Chapter 306: Cleaning Barnacles

A massive, dark shadow blotted the horizon, so vast that just looking at it made one’s scalp tingle.

"Go, go, go! Pack up and let’s get out of here! Dammit, it’s coming right for us!"

"What about Jiaojiao? What if she comes back and runs into those things?"

Yun Linhe said, "Right now, we should be worried about ourselves. Jiaojiao is faster than them in the water."

The two boats began rowing for their lives in the opposite direction.

But the enormous, dark mass was still getting closer and closer.

"Something’s not right. I get the feeling those things are after us."

Yun Linhe anxiously ran his hands through his hair. "It’s over, it’s over. Don’t tell me this is where it ends for us today."

"Dad~~~"

"Uncle~~~"

Yun Xiaowu said, "I think I hear Jiaojiao’s voice."

"I don’t hear anything."

Yun Linhai looked all around but didn’t see Yun Jiao.

He was huffing and puffing from exhaustion. He had really been rowing for his life just now.

Yun Sui suddenly pointed at the dark mass. "Yun Jiao."

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing but didn’t see Yun Jiao.

They were still some distance away, and Yun Jiao was tiny compared to the Humpback Whales.

Yun Sui stood up, still pointing in the same direction. "Yun Jiao."

Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe exchanged a glance. It was said that although the village guardian was simple-minded, they possessed special abilities.

’Could Yun Sui have really seen Jiaojiao?’

"Yun Sui, can you see what’s coming over there?"

Yun Sui watched for a moment. "Big fish."

Yun Linhai said, "Maybe... we should wait?"

"Alright, let’s wait then."

’Gods... just how big were these fish?’

Their boats stopped, and the Humpback Whales approached even faster.

Honestly, seeing them from the surface of the sea inspired a sense of megalophobia.

This time, they could clearly hear Yun Jiao’s voice.

"Dad, why are you all running?"

Seeing Yun Jiao, the two adults let out a sigh of relief, but her words made them laugh in exasperation.

"What do you think!"

Yun Linhe said through gritted teeth.

"We see a giant dark mass coming at us from a distance! For the sake of our lives, what were we supposed to do, not run?"

Yun Jiao looked away, a guilty expression on her face.

Compared to the adults’ frustration, Yun Xiaowu and the other kids were carefree and jumping for joy.

"Jiaojiao, what is that, what is that?! How can there be such big fish? Oh my god, they won’t even fit in our boats!"

Yun Linhai gave his son a light smack, speechless.

"You’re just a little kid, but you’ve got big ambitions, huh? What’s next, you want to fly to the heavens?!"

Yun Xiaowu pouted. ’What’s wrong with just saying it?’

Yun Linhe stroked his chin, looking at the fish with Yun Jiao.

The fish had already reached the boats, swimming slowly beneath them.

Everyone on the boats nervously gripped onto anything stable.

’Who could even understand this? The feeling that our boat could be capsized at any second.’

Yun Linhai’s voice trembled slightly. "Jiaojiao, where... where did you find so many whales?"

With bodies that large, they had to be whales.

But there are many types of whales, and Yun Linhai didn’t know what kind these were. After all, when they went out to sea on other boats in the past, they couldn’t go too far and had never encountered creatures of this size.

It was only after they started following Jiaojiao that they had seen more creatures in a few years than they had in the first half of their lives.

The crucial part was, they could get this close to them.

Yun Jiao stood up on a Humpback Whale. "Dad, you guys, don’t be afraid. These big guys don’t eat people. They’re very gentle."

She patted the Humpback Whale as she spoke. "They have too many barnacles on them. I don’t know what’s going on. Lately, whenever I go out to sea, marine creatures covered in barnacles keep coming to me for cleaning. Gui Yi and Turtle Two brought me to clean a lot of sea turtles before."

Speaking of which, a look of slight grievance appeared on Yun Jiao’s face.

Her hands were sore and weak from all the work that time.

"Cleaning barnacles?"

They glanced at the big whales, and sure enough, they were covered in a dense layer of barnacles.

Yun Linhe couldn’t help but laugh. "How did you end up becoming a doctor for sea creatures?"

Yun Jiao spread her small hands. "I have no idea."

"I can’t finish this all by myself."

Her eyes drooped, making her look quite pitiful.

"So I came to ask you all for help."

The two patriarchs were speechless. ’So that’s why these things were chasing us.’

Yun Xiaowu raised his shovel. "I’m coming!"

With a loud shout, he jumped straight from the boat, then joyfully clambered onto the Humpback Whale like a happy puppy.

He was truly brave, though of course, his absolute trust in his little sister was also a factor.

"Hehe, don’t worry, little sister. Leave this kind of stuff to me."

He lay on the Humpback Whale’s back, looking like a little pervert.

Yun Jiao couldn’t bear to watch.

"We’re coming too!"

The other older brothers also grabbed their tools and jumped from the boats into the sea.

Including Yun Sui.

Yun Jiao told them to find the other Humpback Whales, then rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

The Humpback Whales were very gentle. Knowing that humans couldn’t breathe in the water, they all kept their bodies above the surface, obediently waiting for the people on their backs to clean off the barnacles.

Some of the Humpback Whales surfaced, and a jet of water shot out from the blowholes on their backs.

It was like a sudden downpour. The children weren’t scared at all; instead, they cackled with laughter.

Yun Xiao Ba yelled, "Dad, the camera, the camera..."

Because they always ran into novelties whenever they went out to sea with Yun Jiao, Yun Chenbei’s camera had practically become Yun Jiao’s personal camera.

It was a good thing they brought it, though. It would have been a huge shame to miss this scene.

Yun Linhai said, "You take the pictures. I’m going down too."

Yun Linhe grumbled, "Big brother, why aren’t you taking the pictures?"

He wanted to go down and play too. This was an opportunity not to be missed.

A man is a boy until the day he dies.

Cat Boss looked left and right on the boat, then followed them and jumped into the sea.

It followed, landing on the back of the Humpback Whale Yun Jiao was on.

It shook the water from its fur, wandered curiously around the big fish’s back, then bent down and gave it a lick.

’What a huge fish,’ it thought. ’Too big to eat.’

There were many of them, but there were also eleven Humpback Whales.

And some of the barnacles were very difficult to remove.

But it was also really satisfying.

"Oh my heavens, how long is this going to take?"

There were still several Humpback Whales waiting behind them.

Yun Jiao jumped into the sea to clean the barnacles on the Humpback Whales’ bellies and undersides.

Time passed, and everyone was drenched in sweat from their hard work.

A giant, orange-red sun slowly sank toward the horizon.

It was getting late.

"It’s finally done!"

With the last Humpback Whale cleaned, everyone collapsed onto the whales’ backs.

"WOOOOOO~~~"

The Humpback Whales’ unique, deep, and melodious songs seemed to rise from the depths of the ocean.

They were saying thank you.

Although only Yun Jiao could understand the words, everyone else could feel the sentiment.

In that instant, all their previous exhaustion seemed worthwhile.

"Hahaha... Another day for the books."