The Undersea Adventures of the Little Jellyfish (JELLYFISH)
"Pearl?" Grandma Giant Clam chuckled softly. "Of course it is."
Her psychic energy spread—not as powerful as Tang You's, but deep and soothing. Gently lifting a gray stone, she revealed a small hollow beneath the red coral.
A pink pearl emerged.
Shen Jixiao's gaze fell upon it.
This was no ordinary pearl. Its shape was irregular—neither perfectly round nor oval, but tapered at one end like a bird's egg and about the length of a finger joint. Though its color was breathtaking—a velvety soft rose-pink—Shen Jixiao faintly recalled that Tang You was extremely picky about pearls. An imperfect one like this shouldn’t have appealed to the little jellyfish.
"Wow!" Yet the little jellyfish gasped in delight. "After traveling so far, this conch pearl is still the most beautiful."
"Conch pearl?"
"Young merman, haven’t you seen a conch pearl before?" Grandma Giant Clam explained with a smile. "Common pearls are produced by bivalves, but this one comes from a special, large sea snail. Among fifty thousand such snails, perhaps only one might produce a conch pearl—though it’s no blessing for the snail itself."
Being called "young merman" unsettled Shen Jixiao for a moment, but compared to Grandma Giant Clam, he truly was young—and ignorant.
Now aware of the pearl's rarity, he examined it more closely. The conch pearl wasn’t just smooth and lustrous—it bore faint, flame-like patterns within, giving an impression of fluidity frozen in eternity.
Exquisite.
Ever since arriving at the coral reef, he’d nearly worn out the word "beautiful."
The little jellyfish took the conch pearl. "Thank you, Grandma."
"Oh dear... no more 'Grandma,' please." The giant clam nudged him psychically. "I don’t deserve such respect."
The little jellyfish twirled in a circle. "I’ll return it after I’ve seen the memories inside."
…
The coral reef was a place never lacking in food or resources.
The little jellyfish held the pearl and led the mermaid to a clearing surrounded by coral reefs, just a few meters away from Grandma Clam.
The seabed here was covered in fine, pristine white sand, incredibly soft, with pale red seaweed growing in delicate strands that swayed with the waves.
"This seaweed is edible, and it can also be crushed and applied to wounds—it’s very useful for healing scars."
The mermaid quietly plucked the seaweed. By now, he had resigned himself to the fact that everything had to be eaten raw, and he simply ate whatever Tang You said was safe. Fortunately, this red seaweed tasted decent—slightly briny with a light sweetness on the tongue. One bite per strand—he figured he’d be full after grazing a few more square meters.
The little jellyfish, meanwhile, browsed through the memories stored in the pearl before handing it over.
Shen Jixiao continued pulling seaweed while reviewing the memories.
The beautiful conch pearl still contained many seemingly useless memories, but this time, Shen Jixiao didn’t find them dull. Instead, he examined each one carefully.
The little jellyfish had recorded a lot of Grandma Clam’s daily life. Long ago, this coral reef had been home to many giant clams, most of them small and brightly colored Tridacna crocea—countless shades of rose, emerald, and lake blue. Only two were larger.
One had gradient peacock-blue flesh—he recognized it as Grandma Clam, whom he had just met.
The other was also large, with a gray outer shell, a white inner shell, and reddish-brown flesh. It had lived near Grandma Clam—Shen Jixiao tried to recall, but there were no clams there now, only branching red coral.
He kept browsing.
Sunrise, sunset. The little jellyfish must have stayed by the coral reef for a long time… or maybe not. The jellyfish had mentioned that he could record others’ memories in pearls.
Every morning, the two large clams would greet each other with a "good morning," and every evening, they’d say "good night." Across a fan-shaped stretch of red coral, they quietly watched each other, day after day, in a routine so mundane it bordered on tedious.
Until one morning, the reddish-brown clam suddenly said:
"I miss you."
Grandma Clam paused briefly before replying, "I miss you too."
"How many years have we known each other?"
"One hundred and eighty."
"That’s so long," the reddish-brown clam said. "And yet it feels like it passed in the blink of an eye."
"Yes."
"Xiao Ke, your spiritual energy is growing stronger."
Xiao Ke? Was that Grandma Clam’s name?
Shen Jixiao remembered the little jellyfish mentioning that most sea creatures didn’t have the habit of naming themselves—only a few particularly intelligent, civilized ones did.
"I still have a long way to go," Grandma Clam replied. "I’m just practicing to pass the time."
"No, Xiao Ke. You’re very talented—far more than I am."
The conversation ended abruptly.
The next morning, they still exchanged their usual greetings, but with one added line.
"I miss you."
"I miss you too."
It seemed like just another ordinary day. Yet, a week later, on another quiet morning, the reddish-brown clam never spoke again.
"Ah Dan?" Grandma Clam’s voice was puzzled.
No response.
Ah Dan had died.
He left without a sound, as if he had simply fallen asleep under the orange morning sun—so peacefully that at first, Grandma Clam didn’t notice, nor did the clownfish living nearby, nor the clusters of red coral polyps.
Ah Dan lived for one hundred and eighty years before passing away peacefully in his sleep.
