Chapter 49

Unexpectedly, the little cub would talk to them on its own initiative, and the seaweeds that were peeking out fell silent for a moment.

Then the party started.

'My old swan, the young master has spoken to me!'

'No, you're talking to me, okay?'

'He's looking at me, he's looking at me! !'

"So cute, so cute, this little baby voice!"

"The soft baby is like a small cake, I eat it in one bite!"

'What is cake?'

'I don't know, but it doesn't matter.'

"No, don't get excited. Didn't you hear him say he didn't know us?"

"Isn't it normal not to know us? We're not even NPCs. The young master has never seen us before."

"...You are quite self-aware."

As a result, they started arguing over who the little one was looking at and talking to.

One seaweed took advantage of the other seaweed's bickering and stretched itself out, using a force completely opposite to Chanyuan Yingying's. It gently touched Li Jue's arm and said, "Little Master! Little Master!"

Li Jue lowered his head and poked it with his index finger out of curiosity.

Seaweed leaned softly on the child's hand, tears welling in her eyes. "My dear little master, even though you don't know me, it doesn't matter. I just want to tell you that all of us, no, even those who are not human, are looking forward to your arrival!"

"'Come'..." asked the cub, "Come here?"

The seaweed shook its head, as if shaking its head: "No, not just here. The world—the whole world is looking forward to your birth and return."

This made Li Jue even more confused.

"Birth" means arrival, while "return" means going back.

It is not easy for a three-and-a-half-year-old to understand this point. He really cannot understand why two words that sound opposite are used at the same time.

But he had a more troubling question: "Excuse me, why do you call the cub 'little master'?"

"Because you are the master's child, you are the little master!" Seaweed said as a matter of course.

Li Jue blinked in surprise: "Do you know my father?"

Finally, the other seaweeds noticed the guy who was secretly touching the cubs. They quickly put aside their internal disputes and united in a cry: "You traitor, come back here!!"

There are also other seaweeds responsible for answering the cubs' questions:

"I know him!"

'The little master's father.'

"It's that gentleman!"

Li Jue became excited, turned around and waved to Ling Xi, and shouted loudly: "Xi Xi, they said they know daddy!"

Ling Xi was also stunned and hurried over.

The two little ones squatted in a row, listening to the chirping of the seaweeds.

"That sir! I haven't heard from him in a long time."

'It is said that He came to inspect.'

"I haven't seen it myself either. Has anyone seen it?"

'No. '

"No."

"...Man, aren't we one?"

Next, the seaweeds gave a five-minute-long all-round flattery to the wise, powerful, omniscient and omnipotent God, whom no one had actually seen with their own eyes.

Li Jue listened with great interest at first, but when the seaweeds talked about "nine feet tall", "strong and powerful", and "imposing without anger", the child felt confused again.

Why does it sound... so strange?

Zizi turned his head and whispered, "Xixi, it seems they are not talking about my dad."

Ayaka was stuck.

The seaweeds were right; the main god they had passed down through word of mouth and imagined was indeed Li Jue's father.

But for Li Jue himself, the concept of father is limited to Chen Yan, which is naturally completely different from the description of Haicao.

In the little cub's cognition, children are the product of the union of men and women. There must be a father and a mother before there can be a baby.

Based on this cognitive framework, Dad is Chen Yan who takes care of him, while Mom is a rather vague existence who left very early.

——No one has ever told the child that he is very special and has two fathers.

Just as Ling Xi was racking her brains to think of how to explain, Lu Ying's voice interrupted nervously: "Um... can you, uh, check on her first?"

Although Lu Ying couldn't hear Haicao's voice at all, from the way the cubs listened attentively and discussed from time to time, it seemed that they could communicate with Haicao.

Coupled with the previous series of supernatural events such as the jellyfish turning into a living person, he can be sure that these two children are not just ordinary NPCs.

Maybe it is the mysterious power of the legendary sub-world that transcends the rules.

This ignited Lu Ying's hope that they could help Yuan Yingying, and he felt both respect and worry.

The seaweeds were originally acting cute and coquettishly towards the baby to attract attention, but as soon as the player spoke, they all shrank back.

One by one, they crawled back into the darkness, becoming emotionless and cold-blooded killers.

Zaizai has not forgotten his mission.

He looked at Yuan Yingying, now completely engulfed in dense seaweed, and remembered how this sister's fingers had gently caressed him when he was still a kitten, saving him from another... who was that? Anyway, someone who wanted to hurt the kitten.

My father once said that as a child, you should be grateful.

Li Jue is a very well-behaved child. He will remember any kindness others show him.

Ling Xi stood up and took a step back, leaving the venue completely to the baby.

