Pet King

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Huang and his son Xiao Zhi took the plastic storage boxes that Zhang Zian handed them; they didn’t know his intentions.

Xiao Zhi couldn’t help but say, “Unc… no, big brother, the weather’s so cold. It’s definitely cold from being soaked in the water, right? Shouldn’t we cover it up with sand instead? Why are we splashing it with water?”

It was close to noon. The temperature was about ten degrees over. It was a very cooling temperature, but it was not the same when one was wet and the wind was blowing.

Earlier, Xiao Zhi and Huang had already tried to push the minke whale back into the sea. Their pants were already wet up to their knees. Stepping on the beach barefoot, their toes sunk deep into the sand. They could feel the loss of heat from their soles as the cold circulated back.

Huang suddenly thought of something. He nodded and said, “Yes! We should pour water! The reason why fish die on shore is because they don’t get soaked with water, so they can’t breathe. Xiao Zhi, don’t stand there like a fool! Quickly, scoop some water. Don’t you want to save this whale?”

Zhang Zian found a reef rock and sat down. He raised his head and squinted his eyes at the glaring sun. He started taking off his shoes and socks, then explained, “Whales are not like us. They spend most of their time living in the lower temperatures of the middle sea level. They only get temporary exposure to sunlight when they float up to the surface of the sea to breathe, which is why they have a thick layer of fat to keep them warm. When they’re beached, the temperature that may be just right for us is like a hot summer day to them. In addition, it’s sunny out today, so it’s grayish-black back must’ve already absorbed a great deal of heat. It must be suffering from the heat now… If we don’t do anything now, it’s probably going to die from a heat stroke before the tow boat from the Administration of Fishery arrives.”

As for Huang, Zhang Zian decided to save him some face, and not point out his mistake of mistaking a whale for a fish. After all, a father’s image in front of a child was very important.

Xiao Zhi now understood. He quickly ran into the water and scooped out a full box of seawater. He had overestimated his strength, however, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t lift the box up. With no other options, he poured out half the water and ran back to the minke whale, splashing it with water. Clearly, he believed his father’s explanation that whales breathe through their gills.

Zhang Zian and Huang both made their way into the water, too, scooping out water with the storage boxes, then splashing it onto the other parts of the minke whale.

Although it sounded easy, it was actually really tiring—lugging that heavy weight around, and raising up box after box of seawater. After a few cycles, all three of them were panting hard, and their arms were both sore and aching.

It was okay for Zhang Zian, since he was still young and had been training. But Huang, on the other hand, was just an ordinary salaryman; he worked during the day and was responsible for teaching his child during the night. It had been some time since he last participated in any rigorous activity, and it only took a short while before he was drenched in his own sweat.

“I can’t… I need a break.” Huang wiped off his sweat and sat down on a reef rock. Squinting his eyes at the horizon, he mumbled to himself, “Why isn’t it here yet? It’s really very slow…”

To Huang, it felt like a lot of time has passed, but in actual fact, it was just a short while. The Administration of Fishery was not the 110 patrol officer, so their response time was not as fast. The staff who picked up the call might not even have had the authority to mobilize the fishery boat. He would have to report the matter to his supervisor and wait for approval. It was definitely going to take some time for all that to process, and what if the supervisor was not around…

Xiao Zhi was also too exhausted. He just sat down on the beach. Whether or not he would be scolded by his mother when he returned home was not part of his consideration at the moment.

Zhang Zian did not rush them. It was already very commendable that they were able to take the initiative to help out the beached minke whale. Zhang Zian continued alone for awhile before he also stopped and took a break.

Zian did not sit down––he felt that he would get lazy if he sat down, so he stood beside the minke whale to try and catch his breath.

After it had cold water splashed on it, the minke whale seemed to be feeling better. Its tightly shut eyes were now slightly opened, and it locked eyes with Zhang Zian, who was just beside it.

The shape of the minke whale’s eye was similar to that of the human’s––under its eyelid was an astonishingly large eyeball. It was clearly still a calf, but it already had thick bags under its eyes, and a few thin wrinkles were stretched around its eyelids.

Its eyes were black and white––warm and bright––with the white fundus, and the black pupil. In the black pupil, there was an obvious white circle, and in that white circle was another black pupil.

It was said that the intelligence of whales and dolphins were second only to humans, even further exceeding monkeys and orangutans, who are close relatives of the human. Being watched by the whale’s eye, Zhang Zian clearly realized that point… The whale was an intelligent creature; it knew that they were helping it, and it was showing gratitude through its eyes.

The feeling could only be felt and not shared with words. It was just like being watched by a crocodile––one would be able to feel it’s cold-bloodedness. When one was watched by a dog, they can also feel its loyalty––or contempt, when watched by Fina.

Zhang Zian reached out his hand and patted it as an attempt to comfort the whale.

A cool and smooth sensation was felt on his palm. Zian could also feel the slight undulations on its skin; it was like a leather sofa with an excellent feel.

Its skin was both soft and tough. It was also very elastic when pressed slightly, and there was at least a layer of fat under the skin as thick as a finger.

The sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

Zhang Zian regained some stamina and again started using the plastic storage boxes to scoop some water. He was seriously considering if he should call his two strong laborers, Wang Qian and Li Kun, down to help out with the hard work.

Xiao Zhi and Huang took a longer break, continuing again after they had enough rest. Whenever Huang scooped out a box of water, he would look into the far distance, hoping for the fishery boat to arrive sooner. If Huang was to continue with that rigorous activity, he’d be turning up for work the next day with sores and aching.

“Unc… big brother! This whale, it’s bleeding! Dad! Come over and take a look!” Xiao Zhi suddenly screamed out.

Zhang Zian and Huang made their way over after hearing him. They soon noticed the blood stains on the beach, and the blood was oozing out from one side of the minke whale. But because the wound was pressed against the beach, they could not see the exact condition of the wound.

The blood might have already seeped into the sand, and was only seeping out now after the sand had absorbed enough water from the continuous flushing.

“No wonder it’s beached… The cause is the wound,” Zhang Zian said softly.

Whales being beached and dying was a common occurrence––there were almost a few cases each year. It happened to different whales worldwide. The reason for them being beached was very complicated. Except for a small number that were suffering from an injury, most whales did not have obvious reasons. Some said that the whales lost their way; some said it was just an accident; some said that it was due to the sonar interference… There were even some that suggested that it might be a suicidal phenomenon.

But the reason that the minke whale in front of them was beached was due to its injury. It might have been influenced from the pain, then t lost its sense of direction and ended up rushing ashore. Of course, that was just a speculation––only the whale knew the true reason, but it couldn’t speak.

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