The Villain Saint is my secondary account

But to verify this answer, we need to see how the merman boy interpreted the words he wrote to himself at the time.

We'll have to wait until the next day to find out. As for what happened that night, with the death of the merman, it should be considered over.

Ella opened a door and escorted Ye Xiao back to the guild headquarters to change clothes before returning to her cabin on the merchant ship in the Magala Sea, thousands of miles away.

Using her crow familiar, she observed that the ghost ship that had been following the merchant ship was slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea; at the same time, the corpses on the merchant ship's deck were slowly melting into light blue seawater, like ice cream in the sunlight.

……

The search and rescue team that went to the escort ship also returned to the ship. Despite the level 9 storm at sea, they were finally able to hitch a ride on another escort ship responsible for the north side of the merchant ships before the escort ship completely sank, and were thus rescued.

According to what they told the captain, unfortunately, they were unable to find any survivors on the escort ship, and even the search and rescue personnel, "Ye Xiao" and Mr. "Slade," perished.

But they found the cause of death for the first search and rescue team and the escort ship crew: a strange humanoid monster, also known as a merman.

Humans bitten by merfolk are corrupted into monster slaves whose minds are controlled by them, and thus almost everyone on the escort ship has been turned into a ferocious monster.

In addition, the merfolk seem to be able to produce strange, dark black sludge in the ship's hold. This sludge seeps into the ship and not only restores the damaged vessel, but the merfolk can even manipulate this lifeless hull like a slave.

This was not a discovery by Councilor Winder, but rather a letter found on the body of the first mate in a sealed room at the lowest level of the ship's cabin.

In the letter, the first mate wrote that he and the ship's doctor searched all the way to the bottom of the ship but could not find any survivors. Instead, they found that the bottom of the ship was covered with this kind of living mud and had been attacked by the crew of the transformed escort ship.

They tried to escape, but quickly realized that even if they did, the presence of the merfolk would pose a terrifying threat to the other escort ships and merchant vessels on this stormy night.

Therefore, they finally decided to split up. The first mate distracted the merfolk and their slaves in the hold, while the ship's doctor carried a barrel of explosives to the boiler room, hoping to blow up the merfolk and the escort ship together.

The first mate's letter ended there; judging from what happened afterward, they did not succeed.

To avoid personally experiencing what it would feel like to become that monster, the first mate ultimately committed suicide in his room with a pistol, leaving behind a letter before his death, which was later found by Councilor Wind, who went to the bottom of the cabin.

Later, Miss Kexi and the cook Edmund from the search and rescue team said that they saw the swordsman Ye Xiao and the merman boy being killed by a fireball that came from nowhere. In the raging fire, the group did not have time to figure out what was going on, so they boarded a small boat to escape before the ship sank completely.

This was the information Ella finally heard from Captain Castor, the information the search and rescue team brought back.

Chapter Sixty-One: The Lost Family

Early the next morning.

Ella then sent her Templar Knights to find the returning Councilor Wind.

This guy actually has quite a few problems. If it weren't for the fact that all we know about him is that he can decipher those tadpole-shaped ancient characters, Ella really wouldn't want to look for him.

After finishing breakfast, Councilor Wendt was surprised to hear that the nobleman on the upper deck of the ship was looking for him. He changed his clothes and went alone.

As soon as he entered, he saw a veiled girl sitting on the sofa, her crimson eyes staring at him intently, which made his heart skip a beat.

"Good morning, Mr. Congressman. I apologize for bothering you. You just finished the search and rescue operation last night, and I'm calling you here so early this morning."

Good morning, sir. How may I help you?

Representative Wendt smiled respectfully.

Ella handed several pieces of parchment with tadpole-like characters to Councilor Wendt and said softly, "To be honest, I received some new ancient characters recently collected from the magical newsletter of my archaeological team. Could you please take a look and help me decipher them?"

That's what they say, but actually, Ella mixed up the line of text she wrote to Ye Xiao with the text on these parchment sheets that came from the tomb.

Ella needed Senator Wendt's translation, but at the same time, she didn't want Senator Wendt to realize that she was particularly interested in this line of text.

"No problem, sir."

Member of Parliament Winder, seemingly unaware of what was going on, began to carefully study the parchment that Ella had handed him.

