The deer-like creature was composed entirely of water and naturally adept at controlling it. Zhu Yin'e, therefore, did not attack it with river water.
Instead, she let out a low dragon's roar towards the front.
The roar was very weak and subtle, controlled within a hundred-meter radius ahead, not even reaching the river's surface.
Yet, with this single soft roar, the river water within a hundred meters vanished into thin air, creating a vast vacuum zone on the riverbed. Even so, the flow of water above was unaffected.
Countless fish directly landed on the riverbed. The little carp, also enjoying her swim, suddenly fell onto the riverbed with a plop. Before she could even react, she flapped her tail a few times on the riverbed, somewhat dazed.
What happened to me?
Her flailing tail stirred up silt from the riverbed, coating her entirely, truly turning her into a little mud fish.
However, the little carp quickly recovered, leaped into the air, and transformed into human form. Her fair little face was still smudged with dirt.
But she couldn't afford to worry about that now. She looked ahead, seeing a deer-like creature anxiously surveying its surroundings, with Zhu Yin'e standing opposite it.
"Mother..."
Seeing Zhu Yin'e, the little carp's face lit up with surprise, and her fear vanished.
Then she cast her gaze towards the deer-like creature and excitedly said, "Mother, quickly catch it, quickly catch it! It was chasing me just now."
Zhu Yin'e glanced at her without a word. Unexpectedly, the deer-like creature seemed to understand the little carp's words, letting out a mournful cry.
Its voice was also like a deer's, making a "you you" sound.
The little carp stared, then said somewhat blankly, "Mother, it doesn't seem like a bad guy. It just wanted to play with me."
"Who knows if it's a bad guy or not. Let's catch it first," Zhu Yin'e said, waving her hand. A long silk scarf coiled around the deer-like creature's limbs.
The deer-like creature attempted to escape as a stream of water, but at that moment, the silk scarf emitted bursts of cold air, freezing its limbs and preventing its escape.
"You you."
Seeing that escape was impossible, the deer-like creature bowed its head on the riverbed and let out a sorrowful cry.
The little carp felt a pang of sympathy upon hearing it and involuntarily walked forward. Zhu Yin'e, however, subtly blocked her path from behind.
"Let me examine its origins first."
As Zhu Yin'e spoke, she pointed a finger at the deer-like creature's forehead.
A stream of water was drawn out, within which pulsed groups of images.
"Huh, it's Big Brother!"
Peeking from behind Zhu Yin'e, the little carp's head sticking out, she exclaimed with surprise.
"Are you called Weiguang?"
Zhu Yin'e's expression also became slightly unusual. Was this a creature enlightened by Master Liu? It didn't seem harmful.
Thus, wisps of mysterious aura appeared on her fingertips, winding around the extracted memories. Mysterious runes emerged one after another, then vanished. She then withdrew her finger, and the extracted water memory instantly retracted like a long tendril.
At that moment, a circle of runes appeared on Weiguang's neck, then disappeared without a trace.
Although she knew this was a creature enlightened by Liu Nanfeng, Zhu Yin'e still placed a restriction on it as a precaution, lest the little carp be harmed.
Zhu Yin'e withdrew the silk scarf, and Weiguang immediately recovered. It stood up but did not flee. Instead, it approached the curious little carp, stretched its neck, and nuzzled her.
"Gē gē gē... Mother, it seems to like me," the little carp said happily as she tried to stroke Weiguang's neck.
Weiguang was much smaller than a real deer, only half a body taller than the little carp, appearing quite petite and delicate.
Seeing Weiguang's affection for the little carp, Zhu Yin'e wore a thoughtful expression.
Then, with a wave of her hand, the water surged down, filling the vacuum area.
Weiguang seemed overjoyed, constantly circling and leaping around the little carp.
The little carp, like a puppy, shook her body rapidly, washing away all the mud.
"Alright, you can go play now."
Zhu Yin'e waved her hand and vanished in an instant from the little carp's sight.
However, she did not return directly to her underwater abode. Instead, she appeared at the place where Weiguang had first appeared and looked towards the shore.
...
The little carp blew a bubble, enclosing herself and Weiguang.
Weiguang curiously nudged the bubble wall with its antlers. The bubble wall bulged outwards but did not break, proving its exceptional resilience.
"Is your name Weiguang?"
"You you."
"My name is Feng Hongjin. Let's be good friends."
The little carp extended her small hand towards Weiguang. Weiguang turned to look at her, then stuck out its tongue and gently licked her hand.
"Gē gē gē..."
The little carp giggled happily, then touched its neck and asked, "Can you give me a ride?"
"You you." Weiguang lowered its body.
"Wow, you're amazing! You can understand me!"
The little carp happily puffed out her rear end, carefully climbed onto Weiguang's back, then dispelled the bubble and galloped forward, riding it.
"Gē gē gē..."
The little carp was so happy she wanted to laugh heartily, sending countless bubbles drifting backward.
Weiguang's speed was no slower than the little carp's own swimming, and they soon arrived at Shu Sheng's home.
Shu Sheng's home, if it could be called that, was actually two large rocks on the riverbed arched together to form a large cave.
"Shu Sheng, Shu Sheng..." the little carp called out from the entrance of the cave.
Soon, a little boy, dripping wet, emerged from the cave.
The boy had dark skin and a simple, honest face. He wore a white canvas short-sleeved shirt with a cross-collar, and old shorts on his lower half. His feet were bare, dressed like a fisherman.
"Little Yu." Shu Sheng was also happy to see the little carp.
"Why haven't you come to play with me recently? I haven't seen you in a long time," Shu Sheng added.
"Haha, I went ashore," the little carp said, hands on her hips, a smug look on her face.
"Went ashore?" Shu Sheng's eyes widened upon hearing this.
"Did your mother agree to you going ashore? Are there many bad people on shore? Did you encounter any?" Shu Sheng asked somewhat nervously.
The little carp shook her head, then nodded.
She had met many good people, and also some bad ones.
Shu Sheng didn't quite understand what her nodding and shaking meant. He continued, "It's been very dangerous in the river recently. A few times I saw people fighting on the river, they were so fierce, so powerful. I didn't dare to come out even when I hid at home."
The little carp nodded, indicating she knew. She had even participated a few times.
"Alright, let's not talk about that. Brother Shu Sheng, I brought you something delicious," the little carp said, raising the small pouch on her wrist.
"Let's go to my place and talk," Shu Sheng said, leading the way into the cave.
The little carp quickly followed, then, as if remembering something, turned back and said, "Weiguang, you come too."
"Little Yu, who are you talking to?" Shu Sheng asked curiously.
"Weiguang, my good friend," the little carp replied.
Following her words, Weiguang appeared. Shu Sheng was somewhat surprised but said nothing more, leading the two through the long cave, then emerging into a spacious area.
It was somewhat similar to an underwater dwelling, but much smaller. There was only a dilapidated thatched hut. In front of the hut, some sand and shells were spread out. This was Shu Sheng's home.
He was the son of a fisherman from the riverbank. Due to an accident, he had drowned in the river and had been living alone in the river for several hundred years.
The little carp remembered her mother telling her that Shu Sheng was very special. He was not an ordinary water ghost but a water demon, a very powerful one.