The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 10

The car fell into a heavy silence after Zhao Shuqing spoke.

The driver didn’t say a word. He just stared at her through the rearview mirror with a pair of deep, dark eyes, both hands gripping the steering wheel firmly. The bumpy road made it hard for Zhao Shuqing to sit still. Her palms were already slick with sweat.

When they left the port, there had been several other cars escorting researchers back to the city—probably seven or eight in total. But now, when Zhao Shuqing glanced out the window, she realized theirs was the only vehicle still on this rural road.

She immediately understood—something was wrong.

“Who are you? Who sent you? Where are you taking us?” Zhao Shuqing braced herself against the water tank, trying to shield Lin Feng with her body. Lin Feng, still unaware of the danger, stared at her curiously, playing with a lock of her long hair.

The driver chuckled softly and curled his lips. “Dr. Zhao, no need to panic. We know you’re very close to this little mermaid. As long as you don’t resist, we won’t hurt you.”

Zhao Shuqing frowned. “You know me?”

“Of course we do. Professor Sun specifically mentioned you—you’re the caretaker of this mermaid.”

“Professor Sun? Sun Chengzhou?”

“That’s right. Didn’t he tell you? He already sold your return information to Country X. I’m just here to take you two to the airport. There are more people waiting for you there. After that, you don’t need to worry about a thing.”

Zhao Shuqing scowled. “You’re taking us out of the country?”

The driver nodded. “My job is to get you to the airport. The rest isn’t my concern.”

Zhao Shuqing laughed coldly. “Did you know that Sun Chengzhou—the one who tipped you off—is already dead?”

The driver raised his brows. “That’s a bit surprising, but what does that have to do with me?”

Zhao Shuqing realized these people were desperate criminals. Who knew when Sun Chengzhou had started leaking information to them? Their network had to be pretty powerful to pull off something like this—abducting her and Lin Feng right from the port.

She had to think fast—find a way to save herself.

The driver was a big man, clearly well-trained. His muscles bulged under his short sleeves, and veins stood out on his arms. Zhao Shuqing, a scientist who spent her life in the lab, knew she was no match for him physically.

But she couldn’t just sit there and wait to die.

Before getting off the ship, Xu Tang had warned her again and again to protect Lin Feng—he must’ve known someone would try to target the mermaid. What they hadn’t expected was how quickly it would happen.

Lin Feng sat up in the tank, curiously looking back and forth between Zhao Shuqing and the driver. The driver, noticing her in the rearview mirror, gave her an interested look.

A mermaid this beautiful—what a waste to use her for research.

If all mermaids were this stunning, they could easily be put to work in the service industry. Humans would pay a fortune for that kind of pleasure.

Lost in his fantasy about Lin Feng’s beauty and blue eyes, the driver didn’t notice a sharp turn up ahead. By the time he snapped back to reality, he nearly drove into a river and had to jerk the steering wheel violently to correct course.

Now was her chance.

Zhao Shuqing jumped up, pulling a black pen from her chest pocket. She lunged at the driver from behind, one hand grabbing his face while the other aimed the pen at his neck.

But the man was quick. He yanked the wheel again, and the force of the swerve threw Zhao Shuqing off balance. The pen stabbed into the headrest with a sharp “thunk.”

She launched herself at him again. This time, the driver steered with one hand and used the other to wrestle with her.

The car swerved wildly down the country road. Lin Feng, still in the water tank, was completely confused. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she saw Zhao Shuqing furiously stabbing the man’s arm with that short pen.

Bl00d spurted out, followed by a scream of pain.

Apparently pushed to his limit, the man roared and grabbed Zhao Shuqing by the neck, slamming her against the windshield.

The glass cracked, cutting into Zhao Shuqing. Her eyes burned red with rage as she glared at him and kicked him in the stomach.

Lin Feng watched, wide-eyed, as the two fought in the cramped space. She didn’t fully understand what was happening, but she could tell Zhao Shuqing was losing.

“Ah!”

A sharp pain tore through Zhao Shuqing’s stomach. She looked down and saw a deep, bloody gash across her abdomen. If she hadn’t dodged in time, her intestines would be spilling out.

The man now held a knife. His arm was still skewered by the pen, one of his eyes was bruised, and his gut ached from the kick—but he was still in better shape than Zhao Shuqing.

