Epilogue 3: Shrimp’s Story (Part 1)
Compared to higher animals, a shrimp’s brain structure is overly simple. Besides the instinct for survival, it seems difficult for them to develop rich cognition and emotions.
But in Qingdai Lake, near the east coast, there was a special group of female mantis shrimp. Over generations, they had gradually formed a complex and complete social structure.
Guarding a vast and hidden habitat, this group was intimate and united, with a clear division of labor.
At the bottom were the commoner shrimp workers, who cleaned and foraged. In the middle were the shrimp soldiers and generals. And at the top was a female mantis shrimp who ruled the entire clan, managing internal troubles and defending against external enemies.
The little shrimp each had their own duties and jointly guarded their home.
The life stories of all the past rulers were carved on a rock that recorded shrimp history. Counting carefully, the clan had been stable for a hundred years, which showed that the rulers’ talents were extraordinary. It was said that they were all exceptionally gifted and had unparalleled beauty.
As for how beautiful the rulers were, Luo Bian did not know, nor did she care.
—She was, after all, just a commoner shrimp at the very bottom.
The clan’s method of reproduction was dual-female reproduction, and the number of eggs laid each time was extremely small. The shrimp of the same age were always very close.
But even as a nauplius larva in the saltwater, Luo Bian had been rejected by all the shrimp of the same age.
If not for the adult shrimp who supervised the larvae, she would probably have been eaten.
Later, after several molts, Luo Bian finally metamorphosed into a juvenile shrimp and, following the shrimp worker who managed breeding, left the saltwater area and headed for her home in Qingdai Lake.
“Stay away from us!”
On the way, the other juvenile shrimp were playing and swimming in a group, leaving her, one shrimp, to swim alone on the side.
Luo Bian did not understand why she was naturally disliked by the group, but she didn’t care.
Because she also did not like the other juvenile shrimp.
Instead, she enjoyed the feeling of swimming alone in the vast waters, and could wantonly flick her shrimp tail to move forward.
With this thought, Luo Bian contentedly and freely did a circle in the water, her light blue color shimmering in the sunlight.
The juvenile shrimp on the side were all discussing.
“We grew up eating the same things. Why does she swim better than us?”
“She doesn’t seem to care at all about being isolated. She’s quite cool.”
“So what? She has a human scent on her, which is disgusting to a shrimp.”
A few days later, the little shrimp arrived at their home in Qingdai Lake.
The home was built according to the unique underwater environment of the lake, cleverly combining waterweeds, rock caves, and some special vegetation, which was very suitable for mantis shrimp to live in.
Because no juvenile shrimp was willing to live with her, and her scent was also not pleasing to the adult shrimp, Luo Bian was assigned to a small and narrow rock cave alone.
The rock cave was located in the deepest part of the habitat, far from the other rock caves or crevices. From the outside, it looked ugly and barren, and the inside was not very clean.
Luo Bian didn’t care.
While the shrimp of the same age were playing in the distance, she, a tiny thing, was busy coming and going, seriously cleaning the rock cave with waterweeds and decorating it with beautiful little flowers.
A juvenile shrimp would probably take three to four months to fully develop into an adult shrimp.
During this period, all juvenile shrimp would go to school, and they would have a holiday during each molting period.
Juvenile shrimp who performed well in school had a chance to be noticed and further cultivated, and would be granted a high position in the future.
But Luo Bian could not go to school.
That day, the head of the school, who had come to lead the juvenile shrimp to school, had arrived in front of Luo Bian’s rock cave and had vaguely smelled a human scent, and had couldn’t help but back away a couple of tails in resistance.
Keenly sensing the movement, Luo Bian had poked her head out of the rock cave, a small waterweed still in her mouth.
This little cub was lazy, and she was not at all respectful when she saw the head of the school.
The key was that her whole body had a human scent, which was annoying to a shrimp.
The head of the shrimp school flicked his shrimp body in disgust and swam a little further away, and announced:
“The school will not accept you.”
A light and airy sentence, and it had completely nailed shut Luo Bian’s future, which had not yet had a chance to bloom.
And so, while the other juvenile shrimp were studying in school, Luo Bian, one juvenile shrimp, was assigned simple physical labor and had become a shrimp worker early on.
At this, Luo Bian was not discouraged.
She worked during the day, and at night, she would swim out of the border of her home and go on adventures everywhere.
