Chapter 144 – Love in a Fallen City: You Are My Eternal, Unfading Starlight – A Death Trap or a (Body-)Scoring Opportunity? (07)
The iron-blooded warriors of the military surrounded the little mermaid curled up on the sofa, trembling, their eyes full of desire.
Help, Turs! There are perverts here!
Suddenly, from outside the encirclement, soldiers were launched into the air one after another, howling as they flew.
Tours struck with perfect precision, his face dark as he punched a path straight to the center of the encirclement.
“General Walker, I wasn’t—Ow…” Lieutenant General Sade didn’t even finish his sentence before being knocked down by Turs’ fist.
A large group of people lay groaning on the ground. Bai Tang watched Turs walk toward him step by step, like a god descending.
“Turs, hug~”
The little mermaid stretched out his arms and was immediately scooped up into a firm embrace.
Turs kissed the little mermaid’s forehead—steel tempered a hundred times could still turn soft around his finger.
“Why didn’t you sleep a little longer? We still have to wait a while before we can go home,” Turs said gently, his tone soft with affection.
“Grilled bugs, grilled bugs, grilled bugs…” the system muttered endlessly.
“I’m hungry,” Bai Tang said, clutching his stomach. “Let’s go eat grilled bugs. Grilled bugs are so yummy.”
How could anyone eat grilled bugs? Turs didn’t want the little mermaid eating such strange things, but he also knew merfolk were curious and often fanciful. Still…
He glanced at the mess on the ground. If eating grilled bugs could help the little mermaid forget his earlier fear, then… why not?
“Alright, let’s go grill some bugs.” Turs set Bai Tang into the merfolk mobility scooter and prepared to push him around to the back of the building.
“Wait, General Walker.” Lieutenant General Sade, still able to take a beating, stood up and saluted. “General Walker, I must apologize to the little mermaid. I’m sorry.”
He gave Bai Tang a deep bow. Bai Tang looked blankly at Turs, unsure how to react.
“Actually, they just wanted Tang Tang to play matchmaker and introduce them to other merfolk,” the system muttered, seeing right through the soldiers’ thoughts. With their thick-headed straight-guy vibes, they still want to woo merfolk? They even scared Tang Tang. Better off dating their own right hands.
“I-it’s okay.”
Hearing Bai Tang’s forgiveness, a light shone in Lieutenant General Sade’s eyes—only to be extinguished immediately by a bucket of cold water from his superior.
“Never forget discipline.”
“Yes, sir!” Sade stood up straight and saluted.
Turs pushed Bai Tang to the area the system had been obsessing over—the one where the big bugs were kept. The military hadn’t been able to get anything useful out of the bugs and was just about to burn them.
Well, lucky day for the system.
“Tang Tang, the meat under the bug’s wings is the most tender. It’s perfect for sashimi. The legs—once you peel off the shell—have great meat for grilling…” The system rattled off more than a dozen ways to cook the bugs. If it could manifest in person, it would’ve rushed in to do the cooking itself.
Bai Tang passed along the system’s enthusiastic instructions to Turs. Wanting to make the little mermaid smile, Turs—ignoring the confused stares of the others—picked up a knife and got to work slicing bugs, even setting up a grill on the side.
Soon enough, the delicious aroma of grilled meat filled the air, and the soldiers who hadn’t yet left couldn’t help but swallow hungrily.
“Sprinkle some cumin powder, brush on the soy sauce…” the system ordered like a seasoned chef.
Turs kept Bai Tang away from the heat source to avoid drying out the moisture in his fish tail.
He hadn’t expected this. Originally, he just wanted to grill a bit to show Tang Tang that bugs weren’t really edible, figuring that would naturally make him give up the idea. But unexpectedly… the grilled bugs actually smelled good. Temptingly good.
“Tang Tang, I wanna eat, I wanna eat~” the system started clamoring in Bai Tang’s head as Turs brought the grilled bug leg closer to his own mouth.
Bai Tang’s head throbbed from the noise. He looked up at Turs with wide, innocent eyes—more accurately, he was staring at the grilled skewer in Turs’ hand.
Once Turs confirmed that the grilled bugs were indeed edible—and surprisingly tasty—he tore off half of the grilled meat and handed it to Bai Tang.
“No overeating,” he warned.
The little mermaid was delicate. While the bug meat was edible, he couldn’t eat too much of it.
