The Fallen Merman

The cool and brackish early morning wind blew over from the sea coast. There was still some time for daybreak, and the sunshine had not yet illuminated and warmed the water surface, but Bai Chunian could not wait any longer. The AC enhancer’s effect only lasted for 24 hours. If the start time of efficacy was accounted for, there were approximately still four hours left. He wanted to stay with the real Rimbaud for a while longer.

Bai Chunian was only wearing a pair of black boxer swim trunks. His two perfectly straight and powerful long legs had exquisite contours, perfectly complementing his broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted slim figure. A pretty and alluring blue fish marking panned vastly across his right shoulder and pectoral muscles. The veined patterns twinkled a blue glow, and his neck sported a black pearl pendant hung on a thin black rope. Surprisingly, it made the long scar on his chest appear less obvious than before. 

Bai Chunian’s bare feet stepped on sand that had yet to be basked and warmed by the sunshine, holding snorkeling equipment. He was piggybacking Rimbaud, whose slender forearms were roped around the alpha’s neck as his fishtail wrapped around his waist and one of his legs.

The sea waves charged forth under his feet. Bai Chunian retracted his foot from the coldness and squatted down to sprinkle the water with his hands, rubbing his arms first: “Fuck, I’m going to freeze to death.”

Rimbaud loosened his coiled fishtail, fell off his back, and slinked onto the beach, where the sea waves had receded. He comfortably waited for the sea waves to caress his body.

“It’s no use that way. The seawater won’t heat up if you rub on your arms.” Rimbaud was lying at the shoal, his body squirming around, burying himself within the sand.

“I’m afraid of cramps.” Bai Chunian continued to sprinkle the water, “Otherwise, drowning in front of you would be too humiliating.”

“I won’t let you drown.” Rimbaud smiled, and his light golden eyelashes bent into straight lines. He secretly cocked his tail up, rolled it around Bai Chunian’s ankle, and gently tugged.

“Fuck.” Bai Chunian fell into the water face up, the seawater splashing him all over. His hair was wet and dripping, sticking to his cheeks.

He seized the opportunity and turned over, pressing Rimbaud down. He dug up two lumps of wet sand and fashioned two mounds of breasts for him. He felt that they were not round enough and molded the shapes for a little while more. 

Completely lacking a sense weirdness; this fish had always carried an ambiguous androgynous beauty.

The sea waves rushed forth once again, charging into Bai Chunian from behind. His glossy and water-embellished back muscles tensed up.

The seawater surged upward, submerging Rimbaud, who was facing up and lying on the sand. Bai Chunian gazed at him, separated by a layer of clear seawater. All of a sudden, he hauled Rimbaud from the water into his arms.

Bai Chunian only reacted after he pulled up Rimbaud. He rubbed his damp hair, “I was actually worried that you would choke just now.” 

Rimbaud hugged him. Merfolks enjoyed physical, intimate touches very much. For them, it was a show of love. If it were in the sea, then the alpha’s body heat would appear to be insignificant.

Bai Chunian sat on the shore to put on his flippers. Rimbaud was lying at the edge of the reef, holding his face in his palms and watching him: “Why do you dress up as a fish with two tails? None of us have two tails. You look totally bizarre right now. You won’t blend in. We’re not stupid.”

“Who wants to blend in? This is for water treading. You have a tail and I don’t. How can I keep up with you?”

Rimbaud comforted him worriedly: “You really shouldn’t mind our differences. With me here, no fish will discriminate against you for that.” 

“I truly am not trying to blend in with a shoal of fish…do you understand bionics? It’s human intelligence.” Bai Chunian put on his flippers and mask and slowly walked from the shallows toward the depths. He performed a light jump and charged into the sea.

Elwyjev vgbqqfv lcab atf gffo jcv rkjw ugjmfoeiis ab Djl Jtecljc’r rlvf.