Li Jue stretched out his little hand, and when it was still a few centimeters above the seaweed, he slowly stroked it down along the top of the human head.

The seaweed that was fleeing, dancing and twisting wildly seemed to have been summoned, and changed its movements in unison following the direction of the cub's little hand, like a group of well-trained soldiers.

magic.

Lu Ying next to him was dumbfounded.

This must be magic.

Are these the same strange creatures that he couldn't kill with a knife or fire?

How come he is even more obedient than a puppy in the hands of a little kid?

Is this the mysterious power above the rules?

"Sister, don't die." The child repeated the action over and over again, muttering softly, "Sister will be fine, get better, and play with the cubs."

He raised his arm slightly, and the seaweed followed his lead, clinging to it fascinatedly, and actually floated up from Yuan Yingying's body layer by layer.

'Little Master! I'm going to find the Little Master!'

"I'm leaving too. You guys can continue playing here."

"Ahhh, take me with you!"

"I will follow my young master till death—"

There was a ball of light blue water light in Li Jue's palm. The moment the seaweeds raised their heads and touched the water light, it was as if they had returned to the original embrace of the sea and silently melted into the light.

With each absorption of seaweed, the blue, which was initially so light that it was almost transparent, became deeper and brighter.

After the seaweed covering Yuan Yingying's neck "surrendered" to Li Jue, Zaizai already had a sky blue crystal ball in his little hand.

Yuan Yingying, who had regained oxygen, began coughing violently.

Lu Ying immediately ran over and half-knelt beside her: "Xiao Yuan! How are you?"

"Sister is very tired and hasn't woken up yet." Li Jue hugged the crystal ball and said seriously, "But it's okay now!"

Lu Ying watched closely as the other seaweeds were absorbed by the light ball one by one, and still felt that it was all incredible, like a dream.

"These..." He didn't know how to describe it, "Did you take them away?"

Li Jue looked at his own hands, then at the light ball, then at the remaining seaweed, and shook his head: "Zizi, you don't know."

He just thought in his heart, sister, please don’t die, sister, wake up and play with the baby.

If it were just an ordinary system, even a system that handled player affairs, it would not be able to interfere with the player's failure; the player's win or loss, life or death, was originally the most basic chain that constituted the operation of infinite space.

However, Li Jue's will is the will of infinite space. The whole world lies at his feet.

As long as the little cub's expectations are strong enough, anything he wants to change, any rules, this world that belongs to him will naturally fulfill the little master's wishes.

The color of the crystal ball gradually changed to dark blue, and the girl's body covered by seaweed was finally revealed.

She still hadn't woken up, but as Li Jue said, her life was no longer in danger.

The lucky Yuan Yingying may be the first player since the sub-world was built to escape unscathed after being poisoned by the Siren's song.

All this happened because she once protected a little kitten that was almost bullied on a ruin somewhere.

Kindness to others will one day save yourself.

Lu Ying's eyes were still a little red. He carried Yuan Yingying to the bed, covered her with a quilt, and bowed deeply to the two children who were only as tall as his legs: "Thank you."

Ling Xi helped Li Jue hold the ball of light, and Li Jue waved his hands: "Thank you too, sister! You protected me."

Lu Ying: “Ah?”

He and Yuan Yingying were partners and basically acted together. He had no recollection of where they had protected or even seen this child.

If you have ever met such an impressive kid, you will never forget him.

The little cub didn't answer, but winked at him, then took the hand of another boy next to him and smiled: "Then brother, bye!"

Lu Ying opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word to persuade him to stay.

He watched the cubs holding hands and smiling at each other, without even going through the door. The two little figures were submerged in the increasingly bright blue light of the crystal ball.

There were only him and another human being left in the room. There was no trace of the children at all, like the elves in a fairy tale who visited and left, or as if they had never been there.

*

Little Li Jue is very worried.

He turned his head back again and again, trying to see what the wings on his back looked like.

I tried several times, but my short little hands just couldn't reach it.

He tugged at Ling Xi's sleeve aggrievedly: "Itchy..."

Ling Xi looked at Zizi with amusement.

Although it has turned back into human form, just like in the previous world, it still retains cat ears and a cat tail. The pair of iconic bow tentacles behind the current small system have not disappeared.

It is certainly not a tentacle now. Both its shape and texture are more like an ornament on clothes, a big bow.

But it really grows on the back, and even when Li Jue is upset, it will flap like real wings.

If we don’t say that the little cub was transformed from a jellyfish, who would not say that it is actually a small butterfly?

The cub twisted around in discomfort, his little face almost wrinkled like a bun.

Ling Xi suggested: "Then let me tickle you?"

Li Jue nodded repeatedly and looked at him expectantly.

