Chapter 35 “Little Fish Orphanage”

Chapter 35 "Little Fish's Orphanage"

The atmosphere on both sides seemed rather tense.

But Little Fish, who had caused all this, didn't care. She had woken up in the middle of her sleep, and now both her little hands were wrapped up like chubby white pig trotters. Since she couldn't fall back asleep in her room, she simply accepted the children's timid invitations and continued to play their games.

It was at this moment that the children—especially Tongtong—were shocked to realize that when Little Fish had exposed Tongtong earlier, the "luck" she mentioned was actually real luck!

"Bai Ye, are you sure you didn't secretly cheat?" a child asked, incredulous, staring at the small wooden stick Little Fish had drawn that perfectly matched Bai Ye's description, his eyes full of suspicion that Bai Ye had rigged the game.

Bai Ye: "...I really didn't!"

The perennial gloom on the child's face couldn't hold up either. As the game host, he looked at Little Fish with an expression that had shifted from shock to numbness.

When Little Fish first came to play this game, Bai Ye had considered secretly fiddling with the odds for her, just like he had done for Cheng Jingjia. But before he could even act, he saw Little Fish pick the correct stick!

If the first stick had been a fluke, then the second, the third... and now the fifth, Bai Ye couldn't help but wildly wonder whether Little Fish could see through his palm to the sticks inside.

Nearby, Tongtong watched all this with a pale face, finally realizing why she had been so easily seen through by Little Fish and had angered her earlier. If she hadn't deliberately swapped the glass beads, Little Fish would have accurately pulled out the right one the very first time she reached into the black box.

There would never have been the terrible first and second attempts.

Once again, she understood just how wrong she had been.

Under her anxious gaze, Little Fish accurately drew another stick exactly as Bai Ye had described.

After returning the stick to a slightly dazed Bai Ye, Little Fish tilted her head and looked at the other children gathered around her.

"Are there any more fun games?" the little girl asked, her face no longer cold as before, now reverting to her usual innocent, harmless look.

But neither people nor ghosts dared to underestimate her any longer.

So the children who thought their own games weren't fun obediently shook their heads and stepped back.

Those who remained were Xiaoyin and Song Pingan.

Xiaoyin voluntarily stepped back and gestured to Little Fish: "Big Sister, play his game first."

Xiaoyin knew what Song Pingan's game was.

But she didn't break the game rules by revealing it to Little Fish, also because she was sure that Little Fish would pass it smoothly.

Little Fish then looked at the somewhat nervous Song Pingan.

Still shy, Song Pingan spoke quietly under everyone's watchful eyes: "Little Fish, my game is monster jigsaw puzzle. You have to piece together the broken little monsters. They're all good little monsters, they won't hurt you. As long as you can put together half a monster's body, you win. If you can't finish it, that's... that's okay. I'll still give you a red flower sticker!"

Zhao Yu, who had just failed and barely escaped with her life, couldn't help but clench her fists in resentment when she heard this.

These damned evil ghosts! Every single one of them bullied the weak and feared the strong, their double standards were so blatant!

"Alright~"

Little Fish cocked her head, and as a dense black mist appeared before Song Pingan, she stepped forward willingly.

Just like when she had sat at the long table and made a wish over the birthday cake, Little Fish closed her eyes and then opened them, and it was as if she had stepped into another world.

A world full of Song Pingans.

Trash cans everywhere, withered trees and weeds growing everywhere, dark alleys and low walls, and a black cat that flashed past the alley entrance.

All of them bore Song Pingan's features.

Not just faces—some had Song Pingan's hands, some had his eyes, as if a complete Song Pingan had been split into countless fragments and scattered onto different creatures and objects.

Some of them ran and moved about, while others sat quietly, staring at Little Fish.

It was an extremely eerie world. When Zhao Yu had entered earlier, she had been so startled by the sight of "Song Pingans" everywhere that her heart went haywire. Later, when she touched a soft lump that looked like a dead rat, she screamed in panic and smashed it at a monkey covered with Song Pingan's mouths, which then triggered a frenzied attack from all the Song Pingans in this world.

After she got out, Zhao Yu's mental state became unstable. That was why, when she saw Little Fish surrounded by little ghosts like the moon surrounded by stars, she became so emotional, and she could no longer hide the dark, despicable thoughts buried deep within her.

She had lost the ability to remain rational.

Little Fish didn't know who had been in this small world before. She looked down at the withered grass at her feet, each blade seemingly bearing a miniature Song Pingan. They stared straight at Little Fish, and when they noticed her looking back, they all eagerly crept toward her.

Little Fish crouched down. Already small, she was quickly swallowed by the clump of rapidly swelling weeds.

"Which piece of the puzzle are you?" she asked, using her bandaged hand like a pig trotter to gently poke the elongated leaf that stretched before her, addressing the stretched, deformed Song Pingan on it.

Song Pingan couldn't answer.

Little Fish wasn't surprised. Just like she had comforted the children outside, she gently stroked the leaf through the cloth bandages, then stood up and looked out at the countless Song Pingans.

Behind her, in the dark alley, the black cat with Song Pingan's face appeared silently, gazing at Little Fish's small back from the shadows, its jade-green eyes reflecting a dangerous, uncanny hellscape.

