The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 12

After quite a bit of fussing, Zhao Shuqing finally hoisted Lin Feng onto her back and started heading into the forest.

Lin Feng wasn’t heavy, but her tail was long. When she lay on Zhao Shuqing’s back, her tail—over a meter long—dragged along the ground like a broom, sweeping the forest floor as they went.

Seeing that this wasn’t going to work, Zhao Shuqing said, “How about you wrap your tail around my waist?”

Lin Feng looked at her in confusion. Zhao Shuqing patted her tail fin and pointed at her own waist, repeating, “Your tail, wrap it around my waist.”

The beautiful mermaid looked at her tail, then at Zhao Shuqing, her face full of hesitation. After a long moment, she shook off some leaves stuck to her tail and gently pressed it against Zhao Shuqing’s stomach.

Zhao Shuqing didn’t understand why Lin Feng was being so slow. She used one hand to support Lin Feng’s bottom, and with the other, wrapped the long, beautiful tail securely, even tying it with her jacket so it wouldn’t fall.

Lin Feng buried her face in the back of Zhao Shuqing’s neck, her ears turning bright red.

Zhao Shuqing had no idea that this entwined position with their tails was actually considered a mating behavior among mermaids. Clueless, she secured the tail, picked up the sturdy walking stick she’d found, and headed deeper into the forest.

The journey was tough.

The deep mountain forest was like a massive natural maze. Even though it was daytime, the thick canopy overhead blocked out most of the sunlight. Some areas were so dark, she could barely see. There were spiders, snakes, and bugs everywhere.

Thankfully, these creatures weren’t too active during the day, and Zhao Shuqing carefully avoided them. So far, nothing major had happened.

By noon, she was exhausted. She found a small clearing, gently set Lin Feng down, and took out some leftover grilled fish from the morning to make do with.

“This isn’t going to work,” Zhao Shuqing said with a frown. “If we don’t get out of here within three days, we could die.”

Lin Feng held the cold grilled fish in her hands, clearly a bit unhappy, silently asking with her eyes why the fish wasn’t warm.

Zhao Shuqing explained, “This place is too damp. We can’t make a fire. We’ll just have to eat it like this.”

Lin Feng seemed to understand. She looked at the cold fish in her hands, clearly disappointed, but didn’t complain. She obediently sat to the side and started eating.

Zhao Shuqing only managed a small bite before losing her appetite.

She looked around. As someone who’d lived her whole life in the city, her only experience with nature came from traveling or strolling through the greenery in her neighborhood. This was her first time in a real forest, and she had no experience at all. She hadn’t even thought to bring extra food—only half a grilled fish from breakfast was left.

But even if she had brought more, it might not have helped. The weather was too hot—over 30 degrees Celsius—any cooked food would have spoiled by noon.

Zhao Shuqing let out a long sigh. She decided to climb a tree to see if she could spot the edge of the forest.

Lin Feng had just finished her fish. When she looked up, she saw Zhao Shuqing eyeing a tall, straight dawn redwood tree and rolling up her sleeves, ready to climb. But Zhao Shuqing had no experience—she was scraping the bark off the tree and hadn’t even managed to get five centimeters off the ground.

Lin Feng ‘swam’ over to her, standing up and curiously watching her attempt to climb, full of question marks.

“You came just in time. I want to climb up to see which direction we should go,” Zhao Shuqing said. “This tree’s too slippery. Can you give me a boost?”

Lin Feng seemed to understand and softly repeated, “Direction?”

Zhao Shuqing nodded. “Right, we need to get out of here.”

Lin Feng blinked, looked up at the tall tree, then reached out and lightly grabbed the trunk. Her sharp nails easily sank into the wood, and before Zhao Shuqing’s stunned eyes, she spiraled up the tree like a snake.

Zhao Shuqing’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

What kind of magical creature is a mermaid?

They live up to 500 years, rule the oceans with almost no natural predators, have enzymes in their bodies that can rapidly heal wounds—and now they can climb trees too?

They’re practically the ultimate amphibious species.

