Chapter 2 Strange Creatures
"No way?" Zhang Bo and others immediately came to Xiao Xiao, stretched their necks, opened their eyes wide, and almost put their heads into the water. They looked left and right, but found nothing.

"Old Third, are you kidding me?"

"Exactly. Where did the fish come from? I didn't even see a single shrimp fry."

"Third brother, did you see it wrong?"

"No, there are a lot of fish here and there, aren't there?" Xiao Xiao retorted subconsciously. The water in this lake is clear, the dark bottom of the water is looming, and the black shadows are clearly visible.

Isn't this a fish?

Xiao Xiao took a few steps forward and looked carefully.

"Aren't there so many... carp?" The voice became softer and softer, and Xiao Xiao couldn't help rubbing his eyes with his hands.

At this time, a faint light shone into the lake, and the black shadow gradually revealed its shape.

The body is spindle-shaped, with a lower mouth and a pair of rostral barbels and a pair of maxillary barbels. The gill rakers are short and the abdomen is relatively round. The scales are large and round. The lateral line is obvious and slightly curved. The tail fin is deeply forked. The color is a rare scarlet, and the sparkling water made him feel dizzy.

Xiao Xiao closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again. Yes, it was still there.

At first glance, these fish look no different from red carp, but, nonsense, which red carp has a bird's tail and six legs? !
Xiao Xiao was a little confused. Could it be that he was ignorant? Did this kind of fish actually exist?

However, Xiao Xiao turned to look at the other three people: "Is there really no fish here?"

"Yes, Third Brother, what's wrong with you?"

"Old Three, you should take a rest."

"Third brother, come and sit here for a while."

Xiao Xiao ignored him and stared at the fish in the lake, but suddenly he met the eyes of one of the fish. The eyes were smart and even a bit cunning, which was totally unlike the eyes of a fish. And the mouth was wide open. Was it smiling?
"Giggle."

It was like a sound ringing in my ears, hitting my eardrums, as tender as that of a baby, yet extremely strange.

Is this laughter? Xiao Xiao subconsciously took a big step back.

All this was so strange that he couldn't help but gasp.

Xiao Xiao quickly turned his eyes away, rubbed his ears with his hands, his face pale, and walked away from the lake under the repeated questioning and concerned and worried gazes of Zhang Bo and others.

Looking back, the originally clear and peaceful green water suddenly became eerie and strange for no reason.

Half bright, half obscure, a grinning fish suddenly appeared in front of Xiao Xiao's eyes, and he shuddered all over.

At Xiao Xiao's urging, they quickly left the lake.

Afterwards, perhaps luck struck, they quickly found a way out and met other tourists.

"Haha, I told you, just follow me and you won't go wrong. Isn't it coming out now?" Zhang Bo was quite proud of himself.

"You still have the nerve to say that. I was so nervous before."

"That's right, big brother. I'm lucky this time. Next time..."

Xiao Xiao fell behind last, still a little dazed.

He didn't understand, were those fish his hallucinations or were they real?

If it was an illusion, that strange laughter still seemed to echo in his ears, making him uneasy; if it was real, why couldn't his eldest brother and the others see it?

"Old Third, what are you dawdling about?"

"coming."

Forget it, Xiao Xiao shook his head. If he couldn't figure it out, he shouldn't think about it anymore. He had left now anyway. He felt that he would never go there again.

……

"Hehe, a human has seen us."

"Really, he seems to be frightened by us, haha."

"Really, haha, it's been a long time since I met someone who can see us."

……

The next few days of the trip went smoothly, and Zhang Bo took them to climb the mountains around Zibo.

Although Xiao Xiao, Zhuge Yun, and Zhao Luzheng complained bitterly, Zhang Bo argued: It's so hot, we should go to the mountains to cool down. He also looked down on the three people's weak bodies and the corresponding poor physical strength, and was determined to help them exercise. Finally, he asked in a very obscene way: Can't you do it?
In this regard, Xiao Xiao and others were speechless.

