Lin Yue rubbed her eyes and ears, hoping this was just a hallucination caused by staying underwater too long and lacking oxygen. She tried to calm herself down.
But the voice continued.
"I can't be sold!"
Damn it. The water must have reached her brain. The voice still echoed clearly in her head.
"I'm begging you…" The voice persisted.
Lin Yue was still trying to process what was happening. She had never heard of any spiritual beast capable of speaking to humans, except for those of extremely high rank.
"You can speak?" Lin Yue asked hesitantly.
"Of course!"
"How is that possible?" the girl grew even more confused.
"Our race has been guides since ancient times."
'Guides?'
Lin Yue's lips twitched slightly. Wasn't the koi fish a symbol of good fortune? Perhaps because she was still new to this world, there were many things she had yet to understand.
"So you can be my guide?"
The fish hesitated before answering. Unnoticed by her, the water around them gradually grew darker and thicker as they continued talking.
Before long, the water turned pitch black. Sensing something was wrong, Lin Yue felt a chill crawl up her spine, though she forced herself to stay alert.
Slowly, she swam toward the surface, the golden koi following her willingly for reasons unknown. The fish clung close to her side.
When she reached the surface, Lin Yue gasped deeply, greedily drawing oxygen into her lungs as she swam toward the shore. Yet her unease only grew stronger.
And sure enough—
Suddenly, tendrils shot toward her!
Lin Yue dodged reflexively, her eyes widening at the sight before her as her heart pounded violently.
The tendrils were purplish-red, each lined with suction cups. They looked like tentacles, only slimmer and far more numerous, roughly as thick as a belt.
Their sheer number alone made them troublesome.
Soon, their owner revealed itself. It resembled a giant octopus, its massive purple head towering nearly three meters tall, yellow eyes staring sharply at Lin Yue.
A shiver ran through her. This was the first monster she had ever encountered since arriving in this world, beast or otherwise.
One thing was certain. It was targeting her.
The octopus attacked again, its tendrils lashing toward Lin Yue, while others struck at the golden koi that had somehow begun flying beside her.
Wait—
That fish could fly too?!
Lin Yue's head throbbed as she tried to process everything, but she had no time to think.
The tendrils moved with brutal speed, yet she narrowly avoided them.
She silently thanked her prior training in flexibility and reflexes.
Lin Yue continued evading the countless tendrils when one slipped in unnoticed and wrapped around her ankle, yanking her into the air upside down.
She clenched her teeth. She hadn't expected things to turn out like this. Once again, her carelessness had put her in danger. Embarrassing.
More tendrils joined the assault. One coiled tightly around her neck, cutting off the flow of oxygen to her lungs.
If she couldn't break free within seconds, she would be dead.
Summoning all her strength, Lin Yue bit down on the tentacle. Instantly, blue liquid seeped from the wound. The octopus's blood was a deep blue.
The creature grew more frenzied as its nerves were damaged. The tentacle around her neck tightened even more with each passing second.
Lin Yue refused to give in. She bit down harder, blue blood soaking her jaw as she tore at the tentacle.
The octopus was stubborn, unwilling to release her, and moved its other tendrils to strike again.
Unfortunately for it, the tentacle around her neck had already been severed by her bite. Lin Yue escaped swiftly before the others could reach her.
The octopus raged but did not pursue Lin Yue.
Its true target was the golden koi.
The creature was attracted to anything that shone and glittered like gold. With the koi's golden scales, it was no surprise the monster coveted it.
Its yellow eyes focused on another tendril meant to capture the koi, yet there was no golden glimmer to be seen.
The fish had fled.
The octopus scanned its surroundings sharply until it spotted the golden koi swimming through the air unsteadily. It quickly crawled across the shallow, waterlogged ground, water only reaching its ankles.
A bizarre sight.
Lin Yue observed quietly. The octopus was indeed drawn to the golden koi. That was no ordinary guiding koi, It was a calamity-bearing koi!
While the creature chased after the koi, Lin Yue fixed her gaze on its yellow eyes. She recalled reading that one of an octopus's weaknesses lay in its eyes.
Her hand tightened around the crystal hairpin always worn in her hair. She took a stance, ready to strike.
This was her first time using it as a weapon.
Taking a deep breath, she sprinted forward at full speed, still slightly unsteady from earlier exertion but undeterred.
After running with all her strength, she leapt, high enough to reach the yellow eye.
In the next instant, Lin Yue drove the crystal hairpin into it without hesitation. Blue fluid splattered across her face, inflicting severe damage.
She didn't stop there. Pushing the hairpin deeper, she then wrenched it downward, tearing the retina apart.
Blue liquid poured out in greater volume. No matter how vicious the octopus was, it quickly weakened as it lost fluid.
Combined with the blazing sun overhead, it would soon dry out and die.
And indeed, it didn't take long for the octopus to collapse.
It was dead.
Lin Yue wiped the sweat from her forehead.
This was her first battle in this world.
The outcome wasn't bad at all.