Chapter 8: A Bountiful Harvest
“The first rule of hunting: camouflage.”
Deng Xi lay on a pile of reefs on the seabed and said to the silver-tail beside him, “You have to blend in with the ocean. That way, those stupid fish won’t be able to find us. When they swim over, we’ll eat them in one bite!”
Si Jisheng rested his tail on the reef and stood beside Deng Xi, silently watching as Deng Xi practically tried to dig a hole and crawl into it for his “camouflage.” He then looked at Deng Xi’s golden hair, which was extremely eye-catching even in the dim seabed, and his long blue tail, which was impossible to ignore—no, even fish wouldn’t ignore it.
He fell silent for a rare moment, unsure of what to do.
Deng Xi was still waving his hand. “Hurry up and lie down with me.”
The blue Jiaoren blinked his eyes, looking at him expectantly, very enthusiastically. Si Jisheng pursed his lips and shook his head.
He didn’t believe this could actually catch any fish.
The light in Deng Xi’s eyes dimmed.
The little merman was disappointed for a moment, then curved his eyelids as if he didn’t care. “But if Little Mute stays by my side and doesn’t camouflage, you’ll scare all the fish away.”
Si Jisheng nodded, looked around, and swam to a patch of withered coral reef in the distance. The withered silver-gray color even allowed the silver-tail to blend in well.
In terms of camouflage alone, he had already graduated.
Si Jisheng hid among the coral reef and saw Deng Xi, who was incredibly conspicuous on the reef in the distance, blink blankly. It took him a good while to find him.
His burning stomach screamed with hunger.
But Si Jisheng actually accompanied Deng Xi, waiting from afternoon until sunset.
The schools of fish in this area of the sea must be very few, especially since the place Deng Xi had chosen had nothing for them to eat.
After waiting all this time, a small fish the size of a palm finally appeared.
The golden hair on the reef moved slightly. Si Jisheng’s gaze focused. He wanted to know the strength of this Jiaoren.
Under the silver-tail’s watch.
The golden-haired, blue-tailed little merman suddenly flicked his tail, lunged forward, and crashed into the reef.
Si Jisheng’s focused, analytical gaze faltered slightly.
Deng Xi turned his head, a wriggling fish in his mouth, and waved happily at the withered coral reef.
This time, the fish was a bit stupid, or perhaps, Deng Xi was very lucky this time. He caught it in one bite, only crashing once. He killed the fish in his mouth, held it in his hand, and swam happily in the silver-tail’s direction.
When he reached Si Jisheng, Deng Xi didn’t say a word, just looked at the silver-tail expectantly.
Si Jisheng tentatively clapped.
Only after receiving praise did Deng Xi stuff the fish in his hand into the silver-tail’s. “Hurry up and eat. This is how you catch fish. Simple, right?”
Si Jisheng paused for a long time before nodding.
Deng Xi took the silver-tail to the surface to eat.
The boundless sea surface almost merged with the horizon. The orange-red sunset was slowly swallowed by the sea, and the sky was filled with a breathtakingly beautiful rosy sunset.
Si Jisheng glanced at Deng Xi, who was lying on the reef, watching the distant sunset, carefree.
The blue Jiaoren’s world seemed very simple. He would sleep until he woke up naturally every day. When he was about to wake up, he would fidget a lot, unconsciously flicking his tail fin, fanning the seawater, and rubbing his soft cheeks against the seaweed. He would slowly open his eyes and be in a daze for a long time before telling himself that he had to go out and find food.
Sometimes he would come back quickly, sometimes slowly.
When he was bored in the lair, he would look at the shells he had collected in the corner, one by one. A small dimple would appear at the corner of his mouth as he explained what was beautiful about each shell and how he had brought them home.
He would also swim to the surface like this, feel the salty sea breeze, and watch the sun set bit by bit with his chin in his hands. As soon as it got dark, he would swim back to the lair, curl up on the seaweed, and fall asleep in a daze.
The next day, he would open his eyes to another ordinary but peaceful day.
Not at all like the bloody and warlike Jiaoren race.
A rare trace of confusion appeared in Si Jisheng’s eyes. Under the dim yellow sunlight, he discovered a fact he had not noticed these past few days.
Deng Xi’s originally fair body had more than a dozen bruises of various sizes. Some places were even bruised so badly that they had turned completely black. The newest injury was on his shoulder, a deep red mark with broken skin, from when he had crashed while catching the fish just now.
Was it really as easy and simple as he said?
Si Jisheng’s eyes darkened slightly.
But as a Jiaoren, how could he be so weak?
Si Jisheng had held great power in the Empire for many years and had seen countless dark and secret things. He lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the suspicion in them.
