The banquet ended on an awkward note and the moment they were alone, Fu Ling began to question Hai Zhong.
"What were you talking about earlier?"
Hai Zhong looked away and tried to play dumb
"I don't understand what you mean."
Fu Ling looked at him silently and Hai Zhong gave in.
"Fine. It's about the tide heart. A merman's tide heart controls both his magic and his life force. Couples who share a ride heart are seen as blessed by the gods and anyone who tries to come in between them is public enemy."
Fu Ling narrowed his eyes
"Why was I not aware of this shared tide heart?"
Hai Zhong evaded and cleared his throat
"That's because I lied to them."
Fu Ling's eyes widened
"What? Why would you do that?"
Hai Zhong ran his fingers through his hair sulkily
"To make them stop. Even if I emphasized your importance to me, they would have kept on trying to match me up with some mermaid. I didn't want that so I lied. Now they believe we share a tide heart—"
