Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Heard It, but Not All of It
Yun Linhe rolled his eyes. ’We’ve already had our fill, and she still says it’s not a lot!’
The two adults and one child hurried back to where their boat was moored at the mouth of the harbor. The water had risen quite a bit there, too.
Seeing the seawater, which now reached nearly to an adult’s waist, Yun Jiao was so happy she couldn’t keep a smile from her face.
"Dad, do we have to swim over? I can do it! I can do it!"
Her voice was brimming with excitement.
Yun Linhai & Yun Linhe: ...
’Just how badly did this kid want to swim in the ocean?’
But since they were here to watch her this time, they figured they’d just let her swim.
"Give us the buckets, you can go..."
Before Yun Linhai could finish, Yun Jiao had already kicked off her shoes with a cheer and plunged into the sea. She started swimming through the clear water with the grace of a beautiful little fish.
It was plain to see how happy she was.
The two men watched nervously for a moment, only breathing a sigh of relief when they saw she was genuinely okay.
"Stop playing around and get on the boat."
They had gotten too carried away gathering shrimp this time, so much so that they were reluctant to leave even as high tide approached.
Yun Jiao kicked her short, chubby, pale legs, paddling toward the boat.
Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe struggled to walk through the water, carrying the two buckets.
The water’s buoyancy made it difficult to walk. They probably wouldn’t get hurt if they slipped, but if the shrimp they’d worked so hard to catch escaped, they’d be absolutely furious.
When they finally reached the boat, the two men climbed aboard first, but Yun Jiao was still playing in the sea and didn’t want to get out.
"Jiaojiao, hurry up and get on."
Yun Jiao’s little head popped out of the water, her expression a reluctant pout.
"Can’t I just swim back?"
"Even the two of us adults couldn’t swim all the way back," Yun Linhe said irritably. "You’ve got some nerve."
Yun Linhai held out his hand. "Quick, take Dad’s hand and climb up."
Reluctantly, Yun Jiao reached her small hand toward him. But in the next instant, her eyes lit up as she saw a large sea turtle surfacing, and she happily snatched her hand back.
"Dad, I’m waiting for the big sea turtle!"
Yun Linhai and his brother could only stare helplessly as Yun Jiao swam toward the sea turtle.
Yun Linhe’s eyes went wide. "Bro, isn’t Jiaojiao’s swimming a little *too* good? We weren’t like this when we first learned to swim, right?"
Yun Linhai said proudly, "My daughter’s a genius."
Yun Linhe: ...
’Oh, whatever. Maybe Jiaojiao really was a gift from the Dragon King. Being a natural-born swimmer... nothing wrong with that!’
Meanwhile, Yun Jiao was looking with pleasant surprise at the gift the sea turtle had brought her.
A net bag full of sea urchins.
"Wow, Turtle, you really caught this many sea urchins!"
The sea turtle raised its neck, swishing its tail with great pride.
’So you underestimated me, huh?’
"What’s that?"
As the sea turtle swam up to the boat, the brothers Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe spotted the net bag in its beak. Their eyes widened when they saw what was inside.
’Wait, did that sea turtle take their net bag and go collect a whole bagful of sea urchins?’
’Was something wrong with their eyes, or was something wrong with this turtle?’
"Dad, quick, take it."
Yun Jiao’s urging snapped Yun Linhai and his brother out of their stupor.
They quickly nodded. "Oh, oh..."
They fumbled to lift the net bag aboard. Holy cow—a quick look revealed at least twenty sea urchins inside.
"This... This is for us?"
’Sea urchins, gathered by a sea turtle, for them?’
’It was the kind of story no one would ever believe, but it was happening to them right now.’
"Dad, open a sea urchin for Turtle to eat."
’He did the work, so he should get a little something for it.’
’Feeding the sea turtle a sea urchin it caught itself? Makes perfect sense.’
Still in a daze, the two men cracked open a sea urchin. The turtle stretched its neck out and began to munch on it.
Its four flippers paddled furiously, keeping it afloat on the surface of the water.
It devoured the sea urchin in just a few bites.
"Jiaojiao, hurry up and get on. We’re leaving."
After recovering from their shock, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe looked at the sea turtle in a whole new light.
’This turtle is ridiculously smart.’
Yun Jiao shook her head, refusing decisively. "No! I want Turtle to carry me for a swim in the sea."
As she said this, she clambered onto the sea turtle’s back.
At only three years old, she wasn’t heavy at all. Aided by the water’s buoyancy, the sea turtle had no trouble carrying her.
"Dad, Uncle, keep up!"
With that, she patted the turtle’s shell, and the large sea turtle immediately began to swim forward, carrying her along.
Yun Jiao: "Woooohooo~~~"
Yun Linhai: !!!
Yun Linhe: !!!
W-wait!
"Jiaojiao!"
Both men’s hearts leaped into their throats. This little kid was far too daring!
Yun Jiao called back, "I’m fine, Dad! I love the ocean!"
Yun Linhe scrambled to get the boat moving.
"You can’t just run wild in the ocean even if you like it! What if you run into a shark?"
"I’ll smack it!" Yun Jiao declared, trying to sound fierce.
Yun Linhai: ...
’Oh, sweetie, you can’t be so reckless.’
The sea turtle wasn’t swimming too fast, so Yun Jiao stayed within the two men’s sight. If she hadn’t, they would have been worried sick.
After repeated urging and stern warnings from her dad and uncle, Yun Jiao reluctantly climbed onto the boat.
This was enough to exasperate even the mild-mannered Yun Linhai, who couldn’t stop himself from giving her a light swat on the bottom.
Yun Jiao blinked. ’That didn’t hurt!’
"You... what am I supposed to do with you? The ocean is full of all kinds of things! What if you ran into something venomous, like a sea snake or a jellyfish?"
The little girl stubbornly retorted, "I’d eat them."
Yun Linhai was beside himself. "You... Why do you want to eat everything?! If one of those things bit you, you’d be... Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey..."
The word "dead" was unlucky, so even though he hadn’t said it out loud, Yun Linhai spat several times to ward off the bad omen.
"It won’t!" Yun Jiao said. "A little venom can’t hurt Jiaojiao."
Yun Linhai & Yun Linhe: ...
’Honestly, this little girl... Where did she get such strange ideas? Did she think she was one of the immortals, immune to poison?’
"If you do that again, you’re not allowed to come out on the boat with us anymore."
That was more effective than anything else they’d said. Yun Jiao immediately pursed her lips, her big eyes staring unhappily at her dad and uncle.
Her expressive eyes seemed to ask them how they could possibly threaten such an adorable little child. It was just too cruel!
Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe forced themselves to look away. ’This little rascal... we have to teach her a lesson.’
Unhappiness was written all over Yun Jiao’s pretty face. Puffing her cheeks, she crossed her little arms, turned her head, and wiggled her bottom, presenting them with the view of her small, sulking back, all curled up in a huff.
Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe exchanged a helpless smile. The little rascal was throwing a tantrum.
"Jiaojiao, you’re still little, and the sea is dangerous. How about you wait until you’re bigger to play, okay?"
But Yun Jiao’s ears automatically filtered his words.
’Little... in the sea... play.’
She nodded. "Okay."
Yun Linhai thought she had understood, and a smile appeared on his face. ’His Jiaojiao was as obedient as ever.’
But he never imagined that Yun Jiao had only heard what she wanted to hear.
She’d listened, but not fully.
Of course, for the moment, Yun Jiao stopped trying to make her dads angry and stayed obediently on the boat.
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