The villains are redeemed, and the heroines cry and beg for forgiveness.

However, when she saw Gu Ran following behind, her expression changed drastically: "A human?!"

"What did you do to the chieftain and the others? You damned human!"

The beautiful mermaid cursed and then wanted to shout loudly immediately.

"Alice, he is our guest." The little conch's mother stopped the sweet-looking mermaid from calling out, "We were all saved by him."

"You were all saved by him?" Alice was a little confused. "Chieftain, what happened to you?"

"We can talk about this later. I need to go see my mother first." The little conch's mother waved her hand. "In any case, don't neglect our guests."

"Oh, okay." Alice responded, but she still didn't know how to interact with Gu Ran, and her hostility and embarrassment were quite obvious.

The little conch's mother ignored her and turned to look at Gu Ran:

"Eudora and I are going to see her grandmother. You wait here for a while. If Alice dares to neglect you, just tell me, and I'll deal with her when I get back."

Gu Ran nodded.

Then the mother sea snail took the little sea snail's hand and swam along the crack in the island.

The little conch turned to look at Gu Ran.

Gu Ran smiled slightly at her, indicating that she could rest assured.

After the little conch and her mother left, the other mermaids who had been rescued also left, leaving only Gu Ran and the mermaid named Alice at the scene.

Of course, the other members of the merfolk were also curiously looking this way, but because they saw their chieftain, they did not make any moves for the time being.

Gu Ran found it somewhat amusing to look at Alice's wary, suspicious, and then curious gaze.

He could tell that the mermaid was weak, or rather, had no strength at all.

Moreover, from Gu Ran's observation, the merfolk as a whole seemed to have little strength.

The little conch's mother had witnessed his abilities, but she still brought him in, which was a great risk and showed her a lot of trust.

There are no problems with the mother-in-law's side; now it's up to her mother.

Gu Ran observed the merfolk while waiting.

Alice watched Gu Ran nervously, afraid that his observing gaze might harbor ill intentions.

A little while later, Gu Ran saw Little Conch and the others return.

Beside them was an old, frail mermaid. Judging from the contours of her face, she must have been extremely beautiful when she was young, but ultimately she could not resist the erosion of time.

That must be the little conch's grandmother.

However, Gu Ran's heart sank slightly as he looked at the expression on her face.

82. Gu Ran's deduction regarding the mermaid race's situation.

The little conch's grandmother had no extra expression on her face and looked very indifferent.

The three of them swam together to Gu Ran.

The little conch opened its mouth as if it wanted to say something, but after being glanced at by its grandmother, it obediently shut its mouth.

"I already know about what happened to you. First of all, thank you very much for saving Eudora and the others."

Hearing her grandmother's indifferent tone, Gu Ran felt a slight sinking feeling in her heart.

Sure enough, the grandmother's tone suddenly changed the next moment: "However, we mermaids do not intermarry with humans. If you want something in return, we can give you other generous rewards. In the ocean, there are many shipwrecks full of treasures. We know the coordinates of some of them and can tell you."

Mermaids do not intermarry with humans...

As expected, I was rejected.

Gu Ran looked at the little conch, took a deep breath, and smiled, "Why don't merfolk intermarry with humans? Can you tell me the reason?"

Although he was rejected, Gu Ran was not going to give up. What he needed to do now was not to be blindly angry and questioning, but to find the problem and solve it.

If it can be solved, then solve it; if it can't be solved... then try every possible way to solve it.

In the end, he would not hesitate to leave the mermaid clan with the little conch shell.

Grandmother held a short cane in her hand. She gently tapped the rocks beside her with the cane and said firmly, "The reason why merfolk do not intermarry with humans is very simple: merfolk and humans are mortal enemies!"

"You saved Eudora and the others, so you can also see why you saved Eudora's mother. Humans treat mermaids as slaves and commodities, killing and humiliating them at will."

"Therefore, the merfolk's hostility towards humans stems from this. Even if I agree to your relationship, Eudora's own kind will not understand or agree. Moreover, your involvement will cause psychological confusion for them and will also lead to Eudora's isolation."

"That's why I'm against it. Leaving Eudora would be good for both of you."

Hearing her grandmother's words, Gu Ran breathed a slight sigh of relief. Although it was indeed a huge difficulty, it wasn't the worst-case scenario yet.

It's simply that the merfolk are xenophobic, and humans have caused them immense harm, which puts him in an awkward position as a human, leading to his rejection by the merfolk.

Although it may be a bit troublesome, these are not problems that cannot be solved.

