Chapter 700: The Mermaid Clan’s Tears of Holding (2/2)

“Where?” Han Yunxi asked doubtfully.

Long Feiye sat down and took off his boot. Han Yunxi grew more puzzled by the sight, though she noticed that even his feet seemed filled with contours of strength. The next moment, she suddenly realized there was an impressive blue crystal embedded into his ankle.

“This is…” Han Yunxi grew incredulous. She’d known Long Feiye for years, but never realized he had a treasure stuck into his foot. It shone with equal brilliance and luster as her jade crystal bracelet.

Don’t tell me this thing is some blue jade crystal stone from the future or something.

Long Feiye tugged the crystal out of his foot, releasing a stream of fresh blood. Only then did Han Yunxi realized there was a post at the end of the stone similar to that found on women’s earrings. Long Feiye hadn’t pierced his ankle, but he did nail the stone to his flesh. Pulling it out caused the wound to bleed again.

Han Yunxi immediately took out some antiseptic and gauze, but Long Feiye was already preparing to put on his stocking.

“No rush, let’s treat the wound first,” she stopped him.

“A little thing like this isn’t–”

“No injury of yours is little to me!” She was very demanding and pushed him back on the rock, then hoisted up his pant leg, took off his stocking, and carefully disinfected and bandaged his wound. Long Feiye sat still obediently as he let her work. The set and focused lines of her tiny face made him rest a hand on her chin and slowly raise her head up.

“Don’t bother me!” Han Yunxi slapped his hand aside. She carefully bandaged Long Feiye’s foot, then helped him slip on his stocking and boot.

Once everything was done, she looked up in time to hear Long Feiye asked, “Can I bother you now?”

Han Yunxi burst into laughter. Before she could answer, Long Feiye lifted her up by the chin, gently nipped her lips, and pulled her to her feet. Han Yunxi wanted to ignore it, but still ended up smoothing her lips. Of course, she quickly directed her attention back to the blue jewel in Long Feiye’s palm.

“What is this? Can it take us out of here?” she asked with curiosity.

Long Feiye rested the crystal in the center of his palm, where it sparkled with a shine to rival the most precious of pearls. Although it was tiny, its faint blue hue refreshed the senses and seemed to enlighten its viewer. Those who stared at it long enough would think of the skies or the seas and other vast, expanseless vistas.

There was a hypnotic, mesmerizing quality to the stone that sucked Han Yunxi in.

“What does it look like?” Long Feiye asked.

“Like…a teardrop,” Han Yunxi was certain. “A single teardrop.”

“That’s exactly what it is. One of the mermaid’s tears, the Tear of Holding,” Long Feiye explained.

Amazed, Han Yunxi exclaimed, “Something from the Baili Clan?”

There were many branches within the Mermaid Clan, with the Baili family amongst them. They could live on land like normal humans, but expressed their true natures freely within the waters.

“The Baili Clan are part of the teardrop mermaid branch within the Mermaid Clan. Their usual tears won’t change into Tears of Holding unless their lives are at risk. Then the strongest thought their hearts hold onto will cause them to shed this tear. The stronger the urge to hold onto a thought, the more powerful the teardrop,” Long Feiye explained.

The one in his hands had been handed down to his imperial mother from his imperial father, then to him. It was bestowed upon the East Qin Dynasty by the forefather of the Mermaid Clan as thanks for a lifesaving favor. So far, it remained the largest Tear of Holding to have existed within the Mermaid Clan.

“What are its powers?” Han Yunxi asked, floored. The Baili Mermaids were completely different from the mermaids of lore that she knew. Would this teardrop hold the secret to their escape from Lost Void Laje?

Long Feiye took her to the lakeshore and tossed the teardrop into the water.“This is the Mermaid Clan’s biggest Tear of Holding yet. As long as it’s tossed into the water, every member of the teardrop mermaid branch within the vicinity will sense its presence and hurry over.”

As Long Feiye stared at the tiny pools hidden within the larger ones of Lost Void Lake, he remarked, “This lake contains lakes within itself. From a distance, they look like an endless network of holds. If your lordship guesses right, the bottom of this lake must connect to other waterways as well.”

“You mean to say…as long as the Mermaid Clan can sense the Tear of Holding, they’ll find us via the waterways?” Han Yunxi finally understood Long Feiye’s intentions.

He nodded. Although he’d heard of Lost Void Lake, he’d never come her personally. If he knew beforehand that its waters connected to other systems, they could have skipped going through the maze formation at all.

While Bai Yanqing and Bai Yuqiao waited for them outside the formation, would Long Feiye’s Tear of Holding summon the rescue team they needed?