Xuan stood with his back to the water tank, silently gazing at the oil painting on the wall of the secret room.

  The water tank made a gentle spshing sound as TuTu swam with curiosity, occasionally leaping out of the water and drawing a graceful arc in the air before spshing back down into the water.

  "Xuan!" TuTu stopped her pyful antics, floating to the surface. "What's wrong? You seem upset today."

  Xuan didn't turn around, his slender figure casting a shadow on the oil painting.

  "I should send you away," he said. "Back to the West Ming Yōu Sea, your home."

  TuTu′s tail gently swayed, and the ripples in the water grew smaller and smaller.

  "Do you still not think that running for your life every night, without rest, is torture?" Xuan walked over, his gaze serious and cold as he scrutinized the thick gss before him.

  "If you stay any longer, you'll die at any moment."

  The movement in the water grew quieter and quieter, and TuTu silently swam away.

  Xuan turned to the other side of the bathtub, removing his shirt, revealing a deep, unmistakable wound on his right shoulder.

  "You're injured?!" TuTu swam over in shock, moving so fast she almost smmed into the side of the bathtub.

  "Their power is growing stronger. I no longer have the confidence to resist," Xuan said as he put his shirt back on. "You have to leave."

  The room fell into complete silence; not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

  "You should go pick up Kai from school!" TuTu suddenly chirped, wagging her tail with joy, her gaze fixed on the imagined window outside, her eyes twinkling with a smile.

  Yes, fish can smile too, if you look closely into their eyes.

  "Is this really necessary?" Xuan stared at her bnkly. "You understand what I'm saying."

  "Shouldn't you be asking yourself that?" TuTu mischievously blew a stream of bubbles, which formed a ghostly face in the water. Her momentary silence and restraint vanished like a popped bubble, leaving no trace behind.

  TuTu was not just an ordinary fish. She was a yaokai, a "Wang Xing” yaokai fish.

  (忘形; wàng xíng, literally transtes to "forget form or "lose shape." It represents a mystical fish or creature in folklore that has the ability to make itself invisible or to change shape, evading detection by even the most powerful beings. Its significance is often tied to its power and rarity, making it highly coveted by yaokais or cultivators who seek immortality, strength, or knowledge.

  They swam freely across the three realms, unrestricted and unfazed. As long as they wished, they could vanish from sight, becoming invisible even to the most powerful beings who could find targets without using their eyes.

  Almost every yaokai, and even some humans who practice cultivation, hold a lifelong desire to consume a "Wang Xing" fish. Even if they can't eat it, just catching a whiff of it is enough. It is like the yaokais in ′Journey to the West′, all of whom coveted the immortality-granting flesh of the Tang monk.

  For them, "Wang Xing" represents the shortcut to obtaining everything they desire, a path where nothing stands in their way. Even a low-level yaokai who has little cultivation can, by consuming "Wang Xing," descend into the underworld and march into the heavens, taking treasures as if there were no resistance.

  `Wang Xing′ is their myth.

  Precious things are always rare. The price required to catch a `Wang Xing′ often costs a life. ′Wang Xing′ is born in the deepest part of the dark sea of Western Abyss. Since ancient times, Western Abyss's dark sea has been a sanctuary for sea monster creatures and yaokais. Those fortunate enough to reach the shore have already achieved a great feat, and those venturing into the sea to search for this fish, if not swallowed by the dark, strange currents, are often turned into a feast by the hidden beasts within.

  To this day, only an old man surnamed Jiang, thousands of years ago, made it alone to the dark sea of Western Abyss. He successfully caught a young "Wang Xing" with a straight hook. However, on his journey back, Old Jiang released it because this "Wang Xing" spoke a single sentence to him.

  In a casual conversation once, Xuan asked TuTu what she had said to that old man all those years ago.

  TuTu blew a bubble, thought for a while, and said, “I just very foolishly and innocently asked, ‘Can eating a single fish build a nation? Then go ahead and eat me.’”

  Xuan ughed, “And then he let you go?”

  "That old man didn′t say a word. He just stood under the starry sky all night, and the next morning, he released me into a river. The river water back then was so clear! Unlike now, where it's filled with pstic bags and takeout containers everywhere,” TuTu said earnestly.

  Whenever Xuan recalled the scene of his casual chat with TuTu, he couldn′t help but be amused by her innocent expression—even though he was someone who rarely ever smiled.

  But today, even though TuTu was a thousand times pyful and a thousand times charming, he did not smile.

  "The news says that tonight is the night of the Blue Moon. You can still change your mind," Xuan said solemnly, without looking at TuTu, heading straight for the door.

  "Xuan..."

  Just as he was about to leave the hidden chamber, TuTu called his name.

  He didn′t turn back; he didn′t want to look at her, nor did he want to see those bright, shining eyes.

  "We are the same, you and I—including in our choices.”

  Her figure gradually faded away into the water.