"Sacrifice?"
Standing hidden within the thick woods on the bluff overlooking the cove, Su Min narrowed her eyes as she observed the chaotic, desperate commotion on the beach below. The scene was not one of celebration, but of terrified appeasement.
"Great Sea God, Great Sea God…"
The shrill, chanting voices of the villagers rang out, led by the wild eyed, paint streaked priestess. A group of men and women were frantically praying and kowtowing toward the churning, gray sea, their desperate actions seeming to coincide with the slow, ominous disappearance of a massive, dark whirlpool that had been spinning on the ocean's surface moments before.
"Demonic energy?"
At that moment, a powerful, final wave crashed onto the shore, as if in answer to their pleas. As it receded, it left behind several silvery, pearl like orbs that glistened on the wet sand, each one exuding a palpable, heavy demonic aura that Su Min could feel even from her vantage point. The villagers scrambled for them, pushing and shoving, eagerly snatching the orbs and tossing them into their mouths without a second thought.
Almost immediately, their bodies began to convulse and twitch uncontrollably. Their skin bulged and split in places, revealing glistening, wet scales beneath, and their bones cracked audibly as their forms twisted and elongated into something gruesome and alien, their legs fusing into a single, powerful tail.
"Mermen?" Su Min's brows furrowed tightly as she watched the horrifying, rapid transformation unfold. "That creature is not just killing them. It is turning the villagers into its own kind." She observed the newly formed monsters, noting how they now possessed the strength to lift heavy boulders from the beach with ease, testing their new bodies. Clearly, the monster lurking in the sea was no weakling; it had the power to actively convert humans into these half human, half fish horrors, building itself an army.
"Ahhh!!!"
Suddenly, several agonized screams pierced the twilight air. The half human, half fish creatures clutched at their eyes, which were now overly large, bulbous, and painfully sensitive to the fading light, and screamed in raw torment. What truly terrified them was the last, weak glow of the setting sun. They scrambled frantically for the deep shadows cast by the cliffs, their scaly bodies smoking slightly where the sun's dying rays touched them, sizzling like meat on a griddle.
"Trouble," Su Min muttered, feeling a metaphorical headache coming on. This complicated everything. "If that monster stays deep in the sea, my powers will be severely limited." Her original plan had relied on the local fishermen for guidance and the use of their boats to reach the creature's domain. "But now… They would be lucky not to turn against me and try to drag me into the depths the moment I show myself." The villagers were becoming the enemy.
Watching the grim scene unfold, her viable options seemed to shrink before her eyes. If this were a river or a lake, she would not care. During the dry season, she could simply force her way in, divert the water, or drain it. But this was the vast, deep, and unpredictable ocean. Even full fledged Qi Refining stage cultivators would hesitate to confront a powerful foe in its own aquatic domain, where it held every advantage. For someone at her level, diving in to fight on its terms would be borderline suicidal.
Her Nanming Lihuo, a fire based sacred flame, would be nearly useless underwater, its power dampened to a flicker, and breathing was another critical problem entirely. She did not know the Water Escape technique, a essential skill for underwater combat. She recalled old stories where even the great Sun Wukong needed to use one hand to form the Water Escape seal constantly while fighting submerged. She had no such skill, no such convenience.
"Do I need to find someone to help?" she wondered aloud, frustration mounting as she acknowledged her limitations.
She watched as the transformed villagers, now moaning in agony from their sunburns, were hastily covered with thick, rough blankets and dragged into a nearby, windowless stone house for shelter from the hated sun. It seemed their new forms could not withstand daylight at all, a critical weakness. Su Min did not act rashly.
Instead, she allowed her eyes to scan the coastline rapidly, searching for any geographical advantage, a hidden cave, a narrow inlet, anything. After finding no immediate solution, she reluctantly decided to withdraw for now, to regroup. She was operating with too little information, and charging in blind was a fool's gamble.
Her best course of action was to seek out the local branch of the Fuding Merchant Guild in the nearby county town. They would have people specifically tasked with gathering local intelligence and would know the full scope of this disaster. Making up her mind, she slipped away quietly, using the cover of the deepening twilight and the villagers' distraction, her form melting back into the dark tree line.
She moved quickly over the land, a blur in the growing dark, and soon arrived at the high walls of the county town. However, even though it was not yet fully dark, the city gates were already shut and locked tight, an hour earlier than curfew should dictate. She could see the flickering torches of many soldiers patrolling the walls with grim determination. Such strict, early martial law, however, posed no real problem for a Qi Refining cultivator. Su Min easily located a dark, unguarded section of the wall between two watchtowers and slipped into the city as silently as a shadow, her feet barely touching the stone.
What surprised her most upon entering was the eerie, profound silence that gripped the entire town. It was the hour when dinner should be cooking and families should be talking, but every household was shuttered and "closed," their windows boarded up from the inside. Despite this being a once bustling port city, it felt as silent and foreboding as a ghost town, the air thick with dread.
"Fuding Merchant Guild?"
