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Once upon a time, a small seaside town whispered of a horrible monster dwelling in the stone palace right at the water’s edge.
“Oh it’s quite terrible, really,” the town maidens would gossip as they hung laundry on clotheslines, pins secured at their waists. “I hear he gobbles up hearts.”
“Better watch out,” the fruit vendor yells out from her stall, “he could come for you next!”
And with a shriek, the young women turn back to their work.
Shi Qingxuan had lived in the small seaside town his whole life. He remembers his younger days, characterized by splashing about in the ocean and being tugged home by his older brother, Shi Wudu. Their family was small—just the two of them and their parents—but with their mother and father often in the capital for work, the siblings were left to their own devices most of their childhood.
Shi Qingxuan didn’t mind, he could amuse himself with the townspeople, grabbing apples from the fruit vendor and winding through the cobblestone roads.
His favorite spot in town lay tucked behind the local inn—a bookstore run by a quiet but kind fellow who never ceased to satiate Shi Qingxuan’s appetite for books. See, while the town by the sea gave Shi Qingxuan the freedom he desired to mill about, there was always a tug in his stomach to explore more.
He desired to go to the capital where his parents worked, just so he could observe the daily lives of its occupants. He wanted to see the flowers in the botany books the bookseller lent him, to pick them from the ground, and feel the softness of their petals himself.
Shi Qingxuan’s number one curiosity, though, lay within the sea. With the ocean right outside of town, he’d had his fair share of days at the beach, but he was growing tired of playing on the shore. He wanted to know just what lay beneath the surface.
Despite the two siblings living together, Shi Wudu was out of the house a lot more than Shi Qingxuan. He was training to follow in their parents’ footsteps and had increasingly begun to meet them in the capital.
“Ge, bring me something pretty!” Shi Qingxuan waves at his brother as Shi Wudu laces up his boots, bag slung over his shoulder.
“Anything in particular?” Shi Wudu asks.
The two had a tradition where Shi Wudu would set out on his travels and return with trinkets of sorts for Shi Qingxuan. He normally had no qualms about what Shi Wudu returned with—the locket from his last trip sat tucked under the neckline of Shi Qingxuan’s shirt—but this time he took his time thinking.
“You’re going to be taking the road by the sea right?” Shi Qingxuan tilts his head. “Can you find me a pearl?”
Shi Wudu sighs, they both know full well he’d have to traverse down the cliff where the road curved to reach the oyster bed. Yet he cares for his younger brother and the trip would last a good month this time so he nods, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks ge!”
His older brother leaves with a swish of his robes, once again leaving Shi Qingxuan alone. He likes the time he has to himself, being able to read books without Shi Wudu peering over his shoulder and exploring whatever hidden nooks of the town he hadn’t discovered yet. (Their numbers were dwindling.)
Shi Wudu spends upwards of a month on his trips. Shi Qingxuan isn’t always quite sure what he does, and has never particularly cared enough to ask, but relishes in his brother’s arrival back home.
As much as he liked his independence, he could only handle being alone with his thoughts for so long.
The trip this time lasts for two months. Shi Qingxuan—the worrier of the two—couldn’t help his growing anxiety over his brother. Shi Wudu was his one and only sibling for goodness sake.
When Shi Wudu does return, it's midnight. Shi Qingxuan is awake, closing up the windows and about to bolt the door as a storm took its sweet time tearing through town, its tumultuous clouds heavy with rain turning the ocean beyond a swirling black.
Shi Wudu looks tired, as he normally is after any work related trip, this time with a sopping wet cloak adding to his haggard appearance.
“You alright, ge?” Shi Qingxuan asks tentatively.
Shi Wudu sighs, shoulders heaving. He shivers just as Shi Qingxuan goes to hand him a mug of hot tea.
When his brother silently refuses to accept the tea, the ceasing anxiety from Shi Wudu being gone bubbles up again.
“Ge, what’s wrong?” He asks again.
Shi Wudu’s fists are clenched, knuckles white as drops of rain slide down onto the floor.
It takes a moment for Shi Qingxuan to realize the raindrops on his face are intermingled with tears.
“Ge, you’re scaring me—please tell me—what happened?”
Shi Wudu shakes his cloak off, letting it fall to the floor. His fists are still tightly clenched and his jaw clenched even tighter.
“I got your pearl, Qingxuan,” he says quietly, unfurling a hand. In the center of his palm rests a pearl, no bigger than an acorn. It seems to glow even in the dim light of the fireplace, a brilliant pink sheen that retains its own type of warmth. Shi Qingxuan has never seen anything like it.
