Chapter 2386 - 2289: Half-Mermaid

Upon hearing Huo Sining’s exclamation, several archaeologists nearby turned to look at her in unison. Zhou Shitao also instinctively glanced at her with concern, anxiously asking:

"What happened? What happened, Huo girl, are you okay?"

Huo Sining recovered herself and took a few steps forward involuntarily. She jerked her hand away from the auricle chamber wall as if she’d been electrocuted, simultaneously lowering her head to hide the panic and shock in her eyes, explaining in a muffled voice:

"I’m fine. I just didn’t pay attention and bumped against a stone on the wall."

Zhou Shitao frowned and looked at Huo Sining. Unsettled, he said, "Be careful, don’t force yourself. There are plenty of people here without you."

Huo Sining nodded. It was only after Zhou Shitao turned his head back to continue working that she lifted her gaze and slowly turned around, staring intently at the stone wall in front of her.

By this time, the other archaeologists had begun chatting again. The same female team member named Anya started showing off to the other staff members nearby:

"Do you know which is the earliest record of mermaids in Huaxia Country?"

The staff members looked at each other in confusion, all shaking their heads.

Anya proudly raised her chin, saying, "It’s in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, specifically the Classic of the Great Wilderness - West, where it’s mentioned that there are fish with twisted bodies, called fish maidens. Zhuan Xu died and then revived. When the north wind blows, sky and water spring forth, snakes transform into fish, called fish maidens. Zhuan Xu died and then revived."

"The meaning of this is that there’s a kind of fish with half a twisted body—half human and half fish—named fish maidens."

"It’s said that Zhuan Xu transformed into this fish after dying and reviving."

"Zhuan Xu, the son of Chang Yi, died while the strong wind blew from the north, making the sea water rush forth, and the snake turned into fish."

"The already dead Zhuan Xu seized the moment the snake was about to turn into fish, possessing its body, and thus was revived. Later, people called this fish associated with Zhuan Xu ’fish maidens.’"

"Paintings of fish maidens have appeared in the Yongcheng Han Liangwang Tomb murals."

"These fish maidens are what we refer to now as mermaids."

"The fish maidens seem to exist between decay and growth, possessing the divine power of resurrection after death."

"But according to my estimation, this so-called revival likely refers to the hibernation habits of mammals. In mythology, it translates to resurrection—death as hibernation, revival as waking in spring."

"..."

The female archaeologist’s words sounded in Huo Sining’s ears, yet she seemed entirely unaware, her face ashen as she stared at the wall, seemingly trying to bore a hole through it.

Just moments ago, when her hand touched the wall, a sudden vision appeared before her—a pair of sharp and resentful eyes. The owner of those eyes was...

Huo Sining’s breathing was quite rapid, her heart beating so fiercely it seemed it would leap from her throat.

Her throat felt dry, and in the corner of her eye, she saw the other staff were engrossed in their work, unaware of her situation. She extended a trembling hand, lightly tapping on the wall.

The rock of this auricle chamber differed from the serpentine stone of the outer chamber. The surface appeared smooth like granite. When Huo Sining knocked on it with the back of her hand, a hollow sound quickly emanated from the wall.

It’s hollow, the wall’s inside is really hollow!

So, the eyes she had just seen...

Huo Sining tightly bit her lip, mentally steadying herself. It took a good ten seconds of silence before she mustered the courage to press her hand again on the rock wall.

The scene ahead opened up before her. Soon, the details from across the wall were vividly imprinted in her mind.

A woman with hair like seaweed lay in a silent pool. Her gills opened and closed like fish fins, and a deep blue tail swayed in the water below her abdomen.

This is indeed a mermaid, a living mermaid!

Huo Sining controlled her facial expressions to remain calm.

Behind this auricle chamber’s stone wall was another space. From the surroundings, Huo Sining discerned that it was a prison, incarcerating the mermaid of unknown origin she had just seen!

A heavy iron chain was visibly latched around the mermaid’s neck, violently swaying with her struggles, yet no escape seemed possible. The chain dictated her confinement to the water!

Perhaps hearing the voices and movements within the auricle chamber, the mermaid’s agitation was an attempt to break free from its shackles.

But the wall was too thick; no sound from the chain’s movements transmitted through.

Hence, the mermaid’s gaze was filled with bitterness and desperation, wanting nothing more than to tear a hole through the wall.

At that moment, Huo Sining faced precisely such terrifying, eerie eyes. No matter how brave she was, the sudden stare was scary enough to elicit a cry.

Initially, Huo Sining thought it wasn’t a surprise to find shark silk, mermaid cream, and pearls formed from merfolk tears within Ge Hong’s ancient tomb. It seemed likely that Ge Hong had uncovered the secrets allowing the Jiaoren Tribe to live for centuries. Yet she never anticipated that a living mermaid was trapped in this Thousand-Year Ancient Tomb!

Judging by the swelling at the mermaid’s gills, she was still a half-mermaid, not purely blood-related, much like her grandmother Huang Chengxiang and her father Liang Ruining.

This partially transformed mermaid must have been trapped in the tomb for countless years. What’s even more amazing is that she’s still alive, appearing vibrant and showing no signs of death!

Huo Sining’s mind was in disarray, yet amidst the chaos a sudden clarity emerged.

Perhaps she misunderstood the motives of Fujiwara Seiho, who was determined to explore the tomb!

From the Medicine King Cauldron to the writing on pillars and the shark silk mermaid cream in the auricle chamber—all were fragmentary evidence with no definitive conclusion. But if Fujiwara Seiho indeed captured a Jiaoren?

Huo Sining’s heart shivered, instantaneously gaining insight.

Fujiwara Seiho, could he be here for this half-mermaid?!