Shapeshifters

“From very early on, we have been reading books written by humans, many of which mention that the most wonderful thing in the world is love. However, we, the undersea people, do not have the concept of gender; we reproduce asexually. We yearn for love deeply, which is why we wanted to become human. ‘That’s because our lifespan is very long, and our concept of time is completely different from yours, so we are quite indifferent to any emotions, not as intense as humans. We do have anger or sadness, but for us, in our millennia-long lives, these emotions are too trivial to mention. However, humans often say they would sacrifice their already brief lives for love, something we cannot understand. We imagine it must be something unimaginably wonderful and great.’ I couldn’t help but smile at this reason, and I remembered the adult films in Shu Sheng’s room, which made it even funnier. The Magician Takes the Stage (7) I glanced at Su Ying, only to find her expression serious, listening intently. But then I thought, if human life could also be this long, many things that seem important would indeed become insignificant, perhaps even ethics would cease to exist. At this thought, I too became solemn. ‘For Ruan Zhenshan,’ the middle-aged man continued, ‘our undersea people, who have no schemes or interest in what you humans call power, were just right to help him. If he used lions or tigers as his blueprint, the humans he created would be uncontrollable. He was a very clever man. On the battlefield, we were invincible, appearing to humans as if we had infinite strength. In fact, before the battle even started, our opponents were already terrified by our appearance. For a while, everyone called us monsters. But on the battlefield, we indeed were unstoppable.’ I thought of the descriptions of the Mingjiao uprising, often referring to them as the ‘Vegetarian Demon Sect,’ which must have had something to do with them. This explains a lot. ‘For some unknown reason, we could only evolve based on male humans…’ I suddenly wondered, why only male? From a reproductive perspective, male organisms generally take an active role in reproduction, suggesting that the so-called machine for mutation was meant to guide organisms towards the desired evolutionary path. Who might have created such a machine? Perhaps it was an experimental tool left by ancient aliens to guide biological evolution. If that’s the case, perhaps Earth itself is a vast experimental base for aliens. These are my later analyses, and when I casually mentioned them to Liang Yingwu, he also acknowledged this possibility. ‘However, contrary to our wishes, we turned into humans but still didn’t understand what love is. Initially, we couldn’t even distinguish between male and female humans.’ The undersea person sighed. ‘We felt nothing unusual towards human females; at that time, the physiological reactions Ruan Zhenshan spoke of were completely absent.’ I could guess what the so-called physiological reactions were, but discussing such topics with two beautiful women like Su Ying and Lu Yun was quite awkward. In short, a group of undersea people were all ‘impotent,’ I summarized in my mind. The undersea person was tactful enough not to dwell on this topic. He continued, ‘We couldn’t enjoy any human love, let alone reproduce. The war ended quickly, and Ruan Zhenshan agreed to help us revert to our undersea form and return to our aquatic life.’ ‘At first, Ruan Zhenshan built a human altar, where he placed the machine. This altar was constructed with great opulence, almost exhausting all his resources, employing as much manpower and material as possible. It took three months to build, with steps leading to the top made from wooden stakes supporting bluestone slabs, and pillars and beams around the altar to show respect and solemnity for the undersea people. As for the human blueprint, the machine would automatically capture it, leaving no trace.’ At this point, I realized that the site of the Zhidan Garden ruins was where they referred to as the ‘human altar.’ ‘Later, he built a sluice gate on the same site to cover up the truth. After the war, with his help, we returned to the sea.’ The undersea person gave a bitter smile. ‘All undersea people who had tasted human life were severely punished by the tribe leader. We always believed our history was far superior to that of humans, but this time, we were used by humans, which was undoubtedly a great shame. Since then, we’ve set rules that no undersea person should approach the human altar or mention anything about it. Eventually, the human altar became just a secret legend among the undersea people.’ ‘So now, the human altar is right here.’ I laughed. ‘I was lucky. The war was not over yet, but I felt no need to stay, as the cruelty of humans made me uncomfortable. So I found Ruan Zhenshan and had him use the human altar to turn me back into an undersea person, returning to the sea. Later, he died in the chaos of war, but he kept the secret of the machine in the altar well, never revealing the origin of this fearsome army to outsiders, and even the tribe was not fully aware. As a result, the exact location of the human altar and the whereabouts of the machine became unknown. Many of the undersea people he led either died on the battlefield or were captured and executed as monsters, unable to return to the sea. Ruan Zhenshan had many descendants, some of whom fought alongside us and later desperately searched for the human altar and the lost machine but never found them. Thus, the story of the human altar became a legend in their family.’ The Magician Takes the Stage (8) I suddenly understood that Ruan Xiwen must be a descendant of Ruan Zhenshan. This legend must be recorded in his family history, so this time, he was determined to uncover this chapter. ‘Having finished telling this oldest legend, we should now speak of what happened fifteen years ago…’ Shui Sheng began. Su Ying immediately tensed up, her body trembling slightly. I asked on her behalf, ‘What happened fifteen years ago?'”
