Fish, What a Big Fish (Part 2)

Duan Jiaze was about to kneel. It was simply... too big, too satisfying, overwhelmingly so.

You wanted a big fish?

Okay, please look at this XXXXX...L-sized Kunpeng.

If this didn't count as large, then Duan Jiaze really didn't know what did.

You really can't judge a book by its cover, especially these dispatched animals from the Immortal Realm. Just by looking at his well-behaved appearance, who could guess that after this cute little boy changed back to his original form, forget the Aquarium's underwater tunnel, he could flatten the entire Donghai City. And in terms of rarity, he was on par with the Daoist Lord.

Duan Jiaze's face filled with awe, "...This really is, way too large! To be honest, if you hadn't mentioned the Aquarium yourself, I would have thought of putting you in the waterfowl lake. Having two forms, it would be a real shame to waste them."

Kunpeng was the first of his kind between heaven and earth. At this moment, his expression was indifferent, "The Aquarium needs me more. What do you want me to transform into, a whale?"

Unexpectedly, Kunpeng also knew that modern scholars believed the ancient Kunpeng was a giant whale in the sea. In reality, back in that era, the Three Realms had not yet separated, and Kunpengs truly existed in the Human Realm.

Perhaps humans would find the Kunpeng to be incomparably huge, but that's because the Kunpeng was a creature born in the Primordial Era, when all creatures were especially large, just like Luya's true form was also super-sized. In the Primordial Era, the Kunpeng really wasn't considered the largest creature.

Compared to a Kunpeng, a whale was nothing at all. What kind of eyesight would it take to mistake a whale for a Kunpeng.

Duan Jiaze showed a hesitant expression. He hadn't expected Kunpeng to come. The dispatched animals that had arrived so far were, in theory, all close to their true forms. Otherwise, would it be appropriate for a bird to roll on the ground playing with a ball of yarn, or a fox to enjoy scuba diving?

Kunpeng had no close relatives in the human world. If it had been another aquatic species in a similar situation, Duan Jiaze might have agreed to the whale transformation. But knowing he was a Kunpeng, he couldn't help but feel that becoming a whale was a waste.

The whales kept in modern aquariums were mostly orcas and belugas, with bodies only three to five meters long. There were no conditions to keep truly giant whales in captivity.

Seeing Duan Jiaze's expression, Kunpeng said, "Think it over some more."

"Mm-hm, thank you." Duan Jiaze rubbed his hands together. "Then let me take you two to your lodgings first."

Duan Jiaze took Kunpeng and Linggan to the dormitory building. At this hour, they were bound to run into many employees.

Linggan possessed an androgynous beauty, making it hard to tell if he was male or female, while Kunpeng looked like a cute, somewhat melancholic little boy. Everyone who saw them couldn't help but stop to tease the little boy.

Duan Jiaze blocked Kunpeng to prevent Xiao Su from pinching his cheeks.

"This... this is Yousu's older brother, Xiao Peng, and that is my classmate, Linggan." Duan Jiaze had casually made up two identities. People were always coming to his place to 'seek refuge,' and the employees were getting used to it.

Xiao Su's eyes scanned Linggan up and down, feeling that this handsome guy's appearance and sexual orientation were both a bit ambiguous.

But Xiao Su had to rush to work, so she just chuckled and said hello.

After Xiao Su left, Linggan rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and said, "Although that subordinate of yours is from the Human Race, why is her laugh so creepy?"

Duan Jiaze: "..."

He thought so too.

Xiao Su often exuded a kind of infectious power that didn't match her race, making one shudder——

Duan Jiaze arranged rooms for Linggan and Kunpeng. At this time, everyone had gone to work, so there was no way to make introductions. Duan Jiaze said, "I still need to think about Teacher Kunpeng's identity, and I have to give the employees a heads-up. As for Teacher Linggan... as a goldfish, honestly, it's not easy to arrange a place for you in the Aquarium."

Although Kunpeng looked young and was especially cute, his expression was too solemn. He had more presence than anyone else who had come to the zoo, so Duan Jiaze couldn't help but call him 'Teacher.' Before this, the most he would say was 'Great Master.'

But the term 'Great Master' seemed a bit too lively for Teacher Kunpeng; 'Teacher' was a better fit.

Linggan said nonchalantly, "Then you can just put me in your office. I just came down to hang around." He thought for a moment, "Oh, right, wasn't there a lake over there just now? You can put me in the lake, too."