Moreover, judging from the grandmother's appearance, she didn't seem to be too opposed to his relationship with Little Conch. What I just mentioned were indeed real issues, but they didn't include her own attitude.

If there is no objection... then it is very likely that they agree, or at least neither oppose nor agree.

You can tell from the little conch's state that although it was a little nervous and worried, it did not show any signs of frustration.

Moreover, there are many ways to solve these difficulties. The best way is naturally to change the perception and attitude of the other merfolk towards him, to accept and tolerate him, so that the little conch can also receive the blessing of its kind.

The worst-case scenario is that I would take the little seashell and fly away, so that I would no longer need their approval and acceptance.

But the little conch might not want or like this. Having finally found her family, she probably wants to continue living with her relatives and clansmen.

So even for the sake of the little conch, he would change the minds of the other merfolk and make them accept him.

"I already know all that you've said, but I truly love Xiao... Eudora." Gu Ran almost blurted out "Little Conch," but then remembered that it was just a name he'd come up with because he was terrible at naming things, and Little Conch already had a name. In front of her mother and grandmother, it was better to use her name.

"So I will not back down. Since you mean that the other merfolk hate humans and therefore will feel the same hostility towards me as a human, then why not just let them know that I am different from the other humans who want to persecute the merfolk?"

Gu Ran continued:

"Please forgive my bluntness, but the merfolk's current strength is probably not quite enough. And the merfolk are likely facing a huge problem right now..."

"The merfolk originally relied on the distance of the ocean and the sea monsters in the deep sea to keep humans away, but the merfolk have repeatedly gone to the near sea and been captured by humans. There must be a hidden reason for this, and it must be a matter of life and death for the merfolk, otherwise the merfolk would not have taken such a big risk."

"Then you can tell me about the difficulties the merfolk are currently facing. With my strength, I might be able to help the merfolk."

This is a conclusion Gu Ran reached based on his observations along the way and the information he already knew.

Since the merfolk are in trouble, if he can help them overcome their difficulties, it should improve their opinion of him.

Grandmother looked at Gu Ran with surprise: "Your insight is very sharp. This is something I was going to tell you next, but I didn't expect you to have already deduced it on your own."

"That's right, the merfolk are indeed in a big trouble right now, and it's a big trouble that could lead to their extinction."

Grandmother sighed and said, "Eudora and her mother both described you as very strong. After hearing this, I also intended to have you help the merfolk. However, you are, after all, an outsider, a human. So, although I wanted you to help the merfolk, I couldn't be sure of your intentions."

"However, what I didn't expect was that you actually deduced the situation of the mermaids on your own and offered to help, which shows that you really value your relationship with Eudora."

"Although I want you to help the merfolk, I won't hide it from you. The merfolk are in a very bad situation right now, and the enemies they are facing are very powerful. Even if you are very strong, you may still fail, or even... die."

"Human boy, are you really sure about this?"

Is the mermaid race in a very bad situation? Are the enemies they are facing extremely powerful?

Isn't this just right?

The worse the situation of the merfolk and the stronger their enemies, the greater the role I can play, and the more sincere the gratitude I will receive from the merfolk afterward.

However, we shouldn't be blindly confident. We should first listen to what the merfolk have to say and learn about our enemies.

Only by knowing himself and his enemy can he make accurate responses and come up with targeted solutions.

So Gu Ran said with a sigh, "Although I don't know what kind of predicament and enemy the merfolk are currently facing, I will help the merfolk for Eudora's sake. Please tell me."

83. Ariel's Doubts, Undersea Ruins

Outside the light screen.

Ariel's eyes showed intense confusion.

Did the merfolk ever experience such difficult times?

Why has no one ever told her this?

Furthermore, Gu Ran actually took the initiative to help the mermaids overcome their difficulties, so why did her mother never tell her this?

And, did your mother ever have such a kind attitude towards Gu Ran?

Ariel looked at her mother's kind gaze toward Gu Ran on the screen, then recalled the hateful look in her mother's eyes when she told her about Gu Ran. It didn't seem like the same person's attitude at all.

And then there's Eudora.

Ariel carefully recalled her life from childhood to adulthood, and she never had a sister or younger sister named Eudora.

For a moment, Ariel wanted to go back immediately and ask her mother.

She suddenly learned that she had a sister she had never met, and that her tribe's greatest enemy had once helped her a great deal—things she had never known or imagined before.

Wait a moment.

Did Gu Ran really help the merfolk back then?

Maybe not necessarily.