Fishing for Insects

Fishing for Insects Lu Xuan still had to prepare dinner, so he only chatted briefly with Xu Wan before entering the kitchen.

Beside the Spirit Spring.

Zhang Xiuyuan craned his head forward, staring motionlessly at the Red-Beard Carp swimming leisurely in the spring water.

Every now and then, he stretched out a small hand, hesitating as if he wanted to grab those two long, slender red whiskers, but in the end he still lacked the courage and quickly drew it back.

"This is a Red-Beard Carp. It isn't aggressive. Its red whiskers are pretty, aren't they?"

Manager He had appeared beside him at some point and introduced the origins of the Red-Beard Carp to him.

"They're pretty. I didn't think Little Uncle Lu actually kept three such beautiful Spirit Fish. He's amazing!"

The child praised him from the heart.

Xu Wan, standing behind him, nodded inwardly.

Unlike her son Zhang Xiuyuan, who only cared whether the Red-Beard Carp were pretty, she saw and thought of far more.

A Spirit Field this large, and a Spirit Spring as well—the Spirit Stones required behind it were a little hard for her to imagine.

She had not had much contact with Lu Xuan normally, and her impression of him all came from the occasional mentions by her husband, Zhang Hong.

From Zhang Hong, she had learned that Lu Xuan's aptitude was Common, his personality quiet, and he was not good at dealing with people, but his heart was decent, he cultivated diligently, and he worked hard and tirelessly at nurturing spirit plants.

An ordinary Spirit Plant Master who was a decent person.

But now, first he had helped her family clear out an Insect Pest, then he had brought Zhang Xiuyuan along to earn Spirit Stones, there was also that battle on the night whose circumstances were unclear, and now the financial strength to rent such a courtyard—all these things made her unable to see through him for a while.

"Lu Boy really has changed a lot recently. I never expected that that silent, stubborn Youth from before, stingy as an iron rooster, would unknowingly grow to this point."

The Gaunt Old Man at the side was also filled with emotion, and a faint gratified smile appeared on his face.

"Dinner's ready!"

Not far away, Lu Xuan's voice rang out.

"Braised Puffer Pig Meat!"

"Stir-Fried Savage Bull!"

"Hand-Torn Emerald Spirit Leaf!"

One dish after another, each complete in color, fragrance, and taste, was brought to the table.

"Wow! It smells so good!"

Zhang Xiuyuan said in an exaggerated tone, making Lu Xuan inevitably lose himself in the praise.

Manager He and Xu Wan were much more reserved, but their movements of glancing over from time to time showed that both of them had been drawn in by the dishes before them.

Lu Xuan served each of the three a bowl of steaming Spirit Rice, then poured each of them a bowl of orange-yellow Spirit Brew.

"Thank you, Manager He, Sister-in-law Zhang, and Xiao Yuan for coming over to celebrate my move into a new home. Come, cheers!"

Manager He and Xu Wan offered their blessings, and the few of them drank it down in one go.

When the Spirit Brew entered the throat, there was first a spicy sensation. Immediately afterward, wherever it passed, a rich warmth spread out, warming every limb and bone.

"Gulp!"

As soon as Zhang Xiuyuan put down his wine bowl, a sound came from his belly, making Lu Xuan and the other two unable to hold back their laughter.

"Eat, eat. Everyone, don't be polite."

Whether it was Spirit Beast Meat or Spirit Rice, they both lived up to their prices. They were delicious and contained wisps of spiritual energy.

The four of them ate heartily, like wind sweeping away clouds, clearing all the food on the table.

After resting for a while, Xu Wan and her son, as well as Manager He, said their farewells one after another.

The place where Manager He lived was not far from here, and his strength was also quite a bit greater than Xu Wan and her son's, so he headed home alone.

As for Xu Wan and Zhang Xiuyuan, they lived on the edge of the North District, where fish and dragons were mixed together. Added to the fact that the two of them were weak, Lu Xuan escorted them back.

When he returned home, it was already deep into the night.

The night curtain hung low, the moon bright and the stars sparse.

Lu Xuan took out the Talismans and the Split Silver Blade from his sleeve, gazed at the night sky, and held even more expectation for his future.

