Things in the pond

Chapter 8

The demons all expressed their gratitude, saying, "Friends, oh friends..."

River Shrimp squinted at Yin Ming, "You're acting strange. What's your purpose?"

Yin Ming blinked. "Purpose?"

The river shrimp stood with its arms crossed, looking down at Yin Ming from the well's edge. "Human hearts are unpredictable. What demons fear most is encountering bad people!"

Yinming looked up at her. "I'm not a bad person."

"Humans are the best liars, they can't be trusted!"

Yin Ming paused for a moment, then said, "I wasn't lying."

The atmosphere inexplicably became very strange.

"Hehe, speaking of lying, I once..." the catfish began with a laugh.

"Old Catfish! Don't change the subject!!!"

= =#

Yin Ming was silent for a moment before speaking, "I just want to make friends, is that not allowed?"

"People should make friends with each other, didn't your parents teach you that?!" the river shrimp scoffed.

Yin Ming was stunned for a moment.

The blackfish and the carp simultaneously shouted, "Ah—racism—!"

"What's it to you two?! I didn't say anything about you!!!" The river shrimp stomped on it.

Blackfish clutched its head, "I reacted too quickly, it just slipped out... I didn't mean to..."

The carp also held its head, "But, river shrimp, you're wrong too. Even if we're humans, we shouldn't discriminate against us..."

“Brother Yinming, don’t worry. If you help me ask the teacher for leave, I’ll be your friend, no problem!” Crab said generously.

“Hmm, Young Master Yinming, you have a good drinking manner. Catfish has always considered you a friend…” Catfish also chimed in.

"The person who bought us the red bean buns is definitely not a bad person, we believe you!" Blackfish and Carp announced at the same time.

"You still dare to say that?!" The river shrimp immediately stomped even harder.

Looking at the scene before him, Yin Ming couldn't help but smile.

"What are you laughing at!" River Shrimp frowned.

Yin Ming shook his head. "No, you're seeing things."

Just as the river shrimp were about to explode, voices came from outside the courtyard.

"Young master, you should go back now."

"I know," Yin Ming replied, then smiled at He Xia and said, "Miss He, I heard that many sorcerers have come to town recently. It will be dangerous for you to go out now. If you need anything, I will bring it for you."

The river shrimp scoffed disdainfully, "What can those sorcerers do to me?"

"You all better know your place!!!" Suddenly, a furious roar came from the bottom of the well. "I only took you in because I pitied you. Did you really think this was an inn?! You can come and go as you please, setting up barriers to hide yourselves without any effort?! All of you, come back here to die!!!"

"Ah—the frog is angry—" the demons exclaimed in surprise.

"You've all gone too far!!! Get all of you caught by the Taoist priests, then the world will be peaceful, damn it!!!" the frog's voice continued in fury. "I knew all along that meeting you, this catfish, was one of the biggest mistakes of my life..."

“Uh… speaking of mistakes, I once…” Catfish began cautiously.

"You dead catfish, don't change the subject!!!" = =#

"Well... speaking of changing the subject, I once..."

"You're asking for it!!!"

= =#

As the passive-aggressive behavior escalated, the demons slunk back into the well.

The river shrimp thought for a moment, then reluctantly poked its head out. "Hey, buy me the Classic of Mountains and Seas, with illustrations!"

Yin Ming smiled and nodded.

The river shrimp snorted and disappeared.

Yinming looked at the magical well, and from the darkness came the last sound.

"Hehe, speaking of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, I once..."

"Old Catfish! Don't change the subject!!!"

= =#

Chapter Fourteen

As the river shrimp disdainfully accepted the Classic of Mountains and Seas from Yin Ming at the wellhead, a fox in human form appeared in the courtyard, looking disheveled and overwhelmed.

"What's wrong..." the river shrimp blinked and asked.

The fox pulled the branch from its head, spat out the weeds from its mouth, wiped the dirt from its face, and sighed to the heavens, "The devil may be one foot tall, but the righteous are ten feet tall... Ji You, we'll meet again someday..."

The river shrimp turned its head knowingly and asked Yin Ming, "How much?"

Yin Ming shook his head, "No need."

The river shrimp glared at him, "You despise me?"

Yin Ming smiled and said, "No."

"have!"

"No."

