"We used to know what you said." She continued, "Now there are fewer. There are few people who can speak, and there are few words that can be said. It is very - limited."
She finally found a word and looked a little happy.
In this way, she kept gesticulating, and Bai Ya got used to it and no longer felt tired. The sharks seem to have unique perceptions that are different from humans, and can detect signs of life that are independent of heartbeat and breathing. Even though he was almost drowned at that time, the mermaid girl discovered the vitality still surging in his body.
She had the heart to save people, so she tried to drag this stiff but still alive body here. She understood that this space had air but no sea water, and humans could live here. However, Bai Ya had been soaking in the water for a long time and choked on a lot of sea water. Just bringing him here was not enough. In order for this man to survive, she helped him drain the water from his lungs.
"Stop." Bai Ya struggled to understand her words and suddenly interrupted, "With your thin arms and legs, you still know how to push the water out of a person's lungs?"
The shark turned his head and looked at him.
"I don't quite understand your... structure, structure. But just suck the water out and spit it out."
"ah?"
She said it lightly. Bai Ya is not young and has been traveling in the world for many years. Of course, he knows that there is no need to be rigid about some details. But at first glance, these ordinary words were still out of line, and they just lingered around, making him feel uncomfortable and not knowing where to start.
How on earth is this done? If too much water enters, how much effort will it take?
Bai Ya's eyelids twitched, and he kept a calm face, trying to think carefully about the matter. It seems quite reasonable to say that the shark helped him drain the accumulated water through the nasal cavity. Inhaling the water in the lungs through the nose, and then sucking it out through the nose, it can be regarded as... It can also be regarded as a natural cycle, in line with the laws of nature, but no matter how he thinks about it, he always feels it is very strange. If the shark controls water through his mouth... The human mouth is connected to not only the lungs, but also the esophagus and gastrointestinal tract, right? If I were to suck something out of my mouth, would it suck out the contents of my stomach as well? Although I must have drank a lot of water in the sea, the water accumulated in the stomach and lungs is the same reason... But this girl is not so energetic, right?
His mind was in knots and he couldn't figure it out, and the shark stopped talking. She continued to swim leisurely on top of him, leaving Bai Ya to think about it, but he felt a splitting headache. This thought was really beyond the scope of his usual thinking. He didn't know how to think about it or what result to come up with. Is there any way to do this? Children of the rivers and lakes should not stick to trivial matters. The discharged water has no idea where it went. Don’t ask where it came from, and let it dissipate in the sea.
Bai Ya persuaded himself with difficulty. He dropped the question, determined not to ask again. The girl didn't seem to notice anything strange. At most, the man's frown made her a little confused. Bai Ya breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed his back, and thought of another more important question.
——Where did my knife go? Also, the sword inlaid with amber.
It seems inappropriate to open your mouth and ask for something from your savior. He thought for a while and awkwardly started the conversation with pleasantries:
"I'm grateful for the life-saving grace. I haven't asked... the girl's name yet?"
He felt that if it was Qi Huan, he would definitely do something like this. It shouldn't make any difference to ask.
"I have a name." After hearing this, the shark came closer and talked to him through a thin layer of water. "My name... I don't know how you say it. Maybe it doesn't have these words."
"Tell me and have a listen. If you can find a homophonic pronunciation, it's also a good name."
The girl nodded. Her lips parted slightly, and then a series of strange sounds came out of them. This was beyond Bai Ya's expectation, and he couldn't recognize it at all. Maybe because she speaks human language so well, the contrast between the two is too obvious. Until she finished speaking, Bai Ya was still stunned for a while, not understanding what he heard.
"...How about you say it again?"
She didn't take it seriously and repeated the strange sounding method. This time, Bai Ya listened carefully. The shark's words were mellow and had some strange vibrations, like beads with rough surfaces rolling down his throat. Her name seemed to have more than four syllables, but when he tried to imitate the sounds, as soon as he uttered the first syllable, his tongue caught his teeth, and his lips fought so hard that he almost bit himself.
Forget it, I can’t force myself to come.
However, it is indeed necessary to find a title. Bai Ya raised his head and looked at the little girl, and an idea came to him.
"How... how old are you this year?"
The shark flicked its tail and stared down at him:
"You humans, are you asking a girl's age directly like this?"
Bai Ya choked. He knew that it was not polite to ask a human woman her age, so why was it the same thing among the sharks? In this regard, all ethnic groups and all walks of life are surprisingly unified.
"I don't mean anything else. I just...just asked."
"It's a joke." He was still searching for words, and the shark laughed, "Sisters care more about age. It doesn't matter to me, this year is my 213th birthday."
"?" love network
How many?
"I've heard that people on land without tails don't live very long." The girl looked at his reaction curiously, "But two hundred... actually doesn't last long, very short. Aren't you even two hundred years old... …”
"..."
Racial differences and natural chasms are insurmountable.
It is completely impossible to find a title by age. He looked at the "little girl" who was over 200 years old and had a pretty face, but he really couldn't call her grandma. Besides, he didn't know if shouting this name would make the other party angry and throw him back into the water.
