Heart of the Ocean (26): I miss you so much

“Thud… thud thud… thud thud thud…”

That dazzling, mesmerizing heart—resembling a flowing sapphire—roared like a turbocharged racing engine by Tan Xiao’s ear, emitting the thunderous sound of an engine starting.

It was a terrifying vortex-like roar, carrying the cries of countless souls at his ears, the struggle of an indescribable, unseeable deity.

Tan Xiao gazed at this enormous, artwork-like heart, feeling as though his own crimson-beating heart in his chest resonated with it, the two disparate pulses gradually synchronizing.

Unconsciously, his lips pressed into a taut line, his tense muscles hardening like stone.

“Don’t be afraid.”

The lighthouse jellyfish, initially dazed from absorbing vast amounts of information, sensed his tension and spared a moment to soothe its lover.

Gentle currents brushed against Tan Xiao’s lips as those boneless, soft tentacles caressed his sharply handsome yet delicately smooth cheeks, trailing slowly from his high nose bridge to his lips, then down to his alluring Adam’s apple, well-defined collarbones, and ivory-marble-like chest.

The sensation of soaking in a hot spring gradually melted the tension in Tan Xiao’s body.

The entire sea churned in the direction where Wen Yi resided. For Tan Xiao’s sake, the old village chief and other surviving islanders who had fallen into the city were swept up by a waterspout, landing together with a school of fish onto the sandy shore.

As the tide receded, the unconscious islanders were discovered by people on land: “So many people lying on the beach—come quick, help them!”

The seawater had submerged the former island, washing away the wealth accumulated by generations and themselves. Everything had to start anew.

It sounded unfortunate, but for these people, surviving the Sea God’s wrath was already divine mercy.

Time twisted before Tan Xiao’s eyes. Amid the gentle waves, his body grew increasingly transparent, like a fading ghost. Seeing this, Xiao Bai barked frantically beside him.

But its barks couldn’t halt Tan Xiao’s fading. A crystal-clear tentacle tapped Xiao Bai’s head, and the incessantly yapping pup immediately flopped onto its back, legs in the air: “Gah—”

Don’t misunderstand—it wasn’t dead. The jellyfish thoughtfully encased the noisy little dog in a translucent, iridescent bubble, sending the forcibly slumbering pup from the deep sea to the surface.

As for Tan Xiao, whose body was growing transparent—though Wen Yi had never intended for his lover to witness those shameful fragments of his past—the turbulence from his heart’s return had already entangled Tan Xiao’s consciousness with those long-sealed memories.

The face of the strikingly handsome man flickered through countless visages, yet his eyes—always tender, always fixed adoringly on his beloved—never changed.

At first, Tan Xiao’s consciousness was clear, but soon he grew dizzy, his body light as if floating. His mind drifted along the river of time until, when his soul finally settled, he saw a familiar scene.  

It was an ancient city built of stone, its architecture bearing the marks of history—simple, raw, and brimming with the charm of nature.  

Unlike the lifeless stone city beneath the sea, the one before Tan Xiao was vibrant and full of energy, resembling a coastal town with towering tropical trees. Palm trees, coconut palms, and banana plants flourished in abundance. Beneath some fruit-laden trees, lightly dressed townspeople picked their harvest.  

Among them was a young mother and child. The woman wore a linen headscarf, her ears adorned with large white pearl earrings, and a beautiful string of white pearls around her neck. A child who shared her features held a broad banana leaf piled with freshly picked, still-green bananas and clusters of red berries.  

This was clearly an ancient city with a long history—neither its structures nor its people bore any trace of modernity. Lighting came from crudely made candles, and cooking was done on old earthen stoves.  

Compared to the era of the island when he first entered the instance, this city existed at least three hundred years in the past.  

Though the island was relatively rich in resources, this coastal city’s economy relied heavily on the sea. Essential goods had to be brought back by fleets traveling great distances from other cities.  

“The fleet is back!”  

Someone shouted from the shore, and the young woman and child beneath the trees abandoned their fruit, running excitedly toward the sea. Others—families of sailors and curious onlookers—also rushed to the docks. Every time the ships returned from a long voyage, they brought back rare and precious goods.  

If they hurried, they could even buy freshly caught seafood. Though the receding tide also brought treasures, the bounty of the deep sea far surpassed what could be scavenged from the shore.  

But this time, the returning ship brought devastating news. The woman’s husband had been lost at sea! The fleet had been attacked by a sea monster—punishment for offending the Sea God—and her husband had fallen into the waters, vanishing without a trace.  