Really just release him into the wild? Actually, Duan Jiaze had only thought about it in his head before. What a waste it would be to put him in the lake.

Linggan muttered to himself, "I picked a lot of lotus seeds before coming down, and even got some Willow Branch Nectar. If I live in the lake, I can just plant them and improve the office environment."

Duan Jiaze: "............"

...Can the employees of Mount Luojia ever behave?!

The Purple Bamboo Forest and the lotus pond were one thing, but to steal Willow Branch Nectar... just how good-tempered is the great Guanyin? She didn't kill these two for this?

But, since Linggan had really brought lotus seeds down, Duan Jiaze truly couldn't let him down.

"Then you can just live in the waterfowl lake. I'll add more goldfish and koi... Right, koi are bigger than goldfish, so I'll have to trouble you to maintain order in the waterfowl lake and not let them kill the smaller fish," Duan Jiaze said.

Linggan nodded and said breezily, "Don't worry, with me here, that waterfowl lake won't be making any waves."

Duan Jiaze thought of the Tongtian River and couldn't help but feel a wave of exasperation..

Transplanting lotuses was relatively easy; you just had to plant them along with the lotus root. Duan Jiaze prepared to get some pots, have Linggan sprout the lotuses in them, and then find someone to transplant them into the lake.

Because the lake housed waterfowl, it already had some aquatic plants. Planting a patch of lotuses would also be quite beautiful. The lotuses hadn't bloomed yet, but they would soon, after the start of spring.

Although lotus roots weren't in season now, they could say they were purchased from out of town. The ones in the lake would be declared for ornamental use only to the public. In any case, harvesting the roots wouldn't be entrusted to outsiders.

Currently, the so-called 'procurement' was all led by Hu Dawei, who sometimes had the monks do the manual labor, so there was no need to worry about being exposed. Even if the monks saw Hu Dawei using magic to transport things, they wouldn't be surprised; that was part of their original setup.

......

It wasn't until evening that Duan Jiaze had the chance to gather all the dispatched animals in his room to introduce Kunpeng and Linggan to them.

Linggan and Xiong Siqian were old comrades-in-arms. One was the gatekeeper uncle at Guanyin's place, the other was a domesticated aquatic creature, so naturally, they were on good terms. In fact, it was only after seeing Xiong Siqian get punished and sent away, and then hearing he was here, that Linggan used his connections to squeeze his way down to the mortal realm while everyone else was fighting for the spot.

Linggan put his arm around Xiong Siqian's shoulder, laughing and joking with everyone.

Duan Jiaze, however, noticed that Kunpeng remained very silent, and the others were also a bit awkward. If it weren't for Linggan still talking, the atmosphere would have been utterly depressing.

Duan Jiaze couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. "Um... you should all know Kunpeng, right? Yousu, you have to remember, I told everyone that Kunpeng is your older brother."

Kunpeng glanced at Yousu but said nothing.

Yousu blinked, then looked over at Luya.

Duan Jiaze was puzzled. Why look at Luya? Luya was also especially silent at this moment. Logically, when newcomers arrived, as the self-proclaimed number one of Lingyou Zoo, he would usually react in some way. Either the other party would try to curry favor with him and he'd show disdain, or he'd give them an intimidating stare.

The more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Kunpeng hadn't greeted anyone either. Duan Jiaze had just assumed he had a peculiar temperament.

Just then, Luya let out a cold laugh.

Linggan, who had been struggling to liven up the atmosphere, instantly fell silent as a cicada in winter, lowering his head to fiddle with his fingers.

Kunpeng's voice was a bit hoarse. He raised his eyes, and those large, clear black-and-white eyes looked at Luya as he called out, "Little Highness..."

Luya's expression changed, and he said with a threatening tone, "Don't call me that again."

Kunpeng paused, "Daoist Lord Luya."

Luya turned his head away indifferently.

Duan Jiaze seemed to understand in that moment. These two probably had a grudge from the past, and the others likely all knew about it. He hadn't looked into it, and had originally wanted everyone to have a happy get-together, but who knew it would turn out so unpleasant.

Duan Jiaze quickly pretended not to know anything. "Does anyone want to play cards? There's a table in the lounge. Those who want to play can go play, and those who don't can go back. Our zoo is about to go on holiday. I'll send all the employees home then, and you guys can take a break as well."

The news of a holiday immediately distracted everyone. The passage of time was too insignificant for them, and they didn't even understand why they could have a holiday. Usually, the closer it got to a holiday, the busier a zoo would be.

