Great Expectations

Drip.

A dewdrop rolled along the veins of a leaf, fell from its tip, and sent ripples spreading outward.

In the pond, the ripples stirred the blazing Golden Eye.

The bighead carp pressed its short fins together, its face devout and full of liveliness and cleverness. Its thoughts were no different from an ordinary person's, save for slight deficiencies in logic.

It was far more useful than simple Golden Eye control...

Golden Eye control required issuing definite commands, no different from operating a puppet.

Feeling the half-real, half-illusory Mental Link in his mind, Liang Qu stirred a thought. The entire bighead carp turned around, dived into the water, and wagged its tail as it threaded through the underground rivers. Only when the light began to shimmer did it arrive in the Great Marsh.

Vast white light filled the river.

After briefly identifying its direction, the bighead carp wagged its tail and surged forward, evading the giant nets cast into the water, crab-leg spears that held up the sky, and tentacles that blotted out the sun...

The Sea Market Master watched the bighead carp weave along with a wag of its tail, passing fearlessly between her tentacles, and was immediately astonished.

She extended a tentacle, and the bighead carp suddenly flicked its tail and made a sharp turn.

Seeing this, the Sea Market Master did not force the matter. Instead, she drew the current backward, adding momentum and gently sending the bighead carp partway onward.

It continued forward amid splashing water until the bighead carp spotted a drifting little boat.

Splash! Xu Yuelong kneaded a fist-sized ball of earth and tossed in a handful of yellow mud. The mud dissolved, tinting the water with a faint yellow mist. Before the thick fog could cover the surface, he watched helplessly as a