Two or Three Events in the Last Days 034
Chapter 34: Giant Monster Fish
The next morning, when Jing Lin opened the small back gate, he saw the entire courtyard covered in chicken poop, and his face immediately turned green.
He had forgotten that if chickens were allowed to wander around freely, they would relieve themselves wherever they happened to be. He had raised Duckie for so long and had never once found Duckie’s droppings in any corner of the house. Although he did not know how it handled its own bodily needs, it had saved him a lot of trouble. He had thought that some of the chicks had become smarter and were not much different from Duckie, but he had not expected that they had only become a little smarter. Their old habits were still exactly the same.
Jing Lin took a shovel, scooped out some plant ash, and cleaned up the droppings. He also cleaned the chickens in the storage room and poured everything into the manure pit to compost into fertilizer.
Seeing that the chicks were fine, Jing Lin quickly caught them and locked them inside the storage room.
After breakfast, Jing Lin carried a bag of bokchoy and took Le Le to Zhao Zhiwen’s house. They needed to weed the fields that day, so lunch and dinner would be settled at Zhao Zhiwen’s house.
The weather was very cool that day. There was no sun, and a light breeze was blowing. The exposed arms even felt chilly. Most people in the village were used to getting up early, and when Jing Lin and the others went out, there were already many people heading out to work.
Because it was a rice field, everyone wore water boots and went down into the fields.
At this time, the rice ears had basically all grown out. Seeing that the rice was growing well and had not changed much compared to previous years, the villagers were all in a good mood. Life was harder than before, but as long as there was still food to harvest, it was the greatest guarantee for survival.
The three of them had not been pulling weeds for long when they saw Ma Chunzhen running over. From several fields away, he shouted at Zhao Chenghuai, “Uncle Chenghuai, hurry and take a look at your lotus pond! It’s all withered!”
Previously, Jing Lin and the others had told Ma Renshan about the black lotus flowers, but because they had been busy these past few days, they had not had time to check. They had thought they would go after clearing the weeds in the fields, since it would not make much difference. But what did Ma Chunzhen mean by this? It was all withered?
Seeing Zhao Chenghuai and the other two hurriedly heading toward the lotus pond, many people who had been working in the fields followed them.
From a distance, the lotus pond that should have been a stretch of green had completely turned into withered yellow. The lotus leaves that had lost their moisture were dried up and stood crookedly on the surface of the water. Even many edible lotus pods had become shriveled. Moreover, the water itself was strange, dark, practically pitch-black.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The lotus flower closest to the shore was especially eye-catching among the withered yellow plants. The entire flower had already turned black, and the black color was spreading toward the stem.
While looking at that lotus flower with surprise, the villagers also felt pity. In previous years, the lotus roots from Zhao Chenghuai’s family’s pond had made up a large portion of their winter income. Many villagers had been very envious. But now, watching all the lotus roots in this pond disappear like this, not only Zhao Chenghuai but even the villagers themselves felt heartache. They all spoke up to comfort Zhao Chenghuai.
Zhao Chenghuai looked solemn, though he was actually managing reasonably well. Ever since Jing Lin and the others had told him that the black lotus would cause the fish and shrimp to die and the lotus leaves to wither, he had already prepared himself mentally. Zhao Zhiwen had also privately comforted him all along. He had only been holding onto a bit of hope before, so now that hope was gone, and the worst outcome had appeared, there was not much sadness left.
While everyone was gathered around discussing the lotus pond, a sudden loud splashing sound came from the water. Before anyone could react, a huge black wall of water suddenly rose from the pond and slammed toward them.
Amid the continuous screams, the people standing there were all pushed far away by that black wall. Many people were thrown into the air and fell down, and quite a few fell directly into the three-meter-deep ditch behind them.
Zhao Chenghuai and Zhao Zhiwen both fell in. Fortunately, there was water inside, and it was not deep, reducing the impact. Other than being knocked a little dizzy and getting several scratches from the grass, the two of them were not seriously hurt.
Jing Lin, whose whole body had been soaked, grabbed the unusually thick weeds when he fell, so he remained hanging at the top instead of falling down. There were several villagers beside him who were in the same situation.
After the brief panic, the people below jumped around trying to climb up, wiping water from their faces while asking the people above what had just happened.
