I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

Lin Qingyue was surrounded and coaxed by two children, one on each side. She couldn't suppress her smile and reached out to pinch Xu Nanyi's cheek, then pinched Shen Xizhou's cheek.

"Did you two grow up eating nothing but candy? Your mouths are so sweet."

She then turned to Shen Xizhou, deliberately putting on a stern face: "You're not allowed to use those kinds of words to lie to girls in the future."

Shen Xizhou puffed out his little chest, speaking with righteous indignation: "I only know how to coax, not lie!"

Lin Qingyue was amused and burst out laughing.

Xu Nanyi snuggled into her arms, her little hands wrapped around her waist, and looked up at her, asking, "Auntie Yue, why are you crying? Did someone bully you?"

Lin Qingyue lowered her head, looking at the concerned little face in her arms, then at Shen Xizhou's round dragon eyes that were leaning closer, and remained silent for a while.

"...The Dream Sea is actually my home."

The sea of ​​clouds flowed past the side of the boat, and the jade boat moved forward silently.

Lin Qingyue's gaze fell on the distant light blue horizon, and her voice was a little softer than before.

"My mother is the Sea Queen of the Merfolk. My father... is just a scholar from a small mountain village in the human world."

She paused, then reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair that had been ruffled by the wind behind her ear.

"So I'm considered to be half mermaid, half demon."

"When I was little... my family was considered well-off. My father didn't care much about the sea tribe's affairs. He would sit under the palace corridor writing every day, and my mother would come over to have tea with him after finishing her official duties. At that time, I didn't know what the Sea Emperor was. I only knew that my mother was very powerful, and everyone respected her, including my father and me."

Xu Nanyi nestled quietly in her arms, not interrupting, but simply placing her little paws gently on the back of her hand.

"Children are simple-minded; they think that's how they can live their whole lives."

Lin Qingyue twitched the corner of her mouth. "Later... my mother had a second husband. He was a nobleman of the merfolk, with a much better bloodline than my father."

"I was young at the time, and I couldn't stand seeing the attention that was rightfully mine being taken away by others. I would throw tantrums and have a lot of arguments with my mother."

Xu Nanyi gripped her hand tightly.

"Later, my mother had a new child. That day I was extremely angry, feeling that even the last thing that belonged to me had been taken away. So I ran away, ran out of the palace, and ran into the deep sea..."

Shen Xizhou asked in a low voice, "And then?"

"Then I encountered a tidal storm and was swept ashore. It was Ah-Yuan who happened to be passing by and saved me."

"I was stubborn back then, and in a fit of pique, I followed Sister Yuan to the Endless Demon Realm, where I stayed for a long time. I thought that if I didn't go back, my mother would know she was wrong and would come looking for me..."

She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Later I found out... after I ran away, my father went crazy with worry. He was just a mortal, and hadn't even fully mastered underwater breathing techniques, yet he searched everywhere for me. He was so anxious that he ventured into the underwater storm zone..."

Lin Qingyue's voice went hoarse.

"...He was swept away and died."

The jade boat remained quiet for a while, with only the sound of the wind and the faint hum of the spiritual patterns moving on the bottom of the boat.

Xu Nanyi buried her face in her arms and called out to her in a muffled voice, "Aunt Yue..."

Lin Qingyue ruffled her hair and continued speaking.

"When I returned to the underwater palace, all I saw was my father's coffin and my mother's resentful eyes."

"At that time, I thought I couldn't blame anyone. My father chased after me because he was worried about me, and my mother, as the Sea Queen, could have had many husbands... I was young and ignorant, but in the end, I was the one who ran away first."

"Later, I really didn't want to stay in that place, so I left again. I never went back for a very long time."

She opened her eyes, looked down at the two quiet little heads in her arms, and smiled: "Later, I met my master and entered the Taiyuan Holy Land with Ayuan."

Xu Nanyi lifted her head from her embrace, her eyes red-rimmed. She bit her lip and held back for a while, but finally couldn't hold back and a tear fell with a "plop".

She sniffed and rubbed her face against Lin Qingyue's palm.

"Aunt Yue... I'll stay with you from now on. And Mommy, Xiaozhou, Uncle Tianxing, and so many other people too."

Shen Xizhou also came over and placed his little pink pearl in Lin Qingyue's palm: "Aunt Yue, here you go. If you want to cry, I'll catch it for you! My dragon belly is big, it can hold lots and lots of things!"

Lin Qingyue looked down at the little pearl in her palm, warmed by Shen Xizhou's touch, and then at Xu Nanyi's red-rimmed face, which was trying hard to smile. Her nose suddenly stung, and she opened her arms, hugging both children into her arms. She rested her chin on their heads and spoke softly.

"Yes, with you all here, Auntie isn't sad anymore."

The wind blew in from above the sea of ​​clouds, carrying the slightly salty scent of the distant ocean.

The jade boat continued forward, and the light blue horizon drew ever closer.

The Dream Sea is almost here.

……

The underwater palace.

Coral pillars and seashells as tiles, with large swathes of luminous pearls embedded in the dome, cast a soft, moonlit glow, making the entire palace appear like a galaxy submerged in water.

Fish dart between the pillars, their scales reflecting tiny specks of light. Occasionally, one or two transparent jellyfish drift leisurely over the roof, their canopies opening and closing like dandelions blooming in the sea.

In the very center of the main hall, the Sea Emperor Hai Linghua sat on his throne.

It was a chair carved from a single piece of deep-sea white jade, with the totem of the Merfolk carved on the backrest.

Hai Linghua wore a long robe with a dark blue base and silver embroidered waves, and her hair was adorned with tiny pearls and coral beads that swayed gently as she tilted her head slightly.

She was extremely beautiful, with her eyebrows and eyes bearing a seven-tenths resemblance to Lin Qingyue, only her features were sharper. She was looking down at a scroll of memorials.

Footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

A guard clad in silver scale armor swam in.

"Your Majesty, the eldest princess has returned and is currently outside the palace gates."

Hai Linghua paused, a complex expression flashing across her eyes, which were almost identical to Lin Qingyue's.

She paused for a moment, then lowered her eyes again, the pen continuing to glide across the paper, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"...Let her in."

The guards acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Before long, the palace door was pushed open, and a tall, slender figure walked in against the backdrop of the pearly light.

Lin Qingyue did not wear the white robe of Taiyuan Holy Land, but changed into a simple sea-blue long dress with a silver belt tied around her waist. Her long hair was tied into a low ponytail, looking neat and tidy.

She walked to the center of the hall, stood still, bowed slightly, and performed a gesture of greeting as a cultivator would.

"Junior Lin Qingyue greets His Majesty the Sea Emperor."

Hai Linghua raised her eyes and looked at the face below the stage that resembled her by seven-tenths. She stared at it for a while before speaking.

"...What did you just say your name was?"

Lin Qingyue lowered her eyes and said calmly, "Junior Lin Qingyue."

........................

I'll post two chapters today, but I had to get a shot because of a cold and I'm feeling really unwell. I'll post three more tomorrow.