The Three Life-Saving Pearls Given Away

“Mengyu, are you feeling unwell again?”

“No. I just feel so guilty about Sister Huynh…”

Lin Mengyu’s eyes reddened, and tears immediately rolled down her cheeks.

I sat on the floor and watched them gather around her, fussing over her. No one spared me another glance.

Even Jiang Xu went over to comfort Lin Mengyu.

I slowly pushed myself up from the floor.

The legs of my pants were soaked through with blood from the broken scales.

“Don’t feel guilty.”

My voice was calm, without a ripple of emotion.

“Just think of those pearls as my funeral gifts to all of you.”

I ignored Lu Shen’s furious roar, turned around, and dragged my ruined legs out the door.

It was the fifth day of the countdown.

I wandered aimlessly outside all day.

My legs grew heavier and heavier. Each step felt like dancing on the tip of a knife.

By the time I returned to the villa that evening, I could barely stay on my feet.

As soon as I opened the door, I heard a commotion in the living room.

“Hurry up! Why hasn’t the family doctor arrived yet?”

Lu Shen’s roar shook the room.

Meng Tu paced anxiously through the living room, while Pho Lam wiped the sweat from Lin Mengyu’s brow as she lay on the sofa.

Lin Mengyu’s face was deathly pale. There was even a streak of blood at the corner of her mouth, making her look terribly frail.

The moment he saw me enter, Lu Shen rushed over as if I were his last hope and seized both my shoulders.

“Tang Huynh, where are the pearls? You must still have some life pearls, right?”

His grip dug painfully into my shoulders. I looked at him coldly.

“They’re gone.”

“Impossible!”

Meng Tu rushed toward me, his eyes bloodshot.

“Aunt begged for three. She must have had spare pearls!”

“Mengyu suddenly started throwing up blood today. The doctor said her body is so weak that ordinary medicine won’t work.”

“She only showed a little improvement after eating those pearls yesterday!”

Pho Lam looked at me too, anxious and pleading.

“Tang Huynh, someone’s life is at stake. Stop hiding things from us.”

“If you give us the pearls to save Mengyu, we’ll give you anything you want from now on.”

I looked at the three faces that had once loved me more than anything. I could only find them ridiculous.

“I said there are no more.”

“They were the pearls my mother begged for on her knees. One for each of you. They’re all in her stomach now.”

I pointed at Lin Mengyu, barely conscious on the sofa, my voice devoid of warmth.

“That’s her fate. It has nothing to do with me.”

Smack!

A resounding slap struck my face.

Lu Shen was breathing hard, his hand still trembling in midair.

“Tang Huynh, how can you be so heartless?”

“Someone’s life is right in front of you, and you can still say something like that?”

The slap turned my head to the side. I tasted iron in my mouth.

I pressed a hand to my burning cheek, turned back to look at him, and smiled instead of crying.

“I’m heartless? That was my life. When you took it to prolong hers, why didn’t you think you were being heartless?”

Lu Shen froze, then grew even angrier.

“Stop talking nonsense! You’re standing here perfectly fine. Nothing has happened to you!”

“Meanwhile, Mengyu is dying!”

Just then, Jiang Xu came rushing in from outside.

“I found it! I asked people from your hometown!”

She held several photocopied pages and hurried over to Lu Shen, visibly excited.

“The people back home said those pearls are called Heart-of-the-Sea Pearls. They’re produced by a rare species of clam in the deep sea.”

“Aunt Tang couldn’t swim well, so she couldn’t dive. That’s why she went to the clan shrine to ask for the reserve pearls.”

“If someone can dive to the deep-sea reefs, they can find new Heart-of-the-Sea Pearls!”

Jiang Xu’s words were like a shot of adrenaline to the three of them.

All their eyes turned to me at once.

Meng Tu strode over, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“Tang Huynh, you grew up by the sea. You’re the best swimmer among us.”

“You’re the only one who can dive down there.”

I stared at my own brother in disbelief.

“You want me to go into the sea?”

“You know there’s a storm warning for the next few days, and you still want me to go to the deep-sea reefs?”

Pho Lam frowned, his voice impatient.

“Don’t make excuses. You used to swim around even when the sea was rough.”

“Mengyu can’t wait any longer. Just consider it a good deed.”

Lu Shen simply grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the door.

“There’s no time. We’re going to the sea right now.”

“Tang Huynh, if you bring back the Heart-of-the-Sea Pearls, I promise I’ll never lose my temper with you again.”

My legs hurt so much I could barely stand. I struggled with all my might.

“I’m not going! I’ll really die if I go into the sea!”

“Let go of me!”

But it was useless. There was too great a difference in strength between a man and a woman.