The Undersea Adventures of the Little Jellyfish (JELLYFISH)
Seagulls glided alongside fishing boats, and occasionally letting out harsh, grating cries.
On land, a naked, featherless biped would simply be labeled a pervert and thrown into a dungeon. Shen Jixiao took one look and decided against going ashore.
Maintaining his tail form was troublesome enough. If he transformed into a human now, he wouldn’t be able to return to the sea anytime soon.
Instead, Shen Jixiao simply cast a special signal spell by the reef.
This type of magic was commonly used in the military for encrypted communications. Each special signal emitted a unique, subtle magical ripple that could spread over vast distances. Beyond a kilometer, only another signal spell with the same frequency could detect it.
The signal he released now carried his personal magical signature.
Before long, a young man hurried over—the nearest sentinel.
"Lord," the sentinel knelt on one knee. "Sentinel of the Twelfth District, Coastal Moray City, reporting. What are your orders?"
Shen Jixiao tossed over a few pearls and two chains: "Take these to Strategist Ji Yan in the main city."
He gave brief instructions—how to use the pearls, how to handle certain relics, whether to seek out old acquaintances, the cleanup of shallow-sea debris and the matter of releasing captives... and...
"Tell him I’ll be away for some time. He may handle all affairs in the city as he sees fit."
"As you command, Lord." The sentinel finally raised his head, his expression respectful but unavoidably puzzled.
The lord stood on the opposite side of the reef with only his upper body visible, and he wasn’t wearing any clothes. His torso and hair were dripping wet.
If not for the unmistakable authenticity of the signal spell and the lord’s insignia, he might have suspected an imposter—his lord was exceptionally young yet governed the wealthiest eastern coastal region. Since taking office, he had been targeted year after year, with assassination attempts occurring almost monthly.
"You may go." Shen Jixiao nodded.
He remained by the reef, supported solely by his tail. After basking in the sun for too long, the mucus on his skin had dried, making him unbearably uncomfortable.
The moment the sentinel left, Shen Jixiao leaned back and plunged into the water.
A few colorful fish scattered in alarm. Amid the splashing waves he stirred up, a pufferfish suddenly inflated, transforming into a round, spiky white ball.
This time, the merman had learned his lesson. He lingered in the sun-warmed surface waters, leisurely swaying his long tail.
He watched the pufferfish tumble, the shallow-water sharks chase smaller fish, the razor clams and cat’s eye snails burrow expertly into the sand, and the crabs and clams engage in their pinching battles.
It was all quite amusing.
Shen Jixiao gazed at the sky from beneath the sea, lost in thought. Only after accepting his tail did he realize how fascinating the ocean truly was.
Then it suddenly occurred to him—he could have just asked a subordinate to buy a box of gummy candies earlier. He’d forgotten. But if he had, his subordinates would surely think their lord had finally lost his mind.
He shook off his musings with a flick of his tail and dove deeper.
To find that little moving strawberry gummy.
…
While waiting for Shen Jixiao, Tang You wasn’t idle.
He watched clams dig their burrows, carnivorous sea snails hunt gobies, and hermit crabs meticulously pick through shells—only for one to finally settle on a lovely orange conch shell and only to have it snatched away by a passing octopus.
The octopus triumphantly carried its prize home to redecorate, but the now-homeless hermit crab, armed with nothing but a tin can and its burly friend—a boxing crab with sea anemones clamped on its claws—stormed into the octopus’s den. Two swift punches later, the little orange shell was reclaimed.
Tang You watched with delight while also etching these scenes into pearls to preserve them.
Even the blood-red pearl he’d shown Shen Jixiao was filled mostly with moments like these.
These everyday fragments were the essence of his life.
"Little jellyfish."
At last, Tang You heard the familiar voice.
"You're back?" He emerged from the shade. Under the sunlight, his translucent body took on a soft pink hue and his tendrils resembled a blend of golden chrysanthemum and cornflower, shimmering in pale blue transparency. "Your wound looks much better."
Shen Jixiao was different from other mermaids he knew. Most would wail over a few lost scales, mourning their beauty for days—fragile and sensitive. But Shen Jixiao didn’t care. When injured, he simply waited calmly for it to heal.
Upon closer inspection, even before they’d met, the mermaid’s upper body had already been marked with numerous scars.