Ktgff sfjgr jub, atf kjafg dejilas tfgf mbeiv yjgfis yf mbcrlvfgfv jnfgjuf. Dfmjerf wjcs rqfmlji agjlcffr kfgf qgfrfca bc atf lrijcv, atfgf kjr cb jkjgfcfrr bo qgfrfgnjalbc ja olgra. Ktfs bcis agfjafv atlr qijmf jr jc bgvlcjgs tbilvjs lrijcv. Zjceojmaegfv vbwfralm ujgyjuf kjr pera mjrejiis vewqfv lcab atf kjafg. Coafgkjgvr, Djl Jtecljc mjwf ab atf lrijcv, pera lc alwf obg jc jiuji yibbw. Glrueralcu jiujf tjv rqgfjv jii bnfg atf rfj regojmf, rb tf jggjcufv j ugbeq bo raevfcar ab mifjc eq atf rfjmbjra fnfgs vjs ab xffq atf rqfmlji agjlclcu yjrf’r reggbecvlcur alvs.

Now, the environment of the sea area surrounding Greenfly Island could be regarded as excellent. The fish swimming underwater and sea grass at the bottom could be seen directly from the water surface, and the seawater was so clean you could see the deep-sea floor. If the Alliance didn’t buy the entire island as a training base, the probability was that opportunistic businessmen would’ve bought this place and packaged it as a tourist center. 

Spots of light, cast down from the water surface, floated and drifted on the snow-white seafloor sand. Multicolored, gorgeous small fishes moved about as a large group along the corals.

But although Bai Chunian was very good at swimming, he couldn’t be more agile than a fish in water. Rimbaud only needed to lightly sway his tail, giving the floating and capering translucent fins miniscule swing, to quickly swim a large distance.

He swam to the edge of the coral. Those dull little fish were attracted by him, following behind Rimbaud as a large group. They kissed his body with their mouths and enthusiastically helped Rimbaud clean his body of parasites and dead skin. However, Rimbaud’s body was clean and smooth that the little fish were a little disappointed.

Rimbaud lightly shook his fishtail, and the stirred-up bubbles turned into jellyfish of different sizes, emitting faint blue lights and floating in the water. His slender fingers touched the jellyfish, and the jellyfish dissipated, replaced by blue stardust streaming down like fine rain. 

The swimming fish scrambled around to catch the blue starlights transformed from the jellyfish.

The fish that had devoured the jellyfish fragments underwent changes visible to the naked eye. The already bright colors on their bodies became all the more brilliant and beautiful, and eggs were gradually stuffed in some of the sparse female fish’s bellies.

Bai Chunian gazed at the awe-inspiring sight in front of him in a daze. Gorgeous and mystifying seabed creatures danced together, and jellyfish glowing blue floated around his body.

If this was filmed into a documentary, it would probably bag an international award. But he didn’t want to do that at all. This merman belonged only to him. 

However, he was a little unsure. The boundaries of the territorial waters that only surrounded Greenfly Island couldn’t be accounted for clearly. Rimbaud might be God’s gift to the entire blue planet, but he belonged to no one.

Rimbaud swam back very quickly, pulled along Bai Chunian by his hand, and led him slightly deeper.

Bai Chunian blinked at him.

“You aren’t slow.” Rimbaud turned back and said, “I’m the one who’s too fast.” 

Bai Chunian needed to resurface to take a breath. He could persist for five minutes tops with a full hold of breath. Rimbaud spat a bubble at him, and the bubble covered his mouth. Bai Chunian tried to breathe, sucking in all the oxygen contained in the bubble, which was no different from surfacing the water to take a breath. He could even last longer, because the bubble Rimbaud released was of compressed oxygen.

“You actually don’t even need to wear this equipment. My oxygen is enough to supply you air for a very long time, and it also won’t let your eyes and internal organs be harmed by the water pressure.” Rimbaud’s voice could enter Bai Chunian’s ears through the minute bubbles he released, so even if he was speaking at the same amplification as usual, Bai Chunian could hear him very clearly.

“As a matter of fact, the sea has sound. But because the water covers humans’ ears, it’s very difficult for you guys to hear clearly underwater.” Rimbaud swam toward Bai Chunian’s back and gently lied down, holding his shoulder to change the amount of oxygen in himself. He became a little heavier and pressed Bai Chunian down beside the coral.