Though it smelled amazing, Bai Tang had never been fond of meat. While Turs was momentarily distracted by a soldier coming over to speak with him, Bai Tang quickly tossed the grilled meat into his personal space, straight into the system’s waiting hands.
The system took a huge bite of the grilled bug it had been longing for and instantly felt it was the most delicious thing in existence.
“So good! The ancients did not deceive me!” The system devoured the meat in large mouthfuls, and to match the mood, even brought out some fine wine it had collected in the past.
Ah, bliss!
Still craving more after finishing, the system watched as Bai Tang, seeing that Turs was still talking with others, went to get more meat himself from the grill.
Just as Turs turned around, he saw the little mermaid bent over, reaching for the skewers—embers from the grill flickering dangerously close to his tail.
Turs swiftly moved the grill aside. Bai Tang lost his balance and fell forward with a startled cry.
“Ah—!”
But the expected pain never came. Bai Tang opened his eyes to find himself in Turs’ arms. Ignoring his own discomfort, Turs gently scolded him, “I told you not to be naughty. You almost fell.”
“Sorry~” Bai Tang lowered his head apologetically—only to spot a burning red coal resting on top of Turs’ foot.
“Ah! Water—get some water!” Bai Tang panicked, trying to drag Turs toward the nearest source of water.
Turs misunderstood, thinking the little mermaid wanted to soak in water again. Not bothering with the mermaid mobility scooter, he picked Bai Tang up and carried him straight to the rest area of the military building.
After filling the bathtub, Turs gently lowered Bai Tang into the water, remembering that the little mermaid was afraid of it. A mermaid afraid of water—probably a one-of-a-kind case in the world.
“Hurry up and get in~” Bai Tang pulled Turs into the tub with him. As they both soaked in the warm water, Bai Tang untied Turs’ shoelaces and took off his shoe, revealing a completely unharmed foot.
He blinked in confusion. “Why isn’t it red?”
“The military uniforms are specially made—fireproof, waterproof, and very durable,” the system explained. Too bad the grilled bug’s gone now.
Turs let out a helpless laugh. His little mermaid was just too adorable.
“As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters,” Bai Tang said, gently stroking the top of Turs’ smooth foot. Then he turned his face away, puffed up with righteousness, and began scolding Tours:
“How could you do something so dangerous? Do you know how badly you could’ve been hurt?” He had to make sure Turs realized his mistake.
“Yes, I know I was wrong,” Turs said sincerely, gazing into Bai Tang’s eyes with affection. “I won’t do it again.”
“Then tell me—what exactly did you do wrong?” Bai Tang pressed further, quoting lines once used by the male lead to scold him.
Turs pondered for a moment. “Hmm… I shouldn’t have disobeyed Tang Tang, shouldn’t have doubted Tang Tang. Turns out, grilled bugs really are delicious.”
“Wrong! You didn’t listen to a word I said! Hmph, you’re no better than Yu Xixi. All men are just big pig trotters!” Bai Tang crossed his arms and puffed up his cheeks, continuing to lecture him sternly.
“You only have one life—how could you not take care of your body and still do something so dangerous…”
The system’s long-time education had finally paid off. Now Bai Tang wouldn’t let go of Turs’ “reckless behavior,” and the proud general was completely humbled.
System: A promising student indeed! Look at the male lead acting like a scolded little wife—I can already see the glorious future where Tang Tang takes the lead in this relationship!
“Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right, Tang Tang. Are you hungry? Aunt Li has already cooked dinner and is waiting for us at home,” Turs swiftly changed the subject.
The naive and food-loving Bai Tang perked up the moment he heard about food—especially since Aunt Li always prepared dishes with lots of nuts, which he loved. Any intention of continuing the scolding was instantly forgotten.
“Yes, yes! Let’s go home!”
Turs helped Bai Tang change into clean clothes, and when they stepped out into the lobby, the scent of grilled bugs still lingered in the air.
Each soldier was holding two skewers. When they spotted General Walker, they froze momentarily, then quickly stuffed the remaining bug meat into their mouths and wiped their faces clean in one smooth motion.
“Stay alert these next few days. Increase patrols, and report any unusual activity immediately,” Turs ordered, his commanding presence fully returned.
The soldiers snapped to attention and saluted in unison. “Yes, sir!”
They arrived home just as night fell.
Aunt Li had prepared dinner early. When Bai Tang didn’t return for a long time, and after hearing Mr. Warren’s account of the nerve-wracking events that afternoon, she kept glancing anxiously out the window.
