Yao Lao had just been about to ask about the life of this "Li Er," but the octopus named Paul merely waved a tentacle lazily and cut off all his impending questions in an utterly dismissive tone.
"Just an old man who rode a blue ox around everywhere. Nothing much to say."
That casual dismissal forced Yao Lao to swallow a bellyful of profound questions, leaving his chest feeling tight. Clearly, this octopus had no interest in discussing his former master.
The excitement in Xiao Yan's heart slowly subsided, replaced by a tangle of emotions. Looking at his sworn elder brother, who seemed perfectly at ease and indifferent to everything, he could not help asking a question.
"What do you want to do in the future? You have to have some sort of goal, right?"
Xiao Yi was checking what fish he had caught that day. At Xiao Yan's question, he did not even raise his head, his tone full of matter-of-fact nonchalance.
"What do I need a goal for? Catch a few fish every day, tease you a little-sounds plenty fun to me. Set a goal, then work myself to death trying to achieve it? Get led around like a donkey and grind myself into the ground? No fun."
Xiao Yan understood the word "grind," but he could not understand Xiao Yi's almost "lying flat" attitude. In a world where strength reigned supreme and everyone yearned for the pinnacle, having no desires or ambitions made him an oddity among oddities.
"Don't you have any dreams at all? Like... becoming a Dou Di or something?"
At the words "Dou Di," Xiao Yi finally stopped what he was doing. He turned and studied Xiao Yan as though examining a rare species, then snorted.
"And then what? Grind yourself half to death,