Winner Takes All

Chapter 101 – Sea Monster (Extra 8, Chapter 1) 

Title: 谁把谁当真 (Winner Takes All)

Author：水千丞 (ShuiQianCheng)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists ：黎朔 (Li Shuo), 赵锦辛 (Zhao Jinxin)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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A long, long time ago, at the southernmost of the Red Earth continent, there was a peaceful and prosperous small kingdom called Lambert. It was backed by the fertile Red Earth plain and faced the vast Atlantic Ocean. Farming, animal breeding, fishing, and shipping are the main activities in the kingdom. The people of the kingdom lead a happy and joyful life.

However, the increasingly rampant pirates in recent years have seriously threatened the safety of Lambert’s people. Li Shuo, the prince of Lambert Kingdom, is determined to lead his army to fight against these pirates. He is handsome, a gentleman, upright, and brave. He is supported by the whole country. Everyone firmly believes that he will bring peace to Lambert’s seas.

Under the command of Li Shuo, Lambert’s navy defeated the evil pirate group called Red Vortex. But when chasing after those who tried to flee, the original clear sky changed colour. They unfortunately ran into a sudden storm at sea… …

“Full left rudder, advance at half speed. Lower the mainsail. Quick!” In the storm, Li Shuo grabbed his second mate and shouted loudly.

“Your Highness, the left wing of the ship is damaged!”

“Your Highness, the mast is broken and the sail is jammed!”

Before Li Shuo could react, a huge wave hit him. He was thrown to the ground along with the swaying hull. He rolled from one side of the deck to the other until he managed to grab on the thick rope of anchoring indiscriminately. He barely managed to escape death. As he steadied his body, there were howling sounds of the storm. It sounded so small and weak. But even the navy warships they were proud of were vulnerable to a single blow in front of the ruthless sea.

In his blurred vision, Li Shuo saw his soldiers being thrown into the air. They then fell into the sea and disappeared in an instant. Regardless of the danger and pain all over his body, he climbed to the mast step by step.

“Your Highness, please be careful!”

Li Shuo’s face was covered with rain and sea water. It was almost difficult to open his eyes. He staggered to the front of the mast and took off his already soaked admiral uniform. In the fierce storm, with a tenacious will and his strength, he climbed up the mast bit by bit. He then cut the ropes of the mainsail one by one using a dagger.

When the last rope was cut off, the mainsail was blown away by the violent storm. But the thick rope that was dragged with it slapped Li Shuo’s temple fiercely. He felt dizzy before his eyes and his body became powerless. Like a thin piece of paper, he was blown into the sea.

“Your Highness—!”

In the depths of the pitch-black sea, a cluster of tiny but extremely bright rays of light suddenly flashed before him.

Li Shuo fell into the icy sea, his clothes were soaked, and there was no more strength left in his body. All he could see was absolute darkness. The fishy sea water poured into his nose and mouth. He could no longer breathe soon. He knew that he was going to die.

Suddenly, a gleam of light flashed in the darkness. The light floated from quite a distance and it got closer. It gradually exuded indescribably magnificent colours. It was like a fairy in a dream. As it got closer, Li Shuo could see it more clearly. It is a huge fish tail which flicked past elegantly, dragging a cluster of colourful light bands with each flick.

A picture from his memory flashed in Li Shuo’s bewildered brain. A long time ago, he had somehow seen this type of fish…

Before he fell unconscious, Li Shuo saw a pair of eyes that were bluer and clearer than Lambert’s sea water. Even the most expensive gems in the world did not shine as bright as this pair of eyes. Then, something soft and warm was pasted on Li Shuo’s lips.

It was like… a tender kiss…

Li Shuo woke up faintly. The moment his consciousness returned to his original position, he felt extremely uncomfortable all over his body. It took him a long time to recall what had happened to him and he realised that he was not dead.

He braced his body and slowly got up. He looked around and found that he was in a cave. There was a half-moon-shaped pit not far away from him, directly connected to the sea on the other side. The sound of waves hitting the rocks could be heard endlessly.

Could it be that he was washed here by the sea? Li Shuo sat in a daze for a while. He then stood up as he endured the discomfort. He walked out of the cave. He hoped to see…”hope”. But as he looked around, there was only the endless sea around him. The vast expanse of the sea… Other than that, there was nothing else to be seen.

He was trapped on a small island in the sea with no food, no fresh water, and no boat. How much better is this than drowning to death in the sea?

Thinking of his soldiers whose life and death are uncertain, as well as his relatives and the people who are eagerly looking forward to his return home, infinite sadness arose in his heart.

He decided to go back to the inside of the cave to take a rest. He should try to save his energy for himself. After his physical strength had improved, in any case, he wouldn’t wait to die here.

But when Li Shuo returned to the cave, he found a live fish moving around on the bank of the half-moon pothole. He ran over quickly and caught the fish. It was probably because this fish had accidentally jumped out of the water. He was hungry and thirsty right now. He looked at the live fish several times but he didn’t know how to put it in his mouth. Every meal he ate in his life was prepared by the best cooks and they were served in expensive silver dishes. They were even brought to him by his servants.

After hesitating for a long time, he reluctantly threw the fish back into the water.

But after a while, there was a splashing sound in the water. When he turned around, there was another fish on the ground. The size was bigger and fatter this time compared to the one from before.

