The Undersea Adventures of the Little Jellyfish (JELLYFISH)
Tang You, a tiny immortal jellyfish, had just finished planning his journey.
By the time spring arrived, he would cross the Karsona Islands, follow the ocean currents, and reach the easternmost edge of the sea.
The dream was beautiful, but reality was harsh.
He was just a little jellyfish who had recently detached from his polyp stage—no bigger than a strawberry gummy.
TL Note: The jellyfish life cycle includes a polyp stage, where the microscopic larvae settle on a substrate and transform into polyps. The polyp is comparable to a stalked creature with one end attached to the ground and the other projecting into the water, with tentacles surrounding its mouth. (At the end of the chapter is the detailed breakdown.)
The slightest current could sweep him away, slightly harsh conditions could dissolve him, and predators? Well, hardly any predator would bother with a nutrient-poor, 98%-water marine gummy.
Humming a tune, Tang You drifted lazily through the water.
He hadn’t been awake for long. Though his body was small, he was healthy, with no major issues—except his memories were a blur. He couldn’t remember what he’d been doing before his long sleep.
When he woke up this time, he found himself in unfamiliar waters, his body reverted to a juvenile polyp—a fragile, petal-like form clinging to a rock on the seabed. It took him a long time to gather enough strength to break free to let the current carry him upward.
Jellyfish move in slow, pulsing motions as their delicate edges curl as they push against the water with their fragile tentacles, turning the ocean’s flow into forward momentum while gathering nutrients along the way.
For a jellyfish, survival was both joyful and monotonous.
Tang You swam and swam, ate and ate, until his "petals" healed into a complete, translucent body—a pinkish core wrapped in delicate, wispy tentacles.
Even then, he still couldn’t remember what he’d done before his slumber.
But he didn’t feel regret. Tang You guessed he must have finished all his important tasks before sleeping. Now, he could begin a new journey.
He was currently in shallow waters, where sunlight refracted into dazzling patterns through the clear blue, illuminating the fine white sand below.
Tang You swam diligently, but he was simply too small. Minutes of effort barely moved him forward, and often, after inching ahead, a wave would push him back. But he was used to it.
He didn’t mind and just let the currents carry him to save energy while snacking along the way—keeping himself plump like a well-stuffed gummy, not a fragile water bead that might shatter at a touch.
"Whoa!"
A sudden surge from a passing stingray sent him tumbling head over tentacles.
Compared to his tiny form, the stingray was enormous—especially this one. Unlike most fish, stingrays swim by flapping their wide, wing-like pectoral fins and gliding gracefully through the water with an elegant, otherworldly motion.
"Sorry," the stingray seemed to notice the tiny jellyfish it had sent spinning. It circled back before stopping just beside him. "Did I hurt you?"
"Not at all." Tang You floated near the stingray’s fin, letting the water currents carry him along. "You’re so kind to come back and check on me."
This stingray was a peacock ribbon ray, native to the eastern coast—its back adorned with two vibrant streaks of blue-green, its tail long and ending in a peacock-feather-like fin. Judging by her shape, she was a young female.
Her belly was soft and white, her mouth shaped like a cute "w", almost like a cat’s lips. Flustered by Tang You’s praise, the stingray flicked her tail shyly. "I didn’t see you at first. My apologies."
"It’s fine! I’m just too small—easy to miss." Tang You reassured her before making a hopeful request. "Could you give me a ride? Just a short way?"
"Of course," the stingray agreed readily. "But I’m heading to the coral reefs near the island over there. Is that on your way?"
Tang You considered his route. "It is! Thank you so much."
……
With the stingray’s help, his progress sped up immeasurably.
Clinging to her back was like riding a magic carpet. Tang You barely dared to peek out—his soft jellyfish head was already deformed by the rushing water. Only when the stingray slowed did he dare to look around.
Above, fractured sunlight painted the water in shimmering patterns. Below, white sand stretched across the clear shallows, where schools of colorful fish darted away at the approach of predators.
"I don’t think I’ve seen a jellyfish like you before," the stingray remarked. "You’re so tiny, and pink—very unique."
"My home isn’t here. My kind doesn’t live here." Tang You replied. "I’m lost."
The stingray pitied him deeply. "Are you trying to go back?"
"I want to. But home is very far away—who knows if I’ll make it?" Tang You gazed at the shimmering light on the water’s surface. "You seem in a hurry. What’s the rush?"
"That island ahead, about five minutes from here, is my clan’s breeding ground." The stingray’s voice grew quieter, almost bashful. "I just reached adulthood…"
As they swam, the shallow sands gave way to deeper waters—the blue darkening into an abyss, where occasional reef sharks drifted past and thick brown kelp swayed like underwater forests.
"There used to be reefs here," Tang You noted. "Humans would often have accidents around them."
"Mm." The stingray’s clan had lived here for generations and knew these waters well. "A few years ago, human mages came and cleared the reefs. Since then, ships pass through here often. Little jellyfish, be careful not to swim too close to the surface—ship currents can sweep you away."