No one answered them. Jing Lin and the others hanging beside him almost wished they were down in the ditch like the others, but at that moment, they did not dare move at all.
In the lotus pond opposite them, a completely black monster was floating on the surface, revealing half of its body, more than half a meter tall, and staring at them. Something like swords growing from its back still glistened with water, and its two large black eyes showed no emotion.
“M-monster!”
It turned out that the blackness of the water they had seen earlier was not because the water itself had changed color. It was because the monster was underneath the water. Terrified, one person let out a panicked scream, released their grip, and fell backward—fainting from sheer fright. They tumbled into the ditch and had to be hauled out by the others; otherwise, they would have drowned.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
When that person shouted, the monster opened its mouth, and a stream of water arrows shot toward Jing Lin and the others. Jing Lin quickly released his grip and pulled the two people beside him who had been frozen in fear. They leaned backward and fell, one pulling another. The three of them tumbled down in a chain, successfully dodging the water jet. Before falling, Jing Lin still saw that the monster had two very long whiskers beside its mouth.
After hearing there was a monster above, everyone who had fallen into the ditch helped each other up and climbed out from the other side. Among those who had seen the monster at close range, only Jing Lin could still walk on his own. The others’ bodies had gone weak, and they temporarily could not move. Even when people dragged them along and weeds brushed across their faces, they did not care. Leaving that place was all that mattered.
Only after they had moved far away did everyone dare to stop and catch their breath.
“What exactly did you see?” Gao Changhui asked. His family’s field was next to Zhao Zhiwen’s. After hearing Ma Chunzhen’s shout, his family had also followed over to take a look. When they were pushed away, they only saw a black blur before falling into the ditch.
The person who had fainted from fright had already been revived by pressing his philtrum. His body was still weak. “I don’t know. Its whole body was black. There was a row of things on its back, like spikes.”
“When it sprayed water, I saw the teeth inside its mouth. My god, they were packed tightly together. If it bit someone, it would definitely split them in half.”
Among the people who had been there, Jing Lin had been the calmest, so he had seen the clearest. “It had two long whiskers beside its mouth. It lived in the water. Although it was very large, it should be a mutated mullet.”
“How could there be mullet in my lotus pond?” Zhao Zhiwen said. His family’s fish pond did have some, but in the lotus pond there had only been small fish and shrimp.
“Maybe it escaped from the fish pond above when the water was being drained.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen something so terrifying. The ant from before was nothing compared to this.” Big Mouth Zhang said.
“What did it use to push us?”
“Probably its tail fin.” Jing Lin said.
“But fortunately, it was in the water. It did not chase after us. It looks like it cannot leave the water. If that is really the case, then it is still okay.” Ma Chunzhen gave his guess.
“It seems the water it sprayed was only meant to drive us away.” Someone said.
Someone else asked what they should do.
“That monster is so vicious. We were thrown away before we even got close. Unless we use artillery shells, there is probably no way to kill it.”
However, in Huaguo, where weapons were strictly controlled, artillery shells and things like that were impossible. In the end, everyone discussed it again and again but felt that there was no good solution.
Finally, Ma Renshan said, “Since that is the case, everyone should stay away from the lotus pond in the future.”
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Everyone hurriedly agreed. If it had not been for wanting to see what was happening, nobody would have come to the lotus pond today. The pond was some distance away from the village fields, and aside from Zhao Zhiwen’s family, few people usually came this way.
Afterward, when everyone returned to the fields to continue weeding, they were somewhat distracted. After all, a huge monster had appeared in the village’s lotus pond, and nobody felt safe. Some people even blamed Zhao Chenghuai’s family for no reason, saying that they should not have built a lotus pond and planted lotus roots. Of course, they did not dare say this to their faces and only muttered about it privately with their own families.
After hearing the news, the Yan family also came over to ask what happened. Their fields had not yet been restored, and they only had a small patch in front of their house, so while the villagers were busy, their family had been quite idle. Before coming out, Yan Fei and Yan Lu had been teaching their parents fighting techniques one-on-one at home.
Thanks to Croakie, which Zhao Zhiwen had sent over the previous day, although Yan Fei’s family had gone to bed slightly late the previous night, they had not been bitten by mosquitoes again. Combined with the cool weather, the whole family had rarely slept in. Everyone’s spirits were excellent that day.
