Things in the pond

Chapter 35

The human and the demon were arguing when the fox suddenly exclaimed, "Hey? Where's the frog?"

The crab replied, "It went back into the well."

Where's the old catfish?

"They went with them...and the older brother in the black clothes went too..."

"They're really fast..."

"Old catfish has been moving so fast lately..." Carp looked up at the sky.

"Yes, why?" Blackfish also looked up at the sky.

At this moment, the river shrimp grabbed Tingcong and said, "Come with me to confront your master!"

Seeing this, the fox immediately followed, "Shrimp, calm down..."

= =|||

The carp and the blackfish looked in the direction it/they had gone and sighed.

"Coming in haste, leaving in haste, I regret that we could not meet again..."

As the carp sang, it suddenly asked, "Hey? Where's the idiot?"

The crab replied expressionlessly, "I just went back to the pond next door with the dragon..."

"This is fast too..." Blackfish continued to look up at the sky.

"Yes..." The carp also looked up at the sky.

"It's because you don't care about others," the crab said, also looking up at the sky.

"..."

...

The dragon followed to the bottom of the pond next door and obediently lay down.

The dragon dispelled its shape-borrowing technique and looked somewhat tired.

"What will happen in the future?" Chi asked, clutching his claws.

The dragon kept its eyes closed. "How should I know..."

The dragon lowered its head and remained silent.

The water flowed gently over its scales, and after a long while, it spoke quietly, "Wherever you go, I will go too."

The dragon suddenly opened its eyes and looked at it.

The dragon, clutching its claws, timidly said, "No...isn't that wrong?"

The dragon sighed and said, "I have violated the heavenly rules..."

"I made the same mistake..." the dragon replied earnestly.

"That doesn't count!" the dragon said, slightly annoyed.

"Why?" Chi tilted his head.

"..." The dragon looked at it and thought for a long time. "I can't explain it to you."

"So what if you broke the heavenly rules?" Chi asked again.

The dragon glanced at the chains binding it and said calmly, "Whatever the reason, using the Body-Borrowing Technique to escape its restraints, this time, it's a banishment to the mortal realm..."

"Oh." Chi nodded.

The dragon was furious. "What 'oh'?! You've been banished to the mortal realm! That's a serious matter!"

The dragon, clutching its claws, asked, "Really? It's just about being human, isn't it?"

The dragon was speechless.

"The fox and Tingcong are also human, and they're doing just fine, aren't they?" Chi added.

"People die very soon."

Chi blinked and said, "What does this have to do with anything?"

"You..." The dragon was speechless.

The dragon scratched at its claws and said, "If you continue to be locked up here, I will continue to come and talk to you; if you are banished to the mortal realm, I will banish to the mortal realm with you..."

The dragon listened quietly, then hesitated before asking, "Why?"

Chi scratched his head. "Hmm... what was it again?" Chi thought hard for a moment. "...Wherever the other person is in the sky or on earth, that's where I'll find peace... That's what you told me, right? So, wherever you are in the sky or on earth, that's where I'll find peace..."

The dragon stared at it blankly. Suddenly, it could no longer feel the pain from the water-suppressing sword and chains.

"There's another sentence before that, do you remember it?" After a moment of silence, the dragon spoke, its voice carrying a slight smile.

Chi tried hard, tried very hard, tried extremely hard, but he just couldn't remember...

"What is it?" it asked timidly, its innocent eyes wide open, like a child unable to answer a question.

The dragon laughed, "...You really want to come with me?"

Chi nodded vigorously.

"You're so slow, can you keep up?" the dragon sighed.

Chi leaned closer earnestly, "No problem, I'll be quick this time!"

"Idiot..." the dragon laughed, the chains vibrated slightly, and ripples spread out in layers, turning into concentric circles on the surface of the pool...

...

...

The frog stands in the well, holding a sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument), silent.

It's a strange feeling. A long, long time ago, we were together like this. But now, the feelings are completely different. There's no more turmoil or pain; instead, there's a calm in my heart filled with gratitude.

After wandering and circling, it finally returned to where it started. It turns out that after traversing countless mountains and rivers, it ultimately returned to a well… But it doesn't know if, had it not left the well that day, it would still feel this way today. Is this fate…?

"What's next?" the frog asked with a smile.

The catfish and the black snake exchanged a glance and remained silent.

After a long while, the black snake finally mustered up its courage and asked, "Can...I stay?"

The frog looked at it and smiled quietly, "If you want to stay..."

The black snake nodded and looked at the catfish.

The catfish said nothing, just as it had a shy smile a thousand years ago.

"Why are you all silent?" the frog asked teasingly, looking at them.

The catfish shook its head and laughed, "No rush... there's still plenty of time..."

After saying that, the black snake also laughed.

That time, filled with loneliness and pain, has now become the most precious thing. Yes, time is still long. Enough for settling, enough for new things to sprout…

The frog reached out and plucked the strings, "Let me make this clear first~ This isn't a UN security center, I don't do charity work here... If you want to stay for free, call me Sister Xianqing first..."

The expressions of the catfish and the black snake changed.

"What?" the frog frowned.

"Hehe~ Speaking of Shirazu, I once..."

"Le Jun! Don't change the subject!"

= =#

The angry, unanimous outcry was met with an even brighter smile from the person involved.

The catfish smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Speaking of..."

"Stop pulling! You damn catfish!!!" The frog grabbed a sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) and pretended to hit it.

The catfish turned and ran away.

For a time, the bottom of the well was bustling with activity.

If they're together, does it really matter who likes whom? ...They have plenty of time...

Finally, at that moment, I understood something: perhaps all those thousand years of cultivation were just to exchange for this kind of time...

...

Chapter 43

The river shrimp was furious.

I believe no demon in this world could maintain a smile after being imprisoned in a magical artifact. Moreover, it experienced more than just being imprisoned; it was also wrongly accused by deities and ultimately couldn't find the culprit…

Carp and snakehead fish floated to the surface.

"Hey, shrimp, you're back... Have you found Master Ji You yet?" the carp asked.

The river shrimp became even angrier.

The carp and snakehead fish wisely avoided the area.

The carp looked at the fox and Tingcong on the shore and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Ting Cong said helplessly, "My master isn't here..."

"There's no need to be so angry, is there?" The blackfish's voice was very soft, but the river shrimp still heard it.

The river shrimp was furious.

The fox glanced timidly at the river shrimp and whispered, "When the shrimp was looking for Ji You, a human saw her. That person said the shrimp was a good girl who admired Taoism, so he wrote a poem for her..."

"This is a good thing!" the carp and the blackfish exclaimed in unison.

"Shh!!!" Fox and Tingcong spoke at the same time.

The fox secretly took out a piece of paper and showed it to the fairy in the pond.

The crab blinked its eyes and loudly recited: "I asked the boy under the pine tree, 'Where has your master gone?' He replied, 'He went to gather herbs. He is somewhere in this mountain, but the clouds are so deep I don't know where.'"

"What a fine line: 'Only in this mountain, where the clouds are deep and the way is unknown'... Absolutely perfunctory..." Blackfish sighed.