CH 67

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When the unknown attendant rashly broke into the reception room, Bisnar Orfield was just stunned for a moment, and then his first reaction was to call Lichma to pull this unruly thing out.

But when he recognized the clothes the attendant was wearing and the slightly familiar scars on his body, Bisnar Orfield’s eyelids suddenly jumped up, and an ominous premonition suddenly surged into his heart.

Sure enough, what the attendant said in a panic made Bisnar Orfield’s expression change in front of Clarice and the unidentified person.

—”Master, the mermaid you asked me to guard suddenly went crazy. He, he kept struggling, and it looked like he was trying to break his wrist out. When I went over, his wrist bone was already exposed, and his whole body was covered with blood. His mental state doesn’t look normal, and he even scratched me!”

Rationally speaking, he knew that Clarice’s sudden visit today could not be related to Kiro’s abnormal resistance; after all, ten years ago, when he came to search the basement, he was fooled by him once already. In the following years, after gradually gaining power, the other party didn’t try to test him again.

But… Bisnar Orfield still couldn’t help but glance at Clarice. The emperor, who was still very young but had an iron-blooded fist, was looking at him very calmly. Those golden eyes are profound and unreadable.

Mfn: To achieve a goal by intimidation or threat.

What if there is some trick between the two of them that he doesn’t know about…

The thought of it made Bisnar Orfield couldn’t sit still.

He doesn’t care whether that guy, Kiro, hurts himself or commits suicide. After all, with today’s technology, it’s easy to keep him alive.

But even if there’s only one ten-thousandth possibility, he will never allow Clarice to discover anything abnormal!

With that in mind, and with a word of apology to Clarice, he hurriedly left the reception room. Before that, he specifically asked Lichma to quickly arrange for an attendant to deliver refreshments to keep an eye on the two people and turn on the security cameras in the corridors and in the various rooms.

When the arrangements had been made, he impatiently motioned to the attendant, who was very much out of sight, to further get out of the way, and he walked down to the basement himself.

The impudent attendant had some sense and didn’t forget to close the basement door when he ran away, which eased Bisnar’s original bad mood.

“Squeak—”

Just as the heavy door was pushed open by a crack, the sound of clanging iron chains in the basement entered Bisnar’s ears.

He walked down the stairs slowly with a grim look on his face. The sound of his leather shoes on the stone floor was very clear, but the movement of the mermaid in the pool still did not stop.

“Kiro, what are you doing?”

Bisnar Orfield watched the mermaid struggle and flip in the water. His wrists, which were handcuffed to the ground, were already covered in blood. Without hesitation, he cupped a splash of water and poured it over.

The clear water took away the dust and blood stains on the hand, and the blood diluted into light pink dribbled in small patches under the mermaid’s wrists, exposing the white wrist bones.

Hearing the mermaid’s uncontrollable gasping sound in his ears, Bisnar Orfield rose to his feet and towered over the mermaid, who had made such a mess of himself, his toes gently playing with his feebly dangling hand.

Then suddenly he stepped on it hard!

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Hearing the painful roar of the mermaid at his feet, Bisnar Orfield, who had been feeling uneasy since hearing the news and was almost furious with Clarice and the man he brought here, finally showed a bit of pleasure on his face.

“I don’t know why you suddenly wanted to do this today, and I’m not in the mood to play this kind of game with you. Let me tell you for the last time, you are no longer the noble mermaid, and if you don’t want to die, just settle down!”

After looking at the time, Bisnar, who was eager to return to the reception room, didn’t want to waste time here anymore. The longer he stayed here, the easier it would be for the emperor with a dog-like nose to find out something was wrong. Although he wanted to deal with this annoying emperor very early on, he didn’t want to tarnish the reputation of the Orfield family.

Bisnar half-crouched in front of Kiro, with his five fingers close to his scalp, and then pulled Kiro’s drooping face up by the roots of his hair, warning in a gentle but cruel tone.

