Heart of the Ocean (21): Successful convergence

“Snuggle, snuggle, snuggle with Tan Xiao!”  

The translucent little jellyfish stretched out their tiny tentacles with all their might, clinging tightly to Tan Xiao’s palm. Their movements were intimate, their expressions blissful: Yes, this was the familiar scent they loved, this was the warmth they adored—this was the palm of Tan Xiao, Wen Yi’s most, most, most beloved human!  

Completely forgetting their original task, they were so happy their entire bodies turned pink.  

Jellyfish weren’t particularly bright to begin with, and after shrinking in size, their intelligence seemed to shrink along with it. The nearby Turritopsis jellyfish didn’t even bother sending messages to Wen Yi, who was far away in the temple. All they cared about was snuggling with Tan Xiao.  

Jellyfish from other directions slowly gathered as well. Tan Xiao counted the jellyfish in his palm and noticed their numbers growing—10, 25, 36, 100…  

He stared at the Turritopsis jellyfish in his hand. Though he found them utterly adorable, just like Wen Yi, the thought that these might be his and Wen Yi’s “children” made his scalp tingle slightly.  

Raising one gluttonous Turritopsis jellyfish was already exhausting enough. Raising this many? Even if he emptied his entire fortune, it would be impossible.  

But Turritopsis jellyfish were deep-sea creatures, and he was currently at the bottom of the ocean. Maybe he could release them and let them fend for themselves—adapt to their environment, live off the land (or rather, the sea).  

Still, jellyfish this small should be placed where plankton were abundant to give them the best chance of survival.  

A jumble of random thoughts flooded Tan Xiao’s mind. But as he gazed at the jellyfish in his palm, a sudden possibility occurred to him.  

Tan Xiao lowered his head, staring unblinkingly at the 100 identical Turritopsis jellyfish, and asked softly, “Wen Yi… is that you?”  

“It’s me, it’s me!”  

Each little jellyfish struggled to make a sound, answering Tan Xiao in unison.  

So, they didn’t have children after all—these little jellyfish were all Wen Yi.  

Though he didn’t understand why Wen Yi had suddenly become so tiny, as long as it was Wen Yi, that was all that mattered.  

Tan Xiao let out a sigh of relief, though he couldn’t help feeling a faint, inexplicable sense of loss. If the two of them really did have children, they’d surely be incredibly cute.  

Snapping back to reality, Tan Xiao asked with concern, “Wen Yi, how did you end up like this?”

If nothing unexpected had happened, Wen Yi shouldn’t have ended up like this.  

“Find Tan Xiao, find Tan Xiao.”  

But these little jellyfish clearly weren’t very smart—after all, they were less than one ten-thousandth of Wen Yi. They could only follow simple commands and couldn’t form long, coherent sentences.  

Luckily, the jellyfish could still point the way: “Temple, temple—in the temple!”  

Turritopsis jellyfish were highly jealous creatures—they’d even get jealous of themselves—but they also understood priorities. Now wasn’t the time to fight for attention.  

“You mean the clue is in the temple?”  

The little jellyfish bounced excitedly in his palm, desperately trying to convey the message: “Main body in the temple!”  

Tan Xiao instinctively looked in the direction they had come from. “Is the temple up there?”  

The jellyfish wriggled and jumped in agreement: “Up! Up!”  

“Temple is due south!”  

“On the big pillar! Big pillar! Big pillar!”  

Tan Xiao understood. He pointed toward a massive column in the south. “Did you jump down from that pillar?”  

The jellyfish all chimed in unison: “Yes! Yes!”  

Tan Xiao let out a relieved sigh. Before, he had no clear destination, forced to wander aimlessly while constantly looking around, afraid he might miss Wen Yi.  

But now, with a precise target, all he had to do was move forward.  

The problem was, there was no direct path upward—they’d have to climb.  

Rummaging through his spatial backpack, Tan Xiao found enough safety gear. Thankfully, he had a habit of buying random things, and he even had climbing equipment.  

“Alright, Xiao Bai, time’s wasting. Let’s go.”  

Tan Xiao took the safest shortcut to reach the base of the pillar. By the time he arrived, an hour had passed, and he now had 300 Turritopsis jellyfish clinging to him.  

Some perched on his shoulders, others nestled in his hair, their tiny tentacles gripping tightly so as not to be a burden.  

The pillar towered into the clouds. From his current position, the top was still at least 200 meters away.  

Though 200 meters might not sound like much, the pillar wasn’t uneven—it was a sheer vertical surface, a perfect 90-degree angle.  

Tan Xiao wasn’t an expert climber, nor was he a hobbyist. Scaling this would be anything but easy.  

Before ascending, he double-checked: “This is the right pillar?”  

“Yes! Yes!”  

“Then up we go.”  

Since the journey here had already worn him out, Tan Xiao took a short break. He ate, drank some water, and fed Xiao Bai—better to replenish his energy now than risk collapsing mid-climb.

“Do you need to eat too? You came such a long way—aren’t you tired?”  

The jellyfish all insisted they weren’t tired.  

Still, Tan Xiao opened a tuna can for them—technically pet food, but jellyfish weren’t human either, so it should be fine. Besides, tuna had plenty of moisture, making it perfect for Turritopsis jellyfish.  

As Tan Xiao sat down to eat, the jellyfish that had found him happily plopped into the can, munching away alongside their beloved. The 300 jellyfish polished off the tuna in no time.  

So Tan Xiao opened two more cans. Meanwhile, even more jellyfish tracked him down—by the time the meal was over, the 300 had grown to 500.  

Luckily, these jellyfish were tiny. Even all together, they barely took up any space.  

“Let’s go!”  

Refreshed, Tan Xiao adjusted his climbing gear and began scaling the pillar without hesitation. He pushed forward relentlessly, refusing to look down, ascending as fast as he could.  

Without proper handholds, brute strength alone wasn’t enough—he had to cling carefully and inch upward.  

But after an exhausting climb, he finally reached the top. Tan Xiao quickly scrambled onto the ledge and took a few steps forward.  

From this distance, he could see Wen Yi inside the temple.  

The angle didn’t give him a full view of the interior, but one glance was enough to reveal an overwhelming number of Turritopsis jellyfish—tens of thousands, at the very least!