“The sea is very beautiful, and it isn’t lonesome. It’s another world that humans don’t know about.” Rimbaud held his ears, and the water bubbles gathered the sound beside Bai Chunian’s ears. He heard the recurring strange noises, constituting the mysterious sound of cries he had never heard before. 

“I’ve actually seen a lot of ocean documentaries.” Bai Chunian gestured at him.

Rimbaud was very happy after he heard that: “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. No human knows the sea better than I do. I’m so glad you like the sea. Sooner or later, I’ll take you to see the things you’ve never seen.”

Rimbaud led him to swim even deeper. Indeed, with Rimbaud by his side, the pressure of the sea water around Bai Chunian forever remained about the same intensity as on dry land. Moreover, there was no need to take a breath.

Suddenly, Rimbaud stopped in front of a slightly wild reef rock in which a number of quadpods had been artificially placed, each with coral fragments tied to it using cable ties. 

This coral re-sowing site was one that didn’t count as large. The things stuck on them were all conserved and saved coral fragments. Things like coral were very frail. The slightest change in water quality would cause a mass stretch of death. Typhoons would occasionally blow around Greenfly Island. These weak and beautiful little animals would always suffer a lot of damage, but in the same way, they would grow once more under care.

Bewildered, Rimbaud asked, “Who did this?”

Bai Chunian pointed to himself. He spent a lot of time teaching at Greenfly Island every year, but he didn’t have classes every day. He had a lot of free time, and making these things could effectively pass the boring time and also train himself in holding his breath.

The merman swimming in the water suddenly pounced over and hugged Bai Chunian, drawing his neck toward himself and kissing his face gently. 

“We do have something in common with humans. If someone values something a lot that I too cherish, it’s impossible for me not to love them.” Rimbaud excitedly rubbed cheeks against him, “You’re so cute, randi. I’m very infatuated with you. I want to make love with you.”

His wording, as always, was excessively blunt and explicit, sounding rather hilarious and not quite like a confession. However, Rimbaud could only express his mood with words and sentences he was familiar with.

The jellyfish glowing blue that Rimbaud’s fishtail brought out shattered on the coral. The fallen stardust caused their rebirth. The small and broken coral quickly grew to form a large area, and the white patches were restored to their previous state.

Bai Chunian could feel the delight emitting from his heart and couldn’t help but gently touch his hand before grabbing him and pulling him into his embrace. 

“Are you mine?”

He wanted to ask that, but couldn’t speak in the water.

Rimbaud led him to the surface and was pushed back to the beach by the sea waves.

Bai Chunian took off his diving mask and flippers and tossed them aside. He sat on the beach to rest. The tips of his hair were dripping water, and the nice and warm sunshine was baking his body. Rimbaud was lying in the sand, his fishtail cheerily stirring the sand. 

He picked up a shell that had been washed ashore, put it in his mouth, and bit it in half. He then used one of its sharp corners to carve some words into his arm.

Bai Chunian hurriedly grabbed his wrist: “What are you doing?”

“The time is almost up. I want to record the important things. If I go back to the cultivation stage, I may forget.” Rimbaud finished carving a line of words, distinctive to merfolk on his arm, then grabbed a handful of sand and rubbed it on the wound to avoid having the healing words disappear.

“Rimbaud!” Bai Chunian blocked him from doing so and clasped his hands together, “Doesn’t it hurt?” 

“It hurts, but I can’t forget such things.” Rimbaud blinked and asked him, “Can you teach me to write your name?”

Bai Chunian pursed his lips and used his finger to write the three words ‘Bai Chunian’ on the wet sand.

Rimbaud earnestly followed and copied the letters on the sand. He didn’t know how to write, so his strokes were crooked.

He imitated it many times. After he was sure he remembered how to write it, he picked up the shell and carved it into his forearm. When he was finished carving, he also needed to grab a handful of sand to fill it in the wound. 