“Ge,” Shi Qingxuan takes the pearl and cradles it between his hands, afraid even the smallest movement would tarnish its glow. “Where did you get it?”
Shi Wudu rubs a hand over his face, taking a deep breath. “I’ll show you.”
“Ooh okay let’s go in the morning after you’ve rested for a bit,” Shi Qingxuan says excitedly, his eyes trained on the curve of the small pearl—it seems to be the most perfect sphere.
“No, Qingxuan,” Shi Wudu says more affirmatively, “We’ll go now.”
“Now—” Shi Qingxuan’s head snaps up, staring out the window. “Ge it’s literally storming outside, we shouldn’t go to the beach now. ”
Shi Wudu doesn’t seem to hear him—or care, for that matter—as he scoops up his still-drenched cloak from the ground and takes Shi Qingxuan’s off the hook, handing it to his younger sibling.
“ Ge! ” Shi Qingxuan exclaims, fastening his cloak over his shoulders just to keep up with the tall figure of his brother leaving through the very front door he just bolted.
“I don’t understand!” He shouts over the howling wind of the storm. “Why do we have to do this now?”
Shi Wudu leads them to the road on the cliff, just overlooking the oyster bed. The sea screams at them from below the craggy outlook, splashing over the rocks and shore below.
“I made a mistake, Qingxuan,” Shi Wudu starts. His hands are trembling again and Shi Qingxuan is pretty sure it's out of fear and not from the cold of the storm.
“You took me all the way to the edge of a cliff to tell me you made a mistake?” He yells. “Is it something that can be fixed?”
“Well,” Shi Wudu pauses, opening and closing his mouth. “Yes, to some degree.”
“I’m sorry, I’m really not quite following,” Shi Qingxuan wraps his cloak around him tighter as the rain soaks through the fabric, seeping a chill all the way to his bones.
“I made a mistake and you’re going to help me fix my mistake—would you do that for me, Qingxuan?” Shi Wudu asks. He appears to be speaking no louder than a whisper but for some reason, even over the downpour, Shi Qingxuan hears him loud and clear.
“Well, yeah, you’re my brother. But I’d like to know what exactly I’ll be doing first,” he says with a huff.
“You’ll be coming with me.”
The cold voice cuts through the roar of the thunderstorm, perhaps even clearer than Shi Wudu from moments earlier. Shi Qingxuan turns immediately to the sound.
Perched at the very edge of the cliff stands a creature of some sorts. With a towering figure shrouded in black, Shi Qingxuan can’t quite make out where his body and the shadowy cliff meet.
A curtain of dark hair hangs over his pale sunken face—the only part of his body clearly visible amongst the blanket of night and rain.
“Who are you ?” Shi Qingxuan asks, taking a step forward just as Shi Wudu takes one of his own back.
The figure turns ever so slightly, just enough to face Shi Qingxuan’s trembling older brother, a thin black eyebrow arched. “You did not tell him.”
It is not a question but Shi Wudu hurriedly answers, bowing his head, “Yes, well, I forgot.”
The creature shrouded in black sneers, “You have the audacity to steal from me, but cannot even tell your own brethren the fate you have sealed for him.”
“Ge what is he talking about?” Shi Qingxuan’s eyes flit back and forth between the two.
“As I said earlier, you will be coming with me.”
“Okay, but why?” Shi Qingxuan asks, eyes searching Shi Wudu’s expression for any semblance of an answer.
“Your darling brother stole that pearl,” the creature pauses to point a crooked finger in the direction of Shi Qingxuan’s clamped fist, “from me and refused to give it back.”
“Oh, we can give it back to you, no problem,” Shi Qingxuan says shakily, realizing the black creeping up the creature’s arm was not in fact gloves, but his own flesh.
“What’s done is done,” he says with a finality. “He takes something of mine, so I take something of his.”
At those words, realization hits.
“Ge why would you make this sort of bargain?” Shi Qingxuan spins to face his older brother.
“I didn’t mean to! You wanted a pearl so I got one—I didn’t realize I was in this guy’s territory until it was too late…” Shi Wudu trails off bitterly.
“You won’t be harmed, Qingxuan,” Shi Wudu starts again. “I made sure of it.”
“But you made this decision without telling me first?” Shi Qingxuan clenches his fist tighter around the pearl. Its previous warmth morphed into a searing heat. “I know I depend on you a lot, but this is my life!”
“I know and I’m sorry,” Shi Wudu says, regret written all over his features. He stares forlornly at the ocean. “At least now you’ll be close to the sea you’re so fascinated with.”