Most of the writing on these papers consisted of sacrificial phrases, mainly praising the gods, until Councilor Wendt was slightly taken aback when he saw the line of characters left by the merman boy.

Ella noticed the subtle change in Councilor Wendt's expression, but remained silent, waiting for him to speak.

"This section...this section is slightly different from the rest of the text,"

Councilor Winder, however, offered his own explanation: “The usage seems to be more… informal? I think your subordinates may have found some very valuable written records. Compared to simple rituals, these contents may reveal more information about this lost family.”

What is the specific meaning of the characters?

"Ella asked softly."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll explain it to you right away,"

MP Wind pointed to the tadpole-like symbols on the parchment, saying, “This complex character is made up of these big-headed little-man-like words. When taken out of context, this word can be seen in other sacrificial terms and means ‘human.’”

“But here there are three ‘person’ characters combined together, two large and one small, which are subtly different from the ordinary ‘group’ character. I have never seen this character before, but judging from the rules of this family character structure, it should mean ‘family’ or ‘family members’.”

"Putting it all together, this passage means—'We...are family.'"

Ella's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

We are family...?

Her first thought was of what the crazed Erica had said to her during the final battle at the Loren Palace—"We are the same."

But thinking about it more carefully, Erica said it to Ella back then, but this time the merman said it to Ye Xiao.

Although she and Ye Xiao are actually the same person, the person she is talking to is unaware of this, so there must be some subtle differences between them.

Why would the merman say that to Ye Xiao?

In that situation, the fact that the merman had the backup plan of summoning sea monsters but didn't use it means that writing this sentence was not to deceive Ye Xiao or show weakness; it must have had some meaning.

But when they first met, the merman was clearly hostile towards Ye Xiao. What made it suddenly regard Ye Xiao as "family"?

Was it because he saw the five giant tentacles he had summoned?

Ella didn't think so, because after the merfolk-corrupted monsters were flattened by the tentacles, their first instinct was to run away, not to write messages.

It must have known that these characters were incomprehensible to anyone not from that lost family. There must have been some very clear information that made it absolutely certain that Ye Xiao was its "family," which is why it risked everything to write them.

Ella pondered. The moment Ye Xiao teleported in front of the merman, the merman's attitude immediately changed. What exactly happened in between...?

Hey, isn't it just "shifting shape"?

Ella suddenly paused.

Yes, that's it! It was the very act of "teleportation" that made the merman realize something!

"Teleportation" is a spatial spell from the Miracle Sorcerer, whose lineage comes from the ancient tomb that buried the remains of the God of Life.

In the earliest analysis I heard from the Second Princess Lilia after returning from the ancient tomb, the lost family was a family that served the God of Life and was blessed by the god, possessing an extremely high understanding of space-time magic.

Clearly, the so-called "Miracle Sorcerer" is actually the magical legacy of that lost family.

Therefore, when Ye Xiao demonstrates his "Miracle Sorcerer" abilities, the merman boy mistakenly believes that he is also a member of his family.

So that merman boy was also... a miracle worker?

Ella's throat bobbed slightly. In that instant, she seemed to have suddenly discovered a truth that shocked her.

Legend has it that the Merfolk are demons who guard the Fountain of Youth... and the Fountain of Youth also appears in the lost family records that appeared in the photo crystal that Ifi gave her.

If the Fountain of Youth is indeed one of the tombs left by the God of Life, then the merfolk who guard it... could they be a family of miracle sorcerers?

Therefore, the so-called Fountain of Youth guarded by the Merfolk is actually the tomb of the God of Life guarded by a family of miracle sorcerers.

Looking back now, the time travel that happened to Ye Xiao seems to make sense. The merman boy has the blood of a miracle mage, and miracle mages have passive spells like "death reversal" that can avoid death by reversing time.

Since there is "death rewind", is it possible that miracle mages have other time-related spells that are also triggered upon death, but instead of restoring the body, they have some more powerful effects?

...For example, could one go back two days to change their fate of dying two days later?

Ella became increasingly alarmed as she thought about it. How could a family that served the gods end up as a monster race deep in the sea?

This seems strangely similar to the fact that the Loren royal family was blessed by the gods, but ultimately, due to the gods' madness, their bloodline was cursed generation after generation.

This unanimous and mutually reinforcing relationship may also mean that her guess is very close to the truth.

"Ding"

Suddenly, a system notification sounded, and Ella checked it in her mind in surprise.

