It's Good to Have a Koi!

A gentle breeze brushed the corner of Li Chu's clothes, as if a crow had flown over Virtuous Cloud Temple.

The air fell silent.

After a moment, it was Yu Qi'an who broke the silence: "Little girl, think carefully. Did your grandfather give you any hints on how to save them? Did you not know, or did you forget for a moment?"

Yue'er opened her innocent and beautiful big eyes and stared blankly for a while, searching her mind for memories. But she quickly realized that the more she searched, the less she found...

"I only remember that, at that time... at that time, I snuck out to play, and then Grandpa suddenly contacted me using a Spirit Art. He said a lot of things, said they were captured, and told me to come find the Little Daoist Priest or something... When I went back, I found that my clansmen were indeed gone... I don't remember anything else, anything else."

She stammered.

"It doesn't matter," Yu Qi'an said with a chuckle. "Since that's the case, you can stay here for now. When we have a clue about your clansmen, we'll go rescue them. Uh, rescue fish, is that okay?"

Yue'er's gaze swept over the master and disciple for a moment, looking conflicted. Finally, she nodded.

"Mhm, Grandpa told me to recognize him as master anyway."

"Miss Yue'er..."

Li Chu wanted to say something, but Yu Qi'an tugged at his sleeve and gave him a look, signaling him to turn his back.

"A koi recognizing a master is a tremendous opportunity with many benefits. Just accept it," Yu Qi'an reminded him.

"But..." Li Chu frowned slightly, still feeling a bit uneasy.

He always believed in the equality of all beings and had never considered the concept of demon servants before.

"A koi's so-called recognition of a master doesn't mean becoming your servant. It means binding your luck," Yu Qi'an explained. "After recognizing you as master, she can help increase your luck. The stronger your luck, the more her cultivation can benefit. It's a win-win situation. Her grandfather asking her to find you might be because he saw your luck before and thought you were a promising host."

So that's how it is. Li Chu nodded in understanding.

He turned back and said, "Then Miss Yue'er, you will stay here for now. You don't need to call me master in the future; just call me Li Chu. From now on, if I get any news related to your clansmen, I will go to their rescue immediately."

Yue'er blinked. "Okay, Master."

For the first time, Li Chu felt that words were so pale and powerless.

"Heh heh, you can't blame the little girl," Yu Qi'an chuckled softly. "She hasn't fully transformed yet. Although she looks human now, she probably can't adapt to human memory methods yet. As her Cultivation grows, it will gradually get better."

The Spirituality of koi is extremely rare among the generally foolish aquatic races. Not only do they possess a natural ability to bring good fortune, but they can also comprehend the mysteries of transformation earlier than other demons.

However, when their Cultivation is still shallow, even if they can transform into human form, it's merely an empty shell. There's still a long way to go.

Someone like Miss Yue'er here can be considered a person with a fish's brain.

Or a fish with a human body.

The sudden addition of a member to the temple was a big event. The master and disciple were about to discuss how to accommodate her when they suddenly heard a commotion from the workers over there.

Not long after, the foreman came over holding a small box.

"Daoist Yu, Little Daoist Priest Li, this was dug up from under the old wall. It should have been buried by a predecessor of your Daoist Temple, right?"

The workers hired by the Wang Family were all strong laborers from the nearby villages. They were familiar with the Virtuous Cloud Temple and had no intention of pocketing anything. Moreover, under the watchful eyes of the Three Pure Ones, such petty thoughts were even less likely to arise.

Li Chu glanced at the box he delivered. It looked old, its cover damaged and covered in dirt, having been buried underground for who knows how long.

He took it and opened it. Inside was a box of silver, packed full, likely close to a hundred taels.

"Whoa."

Master and disciple were overjoyed.

The Virtuous Cloud Temple had been built for some years, and they had dug up the ground many times before. This was the first time they had ever dug up money.

Yu Qi'an looked at Little Yue'er with kind eyes: "It seems our Virtuous Cloud Temple is truly turning for the better."

"Do you guys like this stuff a lot?"