"I know of some things near the coral reef that can help minimize scarring," Tang You said. "We can go look for them later."
Shen Jixiao: "I don’t care about that."
"But other mermaids do," Tang You said. "If you want to integrate into the mermaid community, it’s best to respect their customs."
Shen Jixiao fell into thought.
He hadn’t bothered with the mermaid community before, but now he was somewhat interested.
……
They soon arrived at the largest coral reef along the eastern coast.
Shen Jixiao had never seen so many colors splashed together in his life—as if God had overturned a bucket of paint and casually swirled it around. Countless creatures lived here, so diverse that even if he spent an entire year, he might not recognize them all.
When they all existed here and moved among the corals, no fish feared him—none even paid attention to their arrival. Because this place, by nature, embraced all things. The moment he realized this, Shen Jixiao felt a sense of grandeur, an indescribable… magnificence.
The magnificence of life.
"Beautiful, isn’t it?" Tang You’s voice carried a hint of pride. "Welcome to the coral reef, merman."
As the mermaid swam past, the sponge-like coral suddenly contracted, turning into a porous, slightly rounded pale yellow stone. The soft coral he had seen earlier seemed to be nothing more than clusters of flower-like tentacles emerging from these tiny holes.
"You scared the coral polyps," Tang You drifted down to comfort them.
"Eep."
One coral polyp made a sound.
"Eep eep eep…"
A thousand coral polyps made sounds.
"So coral is this small." Afraid of startling them, Shen Jixiao restrained his tail movements. "I thought the whole thing was the coral."
"That’s just the coral reef—the skeleton of past generations of polyps. They live and reproduce on the remains of their ancestors. Their forebears become their home, protecting them forever, and they, in turn, will protect the next generation. Fascinating, isn’t it?"
"Beautiful," the merman murmured in response.
Red, white, azure, pastel yellow, vibrant green, rich purple, delicate pink—fan-shaped, branch-like, rock-like, sponge-like, lotus leaf-like… So many colors, such breathtaking forms, all created by these tiny coral polyps.
Who knew how many years it had taken.
Unlike the deep-sea creatures that grew haphazardly, not a single resident of the shallows could be called ugly. They were dazzlingly beautiful.
The crevices of the reef were filled with anemones and seaweed of every color.
The Tarlik had sunk in the deep sea, where only a few species of anemones could survive, and most of them were pale and dull. But here, they were extraordinarily diverse—thick tentacles, thin tentacles, tall, short, plump, slender, red, orange, blue, green—everything was present.
Some looked especially fluffy, exuding a peculiar matte texture, while a few small but brightly colored clownfish darted among them, as if washing themselves in the anemones’ soft tendrils.
Shen Jixiao couldn’t help but reach out.
"Careful," Tang You warned. "That’s a poisonous anemone."
Shen Jixiao paused. "Why aren’t those fish affected?"
"Because they have a symbiotic relationship. The clownfish help the anemones catch food, and the anemones provide them a home."
Tang You led Shen Jixiao to a slightly sunken area and asked the resident anemones to temporarily relocate. Once cleared, Shen Jixiao finally saw it—embedded within the coral reef was an enormous seashell.
It was nearly a meter long, with thick shells. The two rough valves couldn't close completely, leaving a frilled gap in between that revealed the soft, gradient peacock-blue flesh inside.
"This is Grandma Giant Clam," Tang You introduced. "Grandma, I'm back again."
Sensing Tang You's psychic energy, the giant clam stirred slightly, emitting a gentle wave of her own.
"Ah, little jellyfish..." She paused momentarily, then sighed upon seeing the merman. "You've made a new friend again."
Shen Jixiao: "Hello."
"What a lively young man." Grandma Giant Clam sighed. "It's been nearly thirty years since I last saw a merman visit."
Thirty years?
The merman glanced at the little jellyfish, who quickly explained, "Grandma Giant Clam is almost two hundred years old—the eldest being in this coral reef."
Grandma Giant Clam: "I'm already old, but you... still so young."
Tang You: "Nonsense! You'll surely live another two hundred years."
They exchanged pleasantries for a while. Since the giant clam could never leave her anchored spot, the little jellyfish shared tales of his explorations outside, recounting even the perilous encounter with the chimera in a light and amusing way.
After a long while, Tang You finally remembered the main reason for his visit: "Oh, right! The pearl I left with you before—is it still here?"
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