Chapter 1361: The Mermaid Princess (60)

Fuya felt as though every drop of blood in her body had been drained away. Her flesh had long gone numb from the pain, and that heart that had been wounded beyond recognition no longer retained any sensation. Lying on the scorching desert sands, she stared blankly at the white clouds drifting across the sky. Her eyes were lifeless, devoid of even the slightest spark.

She was going to die. That was fine. Death meant release.

The sound of footsteps crunching through the sand reached her ears, but she could not even muster the strength to lift her eyelids. Perhaps it was just an illusion. How could anyone possibly come to this place? It had to be a hallucination.

Whether it was real or not, whether someone had actually come or not, none of it mattered to Fuya anymore.

Because the person who came could never be that cruel man who had plunged a knife into her flesh, drunk her blood, and eaten her flesh.

“Fuya.”

Pei Jiang looked at her miserable state, walked over, crouched down beside her, and gently lifted her into his arms. “I’ll take you out of here.”

Fuya made no sound. Her eyes remained vacant, staring into the distance. She neither resisted nor reacted, allowing Pei Jiang to carry her away.

“A Guoguo, can I take Fuya with me?” Pei Jiang asked. Fuya belonged to the merfolk clan and was also the daughter of the Merfolk King.

Even though he had already abandoned the merfolk, he still felt he should ask Tang Guo whether he was allowed to take her away.

“You can,” Tang Guo replied. “She no longer has the right to return to the merfolk. Whatever happens to her in the future has nothing to do with the merfolk anymore. The grudges between us have also come to an end.”

“Fuya, from now on, let me take care of you.”

A trace of heartache appeared on Pei Jiang’s face. He had once sympathized with Qiao Chen to some extent, but after witnessing Qiao Chen use a sharp knife to cut into Fuya’s flesh, drink her blood, and eat her flesh just to keep himself alive, all that sympathy vanished.

Others might not know, but he knew exactly how deeply Fuya loved Qiao Chen.

She loved him enough to willingly sacrifice her life.

Before this, he had secretly questioned A Guoguo. Even if she no longer loved Qiao Chen, even if many things had happened in their previous life, everything had already changed after being reborn. There seemed to be no need to go this far.

But now, he no longer thought that way.

At last, he understood the pain A Guoguo had suffered.

Qiao Chen had tied A Guoguo up in the barren mountains and left her to die of thirst. Even after consuming a Dream of Yellow Millet pill and seeing everything that had happened in their previous life, he still could not truly understand A Guoguo’s feelings.

But when he saw what Qiao Chen had done to Fuya, he finally understood.

At that moment, he had wanted nothing more than to jump down and drive a knife into Qiao Chen’s heart. He had wanted to eat his flesh, drink his blood, pin him down in the desert, and bury him there forever.

Only then did he truly understand those words—pain that is not inflicted upon oneself can never truly be understood.

Because he loved Fuya, he finally experienced what it meant for the wounds to be on her body while the pain pierced his own heart.

“Thank you.”

Pei Jiang expressed his gratitude while silently apologizing in his heart. Carrying Fuya carefully in his arms, he boarded the helicopter.

As for Qiao Chen, who was still struggling in the endless desert, he no longer had any intention of pleading for him.

Qiao Chen—let him die here.

Holding Fuya as gently as possible, Pei Jiang comforted her softly, “Fuya, from now on I’ll take care of you. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

Tang Guo boarded the helicopter as well, looking at the tenderness and pity in Pei Jiang’s eyes.

“Pei Jiang, she’ll never be able to love anyone again.”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as I love her, that’s enough.” Pei Jiang raised his head and said, “It has always been my one-sided affection. I don’t need anything in return from her.”

“I wish you happiness.”

Tang Guo did not mock Pei Jiang for his choice.