Things in the pond

Chapter 27

One day, the frog presented a gleaming inner core crystal and said with a smile, "Call me Sister Xianqing, and I'll give you this!"

Puzzled, it asked in a low voice, "Where did you get that?"

The frog laughed smugly, "Of course, it was something I refined myself, Sister Xianqing!"

"Why are you making this?"

The frog looked down on it, "Stupid. Don't I still have 10 years until I become an immortal? I've specially refined my cultivation into an inner core crystal, so I don't have to rush it!"

It was still puzzled, "We wouldn't mind if you became an immortal sooner..."

"No way!" The frog held the crystal in one hand, displeased. "I told you, I don't want to become an immortal. I want to travel the world with the person I love..."

"..." It didn't understand.

The frog looked at it with a disappointed expression. "Le Jun... can't you even smile at me? I was just saying that I'll postpone my ascension to immortality for your sake!"

"For us?" It didn't understand, but somewhere inside it began to feel a burning sensation.

"Hmm!" the frog chuckled.

A smile appeared on its face.

The frog nodded in satisfaction. "Indeed, you look best when you smile~ Speaking of which, there was that girl surnamed Xi who was dumbfounded when she saw you last time, wasn't she?"

"Um."

"She likes you, so why did you sink to the bottom of the lake every time you saw her? It made everyone say that the girl was incredibly beautiful, and that you were ashamed of yourself... Sigh, really..."

It blushed, "I..."

"Hehe, Yue Jun is so cute..." the frog teased. "Come on, call her Sister Xian Qing, and I'll give you this crystal spirit~"

"Why...don't you give it to Le Xin?" it asked after a moment's hesitation.

The frog was speechless. "Uh... well... hehe..." The frog sounded a little uneasy, but its tone was full of tenderness, "...I want to spend more time traveling the world with him..."

In that instant, it finally understood many things.

"Okay." It nodded with a smile. "I understand. Give it to me."

The frog mischievously hugged Jingpo, saying, "You should call her Sister Xianqing first~"

It looked at the frog, and for the first time, a smirk appeared on its face. Hands on its hips, it said, "I won't let you get away with this!"

"Huh?" The frog frowned. "...Has he entered his rebellious phase?!"

“Speaking of my rebellious phase, I once…” it began, uttering some trivial words.

The frog listened intently.

It suddenly stopped, reached out, snatched the crystal, and ran away.

"What?! You damn catfish, how dare you change the subject and plot something?! Stop right there!!!" The frog chased after it in a frenzy.

Clutching the crystal, it ran desperately. But though the world is vast, there are some things it can never escape… A burning pain gnawed at its chest, as if it would never be extinguished…

It thought that was the most unpleasant feeling...

However, in this world, there is no "best"...

It will always remember the cold face it saw that day.

"Le Xin..." The mess before it startled it. The next moment, it saw the inner core crystal.

"What are you doing?" the frog called out as it ran over.

"What are you doing?" Black Snake's eyes held deep pain and a hint of hatred. "You shouldn't have asked me..."

"..."

"Why..." Black Serpent looked at the crystal in his hand, his voice trembling slightly, and asked, "Give the crystal to Yue Jun?"

The frog was stunned and didn't know what to say.

"Didn't we agree to become immortals together?! Why?!"

"You've misunderstood..." it began, trying to explain.

"I'm superfluous, aren't I?" the black snake interrupted, asking the frog.

The frog looked at him, unable to answer for a moment.

"No!" It rushed over and grabbed the black snake. "Xianqing likes you."

The black snake looked at it, its eyes filled with an even deeper pain.

After a long silence, it heard the black snake say in a sorrowful tone, "...I can never compare to you."

In that instant, it realized what true pain was.

"..." The black snake pushed it away, "We shouldn't have been together in the first place..."

The black snake turned and left, and the crystal fell to the ground, hopping slightly before rolling to the frog's feet.

The frog bent down, picked it up, and hugged it to its chest.

It frowned, preparing to give chase.

"No need to chase anymore..." the frog's voice sounded weak.

It stood still, unable to think.

"..." The frog, clutching the crystal, walked away. "It was my fault..."

Finally, only one remained.

It knew that no one had done anything wrong, but everyone had.

It also knew what the phrase "not as good as you" meant...

Back then, they were all too young and too stubborn... So, what about now?

Without realizing it, it walked back to the pond. Suddenly, it remembered something else.

After hundreds of years of living in the pond in the form of a catfish, one day a carp moved in. The carp was very ordinary-looking and not at all outstanding. The other spirits in the pond mocked it for failing to attain a human form.

However, the carp retorted confidently, "Fairies should be humble! Inner beauty is the most important!"

Fairies should keep a low profile...

Yes, we should keep a low profile.

...

Chapter Thirty-Six

The water was getting a little cool, and the dragon opened its eyes and sighed softly.

The next moment, it seemed somewhat bewildered. The silent seabed was empty; the innocent-looking dragon was gone, and it actually felt a pang of loneliness. Habit is a terrible thing…

“Idiot…” it muttered to itself unconsciously.

"You called me?"

The sudden sound nearly cut it.

The dragon was behind it, blinking its innocent eyes.

"What are you doing there?!" the dragon roared, startled.

The dragon, clutching its claws, swam up to it. "I...I'm seeing if I can unlock this chain..."

"Then don't make a sudden sound!"

"I only answered because you called me."

"I didn't call you!"

Chi lowered his head, "I was wrong..."

The dragon turned its head to the side and ignored it.

Chi cautiously approached a little closer. "Um, I've already apologized... Otherwise, should I pretend to be a steamed bun?"

"Who asked you to pretend to be a steamed bun!" the dragon roared at it irritably.

The dragon didn't know why it was angry, but it immediately apologized, "I'm sorry..."

The dragon fell silent and stared at it.

After standing there for three minutes, the dragon pleaded, "I was wrong, please don't be angry..."

“I’m not angry…” the dragon said slowly.

The dragon immediately perked up, "Then can I continue looking at the chains?"

"Um."

The dragon immediately swam up behind it and looked at the chain made of divine iron.

"It can't be solved," the dragon said calmly.

"How long will you be tied up?" the dragon asked.

"The sentence is one thousand years, so there are still about seven hundred years left."

"Oh." The dragon started calculating with its claws. "So, what are you going to do after your sentence is over?"

The dragon thought for a moment, "It's not up to me; it depends on the decision of the heavens."

Will you leave here?

"Who knows?"

The dragon picked up its claws, somewhat disappointed. "Seven hundred years..."

In Chi's memory, seven hundred years was a very, very long time. Back in the Heavenly Palace, time seemed to stand still; each day was so long, so long that it didn't know what to do. When did time start moving so fast? While eating red bean buns, while listening to the carp and blackfish gossip, while the catfish changed the subject, while the crab asked questions, while the river shrimp got angry, while the fox rolled around… and also, while being with it. Time was like flowing water, slipping through its fingers, impossible to grasp, impossible to stop. It hoped it wouldn't suffer so much anymore, yet it also hoped it wouldn't break free of its constraints so quickly. Would this contradictory feeling make time move even faster?

The dragon became uneasy. It curled up and raked the mud beneath it.

"What's wrong?" the dragon asked.

"No." Chi looked up. "Uh... I'll miss you after you leave."

The dragon was taken aback, then roared, "Are you an idiot?! I didn't leave, why are you telling me this?!"

Chi said earnestly, "I'm just telling you that I'll miss you if you leave."