Unfamiliar

Unfamiliar

That night, Lu Qing finally got a good sleep.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, he took Xiao Yan to the river to fish.

This time, he found far fewer people by the river. The grand scene of seven or eight people crowding around a single fishing spot was gone.

It made sense. It was the busy farming season, and there was still plenty of work to do in the fields. Who could really go fishing every day?

Fishing was merely a pastime, at most improving their meals now and then. How could it compare to the grain in the fields? That was a farmer's lifeline.

This time, Lu Qing did not go to the Strange Fish Fishing Spot.

It was fine to catch a Rare Fish once in a while.

But if he caught several every few days, even a fool would know something was wrong.

Besides, even if he caught another Rare Fish now, he had nowhere to deal with it.

He could not possibly ask Old Doctor Chen to sell them for him every time.

As for eating them, he could not bear to.

Ever since learning the value of Rare Fish, Lu Qing had planned to treat them as an important source of income.

So he intended to fish for Rare Fish again only after some time had passed, or after he had gained a certain ability to protect himself.

Lu Qing chose another White Light fishing spot he had discovered when he first came to the river.

After tidying up the fishing spot, Lu Qing began fishing.

Compared with the previous two times, this fishing trip was calm and uneventful.

After an hour, he had already caught nearly half a bucket of fish.

There were fish both large and small. The largest was a Grass Carp weighing two or three jin, while the smallest were still those White Fish.

Once he had nearly half a bucket of fish, Lu Qing began packing up his rod.

These fish should be enough for the Black Night Spirit Fox to eat for several nights.

The two siblings returned home with the fish. That evening, after Xiao Yan had fallen asleep, Lu Qing indeed heard that familiar scratching at the door again.

This time, he did not panic. He took out the fish he had prepared in advance from the kitchen and calmly opened the front door.

When the door opened, he saw the Black Little Beast standing in the middle of the courtyard.

But this time, its mood was clearly much steadier.

Though its eyes still held wariness, it was not bristling all over like it had the previous night.

"I've been waiting for you."

Lu Qing smiled, making his presence as calm and friendly as possible.

Then he carried out a Wooden Basin containing fish from behind him and slowly walked into the courtyard.

When the Black Little Beast saw him come out, it hurriedly backed away several steps, letting out a faint warning growl.

Lu Qing immediately stopped. "Don't be nervous. I mean you no harm."

He gently set the Wooden Basin on the ground and slowly retreated.

Only after he had backed into the house did the Black Little Beast calm down. Its nose twitched a few times, and with a whoosh, it had already darted in front of the Wooden Basin.

The next moment, it clamped the largest fish in its mouth and vanished, running off somewhere to eat.

Lu Qing was not surprised. He waited quietly inside the doorway.

Sure enough, after a while, the little beast appeared in the courtyard again, picked up another fish, and disappeared once more.

The little thing was quite wary.

Lu Qing smiled. He had no interest in watching a wild beast eat all night.

There were quite a few small fish in the bucket. With the little beast running back and forth to eat them, who knew how long it would take? He did not want to wait around forever.

Lu Qing shut the door and returned to his room, finally relaxing completely.

This settled the matter perfectly.

Though he had to give up some fish, that was nothing to someone who loved fishing.

After all, every time he went fishing, he caught more than he could eat at once.

Having the Black Night Spirit Fox help consume some of them was not a bad thing.

It was like back in the countryside—when there were leftover dishes and bones at home, they would keep a cat or dog to help finish them.

With his heart at ease, Lu Qing slept very well again that night.

Early the next morning, he went into the courtyard and found the Wooden Basin completely empty.

More than two jin of fish had all been eaten. That little thing had quite an appetite.

After washing the Wooden Basin clean and putting it away, Lu Qing began making breakfast.

After he and Xiao Yan had eaten, they prepared to go to Old Doctor Chen's place.

Carrying over a jin of freshly cleaned small fish, Lu Qing took Xiao Yan out.

Last time, the Old Doctor had said he liked small fish. Since Lu Qing had caught quite a few yesterday, he brought some along.

As he walked along the mountain path, a trace of anticipation appeared on Lu Qing's face.

The Old Doctor had gone into the city yesterday and sold the Red Moon Carp for him. He wondered how it had gone.