The pain that almost tore off the scalp caused the mermaid’s delicate face to twist. The eyes that had been covered with a layer of blood scab at some point were opened with difficulty, and the chapped lips moved slightly.

The disdainful expression on his twisted face disappeared, and the mermaid who made such a face miraculously showed Bisner Orfield a bit of submission and vulnerability.

Seeing him like this, Bisnar’s suspicion that Kiro was colluding with Clarice gradually subsided, assuming that he suddenly made such a move today just because he was dissatisfied with some arrangement. In order to prevent anyone else from running up to him in a panic during the conversation later on, Bisnar had a rare moment of patience, tugging at Kiro’s head while bringing himself a little closer.

“What do you want? Say it now, and stop making trouble.”

The tone of voice, as if he were coaxing some unreasonable and rambunctious child, made Kiro feel a little nauseous. Fortunately, the long eyelashes and the blood scabs at the corners of his eyelids made it difficult for the other party to see his eyes clearly.

Otherwise, Bisnar Orfield will find that the eyes of the mermaid whom he thinks has surrendered are full of unwillingness, anger, and all-or-nothing fierceness.

Looking at Bisnar, who was close at hand, Kiro’s half-lidded eyes fixedly stared at his unsteady legs and said slowly, “I think…”

“I want you dead, idiot!”

The tail that had been hidden under the water, as if it had lost all force, suddenly rose up. The tail fin curled up with a handful of water mixed with irritating medicine and hit Bisnar Orfield’s face accurately. As the other party reflexively closed his eyes, Kiro seized the opportunity and pressed down his bruised waist. His tail turned almost 360 degrees, and he slammed Bisnar’s face with a piercing sound.

The other party reacted quickly after only a moment’s panic, and Kiro deftly dodged his hand that was grasping at his tail. His thin tail, which was thin due to long-term malnutrition, was like a whip, wrapping Bisnar’s ankles and dragging him into the water.

“…Gudu…cough cough”

Bisnar Orfield, who was already unstable, was pulled into the water. The harsh, pungent, and taste-bud-stimulating potion flooded the top of his head, causing him to float up and cough uncontrollably.

“You don’t want to drown me like this, do you? Kiro, I think you’re a little confused about your situation after being here for almost ten years.”

After wiping off the water on his face, although it can be said that this is the most embarrassing day he has ever lived, Bisnar still didn’t rush back to the ground. Instead, he looked at the mermaid, who had already fallen on the shore exhausted from just making the move, and his tone was very sarcastic.

He even got closer and sneered at the mermaid’s ear, “Is this your resistance? It’s nothing more than that. And have you forgotten that even if you knock me out here, you won’t be able to leave this place by yourself.”

Speaking of this, Bisnar suddenly paused and then continued: “I thought that you would give me some kind of surprise, so it’s just this?…… But you did cause me some trouble, so in order to prevent you from delaying my business any longer, I can only let you sleep for a while.”

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he heard the mermaid in front of him whispering something.

“You are so annoying…”

“What did you say?” Bisnar Orfield moved closer again, but this time he finally heard clearly.

“I said! You are so annoying! Go to hell!!”

The mermaid’s sudden, high-pitched scream made his ears buzz and stagger.

What’s the situation! Why did he feel as if he was kicked by someone? !

The things beyond his cognition made Bisnar Orfield look at the water in panic for the first time. The moment he looked down, Kiro straightened his legs, one bringing Bisnar Orfield, who was floundering in the water, in front of himself, and the other flexed and brought his knee down hard on the other man’s stomach.

“Cough…”

With a violent impact on his soft abdomen, Bisnar Orfield couldn’t help but let out a dry gag. Before he could be shocked at why Kiro suddenly grew human legs, he was hooked and pulled down the water by his knee.

