Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

The Little Red Carp heard this. To show that she thought her brother was great and liked him too, she struggled out of her sister’s arms, ran to Zhao Nuanyang’s feet by the easel, and hugged his leg. Wiggling back and forth, she said, ”Brother is great too! Little Red Carp likes Brother, too! Brother’s paintings are the prettiest!”

Zhao Nuanyang was delighted to see her acting this way. With a bit of paint on his hand, he dabbed a cute little red dot on the Little Red Carp’s forehead and smiled. ”Alright, your sister will make you a kite, and I’ll paint on it. Whatever the Little Red Carp wants, I’ll paint it for you!”

The Little Red Carp thought for a moment, then nodded. ”I’m the prettiest, so draw a red carp for me! A good-looking, beautiful one!”

”Haha!” Zhao Nuanyue doubled over with laughter. ’This little sister of mine is definitely going to be a great beauty when she grows up, and a vain one at that. Still, being this confident when she’s older wouldn’t be a bad thing!’

Zhao Nuanyang also shook his head and chuckled, a look of fond exasperation on his face as if to say he was helpless against the Little Red Carp.

When the painting was finally done, Zhao Nuanyang packed up his supplies, washed his brushes, and put everything in order before taking off the large smock he wore over his clothes.

Zhao Nuanyue took out the ring the Little Red Carp had prepared for Zhao Nuanyang and slipped it onto her brother’s finger.

”Sis, this ring is really special. It even has dragon patterns on it,” Zhao Nuanyang said with a smile, tracing the design. ”I like it a lot. Thank you.”

Zhao Nuanyue shook her head and smiled. ”I didn’t make it. The Little Red Carp did.”

Zhao Nuanyang stared, not believing his sister. He shook his head and said, ”How could the Little Red Carp have possibly made this? She’s so little. There’s no way she could create something so exquisite.”

”Brother, I did make it! I really did! It’s a gift for you,” the Little Red Carp said in her small, childlike voice. She grew a little anxious when she saw her brother still didn’t believe her.

’Everyone says lying children aren’t good children. She could lie to anyone else, but she never wanted to lie to her sister or brother.’

Seeing this, Zhao Nuanyue smiled gently. ”Nuanyang, you’re grown up now, and your health has returned, so there’s something I need to tell you. It might sound a little incredible, but it’s the truth. It all started when I first arrived at the Dragon King Temple. I was cleaning the Dragon King Statue when I cut my hand, and my blood dripped onto the stone... ”

Zhao Nuanyue recounted everything that had happened with the Old Dragon King and the Little Red Carp since she had arrived in Nianqiao Village.

Zhao Nuanyang was an excellent listener. Even though he was so shocked his mouth hung agape, he didn’t interrupt his sister, letting her speak until she had finished.

The Little Red Carp also chimed in from the side, periodically affirming what Zhao Nuanyue was saying.

When Zhao Nuanyue finished speaking, the Little Red Carp joined her in staring at Zhao Nuanyang.

After a long moment, Zhao Nuanyang finally stammered, ”Sis... are you... are you saying the Little Red Carp is an actual red carp?”

”That’s right!” Zhao Nuanyue nodded, patting the head of the Little Red Carp, who was sitting beside her. ”She’s a red carp. Come on, Little Red Carp, show your brother what you can do!”

The Little Red Carp listened to her sister. Anxious that her brother still didn’t believe her, she jumped down from the rock and giggled, ”Brother, watch closely!”

The Little Red Carp hopped off the rock and, on her chubby little legs, jumped toward the nearby pool.

”Little Red Carp, stop messing around!” Zhao Nuanyang cried out, afraid she would drown. He rushed forward, trying to pull her back.

But the Little Red Carp leaped, flipped gracefully in mid-air, and transformed into a large, seven- or eight-pound red carp. The movement was beautiful, but a sudden RRRIP of tearing fabric made Zhao Nuanyue freeze.

In her transformation, the Little Red Carp had forgotten to take off her clothes. The large carp had burst right through them, especially her pants.

The Little Red Carp was dumbfounded, too. Her pants were ruined! She quickly dropped into the water, only her chubby fish head poking out as she called, ”Brother, Brother...”

”Wha—” Zhao Nuanyang’s mouth hung open in astonishment. He pointed at the water. ”Little Red Carp... Little Red Carp... Sis, the Little Red Carp turned into a fish...”

Seeing her brother so flabbergasted, Zhao Nuanyue just smiled from the sidelines, giving him time to process and accept what he’d seen.

The Little Red Carp, still wearing her little top, swam back and forth in the water, singing over and over, ”I’m a little red carp, I’ve always been so pretty, la la la...”

The goofy and adorably silly Little Red Carp nearly made Zhao Nuanyue double over with laughter again.

Listening to his sister’s laughter and the Little Red Carp’s off-key singing, Zhao Nuanyang finally started to calm down. He muttered to himself, ”It’s real. Everything my sister said is real. It’s all real!”

The Little Red Carp hadn’t been in the water for a long time, and it felt wonderful, so she kept swimming near the surface. There was also another, more embarrassing reason: her tail had ripped her pants.

Even though she was a fish, she was a fish who knew a thing or two about modesty!

Zhao Nuanyue walked over to her brother and patted his shoulder. ”Nuanyang, does this prove I wasn’t lying? The Dragon Bright Grass we used before—the one that lets us sense others’ malice—and the Dragon Wisdom Grass that helped you recover your health and made you stronger... the Little Red Carp prepared all of it for us. Now, because she blocked the entrance to the dark river, she earned merit from the Old Dragon King. As a reward, she gained a human form, became an adorable little girl, and is now our little sister.”

”Little Red Carp... little sister... Little Red Carp... little sister!” Zhao Nuanyang was still lost in his own thoughts. He looked from the chubby red carp swimming and singing back to his sister. ”Sis, aren’t we taught that there are no ghosts or spirit monsters? Is... is this what they call feudal superstition?”

Hearing this, Zhao Nuanyue grasped her brother’s hand. ”Nuanyang, I don’t know if ghosts, spirit monsters, and all that ’feudal superstition’ stuff is real or not. But I have experienced this firsthand, so I believe there are many things in this world that can’t be explained. Just because we don’t know about them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. But I do understand one thing: we’ve been blessed with a rare opportunity. Since we have it, we should uphold the Old Dragon King’s beliefs by doing good deeds and accumulating merit. As long as we stay true to our original purpose, we’ll see things through to the end.”

Zhao Nuanyang mulled over his sister’s words, then nodded. ”What exists, exists. I can’t figure it out, so I won’t try to. All I know is that you’re my sister, the Little Red Carp is my little sister, and you’re both my family.”

Hearing Zhao Nuanyang’s words, the Little Red Carp was so touched that she swam to the water’s edge. Her head transformed back into that of the beautiful little girl, but below the water, she kept her fish tail. She was too embarrassed to change back completely since her pants were ruined. Propping her chin on her arms, she rested on a rock at the edge of the pool. Her pale, chubby, round face looked up at her brother and sister as she grinned. ”Brother... Sister...”