Jing Li soon fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't sleep very well.
It feels like being boiled in a pot of warm water, and the rising temperature makes the body hotter and hotter.
This feeling made Jing Li inexplicably uneasy. He wanted to wake up, but he couldn't open his eyes. Only the soft fish tail swayed gently on the water, creating some fine ripples.
No one saw that in the silent room, the faint red light appeared again.
The red light became brighter and brighter, and soon covered the entire body of the little koi, as if every scale was emitting light.
After a moment, the red light flew out of the barrel and fell to the ground.
In the blinding red light, a young figure gradually emerged.
"Qin Zhao..." Jing Li's body was still very hot. He turned over uncomfortably and muttered softly, "Don't eat me..."
Jingli is still in the dream.
He dreamed that the warm water turned into boiling hot water, which burned him so much that he felt uncomfortable all over. He finally managed to escape from the hot water, but fell onto the solid ground again.
The ground was very uneven, and the hard gravel pressed against his body, almost cutting his delicate skin.
The moment Jing Li opened his eyes, he immediately felt something strange.
His body seemed to become very heavy. Jing Li stared blankly ahead, and it took him a while to realize what was wrong.
—He was not in the water.
The boy fell to the ground, his naked body was covered by his wet long hair, only revealing a little white porcelain-like skin. The gravel on the ground hurt him a little, Jing Li frowned tightly and propped himself up with his hands.
… hand
Jing Li blinked and looked down at his hands.
Those were indeed human hands, fair and slender, with slender fingers. Some small and round fish scales were attached to his fingers and arms, and there were some crystal clear water droplets on the fingertips, which made his skin look even whiter.
The boy blinked blankly.
He... turned into a human
Jing Li took a deep breath, and the fresh air entered his lungs, no longer causing the suffocating feeling caused by lack of water.
He really changed back!
Jing Li wanted to get up excitedly, but his lower body went limp and he fell to the ground again.
He looked down blankly.
He was naked, and his skin from shoulders to chest was also covered with bright red fish scales. What was even more outrageous was that he had no legs below the waist, but a long, bright red fish tail.
The fish's tail lay quietly behind him. When Jing Li looked over, the tip of the tail innocently patted the ground.
Jing Li: “…”
If you want to change into a human, then change into a human. Why change half of it
The human-shaped body was much heavier than the fish body, and the fish tail could not bear the force, and it was impossible to stand up. Jing Li tried to flutter on the ground for a long time, and finally just barely propped up his body and sat down on the bench behind him.
The wooden barrel that originally contained him was still on the table. Jing Li leaned against the edge of the table, and his fish tail slapped the ground again and again.
What to do now...
He didn't know why he suddenly turned into a human, and he didn't know how to change back. His appearance that was neither human nor fish must have scared Qin Zhao.
Will he chase him away as a monster
Jing Li sighed in worry.
"Gu..."
There was a sudden sound from his stomach and Jing Li rubbed his belly.
I just finished my meal, why am I hungry again
Jing Li rubbed his stomach and his eyes unconsciously fell on the stove beside him.
The fire in the stove was no longer as strong as it was at the beginning. The chicken legs that Qin Zhao had roasted before he left were still lying quietly in the fire. The outer shell covered with yellow mud had been completely roasted hard and charred.
As Jing Li watched, his stomach couldn't help but growl again.
Jing Li was torn between his conscience and his desires in his mind.
He had been sleeping soundly just now, and was not sure how long Qin Zhao had been out, let alone where he had gone. But the sickly man was in such poor health that he should not have been away for too long.
Maybe he's coming back soon.
He doesn't have much time left, so he should concentrate on thinking about how to change back.
But…
I'm so hungry and want to eat.
The chicken leg was originally roasted for him to eat.
Jing Li pursed his lips, patted his tail on the bench, and gently moved a few inches towards the stove. He moved over little by little, picked up the fire stick beside the stove and poked the fire twice.
Pop.
The chicken leg covered with yellow mud rolled out of the fire and broke into pieces on the ground.
The aroma of meat instantly overflowed.
Jing Li's eyes lit up.
The sun was blazing in the afternoon. Qin Zhao was walking in the mountains with a backpack on his back, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
After a moment, he finally couldn't suppress the blood surging in his chest, and he bent over and coughed, holding onto a tree trunk by the roadside.
He coughed so hard that he stopped only when his throat was sore and he tasted blood in his mouth.
Qin Zhao sat down beside the tree and took out the water bottle from his waist to rinse his mouth.
The bloody smell in his mouth was temporarily suppressed. Qin Zhao panted silently for a moment and smiled bitterly: "My useless body..."
The sun was scorching hot and blinding. Qin Zhao raised his hands to cover his forehead and inadvertently glanced at his own hands.
His hands were not like those of an ordinary scholar, and certainly not like those of someone who had worked hard. There were a few calluses on the fingertips and base of his right hand, which had become very thin because they had not been sharpened for a long time.
That is the mark of having practiced martial arts.
