Chapter 144 (1/2)

The little mermaid cheekily shot a jet of water right on his face; boiling water.

Hao Ren recoiled in shock with a loud, “Yikes!”. Thank goodness however, his body was previously strengthened (face included) and aside from the scare as well as a slight sting, there were no signs of scalding. He stared blankly at the mermaid as it swam in the boiling pot of water. It took him a good while before something clicked. The egg had hatched! It hatched after Lily put it to boil…

You really cannot make assumptions about these alien life forms.

Lily leapt up curiously to have a look too. Her eyes widened immediately but, her husky-brain took some time before it came to a conclusion. “…Oh… I guess I can’t eat that now…”

The little mermaid could not understand what Hao Ren and Lily were saying. It only stared at the world outside the pot curiously (For the mermaid, the world only comprised of a ceiling and the two big faces it saw). It was a beautiful thing; its tail was a shade of pale red, and its hair was hazelnut brown. Its eyes were particularly big, and a curious as well as witty glint shone from them. Hao Ren was not sure if all mermaids were like this, that they would look like a teenager once they hatched. Only her size itself was dimunitive, about half a foot; like a mini Wuyue when she was in Siren form. The little bugger floated face up in the pot. Before long, it seemed like she was bored and with a mighty leap (mighty for her size), she jumped out of the pot and directly onto the stove.

Hao Ren was caught by surprise but thankfully, he reacted in time to catch the little bugger using the pot cover. The little mermaid sat there as she stared at Hao Ren again. After that, she started making a weird gurgling noise. Then, she slapped her tail against the pot’s cover. Hao Ren prodded the mermaid’s tail in response, and she calmed down. It appeared like she was testing if that would catch Hao Ren’s attention.

“What’s that?” Lily asked as she sniffed the mermaid, her tail wagging. She then gave the little mermaid’s tail a quick lick. “I did put it to boil for a while but, it doesn’t seem to be cooked… Where did you find this, Mr. Landlord?”

“Quiet.” Hao Ren pushed Lily away. “This is our new tenant. I brought her back as an egg, from a place 800 light years away. Never thought that you putting the egg to boil would have her hatch. This world is bloody insane.”

Lily’s eyes widened as she gawped. “Wow!”

“I think…” Hao Ren thought for a bit on what he could do at that moment. He realized that the little mermaid was naked (Well, you could not see much from her six-inch frame anyway). “Let’s get her some clothes.”

Lily gave Hao Ren a weird look. Both of them soon discovered; where were they suppose to find such small clothes?

By then, the little mermaid had started to flap about again. She had realized there was more to the world than what she saw from the pot. Her boundless curiosity now extended to everything in the kitchen, including the knife rack and the lit stove. Hao Ren broke into cold sweat at her enthusiasm and quickly got Lily to bring a tub of water. He then carefully put the mermaid into the tub. He did wonder if the little thing would be alright in cool water after she hatched in boiling water. However, her ability to adapt was impressive, and she swam naturally in the tub. With this, Hao Ren brought the tub to the hall, his mind now at ease. He then asked Lily to wake Wuyue up. The siren had already been napping for a good part of the day.

“…She was hatched by being boiled?” The siren asked incredulously. “And, she was swimming in it?”

“Well, there are creatures that can survive under high temperatures in the deep ocean. Even those volcanic hot springs have microbes in them,” Hao Ren quipped. “But, I’m still amazed that she hatched after being boiled by Lily for lunch. By the way, do you have any idea how to make some clothes for her? While she’s a small one, it’s still weird seeing her naked.”

Wuyue had no idea about sewing but, she was quick with her head. She ran upstairs to her room and pulled out a sealing tape. “Let’s use this for the moment…”

“This?” Hao Ren raised an eyebrow.

“Why not? It’s just temporary anyway. Let Vivian figure it out when she gets back. I’ve never seen any vampire as good as her when it comes to housework,” Wuyue said as she brought the tape to the little mermaid. The poor thing got scared and instantly jumped back into the tub. She curled into a ball, trying to dodge it. It seemed like she did not like the white coloured tape at all. Wuyue pouted.