This was, of course, because the annual Spring Festival was approaching. No matter how busy they were, they had to take a few days off. Anyway, Donghai City wasn't large, and there wouldn't be many tourists during the couple of days of the New Year, so they could take shifts, or even just leave their own people 'on duty'.

Everyone discussed this topic as they left, some heading to the lounge, others back to their rooms.

—Of course, Duan Jiaze couldn't join their discussion. They were tracing back to whether they were even born when the Human Race's New Year originated, what those who were born were doing, and how the Human Race celebrated the New Year several hundred years ago...

Yousu fell half a step behind. Seeing Duan Jiaze catch up, she smiled, "I knew the Zoo Director would come looking for me."

Duan Jiaze gave an embarrassed laugh. "It's just... I wanted to ask about the relationship between the Daoist Lord and Teacher Kunpeng. It seems very complicated. Kunpeng looks so guilty."

Duan Jiaze's knowledge of mythology was patchy at best, a hodgepodge of disconnected facts. Besides, the stories passed down in the mortal world weren't necessarily true. In any case, no picture book had ever told him that Linggan looked so... androgynous.

Yousu told Duan Jiaze, "Zoo Director, have you ever thought about it?" She pondered for a moment, borrowing Duan Jiaze's term of address. "Why does Teacher Kunpeng have the body of a child? I took this form to avoid trouble, but what about Teacher Kunpeng?"

Duan Jiaze was stunned. "That's right, why would Teacher Kunpeng turn into a child?"

He really hadn't thought about this question, because many of the dispatched animals were different from what was expected.

"Kunpeng isn't a volunteer," Yousu said faintly. "Back when the Three Realms were not yet divided, at the dawn of the Primordial Era, His Majesty Di Jun of the Demon Race led his people to establish the Heavenly Court and proclaimed himself the Demon Emperor. He fathered ten Golden Crow princes, and Kunpeng was the Demon Master. Later, Houyi of the Witch Race shot down the suns, leaving only Daoist Lord Luya. During the great war between the Witch and Demon Races, Kunpeng stole a treasure and fled, making a terrible situation for the Demon Race even worse. The Demon Emperor also fell, and the Daoist Lord escaped."

"After the war, the Heavenly Court was re-established, becoming the current Heavenly Court. From then on, the concept of an immortal registry came into being, and some demons were gradually recruited as immortals and entered the Heavenly Court. As for this Teacher Kunpeng, he schemed to re-establish the Demon Race's Heavenly Court with the remaining demons, and even considered doing it under the Daoist Lord's banner, but he couldn't find any trace of the Daoist Lord. Eventually, he was suppressed by the new Heavenly Court."

After briefly explaining the whole story, Yousu circled back, "Teacher Kunpeng is now under the control of the Heavenly Court. He must do whatever they tell him to do, suppressed into complete submission, even coming here to do volunteer work. His entire cultivation base has been suppressed, and even his Dao body has been reduced to the size of a child."

So, while Yousu had voluntarily become a child, Kunpeng had not. No wonder he always looked so gloomy and sullen.

Duan Jiaze didn't know what to say. After a long while, he finally said, "No wonder Luya was so harsh."

Kunpeng was practically Luya's elder, yet he did such a thing. One could imagine Luya's feelings.

Yousu gave a sarcastic smile. "Zoo Director, you seem to think Kunpeng is full of guilt. This person is only like this because his cultivation is suppressed. He has always avoided the Daoist Lord. Now that he's run into him by accident, he's probably afraid the Daoist Lord will strike him down in a fit of anger, which is why he's lowering his head. And the reason the Daoist Lord hasn't made a move, I think, is also out of respect for you."

With Yousu's words, Kunpeng's originally solemn image was suddenly cast in a dark shadow in Duan Jiaze's mind.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Luya had also sarcastically remarked at the beginning that Yousu was only being so nice to get a good review. And the now simple-minded Xiong Siqian had also once tried to give Duan Jiaze a show of force.

These dispatched animals were all great demons of ancient standing. None of them were simple, and each had their own temperament. Sometimes when Duan Jiaze interacted with them, he would only realize in hindsight how dangerous some moments had been.

Thinking of it this way, Linggan clearly knew Luya was here and must have known about their past, yet he didn't offer a single word of warning. He wasn't as enthusiastic as he appeared on the surface.

Fortunately, no matter what, both of them were kept in check by Luya.

