Stop pretending, the fake heiress is actually a master of metaphysics.

Shen Nian said, "Mermaids have the ability to control the seawater within a small area, just like the dragons once had the ability to control the wind and rain."

"You read that right, there really was a merman near our ship at the time."

"So what do we do now?"

Lin Xiyue came in holding her phone: "I've already notified the higher authorities. Rescue is on its way. We must hold out until then."

Logically speaking, it took them about two to three hours by boat to get here.

The rescue boats shouldn't be slower than them.

But now that there's a merman here, it's hard to say how long it will take them to get here.

The once quiet island suddenly became noisy due to the sudden rise in sea level.

Shen Nian pressed her temples: "Where's the production crew's boat?"

Lu Mengmeng said, "I contacted the production team, but they rented a medium-sized yacht, which can only carry a maximum of twenty people. After deducting the production team staff, there aren't many seats left."

Shen Nian said, "Hu Die, you accompany Lu Mengmeng to find Mu Sinian and Zhang Xiaoling. You two get on the boat first. Take out the kayaks, lifeboats, and speedboats prepared by the production team and keep them on standby. If the rescue team doesn't arrive, take the elderly, weak, young, and disabled with you first."

"So what are you going to do?"

The boat was originally reserved for the production crew and six guests, and did not take up anyone's rescue space, so the guests did not need to feel guilty about boarding the boat.

Moreover, the current situation is entirely the result of the islanders' own actions.

Shen Nian said, "Let's stay on the island for now. Don't worry, this little bit of seawater won't drown us."

"Wear the water-repelling amulet close to your body."

Even if it's not safe on the ship, at least it will allow them to survive until the rescue team arrives.

"Go quickly."

Lu Mengmeng nodded, turned around and ran out of the ancestral hall.

As they ran towards the village chief's house, they heard people shouting, "The sea god is angry!"

Lu Mengmeng felt it was absurd.

They ran towards the village chief's house with almost all their might.

The camera ran out of battery while running, and the live stream went dark again.

The two grabbed Mu Sinian and Zhang Xiaoling and ran towards the port.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief when the crew picked me up and put me on the boat.

But the boat can't sail.

The waves are too big.

And to make matters worse, the compass malfunctioned.

Lu Mengmeng stared at the churning, dark seawater below the ship's side, lost in thought.

Mu Sinian asked Shen Nian where she was.

"Master Shen and Master Lin will stay on the island."

……

Shen Nian glanced at the skeleton, then raised her hand and put it into her storage ring.

"Let's go."

The village chief is directing the villagers to climb to higher ground on the island.

There is a small hill on one corner of the island, which is the highest point of the entire island. Normally, the islanders would not go up there unless necessary, but now it has become their only refuge.

On the way, Shen Nian and Lin Xiyue also saw Granny Fan's body floating in the water.

"How did she die?"

Lin Xiyue frowned, feeling that this old man...

But never mind, now is not the time to think about that.

The village chief was yelling angrily, "Don't take anything! Your life is the most important thing!!"

Seeing Shen Nian and Lin Xiyue, he muttered a few curses under his breath with a displeased expression.

"...It's all your fault, you outsiders, for insisting on looking for mermaids."

"Now you're getting your comeuppance."

"I told you long ago, you'd regret it."

Shen Nian scoffed, "The merfolk came knocking on your door, wasn't it because of that skeleton you keep in your ancestral hall?"

"What does this have to do with us?"

"At most, Granny Fan intentionally used our hands to attract the vengeful mermaids."

"Did you go to the ancestral hall?"

The village chief's eyes widened, his gaze filled with disbelief and fear.

If I'm not mistaken...

Shen Nian said unhurriedly, "What was captured back then should have been two merfolk."

"Are they siblings... or mother and child? There's only one mermaid in the ancestral hall, so did the other mermaid escape, or was she released by someone who couldn't bear to see her suffer?"

The village chief said, "That happened a hundred years ago. What does what people did a hundred years ago have to do with people today?"

"Yes, it's okay."

Shen Nian coldly replied, "Then why are you unwilling to return his sister's remains to him?"

"Why do you take for granted the favorable weather and year-round peace on the island that the formation brought you?"

"They even claim to be descendants of mermaids and named their island Mermaid Island to attract tourists?"

"Killing her wasn't enough; we also want to suck blood from her corpse for generations to come."

The village chief was speechless and could not utter another word.

After Shen Nian and Lin Xiyue helped move everyone on the island to the mountaintop, Shen Nian stood alone to the side, waiting for rescue.

Some children were crying incessantly, while others were crying in fear.

Some people asked them what they had done wrong.

No one answered.

The seawater gradually submerged the low-lying areas of the island.

Suddenly, pale, swollen figures appeared in the dark sea.

"There's a monster in the water!!"

Someone exclaimed.

Shen Nian looked up and saw the merman surrounded by a large group of mermaids.

His hair was like seaweed, and he was half naked, with the other half wearing a magnificent deep blue fishtail.

From a human aesthetic point of view, he should be considered beautiful.

Looking at it for too long can even give people a feeling of dizziness and vertigo.

Shen Nian met his gaze, and suddenly heard a voice in her ear.

"Sister... is on you."

...Thought transmission?

"Yes."

"I can return your sister to you, but only if you spare the island's inhabitants."

"impossible."

The reply from the other side was resolute, and even though it was just a thought, Shen Nian could hear the hatred in it.

"Most of those who harmed you back then are already dead. The people here do not deserve to die."

She didn't say these people were innocent; of course, they were also guilty.

However, the crime does not warrant death.

Shen Nian said, "I will return your sister to you."

"If you're willing to spare the people on the island, I can promise you something else."

"...What?"

"The Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan were wiped out thousands of years ago, and although your Merfolk Clan is not extinct, your current situation is probably not much better."

"Since ancient times, humans have known of your existence and once hunted mermaids extensively, forcing you to migrate to the depths of the ocean."

"Now your existence is even less of a secret. Even if you hide in the deep sea, you probably can't avoid being searched and retrieved by humans."

Shen Nian pulled out the Heavenly Book that she hadn't used since the secret realm: "The Heavenly Dao doesn't want you to continue to exist, but I can fight against it. I've set a prohibition, and from now on your people will not be harmed by humans."

Demons and ghosts are punished by being struck by lightning for harming people, so why do humans get away with harming non-human races without any consequences?

Is it simply because humans are favored by the Heavenly Dao?

Shen Nian sometimes thinks about it and finds it quite funny.

She was unable to estimate the other species, but the merfolk were a race that was born almost at the same time as the dragons and phoenixes.

If they had simply faded and perished naturally like the dragon and phoenix, that would have been fine.

But what if it were actually captured by humans and sent to a laboratory to be dismantled and studied?

That would be too insulting to such an ancient people.