With the last faint light of dusk to guide her, Su Min located her target, a large, fortified compound with the guild's sigil discreetly displayed, and quickly disappeared into the dark alley leading to its heavily reinforced side entrance.
Later, inside the guild's torch lit courtyard...
"Hey, who is in charge here? Take me to see him."
Facing a confused and sleepy looking servant who had been dozing by the door, Su Min did not waste time with pleasantries or explanations. She simply walked right past him, her tone polite but her actions leaving no room for argument, her presence commanding immediate attention. Soon enough, a fully armored middle aged man emerged from a back room, a heavy, spiked mace held ready in his hand, his face set in a grim line.
When he saw it was just a young woman, he paused, his guard lowering slightly, but then his eyes fell upon the unique golden token she held up casually. His expression changed instantly, the grimness replaced by shock and then recognition, clearly understanding its immense significance.
This token represented the prince's direct, ultimate authority. He was one of the few people in this outpost who knew the deeper, secret workings of this merchant association, and he quickly deduced Su Min's likely identity from the reports that had preceded her. A look of profound relief and joy appeared on his face, the tension draining from his shoulders. Without hesitation, he rushed over, his previous wariness replaced by a servile eagerness to please.
"Long time no see! Quickly, come in, come in!" he said, bowing slightly in a gesture of deep respect. He then turned and kicked a servant nearby who was too slow to react, his voice sharp. "Fool, hurry up and prepare tea and wine! Our most honored guest is here! The best we have!"
He then enthusiastically ushered Su Min inside a private, warmly lit study, away from prying eyes.
"What is going on?" Su Min asked without preamble, taking a seat in a comfortable chair. "Why is the city so heavily guarded, and why is everything shut down so early? The air here is thick with fear."
"Alas…" The man's expression soured into one of bitter resignation as he closed the door. He was the local branch master.
He led Su Min into the room, waving for a woman—who seemed to be either his concubine or his wife—to bring over some simple refreshments before dismissing her with a look, ensuring their privacy.
"Over a year ago, many fishermen started dying at sea, their boats found smashed and empty," he began, his voice low and weary. "The governor, a good man, reported the matter to the court, formally requesting that the Demon Slayer Division be sent to deal with the monster. We all had hope then."
"I know about that part," Su Min nodded, sipping the tea. It was of mediocre quality. "The survivors barely made it back, escaping with their lives and a tale of a giant clam. The mission was a failure."
She was aware of the initial events. The Demon Slayer Division had some effect, it seemed, as the creature had been provoked, but clearly, it was not enough to stop it. The monster was at least a Qi Refining level creature, and it operated on its home turf—the open, deep sea. Even the best Body Refining cultivators were at a severe, almost laughable disadvantage in the water, their strength and speed meaning little against a creature that could swim and crush them with water pressure.
"Yes, but after that day, something in the beast changed," the man explained, leaning forward conspiratorially. "It seems that after consuming the blood and flesh of those from the Demon Slayer Division, it gained new, terrifying powers. Now it can mass produce those half human, half fish monstrosities you must have seen. These creatures are incredibly strong, and even a seasoned Body Refining cultivator can be overwhelmed and killed by them if they are not careful, especially at night."
"This is quite normal," Su Min replied, unsurprised. She had seen such adaptations before. "Body Refining cultivators may be stronger than ordinary people, but they are not invincible. They can be drowned, torn apart, or simply outnumbered. Only a rare few, like I was, are truly exceptional, capable of feats far beyond the norm." Her own strength at the Body Refining stage had been formidable, but that was thanks to her powerful divine sense, her past life's knowledge, and the unique advantages of being a transmigrator combined with years of alchemical self refinement.
"Every night now, these creatures come on land to raid," the man continued, a shiver in his voice as if he could hear their scraping movements now. "They capture any villagers they find outside the walls and drag them back to the sea, either to eat or to transform. Several outlying villages have been completely wiped out, their populations gone. Now, anyone with any connections or money has gathered here behind the walls. The creatures are highly sensitive to light, which is why the entire city has its lights off after dusk. We live in darkness to avoid attracting them, like mice hiding from a cat."
"Is that so?" Su Min squinted, thinking for a long moment, her mind analyzing this new information before replying slowly, "What if we knew the exact location of their lair, the monster's home? Would the governor dare to send his forces, what remains of them, to wipe them out in a single, decisive strike?"
"What? You know where it is?" the man asked, his eyes widening with a mix of hope and disbelief.
"I saw something unusual on my way here, a specific pattern in the currents and the behavior of the transformed," she said cryptically, not wanting to reveal her full hand yet. "But my identity and situation prevent me from acting directly and openly. I cannot lead a charge for the governor."
"No need to worry about that!" the man said, waving a hand dismissively, a new energy in his posture. "The governor is one of us. He was once too righteous for his own good, openly opposing the emperor's excesses in court. As a reward for his loyalty, he was 'promoted' to this desolate, doomed seaside town. He hates the court as much as we do. I will introduce you to him first thing in the morning. He will be eager to listen."
"Alright," Su Min said, a plan finally beginning to form in her mind. "That will do."