Duan Jiaze fell silent for a moment, only feeling thankful that he hadn't played the naive saint and, seeing Kunpeng's melancholic look, tried to mediate between them without knowing anything. Otherwise, Luya might have died of anger.

"...I'd better go talk to the Daoist Lord." The more Duan Jiaze thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Although he hadn't done that, and he was unaware of the history, he had still cheerfully introduced them to each other.

With Luya's temper, he was surely unhappy. It was better to say something to prevent any lingering resentment.

—As for Kunpeng, he was the weaker party. Duan Jiaze figured, for the sake of his pride, it was better not to say anything special to him. Besides, Duan Jiaze was indeed closer to Luya. Who knew what Kunpeng might think.

Yousu chuckled. "That's a good idea. The Daoist Lord is probably biting the corner of his quilt right now."

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Hearing Yousu describe Luya like that was truly malicious.

......

Duan Jiaze knocked on Luya's door.

From inside, Luya said, "Not here."

Duan Jiaze broke into a sweat, took out his key, and opened the door. Luckily, Luya hadn't used magic to lock him out. Upon entering, he saw Luya lying on the bed playing with his phone. When he noticed Duan Jiaze come in, he rolled over to face away from him, showing his disdain.

Duan Jiaze walked to the bedside and explained, "Daoist Lord, I'm sorry. I didn't do it on purpose earlier. I didn't know about you two... I'll be more careful in the future."

He couldn't send Kunpeng back either. Kunpeng hadn't done anything wrong here. They all had a working relationship, so in the future, he could only try his best to avoid having Kunpeng and Luya interact.

Everyone would just keep it professional to avoid making things uncomfortable. Anyway, a few decades were but the snap of a finger for them.

Hearing this, Luya's hands paused for a moment. He had clearly heard, but he didn't respond.

Seeing him remain silent, Duan Jiaze was afraid he was still upset, so he tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder.

Luya's body jolted as if he had been startled by Duan Jiaze.

Duan Jiaze said dryly, "How about I give the Daoist Lord a shoulder rub? You're a magnanimous person."

Duan Jiaze took a very humble posture. He kneaded for a while and, feeling that Luya had relaxed, pulled his hands back, intending to return to his room.

But Luya turned his head and said angrily, "Where are you going? Does your apology only last five minutes?"

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Although he had brought this upon himself, he had to admit the Daoist Lord was really asking for it.

The corner of Duan Jiaze's mouth twitched, and he put his hands back. "Yes, yes, no need to shout. Just say so if you want to extend the service..."

......

Duan Jiaze researched for a long time, looking up many marine creatures, before finally deciding that Kunpeng should transform into a Manta Ray.

Although this type of fish was large, it could be kept in captivity. Some people used to call it the devil fish. The Manta Ray is a cartilaginous fish with a flat body. Its pectoral fins spread out to the sides like wings, making its body exceptionally large. The largest Manta Ray ever discovered was a full seven or eight meters long and weighed over a ton.

The most interesting part is that the Manta Ray can leap out of the water, gliding on its wing-like pectoral fins. And in fact, its posture in the water also resembles flying, as its large pectoral fins flap like wings when it swims.

Despite its huge size, the Manta Ray has a gentle temperament, feeding on plankton and small fish. Eating just over thirty jin of food a day is enough, which, compared to other large fish, makes it surprisingly easy to raise.

This form, Duan Jiaze felt, was very suitable for Kunpeng. After repeated research, he went to talk to Kunpeng, asking him to turn into a ten-meter-long Manta Ray, a couple of sizes larger than the biggest one ever discovered.

Donghai didn't have Manta Rays, let alone one this big. A ten-meter one? That was like a house. The shock value for tourists when it swam by would be immense.

This would be far more attractive than any shark or whale. People had seen plenty of those, and they weren't even the largest kind. After opening, they would use the Manta Ray's nickname, 'Devil Fish,' for advertising.

Kunpeng was (had to be) very cooperative. His situation was different from Luya, Jingwei, and the others. At most, theirs was community service; Kunpeng's was labor reform in prison.

So, for the next few days, Duan Jiaze mainly focused on these tasks:

Announcing the introduction of the Manta Ray and creating the illusion of its transport; transplanting the ornamental lotuses; purchasing a batch of goldfish and koi to be released along with Linggan (feeling especially like a Bodhisattva in that moment); and the top priority: adding a new ingredient to Jiajia Restaurant's Luojia Series...