The next day, Si Jisheng’s tail could already move.
Deng Xi had slept in the shell last night.
The little mute had slept on the seaweed where he had slept before.
Deng Xi, who had woken up in a daze, glanced at the silver-tail on the seaweed. The little mute was not awake yet. He swam out quietly, preparing to hunt.
After Deng Xi swam out of the lair, Si Jisheng, who had had his eyes closed, slowly opened them. He sat quietly in the dim lair for a while, and thinking of the bruises all over Deng Xi’s body, a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes.
Outside the lair, Deng Xi swam forward with great enthusiasm.
Today’s goal was two fish, because the little mute’s appetite was a bit big.
The slow-witted little merman didn’t notice that there was a follower behind him. Si Jisheng concealed his presence. His translucent silver gills, if not looked at closely, would not be noticed to be trembling. The movements of his nearly two-meter-long silver tail were also extremely light as he followed Deng Xi all the way to the place where they had fished yesterday.
He watched as Deng Xi hesitated for a long time before choosing a spot he thought fish would pass by, and hid himself among the reefs just like yesterday.
One hour, two hours…
He then saw Deng Xi sometimes dozing off, then forcing his eyes open and shaking his head. To fight off the sleepiness, he would blow bubbles to play with, then pop them one by one with his fingertips, his eyes curving into a smile.
So distracted while hunting.
Si Jisheng leaned against the withered coral reef he had leaned against yesterday, propping his forehead on his hand as he watched.
Finally, a fish appeared. The blue Jiaoren moved in an instant, reaching out to pounce, but missed. He opened his mouth to bite, but missed.
The first time, the second time, the third time…
Countless times.
Until he was covered in bruises.
Si Jisheng watched expressionlessly for a long time. When he saw Deng Xi lower his eyelids in self-abandonment and lick a small cut on his arm with the tip of his tongue, he silently turned and swam away.
·
This was the first time Deng Xi had failed to catch a fish. Instead, he had ended up disheveled, carrying a pile of seaweed and swimming back to the lair dejectedly.
He was so useless.
He had been toyed with by a fish for so long and couldn’t catch it no matter what.
Deng Xi thought of the little mute waiting for him at home, and the silver-tail’s broken tailbone and the shocking wounds on his body, not a single good piece of flesh.
He couldn’t help but rub his eyes and sniffle.
He was the one who had made the agreement with the little mute first. He never thought that the one to break the promise wouldn’t be the fierce-looking silver-tail, but himself.
It felt so good to have a kinsman to live with. Every word he said would be listened to and responded to. Any emotion could be shared, and he would have company in everything he did.
In the dark and cold lair, Deng Xi would no longer feel lonely.
He wanted to nurse the little mute’s injuries back to health and live with his kinsman, depending on each other, in the perilous ocean.
He wanted the little mute, after his injuries healed, to help him catch lots and lots of fish every day.
Deng Xi didn’t want to break the promise.
The lair was right in front of him, but Deng Xi kept pacing in the distance. He couldn’t help but look back at the sea he had come from, thinking exhaustedly, if he turned back now and persisted a little longer, would it be too late?
But it was already very, very late. The little mute must have been waiting for him for a long, long time. He hadn’t eaten all day and must be looking forward to him coming home early.
Deng Xi braced himself and swam slowly towards the entrance of the lair. As he got closer and closer, he lowered his head and looked gloomily at the coral reef on the seabed.
A patch of red coral reef, very beautiful.
Back then, Deng Xi had searched for a long, long time before choosing this place and deciding to settle in the cave behind this coral reef.
In the endless stretch of red, a bit of green would be particularly obvious. Deng Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief, staring at that pile of green seaweed.
He rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again. After confirming that it wasn’t a hallucination, he immediately looked around. Seeing no other creatures, he quickly swam towards that extremely conspicuous patch of green.
He didn’t know where this green seaweed came from, but Deng Xi’s eyes lit up as he looked at the creatures entangled in the seaweed, unable to break free.
It was food!
Besides two red-tailed fish, there were also two big crabs that he loved to eat the most!
Because he was afraid of the crabs’ big claws, Deng Xi rarely had the chance to eat them. He continued to rummage through it. Besides the crabs and fish, there were also several edible shellfish, and even an octopus!
A bountiful harvest!
Deng Xi threw away the edible seaweed he had picked today and hugged them all in his arms. His dejected expression turned into a joyful smile, and he swam happily into the lair.
“Little Mute! Look!”
“These, and these, I caught them all!”
Author’s Note:
The Marshal, who has hidden his contributions and fame: A useless glutton, but useful.
