Yun Jieshi found it in him to streak back the way he had come and climb back up the tree.
His heart raced. For a moment, he didn't have the heart to look behind the tree's thick trunk at the monstrosity rising from the pond.
It was fast. It was terrifying. But would he freeze like this forever? Would he go so far as to sully the name of monkeys everywhere?
Didn't the proverb say, "Deep doubts, deep wisdom; shallow doubts, shallow wisdom,"?
If Yun Jieshi continued to look away, how would he learn? He had to entertain his curiosity… like a real monkey.
Thus, he looked.
The giant fish seemed to pull a large portion of the pond water as it made its way out. It didn't leap out like before, quick as lightning. It inched towards the edge of the pond, slapping its giant head over the sleek slate of ice, and slouched out.
When the fish had finally escaped the pond with all ten of its bodies, the blob of water following it created a great bubble that revolved quickly, swallowing it whole. It was a perfect standard of clockwise rotation.
Yun Jieshi watched, enthralled. His pupils were glazed over with a whipping light for a moment; a passing magical highlight.
'What is this?'
How this was possible could only have been explained in a process governed by a bunch of somehows.
The water bubble gleamed, a soft glow radiating from it. The fish inside, with its large, dubious eyes and gaping, curved mouth was slightly blurred. It lifted from the ice and started hovering above ground. It then surged forward unhurriedly.
To be sure, to Yun Jieshi, this was far less mind-bending than the sight of a gargantuan bird rushing to devour the world, but it was no less magical. His grip on his daruan tightened.
'Is it using some kind of magic?' Honestly, the little monkey didn't even know how to phrase the questions he had. He resorted to watching silently as the fish floated on.
Oddly enough, the giant fish did a little dance while within the protection of the water bubble. It seemed ecstatic.
'I thought it would be offended by the fact that the Jade Imps killed some of its own,' Yun Jieshi thought. He still hadn't reconciled with the fact that the Jade Imps had persisted in their fishing even when this giant had eaten some of them.
He hesitated to scratch his head. The fish was floating close to the tree he was in and while he was far above, he couldn't bank on the idea that he alone had supernatural senses.
There were likely others like him.
Little and giant curiosities.
The giant fish had a destination and a purpose, it appeared.
Like the Jade Imps, it was attracted to the Sweet and Sour Mongues. When it reached them, it inched its head out of the water bubble to devour one of each in a single bite.
The fish was pleased. So pleased, in fact, that it quickened its pace of feeding. Its large, round eyes looked passionless, but they seemed to sparkle after it swallowed a fruit.
'It's really enjoying itself,' the little monkey thought, confused. Or was he reading the mood wrong? He couldn't even tell the creature's expression.
As it happened, he wasn't, in fact, wrong. After all, the fish began…
"That old carp to Xiao Long said,
'Eat your fruits of Heaven's bed,'
That old rat of Fu Yuan cries,
'Go and grow to your full size,'
That old ox from Spring Sea groans,
'Quake and shift, or meet my horns.'
That old snake t—"
Yun Jieshi had been so shocked by the deep voice seamlessly threading through the water bubble that he jumped. His hearing had drawn so keen that he heard it clear as though it were right beside him. He nearly fell off the tree. His long tail, clear of his control, had wrapped around the branch before he dropped.
Thanking his lucky stars, Yun Jieshi quickly stuck his fingers onto the trunk of the tree, stabilizing himself with Bonding Touch. Bits of snow fell off the surroundings leaves from the short commotion.
Yun Jieshi grew tense. The singing had stopped.
…
He hesitated only for a moment before looking down. His heart nearly climbed up to his throat.
The large fish was looking up at him. Its large eyes had grown extra-large, extra dubious, and they might have been reflecting his little figure within them. Right as bubbles spewed from the fish's wide, gaping mouth, Yun Jieshi immediately began running away.
He jumped from branch to branch lithely, his heart pounding.
'It'll eat me if it catches up!' was the only thing Yun Jieshi could think about.
He was quicker than he thought he had any right to be. His body was in full support of his motions. His feet gripped every branch he stepped on tight until he was ready to lunge for the next. Even the weight of the shrubs on his back couldn't sway his aim.
He had rushed through seven trees when a loud, deep voice called, almost making him slip off a branch.
"Wait! Wait, Little Sage! Please stop!"
Yun Jieshi shuddered.
'Wait? Wait?! Why would I wait?' he thought.
Why would he do such a thing after he had seen how quickly the fish had moved to devour those Jade Imps? For all Yun Jieshi knew, if he dared to stop for even a second, that would be the opportunity the fish needed to strike. He was significantly smaller than the Imps – a bite-sized meal for the fish.
Besides even that, Yun Jieshi had read a fair amount about tricksters in the realm of mythological creatures. Though he hadn't read anything about Heluo fish being violent and vicious… this wasn't the world he knew, was it? For all he knew, some facts he had read were wrong. Or better yet, maybe he was in a world of parodies!
"Little Sage! Please, stop! Please!" the voice came again. It was closer.
Yun Jieshi panicked.
He took his ruan and ordered it to engorge to its limit.
But right then, a large water bubble suddenly knocked into him violently. For the first time, to Yun Jieshi's amazement, the daruan flew out of his hands. He cried a desperate, "NO!" as he lost balance, crashed into a tree trunk, and plummeted ten meters to the ground. The taste, feel and smell of dirt and snow filled his mouth, eyes, and nose, but only fear saturated his heart.
Yun Jieshi quickly rose to his feet, eyes darting rapidly in all directions.
"Little Sage! Please, I mean you no harm! Please remain still!" A giant bubble of water floated in front of Yun Jieshi, casting a shadow over him. He wanted to run, but something stopped him.
His ruan was within the giant fish's water bubble, blurred slightly by the spinning water's effect.
The fish looked down at him.
For a moment, there was tense silence. Both odd creatures seemed to have expectations of the other; opposite expectations. Yun Jieshi wanted to run, but he wouldn't leave his ruan behind. The fish must have known it. But contrary to the little monkey's apprehensions, the fish pushed the ruan out of its bubble, and it fell before his feet.
"Forgive my rudeness, Little Sage. I knocked into you only to stop you from running away. I would never dare try any form of mischief or disrespect," the fish said, and in its own way, it gave a bow from the water bubble.
Yun Jieshi was baffled. He slowly reached for his ruan while fighting a battle in his head.
Was he really talking to a fish?
Why was it calling him Little Sage?
Was it being honest with him? Why did it speak of mischief and disrespect?
Regardless of the answers, Yun Jieshi considered escape. But could he manage it?
The fish was completely oblivious to his thoughts. Or so he hoped. After its bow, it spoke.
"Little Sage, now that I have your full attention, do not turn away from me. Please listen to what I have to say."
Yun Jieshi tried his best to calm his heart.
"Er… Alright. Speak then," he said.
The fish was pleased.
"My name is Bei Jun. I have a request I wish to be fulfilled by you, Little Sage," it said. "I know the Sages are gracious, merciful, and powerful, and I have no doubt that you are the same, despite your appearance. Great minds tend to enjoy tricking the minds of Harmonised mortals, I've heard – Immortals and Sages, especially. You are surely no different," There was an eagerness in its voice bordering on desperation.
By contrast, Yun Jieshi was confused fold.
'What?'