Chapter 1157: The Mermaid With No Soul for Singing

Though highly unstable, the mass of color held together without dispersing, seemingly alive as it crawled up his fingers and onto his body.

Fu Qian did not resist. He let it envelop him, and in the blink of an eye, it was as if he had donned a set of Dazzling Fashion.

"Vivian... is that you?"

Unconcerned with matters of taste, Fu Qian stared straight ahead. The sealed mouth remained motionless, yet a voice rang out directly in his mind.

Despite the haze of her ongoing torment, the joy in that voice was impossible to suppress.

"You really came back... and you disguised yourself as a little fish... After all these years, you're still as vibrant as ever..."

"There are so many little fish outside now. Did you make them...?"

"I secretly let some of them go. Please don't be mad at me..."

"I'm sorry. I know you told me to stay hidden when you left and to never do this kind of thing again, but I missed you so much... They have your scent on them..."

"I was very careful. I only let one in every once in a while. I made sure the voice outside wouldn't notice... You've already subdued it, haven't you? I knew you could..."

...

"Sister, I still can't hear your voice..."

After a brief pause, a trace of panic crept into the voice.

"Could you come a little closer? Or are you upset? Please don't be like that..."

"Even though I can't see anymore, I can still imagine how you look when you're angry..."

That was quite a lot of information.

Still remaining silent, Fu Qian quickly summarized what he had just heard.

First, just as he had guessed, the entity hiding in this concealed corner was the one helping the fishmen escape the breeding farm.

Even if her motives were rather unique.

From the sound of it, a major reason she did so was simply to feel the scent of her "sister," Vivian.

On one hand, this confirmed the existence of Madam Vivian. On the other, it presented an unavoidable contradiction.

According to Vivian, she was a mermaid genius born outside the Ash Sea who, after feeling the enlightenment of advancement, came to this treacherous place, only for things to go awry and leave her trapped inside.

In that story, it was hard to imagine where a younger sister could possibly fit in.

Furthermore, it sounded like this sister had been waiting for Vivian's return for many years.

Return, rather than departure.

The one on the Floating Islands was definitely hiding something!

...

These thoughts flashed through Fu Qian's mind in an instant. The next moment, he activated Blood Crusade, taking a truly silent step forward.

"You... you're not Vivian. Who are you?"

And yet, despite this maneuver, the instant Fu Qian revealed himself, a panicked question arrived right on cue.

Not bad. Very sharp.

Feeling no awkwardness at being exposed, Fu Qian was actually immensely gratified.

"I'm not."

The next moment, he spoke up to confess, wanting to see if the Dazzling Fashion would allow his voice to be heard—and it seemed it actually did.

Watching the clearly uncooperative body instinctively cower, Fu Qian nodded in satisfaction.

If that hadn't worked, it seemed his only option would have been to shout the little mermaid awake and force her to act as a translator.

"But don't be nervous. Vivian sent me to find you."

Even though she seemed completely powerless to resist, Fu Qian quickly followed up with this reassurance to prevent any extreme reactions.

"I carry her scent, don't I?"

"...The ones outside all carry my sister's scent too. I don't believe you..."

It was quiet in his mind for a long time, but Fu Qian remained extremely patient. Eventually, after what seemed like an internal struggle, the voice spoke again.

"It's normal not to believe me. But even after exposing yourself to me, you still haven't been hurt."

Fu Qian skillfully initiated his logical coercion.

"Besides Vivian, what other force do you think could have bought you this goodwill?"

"You're right. I'm sorry... Does Sister have something to tell me? Where did she go?"

Her mental age felt only slightly higher than the little mermaid's, making the guiding process incredibly smooth.

Of course, it was likely also because she desperately wanted to believe it.

Fu Qian shook his head.

"She ran into a bit of trouble and can't come back right now."

"So she asked you to come and check on me? Thank you for your trouble. I'm doing very well. Please be sure to pass that on so she doesn't worry."

The voice in his mind responded almost immediately. He could hear her desperately trying to sound cheerful, even making an effort to eliminate the pauses between her words.

If this "doing very well" had been spoken with a physical mouth, it might have held at least a tiny shred of credibility.

Fu Qian sighed and rejected her reasonable guess.

"No. I had something I wanted to ask Vivian about, but she's busy, so she told me to just come find you instead."

...

This answer was clearly far beyond her expectations.

But after the initial shock, the voice of Vivian's pitiful sister actually became even more elated.

"Really? Sister said I could help? But I really don't know how to do anything..."

"Yes. She believes you possess a keen and gentle heart."

Fu Qian praised softly.

The ultimate path to victory lay in directly inspiring someone's own initiative. Judging by her reaction, he wouldn't need to resort to violent threats.

"I just need to ask a few questions to resolve some doubts. But looking at your condition, would that be too much to ask?"

"No, I can do it! You can ask me anything you want to know!"

She replied almost instantaneously.

"And when you see Sister again, please don't tell her that I can no longer move at all."

So, this "island" wasn't originally this big?

Fu Qian gleaned some information from her plea, looking at the disproportionately large mass behind her.

"I'll try, but Vivian can be rather persistent."

"My name is Fu Qian. What's yours?"

"Thank you. I'm... Niniane."

She didn't seem to suspect anything from the fact that Fu Qian didn't know her name.

Vivian, Niniane... I'm not surprised in the slightest.

Fu Qian shook his head inwardly.

"Alright. So, when did that voice outside first appear?"

"Many years ago. Not long after Vivian left, I started hearing it."

Since he had asked about the very thing she cared most about, Niniane answered without holding back.

"Because it was imitating my sister's voice, I thought it was trying to trick me into going out. So I've been hiding carefully and never responded to it."

"It really does sound like her."

Fu Qian agreed with Niniane.

"Yes, but it can't fool me."

Niniane sounded a little smug.

"How could Sister ever sing like that?"

The singing was just too awful, huh? Sure enough, my suspicion was right.

This single sentence confirmed a thought Fu Qian had just harbored.

A voice could be imitated, but something like artistic refinement couldn't be faked.

That thing with no soul for singing.