Little Yue'er had been watching them with her innocent and beautiful big eyes.

"Ahem." Yu Qi'an coughed lightly: "As cultivators, we naturally don't value wealth."

Li Chu also said earnestly: "Money is an external object."

"But... well, it's always good to be happy when you find money," Yu Qi'an added.

"Right," Li Chu agreed.

"Really? Then I'll give all of this to you."

Yue'er reached into her plain little chest and pulled out a small pouch. With a rustle, she poured out a pile of loose silver, copper coins, and even a small goldfish the thickness of a finger.

"How do you, an aquatic creature, have so much money?"

"I picked it up," Yue'er said nonchalantly. "I don't know why, but I always find these things when I come ashore to play. I think they're pretty and shiny, so I saved them all."

Li Chu looked at her deeply.

Then, he said solemnly: "Please, you must stay at the Virtuous Cloud Temple."

Evening.

Li Chu went to the Liu Family Ghost Building. He specifically went to check on Little Yue'er.

She was temporarily residing in a large water tank in the kitchen. The bottom of the tank was covered with soft fine sand. Her slender body, over four feet long, was covered in colorful scales, making her extremely beautiful.

When she saw Li Chu's face appear on the water surface, she let out a string of bubbles.

Although she could maintain her human form for quite a long time, there was one problem during this period: she couldn't sleep.

Li Chu observed carefully and discovered the reason was that she didn't know how to Close Eyes Sleep...

This problem wasn't complicated, but asking a fish accustomed to Open Eyes Sleep to Close Eyes Sleep was as difficult as asking a person accustomed to Close Eyes Sleep to Open Eyes Sleep.

So, at night, she had to revert to her Original Form and return to the water.

The Water Tank was still a bit cramped. Li Chu thought that the next goal for developing the Daoist Temple was to build a dedicated Pool for her.

It didn't matter how much money it cost.

The Koi was worth it.

He wondered how many wealthy households dug ponds specifically to raise Koi, and they were only raising ordinary Feng Shui Fish without Spirituality. A Koi like Little Yue'er, with Spirituality, and moreover, a rather rare Seven-Colored Koi, was something that could be encountered but not sought.

Going a step further, it might be a Luck Beast capable of influencing national fortune.

In addition, the immediate priority was to cultivate her hobby of taking a Stroll. This task was Yu Qi'an's responsibility, to take the Little Girl out for walks every day.

Walking the fish.

The Old Person liked doing this the most.

Especially when there was Money to Pick Up right outside the door.

Moreover, the Koi's luck-changing ability wasn't limited to helping people pick up money. When Li Chu arrived at the Liu Family Ghost Building, he found that the Experience Points from the Ghost monsters he delivered were exceptionally high tonight!

He had only just broken through the Level Seventy-Two barrier last night, and by the end of tonight, he was already close to Level Seventy-Three.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Having a Koi was truly great.

White Bone Mountain, Corpse Hiding Cave.

Two Sima Faces.

Two Deep Voices.

"Tonight I organized a batch of Elites to resist, but the outcome was no different. It was an One Sword Instant Kill. I suspect the Little Daoist Priest might not have even noticed the difference in their strength compared to before..."

"If this continues, in less than two months, Our King's Citizens will all be killed by him."

"Can we... avoid the spotlight for a while and have the Ghost monsters in the Spirit World stay put for now?"

"Without Our King's power supporting the Spirit World, the ghosts within will eventually die from a lack of Yin Qi."

"Then what can we do?"

"We can only speed up the breaking of the Seal. Once Our King returns to the Human World, all enemies will pay their Blood Debt Blood Pay!"

Thanks to "Star of Calamity" for the Six Hundred Reward and the Two Thousand Five Hundred Points Recommendation Ticket Red Packet.

(Last night I discovered my recommendation votes increased a lot in just one minute. I was worried someone was Vote Manipulation for me, that I was tainted... Only later did I learn about Recommendation Ticket Red Packets.)

Thanks also to everyone who favorited and recommended.

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