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

"Hey, little Yan, do you still remember your last name?"

"..."

It looked at the cub with confusion.

Did it mispronounce something? Or is this name simply not fitting for this land? And why did the young animal change another word?

"...It seems he doesn't remember."

The little girl didn't respond, so Xiaoyu assumed that the other girl hadn't remembered her surname, or that her parents had already...

In that case, the child would be too pitiful.

"Little Yan, do you still remember what you and your family came out to do?"

"..."

With family?

Its thoughts flashed by, and it immediately replied:

"Searching for...blood relatives."

"You're here to find your relatives."

Old Liberi stroked his beard, and just as he was about to continue asking questions, the young girl raised her hand and pointed westward.

"My blood relatives... are there."

"The west……"

Return to the three

"It's all thanks to Brother A-Quan. Little Sister Yan, we can eat big scales today. They'll smell delicious when they're grilled."

Holding her young daughter, the girl finally spotted Ah Quan among the fishermen, her face beaming with smiles.

"Brother Quan! Over here!"

She waved her little arms and called out loudly for the returning boy.

"Didn't I tell you to wait at home?"

Wearing a straw raincoat and hat, Ah Quan came to them carrying a heavy basket of sea fish. Although he scolded them, most of the weariness in his eyes had disappeared.

"Hey, I'm just worried about Brother A-Quan."

The little fish ran behind him and took the basket for him.

"Be careful, this time he's much calmer."

Ah Quan half-supported the basket on his back to prevent the small fish from spilling the sea scales inside.

"Wow! So many sea scales! This harvest must be huge, Brother Quan."

The girl lifted the lid and happily celebrated as she looked inside at the sea scales piled high with them.

"really."

"For some reason, there are so many scales, shrimps, crabs, and shellfish in this sea that we can't catch them all. If Uncle Wang and his crew hadn't been unable to carry them, we wouldn't have come back. But even now, the scales we've caught are enough to make us a lot of money. We won't be going out to sea again for a while."

Ah Quan's words were filled with joy and satisfaction.

"Alright, let's go back first. We can have fresh fish scale soup for dinner... um, and we can also grill a few sea scales."

"Let me help you carry it, Brother A-Quan. Little Sister Yan, let's go home."

"..."

It followed silently behind them, listening to their joyful conversation and quietly learning their emotions.

Preliminary experiments have yielded definitive conclusions: when material conditions are met, an individual's emotions will undergo positive changes.

Subsequent conclusions suggest that after a long separation, individuals who are close to each other will experience strong emotional fluctuations, and their bodies will naturally secrete some beneficial hormones...

"Little Yan, it's time to eat."

The little fish woke the dazed girl and handed her a roasted sea bream that was fragrant and dripping with oil.

"..."

"How about it? My cooking skills are pretty good, right?"

Seeing the little girl enjoying her food, Xiaoyu proudly puffed out her chest.

This is a fish-grilling technique she learned from a book she bought in the city, and she always manages to make Ah Quan eat until he's stuffed.

"The little fish is delicious."

It swallowed its food and praised her in its still-developing language.

"Hehehe, eat more if it's delicious."

Having received the praise she desired, Xiaoyu affectionately ruffled the little girl's hair and then served her a bowl of fresh fish soup.

After a full meal, Ah Quan, who had been working hard for a long time, went to sleep.

As Xiaoyu finished cleaning up the dishes and was about to rest, she noticed a young girl sitting on the doorstep, looking outside.

Filled with curiosity, she sat down next to her.

"Little Yan, what are you looking at?"

The little fish looked in the direction the young girl was looking. Under the light of the two moons, she could vaguely see the sea in the distance.

"Family."

It hugged its legs, rested its head on its knees, and stared intently at the waves on the sea with its red coral-like eyes.

"You're homesick."

The little fish paused for a moment, then smiled and gently ruffled the little girl's long, white hair, as white as the moon.

After all, she's just a child. It's normal for her to miss her hometown and family when she's alone in this unfamiliar place.

Moreover... they've been dragging this out for a while now, and haven't had a chance to take her into the city yet.

"By the way, Little Yan. This voyage was a great success."

"Let's hitch a ride to the city in a couple of days after Brother A-Quan has recovered. There are many powerful people in the city, and we might even run into the Venerable Ones. They are all good people and will definitely help Little Yan find her family."

The little fish comforted her with a bright vision for the future.

"Um……"

It's not in a hurry.

It even felt that the longer it lasted, the more advantageous it would be.

If one day it can prove that it is the same as ordinary land animals, then... both its blood relatives and He would be more willing to communicate with them in that form.

"Well... let's go back to sleep later. It's windy at night, and it'll be very uncomfortable if we catch a cold."

Xiaoyu straightened the slightly oversized robe for her and gently gave her some instructions.

"Okay, I'll go to sleep."

It responds, it anticipates.

Perhaps, tomorrow's sun will still be as warm as ever.

……

"Dog Brother, Dog Brother! Little Fish! Little Fish!"

It was woken up early in the morning by the snoring coming from outside.

"Sorry, little Yan, for waking you up so early."

It looked at the cub, whose mood seemed very low.

Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying not long ago.

"Little fish?"

It asked in confusion.

"Grandpa Jiu is gone. Just last night."

The little fish tried hard to laugh, but the tears in her eyes just wouldn't stop.

"It's a bumper harvest, everyone's celebrating happily...why..."

"Ninth Grandfather..."

It remembers this person.

It was that very old beast.

Is he already dead?

He should die too...

"Little fish..."

It raised its hand and, like Ah Quan, wiped the tears from her face.

"I'm fine...I'm fine..."

Little Fish looked at her, raised her arm, and vigorously wiped her face.

"Let's go, little Yan."

"Little fish?"

Looking at the puzzled little girl, Xiaoyu sniffed and pinched that soft little face.

"Grandpa Jiu has passed away, and everyone will go to see him off. We can't be left behind... Although, there's nothing between you and Xiaoyan... Hmm, let's go."

The little fish took her hand and led her towards the sea.

"Little fish, so many people,"

When the two arrived at the beach, a large crowd had already gathered. They were all villagers from the small fishing village, there to bid farewell to old Liboli.

"Looks like we're not late... Let's go see Grandpa Jiu too."