The next day, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Lu Xuan had already gotten up.

After cultivating for one cycle on the bed, he washed up, then came to the Spirit Field amid the faint mist.

In the Spirit Spring, the three Red-Beard Carp swam through the pond in a triangular formation.

Lu Xuan gathered his mind on them.

A thought appeared in his mind.

"Yesterday we drank water, today we drink water, day after day we drink water—how are we supposed to grow?"

"You've got Spirit Spring water to drink and you're still not satisfied."

Lu Xuan shot back verbally, then ran back into the inner room, grabbing a handful of Spirit Rice.

Seeming to sense the faint Spiritual Power coming from the Spirit Rice, the three Red-Beard Carp clearly sped up their swimming by a few notches, moving as Lu Xuan moved.

Lu Xuan scattered a little less than half of it. At once, the water's surface heaved and surged, and six long, thin red whiskers appeared and vanished like fine threads.

After a few breaths, the water returned to calm. The three Red-Beard Carp swam slowly, only their heads remained angled toward where Lu Xuan was.

Lu Xuan focused his mind on the Red-Beard Carp's bodies.

"Please, please, give us a little more rice!"

A thought flashed through his mind, and then he scattered another small half of the Spirit Rice.

The surface of the Spirit Spring churned again.

Lu Xuan scattered all the Spirit Rice into the Spirit Spring, and the Red-Beard Carp ate every last grain.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the Red-Beard Carp no longer circled around Lu Xuan, putting on a cold, aloof air as if they loved no one.

Lu Xuan then went to inspect the many spirit plants in the Spirit Field.

He adjusted the Blood Jade Ginseng Spirit Seed that had shifted from its position, then, according to the needs of each stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass, supplied spirit rain in targeted amounts and directions, letting them receive the greatest possible nourishment.

After that, Lu Xuan spread his Spiritual Sense to its limit and carefully searched every patch of Spirit Soil.

"Found you."

The Earth Guidance Art circulated, and the Spirit Soil changed subtly. A small gray-white worm was squeezed out.

He continued searching and found several more little worms of different shapes. He even turned up a tiny, multicolored Strange Insect from the Spirit Soil.

These little worms lurked in the Spirit Soil. Once they came out, the larvae would feed on the branches and leaves of spirit plants, affecting their normal growth.

There were many sources for these little worms. Some were insect eggs hidden in the Spirit Soil, some had been accidentally brought into the Spirit Field, and there were also Strange Insects whose movements were secretive and whose concealment abilities were extremely strong, allowing them to pass through the Protective Array on their own and invade the Spirit Field.

As a Spirit Plant Master, he had to frequently inspect the Spirit Soil of the Spirit Field under his care. Before Strange Insects harmed the spirit plants in the Spirit Field, he had to strike first and clear away the source of trouble.

Because he had been busy after moving into the new Spirit Field, it was only today that he had begun searching for and eliminating insects on a large scale.

His Spiritual Sense plowed through the entire Spirit Field, and in the end, Lu Xuan turned up seven larvae.

He brought the larvae to the edge of the Spirit Spring, pinched up a plump white worm, and tossed it toward the center of the Spirit Spring.

A long, thin red whisker shot out like lightning, tightly wrapped around the white worm, and delivered it into a fish's mouth.

"Yo, that was fast!"

Lu Xuan looked at the Red-Beard Carp that was still savoring the larva and found it rather interesting.

The other two Red-Beard Carp, which had been a little farther away, also swam over, moving along with the motions of Lu Xuan's hand.

Another larva fell.

Six long, thin red whiskers sprang out in unison, fighting for ownership of the larva.

Then, almost at the same time, they withdrew back beside the Red-Beard Carp's heads. One of them was fairly lucky; its long whisker had wrapped around the larva and delivered it into its own mouth.

Lu Xuan's playful mood rose. Sometimes he threw a larva high into the air; sometimes he made a feint, luring out the Red-Beard Carp's long, thin red whiskers.

Only after the last Strange Insect had been eaten did he still feel somewhat unsatisfied.

"Haha, the long whiskers beside the Red-Beard Carp's head are like fishing lines. Looking at it this way, when people fish, aren't fish also fishing for insects? Interesting."