The last voice was that of Grandma Clam:
"It took me a long time to understand—Ah Dan only realized he loved me when he was nearing death. And I was even slower; it wasn't until after he died that I finally understood he had loved me."
"I loved him too."
Pearl's memories came to an end.
Shen Jixiao froze mid-action, pausing abruptly.
With a few strands of seaweed still dangling from his mouth, he snapped out of the spiral pearl's recollections only to realize he had already gnawed through nearly half the field of seaweed—almost enough to fill his stomach.
The other small sea creatures that fed on seaweed were glaring at him furiously. Eighteen crabs, forty-five shrimp, and sixty-eight fish had formed an unprecedented alliance, seemingly discussing how to mobilize their shrimp-soldier-and-crab-general forces to drive away the gluttonous mermaid monster.
"The evil mermaid ate our food stores!"
"Evil mermaid!"
"We must defeat the mermaid!"
"Defeat him! It's imperative!"
It was practically an open conspiracy.
Shen Jixiao: "..."
The most crucial part was that the little jellyfish had somehow blended in with the shrimp soldiers and crab generals, his strawberry candy standing out prominently as he offered advice: "Defeat the mermaid—shock his fingers!"
"Shock his fingers!"
After chanting in unison, the shrimp and crabs began murmuring among themselves: "But we don’t know how to shock people?" "Yeah, my claws don’t have electricity." "Neither does my mouth." "Should we invite the Electric Eel Immortal or the Sea Anemone Elder?" "Shut up, you idiot—they’d eat us first."
At this point, the little jellyfish volunteered: "I’m a jellyfish—I can shock!"
The shrimp and crabs hesitated: "You can shock? But you’re just a little jellyfish—isn’t it too dangerous?"
The little jellyfish guaranteed confidently: "I am a jellyfish!"
And so, Shen Jixiao watched as the soft little jellyfish swam toward him with great effort, reaching his fingers and lightly tapping them with tiny tentacles.
At the same time, he whispered very softly: "Silly mermaid, it’s all because you ate too much—now they’re coming to defeat you. Quick, pretend I shocked you away so they won’t pinch your fingers."
Shen Jixiao: "..."
He turned and left.
Even after swimming past a coral reef, he could still hear faint cheers behind him: "The little jellyfish shocked the evil mermaid away! Long live the little jellyfish!"
......
Tang You caught up with the mermaid a little later.
His transparent head was adorned with a red seaweed wreath, woven by the shrimp and crabs as a victor’s crown—a glorious sight that would earn praise from anyone who saw it.
—Except the mermaid.
"I’m back!" Unlike Shen Jixiao, who had inexplicably fallen into melancholy after seeing the pearl, Tang You seemed completely unaffected, carefree as ever. "Mermaid, were you scared by them? They don’t actually want to hurt you—it’s just that you ate too much."
The mermaid shook his head.
Grandma Clam sighed nearby: "What a lively bunch of children."
Shen Jixiao then extended his hand, revealing the pale rosy pearl in his palm: "I’ve finished looking. There’s no memory related to the shipwreck. Thank you, Grandma Clam."
"Don’t thank me. This pearl was recorded by the little jellyfish—the more creatures who see it, the more who will remember." Grandma Clam said wistfully, "When everyone forgets, that’s when something truly dies. Maybe I’m the only one left in this coral reef who remembers him… but at least I still do."
Shen Jixiao thought of the person who had saved him all those years ago. If he was the only one who remembered, unwilling to forget, then giving up the search would mean no one else would ever care.
"Little mermaid, you mentioned a shipwreck earlier?"
"Yes. Eighteen years ago, during a storm, a ship sank in the neighboring waters. I nearly died, but someone saved me. I’ve been searching for traces of that person."
"That storm… I remember it." Grandma Clam suddenly spoke.
"Can you tell me?"
"Of course. But it might not be related to the person you’re looking for—you know, I’ve never left this place in my life."
"That’s alright."
Tang You wanted to listen too, but he was already surrounded by little fish. Stuck wearing his seaweed wreath, he happily chatted with the shrimp and crabs instead, sharing stories from his travels.
Shen Jixiao glanced over, thinking to himself that Tang You was truly an endearing little jellyfish. In the depths of the ocean, no fish could dislike such a soft, sweet little creature.
He listened, he spoke, he recorded forgotten things—he was an exceptionally good little jellyfish.
A warmth stirred faintly in Shen Jixiao’s heart, and he felt he could watch the little jellyfish interact with other creatures forever.
Then, suddenly, he remembered something:
"Grandma Clam, when did the little jellyfish help you record the pearls?" Although the time in the memories didn’t necessarily match the recording time, some perspectives seemed to belong to the little jellyfish—he must have been present for those, right?
"Eighteen years ago," Grandma Clam answered promptly. "Two years after Ah Dan died, I met the little jellyfish."
Shen Jixiao stiffened abruptly, his fingers curling slightly.
Eighteen years ago? The little jellyfish had actually lived that long?
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
The completed novel is now available in my Ko-fi page.
If you appreciate what I do, please consider supporting me on kofi. Thank you!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•