Chapter 211: The Killer Whales Are Back with Gifts

Gui Yi’s heavy shell smashed down on the man.

With a resounding THUD and a pained cry, the man who had been menacing Yun Sui was slammed face-down onto the mudflat.

Gui Yi flailed its four flippers.

Yun Jiao ran over and scooped Gui Yi off him. The turtle stared at her resentfully.

Feeling a little guilty, Yun Jiao glanced up at the sky.

Yun Sui’s eyes lit up when he saw Yun Jiao, but there was also an inexplicable hint of feeling wronged in his gaze.

He bore a strange resemblance to the two puppies at their side, who were whining and yapping at her with droopy ears, as if tattling.

"You... Yun Jiao!"

The man, still prone on the mudflat, struggled to lift his head. Blood streamed from his nose as he glared viciously at Yun Jiao.

Yun Jiao planted her small hands on her hips. "What are you doing bullying Yun Sui and my dogs?"

"This is my turf. Who said you could be here?"

The little girl declared, full of confidence.

The man gritted his teeth. "You little bitch, you’re asking for it!"

He had just been utterly humiliated, and this man was already notorious in the village for his foul temper, often getting drunk and beating his wife and children.

He scrambled to his feet, ready to strike Yun Jiao.

Yun Jiao zipped behind him, leaped up, and kicked the back of his knees.

THUD...

The man dropped to his knees.

"AARGH! You ¥#@&*%¥@"

He was spouting such filth, but Yun Jiao wasn’t about to put up with it. She grabbed a live penis fish and stuffed it into his mouth.

"You wanted this, right? Here you go."

"BLEGH..."

The sensation of the live penis fish writhing in his mouth was so disgusting and horrifying that the man immediately threw up.

Yun Jiao let out a disgusted "Ew!" then grabbed her bucket with one hand, snatched Gui Yi’s flipper with the other, and took off running.

"Yun Sui, keep up! Run faster!"

She even whistled, and the ducks and geese that had scattered all began flapping their wings and running after her.

In the blink of an eye, by the time the man recovered from his nausea, Yun Jiao and Yun Sui were nowhere to be found.

He scrambled to his feet, cursing, and instinctively tried to give chase. But the leg she’d kicked was still throbbing with pain, and he collapsed back to his knees the moment he stood up.

The man yelled, "Damn it! ¥#@@* You better hope I don’t get my hands on you!"

"Sss... damn, that hurts like hell."

It wasn’t just his leg; the spot where the giant sea turtle had smashed him was also aching, making him grimace in pain.

Yun Jiao beat the man and ran, not stopping until she reached the spot where she played with the killer whales.

"How can you be so dense? If you can’t win, you run! You should’ve run and found me. I would’ve helped you fight him off and get your things back."

Once they stopped, the tiny Yun Jiao began lecturing Yun Sui, who was a good deal taller than she was.

Yun Sui just looked at her, grinning foolishly.

Yun Jiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

’Ugh, he’s really hopeless.’

Yun Jiao tossed the large sea turtle back into the sea.

"Gui Yi, go find some sea urchins."

Luckily, she always carried a net bag and a burlap sack with her. Whether she’d need them was another story, but it was always best to be prepared.

With Gui Yi serving as her workforce, Yun Jiao climbed onto a reef and began her vocal warm-ups, preparing to sing.

She loved to sing.

Merfolk were immensely proud of their looks and their voices. On a typical day, when they weren’t fighting, they enjoyed grooming their large tails and singing.

’My big fishtail is gone now, so I might as well sing.’

Yun Sui listened intently from the side, his innocent eyes filled with adoration.

"SKREEE~~~"

’We’re back!’

’Human, did you miss us?’

’Human, we brought you gifts.’

As she was singing her third song, a familiar call echoed from the distance.

From her perch on the reef, Yun Jiao could clearly see them: familiar black-and-white shapes tumbling through the waves.

It was the killer whales. They were back.

The pod of dolphins that had been swimming nearby heard the killer whales’ calls and immediately bolted.

’The delinquents are back, everybody run!’

The killer whales’ return was an imperious one; all other marine life in the surrounding waters fled.

But they didn’t care, and neither did Yun Jiao.

She waved happily at the killer whales.

’The ocean! Soon I’ll be able to play in the ocean again!’

The killer whales hadn’t just returned; like humans taking a long trip, they had come back bearing gifts.

’Human, we brought you a gift. This is my favorite kind of shellfish.’

’Human, this big shiny rock is for you. You like pretty rocks.’

Having spent so much time with Yun Jiao, the killer whales knew she liked to collect pretty or oddly shaped stones.

The killer whales were too large to get any closer to shore. So, faced with the choice between getting her gifts and taking a beating, Yun Jiao boldly chose the beating.

The weather was getting warmer, so Yun Jiao took off her jacket, told Yun Sui to watch her dogs, and then leaped into the sea.

The moment she hit the water, Yun Jiao’s skin felt so comfortable it seemed to breathe.

The water was still frigid at this time of year, but for her, it was no problem at all.

From the way the beautiful, sprite-like girl moved in the water, anyone could tell she was overjoyed.

Yun Sui stood on the shore, clutching Yun Jiao’s clothes and craning his neck to watch her in the water.

Though he was simple-minded, his grandpa had tirelessly drilled into him that the ocean was dangerous and that he must not go near it.

"Dangerous... dangerous..."

Yun Sui stood on the shore, repeatedly shouting "Dangerous!" trying to get Yun Jiao to come back.

Yun Jiao popped her head above the surface and yelled to him, "Don’t you dare come in, or I’ll beat you up!"

Hearing the word "beat," Yun Sui pulled back the foot he was just about to dip into the water.

He looked at her with a wounded expression.

Seeing that he had obeyed and wasn’t moving any closer, Yun Jiao continued on toward the killer whales.

’Time for presents, time for presents!’

Almost every killer whale brought her a gift.

There were some unidentifiable shellfish, a massive Manta Ray, and all sorts of rocks and coral from the seabed.

The Manta Ray looked like it had been freshly caught.

Yun Jiao was beaming as she collected her gifts.

"Friends! You’re all my friends!"

She absolutely loved it.

Her favorite was a rough sapphire, the size of an adult’s fist. Even unpolished, the gem had the deep blue of the ocean, with irregular white streaks that looked just like breaking waves.

It was as if the stone was a miniature replica of the ocean itself.

’Human, this shell has round, smooth stones inside. You’ll like them.’

The killer whale that had brought her the shells swam closer, trying to curry favor.

Yun Jiao glanced at the three large shells she was holding in her arms.

"Where did you bring these from?"

Killer whale: ’A long, long way away. It takes forever to swim there.’

’We had a lot more, but we lost most of them on the way back. This is all that’s left.’

’Alright. Just imagining them carrying these shells all that way is tough.’

Yun Jiao could just picture it: them starting their journey with tons of stuff, then constantly dropping their ’loot’ all the way home.

Yun Jiao did a quick headcount; the number of killer whales was the same.

She just wondered if any of the females in the pod were pregnant with calves.

"I have to go back now. I’ll come find you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to the killer whales, Yun Jiao first brought the gems, coral, and shells to shore, then went back for the large Manta Ray.

Staring at the Manta Ray, she started to worry. ’How am I supposed to get this thing home?’

"Yun Sui, go get my dad and the others."

Yun Sui looked at her blankly.

Yun Jiao said, "My dad. The one who always gives you baths."

Yun Sui stared at her, his gaze vacant. It was impossible to tell if he understood.

Yun Jiao: ......

’How is this even harder than communicating with the killer whales?’