"have!"

...

"Um...is there anyone who can listen to my sobs?" the fox cried out.

The river shrimp glared at Yin Ming and said to the fox, "Speak, I'm listening!"

The fox crouched down and drew circles on the ground with its finger. "Today I went to follow Ji You and his group, but I was discovered. Those sorcerers were so disrespectful! I didn't even do anything, and they threw so many talismans at me. Blazing Flame Talismans, Ice Talismans, Lightning Control Talismans, Life and Death Talismans, and the most outrageous one was even a Carrefour... I... I'm so sad... Especially since Ji You didn't even help me... He just ignored me... 55555... Although I immobilized three sorcerers, kicked down four, scratched five, and even bit the remaining six... But, but, but, Ji You's absolutely icy gaze has seriously traumatized my tender little heart... 55555... I was just defending myself... 55555... I didn't do anything bad... I've cultivated to this point, and I haven't even seduced a single man... 55555... I only occasionally sneak some green dumplings... 55555... Ji You is so heartless... 55555..."

An hour later, the river shrimp and Yinming were still staring at each other, while the fox was still squatting on the ground drawing circles and crying.

Until, suddenly, a white auspicious light appeared in the sky, and the Chi blatantly flew into the courtyard in the form of a dragon.

“Shrimp…” Chi transformed into human form, ran over in a few steps, and cried with tears streaming down his face.

The river shrimp was startled. "What's wrong with you?"

The dragon sobbed as it spoke, "Today, those sorcerers came to the pond next door, saying they wanted to strengthen the power of the water-suppressing sword to ensure the dragon wouldn't escape... But it's already bound so tightly, and many of its scales have been worn away... I can't just reveal myself to the sorcerers... What should I do..."

“This…” River Shrimp frowned.

Just then, the sound of many people's footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

"This is the haunted courtyard of my house. Please, Master Ji You, take a good look at it for me."

"Hurry up!" Yin Ming reached out and pushed the river shrimp, but the shrimp lost its balance and fell headfirst into the well.

Yin Ming paused, then blankly reached out and scratched his hair.

"You—remember this—" A shrill roar came from the well.

...

The river shrimp crawled out of the well, rubbed its back, and gritted its teeth, "No one here is any good!"

"Don't say that, at least there's Ji You GG..." the fox retorted from the bottom of the well.

"What should we do..." Chi was still crying. "They're going to reinforce the water-suppressing sword tomorrow."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow!!! What do we do now!!! Ji You is out there!!!" River Shrimp cried out in frustration.

"Wow……"

The dragon and the two demons immediately burst into tears.

"Ahem, tone it down." The frog's voice rang out coldly.

Silence fell for a moment.

The frog raised its head and looked at the well opening. Then, it removed the hibiscus flower from its temple and tossed it gently.

The sky, as small as the opening of a well, gradually receded into the distance and disappeared.

"Wow...that's amazing..." The carp and the blackfish exclaimed in unison from not far away.

"Wow...it's a barrier..." The crab looked on excitedly.

"Wow...it's even more powerful than Ji You's Demon-Locking Curse..." the fox exclaimed in admiration.

"Wow... if I learn this, going to the ocean won't be a dream anymore..." The river shrimp nodded firmly.

“Wow…” Chi paused for a moment, “…I don’t have anything to say with a ‘wow’…”

= =|||

"Hehe, speaking of 'wow,' I once..."

"Old Catfish! Don't change the subject!!!"

= =#

"By the way, could you help me save the dragon?" Chi asked the frog, suddenly remembering something.

"A dragon?" The frog tilted its head and thought for a moment. "You mean the dragon that was bound by the water-suppressing sword?"

"Um!"

The frog chuckled, "It has broken a heavenly law; saving it would be a grave sin."

The dragon's eyes were clear and innocent, without any impurities. "I don't understand, I just want to save it."

The frog sighed, "These are just a bunch of silly kids..." It reached out, took out a bead, and handed it to the dragon, "Give this to it."

"What is this?" Chi asked, taking the item.

"The inner core crystal," the catfish answered. "You're giving it to the dragon?" Its second half of the sentence was addressed to the frog.

The frog laughed, "What use is it to me? The world means nothing to me anymore, let alone this bead..." After saying that, it turned and walked away.