Crackling and popping.
The waterfall poured down, lotuses bloomed, and clusters of Blue-Eyed Snail Flowers nestled amid the green lotus leaves. Old Toad reclined atop a round stone in the center of the pond, his belly round as a drum and his limbs spread wide.
Water rippled as two Little River Otters squatted on either side, their four paws whirling in circles as they took turns slapping the toad's insteps. The sound was crisp, the rhythm lively.
Comfortable!
"Frog Duke!" Liang Qu respectfully clasped his hands and bowed. "It has been long since I last beheld your noble presence, and thoughts of you have filled me like reeds in autumn! Whenever I recall your lofty bearing, you enter my dreams. Seeing you today, your divine grace remains as lofty and pure as a jade grove of jeweled trees."
"Croak!" Old Toad inhaled and shouted. "Liang Qing is my right-hand man! A pillar of the realm! The confidant of frogs!"
That familiar feeling, that familiar flavor—still so literary, still so heartfelt. A clear, babbling stream amid the Frog Clan.
They were back!
They were all back!
The moon shone brightest over one's homeland, and frogs from home were the dearest.
Compared with cold, tranquil Blue Lake, prosperous and bustling Jianghuai truly warmed a frog's heart more!
"Frog Duke, you have toiled all along the road. When did you return?"
"Roughly yesterday evening. I came back with the Ice Jade Toad Clan's vanguard. There were too many frogs, so it wasn't convenient to openly travel the waterways. From Blue Lake to Jianghuai, the journey took a full three months." Old Toad held a reed stalk between his lips, sucked down the watermelon juice in his hand in one gulp, then tossed out the rind.
A Little River Otter leaped into the air,