The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 1 Carp
itch.

It feels like something is scratching my face.

Doesn't this woman know that I have already tried my best and there is nothing more I can squeeze out of her.

Empty.

weak.

tired.

"..."

Ding Lin sighed in his heart.

Half asleep and half awake, he wanted to mutter to "stop making trouble", but he found that his mouth seemed to be blocked and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound.

This……

What tricks are you playing again?

Ding Lin felt a little angry and helpless, and then he became discouraged because he had no confidence.

Ugh!
After all, I am middle-aged now, and I am no longer able to do what I want. Thinking back to the past...

He opened his eyes reluctantly.

then……

A water plant came into view.

It seems to be in the water.

This water plant swayed along with the ripples in the water, gently hitting my face from time to time.

Incredible.

Ding Lin's eyes suddenly opened wide. He raised his hand to touch himself to make sure he was dreaming, but as he raised his hand, his body seemed to lose balance and he slipped forward.

hand……

Ding Lin turned his head and was horrified to see two fish fins.

The hand is gone?
It was not until then that Ding Lin realized that he could actually have such flexibility.

No fish is inflexible.

"..."

Ding Lin opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but it was indeed impossible for him to speak.

All that came out of his mouth was a long string of bubbles.

……

Ding Lin opened his eyes wide, then closed them, and suddenly opened them again.

He swayed.

Then fell.

Fall straight from the water to the bottom.

……

From one person.

What does it feel like to wake up and turn into a carp.

Ding Lin couldn't say anything.

He wanted to vent, but there were only some fish, shrimps, turtles, crabs, water plants and lotus leaves around him.

More importantly, there was no way to make any sound.

Depression is clogging my heart.

Unable to relieve.

It was ten thousand times more intense than being alone on a business trip for a month in a remote mountain area.

It's not just about being depressed.

There is still a gap.

Then, wild thoughts.

How did a person turn into a fish?

After thinking for a long time, Ding Lin still couldn't figure it out, and then at a certain moment.

He suddenly thought of death.

……

This is a small lake with a radius of about two or three miles. Half of it is covered with lotus leaves and the other half is covered with water plants. The breeze blows gently, and ripples are gently rippling on the surface of the lake.

There is a small river upstream, and when it rains heavily, fresh water will flow down.

The water quality of the small lake is still clear.

At the bottom of the water, under a rotten lotus leaf.

The fiery red carp lay quietly.

Belly turned up.

On the fine white sand, the palm-sized body lay motionless.

Not far away, a crab slowly moved over with its eight legs horizontally. When it saw the carp, it was stunned. In its limited knowledge, shouldn’t dead fish float on the water?

A pair of crab claws stretched out.

"Crack!"

The sound of fish scales breaking was heard.

The carp's body suddenly trembled violently.

The crab was startled, and it spread its eight legs out and ran away without a trace.

A little while.

The carp slowly turned over, with two scales broken on its belly, the injury was very minor. It slowly swung its tail, pushed aside the white sand, and swallowed a mouthful of black mud.

It tastes bitter, but vivid.

Ding Lin still wants to die.

But I dare not die.

……

How a fish's life should be spent.

When hungry, they eat some water plants and mud. Most of the time, they just wander around in the water out of boredom.

A new lotus flower bloomed in the east of the lake, an old lotus pod grew old, and a new bud sprouted in the west of the lake.

Sometimes, I float my head to bask in the sun.

Sometimes, when I look at the moon, I feel homesick.

Day by day.

The days pass slowly.

Just like empty-nesters.

Ding Lin suddenly thought of his grandfather in his hometown. Ever since his grandmother passed away, he has been like this, walking from one end of the village to the other every day, hunched over, with his hands behind his back and swaying slowly.

In the morning, I weed in the fields and in the evening, I pick garlic in the fields.

I remember one time I decided to go back on impulse. It was summer then. My grandfather was lying in a rocking chair, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

This scene overlapped with his imagined ideal life in his later years.

He actually envied his grandfather a little.

Thinking about it now, what impressed me most was the landline telephone within reach of my grandfather’s left hand.

A person.

Waiting in boredom, lonely in waiting...

Now, he finally felt this kind of loneliness.

There are some differences, to some extent.

At least grandpa's waiting will be responded to.

At least……

At least, there will be a phone call during the holidays.

And he.

But never get a response.

Eliminate the wait.

Only loneliness remains.

a fish.

A fish alone...

I am getting moldy in this loneliness and becoming lazy.

slow.

at last……

Wooden.

……

At first, Ding Lin would keep track of the days and count them, but gradually he stopped counting.

Being lazy will only make you lazier.

past...

It should be about a year.

The lake froze over once.

The lotus leaves and lotus flowers withered once, but now new branches have sprouted.

Only the water plants at the bottom of the lake remained unchanged.

The days passed slowly, just like the lake water, ordinary and tasteless. Fortunately, although there are big fish in this small lake, there are no carnivorous species.

It's still relatively safe.

The weather is getting hotter day by day.

Summer should be here soon.

Or, it’s already summer.

Ding Lin hid under a lotus leaf and looked up.

The scorching sun was like a fire, and even though it was blocked by lotus leaves, it still shined tirelessly, allowing the sunlight to penetrate through the layers of obstacles and reach the bottom of the lake.

Ok.

It is indeed brighter.

"..."

A small shrimp jumped over backwards.

Ding Lin immediately shifted his attention. His fish eyes widened and stared intently. At a certain moment, he suddenly swung his tail and rushed over, causing a vortex of water that rolled up a little bit of lake sand, accompanied by a small piece of extremely fine bubbles.

For a moment, there was some chaos.

When Ding Lin swam out of the bubble, there was a shrimp in his mouth. His gills trembled and he swallowed the living creature with quite skillful movements.

是 的
Ding Lin learned how to hunt, and after gradually adapting to his new body, he finally no longer had to eat only lake mud and water plants every day and could change his taste.

A shrimp went into the stomach.

Somewhat satisfying.

Ding Lin spit out a string of bubbles, and the small vortex he had just rolled up returned to calm. The lotus stem was straight, and the lake sand was fine and white. So, he swam back slowly, wagging his tail, and lay down under the lotus leaf, ready to continue staring at the sun.

The sun is gone.

In the time it takes to eat a shrimp, the sun disappears.

A dark cloud came over.

June’s sky, a child’s face.

Let’s just say it’s June.

The breeze suddenly stopped.

The clouds in the sky were gathering together at a speed visible to the naked eye without any wind. The clouds became thicker and darker in color, and then they drooped down, becoming thicker and darker.

The color of the lake bottom also darkened.

Heaven has changed.

(End of this chapter)