I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"Brother Quan, she just said hello to me! She looked so cute!"

"Little Fish, she just woke up."

Seeing the little girl standing there blankly as her silly younger sister rubbed and kneaded her, Ah Quan helplessly spoke up to stop Xiao Yu.

Even Ninth Master thought this child was no ordinary person and warned him to be careful, yet his own silly little sister bullied him like that. What if she gets angry and ends up no one in town buying their sea scales?

"But I feel she... Ugh, okay, okay. It's my fault, I'm sorry little sister, I'll treat you to crab congee, can you forgive me?"

Xiaoyu wanted to retort, but when she looked down, she saw the confusion in the eyes of the little girl in her arms. Being looked at by such pure eyes, Xiaohaiyan immediately felt a pang of guilt.

Yes, this little girl was found unconscious on the beach, and her family might already be... And instead of checking on her immediately after she woke up, the person who mistreats her is here...

'Confused...behavior that is incomprehensible.'

It watched as the cub released its grip, spoke to it, and offered it food. Its limited knowledge prevented it from understanding the meaning behind the cub's behavior.

However... as for food.

It looked at the food in front of it, which smelled of the sea. It was probably made by adding some meat from sea creatures and mixing it with land-based food.

"Oh, they accepted it! That's great!"

Seeing the little girl take the bowl, Xiaoyu smiled again, but immediately she reached out to protect the tiny girl with some concern, lest her slender arms fail to hold the bowl and spill the porridge, scalding her.

Two words in response

"Huh? You...you ate it all like that? Didn't you feel how hot it was?"

The girl was puzzled as she looked at the empty bowl handed to her by the little girl.

"How could this be..."

Although she let the porridge cool down for a while, only the surface became lukewarm; the porridge underneath was still very hot.

As a result, the porridge she had been slowly slurping up was gulped down in one go by the little girl in front of her, who had no expression on her face.

The other person seemed completely unconcerned, as if they had only drunk a glass of warm water.

"..."

Silently accepting the empty bowl, Xiaoyu became even more curious about the child's background.

"Hey little sister, what's your name? Where are you from? Where are your family?"

"..."

The little girl pointed to herself, then to her.

"What does it mean?"

Xiaoyu looked at A-Quan behind her, who pointed outside.

"Oh! Brother A-Quan is trying to tell me that my little sister's home is on the other side of the sea... Waaah! I was wrong, Brother A-Quan, please don't hit me!"

The rambling little fish was given a hard knock on the forehead.

"I'm asking you to take her to Ninth Master."

"Oh...but Brother Quan, you saw it too, Ninth Master's body...are we still going to disturb him today?"

"...That's true. It's getting dark, let's ask Ninth Master again tomorrow."

Ah Quan glanced at the dark night sky outside, then tapped the girl's forehead.

"Since you picked it up, your blanket belongs to her."

"Hey, I can talk to Brother A-Quan... um, I know, Brother A-Quan, stop knocking. If you keep knocking, you'll become an idiot."

"So you know you're not smart?"

Ah Quan withdrew his hand and prepared to pack his things and go to sleep.

Little Fish chuckled, turned to the little girl, and said, "Hey, little sister, why don't you sleep here tonight? Tomorrow, I'll take you to find someone who can help you, okay?"

"..."

It looked at the cub in front of it, equally confused.

It can roughly understand the meaning of the other person's words, but it cannot organize the correct words to reply.

Just like now...

Although it only understood the word "sleep" from that long string of sounds, based on experience and the surrounding environment, it roughly knew that the other party had agreed to let it roam within their territory. But knowing this was one thing, how could it respond?

Speaking... is so hard...

But if I can stay here... that's good.

This gives it ample time to adjust itself and learn their language.

"Hehehe... a big crab..."

The cub whispered in her ear, and it raised its hands and gently pulled her away.

This cub sleeps in a very awkward position, like the tentacles of a sea anemone, which can entangle its prey and kill it.

"..."

The tide is rising.

It gazed at the pitch-black outside, feeling the familiar scent of the sea breeze and the calls of its compatriots.

Will do.

It will find its lost blood relatives.

It will also... find Him.

……

"Ninth Master! Ninth Master! I've come to see you!"

Early in the morning, the lively little seagull opened its mouth and rushed to Old Liboli's house.

Old Liboli was having breakfast, a simple meal of salted fish and porridge. Though plain, it was anything but bland, and for an old sea dweller like him, it was the most comforting breakfast.

"Hey, little fish, you're so energetic this early in the morning. Sigh, I guess I'm getting old."

Upon seeing the girl, he chuckled and invited her to have dinner with him.

"No, no, Ninth Master, Ah Quan and I have already eaten."

Xiaoyu waved her hand to politely decline Lao Liboli's offer, and then pushed out the young girl behind her.

"This child... is from yesterday..."

Old Liboli saw the young girl brought by the girl, but it took him a moment to remember who she was.

"Ninth Master, this little girl has woken up, but she won't say anything no matter what we ask her. We had no choice but to come to you."

The little fish explained its purpose to Old Liboli.

"..."

Ah Quan stood outside the door, silent, but his perked ears revealed his thoughts perfectly.

"Um……"

Old Liboli swallowed the last mouthful of porridge, wiped his mouth, and then looked at the young girl with a kind smile on his face.

"Child, can you understand what I'm saying? If you can, nod."

As he spoke, Old Liboli demonstrated, opening his mouth, pointing to his own mouth, and nodding slightly.

"..."

It looked at the old beast in front of it, and after fully understanding what he was saying, it nodded in imitation of his actions.

"Sigh! She can understand what Ninth Master is saying... which means she could understand what I was saying yesterday."

Seeing the little girl's actions, Xiaoyu was first enlightened, but then scratched her head in confusion.

Why didn't she answer when asked? Was it because Brother A-Quan looked like a bad guy and scared her?

"Oh, if you can understand..."

Old Liboli then asked, "Child, what's your name?"

As if afraid that her previous action was just a coincidence, old Liboli raised his hand again, pointed to himself, and called out, "My name is Quexun."

"..."

name……

It tilted its head, and countless names flooded its mind.

But those are the names of our compatriots, not its own.

It used to have a name, but that name has lost its meaning.

However... when it chose to come here, the tribe had already given it a name with entirely new meaning.

"Word."

It produced this sound using the most standard inflamed cavity pronunciation currently achievable.

"Rock? Flame? Salt?"

In an instant, the little seagull thought of many homophones.

But neither of these feelings fits the image of a young girl.

"First words."

It called out again.

This time, it pointed to its own mouth and called out.

"Your first words... um, is it to commemorate your first time speaking? It seems your parents must love you very much."

Old Liboli, however, immediately understood the meaning behind the name the young girl uttered and guessed which character was in her name.

"But knowing only a name won't help her find her family."

Whether it was Old Liboli, Little Fish, or A-Quan, they all thought of this.