Chapter 377 - 371: Inquiry, News of a Shipwreck

Nowadays, Yun Jiao rarely went fishing with her father and the others when she went out to sea.

With her around, it was like cheating.

She could always pinpoint the location of fish schools, but one time, Daoist Qingfeng visited their home. He said something to Yun Linhai and the others, and ever since then, they no longer asked Yun Jiao to help find fish.

"Jiaojiao, go do your own thing." As soon as they reached a promising spot, Yun Linhai urged her on.

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay, Dad. If I’m not back when you’re done, just head home without me."

After they agreed, Yun Jiao jumped into the sea.

She used the sound waves in the ocean to locate the killer whale group, then swam off in a specific direction.

About ten minutes later, she saw the killer whale group hunting.

She didn’t approach, quietly watching the adult killer whales teach the young ones.

That’s right, the group had two new members.

Two tiny killer whales.

They weren’t even a third of the size of an adult.

Though small, they were trying their best to learn how to hunt.

They ate little and filled up quickly. When they spotted Yun Jiao in the distance, they happily wagged their little tails and swam over one after the other.

The two little ones circled Yun Jiao playfully, nuzzling and rubbing against her from time to time, just like two happy puppies.

The two calves’ parents glanced over but paid them no mind, continuing to chow down.

Only after they were full did the entire group come over to Yun Jiao.

"Do you guys know where that giant Octopus from last time came from?"

The killer whales shook their heads.

But even if they didn’t know, they could always ask.

So, the killer whales began to emit sound waves, using their unique internal network to contact other killer whales elsewhere.

Yun Jiao could now understand what they were saying through their vocalizations.

It was like a long-distance shout-out.

Their sound waves could travel very far through the ocean, about thirty to fifty kilometers.

Besides using this method for hunting, they could also use it to engage in shouting matches across different sea regions.

For instance, the killer whale sending the message was now shouting.

"Did any of you see where that big eight-legged fella from a while back came from? If you’ve got info, answer up, you morons!"

Yun Jiao: "..."

’These killer whales have spent too much time around humans; their vocabulary for insults has certainly grown.’

’They usually win their arguments with other killer whale groups.’

Before long, a different sound wave came through the water.

The languages between killer whale groups were different, just like with humans, where different regions have different dialects.

But they could all remember each other’s dialects.

’That’s seriously impressive.’

"Got some news, but that son of a bitch cursed at me, so I’ve gotta curse back."

And so, ignoring Yun Jiao, the killer whale launched into a heated, unrestrained shouting match with the one that had sent the information.

Of course, even while trading insults, they didn’t forget to pass along the message.

Yun Jiao’s head ached. She had to do her best to pick out the useful information from the string of curses.

In the deep-sea area to the north, there was a strait. The giant Octopus had come from there.

As for why it had come here, as luck would have it, that killer whale actually knew.

Apparently, it had fought with a ferocious, giant female Octopus, lost the fight, and fled here.

That giant female Octopus was currently incubating her eggs.

When an Octopus incubates its eggs, it usually picks a spot and doesn’t leave until its babies are born.

Yun Jiao had no intention of disturbing the mother Octopus; she just wanted to go over and see if there was any treasure there.

"Let’s go. Lead the way."

She patted the killer whale that was still in the middle of its argument.

The killer whale group called out, surrounding Yun Jiao as they headed for the northern sea.

Along the way, they encountered another killer whale group.

It was the very group they had been arguing with.

When they met, they didn’t end up fighting.

For killer whales, shouting matches were often more like a special form of communication.

Well, another bizarre form of communication was biting each other’s tongues.

Yun Jiao slapped away the head of a large killer whale that was getting too close.

’Get that tongue back in your mouth!’

"Can you take me to the strait?"

’I know you, cute human.’

’That other group is always showing you off.’

’Do you want to play with us?’

’Did you bring the ball?’

The questions came one after another, and Yun Jiao briefly answered a select few.

Then she quickly changed the subject back to the strait.

’If I let them keep asking questions, we’d be here all day.’

’It’s a bit far. What are you going there for?’

Yun Jiao asked how far.

’It’s a three-day swim.’

’That really is far.’

Yun Jiao thought for a moment. She definitely couldn’t make a trip that long today.

"Do you know if there are any boats over there? The big kind that humans use on the sea."

’Yes.’

The killer whale added, ’A really big one, much bigger than my body.’

Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up.

"Thank you. I’ll come find you tomorrow. Could I trouble you to take me there?"

’Sure, but I want to play with the ball.’

Yun Jiao: "No problem."

Having gotten some solid information, Yun Jiao was especially happy on her way back.

She said goodbye to the killer whale group and returned to where her father and the others had anchored their boat, finding they hadn’t left yet.

Moreover, a school of fish had actually appeared in the area.

The boat was bustling with activity as the three men hauled in one net after another.

She glanced over; it was a school of Pacific saury.

She appeared at the side of her family’s boat. "Dad, give me a hand."

Seeing it was Yun Jiao, Yun Linhai pulled her aboard.

"Jiaojiao, you’re just in time! Quick, help with the nets."

Yun Jiao called out in agreement and trotted over. Her small arms possessed great strength.

Her help made things much easier for Yun Linhai.

Mr. Yun and Yun Linhe handled one net, while the father and daughter took another.

When the school of fish moved, they could even start the engine and chase after it.

This metal boat was great. It had a large capacity and was fast.

"Let’s not chase it anymore. My arms are giving out."

This school of Pacific saury was truly massive. Just what they had hauled in so far was already around a ton.

The part of the school that got away still looked like a huge, dark mass in the water.

"Hahaha... Our luck is really good today."

They rarely encountered schools of fish without Jiaojiao’s "cheating," so they were naturally thrilled to run into such a large one today.

Yun Jiao was a little confused.

"Dad, why won’t you let me help?"

Yun Linhai and the others were lying on the deck, exhausted and out of breath, their arms too tired to lift.

"Daoist Qingfeng said that it’s fine for you to help us find fish once or twice a month, but doing it too often will damage your merit."

Yun Jiao now understood what "merit" was.

"Is that stuff really real?"

"Whether it’s real or not, you really can’t keep helping us like this." Mr. Yun spoke slowly. "Jiaojiao, we can’t keep depending on your ability."

"People’s appetites always grow. If you keep helping us, what happens when you go away to school? We won’t be able to rely on you then. If we can’t catch fish, we’ll feel that gap, that sense of disappointment, and that’s no good. We can’t keep you tied to our side forever."

"We’ll do it ourselves. The family isn’t short on money right now, so we can just save up slowly. This metal boat can travel far. Even if we don’t run into a big school, earning two or three hundred a day is still very good."