The New Rabe School of Enlightenment was a school specially opened by Rabe Star for mermaids returning from the Star Alliance, aiming to teach mermaids to take care of themselves and learn some basic knowledge.
The school was a ten-story building, with three floors above water, seven floors underwater, and three floors connected to an artificial island that served as the school’s parking lot.
The parking lot had an air track to all parts of Rabe, and there were shuttles available for rent and public transportation.
The school building had a training ground on the third floor above water and classrooms underwater.
Little Silver hung up his communication with An Jin, turned his head to look at Mu Chen sitting at the water’s edge, and was about to speak when he saw that Mu Chen’s eyes were not on him, and his tail cocked up and slapped the water with force.
Mu Chen was splashed with half a body of water, and taking his eyes away from the training ground, helplessly wiped his face.
“Can’t we talk about this properly?” He lifted the collar of his shirt; the wet T-shirt was not comfortable against his skin. He came to Rabe as Norman’s best friend, and only had to look after the wedding ceremony, so he did not always wear a military uniform and dressed very casually. Today he was wearing a T-shirt plus seven-point jeans and sneakers, looking very young.
Little Silver stared at him. “You humans say that it’s polite to look at people when they talk. You just didn’t look at me, did you look down on me?!”
Mu Chen wrung the water out of his T-shirt and smoothed out the folds. “Be reasonable, you were just communicating with An An, I didn’t know you were going to talk to me.” He looked at Little Silver. “What did you want to say?”
Little Silver lifted his chin. “I will soon be baptized and have my legs separated!”
Mu Chen was shaken by his glowing silver eyes, his eyes moved to the water and looked at the tail reflecting silver light underwater. At this time, Little Silver’s tail swayed leisurely from side to side, showing the good mood of the tail owner.
Mu Chen couldn’t think what Little Silver would look like in human form, so he said, “I’ll be there to see when you’re baptized.”
Little Silver grunted. “No way.”
He had looked up the information and knew he’d be very weak after getting his legs.
Mu Chen did not expect Little Silver to refuse, after all, Little Silver’s expression was very dejected when he said he was about to be baptized. He raised his eyebrows. “Why? Afraid of failing and being seen by me?”
“Nonsense!” Little Silver glared at him. “How could I fail?”
So easy to change your mind? Mu Chen stifled a laugh. “Okay, I’ll definitely watch.” He paused and asked in confusion, “Why didn’t you let me go before?”
Little Silver looked at him askance, his tail wagging, and scampered to him. His palm pressed against Mu Chen’s neck, and the sharp nail of his thumb ran across the knot of his throat. “Remember how it feels now!”
His silver eyes narrowed and he said in a deep voice, “I am strong!”
Mu Chen was a bit baffled, not understanding why Little Silver would act this way.
He secretly reinforced his skin and agreed. “I already knew it, you’re super strong!”
Little Silver let go of his hand in satisfaction. “You’re really good at making me happy, always saying sweet things.”
The corners of Mu Chen’s mouth twitched, He was forced under violence, okay!
He looked underwater. “I can’t watch your classroom, I’ll watch it with you on video when you show An An around this afternoon.”
“Humans are so weak, I can’t believe they can’t stay in the water all the time.” Little Silver finished, waved his hand, turned around, and swam downstream.
Mu Chen probed into the water, Little Silver’s figure was getting farther and farther away, turning right on the second floor underwater, entering a classroom, and disappearing into thin air.
—
An Jin heard that Little Silver was looking forward to differentiating his legs, hung up the communication and contacted Jorens directly.
“How much energy does it take for a mermaid to differentiate two legs?”
Jorens replied, “Each mermaid requires a different amount of energy, it’s hard to determine.” He guessed, “Does the king want to help the mermaids differentiate?”
An Jin hmmmed and thoughtfully inquired, “With your experience, would it be a problem for me to help a mermaid differentiate?”
“Of course not. You are very capable and can absorb the energy of the beast core, one mermaid is absolutely fine.”
An Jin put his heart down. “Then to be safe, I’ll help a mermaid differentiate first, just so I can know roughly how much energy it takes to differentiate a mermaid, and then I’ll help a mermaid differentiate later, and I’ll have a number in my mind.”
He had a precise knowledge of his spiritual power, and could know exactly how much spiritual power had been expended.
