Chapter One: Heaven's First Floor

  The clothes Shen Shi wore were a set of ordinary Ling Xiao Sect outer disciple attire, in a grayish white color. At first glance, there was nothing out of the ordinary about them, but wearing them felt very comfortable. It seemed that Ling Xiao Sect had always been generous and magnanimous, not treating their new disciples poorly even when it came to everyday necessities.

  Hai Xing looked about the same age as Shen Shi, and if not for the two bright red shells on her body, she would be almost indistinguishable from an ordinary human girl. However, being a member of the Red Shell tribe, her thoughts and behavior were quite different from what Shen Shi had imagined. As Shen Shi took off his clothes, Hai Xing didn't show any signs of shyness, but instead looked at him with curiosity, seemingly wondering what humans without shells on their bodies looked like.

  Because he had just killed the ghost-faced shrimp, blue polluted blood splattered all over his body, so Shen Shi simply took off his clothes and pants, leaving only a pair of close-fitting shorts. Compared to Hai Xing's calm and slightly curious gaze, Shen Shi felt a bit uncomfortable. However, thinking about it, he didn't think much of it, haha laughed, grabbed the clothes and ran towards the sea.

  The waves were foaming with white spray as they hit the pristine beach, and Shen Shi jumped into the water, a cool sensation suddenly coming from the clear seawater around him, making him shiver. He looked up at the sky, where a few white clouds floated in the azure expanse, the sea and sky blending together in perfect harmony, the waves gentle, and the warm sunlight shining on his body, gradually dispelling the chill, his body slowly adapting to the surrounding water temperature, the slightly salty seawater aroma enveloping him from all sides.

  This was his first time in his life standing in the seawater of the ocean.

  The waves rolled in from the distant sea surface and surged gently onto the beach, with his body in the water seeming to be constantly pushed back and forth by a hand. This was a completely different feeling from that of rivers, lakes and ponds, giving Shen Shi, who had lived in the inland mountainous region of Yinzhou since childhood, a totally new experience.

  After a while, he slowly came out of this strange excitement and began to clean the blue bloodstains on his body and clothes. When the bloodstains on his body and clothes met the seawater, it was indeed as the sea star said that the seawater seemed to be particularly effective against this stain, Shen Shi only slightly scrubbed and quickly washed away the bloodstains attached to his clothes and body.

  Watching the boy in the sea water being curious and excited to play, the starfish on the shore seemed to be watching with interest, and a smile slowly appeared at the corner of its mouth.

  The waves in the sea have grown a bit bigger, but for the starfish who has been growing up by the sea since childhood, it's already an everyday sight, and she doesn't feel anything. She looked at the beach again for a while, thinking about whether to take the 16 shrimp meats that Shen Shi peeled today back to Village Chief Grandpa first, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shen Shi washing his clothes and body in the sea water, seemingly unaware that the seawater had risen, quietly flooding from his thighs to his waist.

  The starfish hesitated for a moment, furrowed her brow, and opened her mouth as if she wanted to shout something at Shen Shi in the water, but before she could speak, she suddenly saw a large wave surge up from the seawater and rush over.

  This wave was much higher than the previous one, and with the water level rising quietly for a while, it suddenly overflowed Shen Shi's neck. This was beyond Shen Shi's expectation, as he had already turned halfway to prepare to go ashore. As a result, he was violently washed away from behind by this huge wave, and the force of the water was unexpectedly strong. His feet slipped out from under him, and he was actually knocked down by the wave.

  With a loud crash, the waves heavily slapped onto the beach and then rolled back, the starfish on the shore took a step forward, but surprisingly, Shen Shi's figure was nowhere to be seen on the water surface.

  The starfish hesitated for a moment, and a worried look flashed across her face. Fortunately, at this time, a figure emerged from the waves again, and it was Shen Shi. Looking at where he was, he was suddenly swept away by the waves to a great distance. The starfish only then let out a sigh of relief and glanced at him with annoyance. But unexpectedly, this glance made the red clam tribe girl tense up again, because in the rolling waves, she saw Shen Shi waving his hands and feet, struggling desperately.

  "No way......" The sea star widened its eyes, looking somewhat disbelieving of its own vision, and even rubbed its eye sockets. Finally, it was confirmed that the human youth, who had been calm and composed from the start, with a strong and unyielding heart, unlike ordinary people... he really couldn't swim!

  “Bang”, the starfish threw away the large bowl in his hand, regardless of how many white tender shrimp meat fell on the sand beside him. He rushed towards the beach, took a few steps to the seaside, and his bare white feet splashed up snow-white waves, flying open in the air.

  A bright red shell suddenly opened at her waist, and then a beautiful figure leaped out, like a lithe and charming red fish, tracing a graceful trajectory in mid-air, and with a splash, jumped into the clear seawater.

  Under the blue sky, among the white waves, her figure was clearly visible, like a swift fish, swimming incredibly fast in the sea water, not slowing down even when facing the wave head, and quickly swam towards the struggling boy.

  A moment later, Shen Shi, who was struggling in the waves, suddenly felt a slippery body rushing up from the water. With a "splash" sound, water splashed everywhere, and Hai Xing's beautiful face appeared beside him, with droplets of water on her face, grabbing his arm and saying, "Don't move, I'll save you."

  But even after drinking several mouthfuls of seawater, Shen Shi's heart was still racing and he couldn't calm down at all. He felt like his hands and feet had nothing solid to stand on, and the waves in the sea had a terrifying power that was desperately pulling him down, as if trying to drown him. He couldn't help but struggle and flail about.