Yan Fei stood on the shore and looked at Jing Lin standing in the field, his head covered in sweat. Seeing him raise his hand to wipe his sweat from time to time, Yan Fei suddenly felt a little heartache. He went home, changed into a pair of water boots, and silently entered the field to help.
Yan Fei had not known that Jing Lin and the others were going down to the fields to work that day. Otherwise, he would have gotten up early to help. Not to mention that he wanted to become family with Jing Lin in the future, even just because Jing Lin had arranged an array for his family, and Zhao Zhiwen had sent Croakie over, he should have come to help. But nobody had told him, and he felt a little upset.
When Yan Ruifeng saw this, he slapped his head as he remembered. He hurried back, changed into water boots, and came over to help as well.
Even when Zhao Chenghuai repeatedly told Yan Fei to come out of the field, Yan Fei did not respond. Zhou Feifei, who was standing on the shore, smiled and said, “Just let him work along. He can get familiar with it. When he has to work at home in the future, he’ll already be experienced.”
Zhao Chenghuai had actually been worried that Zhou Feifei would be unhappy. After all, her family lived in the city and was wealthy. They probably had never done this kind of dirty and tiring work before. He had also heard Zhou Yu mention the matter between his son and Yan Lu, and he was hoping the two families could become in-laws. Seeing that Zhou Feifei did not show any displeasure, Zhao Chenghuai finally relaxed. So when Yan Ruifeng arrived, he no longer refused his help.
Yan Ruifeng smiled and said to Zhao Chenghuai, “Our family is beginners when it comes to farming. If there is anything we do not understand in the future, we will have to ask you for advice. I have always been thick-skinned. If you need our help with anything in the future, you must let us help.”
Zhao Chenghuai naturally agreed immediately. For a moment, he put aside the bad mood caused by the huge monster in the water and chatted with Yan Ruifeng while pulling weeds.
Yan Fei had stayed not far from Jing Lin since entering the field. Yan Fei was actually not a person who talked much, but when he was with Jing Lin, he usually took the initiative to find topics to chat about, so in Jing Lin’s eyes, Yan Fei was not a quiet person. This time, Yan Fei had been working beside him for a while without saying a word, and Jing Lin felt that something was wrong. After throwing the weeds in his hand onto the shore, he asked Yan Fei, “Why do I feel like you’re unhappy today?”
Yan Fei looked up at him but did not speak.
He really was unhappy… Jing Lin thought. Then he understood and asked, “Are you angry with me? Why?”
Yan Fei said, “I thought that when you told my family about your ability to draw talismans and set up arrays, it meant you considered us your own people. But today I realized that to you, I am still an outsider.”
Jing Lin suddenly did not know how to answer. His own thoughts were actually quite contradictory. On one hand, he strangely trusted the Yan family’s character. On the other hand, he subconsciously kept his distance from them. They seemed to be becoming more and more familiar, but in reality, there was still a sense of separation.
Seeing that Jing Lin had nothing to say, Yan Fei twisted the weeds in his hand into a ball and threw them away. Then he looked at Jing Lin and said, “I hope the few of us can become really good friends. No matter what happens at home, you and Zhiwen can always come find me for help. Don’t only treat me as an ordinary acquaintance, okay?”
Yan Fei’s attitude was too sincere. Jing Lin felt that even hesitating slightly would be disrespectful to his sincerity, so he nodded blankly. “Of course.”
Then Yan Fei smiled, reached out, and touched Jing Lin’s fair and clean face. When Jing Lin widened his eyes in surprise, Yan Fei smiled and showed him the mud on his palm. “You accidentally got some on your face.”
“Oh, thank you.” Jing Lin thanked him. He truly thought there was mud on his face, so reflexively he raised his arm and wiped his face twice.
“There’s no more left.” Yan Fei said.
So the two continued pulling weeds. Jing Lin remained quiet, and Yan Fei did not say anything else either. However, he was already humming a song happily in his heart.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Two of two for the week.
Pinned note: Chapters 38-47 (except 45) are almost 3times in length, I’ll probably split them into two parts.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
Proofreader: Yume
Avid BL reader, editor, and translator with 1 story completed (CLWP) and 1 story in progress (TELD). Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
