chance to make up for the loss. Yu Zhao was wealthy and kind-hearted—she was sure she would help.
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
“No.”
“Thank you, Senior, thank you so much…” Little Red began to express her gratitude, but then her voice caught in her throat. She stared at Yu Zhao in shock, unable to believe that she had been refused so directly.
Without offering any explanation, Yu Zhao turned and continued walking toward the city gates.
Little Red stood frozen for a moment, then anger surged through her. She clenched her fists and rushed forward, blocking Yu Zhao’s path with outstretched arms, shouting, “Why won’t you lend me the spirit stones? You have so many!”