Chapter 57 Su Ziqi III

　　—There are no transparent people in this world. Deep within every heart lies an island, where loneliness is stored, and secrets as well.

　　At Gongkong’s sharp shout, Su Ziqi heard only a sudden “whoosh.” The seawater abruptly parted to either side, exposing the seabed and forming walls of water dozens of meters high on both flanks.

　　The scene was identical to the cinematic depiction of Moses parting the Red Sea in Exodus; Su Ziqi stared in stunned silence.

　　Her attention was fixed entirely upon the walls of water, so she failed to notice that fifty or sixty monsters now stood sparsely upon the exposed seabed.

　　Only when she heard the strange sounds these monsters uttered did she notice the creatures upon the dry seabed.

　　She glanced at their appearance only once and nearly vomited her breakfast from sheer nausea. Though she considered herself welltraveled, she had never seen monsters so hideous.

　　These creatures were covered entirely in dullgreen scales; from the crown of the head to the spine rose a high dorsal fin. They possessed the vague outline of human form, yet more closely resembled fish: their heads were fishlike, the eyeballs huge and protruding, the mouths filled with sharp teeth, and catfishlike whiskers hung from their lips.

　　On either side of their necks gills fluttered faintly. Their hands and feet each bore only three digits webbed between, and they had no fish tails; they simply stood upright upon the exposed seabed.

　　At that moment the monsters’ expressions matched Su Ziqi’s own. Staring at the walls of water on either side, their already protruding eyes seemed about to pop from their sockets in astonishment; their faces were filled with terror as they pointed at the walls and appeared to discuss something.

　　A leaderlike monster barked angrily at his subordinates, finally calming the panicked creatures.

　　Then, at the leader’s command, the monsters raised weapons resembling tridents, charged up from the seabed, and completely surrounded Su Ziqi and Gongkong.

　　It was the first time Su Ziqi had seen monsters so ugly. Confronted by their ferocious appearance she was already frightened out of her wits; she screamed and hid behind Gongkong, watching the creatures tensely.

　　Gongkong, however, showed not the least panic. His expression remained calm as he regarded the monsters; he clasped his fists: “So it is the HalfFish Clan. Forgive my discourtesy. May I ask how we two humans have offended you that you should strike at us from the shadows with such lethal intent?”

　　“Hahaha…” The leader of the HalfFish Clan emitted a piercing laugh, a sound peculiarly like fingernails scraping across glass.

　　“Lowly, cowardly humans, do you know that every island upon Mu Star is the territory of our HalfFish Clan? You entered our domain without permission—by law you deserve death.” The HalfFish’s voice was equally strange—low and hoarse, uncomfortable to the ear.

　　Gongkong coldly smiled: “Damn it, I have only heard that the Merfolk Island at the northern end of the continent of Mu is your territory; I have never heard that every island upon Mu Star belongs to you.”

　　“Haha—our HalfFish Clan is born in the water and dies in the water. Everything in the water is ours, including the islands.”

　　“Boys, the human race is full of glib, lowly, cowardly fellows. Today shall we kill these two humans and make kebabs of them?” The HalfFish raised their tridents and prepared to rush forward in a body.

　　At the very instant the HalfFish surged toward them, Su Ziqi suddenly felt a wave of heat rise from beneath her feet; then both her feet left the ground and the heat lifted her into midair.

　　She looked around in terror and discovered that Gongkong beside her was likewise suspended in midair.

　　“What is happening?” Su Ziqi thought to herself. Strange events had come one after another today—why had the seawater suddenly parted? Why was she floating for no reason?

　　Although Su Ziqi did not know the cause of their floating, she could clearly sense that a vast energy field surrounding her body was lifting her upward.

　　Thereafter occurred something she would never forget for the rest of her life. She saw Gongkong for the first time remove his yellow headcloth, and for the first time she beheld his true appearance: squarely between his eyebrows there stood a vertical eye!

　　“You… you…” Seeing that vertical eye was like a bolt from the blue. At that moment Su Ziqi’s inner shock was beyond words; her throat seemed blocked by something, she stammered incoherently, and stood foolishly frozen in the air.

　　She watched as the vertical eye of Gongkong, suspended in midair, suddenly opened wide; like a flashlight it emitted a captivating yellow radiance.

　　Gongkong spoke sternly toward the HalfFish below: “Damn it, you HalfFish who do not know whether you live or die—this young master deliberately displayed a little skill just now and parted the seawater precisely to give you a warning. Yet you still fail to recognize what is good for you. Then I shall let you see exactly who I am.”

　　With those words Gongkong stretched out both arms. The sky, which a moment before had been clear, suddenly filled with flying sand and stones; dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed and thunder rolled, and the heavens darkened in an instant.

　　At the same time Su Ziqi saw the tridents in the hands of the HalfFish upon the beach twisted into twisted ropes by a tremendous force. The sharp blades at the tips of the tridents were snapped by that force; the weapons in the monsters’ hands instantly became nothing more than curled firepoking sticks.

　　Witnessing this scene, the HalfFish leader who a moment before had been so arrogant, together with his subordinates, was already frightened out of his wits. Their legs trembled; they knelt upon the ground, cold sweat pouring, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

　　“Great Celestial Lord, a great man does not remember the faults of lesser ones. We beg you, we beg you—spare us!”