The progress of the "Ancient Tomb" quest has actually increased by 5%, reaching 35%.

Okay, now that there's system verification, it's not just close to the truth, it's a certainty.

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Brain

It has to be said that this system is quite interesting. It usually doesn't have much of a presence, but at some crucial moments, it can provide some very important information.

Of course, this information can only be discovered through contemplation. The system itself is cold and indifferent, without any bias. The only time it uses honorifics towards players is after purchasing something in the store, when it will send a message saying "Thank you for your patronage".

Although it looks like a long passage, Ella didn't actually spend that much time thinking about it in reality.

In Councilor Wendt's eyes, the girl in white before him hesitated for a moment before nodding to him, "Thank you for your help, Councilor."

"It was no trouble at all, and the information you provided also showed me some new things."

Councilor Wendt smiled and said, “This made me realize that this script is not only used for sacrificial purposes within this family, but also has its uses in everyday life.”

Hmph, that sounds nice, but the money still has to be paid anyway.

Ella's lips curled into a disgruntled smirk beneath her veil. Although she had helped out here, she still had to settle the score for how this guy had blown up Ye Xiao and the merman on the escort ship.

"By the way, Mr. Councilor, regarding yesterday's search and rescue operation, I heard that it was your guard who ultimately killed the merman?"

"Ok?"

Councilor Wendt paused, not expecting Ella to suddenly bring up the events of the previous night, but still politely replied, "To be honest, that was just a way to reassure everyone on the ship, but when China and I, my bodyguard, arrived on the deck, all we saw was flames shooting into the sky. I didn't actually see the other team member or the merman."

Didn’t see it?

Ella carefully observed Councilor Wind's demeanor as he spoke, and found it to be extremely natural, with no indication that he was lying.

Ella had originally planned to use the fact that if this guy admitted to killing Ye Xiao and the merman together, she could use that as an excuse to dig out the truth about the strange coffin in his possession.

After all, nominally, Ye Xiao was the "vice captain of the mercenary group" hired by Ella's group, and was her subordinate.

However, this guy must have found out something beforehand, because he didn't give any clues.

“I see. Thank you, Mr. Councilor. There’s nothing else here for now. I’ll have my servant deliver the payment to your room in a bit.”

Since there was nothing to be done, Ella announced the end of the conversation.

Representative Wendt walked out of Ella's room with an air of composure, but after turning a corner, he immediately took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Around the corner, his petite female guard, Qina, was waiting silently for him. Seeing him wiping his sweat, she surprisingly spoke up and asked, "You seem so nervous, why don't you let me come in with you?"

"Actually, it doesn't make much difference whether you accompany them or not."

Representative Wendt put away his handkerchief. "If she really wanted me dead, there was nothing you could do to stop her."

"Then can you act more naturally? After all, we didn't kill her mercenary captain. You're so nervous, it's like we are the real murderers."

"Facts are facts, but others have to believe them."

Representative Wendt sighed.

"Then don't contact her anymore."

China said coldly, "I'm still counting on you to avenge me. Don't die in a place like this."

"I was just saying. She may be powerful, but she's actually quite reasonable and not that dangerous."

As they walked, Councilor Wind said, “But she is the most likely person to find the Fountain of Youth. Whether it’s like asking a tiger for its skin or not, we have to get on her boat.”

"You also want to live forever?"

"No, no, I'm more interested in the merfolk than the Fountain of Youth."

Representative Winder shook his head. "You know what I'm after."

“...Indeed, you said that although the merman boy had an independent soul, he was subject to a strange collective consciousness...similar to the thing in your coffin.”

“That’s not a coffin. It’s one thing for others to say that, but you should at least call it a ‘container of the spirit brain’.”

Representative Wendt looked somewhat helpless.

"However, yes, that is something I dreamed of creating: collective consciousness. I never expected that the Spirit Brain would discover the budding of a similar consciousness in the Merfolk."

"That sounds nice, but isn't this just a god and the slaves he controls?"

Chinaa was somewhat dismissive.

"No, no, no, they are different. Gods are independent and supreme wills, but what I dream of creating is a collective will formed by the integration of countless tiny consciousnesses. It is not a single, selfish entity; it always represents every individual in the tribe and stands from the perspective of the entire tribe."

"I don't see any difference."

China pouted.