Chapter 428 - 413: Taking the Jue Pearl
When the train pulled into the station, the first thing Yun Jiao saw was her dad and mom craning their necks on the platform, looking for them.
"Dad, Mom!"
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba quickly called out.
Even with all the noise in the train station, their family heard their children’s voices instantly.
Yun Jiao ran over, and she saw Yun Linhai, Shen Yunlian, and the others running toward her as well. They met in a tight embrace.
"You’re back."
Everyone was smiling.
Gu Lan Ting had arranged for a car to take them home directly.
It was far too cold to ride a motorcycle or a three-wheeled pedal cart in this weather.
Returning to a familiar place, hearing the barking of dogs and the meowing of cats, they felt that even after seeing the splendor of the big city, home was still where they felt most at ease.
A fire was already burning in the stove at home. After they returned, the whole family sat in a circle around the steaming-hot stove.
"Jiaojiao, what was the auction like? Were there a lot of people?"
"Did you take any pictures? I want to see."
"Did you sell the stuff?"
"How are Xiao Liu and Lao San doing over there? Is it cold...?"
"Is it snowing heavily in the Capital now?"
Everyone started talking at once, bombarding them with one question after another.
Yun Jiao said, "Third Brother and Sixth Brother are doing great. Third Brother is even participating in a research project with an old professor now. He’s amazing. A lot of his classmates at school say he’s brilliant."
"There weren’t that many people at the auction, I guess, but they were all super rich."
"The antiques sold, so I should be able to buy the island come spring."
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba patiently answered all their questions.
She quite liked this atmosphere of the family sitting around and chatting together.
The two of them described how the rich people at the auction spent money like water, leaving the Yun family stunned.
"Goodness, and I thought our family was already quite wealthy. There are so many rich people out there."
"Yeah, is that ginseng really that valuable? So many people were fighting over it."
"Of course it is. It’s something that can save a life. You tell me if it’s valuable or not."
Shen Yunlian said, "Someone from my hometown found a ginseng root once, a thirty-year-old one, I think. It sold for a lot of money."
Yun Linhai scratched his head with a simple smile. "It’d be great if we could find some ginseng one day."
"What are you dreaming about? That stuff is incredibly rare. Why else would it be so expensive? Besides, it mostly grows deep in the mountains. It’s so hard to find a tiny ginseng root in such a huge forest, not to mention the poisonous snakes and wild beasts deep inside."
So, even knowing there was valuable ginseng deep in the mountains, who would have the guts to go in?
Yun Jiao stroked her chin. ’Hmm, I’m actually a little interested.’
’Even if I don’t sell it, it would be good to keep some at home.’
Having studied medicine with her master, she knew even better how precious ginseng was, especially old, wild ginseng.
"Oh, right. Jiaojiao, didn’t you say you bought some kind of pearl at the auction? Where is it?"
Yun Jiao went to get the Jue Pearl to show them.
The fluorescent blue pearl left them speechless.
Wang Mei said dazedly, "It’s... it’s so beautiful."
The others nodded in agreement.
They’d seen their fair share of Sea Pearls.
But all the ones they had seen before, even the Luminous Pearls, couldn’t compare to this one.
"Jiaojiao, what kind of pearl is this?"
This time, Yun Jiao chose to tell a little lie. "I don’t know."
It wasn’t a matter of distrust.
’The fewer people who know this is the legendary Jue Pearl, the better.’
’Even the most tight-lipped person can accidentally let a secret slip.’
’Let everyone think it’s just a special, glowing pearl.’
Everyone admired the pearl for a while, then handed it back to Yun Jiao.
"You have to keep it safe." ’This thing cost over a million, after all.’
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba then took out some of the other things they had bought in the Capital.
Like a video game console.
This was a favorite of Xiao Wu and the other kids, along with some snacks that weren’t available here.
Following the Reform and Opening-Up, the country’s development was astonishingly rapid. Especially in big cities like the Capital, new things seemed to pop up every month.
Everyone sighed with emotion as they looked at the things Yun Jiao and the others brought back.
"The Capital is really different. We don’t have any of this stuff here."
"There’s something else that hasn’t arrived yet. We couldn’t bring it with us, so Uncle Gu contacted a truck convoy heading to Sea City to deliver it for us."
Yun Linhe asked, "What is it that needs to be delivered by a truck?"
"Bicycles."
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba said in unison.
"Huh? Doesn’t our family have bikes? Why buy more?"
Now that they had a motorcycle, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe kind of looked down on bicycles.
Riding a bicycle wasn’t nearly as cool as riding a motorcycle.
Yun Xiao Ba quickly explained, "Hey, they’re not for you adults to ride! They’re bicycles for us kids."
Hearing this, Xiao Wu and the other children jumped to their feet in excitement.
"What? For us? Are they really for us to ride?"
Yun Jiao nodded. "That’s right. And besides the bicycles, I also bought a television."
"What!"
Now it was Yun Linhai and the other adults’ turn to get excited.
A television! No one in their village had bought a television yet.
Having a radio at home was already a big deal, let alone a TV.
