A Great Tonic

Golden Loach: Rare Fish, golden all over, adept at burrowing.

It contained spiritual essence, and its flesh was delicious and nourishing. It could nourish yin and replenish yang, making it a great tonic.

Legend had it that Golden Loaches always appeared as a male-female pair, inseparable as shadow and form, never wandering alone.

Looking at the loach-like creature in the bucket, its body glowing white with a hint of red, Lu Qing was overjoyed.

Sure enough, this thing was a Rare Fish.

And a Rare Fish on the same level as the Red Moon Carp.

What delighted Lu Qing even more was the information on the third note.

Golden Loaches always came in pairs and never appeared alone.

That meant there was another Golden Loach beneath the water!

Though he did not know whether the other Golden Loach had been frightened away by all the commotion just now, Lu Qing still wanted to try.

He baited the hook with another Blood Apricot Fruit and lowered it into the water.

He had thought he would have to wait a long time again, perhaps even come up empty-handed.

Yet to Lu Qing's surprise, not long after the hook went down, the float suddenly plunged beneath the water.

"So fast?!"

Lu Qing was caught off guard, but he reacted swiftly and immediately grabbed the fishing rod.

What followed held no suspense.

After another round of battling wits and strength, he reeled in another Golden Loach.

Looking at the two Golden Loaches in the bucket, Lu Qing fell silent.

It seemed he had still underestimated the Blood Apricot's allure for Rare Fish.

Anything that could be called a strange fruit by his ability truly was extraordinary.

He wondered what was so peculiar about it that it could make these Rare Fish rush forward one after another to devour it.

Lu Qing put away several Blood Apricots, planning to find a chance to ask his master whether he knew anything about this strange fruit.

He baited the hook with another Blood Apricot and continued fishing.

This time, however, his luck was not so good.

He waited for a long while, but no fish bit again.

Forget Rare Fish—even ordinary fish were nowhere to be seen.

"Strange. Could it be that these Rare Fish all have territorial instincts, and only one kind appears at a time?" Lu Qing found it rather odd.

After thinking for a moment, he reeled in the hook and replaced the bait with an earthworm.

When he lowered the hook into the water again, a fish soon took the bait.

With a beautiful flick of the rod, a little white fish sailed through the air, its tail flapping nonstop.

Lu Qing fell silent as he looked at the White Fish on the hook.

"You really are everywhere."

Feeling that there were probably no more Rare Fish below, Lu Qing did not put on another Blood Apricot.

Instead, he continued fishing with earthworms.

After a while, with rod after rod pulled in, he had caught several dozen White Fish.

With so many White Fish, along with those left at home, it should be enough for the Black Little Beast to have a hearty meal.

Having caught enough food for the Black Little Beast, Lu Qing prepared to pack up his rod.

It was a bit of a pity. He had originally wanted to catch one or two large fish today so the Black Little Beast could feast to its heart's content.

But perhaps because of the Golden Loaches, the large fish were nowhere to be found today.

Even when he switched to corn bait midway through, there was no movement at all.

There was nothing he could do if he could not catch any. The Black Little Beast would just have to make do with little fish again. Besides, little fish tasted good too.

"Xiao Yan, let's go. We're heading home."

After packing up, Lu Qing carried the bucket and called to Xiao Yan, who was lying on the grass some distance away, seemingly playing with something.

"I'm coming, Brother."

The little girl came scampering back, clutching a small bundle of wildflowers in her hand.

So she had gone to pick wildflowers just now.

"Brother, look! These are the flowers I just picked. Aren't they pretty?"

Xiao Yan held up the bouquet in her hand, showing it off to Lu Qing.

"They're pretty."

Lu Qing nodded. Seeing a few blades of grass stuck in her hair, he casually plucked them away.

"Hehe, I knew Brother would like them."

Having received praise, Xiao Yan was instantly delighted.

Seeing how happy she was, Lu Qing suddenly had a thought.

"Xiao Yan, do you get bored coming fishing with me every day?"

"What does bored mean?" The little girl tilted her head and asked in confusion.

"Uh... does it mean you feel unhappy?" Lu Qing rephrased it.

"No. As long as I'm with Brother, Xiao Yan won't be unhappy." The little girl spoke with a serious face. "There are flowers to pick here, and butterflies too. It's lots of fun!"

"...All right."

Lu Qing had nothing more to say.

He had originally thought that if Xiao Yan felt bored, perhaps he could leave her in the village next time he came out fishing, so she could play with the other children.

After all, she often ran out after meals to play with her little companions in the village.

Since she did not feel that way, he would talk about it another time.

After returning home, Lu Qing poured out the little fish, leaving only the two Golden Loaches in the bucket, then fell into deep thought.

He was considering how to deal with these two Golden Loaches.

Should he sell them, or keep them to eat himself?

In truth, Lu Qing was more inclined to eat them.

First, if he sold them, his master had not had time to go into town lately, and he did not know how long these two Golden Loaches could survive after leaving the river.

If they died in a couple of days, would that not be a huge loss?

Second, unlike before, he was not particularly short of money now.

Rare Fish were things one could encounter only by chance, never seek at will. Selling them somehow felt like a waste.

Lastly, the effects of the Golden Loaches tempted him greatly.

According to his ability's description, Golden Loaches were great tonics.

Now that his Body Nourishing Fist had entered the beginner stage, stepping into the Qi Blood Realm was practically as certain as ten out of ten.

The only thing lacking was that, due to his previous severe illness, his body had always been rather weak and his foundation was not very solid.

These two Golden Loaches might be able to make up for that shortcoming.

After pondering for a while, Lu Qing ultimately decided to keep both Golden Loaches for himself.

However, though he had decided to eat them, Lu Qing did not intend to enjoy them alone.

He planned to bring them to the Half-Mountain Courtyard tomorrow and share them with his master.

That Red Moon Carp last time had originally been meant as a gift for his master, but in the end, it had been sold for money.

Since becoming his disciple, Lu Qing had never managed to repay his master in any way. He had only kept receiving kindness.

This time, since he had once again caught Rare Fish, it was the perfect chance to let his master have a good taste.

Lu Qing's plan was excellent, but when night came, an unexpected incident occurred.

After Xiao Yan fell asleep, the Black Little Beast came scratching at the door again.

As usual, Lu Qing carried out a basin of fish and placed it on the ground.

To his surprise, the Black Little Beast, which would normally pounce on the fish and gorge itself the moment he set them down, did not step forward this time.

Instead, it twitched its nose a few times. Then its eyes lit up as though it had discovered something, and it began circling Lu Qing.

After making several circles, it sat down and quietly watched him.

"What's wrong? Not eating? I even gave you extra fish today." Lu Qing asked strangely.

Had this little thing changed its tastes? It was not even interested in fish anymore?

"Awo!"

The Black Little Beast suddenly let out a soft cry, startling Lu Qing.

It was the first time he had ever heard this fellow make a sound.

Previously, he had only heard its voice during the first few nights.

But back then, it had given low warning growls, completely unlike its current cry.

Now it sounded a little like a cat's meow—young, adorably foolish, and rather pleasant to hear.

But Lu Qing had no mind to care whether the Black Little Beast's voice sounded good.

Because after crying out, the little thing stared fixedly toward the room behind him.

To be precise, toward the kitchen inside the house.

Remembering how the Black Little Beast had smelled him earlier, a thought suddenly arose in Lu Qing's heart.

"This little thing couldn't possibly..."