Jorens immediately said, “The king is very thoughtful, the king is really smart.”
An Jin was a little embarrassed by his exaggerated tone, but he knew that Jorens meant what he said. He now had the full heritage and knew that mermaid instincts had a super thick filter of respect and love for the mermaid king. He asked to get down to business. “Are you having a coming of age ceremony today?”
“No,” Jorens said, “it was held yesterday. You can bring a mermaid there anytime you want, you have permission to go anywhere on Rabe.”
An Jin thanked him and hung up the communication.
He turned his head to Norman. “I want to take Little Silver to the holy land this afternoon so he can be baptized by the holy tree.”
Norman said, “I’ll accompany you.”
It wasn’t long before Jeni’s butler reported, “King, His Majesty Norman, lunch is ready.”
The two ate lunch together, and while they ate, An Jin looked up at the school and knew there was an underwater structure, so he changed into a robe and then took a shuttle with Norman to the New Rabe School of Enlightenment.
The school and the palace were separated by two islands, not far from each other, and the shuttle soon arrived at the parking lot. An Jin looked in the rearview mirror, eight shuttles with a blue metallic look, were parked not far away. The grand elder insisted that his personal guard follow him. According to the grand elder, even if he didn’t have to worry about security, he still wanted to show off his status as a king.
An Jin and Norman stepped off the shuttle, and Mu Chen jumped down from the next shuttle to greet them. “Your Majesty, An An.” He smiled and said to Norman, “Just in time, let’s visit the mermaid school together via video.”
Norman said, “I brought diving equipment, I can get in the water.”
Mu Chen’s mouth twitched and he was about to speak when he was interrupted by Little Silver’s voice.
“An An!” Little Silver saw An Jin and waved happily.
An Jin looked to the shore and saw Little Silver, Ling Ling, and Rui Rui floating on the shore, all waving at him in greeting. He smiled and subconsciously took a step that way and waved too.
A flash of doubt in his eyes, he felt that something was different, and soon, he realized it: the three were wearing T-shirts! On Siao, mermaids didn’t even wear tops.
Mu Chen leaned closer to Norman and whispered, “It’s all mermaids underwater, you’re sure to be mobbed when you go down there, and,” his voice got even quieter, “you should give An An time to spend with his friends.”
An Jin looked at Norman, he knew Norman had prepared diving equipment, but now that Mu Chen was there, he wasn’t sure if Norman would still go underwater.
Norman looked at the three mermaids at the water’s edge and said, “Go ahead, I’ll wait for you at the shuttle.” He paused and added, “Contact terminal if something comes up.”
An Jin nodded, trotted to the water’s edge, and jumped into the water the moment his legs turned into a tail.
Little Silver’s eyes glowed. “An An is amazing! It’s so convenient to have legs!”
Ling Ling nodded approvingly. “There are no restrictions in the water or on land.”
“An An, let me show you the classroom,” Little Silver said, his tail waving as he swam towards the water.
Witnessing An Jin and the remaining three mermaids go down into the water, Norman and Mu Chen return to the flying shuttle.
Mu Chen and Little Silver were connected by video communication, and he expanded the virtual screen to look at the shaky, perspective-less image, and the corners of his mouth twitched. “Must have forgotten it was still on video.”
An Jin swam underwater behind Little Silver, looking at the buildings standing in the water, his blue eyes full of awe.
The school’s facade was light green, with a slight luminescence that looked great in the water, and he did not know what material was used. He looked around and saw that there were many buildings in the water with fluorescent facades, so he could imagine how fantastic the view would be underwater at night. With a thought in his mind, he decided to ask Norman to stroll around Rabe at night.
“An An, here is the classroom,” Little Silver said, swimming in first.
An Jin looked at the 601 door sign on the door, and followed by swimming in. He surveyed the classroom, it was very empty, only the front wall and some equipment installed. Little Silver was excited to introduce him, and An Jin listened and then understood that these devices are the old classroom, the equivalent to the blackboard. He scanned the empty room and asked curiously, “Did the teacher say where you would stay during class?”
Little Silver said, “Anywhere, as long as I can hear the teacher.”