“That’s not the point!” Shi Qingxuan yells. The heat from the pearl seems to have injected itself into his bloodstream, a burning anger bubbling up from the tips of his fingers to the nape of his neck.
“You talk too much,” the figure steps between the two, leaving Shi Qingxuan to properly marvel at his height. He grabs Shi Qingxuan’s wrist with a cold hand and before Shi Qingxuan has the time to process how delicate the hold is, they’re whisked away.
Shi Qingxuan awakens in a bed he’s never been in before and a room he doesn’t remember entering. The walls are plain, barely anything adorning them besides intervals of windows closed off by dark curtains. The bed itself matches the room—plain white bedding on a dark wooden bed frame.
Besides a wardrobe and vanity, the room is bare. Shi Qingxuan blinks slowly, taking in his new surroundings.
His memories from the night before trickle in slowly, like a faucet not quite turned off all the way. He recalls Shi Wudu’s return first—the staggered entrance through their doorway and subsequent departure.
He remembers the pearl, how, despite having glimpsed it only a couple of times, he can perfectly conjure up an image of its blushing glow in his mind.
Shi Qingxuan’s eyes widen just a smidge as lastly the image of his captor comes to mind. Well, not necessarily captor since he came willingly, but new roommate perhaps?
The man—is he really a man?—definitely seemed angry at Shi Wudu for trespassing and stealing, but was a small pearl really enough to warrant an exchange? For his life no less?
Shi Qingxuan isn’t so sure.
Letting curiosity get the best of him, Shi Qingxuan swings his legs over to get out of bed. The wooden floor is cool, but not enough to bother him as he makes his way to the window.
He draws back the curtain and immediately gasps.
What he thought was going to be a view overlooking the ocean is entirely wrong—his room does not face the ocean, but is rather submerged underwater entirely.
Heart racing, Shi Qingxuan quickly flings open the rest of his curtains. Light from the surface spills through the glass panes, filtered through the sapphire blue of the sea. Dozens upon dozens of fish swarm around in little schools (as he learned from one of his many readings), darting between seaweed and coral alike.
He giggles to himself—Shi Wudu quite possibly gave him the best gift of his life.
His brother at the forefront of his mind again, Shi Qingxuan immediately turns to the vanity, searching its drawers for paper and a pen to write out a letter reassuring Shi Wudu about his safety.
When his search proves to be futile, Shi Qingxuan turns to the wardrobe. He doesn’t know why he expected to find a pen and paper in a wardrobe and instead jolts in surprise at the hangers upon hangers of clothes.
He tentatively runs a hand over the fabric, soft to the touch as if freshly washed. While his parents worked hard to provide for their small family, Shi Qingxuan often did not get to indulge in his personal desires for luxury clothes. Shi Wudu instead gave him enough money to purchase fabric from the shop and make clothes himself.
It wasn’t all that bad—he learned how to sew after all—but the longing for magnificent clothes never ceased.
He picks up the piece that initially caught his eye, a long white dress layered in what he remembers to be gossamer. Shi Wudu never particularly liked it when Shi Qingxuan wore dresses around town, but he enjoyed the freedom in getting to choose what he wanted to wear. How could his brother fault him for wanting to look pretty?
Securing the dress and finger combing his hair, Shi Qingxuan takes a deep breath before reaching for the door handle.
The halls of the house…? Manor…? Regardless, they match the same plainness of his room. Yet, there’s an air of mysticism to the place.
What he thought was a curtain moving because of the wind turned out to be fish darting between its folds. Shi Qingxuan becomes acutely aware that the windows are open and he’s underwater and he can breathe…?! He isn’t quite in water though—he doesn’t feel the same heaviness as he did when diving under the waves—but the fish seem to be able to make their way around the open space with no problem.
Reaching a tentative hand out towards one of the smaller fish, he watches in awe as it wiggles its way into his palm. Not wanting to make any sudden movements, Shi Qingxuan simply observes the way its gills open and close and the fluidity of its flippers. Needless to say, he’s enchanted.
He bids the fish goodbye, choosing to continue down the hall. There is a large set of dark wooden doors at the end of the hallway, and the light peaking through the crack practically invites him in.
Pushing open a door as quietly as he can, Shi Qingxuan has to stifle a gasp as his eyes land on a library. It's larger than any room he’s ever been in before—probably at least twice as big as his old home—with shelves upon shelves of books.