Well, now it has to be done even if it is not possible. A man cannot lose face!
However, it is more painful to save face.

When they finally returned to school, they all lay on their beds pretending to be corpses, unable to move.

Their backs and waists were really sore. Even facing Zhang Bo's sarcasm, they didn't have the energy to deal with it.

……

Xiao Xiao twisted his body. Even though several days had passed, there was still a sore feeling lingering in his limbs, making him feel uncomfortable.

Just as he was moving his body slightly, his eyes inadvertently swept across a place and suddenly stopped.

What's this?
Because it was going so fast, he could only see a long tail that quickly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

But whatever it is, it's incredible to see it in a university building.

And... He looked up and around. People were coming and going in the corridor, and there was a lot of noise, but everyone looked normal, as if no one had noticed that a strange creature had just run past them.

Xiao Xiao felt his heartbeat was a little faster and he had a headache. Was this another hallucination? Or was he the only one who could see it?
If it was the latter, to be honest, he didn't like the particularity at all.

Forget it, I didn’t see it, he didn’t see anything, he said to himself while taking a deep breath.

But I was already thinking whether I should find some time to go to the temple to pray and see if I had been contaminated by anything dirty?

At this time, Xiao Xiao didn't care too much about it. After all, it was just a small abnormality. It posed no threat to his life safety, nor did it have any impact on his life. He just regarded it as an illusion between light and shadow.

Xiao Xiao happily put these anomalies behind him.

However, he never imagined that his future life would have undergone great deviations without his noticing, and these anomalies, whether he liked it or not, had become the main theme of his future life.

And one day, he will be able to treat these strange creatures calmly and indifferently.

……

Originally, Xiao Xiao had almost forgotten about the unknown creature with a long tail, but when he was looking for a book in the library that day, he caught a glimpse of the fleeting figure through the gap between the books and the bookshelves without warning.

Xiao Xiao was stunned, but chased after him without thinking.

The eighth floor of the library is the second social science library, which is usually not very crowded.

Now that it is almost noon, it is even quieter and you can clearly hear the "clacking" sound of sneakers rubbing against the ground.

Xiao Xiao only had eyes for the tail as he followed the strange creature around the bookshelves.

It was obvious that the opponent was running very fast, but every time Xiao Xiao felt that he had lost track of the opponent and wanted to give up, a little tail would appear from some corner and keep swinging. It must be said that it was really infuriating, it was just a joke!
Xiao Xiao stared at the tail while panting, and in his mind he was already experiencing the ten most cruel tortures of the Qing Dynasty.

Finally, Xiao Xiao trapped the opponent in a triangular area. The dim light and flying dust made it difficult for Xiao Xiao to see the figure in front of him clearly.

In the narrow space, Xiao Xiao's breathing was rapid and clear, and also revealed a hint of cautious restraint.

Xiao Xiao was somewhat pleased with himself.

So, he caught up with you again?

But as the vision became clearer and clearer, he gradually became stunned.

What's this?
It clearly looks like a mouse, but has a rabbit's head and a elk's body.

The vertical pupils of the beast are the same red as those of the rabbit, but unlike the docility of the rabbit, these beast pupils are not only cold, but also reveal an extremely human arrogance and contempt.

The small body exudes powerful power.

Xiao Xiao looked into the pair of vertical pupils. The gorgeous red reflected a hazy luster, with a bloody beauty.

Xiao Xiao couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

Just when he was dizzy and dazed, he suddenly felt a sharp wind whistling past, his ears tinnitus for a moment, and his cheek hurt. Something sticky was slowly flowing out. He quickly reached out to wipe it, and saw scarlet blood. He was indeed bleeding.

"Rustle", the sound of books falling was heard one after another. Looking back, I saw that there was an empty space on the bookshelf in front of me, and the ground under the gap was filled with scattered books.

Looking through the empty spaces on the bookshelf, there was nothing there, it all seemed like a dream.

But Xiao Xiao knew that all this was true.

(End of this chapter)