Lin Feng quickly reached the treetop. The redwood tree Zhao Shuqing had chosen was tall, giving her a clear view of the surrounding area.

As luck would have it, the riverbank where they’d rested was part of a smaller branch of a larger river. Dense forest lined both sides. To the south, the forest stretched endlessly into the distance with mountains blocking the view. But to the north, Lin Feng could just make out a long road.

“A road?”

Zhao Shuqing crouched down, looking at the simple map Lin Feng had drawn and scratched her chin in confusion. “Why would there be a road around here? Is this a road or a railway? Maybe a highway?”

Lin Feng tilted her head, not understanding.

Zhao Shuqing chuckled and reached out to pat her head. “It’s okay. You did great. If it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve drowned on the first day.”

Lin Feng frowned slightly. “Drowned?”

“Well… that’s kind of a tricky word to explain. I’ll teach you later.” Zhao Shuqing waved her hand and began packing up their things. “I think that road isn’t too far. Let’s head that way. Maybe we’ll run into someone.”

If they were lucky enough to find a local, they might finally be rescued.

When Zhao Shuqing moved to carry Lin Feng again, Lin Feng quickly stepped back and shook her head—she didn’t want to be carried anymore.

“Can you really walk?” Zhao Shuqing frowned, looking at Lin Feng’s tail. “There are lots of branches and sticks in the forest. You might get hurt.”

She didn’t care if she got hurt—after all, that counted as a workplace injury. Even if she died, her family would get millions in compensation. But Lin Feng was different—she was a national treasure, the world’s only mermaid.

She couldn’t afford even a scratch.

Still, Lin Feng shook her head. Her ears were red, and she just refused to be carried again. In the end, Zhao Shuqing had no choice but to coax her into holding hands so she wouldn’t get lost.

Lin Feng finally nodded.

Walking together was much faster than carrying someone. But as the saying goes, “Mountains look closer than they are”—what looked like a short distance actually took them an entire day of walking. Even after the sun had set, they didn’t stop. They kept going for another three or four hours before finally making it out of the forest.

Zhao Shuqing was completely worn out. She’d only eaten a bite of fish at noon, and the forest paths were rough. Now her legs were trembling, and she was exhausted.

But as she held up a torch and looked at the narrow cement road ahead, she knew—they were finally saved.

Zhao Shuqing chuckled softly, turned to the side, and looked at Lin Feng lying next to her. In a quiet voice, she said, “You’ve really had it tough, following me like this. A national treasure like you shouldn’t be living like this—trekking through the wilderness with me as soon as we hit land.”

Lin Feng didn’t understand, but she seemed to know Zhao Shuqing was chatting with her. She murmured softly, “Zhao Shuqing… aquarium…”

Zhao Shuqing paused for a moment, then gently patted her on the head and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll find the aquarium.”

The next morning, Zhao Shuqing woke up at dawn.

After two days of roughing it outdoors, she was really struggling. She was used to the office and the lab—sleeping on the ground for two nights had her aching all over. She felt like she’d been crushed by a giant monster, sore from head to toe.

She twisted her stiff neck and looked around, only to find that Lin Feng was gone.

Zhao Shuqing: “…”

She wasn’t even surprised anymore.

Sitting there in a bit of a daze, Zhao Shuqing rubbed her stomach.

They hadn’t eaten the night before, and after walking all day, she was now dizzy with hunger. Her arms and legs felt like noodles—completely drained of energy.

Her bl00d sugar was definitely dropping. If she didn’t eat soon, she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d last.

Just as she was about to get up to look for Lin Feng, she saw movement in the forest across the road. A large flock of birds suddenly scattered in panic, flapping their wings and flying off in all directions. Shrill cries filled the air—like something had just had its throat grabbed.

Zhao Shuqing’s heart tightened. Worried that Lin Feng might be in trouble, she quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed into the forest. After just a couple of minutes, she started feeling dizzy again and had to steady herself against a tree while calling out, “Lin Feng!”