Furious, he shouted, “Don’t think I won’t kill you!”

As long as they had the mermaid, caretakers were replaceable. If they couldn’t take her alive, he’d just get rid of her.

Clutching her bleeding belly, Zhao Shuqing couldn’t straighten up. She could feel the man’s killing intent. She might actually die here.

Just as he raised his arm to stab her—

A flash of blue slammed into his face.

Crack!

The sound of his neck breaking was chilling.

The man let out a rattling groan before going limp.

Zhao Shuqing stared in shock. She turned around to see Lin Feng perched on the edge of the water tank, gracefully lowering her long tail.

When Lin Feng saw Zhao Shuqing looking at her, she gave her a slightly puzzled expression.

“Did I do something wrong?”

That’s what Zhao Shuqing read in her eyes.

One slap from that tail could snap a man’s neck? No wonder the first time Zhao Shuqing accidentally touched her, Lin Feng only slapped her face a little. She’d really held back.

No—she’d held her tail back.

Zhao Shuqing suddenly felt a chill down her own neck. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, the car jolted violently.

The next moment, she felt weightless.

She looked back and saw that the driverless car had broken through the guardrail—and below them was a river of green water.

Splash!

When Zhao Shuqing woke up, the sky was already dark.

She lay on the riverbank, completely soaked.

Above her was a dusky yellow sky. The sun had clearly set some time ago, and she had no idea what time it was now—or whether anyone had realized she and Lin Feng had been abducted.

Lin Feng.

Zhao Shuqing tried to sit up, but pain shot through her belly and she cried out softly. Her hand came away sticky. When she brought it to her eyes, it was covered in bl00d.

That’s right. She’d been stabbed. The driver was killed by Lin Feng’s tail, and the car crashed into the river. She must have passed out. But how did she end up on the riverbank?

Even though she was in agony, she forced herself to stand and looked around for Lin Feng.

The shoreline was covered in twisted tree branches and dense forest. There wasn’t even a footpath—it was a remote area even fishermen would avoid. Between the woods and the river, the pain and cold made Zhao Shuqing feel completely hopeless.

Had Lin Feng… run away?

For a moment, Zhao Shuqing even started thinking about where she should be buried.

Losing a national-level research subject like Lin Feng meant her career in academia was over. With a mistake this serious, she’d probably lose her job as a researcher altogether.

Splash—

Just as panic overtook her, she heard a noise from the water behind her.

Lin Feng surfaced with a fish in her mouth. Her eyes lit up when she saw Zhao Shuqing awake, and she swam over quickly, tail flicking gracefully.

When she reached the shore, she lifted herself up. Her smooth, blue tail slithered like a snake onto land, and she dropped the fish onto the ground.

“You…”

Zhao Shuqing looked at Lin Feng, who was standing just a bit shorter than her. In that moment, she almost mistook her for a real human.

Lin Feng looked at her, then at her bleeding belly. When she saw the bl00d seeping through Zhao Shuqing’s fingers, her eyes widened in alarm and she rushed over.

Zhao Shuqing instinctively took a step back, but Lin Feng pushed her down onto the grass and lifted her shirt.

“Wait, hey—”

Before Zhao Shuqing could protest, Lin Feng lowered her head to the wound and stuck out her soft pink tongue.

Her tongue was cool, and the way she gently licked the injury sent tingles through Zhao Shuqing’s body. Lin Feng’s long hair brushed against her waist, making Zhao Shuqing feel like she was floating in heaven.

Her heart pounded. In the fading light, she looked at Lin Feng lying across her lap. Even though she knew Lin Feng was just treating the wound, she couldn’t stop her heart from racing and her face from heating up.

Lin Feng’s lips were stained red with bl00d, making her pale skin look even more luminous. The wound quickly began to close, but she kept licking carefully for a while before finally raising her head.

Their eyes met, and Zhao Shuqing felt like she was falling into a swirling blue vortex.

How could a mermaid be this beautiful?

“Lin Feng…” Zhao Shuqing looked at her now-healed wound and closed her eyes, saying helplessly, “In the future, don’t treat people like that.”

Lin Feng tilted her head and leaned in closer.

Her cold hand touched Zhao Shuqing’s flushed face, and her eyes widened a bit at the warmth she felt.

Zhao Shuqing grabbed her hand, blushing even harder. “I’m fine. L-let’s eat something first.”