Whimpering sounds came from behind them, and the two turned back in confusion.
A large black-and-white head had swum back, followed by a little orca that looked like its calf.
Big orca: Here, have a spinning turtle. Come play with us~
Ye Xunzhi, still swimming: "..."
[I'll politely decline. Also, that poor turtle.]
Little orca: Here's a tasty manta ray. Woohoo, takeoff~
Ye Xunzhi shook her head.
[Thanks for the offer, but that's not on my menu.]
The little orca swam away and came back. It rolled over to show its snowy belly and offered her the bird in its mouth:
Squeak, squeak! You can rub my belly. And this is for you, for you!
[Well, well, well, isn't this a black-necked crane? A rare crane native to Country Z, a first-class protected animal. What's it doing here?!]
[You didn't knock it out of the sky, did you, you little rascal? And you're still holding it in your mouth! Let go, quick! It's going to drown!]
Ye Xunzhi took the black-necked crane from its mouth and surfaced. The bird's mate was squawking frantically.
Seeing Ye Xunzhi emerge holding the bird, its mate immediately flew over and circled anxiously overhead.
"Cough, cough." Ye Yunhuai choked on some water and swam over to check. The bird looked stunned from the blow.
"Luckily, its wings don't seem injured. It probably just got knocked down without warning."
He took the large bird from Ye Xunzhi and let it stand on his palm, facing the wind to dry its feathers. After drying off for a while, it happily spread its wings and soared again.
It even circled them twice, probably to express its thanks.
The siblings went underwater again. Seeing that its gift for Ye Xunzhi had disappeared, the little orca turned belly-up and circled