  The starfish struggled a few times, almost unable to catch him, while Shen Shi's hands and feet danced wildly, slapping and hitting the seawater, splashing waves and chaos, and he himself almost choked on a mouthful of seawater.

  In the sea water, the starfish's small face was stern, seemingly a bit urgent, and after shouting a sentence, it raised its hand and slapped Shen Shi with a crisp "slap".

  Shen Shi suddenly felt a surge of energy, and his body in the water calmed down significantly, as if he had just seen the people around him clearly, and his emotions became more stable. Hai Xing seized this opportunity, and his body stuck to Shen Shi's at once, while he straightforwardly wrapped his pale arm around Shen Shi's neck, saying: "Relax your body, don't use force, I'll take you back to shore."

  Shen Shi's mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. However, in this unfamiliar sea water, he finally listened to Hai Xing's words and forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, no longer moving.

  Gradually, he suddenly realized that his body had become much lighter. Originally, it seemed as if countless ghostly hands were about to drag him into the vast ocean, but now it was as if a pair of warm palms were slowly pushing his body upwards, and his entire torso floated up.

  The starfish's body was swimming in the water, one arm embracing Shen Shi's neck, keeping his head above the water surface all the time, and then slowly taking him to swim towards the shore.

  The seawater was still surging, Shen Shi's whole body was soaked in the water. When the sunlight from the sky shone down, he slightly closed his eyes and once again felt the warmth of that ray of sunlight, as well as a hint of fragrance coming from the soft body beside him.

  The white and delicate arm wrapped around his neck...

  The blue sky and white clouds, the sea breeze blowing in waves, Shen Shi suddenly felt that his mood was inexplicably good. For a moment, he had a feeling that maybe it wouldn't be bad to swim ashore a little later. The water splashed in waves as the starfish slapped against the seawater, carrying him forward while swimming. Because Shen Shi no longer struggled, the starfish also saved a lot of effort and became much more relaxed.

  A splashing sound was heard, and the two of them walked out of the sea again. The mermaid girl looked like she was feeling relaxed and at ease despite her clothes being completely wet. On the other hand, Shen Shi's appearance seemed a bit off, but it wasn't until they reached the shore that it became clear. During that life-or-death moment earlier, who knows what kind of state Shen Shi was in, yet he still tightly grasped the clothes he had taken off.

  The sea star also saw what was in his hand and glared at him with a bad temper, saying: "You're so old and still can't swim?"

  Shen Shi fell silent for a moment before saying, "I used to live in mountainous areas and rarely saw water, so I don't..."

  When Hai Xing heard that Shen Shi didn't refute at all and just honestly admitted it, he was stunned for a moment. He felt a bit embarrassed himself. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of five finger marks clearly visible on Shen Shi's cheek. Hai Xing's face suddenly turned red, and after hesitating for a while, he said in a low voice: "I'm sorry about hitting you earlier... does it hurt?"

  Shen Shi touched his cheek and said, "It hurts."

  The starfish suddenly became even more embarrassed, a pretty little face also flushed several shades redder, and explained in a low voice: "Just now was... you struggling desperately, I just..."

  Shen Shi suddenly interrupted her words and smiled: "Well done."

  Hai Xing was taken aback, looked up at Shen Shi with a glance, and saw that Shen Shi was smiling at her without any anger or ridicule. After a moment, she heard Shen Shi say: "Thank you for saving my life."

  The starfish suddenly jumped up for no reason and hurriedly said: "Nothing, it's what I should do."

  Just as Shen Shi was about to say something, his gaze suddenly condensed, and it wasn't until now that he really took a good look at Haixing's body. Because of saving himself, he rushed into the water, and his clothes were all soaked, sticking to his body. The girl from the Hongwan tribe seemed to have developed earlier and better than human girls, and some ups and downs had already appeared.

  Shen Shi was stunned for a moment, subconsciously turning his body around, Hai Xing looked at him and felt something was strange, asking: "What's wrong with you?"

  Shen Shi was silent for a moment before saying, "Your clothes are also wet. Do you want to go change into something else? The sea breeze is blowing and if you catch a chill, it won't be good for your health."

  The starfish chuckled and waved its hand, saying: "It's nothing, we're not like you humans, our physical bodies before cultivation are really weak, I've been doing this by the sea since I was young, going ashore to blow in the wind for a while and then drying off, it's fine."

  Shen Shi was momentarily speechless, and his eyes involuntarily glanced at the girl beside him again. He quickly turned his head back, pretending to be nonchalant, and thought for a moment before saying: "Anyway, thank you very much today. I'll come over again tomorrow... um... is 4 o'clock okay? Are you awake by then?"

  The starfish put her hands on her hips and stared at him, saying: "Do you think I'm the kind of girl who would sleep in until that time?"

  Shen Shi immediately shook his head and said, "Or I'll come over at noon?"

  The starfish thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, anyway, it seems that only you will come to peel the shrimp now. I'll wait for you at the village entrance tomorrow."

  Shen Shi laughed and nodded in agreement: "Alright." He said, waving his hand at Hai Xing, "Then I'll head back first."

  She turned and walked two steps, suddenly only hearing Hai Xing's loud voice behind her: "Hey, I still don't know your name?"

  He thought for a moment and indeed it was so, hastily turned his head back, smiled and said: "My name is Shen Shi."

  The waves crashed onto the beach, under the golden sunlight, that beautiful red clamshell girl had droplets of water hanging on her face and clothes, her body curved elegantly, smiling like a flower, beckoning:

  "My name is Haixing."

  Shen Shi burst out laughing, his smile bright and cheerful.