He surveys the room, making sure its keeper is not there, before stepping inside. He cannot decide where to start—each shelf is like its own treasure chest with smaller treasures tucked between each other.
Shi Qingxuan reaches for the first book within his grasp, a leather bound tome with one of those fancy silk ribbon bookmarks he’d always seen at the bookstore but had never been able to buy.
The book tells the tale of a princess with astoundingly long hair, locked up in a tower by none other than her own stepmother. He is enamored.
Shi Qingxuan doesn’t know how much time he spends in the library, just that the pile of finished books keeps on growing. He’s two thirds of the way through another mind-boggling tale when the same cold voice from the night before cuts through the silence.
“And who told you you could come here?”
With a jolt, Shi Qingxuan snaps the book shut, standing up to meet the eyes of his new housemate.
“I did…?” he says. “I mean the door was unlocked so…”
The black-cloaked figure rubs his temples before looking up again. “You are not to enter locked rooms without permission. This room should have never been unlocked in the first place.”
“Well how was I supposed to know that?” Shi Qingxuan asks, growing increasingly exasperated by the manners of his housemate. “Also, I don’t even know who you are for goodness sake!”
“He Xuan,” the man says after a beat of silence.
“Oh, well I’m Shi Qingxuan! But you might’ve already known that. Anyways, now that you’re here—may I have permission to enter this room?”
He Xuan sighs, shoulders heaving, “I suppose so.”
Shi Qingxuan claps his hands, immediately returning to the book he’d just closed.
“But you cannot read these books unless I am present,” he continues.
“What the hell, that’s stupid,” Shi Qingxuan opens his mouth in protest.
“No exceptions.”
“Ugh, fine.”
While Shi Qingxuan fully expected He Xuan to leave the room and therefore render him unable to continue with his reading, the man instead takes out a book of his own.
They read in a surprisingly comfortable silence until Shi Qingxuan shatters it, “So, uh, not to be rude or anything, but are you human?”
If looks could kill, Shi Qingxuan would be dead ten times over—He Xuan looked to be at his limits.
“I was,” he says after a moment, as if testing the waters.
“Oh okay,” Shi Qingxuan nods. Then, “So are you like a merman then…?”
He Xuan sighs again and Shi Qingxuan briefly wonders if he should work on his filter.
“I suppose that is what humans see me as.”
“That’s so cool, I've never seen a real merman before!” Shi Qingxuan claps his hands.
He Xuan merely grunts in reply, choosing to return to his book. They end up reading for another couple of hours in a silence that was neither too quiet nor too awkward.
Shi Qingxuan decides he likes He Xuan’s company.
Shi Qingxuan’s time in He Xuan’s underwater manor begins to lengthen as days turn into nights turn into days again.
He spends his mornings waking up by the trickle of the morning sun through the waters outside his bedroom windows. He’ll peruse his closet for an outfit and then head straight to the library.
Shi Qingxuan just barely makes a dent in the volume of tomes housed in He Xuan’s library. He gets through about five to six books on a good day, but even so, hasn’t even explored the back shelves.
They fall into a sort of routine—Shi Qingxuan sneaks into the library and grabs the book of his choosing and He Xuan will trail in later grumbling about a certain someone who cannot follow instructions.
Shi Qingxuan thinks if the merman really wanted him out of the library, he’d keep the door locked rather than cracked open.
It was on the third or fourth day when He Xuan began calling the fish in to bring them food.
He was staunch in keeping crumbs away from the books, and Shi Qingxuan could respect that, so they’d take meals by the windows. Well, Shi Qingxuan would eat—He Xuan’s appetite seemed to be finicky and he didn’t want to ask if it was because the merman ate foods outside of what was normally placed on a human’s dining table or not.
“You know,” Shi Qingxuan says as he sips on tea. “I like it here.”
He Xuan arches a brow the same cold and calculating way he’d done so to Shi Wudu, but just a smidge warmer.
“What, you don’t believe me?”
“I technically kidnapped you, tearing you away from your family, home, and the fate you had on shore.” He Xuan says bluntly.
“Well when you put it that way, yeah maybe it sounds bad,” Shi Qingxuan nods, “but I came here of my own volition and it doesn’t mean I can’t learn to love this place—or the people here.”
“I am the only one here.”
“Yeah, you are,” Shi Qingxuan giggles. “Who knew mermen were such good company?”
“Hmm,” He Xuan rumbles, the sound coming deep from his throat. “I suppose you aren’t that bad either.”
Shi Qingxuan smiles sunnily, letting the words from the taciturn merman warm his chest.
Yes, he would not mind staying here.