“Hey, it’ll hurt, don’t do that.” Bai Chunian hurriedly grabbed him. He was just like a child who stubbornly wanted to touch a light bulb; not allowed to do it but insisting on doing it.

Rimbaud still carved his name, dedicated. He left two lines of text on his forearm, but except for the three words, ‘Bai Chunian’, Bai Chunian could not recognize the others.

“Since they’re very important, you carved it down?” Bai Chunian asked.

“En, no one will ever be more important than randi.” 

Originally, Bai Chunian wanted to ask him about a lot of things, but now, having this answer actually felt enough.

“I’ll be gone for a while.” Rimbaud sat beside him, hugging the bent fold of his fishtail like a human being.

The moment he had been resisting to face in his heart still happened. Bai Chinian softly took a breath and gathered Rimbaud into his arms as if he was afraid that a sea wave would come, and then Rimbaud would disappear.

“When I finish taking care of my business, I will definitely come back.” 

“What business?” The alpha’s voice was choked with emotion.

“Have you ever wondered how I got fished up?” Rimbaud leaned into his embrace, cocked his tail tip, and dug a small crab out of the sand. He rinsed it clean in the water, then tossed it into his mouth to chew, consuming it.

Bai Chunian had never thought about it. He knew that human technology had developed to unimaginable degrees. Perhaps it wasn’t too much of a toil to capture a merfolk chief alive.

“It’s not as simple as you think. Ours is a very complex community, and it’s not easy to manage at all.” Rimbaud held up his wrist, “And I didn’t treat you badly, not even a little bit. You thought I was competing with you for a spot to go out, but I actually didn’t care for it in the slightest.” 

“Without you here, I would have spent my entire time at the Research Institute, never coming out again.” Rimbaud stirred the water, bored and holding his cheeks, “I’ve lived too long. There are a few things I’ve long been fed up with.”

Bai Chunian’s mind had been in a pandemonium since the beginning. In fact, with so much time passed, he knew he had no way to truly hate him. Call him a fool or masochist, he didn’t care. Rimbaud was like a crazy weed growing in his heart; pulling him out would also dig out a large chunk of his own flesh. He just wanted to know whether the heavens having him meet Rimbaud was caring good luck or a conspiracy.

“You…how did you get captured?” Bai Chunian did not notice that his voice was slightly hoarse.

“I’m rather ashamed to say it now.” Rimbaud raised his hand, carved with words, and held it to his chest, “Humans invented the phrase ‘whale fall.’ I think it’s quite fitting. I’m going back to make some merfolk fall now. It will only take a short period of time.” 

“How long would that be?”

“A month.”

“Then I’ll be here waiting for you at this time, next month.”

“Ok.” Rimbaud embraced his neck, “Can you be good and not let the other omegas hug you? I’m only allowing them to live for your sake.” 

Bai Chunian couldn’t resist pressing him to the ground and leaning over to kiss him. It was hard to control himself, “I’ll miss you.”

“Me too.”

“If you run into trouble, ask the Alliance for help. The entire search division of the Secret Service is on standby. I’ll come and help you.”

Rimbaud smiled, “Hopefully, I won’t need it. I only wish for you to come and masturbate for my eyes.” 

“Damn you.” Bai Chunian kissed him firmly. The tongue lined with tiny barbs licked into Rimbaud’s oral cavity. This stirring in the oral cavity quickly stimulated him. The sensation made Rimbaud groan, muffled.

The students on duty that day came bearing tools to clean up the seaside as usual. Every special trainee liked to do the work of cleaning up the coast very much, because they could rightfully skip class, not having to train. Furthermore, the shore wasn’t dirty at all.

Firefly was holding the ice cream he bought from the convenience store, licking it while walking. He carried a bucket and garbage tongs with Clownfish, passing by.

Suddenly, the two stopped their footsteps. They saw Instructor Bai wearing a single pair of swim trunks, pressing down an omega’s body, clasping both his hands together for a strong kiss, with an additional beautiful but aloof fish marking across his sharply protruded back, shoulders, and chest. 

Firefly’s ice cream cone smashed onto the top of his foot.