Long voyages were inherently dangerous, and accidents were inevitable. But the woman couldn’t bear the grief and collapsed on the spot. Her child, only ten years old, carefully tended to his mother.  

In his desperation, the boy went to the city’s temple and offered his most beloved treasure to the gods, begging for mercy. “Please return my father, my mother’s husband,” he pleaded. “I’m willing to give up what I cherish most in exchange.”  

His piety moved the deity worshipped by the city. The sea returned the boy’s father…  

…in the form of a corpse.

The fishermen claimed the man had offended the Sea God, but in truth, the deity had nothing to do with it. He was no malevolent god—to Him, humans were as insignificant as ants.  

What ants did was of no concern to the Sea God. The man’s death wasn’t caused by divine wrath but by the treachery of his fellow sailors.  

The dead could not return to life. Though the god possessed immense power, even He could not resurrect the deceased. Those who perished in the sea had their souls trapped in the abyss.  

That the deity had used his power to return the body at all was already an act of rare mercy.  

Normally, the Sea God was cold and indifferent toward humans. But this child’s eyes—clear, bright, and pure—bore a faint resemblance to someone from the god’s distant memories.  

It wasn’t about seeking a replacement, merely an extension of fondness. And so, the god showed the boy a sliver of favor.  

The blessed child saw his father’s corpse and learned the truth of his death. Though the body had been ravaged by days in the sea, the fatal wounds were unmistakably man-made, not the work of any monster.  

He swore vengeance, but the path of retribution was treacherous. In the act of killing his enemy, the boy—who bore a faint resemblance to Tan Xiao—met his own crisis, tumbling into the ocean. Once again, the Sea God intervened, saving him with a drop of divine blood.  

That boy would later become the founder of the Changsheng Group.  

At first glance, it seemed like a bittersweet yet beautiful tale of gods and mortals. But the story soon twisted into something darker.  

The boy, now marked by divine favor, entered the city lord’s circle under the guise of a “divine attendant.” Once an ordinary child from a humble family, his mother had been a gentle, dependent woman who crumbled after her husband’s death, leaving him to endure bullying alone.  

But the world of the city lord’s manor was intoxicating. Wealth and power dazzled him, and soon, his heart was ensnared by another temptation—the lord’s beloved youngest daughter, a fragile yet breathtakingly beautiful girl.  

For love and fortune, the boy chose betrayal without hesitation. He even justified his treachery with twisted logic: If not for the god, his father wouldn’t have died. He wouldn’t have suffered so much.  

To him, betraying a deity was a small price for love and riches. Only a fool would refuse.  

Through his deceit, the Sea God was lured from the ocean and captured by the prepared city lord. Using forbidden methods, they imprisoned the deity, drained his power, and carved out his heart, sealing it in a small box.  

The stolen divine power brought unimaginable wealth to the city, and the boy became the lord’s son-in-law.  

But gods are not so easily defied. For their sacrilege, the bustling city was swallowed by a catastrophic tsunami during its peak revelry, sinking into the depths forever.  

Life withered in the dark abyss, and the god-slayers who had committed the sin became spectral prisoners, doomed to atone for eternity.  

Only a handful of survivors were spared—those who, in a moment of remorse, had helped free a fragment of the god. They fled to a new island, founding a village that later grew into a town.  

The descendants of those sinners quietly carried their ancestors’ guilt, but over time, the truth faded into myth. Only the town’s leaders preserved fragments of the tale in handwritten records.  

Gods cannot truly die. The Sea God merely fell into slumber—until the day he sensed his beloved’s approach.  

And so, in the deepest trenches of the ocean, a brainless, foolish little lighthouse jellyfish was born.  

Weak, pitiful, yet bearing the god’s undying nature.  

The arrival of the Changsheng Group, the island’s disasters—all were the Sea God’s retribution against betrayers and greedy defilers. An invisible hand had orchestrated the game.  

The god had never been in true peril. His earlier “defeat” was but a ruse, a game played at his leisure.  

Every ending was shaped by mortal choices. The god had never tempted them—the ruin of the lost city was wrought by human greed alone.  

He had merely let the tide carry him into slumber, waiting patiently…  

Until his lover arrived.  

The translucent jellyfish melted into the form of an impossibly beautiful man—a face Tan Xiao knew intimately. Hungrily, he kissed his beloved, pouring centuries of longing into the touch.  

“Without you, I slept and slept,” the god whispered, voice thick with love. “I missed you. For so, so long.”