The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 6

Zhao Shuqing quickly reported Lin Feng’s injuries to Xu Tang.

Xu Tang looked at the report Zhao Shuqing handed over. The photos clearly showed a wound on the mermaid’s tail—a missing triangular chunk of flesh—along with many other old and new scars near the tail.

Zhao Shuqing frowned and said, “Most of the wounds are on her tail, and that deepest one… it really looks like it was caused by a person.”

“A person? That doesn’t seem likely,” Xu Tang said, putting down the file. The cabin was dimly lit, and the sky outside was already completely dark. Only the sound of waves could be faintly heard.

Xu Tang said to Zhao Shuqing, “Ocean pollution is getting worse. Maybe she got tangled in a fishing net, which could explain all the injuries on her tail.”

“And the deepest wound?”

“Well, maybe she encountered danger and hurt herself while escaping the net,” Xu Tang said, rubbing her tired eyes. She added calmly, “Some lizards can lose their tails to survive. Maybe mermaids have similar instincts.”

Zhao Shuqing didn’t agree. She wanted to say more, but Xu Tang waved her off.

“It’s getting late. I know you care about the mermaid, but she’s not human. You need to take care of yourself, too. Go rest.”

Zhao Shuqing fell silent for a couple of seconds before nodding and leaving the cabin.

Xu Tang watched her leave, then looked down at the report in her hands, closing her eyes with a quiet sigh.

Zhao Shuqing wasn’t happy that no one was taking Lin Feng’s injuries seriously.

Instead of returning to her own cabin, she went straight to the research lab.

The two researchers on night duty were chatting with coffee in hand. When they saw Zhao Shuqing enter, they greeted her cheerfully.

“Dr. Zhao, what brings you here?”

“Oh, I came to check on Lin Feng,” Zhao Shuqing replied without slowing down. She climbed up onto the platform, crouched down, and saw gentle ripples on the water’s surface. The blue mermaid swam over and surfaced.

The mermaid seemed to have been sleeping. She blinked sleepily at Zhao Shuqing, confused why she was there so late. But still, she swam closer and rested lazily at Zhao Shuqing’s feet, yawning softly.

“Did I wake you up?” Zhao Shuqing asked gently.

Lin Feng swished her long tail, resting her head on her arms, and looked up at her curiously.

Zhao Shuqing’s gaze fell on her beautiful, long, blue tail. Before, she had found it stunning. But now that she knew Lin Feng was hurt, she just felt worried.

“Can I look at your wound?” she asked softly. “Just take a look. If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t force you.”

Lin Feng tilted her head, trying to understand what she meant. When Zhao Shuqing pointed to her tail, she hesitated for a long moment, then gave a small nod.

Lin Feng lifted herself up. Her large tail rested in the water, with just the tip draped across Zhao Shuqing’s feet. Her pretty eyes stayed locked on her, clearly nervous.

“Don’t be scared,” Zhao Shuqing said, sitting down and gently holding Lin Feng’s tail. “I won’t hurt you.”

Her tail was slender, the blue surface shimmering like colored glass. The fin at the end looked like a jewel.

It was more beautiful than any gemstone, but Zhao Shuqing only saw the scars.

Seeing the wounds up close was completely different from seeing them at a distance. Zhao Shuqing frowned as she gently touched the white scars, murmuring, “If you were human, these injuries would have destroyed your legs.”

Lin Feng’s tail twitched slightly. She stared at Zhao Shuqing’s hand, wanting to swat it away but held back. She lowered her head, her long lashes trembling.

Zhao Shuqing didn’t notice Lin Feng’s expression. She was carefully examining the wound where a piece of flesh was missing. Was it her imagination, or did it look smaller than before?

Was it just a trick of the eye?

Or… could mermaids heal themselves?

A thin membrane covered the white wound, with a gel-like substance inside. Zhao Shuqing felt this might be valuable for research. She quickly took out a pair of tweezers and a small glass vial from her kit.

“I’m going to take a sample,” she told Lin Feng. “If it hurts… just try to bear with it.”

The membrane broke easily. As the gel leaked out, Lin Feng’s whole body shivered from pain, her eyes turning red, but she didn’t move.

Zhao Shuqing quickly collected the sample and tucked the vial into her pocket. Just as she finished, Lin Feng turned and dove back into the water, splashing her in the process and soaking her completely.

The researchers on duty looked up, surprised to see Zhao Shuqing climbing down from the platform, dripping wet.

“Oh no, Dr. Zhao! What happened?” One ran to get a towel, another brought hot water.

“I’m fine,” Zhao Shuqing wiped her face and looked back at Lin Feng swimming in circles in the tank. She figured it must’ve really hurt. The wound had already started healing, and she’d broken it open again.