Other shrimp were afraid of the unknown and the dangers of the outside world, but she was full of interest and would go through waterweeds, climb rock walls and green moss, and curiously observe strange, colorful fish…
She would collect some glowing little flowers as a lamp for her bedroom; she would collect soft vegetation to make a comfortable bed.
She could always easily find her own happiness.
Of course, the lake was full of dangers, and it was a risk for a juvenile shrimp to go out.
Luo Bian was quite lucky and had always escaped death. She had broken her shell and lost a few claws, but they had grown back after a few molts.
Several months had passed, and Luo Bian was about to molt into an adult shrimp.
That day, she was holding a broom made of aquatic plants with her small claws and was cleaning the dirt near the school.
She unintentionally glanced into the school and saw that the juvenile shrimp of the same period were all neatly nestled on fine grass, waiting for class.
After a moment, an adult shrimp elegantly swam into the school and came to the lectern.
Luo Bian’s small claws suddenly paused.
She had seen many adult shrimp, but they were all just the same old light-blue shrimp, nothing special.
But the adult shrimp who was teaching at this moment was different.
She was also a light-blue color, but the color was exceptionally clear and bright, and the patterns on her body were unique and gentle. When she was teaching, her voice was unhurried and clear and pleasant.
At a glance, it was as if a bright and clear moonlight had fallen into the lake, and it was shimmering with the gentle breeze.
“You there, cleaning, don’t slack off!”
Two shrimp workers who were in charge of management swam over and strictly supervised Luo Bian. They subconsciously followed her gaze and looked in, but they also couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.
After a moment, one of them sighed, and her tone toward Luo Bian was rarely peaceful.
“That is the Saintess. The Saintess is exceptionally gifted. How can we, who are just commoner shrimp workers, be able to touch her?”
Each generation of rulers, while in office, would designate the smartest young shrimp in the shrimp group as their successor.
Before officially succeeding to the throne, she was called the Saintess within the clan.
Hearing this, Luo Bian was reminded of the rumor that “all rulers are unparalleled in beauty.”
Now, it seemed that this was not an exaggeration.
Another shrimp worker chimed in, “Speaking of which, the Saintess is about to marry the grand strategist. I’m really looking forward to the wedding.”
The shrimp workers chatted and swam away.
Luo Bian waved her small claws and, while continuing to clean, she sized up the Saintess.
The other was a proper and noble lady, and she herself was a carefree commoner.
So close, yet so far. Luo Bian did not feel envious.
She had heard that the Saintess had to undergo strict inspection and education from the ruler every day, and would often have to travel around for social engagements, and her lifelong partner shrimp had also been designated early on.
As the next ruler, the Saintess had to be proper and elegant, graceful and dignified, and restrained and self-possessed.
Like a symbol without a self.
The Saintess on the lectern was just like this.
Although she was elegant and composed, in Luo Bian’s eyes, she was not lively, nor was she happy.
She would clearly not spend time decorating her bedroom, let alone enjoy the pleasure of an adventure at night, but would completely imprison herself in her duties and glory.
With this thought, Luo Bian felt that it was boring, and even a little pitiful.
She looked away without any reluctance and, lazily holding a small waterweed in her mouth, she leaned against a rock wall to rest.
Inside, the Saintess’s beautiful, sky-blue, long claws waved lightly, and her voice was clear and pleasant in the ripples of the water.
“This kind of grass has a serrated tip and is a light red color. When it is touched, it will tightly wrap around the other with its leaves and eventually devour it, so you must be careful to avoid it…”
Luo Bian paused slightly.
In the past, she had almost been swallowed by a certain fish, and only then had she known how fast that fish could prey; she had almost suffocated from the poison released by a certain lake flower, and only then had she understood how deadly that flower was.
Later, she had also been entangled by this kind of grass that the Saintess was now introducing, and had desperately struggled free on the line between life and death, and had, with her broken and scattered legs, been lucky to escape.
The content that was safely taught in the school every day, Luo Bian had learned at the cost of her life.
At this moment, for the first time, she deeply realized the difference in fate between herself and those juvenile shrimp.
Let alone with the Saintess.
She carelessly chewed on the waterweed and turned and left.
Where to go on an adventure tonight?
Luo Bian waved her small claws, which were much healthier than the shrimp of the same age, and in an instant, she had forgotten the distant Saintess.
…
Luo Bian had not expected that she would, during this adventure, complete her final molt before she became an adult.