An Jin looked over at Rui Rui, who had swum up to touch the ceiling, and immediately had a mental picture of what might happen during class. The teacher’s field of vision was probably a mermaid from top to bottom.
An Jin silently thought about it, and felt that the mermaid teacher was not very good. The visual pressure was so big. But on second thought, the teacher was also a mermaid, and could swim to the top of the lecture, but then look down on the classmates…like a pyramid scheme.
He pressed the corner of his forehead, his thinking no longer messed up, but the heart was still very surprised the mermaid class was so free.
After visiting the classroom, Little Silver took him to visit the cafeteria. The cafeteria was on the first floor of the water, the window was slightly higher than the water, and mermaids swam over to get food on it.
When they came out of the cafeteria, they met the rest of the mermaids, and when they saw An Jin, they approached them. An Jin chatted with them for a while. The mermaids were very happy with the school and were looking forward to the classes and the splitting of their legs. An Jin explained to them that they needed to wait and that they would be separated as soon as possible.
When they left, An Jin told Little Silver about the baptism and explained to Ling Ling and Rui Rui why he could only help Little Silver today.
Ling Ling and Rui Rui got An Jin’s assurance that they would be given priority after Little Silver, and happily went to play with Gu Gu.
An Jin came ashore and looked at Little Silver in the water. “Did you bring your wheelchair?”
Since he could transform at will, he didn’t bring a wheelchair.
Little Silver nodded and took the wheelchair from the terminal space.
Mu Chen and Norman walked over to him, and Mu Chen carried Little Silver, who was ready to climb into the wheelchair, to the wheelchair.
Little Silver tilted his tail fin, and in a good mood said, “Thank you.”
Mu Chen looked at him unexpectedly, swept his tail, and thought to himself that Little Silver was in a really good mood. Mu Chen and Little Silver both boarded An Jin’s shuttle, and the four of them were escorted to the holy island by their personal guards.
Little Silver was in a wheelchair and Mu Chen pushed him behind An Jin and Norman and walked to the sacred pool.
Little Silver let out a gasp and looked up at the tall sacred tree. “That’s awesome!” He looked at An Jin expectantly. “Is it the one that transmits energy to me?”
An Jin nodded and pointed to the pool. “You go in the water, it’s good for differentiation.”
Little Silver was about to operate his wheelchair when Mu Chen pushed him to the edge of the pool.
An Jin saw that Little Silver’s tail was up and he wanted to jump into the water, but suddenly he thought of something and said, “Wait.”
He took out a set of looser clothes. “Put the clothes on first.”
Little Silver pointed to his T-shirt. “Wearing it.”
Before arriving on Rabe, Jorens had custom-made Rabe style clothes for the mermaids, both long and two-piece sets. Little Silver learned some common sense and knew that it was uncivilized to be naked, so he honestly wore the T-shirt, but did not want to wrap his tail, he felt very uncomfortable.
Not only him, but many mermaids were like him and wore only tops. The teachers, as well as the accompanying caregivers, conferred and decided to give them the adjustment process to get used to wearing tops first and take their time. None of the mermaids could take on human form anyway, so it was okay not to wear them.
An Jin was a little embarrassed. “The lower body should also be worn, the tail has scales, and after turning into legs…feet are bare.”
Little Silver subconsciously looked at Mu Chen’s feet. Under seven-part pants revealing a cut of calf, Mu Chen’s often tightly wrapped calves were quite white, and his face skin was not the same.
“Bald.” Little Silver muttered in a small voice, and thinking about the benefits of the legs, he sharply took off the T-shirt on his body. He put the T-shirt into space, took the clothes handed to him by An Jin, and put them on with both hands to the cuffs. He pulled the two sides of the lapels, folded them casually, tied the belt, and looked at An Jin expectantly. “Is that okay?”
An Jin nodded. “Yes.”
Little Silver immediately jumped into the water, turned around and put his hands on the edge of the bank, looking at An Jin.
An Jin saw that he was full of expectation and said, “Choose a comfortable position to sit in.” Recalling the feeling of differentiation, he reminded, “You may be very hot later, don’t be afraid.”
Little Silver immediately said, “I’m not scared!”
An Jin waited until he was seated against the bank of the pool and used his ability to purify the trunk. He clearly saw the green energy particles flying to Little Silver and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Little Silver’s cold white skin was visibly red, and his body involuntarily curled up.