Ling Xi poked Li Jue's "butterfly wings" and gently scratched them with the back of her hand.

Soon, it went from closing defensively at the beginning to flapping leisurely.

"Cat's tail and cat." Ayaka said.

Li Jue was puzzled.

Ayaka smiled. "So, a cat's tail is a 'living thing' that exists independently of the cat. Your 'wings' seem to be the same."

Li Jue thought of himself in the previous world and felt a little regretful: "But, but, I can hold the tail while sleeping."

Although still a kitten, the long-haired golden tabby still shows superior genetic characteristics, with a tail as fluffy as a feather duster, which becomes more obvious after he turns into a human form.

Whenever the cub is sleepy and can't find a pillow or quilt, he sleeps hugging his tail, which is warm and soft.

"These wings will definitely be useful," Ling Xi comforted. "Look, they are very beautiful and make you even more adorable."

The easy-to-please baby accepted this advantage with satisfaction.

He lay on Ling Xi's legs, feeling very comfortable being tickled, and purring like a little animal.

The children sat on the edge of the deck, and Ling Xi's legs were even dangling in the air, swinging comfortably.

The reef and the figures on it disappeared, leaving only the moon hanging in the sky.

Although the sea has calmed down, this action is still very dangerous, but the cubs are not afraid.

They are children of the sea in this world and certainly not afraid of their mother's arms.

Li Jue lay on Ling Xi's knees, turned over his palms, and looked at his little hands in confusion.

Those were delicate, flexible, human fingers, not the tentacles of a jellyfish.

"Now, it's in human form," he said, "but I haven't seen Brother Yaoyao yet."

In order to better integrate into the sub-world and avoid being noticed by NPCs and players, the system will prioritize transforming into common species in the sub-world when entering each copy, and will not return to human form until seeing the boss.

In other words, the little jellyfish should always be little jellyfish unless the ape arrives.

Ling Xi also felt a little strange, and guessed: "Maybe His Majesty is already nearby."

Not long ago, the cubs did witness with their own eyes the silhouette of a mermaid on the rocks under the moon, but Li Jue's radar for identifying the big boss did not beep, so it was not the Siren King himself.

If I wasn't sitting on the rocks singing, would I be watching quietly from a distance?

After all, when sending employees out on field work, the boss also needs to control the quality.

The cub immediately got up and knelt beside him, its bow fluttering anxiously, its eyes wide open: "Has brother come yet?"

Ling Xi didn't want to disappoint him: "Maybe... it will be here soon."

Xiao Lijue held his face in his hands, feeling very frustrated: "I've been waiting for a long, long time."

"Juejue is great, you're such a patient kid." Ling Xi patted his head, stroking the cub's fur quite expertly. "If you've already waited a long time, it doesn't matter if you wait a little longer, right?"

"Okay..."

The little cub rubbed against Ling Xi's palm following his movements.

It really is like a clingy little animal, Ling Xi thought, even its long hair feels furry.

Although the little jellyfish feels cold and slippery when held in the arms, the human-shaped cub is still better.

Of course, no matter what the baby looks like, he likes it very much ^_^

*

Dark clouds obscured the candy-corn moon, and the sea fell into a deep, drowsy slumber.

The night was slightly chilled by the moist sea breeze, which brushed against the children's tender skin.

Li Jue hugged Ling Xi's arm and leaned in his little brother's arms, his eyelids drooping.

Strictly speaking, the cub, as a system, is no longer a human or an ordinary creature and does not feel cold.

But there is a kind of cold that the little brother feels for him.

Ling Xi took off her coat and covered him with it.

Li Jue's bow rubbed against the fabric, which was part of his perception; the cub moved sensitively.

His little fingers hooked around Ling Xi's under his coat, and he murmured tiredly like a kitten: "Sleepy..."

Ling Xi patted the back of his hand: "Then sleep for a while, I'm here."

If there is any place in this world where Li Jue can feel absolutely safe, it is with his father and Xixi.

The two people he loves the most and who love him the most.

The children huddled together and fell asleep beside the boat, which rocked gently like a cradle.

Even in sleep, the two little hands are held together.

Ayaka, who was half asleep, suddenly opened her eyes and found that a third figure had appeared on the deck, which was originally empty except for the two of them.

His first reaction was to protect Li Jue and look at the person who came vigilantly.

The little cub was awakened by his movements and rubbed his eyes: "Xixi...eh?"

He saw it too.

The man stood lightly on the wooden pole used to tie the sails at the bow - both the height and the area of ​​the pole were difficult acrobatics that no human could ever do - and looked down at them, his posture as elegant as a bird in the dark night.

However, there was no malice in that look. Even though they were far away and he couldn't see the other person's expression clearly, the sharp Xiao Li felt so confident.