Although the Old Doctor had said that Red Moon Carp were precious Rare Fish with a price but no market, and there was no need to worry about finding buyers—

Before seeing the silver in hand, Lu Qing still felt somewhat uneasy.

When they arrived at Half-Mountain Courtyard, Lu Qing saw that Old Doctor Chen had just finished his morning exercises as well.

"Grandpa Chen!" Xiao Yan ran over.

"Xiao Yan, it's only been one day. Did you miss Grandpa?"

The Old Doctor picked up the little girl.

"I did~" Xiao Yan answered sweetly.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

"Hello, Grandpa Chen." Lu Qing stepped forward to greet him as well.

"Mm, you look quite well today. What, did that wild beast not come harass you again?"

In the Old Doctor's view, his Medicinal Powder had always been extremely effective. No matter what kind of wild beast it was, once it caught the scent, it would retreat three steps.

He had given Lu Qing such a large packet that even tigers and leopards would be unwilling to approach.

A mere unidentified wild beast should be no exception.

Yet Lu Qing now looked a little awkward.

"Grandpa Chen, the Medicinal Powder does not seem very effective. That wild beast still came to my home these past two nights."

"Oh? How could that be?" Old Doctor Chen was startled.

"I don't know what happened either. It seems that thing isn't afraid of the Medicinal Powder." Lu Qing answered truthfully.

"Then how did you make it retreat?"

The Old Doctor examined Lu Qing's complexion again and was certain he had not misjudged him. Lu Qing did not look like someone who had spent the night awake.

"I didn't use any special method. I discovered that it seemed to be after the fish in my home, so I threw it some fish. After it finished eating, it left."

"It likes eating fish?" The Old Doctor pondered for a moment. "What did that wild beast look like? Did you see it clearly?"

"It was a black little beast, about two chi long, black all over. But its four paws and the area around its neck were white. Grandpa Chen, do you know what kind of wild beast it is?"

"A black little beast two chi long?" The Old Doctor thought for a while, then shook his head. "This old man has traveled north and south for so many years, yet I have never seen a wild beast with such an appearance."

"Even you don't recognize it, Grandpa Chen?" Lu Qing was somewhat surprised.

"Listen to yourself." The Old Doctor laughed. "The world is vast and boundless, and living creatures are more numerous than one can count. Though this old man has traveled for decades, compared to this broad heaven and earth, the places I have set foot in are no more than a single corner. Is it not perfectly normal that there are creatures I do not recognize?"

"Grandpa Chen is right." Lu Qing nodded.

He had originally hoped to learn more about the Black Night Spirit Fox from the Old Doctor, but it seemed that hope would come to nothing.

"Still, judging from what you have said, that little beast seems rather spiritual. Since it has no intention of attacking people and only wants a meal, there is no need to think about driving it away for now."

The Old Doctor was widely experienced and knew that some creatures in this world were quite special.

From Lu Qing's description, that black little beast was very likely one of them.

"That was what I thought as well. We can't finish all the fish at home anyway, so there's no harm in sharing some with it." Lu Qing smiled.

Even if someone asked him to drive it away, he would not dare.

That thing was formidable!

After listening for so long, Xiao Yan finally understood a little of what the two were talking about.

Her eyes immediately lit up. "Brother, next time you feed that little beast fish, can Xiao Yan watch too?"

"I'm afraid that might be difficult." Lu Qing said. "It seems to come only after you've fallen asleep every time."

"Why?" The little girl looked aggrieved. "Does it dislike Xiao Yan?"

"I don't know about that. Maybe the little beast is timid. Once it becomes more familiar with us, it should be willing to see you."

"Then hurry and become friends with it, Brother. Xiao Yan wants to see what the little beast looks like too." Xiao Yan said expectantly.

"I'll do my best."

What else could Lu Qing say? He could only nod in agreement.

"Oh, right, Grandpa Chen. These are for you. I caught some small fish yesterday. Didn't you say last time that you wanted to eat some? I don't know whether this is enough."

Lu Qing handed the prepared fresh small fish to the Old Doctor.

The Old Doctor looked them over, quite satisfied. "Put them inside. As for the things you asked me to buy, I brought them back as well. They're in the house."