He tried to imitate the other person's name a few more times, but the human tongue was unable to compare with the shark's. Finally, Bai Ya proposed that the first syllable he could pronounce was very similar to the word "quan". If she didn't mind, he thought it would be appropriate to call her Miss Quan.
Miss Quan, a 200-year-old Mermaid girl, made no objection. This inexplicable problem was finally solved, and with Miss Quan's several chuckles, the atmosphere relaxed somewhat. Bai Ya took the opportunity to ask his original question:
"I was carrying two knives on my back earlier, and another sword fell off, set with blue gems. Do you know where they went?"
"Somewhere else..." Miss Quan's smile faded a little, but it didn't seem to be because he asked about the weapons. "It will be safer if I put it somewhere else. There are many sharks watching. Because there are... patrollers... who will steal it. So, protect it.”
In fact, this is also the right thing to do. After all, Bai Ya knows his own virtues. Even if he is a lifesaver, he must draw his sword the moment he regains consciousness. Now he knows that Miss Quan is so smart and cute. If she is really hurt, she will not be able to sleep well for at least two nights.
"... Patrolling? Is it something that our language doesn't have?" Bai Ya didn't understand what she was talking about.
Miss Quan shook her head and kept her secret.
"No. There is something in people's words...I dare not say it, for fear of leaking it."
Regarding this unknown existence, she seemed not to want to say more, and turned to him:
"If you want something, come here. Follow me."
Although the other party is not human, so far, he has been exuding kindness. Whatever the plot may have been, had she not saved him in the first place - in any way - he might have been dead. In any case, in the deep sea at this time, Bai Ya had no other choice. Without following her, it would be difficult for him to find the weapons under the care of the shark, let alone retrieve them. Before leaving, Bai Ya confirmed one last time:
"How far is it to go there? After here..." He pointed to the ground, "How far do you have to swim? Humans can't hold their breath in the water for too long."
His words were quite practical. Miss Quan thought about it:
"I'll take you. I swim very fast and I'll be there in no time. There is air there and you can breathe. Don't worry."
Bai Ya believed it. He followed Miss Quan's instructions and held the other person's hand awkwardly. The skin of the shark is very different from that of humans. It is slippery when held in the palm of the hand, and is more similar to fish. Bai Ya didn't dare to put in all his efforts, and anyone who had ever caught a fish knew that force sometimes didn't work.
He was afraid that he would slip off halfway, so he pulled out a long, strong piece of seaweed and wrapped it a few times in the hands of the two. Miss Quan waited patiently until Bai Ya was sure that she was tied tightly enough and signaled to her:
"Okay, let's go - ugh!"
There was a dull thud. Following Miss Quan's jump, Bai Ya's legs suddenly bumped against the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, he held his breath in time and did not consume precious oxygen at the beginning of the journey. However, he has begun to regret it. Miss Quan probably doesn't have the opportunity to take people swimming on weekdays...
This end of the road is extremely thrilling. It was very easy for the shark to drag a large living person in the water. Miss Quan seemed to have forgotten his existence, or perhaps it was because she was eager to bring this human to a place where he could breathe that she swam so fast.
She had no scruples at all, but she worked hard for Bai Ya. As she swam and changed directions, he repeatedly dodged the corals, rocks, swaying aquatic plants, and even careless aquatic creatures that were hitting him. The breath in his lungs gradually depleted, and his dodge turned from thrilling to numb. In the end, Bai Ya almost suspected that his body had formed a new conditioned reflex to spontaneously avoid obstacles on the road.
He held it in for too long, and he was about to die. With only a trace of consciousness left, he struggled to untie the seaweed in his hands. Gradually, his ears were filled with buzzing, and Bai Ya could only pray with difficulty that Miss Quan would arrive at her destination as soon as possible.
In the haze, he finally heard what Miss Quan seemed to say. Then there was a crash, and he felt a heavy weight on his body and fell to an open space; but there was a light weight in his lungs that were almost exploding. Before his consciousness could catch up, instinct had already prompted him to gasp for air, and his oxygen-starved body greedily Intake of air.
After a while, Bai Ya regained his composure and raised his head. He was about to talk to Miss Quan, but was startled when his eyes touched the surrounding scenery.
This was another place that was similar to the previous breathable place, but the sea area was not very lively. He was too busy communicating with Miss Quan to pay attention to the scenery. It was completely different now. The vibrant ocean surrounded him, colorful and dreamlike. He breathed the air and stepped on the ground, while many fish of indistinguishable categories were shuttled around him. Some of them have sharp teeth and strange shapes, while more of them glow with colorful brilliance in the ripples of the sea.
The reason why you can see all these colors clearly is probably because there are little bits of light scattered around in the sparkling light. Bai Ya couldn't help but get closer to one of the clusters and carefully looked at the somewhat familiar outlines. They are jellyfish. They have a different shape from the one in the amber. They are dragging their shining whiskers and swimming aimlessly. They illuminate the swimming fish around them, the colorful corals in the sea, and the many seaweeds swaying in the dark light.
It's really beautiful.