Late at night, she was curiously chasing a certain group of glowing fish, and without realizing it, she had swum further and further away.
When the feeling of molting had surged without any warning, it was already too late to swim back home.
The wild waters were dangerous, and she had hastily found a patch of waterweed to molt.
Her newly molted body was soft and weak, and she had little strength to move. But just at this moment, she had been pursued by a large fish, and she had been terrified and exhausted as she had fled.
Obstacles were everywhere, and Luo Bian had been delayed outside for several days.
Later, her soft shell had gradually hardened, and she had finally and completely developed into a mature shrimp, and she was also closer to her home.
On the way, she had passed by a kind of flower that could reflect images, and Luo Bian had stopped to admire it for a moment.
She had lifted her azure-blue long claws and had stroked her shrimp whiskers, and was a little satisfied with her adult appearance.
Humming a little tune she had heard from a group of wild fish, Luo Bian had finally returned home.
Passing by a group of shrimp workers, she had heard them discussing.
“It’s been three whole days since the wedding, and the Saintess is still missing. Something must have really happened!”
“The ruler suspects she’s been kidnapped. Today, she sent troops to question the crab group next door again, but they couldn’t find anything out. What are we going to do?”
“Hey, do you think… could it be that the Saintess was dissatisfied with the ruler’s arranged marriage and ran away…”
“Impossible. I’ve seen the Saintess. She would never do something like run away from a marriage!”
…
Luo Bian listened for a moment.
She was reminded of the last time she had seen the Saintess teaching, and that dignified and self-possessed, noble posture. She was indeed not a rebellious shrimp. How could she have run away from a marriage?
She flicked her shrimp tail, and Luo Bian continued toward her rock cave.
Molting outside was really a life-and-death risk.
At this moment, seeing her warm and cozy, solitary little nest, Luo Bian was for a moment relaxed.
She curled her shrimp tail at the entrance of the cave to gather strength and then, with a strong flick, jumped.
Splash—
The beautiful shrimp body, which had just become an adult, jumped into the rock cave with a magnificent posture and went straight for the small bed, which was covered in soft vegetation.
Who knew that, caught off guard, her body would actually hit a strange shrimp body, and their private and soft little bellies would be pressed tightly together.
“Mmm…” A light hum escaped from below.
“!”
Having lived wild for several months, Luo Bian was extremely alert and quick to react.
As she continued to press down and subdue that shrimp, she quickly lifted her long claws and grabbed a small waterweed on the side.
Click.
A row of glistening little white flowers bloomed with it, and a gentle nightlight lit up.
Luo Bian looked closely at this shrimp that had dared to invade her room and was about to seriously question her, but the next second, her whole being froze—
That beautiful face, that exceptionally clear and bright color, those unique and gentle patterns…
How… how is it the Saintess!
She was stunned and, for a moment, lost her guard.
The Saintess’s light-blue body quickly turned a beautiful crimson, and she suddenly broke free from her suppression and lifted her shrimp tail high.
She forcefully whipped Luo Bian on both cheeks, and with a “smack!” and a “smack!”, two sounds were made.
Luo Bian let out a cry of pain and lifted her long claws to cover her face.
Her head was spinning from being whipped, and for a moment, she was dizzy.
After a moment, she came back to her senses and subconsciously looked at the crimson Saintess, who was lying on her back on the bed, her whole body trembling with anger.
For a moment, she was engrossed and did not feel angry.
Her face was numb from being whipped by the Saintess’s shrimp tail, and she actually felt her heart pounding with a certain heat.
“…Get out,” the Saintess commanded in her clear and elegant voice.
Luo Bian’s body moved slightly.
Being driven away so unreasonably and impolitely, her heart actually began to pound even more fiercely.
Before the Saintess could whip her with her shrimp tail again, she did not dodge, but just said with a certain grievance:
“This is my house. The bed you’re lying on now was laid by me, bit by bit.”
“…”
The Saintess’s shrimp tail froze in mid-air and then slowly curled up, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.
It was clear that she had realized she was in the wrong.
According to the dignified Saintess’s usual self-possessed image, she should have apologized properly and then gracefully stood up and left.
But she saw the Saintess ponder for a moment, and then she slightly lifted her head and threatened with a certain pride:
“Be killed by me, or take me in.”
Luo Bian was stunned.
It’s over.
She actually felt that the Saintess’s action of whipping her shrimp tail was incomparably beautiful, and this domineering and coercive look was also extremely cute.