“What are you doing! I said that even if you kill me here, you won’t be able to get out…”

The strength of the mermaid was astonishingly strong. Bisnar Orfield tried to pull the leg away while yelling, but when his hands touched the scarred legs, it was as if he had touched an iron pillar. He couldn’t pull it away, no matter what.

Kiro didn’t ignore Bisnar’s struggle, but…

He gritted his teeth, but this is the best opportunity!

Not long ago, when Bisnar specially sent an unfamiliar person to watch him, Kiro realized that there’s definitely a very important person coming today—someone whom even Bisnar Orfield couldn’t offend.

And this person, even if it’s not Leiden, will definitely be another person who is completely different from the other party. This is the best opportunity he can seize!

He absolutely wouldn’t allow this opportunity to slip away from his hands!

“Shut your mouth—go to hell with me!!”

He gritted his teeth, and his lack of exercise legs forced out an astonishing strength, tightly hooking Bisnar Orfield’s knee.

Under Kiro’s gaze, the other person’s head was gradually submerged by the water, and as he watched the bubbles constantly rise, his leg, which had just been against his stomach, bent higher and pressed against Bisnar Orfield’s throat.

“Ho… gurgling… no…”

Under the threat of imminent oxygen deprivation, Bisnar Orfield, who had given up struggling just now and started holding his breath, resisted again. The top of his thin-haired head kept floating up and down, his upturned face, and his purple lips opened and closed, but he was only able to pop out one word at a time.

Looking down at this distorted and painful face, Kiro saw his own reflection in the other party’s gradually expanding pupils.

A fierce look filled with hatred, an excited face that was also somewhat distorted…

Was he like this before?

Kiro was suddenly a little confused.

But the knee that hasn’t been weakened is still pressing against Bisnar’s throat and the person against the wall of the pool. Finally, feeling that the strength of the struggle under the knee was getting weaker and weaker, Kiro lowered his head just in time to see the sight of Bisnar’s eyes rolling back in his head as he passed out completely.

Just in case, he maintained this position for another seven or eight minutes before kicking Bisnar Orfield, who was completely limp, to the ground.

There was a muffled thud when the flesh touched the ground, and the raised dust fell on the drenched Bisnar.

Kiro glanced at him and calmly averted his gaze to his bloody, white-boned wrists, continuing to struggle as if he couldn’t feel the pain.

“Boom—”

Just when his eyes turned black due to excessive blood loss, the door to the basement, where no one would usually come in for a few days, was pushed open again, but this time the noise was especially loud.

Could it be that he is going to die today…

Kiro, who had no strength to resist anymore, immediately looked at the “evidence” he threw aside and regretted why he had not directly sunk this potentially dead guy underwater just now.

His eyes could no longer focus, and his body was also getting chills… Calmly assessing his current situation, Kiro finally looked up unwillingly.

The two figures, whose faces he couldn’t see clearly against the light, stopped at the door. He didn’t know why they didn’t come in to give him a whip.

Forget it; it doesn’t matter who it is anyway. Even if they are not here to deal with him, they can’t just take him away without Bisnar Orfield’s consent. It would be nice to get revenge before he dies. He hopes Leiden, the younger brother who has been with him for several years, can remember his order and burn him some small dried fish during the New Year’s holidays…

Thinking in a daze, Kiro closed his eyes somewhat drowsily. However, before he completely fainted, the two figures came to a place not too far away from him at some point.

A very familiar pattern…

Kiro, who was already unable to look up and see the other person’s face clearly, only saw a corner of the cloak coat that was about to hang down to the ground.

Why does it feel as if I’ve seen it somewhere before?

After the owner of the body lost consciousness, the legs that were hanging down helplessly reverted back to the appearance of a fishtail, fluttering with the waves of water caused by the pipeline at the edge of the pool that was continuously delivering the medicine outward.

“?”

Ji Mingjiang, who had just walked over to see what was going on with the man under house arrest, widened his eyes in shock and couldn’t help but curse.

“Clarice, don’t worry about that beast, Bisnar! This seems to be your brother, right?!”

