Chapter 5: Qin Min, You Are So Useless

Mermaids crying pearls is a legend from ancient Earth fairy tales; it is impossible for any beastman to achieve. Upon hearing this request, Qin Min assumed that the vicious female, Yun Fu, had simply invented another way to torment him.

Qin Min looked at Yun Fu with cold, dark eyes. Seeing that face—exquisitely fair, stunningly beautiful, yet somehow unfamiliar—he froze for a moment, the initial shock quickly replaced by disdain. No matter how beautiful Yun Fu appeared, the wicked heart of this female would never change. The malice beneath her alluring, lotus-like face was only more repulsive.

"Yun Fu, you know I cannot shed any pearls. Is it fun to harass me with such methods?"

"Or do you think I truly dare not lay a hand on you?"

Qin Min’s hands, shackled by electroshock manacles, clenched into fists. His fish tail shifted, the silver scales flashing with sharp, metallic glints; it seemed that if Yun Fu were to step any closer, he could easily pierce through her fragile body.

Yun Fu stood at a safe distance and curled her lips. "But can you actually touch me?"

Her posture was relaxed, her small, snow-white face radiating a provocative, unassailable confidence. It was truly infuriating. A chill surged in Qin Min’s eyes, his mental energy showing signs of a breakdown, and the electroshock shackles emitted a harsh, warning alarm.

[Oh my god, I just got here and saw a mermaid! Oh, wow, such a dreamy and beautiful tail!]

[He’s a completely different type from the Black Dragon. The Black Dragon is domineering, but the mermaid is transcendently beautiful. The supporting female lead is so lucky to possess two legendary-level beastmen like this.]

[Is this the scene where the supporting female lead is about to slice the mermaid to make sashimi?]

[I won't allow it! The mermaid's tail is so beautiful; it can't have even the slightest blemish! Supporting female lead, how can you bear to ruin such a gorgeous tail?]

[Heh, she’s perfectly willing. Her eyes are as if they’ve been plastered over; to curry favor with the female lead’s peacock beast-husband, she wants to use the mermaid’s scales to make a fan for the peacock.]

Qin Min, whose mental energy was spiraling into chaos, froze in mid-air. What was this? And this "supporting female lead" referred to Yun Fu? She had captured him to eat him as sashimi and wanted to use his scales to please another female's beast-husband? How dare she—how could she!

"Yun Fu!"

Fury surged in Qin Min’s eyes. He glared at her, his icy gaze fixed on her, and the siren of the electroshock shackles grew louder. His fish tail lashed out violently against the ground, gouging holes into the floor. Clearly, his mental energy was on the verge of a total meltdown. It was quite terrifying.

Even standing at a safe distance, Yun Fu was grazed on the arm by a stone sent flying by the lashing tail. Seeing cracks appear in the shackles, she quickly activated the electric current. With a jolt, much of the mermaid’s chaotic mental energy receded, and his emotions stabilized significantly.

Yun Fu watched the man with the jade-like features grit his teeth, his brow furrowed in pain. She felt quite like a villainess. But as a physically fragile human, she couldn't just wait for Qin Min to kill her. She had no choice but to strike first, exert some force, and then talk.

"Now that you’re calm, can we have a proper conversation?"

Yun Fu had 01 bring over a chair. She sat in front of the mermaid and touched Qin Min’s injured tail. "It’s a beautiful tail, but the fact that you can’t shed pearls like the mermaids in the movies... Qin Min, you’re so useless."

Yun Fu sighed in disappointment, as if she had only just realized how worthless her beast-husband was. "I thought, given how strong your mental energy is, you would be able to shed pearls. I wanted to use them for jewelry. Since you can't, you might as well leave. You’re useless anyway."

With that, she called out to 01, "Release him."

01 glanced at Yun Fu with an unreadable expression but asked no questions, unlocking the electroshock shackles for Qin Min. Qin Min, who had expected a long bout of torture, felt a sense of disoriented suspicion as she released him so easily.

[Huh? The supporting female lead actually let the mermaid go?]

[Something’s wrong. Shouldn't she have electrocuted him, whipped him with the electric lash until he was covered in wounds, and then cut off his tail to harvest the scales?]

[Who knows? Maybe she decided the scales aren't good enough for the peacock and wants pearls instead?]

[Sigh, Yun Fu is beautiful, but why is she so troublesome and blind? If she just lived harmoniously with her four beast-husbands, I can't even imagine how eye-pleasing that would be.]

A cold light flashed in Qin Min’s eyes. Using parts of his body to curry favor with other beastmen—Yun Fu really dared to think it.

Suddenly, Qin Min lashed out with his tail, pulling Yun Fu from her chair. He stared at her with icy, sinister eyes and asked, "Didn't you want my scales? What’s wrong? Not digging them out anymore?"

After a brief moment of panic from being pulled in, Yun Fu quickly steadied herself. She adjusted her posture and sat on his fish tail, as comfortable as if she were sitting on the lap of a deeply devoted husband, rather than an object of hatred.

Though Yun Fu appeared perfectly calm, she was actually resting her hand on her smart device, prepared to trigger another "emotional stabilization" electroshock therapy on Qin Min at any moment. Hearing his words, she felt annoyed that he knew about the original owner’s plan to harvest his scales. However, seeing the tray in 01’s hand filled with sharp knives—and recalling that the original owner had specifically ordered 01 to have the mermaid wash his tail—she realized he must have guessed it.

The evidence was right in front of them; excuses would be too hollow. Yun Fu simply lifted her snow-white chin and scanned Qin Min’s tail with a critical eye.

"Your mental pollution value is so high that the scales on your tail have dulled. I only want the best and most beautiful things. I wouldn't even take these dull scales if you gave them to me."

Another disdainful remark. Qin Min found it absurd. "Yun Fu, you have no mental energy at all, yet you look down on me?"

So, Yun Fu *did* want to harvest his scales for another beastman, but because she thought his scales had faded and were no longer brilliant, she didn't want them anymore?

Qin Min was incensed, his tail swaying in agitation. Yun Fu glared at him and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from being thrown off. "So what if I don't have mental energy? I am still your female master, and you are my beast-husband. What’s wrong with me looking down on you?"

The softness of her body pressing against his tail, combined with her wrapping her arms around his neck, allowed Qin Min to look up and see that porcelain-white face and those glistening lips. His breath hitched. Whether it was his imagination or not, as Yun Fu drew closer, his turbulent mental energy seemed to soothe.

"Yun Fu, you can't be this wicked."

Yun Fu let out a cold snort, dissatisfied, and kicked the tail that was curled around her. She had come over wearing slippers, and after being caught by his tail, they had long since fallen off. Yun Fu had no mental energy and her strength was negligible, causing the mermaid no harm.

Qin Min felt a strange, tingling sensation where her feet touched him; a burning heat rose along his icy tail. This unfamiliar sensation forced him to loosen his grip, and Yun Fu was finally set down.

Yun Fu glanced at the strangely flustered Qin Min. Since his mental state was decent, she decided to try and build some rapport. "I have soothed Gu Lin, and his pollution value has decreased. What about you? Do you need my help?"

"At least it would make your scales look more beautiful; that would be a sight to behold."