"Towering Chang'an, shadows wandering;
Wild geese fly south in autumn, away to distant lands;
A mirror left beneath the moon reflects my broken heart;
The flowing Ba River soothes my grief..."
Their song was achingly beautiful and tender, its sound soaring high into the clouds.
They were a group of merfolk trapped in the Immortal Pool. Singing songs of lovers' partings and deep longing, they shed tears that turned into brilliant, priceless pearls.
The ocean's most fearsome apex predators had become the most coveted playthings of the aristocrats in the human realm.
The Dragon Maidens, newly arrived, looked at the scene before them and began to chatter.
Ke Rong said, "They've only been dragged ashore for a little over a hundred years. How did they end up like this? Is our mission to rescue the merfolk?"
Chao Ye replied nonchalantly, "No idea. Nuwa didn't say anything after stripping us of our divine powers, so let's just see where fate takes us."
Nuwa had taken away the Dragon Maidens' divine powers, leaving them no different from mortals. Only by finding an opportunity in the human realm and seeing it through could they regain their powers and return to the sea.
But now they couldn't even pin down their goal. When would they ever make it home?
Xun Xiu furrowed her brow and pondered. Although the merfolk sang mournful tunes, their faces looked peaceful and content. She asked the key question: "Even if this opportunity means saving them, do they really need us to save them? What if they're already happy with things as they are?"
It seemed their trials in the human realm wouldn't be simple.
Note: This story contains a mountain of original worldbuilding.
Theme: Rather than wait to be rescued, strive and fight for yourself.