***

Ji Mingjiang didn’t expect the situation to change so quickly.

He and Clarice followed the guidance of mental power all the way to the dead corner described by Zhang Cheng before. There were indeed two walls in front of them, and there was nothing suspicious at all, but the mental power threads that shuttled through the air were indeed excitedly pulling him towards the wall.

After a few moments of silence, he waved a hand at Clarice, who was looking for mechanisms around him, and then, under the puzzled gaze of the other party, bent his elbows and wrists inward and ran straight into the wall that blocked them.

“Don’t…”

The sound that rang out together with Clarice’s obstruction was different from hitting a thick wall but more like hitting an iron door.

There was a sound of “dang—”, and after exchanging a glance with Clarice to confirm that the direction was correct, Ji Mingjiang directly lifted his leg and kicked it this time.

With a kick full of strength, the invisible iron door hinge made a painful “squeak” sound, and then the door that was integrated with the wall opened, revealing a dark basement where nothing could be seen clearly.

Although it was hard to see clearly, the noise inside became more obvious in this environment.

“There is the sound of water flowing.”

The ear fins moved, and Ji Mingjiang took the lead to walk down the stairs.

After walking to the ground, before he had time to see the silhouette sprawled at the edge of the pool, Ji Mingjiang’s feet suddenly stumbled, and an unknown object plopped down in front of him noiselessly, tripping him hard.

“What the hell……”

As he muttered in a low voice, Ji Mingjiang turned back and flipped the thing over with Clarice. With the help of the light coming in from outside the room door and the thread of mental power dancing suddenly, Ji Mingjiang twitched his lips and looked at Clarice in disbelief. “Is this Bisnar Orfield?”

He came to this damn place behind their back to commit suicide? ? ? He couldn’t be killed by someone whom he imprisoned, right? ? ?

Touching Bisner Orfield’s neck with his fingertips, he felt a slight and almost negligible fluctuation coming from his finger. Leiden withdrew his hand and glanced at the person by the pool who seemed to have fainted and the other person’s bare legs in the water. He pinched the center of his brows and said, “Go and see the situation of the man by the pool first. I’ll take Bisnar Orfield out of here. He can’t die yet.”

“Oh.” Ji Mingjiang nodded, picked up Bisnar Orfield’s wet collar with one hand, and flung him onto Clarice’s back, then turned his head and walked to the pool.

He could tell that Clarice was not very interested just now, but it was understandable.

After all, when they saw this very hidden basement, they thought of the attendant’s words and the sound of water flow they had heard before. Their first reaction was whether or not Kiro was locked in here, but this idea quickly disappeared when they clearly saw human legs.

He didn’t know which bloody unfortunate person was locked up by that pervert, Bisnar, and thrown into the pool. Is this imprisonment or torture?

But no matter who it was, being locked up in such a damp and cold basement would surely make them sick, and it would be better to save them and send them to the hospital as soon as possible.

With this in mind, Ji Mingjiang took a few steps to the pool. He caught a slightly diluted bloody smell on the tip of his nose. Before he had time to crouch down to take a closer look at the man’s situation, he saw the water in front of him wave.

The legs that were still sinking under the water just now suddenly turned into a thin black fish tail with a few scales under his eyes.

Although the difference from before couldn’t be said to be even a fraction of a star, under the current circumstances, Ji Mingjiang could only think of that mermaid that he had only seen in journals and news reports: Clarice’s half-brother of a different race, Kiro, who has been missing for nearly ten years.

Looking at the fish’s tail, which was clearly dull due to malnutrition and had shed many scales, Ji Mingjiang then focused his attention on the half of the mermaid’s body lying on the shore, only to see the black hair that was too dry for the mermaid species, as well as the broken wrist.

He closed his eyes violently, his mind constantly welling up with anger, wanting nothing more than to just yank Bisnar Orfiled off of Clarice’s back and then wring his neck.