Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 175: Rainy Night Mermaid

The only thing to be thankful for is that there’s been no news for several days, and tonight Bai Yunqi is staying in the small courtyard for cultivation and didn’t tag along.

Jiang Yuan thought that no matter how out of tune his singing was, only he and the mermaid could hear it, which at least wasn’t so embarrassing.

"What should I sing?" Raindrops splattered down. He donned the rain gear specially bought from the Market to shield himself from the growing rain and sat in front of Crescent Lake, staring at the rings of ripples and cleared his throat.

He hadn’t seriously sung in a long time. Back in school, he would indulge in some Ghostly Wail for a while, but since graduating and stumbling through work without earning much, it seemed like he had lost even the mood to listen to music.

Occasionally, a song would become popular in the streets, entering through one ear and exiting from the other, not even remembering who sang it, let alone the lyrics.

On a rainy night, the person with the rain gear daydreamed for a moment, and what came to mind were still the old songs from school days. Jiang Yuan cleared his throat again and sang out the beautiful lyrics with a slightly off-key voice, "The sky is azure waiting for the rain, and I am waiting for you..."

His singing, accompanied by the sound of rain, drifted over Crescent Lake, and the water surface, layered with ripples, remained as calm as ever underneath.

When Jiang Yuan repeated "The sky is azure waiting for the rain" for the fourth time, bubbles gurgled up from the lake bottom, and amidst the rain-dotted chaotic lake surface, a shadow could be faintly seen moving slowly below.

He was a bit apprehensive in his heart, hoping he wouldn’t sing so terribly that he ended up summoning an octopus monster!

"Splash!"

A beautiful face suddenly emerged from the water, snuck a glance at the commotion on the lakeshore before diving back under, and moments later quietly revealed its true form in the center of the lake.

Black, smooth long hair clung wetly to the oval face. The skin appeared as tender as cream, and there was an indescribable enchanting quality in the eyes that seemed to smile yet not.

Unlike the human portrayal of mermaids in his impression, she had colorful long fins on her shoulders, with two larger, prettier fins covering the turbulent waves on her chest, and a lush fish tail below the abdomen gently swaying in the lake water, keeping the upper body steadily afloat.

"It’s such a pity I can’t take a photo; this mermaid is too beautiful!" Jiang Yuan hummed softly while observing the target attracted by his singing, pondering whether to greet her or keep singing until she approached willingly.

He was still singing when three more mermaids suddenly emerged from the lake water, including unexpectedly, a male.

"It’s been a long time since we’ve heard human singing near the lake, how strange!"

"Indeed, nights with stormy weather are so tedious, having a human singing is quite entertaining."

"Although human voices aren’t pleasant, and the tunes are rather odd, if you listen closely, the lyrics are great! It’s said that human language is the language of the gods, so their songs should be offerings to the deities, right?"

"The lyrics ’Gusts of rain upon the banana leaves beyond the curtain, door rings breed copper rust’ are excellent, except he’s singing too dreadfully."

"Well, humans... unless they specifically cultivate music as a cultivator, who can produce heavenly sounds, it’s good enough that they sing the words and tune clearly..."

......

A group of mermaids whispered and laughed softly, and upon seeing this, Jiang Yuan decided to take the initiative. Otherwise, like that person in the diary who sang all night yet procured nothing and got splashed, it’d be frustrating!

"I’ve heard mermaids can sing soul-stirring songs. You’ve been listening for quite a while; how do you find my singing?" He thought it over and decided to compliment first, then inquire, so that even if they ridiculed his singing as dreadful, he’d still have something to say next.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing him speak, the group of mermaids turned serious and stared at him.

"Didn’t your predecessors teach you that when facing mermaids, one should not speak first? It’s the most basic courtesy." The male mermaid coolly replied.

"Indeed, no one taught me that. I was merely trying to sing while fishing in the rain at night, and you gathered to listen, yet wouldn’t let me speak. How is that logical?" Jiang Yuan thought, no wonder the person in the diary was so infuriated; this "etiquette" is bizarre.

The mermaids exchanged whispers and promptly submerged.

Not expecting such poor luck, he fished up a piece of ordinary material, put it in the Storage Bag, and opted to switch to a song he liked and continued humming.

"Splash!"

Yet another small mermaid emerged from underwater, curiously asking, "The song you’re singing is so strange; I’ve never heard it. Why would a seabird fall in love with a fish? Surely, bird monsters prefer eating fish monsters!"

Jiang Yuan was thrilled; having successfully triggered a bug and attracted another mermaid who actively engaged, but hearing the question made him twitch slightly, "Well, the lyrics also mention it’s just an accident, perhaps similar to a wolf falling for a sheep?"

"Wolves only eat sheep; they wouldn’t fall in love with them!"

"Exactly! Seabirds wouldn’t fall for fish either; you can’t sing yet made up nonsense, it’s laughable!"

"How can you humans treat songs this way? Sung songs should either convey truth, narrate divine will, or reverence for gods, not random nonsense..."

The mermaids from earlier splashed back up from the water and began discussing the lyrical inaccuracies, harming themselves and others.

Jiang Yuan chuckled, truly never expecting that completing this task meant braving heavy rain to discuss lyrical precision with a group of mermaids, utterly absurd.

After a while, when the chatter finally ceased, he proactively asked, "It’s getting late; is there anything you can offer for me to trade?"

Humans had always sought treasures from the mermaids, but the tables were turned, catching the mermaids momentarily at a loss, glancing amongst themselves, none speaking up.

"We have various treasures from the seabed." The lone male mermaid hesitated for a moment but proceeded with the standard introduction, "Potion for a perfect singing voice after drinking, pearls formed from mermaid’s tears, seabed treasure maps, coral that can be used in alchemy, etc. What are you looking for?"

All sounded appealing. Jiang Yuan examined the treasures they offered one by one, but his face fell when he saw the prices.

Each indicated precious special materials, colors unlike any previously seen; even the cheapest pearl cost more than three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, extremely pricey!

"I don’t need any of these; I want a mermaid scale."

"A scale?" The male mermaid seemed to have never heard of such a trading request and wondered aloud, "Mermaids shed skin once a century; scales aren’t rare yet never traded with humans. What will you offer in exchange?"

Jiang Yuan thought to himself, asking the question out loud, "Can I trade two herbs with you? Would you agree?"

"I only have some terrestrial plants and herbs, would you trade them?"

"Please hold on a moment." The male mermaid swam to confer quietly with his peers, evidently not seeing a scale as an invaluable treasure but reluctant to trade at a loss.

After a while, with the rain having stopped, he swam over and handed a list.

"Strawberries X60; Cherries X60; Tomatoes X60..." The requested trade materials weren’t peculiar and not abundant, yet their variety was extensive, mostly farm produce, and some easily picked herbs, but presently he couldn’t gather so many.

They seemed empathetic, handing over a Conch Shell, "Regardless of the time, once you’ve gathered these items, come to Crescent Lake and blow the Conch Shell; we’ll hear underwater and come trade with you."

[Magical Conch Shell: Can be blown at any lake connected to the sea, Summoning mermaids. Can be bound, won’t be dropped, cannot be transferred]

Seeing the system parse the details, Jiang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly, realizing that his off-key two songs resulted in obtaining a tool for trading with mermaids at any time. Boldly following an unconventional path once, it was completely worth it!

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