The younger one felt the older one tense up, so he pinched his brother's fingers and comforted him: "Xixi, don't be afraid."

This is what Ling Xi often says to Li Jue, and today it is the latter's turn to say it.

He has wanted to protect Xixi for a long time.

Li Jue whispered to Ling Xi: "Xixi, I think I've seen it before."

The small system has an extremely keen perception of this world. If he says he is familiar with it, then he will definitely not be wrong.

Ling Xi also gradually relaxed a little, but still did not let down her guard.

The children looked at the man carefully from a distance.

The other person was wrapped in a dark cloak from head to toe, with the hood covering most of his face, looking very mysterious.

I just feel like this outfit looks familiar...

ah!

The cubs looked at each other at the same time.

It was the same when the Siren King first sneaked into the dragon world and met the children who were scooping goldfish at the market.

The little cub's expression lit up with joy, and he jumped up - it was finally here, he had guessed that there was a reason why he suddenly turned into a human form!

The boy also stood up and was about to salute when Li Jue, recognizing her, rushed over happily, "Sister Liuying!"

The name was a little different from what she had expected. Ling Xi was stunned for a moment, and then she saw the man jump off the wooden pole and land on the deck. He caught the little cub with one hand and lifted his hood with the other.

Beneath the dense disguise, she looks like a beautiful young girl.

Liuying and Feihua are the two most trusted attendants of the Sea Monster King, and they are the two who will be taken with him even when he goes to the Dragon World.

They are from the same family as him, the mermaids. Naturally, their abilities are not as good as Qian Xing's, but they are far superior to others. Otherwise, they would not be so highly valued by the monarch.

Liuying and Feihua are twin sisters, but they don't look alike and their personalities are very different.

One is gentle and the other is lively, just like the moon and the sun, always loyally accompanying the monarch.

They lost their parents at a young age and were sent to the palace to work in order to survive.

Originally, his life was destined to be on the seabed covered with seaweed, but because of his outstanding abilities and clever character, he was noticed by the king and had a completely different fate.

They are both maids and guards.

You can live in the light, but you are also the shadow behind the king.

Fireflies look slender, but they are actually extremely powerful.

She held the baby's little butt in one hand and picked him up, as if she was holding a doll instead of a child, and said with a smile: "Little Master, long time no see."

Her smile was gentle, and she seemed to be a different person from the powerful and dangerous one she had just shown.

Like everyone else in the underwater palace, the two sisters usually respect the commander as "Our King". When they accompany the Sea Monster King on incognito visits or go to other sub-worlds, in short, when they need to hide their identities, they usually call Qian Xing "Master".

Since Li Jue was included in the protection area by Qian Xing, for the Sea Monster King who has neither a spouse nor heirs, Li Jue's status is no different from that of his cub, so it is reasonable to call him "Young Master".

The cub hugged her neck and rubbed against her like a small animal to express his longing for her after not seeing her for a long time. Then he asked, "Sister Liuying, where is Sister Huahua?"

Li Jue, a little boy who was spoiled too much, learned to carry water without any instruction.

Liuying ruffled his hair: "In the palace, you will see her soon."

The child's eyes lit up: "Then, Brother Yaoyao also--"

Liuying had guessed he would ask this question and blinked: "Of course. The master has been waiting for you for a long time."

Li Jue's eyes curved into crescents: "Zizi misses his brothers and sisters too!"

"I'm the one the master sent to pick you up." Liuying brushed aside her robe and, smiling, placed something in the child's hand. "Here, this is a gift to welcome the young master to this world."

Li Jue looked down and saw that it was a small rose snail.

It has a peculiar shape, bright colors, and its rotation angle is very similar to the growth pattern of rose petals on land, hence the name.

Rose snails are one of Qian Xing’s favorite ornaments. There are many of them raised in the palace. When he goes to see them on weekdays, it is like strolling in a garden.

But the snail that Zizi is holding now is not an ordinary snail. It carries the breath of the Siren King.

It is a recognition and also a protection.

Any resident of the ocean world who recognizes this mark will immediately understand: this little cub with the rose conch is protected by the king himself.

This is also why Qian Xing himself did not come, but the small system that sensed the other party's breath completed the transformation step in advance.

When the big boss is unable to test the player in person for various reasons (including being too lazy to go out), he can send his confidants to do the job. This is one of the many free rights that the center grants to the sub-world.

"Are we going to set off now?" The child couldn't wait any longer.

However, Liuying shook her head regretfully: "No, baby, the game is not over yet."

The cub tilted his head in confusion, "Game?"

Liuying tapped his forehead and said, "The adults' game hasn't been decided yet, so please be patient and wait a little longer."