Yun Jiao said, "Since we went all the way there, and Uncle Gu even arranged for a truck delivery, of course we had to buy more stuff."
Because of this, the whole family grew filled with anticipation.
However, the weather was bad now, so the truck convoy might be delayed.
That night, after a bath, a foot soak, and a full night’s sleep, she felt much more refreshed the next day.
Carrying the Jue Pearl, Yun Jiao said, "Dad, Mom, I’m going to the seaside for a bit."
"Alright, don’t catch a cold. Be careful."
"Okay."
Yun Jiao ran to the shore, and after checking that no one was around, she leaped directly into the sea.
It had been a while since she was last in the ocean. Yun Jiao felt that the moment her body touched the seawater, every pore seemed to open up in relief.
’So comfortable...’
’As I thought, I really do prefer the ocean.’
After swimming for a while, she arrived at the area where she had previously discovered the giant red coral.
The sky this season was a bit gloomy, and it looked like it was about to rain.
Yun Jiao looked at the Jue Pearl in her hand and swallowed it without hesitation.
She hadn’t swallowed it before because she didn’t know what would happen. Besides, Merfolk and Jue Pearls both belong to the sea, and her intuition told her it was more appropriate to do it here.
After swallowing the Jue Pearl, Yun Jiao carefully observed her body. ’It feels like... nothing’s happening...’
’No, wait. Why do I feel so sleepy?’
She slowly closed her eyes, failing to notice the soft, blue fluorescence that was beginning to emanate from her body.
Even though she wasn’t swimming, her entire body was now suspended in the seawater.
Blue lines of light gradually appeared on her arms and legs, slowly forming the shape of scales.
An energy belonging to the sea radiated out from her.
The surrounding fish were drawn in. Countless small fish gathered and circled her, their various colors painting a beautiful picture.
"WOOO... WOOO..."
"WOOO... WOOO~~~~"
The calls of large marine creatures like killer whales, dolphins, Humpback Whales, and Sperm Whales echoed through the water.
As if drawn by this energy, they all began to head in her direction.
If anyone had been there to see it, they would have been shocked to discover all kinds of fish swimming clockwise around a single point.
Yun Jiao’s legs seemed to transform into a blue, exceptionally dream-like fishtail.
But the tail existed for less than a minute before quickly disappearing again.
Along with it, the blue ’scales’ on her legs also vanished back into her skin.
An unknown amount of time passed before Yun Jiao woke up.
Her eyes had turned an ocean blue, so crystal clear that not even the most brilliant gemstone could compare.
And her hair.
Yun Jiao looked at the strands floating in front of her. Not only had her hair grown longer, but the ends were now tinged with blue.
’Let’s see... my body feels lighter, my swimming speed is faster, and my skin is a bit fairer and softer, but other than that, there don’t seem to be any other changes.’
’But what’s with all these fish around me?’
"Whuff."
A killer whale swam closer and nuzzled insistently against Yun Jiao.
It sounded very cheerful.
Yun Jiao said, "Long time no see, everyone."
She took a look around. ’Whoa, and quite a few familiar fish, too.’
Some sharks had also arrived, but instead of going on a killing spree, they were just staring at Yun Jiao with their beady little eyes.
Since they weren’t attacking her, Yun Jiao paid them no mind.
She greeted her friends one by one, noticing they were all especially enthusiastic today.
’Like, like.’
’Smells good, pretty person.’
’Like...’
’Hmm, most of them are just expressing how much they like me.’
Yun Jiao said, "Thanks, I like you all, too."
After dealing with her overly enthusiastic ocean friends, Yun Jiao began to study the changes in her body.
’I can’t really tell what’s different yet.’
’Whatever, I should head home first.’
’I wonder how long I was unconscious.’
This time, the trip back took only a few minutes.
She was very satisfied with this speed.
It was a speed almost impossible to track with the naked eye. Even if she passed right in front of someone, they would probably just think their eyes were playing tricks on them.
Once she was on shore, Yun Jiao was surprised to find that after the water dripped from her hair, a quick shake was all it took to dry it completely.
"Whoa."
’This is cool.’
Before, every time she got out of the sea, the feeling of her wet hair clinging to her skin had been unpleasant.
Aside from her clothes, which were still wet, her body also dried quickly.
But with the wet clothes clinging to her, it wasn’t very noticeable.
Yun Jiao leaned over the water to look at her reflection and noticed the strangeness of her eyes.
"They’ve turned blue."
"You’ve got to be kidding me. How am I supposed to explain this to Mom and the others?"
Yun Jiao frowned.
Her eyes were beautiful—a deep, clear blue, like the most exquisite blue glass.
But the blue was also way too eye-catching.
Besides, her eyes used to be black. There was no easy way to explain them turning blue.
Unable to think of a solution right away, Yun Jiao could only head back for now.
She practically hid from people the entire way home.
Her senses were much sharper than before.
"I’m back! Mom, Mom, something happened!"
Yun Jiao called out urgently.
"What’s wrong? What happened?"
Everyone who heard her voice ran out of the house.
When they saw what Yun Jiao looked like now, everyone gasped.