Chapter 309: The Sea King

Suddenly, a piercing shriek caught everyone’s attention.

In the distance, they saw a woman collapse to the ground, crying. A bad feeling washed over everyone.

"My husband... he... he’s gone! He’s gone..."

"Sigh! Why was Tao so reckless? What could possibly be more important than his own safety!"

"Quick, everyone search the area! See if we can find him."

As everyone chattered at once, Yun Jiao pieced together what had happened. The woman’s husband had rushed to the docks to check on his boat as soon as the rain started to let up.

The woman and her son and daughter had been waiting at home, but the longer they waited, the more frantic they became. When the rain subsided, they ran out to look for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

The worst-case scenario was that he had been swept away by the waves.

Yun Jiao patted her father’s arm. "Dad, I’ll go look in the sea."

Yun Linhai squeezed her hand. "Jiaojiao, I’m not afraid of you going into the sea, but I’m afraid..."

He was afraid she would see a dead body.

’A child so young would surely have nightmares after seeing a corpse.’

Yun Jiao shook her head. "I’m not afraid."

"I’m very brave."

’What’s so scary about a human corpse? When I was one of the Merfolk, I saw plenty of Merfolk corpses. Not only that, but I fought and killed my own kind during conflicts.’

"Dad, I’m going to take a look. Maybe I can even find the boat."

Yun Linhai was silent for a moment. "Then be careful."

Yun Jiao nodded, found a spot where no one was looking, and dove headfirst into the sea.

The sea was far from calm at the moment. The waves were quite large, which was why no one on shore dared to take a boat out to search.

These waves had little effect on Yun Jiao. She moved quickly through the water.

Finding a person or a boat alone in the vast ocean was too difficult, so Yun Jiao decided to summon the fish.

The song of the Merfolk rang out.

This song was different from her previous ones, laced with a faint sense of urgency. The sea creatures that had formed a bond with Yun Jiao all began swimming toward her the moment they heard it.

The killer whale group, pods of dolphins, sea turtles, a Whale Shark, a Manta Ray, and even Humpback Whales from farther away all moved in the same direction.

While calling to the sea life, Yun Jiao also kept a close watch on her surroundings in the water.

Suddenly, she spotted a faint black dot in the distance, bobbing up and down in the turbulent waves.

Without hesitation, Yun Jiao swam toward it.

"Help... anyone..."

A weak voice drifted to her, and Yun Jiao immediately caught it.

But the voice was quickly swallowed by the sea.

Yun Jiao sped up and charged forward, soon spotting a man, nearly unconscious, sinking into the depths.

She didn’t hesitate, grabbing him and swimming upward.

Just as the man’s face turned purple and he was about to suffocate, they finally broke the surface. He greedily gasped for air, only to choke on a few mouthfuls of water and start coughing violently.

"Uncle Tao, are you okay?"

"Jiao... Jiaojiao."

The man saw Yun Jiao, and though he was weak and shivering from the cold, his voice was still filled with shock.

"You should save your strength. Don’t talk."

Yun Jiao looked around, trying to find something for him to hold onto to steady himself.

In these conditions, the waves could swallow them up at any moment, even with Yun Jiao holding on to him.

Suddenly, Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up.

She took out the whistle hanging around her neck and blew it.

A group of killer whales swam toward them.

"Over here."

Yun Tao shivered, not understanding what Yun Jiao was doing.

’D-Don’t tell me someone else fell into the sea?’

"WOOOOOO~"

A killer whale swam over and lifted both Yun Jiao and Yun Tao out of the water.

Yun Tao: !!!

’Oh my god, what... what is happening?!’

Yun Tao quickly grabbed the killer whale’s dorsal fin, terrified of falling back into the sea.

Yun Jiao, however, stood on the killer whale’s head.

With her small figure, she looked just like a queen of the sea.

"Uncle Tao, I’ll have this one take you back."

"Huh? B-But what about you..."

He was scared.

’Who could possibly understand the immense sense of security her tiny form gave him in that moment?’

Yun Jiao said, "I have to see if I can find my family’s boat."

"Oh, oh, okay..."

The mention of boats made Yun Tao’s heart ache.

He was an orphan who had grown up relying on the charity of the village. He had finally managed to marry a wife, have two children, and save up enough money to buy a wooden boat. The typhoon yesterday had been so strong that he hadn’t slept a wink all night, worried sick.

As soon as day broke and the rain lessened slightly, he rushed to the docks. That boat was his family’s livelihood.

But when he got there, the boat was, as he’d feared, gone.

Overcome with grief and lack of sleep, he wasn’t paying attention and was swept away by a wave.

Luckily, he had managed to grab a piece of driftwood and hold on, otherwise he wouldn’t have survived long enough for Yun Jiao to find him.

After giving the killer whale a few instructions, Yun Jiao jumped back into the sea.

Yun Tao watched with concern, but the killer whale beneath him began to move.

He had no choice but to pull his attention back and cling tightly to the killer whale’s dorsal fin.

Seeing that the killer whale was swimming in the direction of their village, a wave of gratitude for Yun Jiao, as powerful as the sea itself, washed over him.

Yun Jiao swam through the sea with the remaining killer whales and the dolphins that had arrived.

"Spread out and help me find the boats."

She paused, then added, "Or if you see anyone else in the water, call me."

’Living in the human world, I’m not as cold and hard-hearted as I was in my past life after all.’

’If I can help, I should.’

The killer whales and dolphins were very obedient, fanning out in all directions to search for what Yun Jiao had asked.

About twenty minutes later, Yun Jiao found a wooden boat on the sea.

It wasn’t her family’s.

’I’ll take it back first.’

She climbed onto the boat. Everything on board was knocked askew by the wind. Surprisingly, a fish had even jumped into the boat and couldn’t get out!

Yun Jiao found a rope, tied it to the boat, and then fastened the other end around her waist.

She jumped into the water and tried pulling the boat while swimming. It was manageable, aside from the rope digging into her.

Suddenly, Yun Jiao heard the call of a killer whale.

’Jiaojiao. Found. Boat.’

Yun Jiao identified the direction the sound wave came from and swam that way, pulling the boat behind her.

After meeting up with the killer whale, Yun Jiao called over another one and tied the rope to its tail.

"Sorry to trouble you, but please help me take this back. Next time, I’ll crack open extra sea urchins, oysters, and shellfish for you."

The killer whale group’s hunting prowess was beyond question, but to them, the things she mentioned were delicious little snacks they adored.

One of the killer whales let out a cheerful cry, and with a flick of its tail, the muscle lines of its tail and abdomen became clearly visible.

Then it started pulling the boat, swimming swiftly toward the docks of Bailong Village.

Yun Jiao continued her search in the sea. When she got hungry, she would just grab some jellyfish or dive to the seabed to find shrimp and crabs to eat.

One after another, she found five boats in total, and had the killer whales deliver them back using the same method.

Meanwhile, the docks at Bailong Village were in an uproar.

First, Yun Tao, who they had all given up for lost, had actually returned—brought back by a killer whale, no less.

Instantly, the people on the docks let out cries of disbelief.

"It’s Yun Tao! It’s really Yun Tao! A killer whale... a killer whale actually saved him and brought him back!"