Binding the Fish and Leaving
"What did you do?!"
Although that wave had moved incredibly slowly, at some point Fu Qian felt the thing in his hand turn prickly.
The smooth golden cover was rapidly transforming into a series of spiked rings. It even began struggling with tremendous force, its "living" nature manifesting more strongly than ever before.
Amid Sha Ming's world-shattering roar of disbelief, Fu Qian also realized clearly that he could now use the effect of "Returning Home."
Still, considering how quiet Red Moon had been lately, Fu Qian took off the mask on his face first.
"Heh heh... Not bad at all."
As the scene abruptly shifted, a string of delighted laughter rang out.
Pachi, who had kept watching the show until now, seemed quite pleased with the twists and turns of the final outcome.
"But how could someone as interesting as you choose such a boring job?"
Pachi even seemed to lament that such a fine talent had gone to waste.
"Take a guess. Heh heh heh..."
Fu Qian answered with a laugh in exactly the same style.
"No wonder they say it's easy to catch a big fish, but then you can't find your way home..."
The next moment, sitting at the familiar table and no longer hearing Pachi's voice, Fu Qian restrained the force still writhing in his hand and silently acknowledged the wisdom of that life experience.
He'd actually pulled off the legendary feat of turning gold into copper.
At that moment, not a trace of the golden tome remained in Fu Qian's hand.
In its place was a fish made of linked copper rings, each about the size of a finger ring.
Even as he held it, it thrashed as vigorously as a live fish.
That's right—it had the same shape