Of course it hurt.

Zhao Shuqing felt awful. She handed the sample to a colleague. “This is from the wound. Please analyze the contents. I’ll go get her something from the kitchen—maybe make up for hurting her.”

But this time, Lin Feng was really upset. Zhao Shuqing brought two small fish and tried to coax her, but Lin Feng refused to come out at all.

Over the next few days, Zhao Shuqing focused all her energy on caring for the mermaid. Meanwhile, the sample results came in.

The mucus was full of active enzymes, including some types never seen before. These enzymes could stop bleeding and rapidly promote tissue growth. A one-centimeter wound could stop bleeding instantly and fully heal within half an hour.

Zhao Shuqing was stunned by the findings. She stared at the report with wide eyes.

Wasn’t this basically a miracle drug?

After receiving Zhao Shuqing’s report, Xu Tang held eighteen meetings in one day to discuss the discovery with the team.

Everyone was shocked. Sun Chengzhou was especially stunned, his face full of disbelief.

“Is this for real?” someone asked excitedly. “If that’s true, it could totally change modern medicine!”

“It must be some kind of white bl00d cell from the mermaid. If we can study it fully, we could make major breakthroughs.”

“Could it cure cancer?”

“No idea. That’s a question for medical experts—we’re just ocean researchers.”

While everyone chatted excitedly, the usually talkative Sun Chengzhou was unusually silent. He frowned deeply, biting his fingers, looking upset.

“All right,” Xu Tang said with a smile, cutting off the chatter. “I’ve already reported the findings to the institute. When we reach the shore, medical experts will come to examine the mermaid.”

“This is amazing. We’re going to make history!”

“Well, technically it’s Dr. Zhao’s discovery, not ours.”

“Still, we helped!”

Someone looked around and asked, “Where’s Dr. Zhao? Didn’t she come to the meeting?”

Xu Tang nodded. “She’s in the lab, trying to cheer up the mermaid. Apparently, the sampling hurt her, and she hasn’t spoken to Zhao Shuqing since.”

“Really? I thought the mermaid really liked her!”

“Guess even mermaids get mad,” someone chuckled.

Xu Tang smiled, then glanced at the pale-faced Sun Chengzhou and said, “We’re almost near the coast. As you all know, this information is top secret. Lin Feng is very important to our country, and nothing can go wrong once she’s on land.”

Sun Chengzhou looked up at her as if something had just clicked.

Xu Tang lowered her head, organizing her papers, then continued, “Now, let’s move on to other topics.”

Meanwhile, Zhao Shuqing was still in the lab, trying to cheer up Lin Feng. She crouched on the platform, dangling a small green fish in the water.

The fish struggled to escape, and Zhao Shuqing held it tightly, coaxing, “Lin Feng, don’t be mad anymore. Come eat something~”

Lin Feng stayed curled up in the water, ignoring her.

Zhao Shuqing sighed. Just then, the fish slipped from her hand and swam toward Lin Feng. The moment it got close, Lin Feng quickly grabbed it.

Then she surfaced.

Zhao Shuqing’s eyes lit up. When Lin Feng popped her head out, she smiled and called, “Lin Feng~”

Before she could say another word, something flew at her.

Slap.

The little fish hit Zhao Shuqing right in the face, then flopped onto the platform and stopped moving.

Zhao Shuqing: “…”

Lin Feng gave her a resentful look and turned to leave, but Zhao Shuqing quickly grabbed her hand.

Zhao Shuqing knew fish had strong muscles in water, but she hadn’t expected a mermaid to be this strong. Weighing only around a hundred pounds, Lin Feng effortlessly flung her straight into the water.

Splash—

Zhao Shuqing flailed around, choking on a couple gulps of water, head tilted back, arms and legs flapping in panic.

Lin Feng was startled. She rushed over and pulled Zhao Shuqing into her arms.

“Ha! Got you.”

Zhao Shuqing wrapped her arms around Lin Feng’s waist, quickly calming down. She smiled and said, “I’m a marine biologist. Of course I can swim.”

Lin Feng’s eyes widened in surprise.

Zhao Shuqing gently smiled and patted her head. “Lin Feng, can you stop being mad at me now?”

Lin Feng gave her another resentful glare, then suddenly noticed a streak of red running down Zhao Shuqing’s arm. Zhao Shuqing looked too. She’d scraped it on the edge of the platform when she fell.

“It’s fine,” Zhao Shuqing said, rinsing it off in the water. “I’ll disinfect it later.”

Lin Feng stared at her for a long moment, then gently grabbed her arm and lowered her head to kiss the wound.