　　Gongkong seemed to have no intention of killing them; he merely wished to frighten them a little.

　　“Stupid HalfFish Clan, remember this: the human race has never been lowly, nor has it been cowardly. Hereafter if you dare kill even one more human, I shall immediately grind your bones to powder and scatter the ashes, let you vanish into smoke, and consign your souls to the depths of hell, never to be reborn for all eternity—do you hear?”

　　“Honored Celestial God, we lesser ones will never dare again; we lesser ones have remembered.”

　　At that moment Su Ziqi’s expression matched that of the HalfFish; she too had been stunned speechless by the true face Gongkong had revealed.

　　She had never imagined that the Gongkong she knew so well was precisely the celestial god spoken of by the common people of Mu Star!

　　She gaped, mouth open wide, wishing to shout aloud to vent her emotions, yet for some reason she could not utter the least sound; her thoughts themselves seemed frozen.

　　Immediately afterward she discovered that she and Gongkong floated lightly back down to the ground.

　　At that moment the clouds dispersed, the sun reappeared. The wind ceased, the thunder and lightning vanished, and the world returned to calm as though nothing had ever happened.

　　The terrified HalfFish still knelt upon the ground, unwilling to leave.

　　“Damn it, HalfFish Clan—withdraw at once!” Gongkong shouted.

　　“Great Celestial God above, please permit this lesser one to report. Since the fall of our Blue Clan Celestial Gods we have lost our mainstay. Our HalfFish Clan is born in the water and dies in the water; in the endless depths of the sea and among the various islands we wander helplessly, migrating without purpose, until at last we die alone in the sea.”

　　The leading HalfFish continued at length: “Before long our clan split into two factions. One faction lost faith in the celestial gods and called itself the Godless Faction. The other still honored the Creator as celestial god and called itself the GodHonoring Faction. For many years the two factions have continually quarreled; in recent years the Godless Faction has gradually grown strong and occupied our clan’s sacred Merfolk Island.”

　　“I am Weimar, leader of the GodHonoring Faction. I have always believed that upon Mu Star, apart from the Green Clan of Evil Gods who murdered our Blue Clan Celestial Gods, there must still exist other honored celestial gods. Today Heaven has opened its eyes and at last allowed us once more to behold a great celestial god.”

　　The HalfFish leader named Weimar slightly calmed his agitated emotions, paused, and continued: “Great Celestial God, our clan is willing to serve you forever and wishes to conclude a sacred covenant of intention with Your Honored Celestial Excellency.”

　　Su Ziqi listened as though in a fog—what was a “covenant of intention”? She looked questioningly at Gongkong, wishing to see his reaction.

　　Gongkong inquired in detail into the dispute between the GodHonoring and Godless Factions of the HalfFish Clan and finally learned everything that had occurred within the HalfFish Clan.

　　The Blue Clan Celestial Gods were the first divine race to fall; even before the War of the Gods the entire clan had already died at the hands of the Green Clan Celestial Gods.

　　Thereafter the HalfFish Clan that had served the Blue Clan Celestial Gods began to split. One portion lost reverence and faith in the celestial gods and was called the Godless Faction; these HalfFish smashed the temples, toppled the statues of the Blue Clan Celestial Gods, and fought the GodHonoring Faction.

　　In the end the Godless Faction gained the upper hand and drove the GodHonoring Faction from Merfolk Island.

　　Weimar led this portion of the GodHonoring HalfFish Clan and settled upon a small island at the southern end of the continent of Mu; he frequently led his people to patrol the southern islands.

　　Today Weimar happened to lead his subordinates on patrol to this island and encountered Gongkong and Su Ziqi.

　　The GodHonoring Faction of the HalfFish Clan led by Weimar regarded the Green Clan Celestial Gods as mortal enemies; the experiences of the HalfFish Clan shared many similarities with Gongkong’s own. Therefore in the end Gongkong agreed to conclude a covenant of intention with Weimar.

　　Gongkong was willing, in the capacity of a celestial god, to provide protection for the HalfFish Clan led by Weimar; Weimar and the other HalfFish would serve the celestial god Gongkong for generations and obey his commands.

　　Gongkong required that this island thereafter be used by him and that the HalfFish Clan not disturb it; Weimar repeatedly promised.

　　When Weimar left the small island and returned to the sea he was still talking without cease, dancing with excitement, muttering as he walked: “I always said that upon our Mu Star, apart from the Green Clan of Evil Gods, there must still exist other celestial gods. You simply would not believe it. See? We HalfFish who are born in the water and die in the water today finally have a celestial god to support our GodHonoring Faction—truly Heaven has eyes…”

　　Su Ziqi watched the HalfFish disappear into the sea, her feelings extremely complicated.

　　Only now had she clearly seen Gongkong’s true face; she was vexed that Gongkong had always concealed it from her. Yet at the same time, deep in her heart, there was a measure of gratitude.

　　She understood clearly that when the HalfFish had ambushed them from the sea it was Gongkong who had parted the waters and lifted her ashore, saving her; thereafter it was again Gongkong who had lifted her into the air, allowing her to escape the HalfFish attack.

　　“Gongkong—who exactly are you?!” Su Ziqi cried out in her heart.