Li Shuo looked at the fish with some bewilderment. Why did they keep jumping to the shore? He also threw this fish back into the water. He wanted to drink water more than to eat. So he decided to go to the entrance of the cave again. He took a deep look to see if there was anything useful.

Li Shuo got up and walked a few steps and heard a strange noise from behind him again. He suddenly turned his head and was completely stunned.

In the same place, there was another fish. But this time, it was no longer a jumping alive fish. It had already been ripped apart by some sharp weapon and several pieces of fresh and tender meat of the fish were cut off.

Li Shuo suddenly felt creeped out. There must be something in the water! He looked around and finally found a stone in his hand. He carefully moved towards the half-moon-shaped pit. The closer he got, the more his heart was beating wildly. He got closer to the pit and poked his head to look inside it.

 

There was only clear water in the pit. The water was so clear that he could see the sediment and shells at the bottom. Li Shuo held on to the stone in his hand and looked down at it for a long time but there was no fluctuation in the bottom of the water. He felt like a fool. Even if there was something under the water, as long as he didn’t go down, it would be fine. Besides, he was going to die of starvation and thirst, so why should he be afraid of being caught and eaten by a big fish?

He put down the stone. He then sat cross-legged and stared at the sliced fish. He hesitated for a moment but eventually picked it up and put it in his mouth. He took a bite. The fresh and tender fish had a little saltiness of the sea in it but it was not unpalatable. He was really hungry so he ate the whole fish with big mouthfuls.

The cave was not as deep as he had imagined and he had soon already wandered around. But he found nothing useful in it. He returned to the half-moon-shaped pit in disappointment and stared at the clear sea water. He then murmured: “It’s so beautiful. There’s clear water everywhere but I can’t drink it…” He lay down on the ground weakly and he didn’t know what else to do besides waiting to die.

There was another sound of water coming from beside him. This time, he directly jumped up from the ground and turned around. He saw a huge shell appear at the same place. It was filled with clear water.

Li Shuo wiped his face to make sure it wasn’t his hallucination. The fine sweat on his forehead was flowing like crazy. There was really something in the bottom of the water. Not only that, that thing could understand what he said. And that thing was also…feeding him?

He stretched out his hand tremblingly and picked up the shell. He took a sip and realised that it was really fresh water! He gulped down the water without hesitation. He then lay down in front of the pit and called out: “You. …Who are you?”

His voice echoed in the cave. But there was no reply.

Li Shuo didn’t dare to poke his head out completely. He was afraid that the thing under the water was only tempting him. Children who grew up in the coastal kingdom have heard countless stories about sea monsters since they were young. They will lure humans to the water’s edge. Taking advantage of people’s unpreparedness and will be dragged into the bottom of the sea. In this deserted cave, Li Shuo was sure that what he encountered was an extraordinary creature.

Seeing that there was no response, Li Shuo called out again unwillingly: “I am the prince of Lambert Kingdom. Who are you, Your Excellency? Why don’t you come out? Maybe we can be friends.”

“Why did you help me, Your Excellency? Are you… a human being?” Li Shuo stared straight at the water for fear of missing a slight change in it.

After shouting several times like this, the water surface was still calm. Li Shuo pursed his lips and suddenly jumped into the water.

If the creature wants to eat him, let it eat him. He is already at the end of his rope. It’s either that or he can find help…  

But when Li Shuo sank into the water and saw the scene in front of him, he was so surprised that he couldn’t even move a finger.

There was a boy with blond hair that shone brighter than the sunshine of the Red Earth Continent. His eyes were bluer than the waters of Lambert’s sea. And his face was more beautiful than the god Narcissus. A huge, colourful dream-like fish tail was swaying on his lower body. He was floating in the clear and transparent sea water and was quietly staring at Li Shuo.

Li Shuo has never seen such a beautiful and noble creature in his life. It turns out that the magnificent legends about the mermaid handed down by his ancestors are true. They were fairies created by the gods. They were a treasure hidden deep in the seven oceans. They were like a gorgeous dream that made everything in the world pale in comparison to them.

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*Author’s Note: Li Shushu and Jin Xin’s fairy tale extra story ‘Sea Monster’ is completed~ I finally wrote a short story with tens of thousands of words. It’s very interesting and I can exercise my story structure ability through this. Just like I said before, I plan to write some short stories every now and then. This is so that I can exercise my writing skills and find some fresh ideas while writing long serialisation. 

P/S: Tonight at 8 o’clock, the physical book of ‘My Little Poplar’ (Xiao Baiyang) is on pre-sale, please repost it to book~

-SCQ

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*Translator’s Note: This is like an alternate universe short story written by our favourite author. There are 9 chapters of this extra story. I will publish them separately. I’m reading while translating so I’m taking my time. Sorry about that. There’s an uncensored version for Chapter 4. I asked my friends from Weibo where to find it. They said it’s in Haitang but I still couldn’t access it no matter how hard I try. So if you guys can find it for me, or if there are other translators who would like to translate that chapter, I would be happy. Please contact me if you found it. Screenshots are also okay. Thank you. -K

*GLOSSARY: 

The anatomy of a sail ship…

Fanart of Lambert Kingdom from Weibo

Fanmade poster from Weibo

Next update: 2023.07.07

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