Tang You nodded vigorously. "Got it!"
With the reefs gone, marine accidents had decreased—fewer shipwrecks littering the ocean with debris. The only downside was the creatures who relied on the reefs for shelter were now displaced. Fortunately, there were plenty of other reefs nearby that were untouched by the mages’ work.
As they chatted, a small white sailboat passed overhead—likely a human pleasure craft and not a fishing vessel, so not much of a threat.
The stingray paid it no mind as they took the shortest route beneath the boat.
—SPLASH!
Something heavy plunged into the water.
The surface shattered and water surging outward before collapsing back in a froth of bubbles, churning violently.
Startled, the stingray flapped her fins hard and shot forward. Tang You wasn’t so lucky—he couldn’t react in time, couldn’t grab onto the fleeing stingray, and was caught in the whirl of bubbles and turbulence.
Bubbles were dangerous for jellyfish. Heavy objects dragged them downward at first, but then they rushed upward, creating tiny vortices in the water. Tang You, small and light, was especially vulnerable to getting caught in these swirling traps.
He dodged and weaved but was still caught in a large bubble cluster, spinning helplessly.
"Eeeek—!"
After twenty dizzying rotations, Tang You’s mind was mush and his tentacles tangled into knots:
QAQ He was going to become a pink jellyfish swiss roll.
When the spinning finally stopped, he found himself near the surface.
The sun-warmed water was pleasant but too hot for a delicate jellyfish like him. Tang You quickly dove deeper while scanning the waters below: What had fallen in?
Bubbles still rose in streams—whatever had dropped was at least the size of a full-grown human.
Another shipwreck victim? Had someone fallen off the sailboat?
But the day was clear, the sea calm, and the reefs long gone. How could there be an accident?
Curious, Tang You followed the bubbles downward.
"Little jellyfish! Little jellyfish!" The stingray had circled back. "Are you okay?"
"I’m fine!" Tang You called back through the tangled kelp forest. "The currents stirred up all the seaweed—be careful! I’m going deeper to see what fell in!"
"I can’t follow—there’s too much kelp. Come back, it’s dangerous!" The stingray fretted. "What if it’s something toxic? What’ll you do then?"
"Then I’ll clean it up!"
"But can you? You’re just a tiny jellyfish."
"I can!"
For the first time since waking, Tang You stretched out his psychic energy—a soft, resilient force radiating from his small body that parted the kelp as he probed deeper. His power was gentle, like the ocean on a calm day, nudging obstacles aside without harming them.
He could use this ability to travel faster, but Tang You preferred swimming. Slow as it was, he enjoyed the journey.
Soon, the stingray’s calls faded. The water grew murky, light dimming as stirred-up sediment clouded the view. The kelp here was densely tangled.
Tang You swept his senses around while peering carefully.
Then—a flash of color.
A brilliant blue-purple shimmer that was half-buried in the kelp but it vanished almost instantly, swallowed by the swaying fronds. Tang You swam toward it.
Maybe humans had dumped treasure here—pirates loved tossing ill-gotten riches into the sea, either to deny others or to retrieve later.
Something that big had to be valuable.
But when Tang You pushed aside the last layer of seaweed, he realized the "treasure" was the glint of scales.
What he’d found was a merman that was tangled in the kelp.
The mermaid was young, muscular and with sharp, handsome features and a tail so dazzling it looked like he’d wrapped himself in starlight. Tang You hadn’t seen a merman in ages—let alone one with such a stunning tail.
He worked to free the merman from the kelp.
"It’s a merman! Your tail is so pretty—did someone throw you off the boat?"
"Hey, merman, you can swim out now."
"Merman, why aren’t you talking?"
The mermaid opened his azure-blue eyes.
He saw the murky depths of the ocean—tangled brown seaweed, the frigid surroundings, and the distant, unreachable brightness of the sea's surface.
Enough to drive anyone with thalassophobia to madness.
TL Note: Thalassophobia is an intense and persistent fear of large bodies of water such as the ocean or sea.
"……"
But unlike what he remembered, a translucent, jelly-like little jellyfish floated in front of his forehead, extending its soft and gentle psychic energy to lightly brush against his cheek. "Merman—can you hear me?"
Translator Note:
Here's a detailed breakdown:
1. Attachment and Transformation: Microscopic larvae, known as planulae, settle on surfaces like rocks and transform into polyps.
2. Polyp Structure: The polyp resembles a small tube or stalk with tentacles around its mouth. These tentacles have stinging cells (cnidocytes) for capturing prey and defense.
3. Asexual Reproduction: Polyps can reproduce asexually through budding, creating clones and forming colonies that grow over time. The polyp stretches out and develops segments that will eventually bud off to create separate animals or even more polyps to hasten this process.
4. Duration: Jellies can remain in the polyp stage for weeks or even years, waiting for the right conditions to mature.
5. Scyphistoma: When conditions are right, the polyp starts duplicating itself to reproduce asexually. The polyp that is strobila ting is referred to as a scyphistoma, and the process is known as strobilation.
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