Mu Chen had never seen Little Silver look like this, his heart tightened, but thinking of An Jin’s previous warning, forced himself to swallow the question he was about to ask, worried about disturbing Little Silver.
Little Silver only felt his body was very hot, not like when he was in heat, and his limbs were swollen, as if they were full of power, making him want to fight with someone. His tail swung up and his fingers formed a claw, and just when he couldn’t help but swing his hand towards the pool bank, his body suddenly went limp and he fell to his left, soaking into the water.
His face changed slightly, Too weak! He sat up in a hurry, and as his eyes swept below, his silver eyes snapped open, his vision fixed on both feet, and he shouted, “An An, I did it!”
An Jin, whose eyes were blocked by Norman’s palms and could not see the details, sighed in relief. “Congratulations.”
He grabbed Norman’s hand and tried to take Norman’s hand away, but Norman was stubborn. He inclined his head to look at Norman. “I want to see Little Silver.”
Norman said in a deep voice, “Wait until he gets dressed.”
“Damned human! Are you afraid An An will be charmed by me?” Little Silver said angrily, as he reached for the shore and tried to climb up, but his body only lifted a little, his feet went weak, and he fell into the water.
Mu Chen ran to him and held his shoulders. “Where is the discomfort?”
He subconsciously looked at Little Silver’s tail, but found that it had turned into a pair of long legs, with skin so white it was almost shiny.
After shifting his eyes up a bit, he seemed to be burned, and suddenly let go of Little Silver’s hand that he was holding. Little Silver’s body fell again, but he was in time to support himself on the pool bank with his hands, so that his face did not bump it.
Little Silver grinned, revealing a mouthful of neat white teeth. The canine teeth had become human-like, just a little bit more pointed. “Bastard! I knew I shouldn’t have let you watch my christening!”
His whole body exuded low air pressure, and his silver eyes stared hard at Mu Chen. “Are you trying to kill me while I’m weak? Don’t underestimate me! Don’t forget my warning!”
He said this, and his eyes crossed Mu Chen’s neck. Only then did Mu Chen know why Little Silver had warned him at noon: it was because he would become weak after the baptism!
He was speechless and went forward. Holding Little Silver’s shoulders again, his eyes did not dare to look around. “I do not want to kill you, you put your clothes back on.”
Little Silver was not happy. “I’m dressed!” He said, looking down, only to find that the clothes had fallen apart somehow, and were hanging loosely on his body. The bodice was wide open and the hem was open, leaving the front visible from top to bottom.
Little Silver blinked, leaned down to take a look, his eyes flashing a thought, Seems not the same as before, ah.
Mu Chen couldn’t stand it anymore and reached out to close his shirt. “Holy shit, are you a pervert?”
Little Silver stared at him. “Say it again? I see where I am a pervert?” He said, pushing Mu Chen’s hand. “I’ll look again, it feels weird,” he said, thinking of something. He asked Mu Chen, “Are you the same as me?”
Mu Chen took a deep breath. “Ancestor, you do not open your mouth!”
Little Silver wrinkled his eyebrows and looked straight down at him.
Mu Chen gritted his teeth, took out a military jacket, wrapped it around Little Silver’s waist and picked him up. “Go to your own room, An An is still there?”
An Jin had been too embarrassed to blush, and did not push Norman’s hand, directly turning his back to the shore.
Norman’s face was sunken and his eyes fell on Little Silver’s bare face. “Tek mermaid.”
Little Silver instinctively knew the mermaid gender classification when he differentiated, both feet moved, and he lifted his chin and looked at Mu Chen. “I’m super awesome!”
He looked at An Jin, reason returned, and his expression stiffened for a moment. “An An, I…am not playing a rascal!”
An Jin coughed lightly, not to dwell on what happened before, after all, Little Silver’s memory was limited, learning had not long, too many things, naive and pure white. He asked, “Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Little Silver said, “No, just no strength in my feet.”
An Jin put down his heart. “More exercise will be good. If the spiritual force is not enough, it can change back to tail, scales and fingers can be controlled with spiritual force.”
Little Silver said, “I know! When I mate with my mate, then I can transform at will!”
The moment he spoke, his feet turned into a tail and the fish scales on his cheeks emerged.