Red Moon Carp

Red Moon Carp

!!!

The sudden bite caught Lu Qing off guard.

Fortunately, with his many years of fishing experience, his reactions had always been sharp.

In an instant, he gripped the fishing rod tightly and steadied himself, barely avoiding being dragged into the water along with the rod.

The force of that pull was hardly any weaker than the Azure Armor Fish's earlier tug! "Good heavens, do all the fish in your Otherworld like launching sneak attacks?"

Feeling the pull transmitted through the rod, Lu Qing did not know whether to laugh or cry.

As an old hand at fishing, he had nearly capsized twice today and ended up becoming chum himself.

These big fish of the Otherworld had no martial virtue at all. They gave no warning before biting, always springing sneak attacks at the drop of a hat.

If he had not been so experienced, they really would have succeeded.

But since the first sneak attack had failed, then all of you could come up here! Lu Qing gripped the rod with both hands, constantly sensing the shifts in force along it and responding at any moment as he began another contest of strength with the fish beneath the water.

After struggling against it for a while, Lu Qing noticed something was wrong.

He had originally assumed that this newly hooked fish would be another large fish like the Azure Armor Fish.

After all, the force of its first pull had been enormous.

But now, he sensed the difference.

Unlike the Azure Armor Fish's heavy, overwhelming strength that charged forward without hesitation—

this fish might strike fiercely too, but it lacked lasting power.

As long as Lu Qing could withstand its initial burst, its strength would quickly weaken.

It was the type with more than enough explosive power but no endurance.

Relying on his experience, Lu Qing guessed that the fish below was not as large as he had imagined.

Rather, it was the sort of swimming fish that moved incredibly quickly and had explosive strength, yet was not very large.

Once he understood that, Lu Qing felt even more at ease.

Fast, sprinting fish were far easier to handle than large fish like the Azure Armor Fish.

Large fish like Azure Armor Fish had tremendous strength. Every casual burst of force required him to respond with utmost caution.

They also had excellent stamina. What they tested was the patience of both sides.

With fish built for explosive sprints, as long as he held steady through their initial struggle, their strength would only grow weaker and weaker afterward, making escape impossible.

Things unfolded exactly as Lu Qing had expected.

After once again holding firm through several bursts of force from the unknown fish below, he clearly felt that its explosive strength had begun to diminish.

Then, after pulling against it for some time, Lu Qing saw the fish's outline.

"A red fish?"

When the fish on the hook surfaced, Lu Qing froze for a moment.

Because he saw that it was an intensely fiery red.

A Rare Fish—this was absolutely a Rare Fish! At the sight of such dazzling, vivid red, Lu Qing's heart immediately surged with excitement.

At the same time, he saw that this red fish truly was not very large, only around twenty to thirty centimeters long.

With that certainty in mind, Lu Qing found it much easier to play the fish.

Before long, he had played it until it was nearly out of strength, then lifted it straight out.

"Big Brother, this fish is so pretty!"

Xiao Yan stared at the fish on the grass, her eyes shining.

"It really is beautiful."

Once Lu Qing got a clear look at the fish, he could not help but praise it as well.

The newly caught fish was about a foot long, with a slender body and an appearance somewhat like the carp from Blue Star in his previous life.

Two flowing, long whiskers trailed from the corners of its mouth, while its tail resembled a flower in bloom.

Together with its flame-red scales, they made the entire fish look exceptionally beautiful.

After looking at it for a while, information about the fish began to appear before Lu Qing's eyes.

Red Moon Carp: Rare Fish, clad in red armor-like scales and capable of swimming at extraordinary speed.

Because it contained a trace of spiritual essence within its body, its flesh was exceptionally nourishing and delicious, while its scales could also be used in medicine.

Rumor had it that if a Red Moon Carp was raised properly, it would have a slight chance of evolving into a Spirit Fish.

Accompanying the lines of text was a glow emanating from its body, White Light tinged with a trace of red.

"Red Light?"

At first, Lu Qing thought he had seen it wrong.

That red glow seemed to be reflected from the Red Moon Carp's scales.

But after examining it closely, he confirmed that it was not a reflection from the scales at all, but truly a glow visible only through his Supernatural Ability, one that represented an object's grade.

In other words, this Red Moon Carp was not simply White Light grade.

It was a Rare Fish whose grade lay between White Light and Red Light.

No wonder there had been three lines of description.

Ordinary White Light items only had two lines of description.

The first thing he focused on was the third line.

"A slight chance of evolving into a Spirit Fish..." Lu Qing looked at the third line, deep in thought. "Could this Spirit Fish be an existence one level higher than a Rare Fish?"

He suddenly recalled the Snow Silk Old Doctor Chen had given him.

Snow Silk was already a Red Light-grade treasure. Could the Snow Silkworm that produced such a treasure be a Spirit Silkworm?

Unfortunately, that guess was destined to remain unanswered for now.

Even Old Doctor Chen did not know where the Snow Silk came from. Even if Lu Qing wanted to ask, he had no one to consult.

Therefore, compared to the third line, the description in the second line was more useful to him.

"Exceptionally delicious and nourishing flesh..."

Looking at the information, Lu Qing could not help revealing a faint smile.

He finally had a gift to take to Old Doctor Chen tomorrow.

Originally, he had planned to carry the Azure Armor Fish to the Old Doctor's place if he caught nothing else afterward.

But now, the Red Moon Carp was clearly more precious.

And it was not very large, making it more suitable as a gift.

Thinking of this, Lu Qing hurriedly took out the Azure Armor Fish and placed the Red Moon Carp into the bucket.

Since it was meant as a gift, he could not let it die.

Fortunately, as expected of a Rare Fish, although the Red Moon Carp had been played until it had no strength left and had lain on the grass for quite a while—

the moment it entered the bucket and touched the water, it immediately began swimming again.

Its vitality was remarkably tenacious.

After catching this Red Moon Carp, Lu Qing had no desire to continue fishing.

After consecutively battling wits and strength against two big fish, his stamina had been nearly exhausted.

Even if he caught another fish, he would have no strength left to play it.

So it was best to quit while he was ahead.

"Xiao Yan, let's get ready to head back."

Using materials at hand, Lu Qing twisted together a grass rope, tied up the Azure Armor Fish, and slung it over his back.

With the bucket in one hand and the machete and fishing rod in the other, he spoke to Xiao Yan.

"Big Brother, let me carry something for you."

Seeing her brother carrying and lifting so many things by himself, Xiao Yan felt a little distressed for him.

"All right."

Lu Qing tried walking a few steps and found that he truly had too much to carry, making it difficult to walk.

After thinking for a moment, he first hung the bamboo tube containing earthworms around Xiao Yan's neck.

Then he placed the fishing rod across her shoulder.

"Xiao Yan, carry this fishing rod. Walk carefully, and do not fall."

"Mm, Xiao Yan understands!" The little girl nodded with a serious expression.

And so, one carrying a fish and the other carrying a fishing rod, the brother and sister made their way back with considerable difficulty.

When they passed the small fishing spot, the villagers saw the large and small figures and were instantly dumbfounded.