A scene completely different from what Little Fish's eyes saw.

Little Fish had already walked out of this alley that had materialized out of nowhere.

Before her was a denser world belonging to Song Pingan.

She looked up slightly, watching the twisted, elongated figures in the darkness, then tore off the bandages from her hands, reached out, and grabbed one of them.

The person she caught did not have Song Pingan's face—he was the one who looked least like Song Pingan in this world.

"Hello~" she politely began. "Excuse me, do you know Song Pingan?"

Perhaps triggered by the name "Song Pingan," this person, who had been walking like a wandering spirit, suddenly looked down at Little Fish. His bloodshot eyes were crimson, and he opened his mouth to roar at her in fury.

Unfortunately, Little Fish couldn't understand his anger or his roar.

"Sorry for bothering your walk." Little Fish shook her head, disappointed, and let him go.

Once released, the person continued to wander slowly along the street like a soulless spirit, his twisted body moving forward.

Also wandering the streets were monkeys, rats, birds, fish, dogs...

It was like a bizarre and eerie animal world.

But Song Pingan called them: monster fragments.

Little Fish wasn't in a hurry to complete the game. Instead, she sat down by the roadside, holding the blood-stained cloth strips in her hand, resting her chin on her palm, and quietly watched every "Song Pingan" that passed before her.

"Meow~"

A black cat emerged from the end of the dark alley, swishing its long tail as it stopped beside Little Fish. Its tail curled into a perfect question mark, gently resting on Little Fish's warm wrist.

"Kitty?" Little Fish grasped the tail tip it had offered her.

The black cat finally turned its face, revealing a face that was part human, part cat—clearly Song Pingan's face, but on a cat's body. It was truly bizarre and terrifying.

Xiao Yu, however, reached out and, just as she had with the weeds earlier, petted the black cat's head and ear tips. She leaned a little to the side and asked softly, "Cat, where is your own face? Did a bad guy steal it?"

Perhaps not expecting this question, the black cat's tail tip, which had been resting on Xiao Yu's other wrist, went stiff, and the expression on Song Pingan's face turned dazed.

Xiao Yu squeezed its thin, cool ear tips, finally stood up, and let the black cat follow her.

"I'll take you to find your face," she said seriously.

The black cat didn't understand why she said that—maybe it understood, maybe it didn't—but after hesitating on the spot for a moment, watching Xiao Yu about to blend into the wandering crowd on the street, it still padded gracefully after her.

Next, Xiao Yu diligently grabbed every deformed creature she saw, then tilted her head or furrowed her brows, trying to figure out what they were.

One, two... thirty-seven...

"Found it!" Xiao Yu suddenly exclaimed.

She quickly reached out and swiftly grabbed a "mouse-Song Pingan" that was trying to slip past her feet.

"Cat, eat it." Xiao Yu grabbed the squeaking mouse's long tail and offered it to the black cat's mouth.

Black cat: "..."

Mouse: "..."

Time in this space seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

All the "Song Pingans" on the whole street turned their heads at once to stare at the tiny Xiao Yu.

"Cat, eat." Xiao Yu pushed the mouse closer to the stunned black cat's mouth, her soft, sweet voice unintentionally carrying a firm, undeniable authority.

The black cat took a small step back, as if wanting to flee.

But just as she had grabbed the mouse's tail, Xiao Yu also grabbed the scruff of its soft, thin neck, easily pinning it in place.

"Cat, you're not listening."

Xiao Yu said softly, then lowered her eyes and pressed the mouse firmly to its mouth, distressed. "I don't like disobedient cats. I'll feed you instead. Once you eat it, you'll be able to find your own face."

As her words fell, the mouse had already stopped struggling.

It was dead.

Xiao Yu watched quietly as Song Pingan's face on the black cat showed a pained expression.

Song Pingan had said that the little monsters here were all good little monsters, not to hurt them, or the fragments would disappear.

But how could a fragment eaten by Song Pingan himself be considered disappearing?

It was just being pieced back together.

Xiao Yu contentedly let go of the black cat, then rubbed its sleek, shiny black fur, soothing it with a soft voice: "Good cat. Let's keep looking for your face."

As she touched it, the black cat's fur bristled all over, its tail shot straight up, its ears flattened into airplane ears, and it kept making threatening, warning growls from its throat.

But Xiao Yu was completely oblivious to its resistance and terror.

She wasn't afraid it would run away. This world was only so big—a small alley, a long street, the creatures wandering around, the inconspicuous weeds and withered trees by the roadside, the scraps of skin and flesh scattered everywhere underfoot...

"Cat, eat this." Xiao Yu grabbed another rabbit with blood-red eyes, pressed its bloodstained fur to the ground, pulled her hands away, and squatted quietly nearby, watching the cat eat.

Like the most devoted and responsible little cat owner.

"Author's Note"

Starting today, I'll try to update more each day because I really love this little one's setting. I don't want to stop updating or rush to finish the story. So I'll likely spend more time every day writing her story as soon and as well as I can. Don't worry, my dear readers—I won't abandon this story.

There will be another update tonight [cat paw]. Love you all!