“Fifteen years ago, by sheer coincidence, I encountered a ship in distress at sea and saved…” Shui Sheng began, looking up at Su Ying as he spoke, “…Su Ying, do you remember?” Su Ying, her eyes brimming with tears, nodded and said, “It really is you… I should have guessed… You’ve come back.” “I promised to keep my word. Since I said I would protect you, I resolved to come to land, to live among humans, to protect you.” Indeed, the sea people speak with no ambiguity. “Have you found that device then? Is that how you turned into a human?” “No,” Shui Sheng said with a wry smile, “As you saw just now, like him, I am still fundamentally a sea person. I’ve forced myself to take on this human appearance.” “Shui Sheng is the most capable among all the sea people,” another sea person interjected, “Only he could manage to maintain a human form continuously. You don’t understand what that means for us.” I noticed that this sea person’s face indeed looked different from when he first entered; upon closer inspection, it seemed like his facial features were subtly shifting, which was quite eerie. “It’s true. It’s like shaping clay into a human form and then having to hold it up with parts of your body every day to walk upright, which is extremely difficult. Even when sleeping, you can’t let go, for fear of forgetting what your original face looks like,” Shui Sheng said, his face contorted in pain. “I initially intended to stay by Su Ying’s side quietly, protecting her, because sea people live much longer than humans. I planned to return to the sea after she passed away. But unexpectedly, a few months ago, through your connection, I actually met Su Ying directly, Na Duo.” “The pain of taking each step in this human form is beyond your imagination. And it shortens our originally long lifespan; maintaining a fixed facial structure consumes a great deal of our energy,” another sea person added. Only then did I understand why Shui Sheng often seemed frail and sickly; he was enduring immense pain at all times. “But after officially meeting Su Ying,” Shui Sheng raised his voice, not daring to look at her, “I felt unwilling. I…” Shui Sheng clenched his fist, “I want to become human. I promised Su Ying, so I must become human. I thought about it every day, and then by chance, an archaeological site was discovered here at Zhidan Garden where I live.” “So you mean…” “I knew this was the place, Ren Tan, but I couldn’t find that device at first. I didn’t know whether Ruan Zhenshan had taken the device or hidden it somewhere. After coming to human society in this form, I’ve been looking for Ren Tan and the legendary device. One day, I felt a faint fluctuation here; I knew the device was nearby. So, I sought out former companions who had used this device to help me.” “So you said you were visiting relatives back home.” “I did go back to the sea, my home. He knows how to operate this device,” Shui Sheng explained. “What about the bewildering event I encountered today? I was suddenly as if hypnotized and brought to a well…” “That’s it!” another sea person exclaimed upon hearing my words, “I remember this device has a very mysterious function for capturing blueprints. Ruan Zhenshan used this function to automatically find some people to use as mutation blueprints, and they wouldn’t remember. That’s how Ruan Zhenshan discovered this device in the first place.” “That’s the gist of it,” Shui Sheng sighed, then turned to Su Ying, “Su Ying, I’m sorry for keeping this from you…” Before Shui Sheng could finish, Su Ying embraced him, tears streaming down her face. The Magician’s Return (9) “I’ve been looking for you… always looking for you… I knew you’d keep your word… I knew…” Su Ying sobbed softly, holding Shui Sheng tightly. Shui Sheng seemed very moved, nodding vigorously; perhaps sea people do not easily show their emotions. We stood there, not daring to interrupt, quietly watching, happy for them. After a while, Su Ying’s emotions settled, and she slowly let go of Shui Sheng. At that moment, I remembered something and turned to ask the other sea person, “It seems there’s been some issue with the device recently. What’s going on?” I recounted the mutations I had encountered with cats, cockroaches, fish, and my deduction about the earthworms. “An earthworm must have crawled onto the device, and it was used as a blueprint,” he thought for a moment, “But having so many creatures mutate unusually also indicates the device is quite unstable.” “In that case, we should hurry and find that device,” I stood up and concluded, “For your sake, for the creatures and humans around here – who knows what else might happen.” With that, we set off towards the ancient well. Lu Yun led the way, evidently pleased not to miss this rare experience. The sea person followed closely behind. Shui Sheng, who should have been walking with Su Ying, caught up with me instead. “I never expected, Na Duo senior, that you’re not just an ordinary person.” “No, I’m just an ordinary person with a strong curiosity and a few extraordinary friends,” I shrugged, “By our standards, you’re quite old, so let’s drop the ‘senior’ bit.” “Hehe,” Shui Sheng laughed, reminding me of something else. “Tell me, what’s with all those adult films and magazines in your room?” I couldn’t help but chuckle. Unexpectedly, Shui Sheng blushed. He glanced at Su Ying and then at the companion ahead, awkwardly whispering, “Actually, I heard from our elders that they couldn’t do it, so after coming here, I learned what was going on. Just in case I turned into a human, I… prepared for any eventuality, to avoid repeating their mistakes.” “Oh… did it work?” I asked with a laugh, finally solving the great mystery. Shui Sheng shook his head awkwardly, deliberately turning his head away so Su Ying wouldn’t see. “It doesn’t matter; becoming human is enough.”
“Oh, right…” I remembered something else and asked, “Can you give me a hint on how you underwater people cultivate your powers? Could you teach me?”