Soon, a figure emerged from the dense woods.

Covered in bl00d, Lin Feng walked out of the forest. The morning mist behind her made the bl00d on her face stand out even more, making her look terrifying.

“…Lin Feng?” Zhao Shuqing stared in shock, her eyes landing on what Lin Feng was holding—was that… a pig?

It had black bristly hair, a large head, a small backside, and distinct markings. It was clearly a wild boar.

Lin Feng wiped the bl00d from her face with the back of her hand, then coolly tossed the wild boar to the ground. With a loud thud, it landed right in front of Zhao Shuqing, making her flinch.

Nervously swallowing, Zhao Shuqing crouched down to examine the boar. It was definitely dead—completely dead. A sharp claw mark ran across its neck, exposing pink muscle and white bone underneath.

No wonder she’s called the queen of the ocean.

Land or sea—nothing escapes her.

Even a wild boar didn’t stand a chance.

Zhao Shuqing gave up trying to be surprised anymore. She stood up and nudged the fat boar with her foot before turning to Lin Feng and saying, “Let’s have roast boar for breakfast.”

Wild boars are notoriously hard to clean. Zhao Shuqing had no idea where to start, and after fumbling around for a while, Lin Feng ended up doing it herself. Following Zhao Shuqing’s instructions, she cut off the two hind legs, cleaned them by the river, skinned them, and set them over the fire to roast.

“Smells pretty good,” Zhao Shuqing said, holding a golden piece of roast meat up to her nose. It smelled delicious—no trace of that gamey odor.

Lin Feng sat on the other side, mimicking Zhao Shuqing as she roasted the other boar leg. Now cleaned up, her face was back to its beautiful self, and her bright eyes were locked onto the meat in front of her. She looked absolutely starving.

“Lin Feng, you know, back in the day, pigs had to be castrated. Otherwise, the meat would have a strong, unpleasant smell and be almost inedible,” Zhao Shuqing said casually while turning her piece of meat. “Then, a few hundred years ago, a virus spread across Earth. It was harmless and silent, but it had one big effect—it drastically reduced the fertility of living creatures, especially males. Most of them basically lost the ability to reproduce.”

Lin Feng looked up at Zhao Shuqing.

“So, over the past few centuries, the human population started to decline. Human males who couldn’t reproduce became kind of… obsolete. Same thing with animals. Male pigs like this one—if they can’t reproduce—they’re just naturally weeded out. Even if they grow this big, in the end, their only purpose is to be eaten.”

Zhao Shuqing didn’t really know why she was telling Lin Feng all this. Maybe she was just curious. If humans and animals had all ended up this way, then what about merfolk? Did the males in their world also lose the ability to reproduce?

Lin Feng didn’t seem to understand what Zhao Shuqing was saying. She lowered her head again, staring at the roast meat in front of her with a dim look in her eyes.

Zhao Shuqing sighed. “Forget it. You don’t understand me anyway. I guess I’m just talking to myself.”

She handed over her roasted boar leg to Lin Feng and took the one Lin Feng had been cooking to continue roasting it. The two of them spent over an hour eating their breakfast. Whatever meat was left, they sliced up, packed, and carried with them.

“Okay, pick a direction,” Zhao Shuqing said, standing in the middle of the road. “Left or right—it’s your call.”

Lin Feng blinked, looked in both directions, and finally pointed straight ahead.

“Alright, forward it is,” Zhao Shuqing said with a smile. She crouched down and said, “Hop on. This road is rough, and we don’t want you hurting your tail again.”

She’d eaten well that morning, so carrying Lin Feng on her back was no problem at all.

Lin Feng looked at Zhao Shuqing’s back and hesitated for a few seconds before climbing on, as if finally accepting her fate.

And so, the two of them kept walking along the provincial road. Zhao Shuqing walked the whole morning—probably at least ten kilometers—before they finally saw what looked like a building up ahead.

By the time they reached it, Zhao Shuqing was drenched in sweat. But even through her exhaustion, she could clearly see what it was—a run-down convenience store.