Qin Zhao could hardly feel the strength in this body. Years of illness had ruined his muscles and bones. Not to mention practicing martial arts, he even felt short of breath when walking a few more steps.
But when encountering danger before, that innate self-preservation instinct was real.
Who is he
Many people care about this issue, Qin Zhao especially.
No one would like to be a person without a past all his life.
Qin Zhao didn't rest there for long. He quickly stood up by holding the tree trunk.
He is not alone now. If he doesn't go back, it will be troublesome if the stupid fish is taken away by the cat again.
Besides, I don’t know if that silly fish is scared when he’s alone at home
Thinking of this, Qin Zhao couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Fearing that the wild cat would sneak in again, Qin Zhao locked the doors and windows of his house before leaving. He quickly returned to the door and was about to push it open when he heard some noises coming from inside.
Qin Zhao frowned and pushed the door open with force.
The house was much messier than before he left. The bench was overturned in the middle of the room and there were still many water stains on the ground.
There was only a little clear water left in the wooden barrel on the table, and no trace of the little koi.
Qin Zhao's heart tightened, and just as he was about to go look for it, he suddenly saw something next to the stove out of the corner of his eye.
The yellow mud and lotus leaves that originally wrapped the chicken legs were thrown on the ground at random, and the chicken legs inside had disappeared. There was even a hint of meaty aroma lingering in the air.
Qin Zhao: “…”
Qin Zhao vaguely realized something and took a deep breath to calm himself down.
He looked around the house carefully. The water stains were the most numerous and the area was relatively large near the table. The water stains extended in two directions, one to the stove, but not much, probably because they were dried by the heat from the stove.
On the other end, he went all the way into the bedroom.
Qin Zhao understood, put down the backpack, turned around and walked into the bedroom.
His bedroom was not big to begin with, and he could see the whole thing at a glance, but he didn't see any trace of the fish.
But that little fish seemed unaware that it was wet all over and was carrying "evidence" wherever it went.
Qin Zhao looked straight ahead, walked to the foot of the bed where the water had disappeared, and whispered, "Come out."
Jing Li almost burped and quickly covered his mouth with his hands.
The boy curled himself up under the bed. It was effortless for his petite body to hide under the bed, and the tail hanging behind him was trembling nervously.
Jing Li didn't expect Qin Zhao to come back so soon. He had just finished eating the chicken leg and had no time to clean up the mess outside. When he heard footsteps, he panicked and hid under the bed.
More importantly, he can't change back!
With his half-human, half-fish appearance, he will definitely be mistaken for a monster.
Change back quickly!
There was no movement under the bed. Qin Zhao thought he had scared him, so he softened his voice unconsciously: "Come out quickly, won't you be dehydrated if you stay like this?"
Jing Li had never hoped that he would be short of water.
He was so anxious that his eyes turned red, but he had just eaten too much and finally couldn't help but burp.
Qin Zhao was just about to squat down under the bed to catch the fish, but when he heard the small noise, he was stunned.
Why does that voice sound... a bit like a human
He listened quietly for a while, and there was no more movement under the bed. Qin Zhao thought he had heard it wrong, and continued to squat and bend over to look under the bed.
There seemed to be a red shadow flashing before his eyes. Qin Zhao was distracted and saw a bright red koi carp jumping into his arms.
Finally...finally it changed back.
Jing Li breathed a sigh of relief, and his whole body relaxed, but his body was still shaking uncontrollably.
But Qin Zhao didn't move.
At that moment, he seemed to... see the figure of a young boy
He had never seen the boy before, and because the time was too short, he didn't even see clearly what the boy looked like.
Qin Zhao lowered his head. The koi in his arms tapped his wrist with the tip of its tail, and it was trembling slightly, not sure if it was out of nervousness or fear.
He looked into Koi's moist eyes, and suddenly a pair of bright and moist eyes appeared in his mind.
Is it an illusion
Qin Zhao felt something was strange in his heart.
The scales of the little koi in my arms had dried up a little because it hadn't been back in the water for a long time.
Qin Zhao calmed himself down, not daring to delay any longer, picked up the little koi and walked out.
Before getting up, he glanced and saw the cleanly gnawed chicken bones under the bed.
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li entered the water and slowly regained consciousness.
He moved his fins in the water, and the familiar current and the light feeling of floating in the water reassured him.
Qin Zhao watched the little koi fish swimming around in the water, and suddenly asked softly, "What were you doing under the bed just now?"
Jing Li looked up at him, and after a moment, shook his head obediently.
The fish is sleepwalking and doesn't know it.
Qin Zhao asked again: "Did anyone come here just now?"
Jing Li didn't even move his eyes, and his tail wagged innocently behind him.
The fish is asleep and knows nothing.
"I locked the door from the outside, so no one should have come in." Qin Zhao glanced at the messy stove and asked leisurely, "So, who ate the chicken leg?"
"!"
Jing Li couldn't help but burped a series of bubbles.
Qin Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly. Under his scrutinizing gaze, Jing Li hid under the water with her round belly in her arms.
Fish…fish really don’t know!