The glare of headlights appeared in the distance, growing closer. Aunt Li jumped up at once and muttered excitedly, “They’re back, they’re back!” She rushed out to greet them.
“Aunt Li, I’m home! I’m so hungry…” Bai Tang called out cheerfully.
Seeing the lively, spirited look on Bai Tang’s face—and with General Walker by his side—Aunt Li finally relaxed.
She smiled brightly. “Dinner’s all ready! Go wash your hands and eat. I made your favorite stir-fried chestnuts, and pineapple cashew chicken too!”
“Yay! Aunt Li, you’re the best!” Bai Tang said gleefully, pushing his mobility scooter into the house.
“Thank you for all your hard work, Aunt Li,” Turs said as he followed behind Bai Tang. When he passed by her, he added a few kind words.
“It’s no trouble at all. Seeing Tang Tang happy every day makes everything worthwhile,” Aunt Li replied warmly, wiping her hands on her apron. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she quickly launched into a report.
“General Walker, there’s this mermaid at the base named Le Mengqi who keeps calling to harass Tang Tang…” She exaggerated the story slightly, explaining how upset Tang Tang had been about it. That was why he had gone out today to get some fresh air. If the general hadn’t shown up in time, who knows what could’ve happened?
Her words were a bit embellished—but not far from the truth.
“I understand,” Turs nodded, his expression unreadable as he entered the house.
That night, Bai Tang lay in bed after his bath, waiting for Turs to come tell him a bedtime story.
“Once upon a time, there was a little mermaid…” Turs began narrating with emotion and care.
He had barely gotten through the opening when Bai Tang interrupted, “I want to hear a story about a little squirrel~”
Turs flipped through several pages but couldn’t find any stories about squirrels. All the storybooks about mermaids naturally featured mermaids as the main characters—they were dreamy and romantic, just the way mermaids liked it.
“Alright,” Turs said, then opened one of the books and simply replaced the mermaid with a squirrel.
“Once upon a time, there was a little squirrel…”
The story wasn’t long; it ended in just a few minutes.
Bai Tang hugged his squirrel plushie and posed a soul-searching question: “So, do you like mermaids or squirrels better?”
Turs immediately sensed this was a trap question—a no-win scenario. Neither of those options was the right answer. He stared into Bai Tang’s round, glimmering eyes and sank into deep thought.
The system, watching the male lead struggle, couldn’t help but praise: “Tang Tang, you genius!”
Turs dimmed the lights to a warm yellow and softly said, “I like Tang Tang.”
“That’s cheating! If I weren’t a mermaid, would you still like me?” Bai Tang asked, eyes beginning to glisten with tears.
Turs leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Bai Tang’s lips. “Who says I wouldn’t? Whether Tang Tang is a mermaid or a human, I’ll only ever love Tang Tang.”
“Then what about Tang Tang? It seems like I like the squirrel plushie more than you?” Turs narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing at the plushie that Bai Tang almost never let go of at home.
Bai Tang instinctively hugged the big squirrel tightly. “I like them all.”
“Ai, it seems in Tang Tang’s heart, I’m no match for a stuffed toy,” Turs said in a low, dejected tone. He turned away, looking quite forlorn.
“Wh-who said that? I like Turs the most!” Bai Tang hugged Turs from behind.
“You said it, Tang Tang~” Turs turned around, perfectly demonstrating the classic male lead mood swing.
“Hmph, you tricked me!” Bai Tang pouted and tried to push him away.
“I didn’t trick Tang Tang. Everything I said is true. I love Tang Tang the most.”
Faced with Turs’ deep affection, Bai Tang responded softly, “Me too…”
Turs leaned down and kissed Bai Tang’s eyelashes, asking gently, “Tang Tang, may I?”
The little mermaid shyly nodded. Turs began planting dense kisses along Bai Tang’s cheeks and neck, his calloused hands exploring the fish tail.
Bai Tang felt his whole body heat up, the places Turs touched felt as if they were burning. Soft, ambiguous moans spilled from his lips. “Mmm~ it feels so strange~”
Gradually, his fish tail transformed into a pair of legs under the influence of arousal.
“Turs, I feel so strange~”
His soft, sweet voice trembled, as intoxicating as the strongest aphrodisiac. Turs was struggling to hold himself back, but unwilling to hurt Bai Tang, he forced himself to suppress his surging desire, letting the little mermaid’s body slowly adjust…
The night was long, and the spring waters endless…
Author’s note:
A sudden brake—hehehe~