Xuan Gui

It was a red-and-black "turtle."

Yes.

It looked a lot like a turtle.

But on closer inspection, you could see that it had a bird's head and a venomous snake's tail.

It wasn't a turtle.

It looked like a turtle, but had a bird's head and a snake's tail. It was called...

Xuan Gui.

It was... a monster.

Xuan Gui lay motionless behind a clump of seaweed.

The commotion outside hadn't affected it in the slightest.

Hmm.

Was this aquarium soundproof?

Xiao Xiao suddenly wondered.

Then he shook his head, amused.

Whether it was soundproof or not...

Would that make any difference to a monster?

As if it had finally noticed the gaze fixed on it—

For far too long.

Clearly...

The owner of that gaze had done so on purpose.

In other words...

The owner of the gaze had seen it.

Xuan Gui slowly opened its eyes.

Beneath the shimmering water, its small eyes seemed to glow with a faint blue light...

"Ah!"

The little girl let out a startled cry.

The small part of her head that had poked out instantly ducked back.

Xiao Xiao lowered his eyes and smiled.

Come to think of it, Xuan Gui's appearance...

Was a bit too terrifying for a child.

That so-called bird's head...

Didn't look like the head of some cute bird.

It looked more like a vulture's.

Gaunt.

Menacing.

It had a sharp, skeletal look to it.

Its snake-like tail was even more unsettling.

It made you wonder: was it just a tail that looked like a snake?

Or was it an actual snake?

And its open eyes even glowed blue...

The faint blue light made its bony face look all the more sinister and frightening.

Just looking at it was enough to raise goosebumps