Little Fish

"Big Brother, this is Little Fish's home!" Little Fish said, skipping and hopping.

The moment he entered the village, Jiang Ming noticed that while it appeared to have more than a dozen households, many of the houses were already empty. Others, like Little Fish's home, had only elderly people left. There were no young or middle-aged people anywhere in the entire village.

"There are only old fogeys left in the village. The youngsters weren't willing to accept that, so they all went out to make their way in the world. Not a single word has come back from them." The old man took out his pipe and began smoking.

"There happen to be two rooms. One belonged to Little Fish's parents and has been empty all this time. You can stay there."

Jiang Ming nodded.

"Big Brother, come eat fish!" Little Fish called out.

"Coming!"

An old man, a young man, and a little girl sat around a bonfire in the small courtyard. Fish were roasting over the flames, all freshly caught sea fish raised in the fishpond.

"Little Fish, bring out Grandpa's wine!" the old man said after taking a drag from his pipe.

"Okay, Grandpa!" With that, she skipped into the house.

"Jiang Ming, you seem to get along well with Little Fish." The old man smiled, only to be choked by the smoke and cough several times.

Hearing that, Jiang Ming smiled. "Little Fish is very cute, and she's well-behaved too."

Smoke curled through the air.

"I know those young people who went out have most likely already died somewhere outside. Cultivation is a dangerous road, after all."

Jiang Ming quietly remained a listener.

"Actually, Little Fish's parents weren't eaten by demon beasts. They were beaten to death in East Sea City." The old man's emotions fluctuated as he spoke.

Jiang Ming looked up and met the old man's aged, clouded eyes.

Looking at Jiang Ming, who was clearly either wealthy or noble, he slowly said, "I originally only wanted Little Fish to grow up happily. But now, it seems I may not have enough time."

Jiang Ming's golden eyes flickered faintly. He discovered that the old man's body had already declined to the extreme. Unless something unexpected happened, he would reach the end of his lifespan within the next two years.

Looking at the old man, who seemed to be arranging his final affairs, Jiang Ming smiled slightly. "Old sir, Little Fish will probably still need you to personally raise her."

At Jiang Ming's words, the old man's clouded eyes dimmed.

Jiang Ming took out a medicinal pill and said, "This is a Resurrection Pill. Taking it can extend your lifespan by twenty years."

The Resurrection Pill was a saint pill, one of the highest-grade pills among saint-grade medicinal pills. However, it could only extend an ordinary person's lifespan. To cultivators, it was merely a pill for recovering from injuries.

The old man's eyes lit up when he heard this. After a long silence, he waved his hand and said, "This pill is too precious. I can't take it. It mustn't be wasted."

Jiang Ming said, "Take it. I have plenty of these things. Besides, don't you want to watch Little Fish grow up? You wouldn't want Little Fish to be without a grandpa either, would you?"

Under Jiang Ming's persuasion, the old man finally swallowed the Resurrection Pill. His formerly pale white hair turned gray, his clouded eyes became much brighter, and even his legs and feet grew more nimble.

The old man grabbed Jiang Ming's hand and thanked him over and over.

"Jiang Ming, this old man thanks you!" As he spoke, the old man lifted a jar of wine and began drinking.

Jiang Ming smiled. Seeing Little Fish carry out a second jar of wine, he beckoned to her.

Little Fish obediently came to Jiang Ming's side and asked, "Big Brother, is something wrong?"

Jiang Ming rubbed her head and smiled. "Stop carrying those. Come eat fish. After dinner, Big Brother will give you something good."

"Really? What is it, Big Brother?" Little Fish asked.

"Eat properly first. I'll tell you afterward." Jiang Ming took a bite of the grilled fish in his hand.

To be honest, there were no seasonings, but the original flavor was still decent. The meat itself was quite good.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the old man returned to his room to rest. At Little Fish's pleading, Jiang Ming stayed in the same room as Little Fish.

"Little Fish, look at this." Jiang Ming took out a Golden Core.

"Is this a candy bean?" Little Fish asked curiously.

"Yes." Jiang Ming handed the Golden Core to Little Fish.

Little Fish took it and swallowed it at once. In an instant, her cheeks turned bright red.

"Big Brother, Little Fish feels so hot."

"Want to soak in the water?" Jiang Ming asked.

Little Fish nodded vigorously.

Jiang Ming picked Little Fish up and flashed to the seashore, then placed her in the seawater with only her head exposed.

"Wow! Big Brother, you're amazing! You went whoosh and came right out here." Little Fish's eyes widened enormously.

Jiang Ming smiled. The Golden Core he had given her was similar to a Marrow-Cleansing Pill. It could remove impurities from the body and replenish nutrition, making it perfect for Little Fish. Moreover, it was not as violent as a Marrow-Cleansing Pill, so it would not cause any pain.

Over the following days, the old man continued going out to sea to fish as usual. The waters near the little fishing village were not deep, so there were few demon beasts, only ordinary small sea fish.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ming got himself a fishing rod and found a rock to try sea fishing. Little Fish followed Jiang Ming around the beach, digging here and digging there, having the time of her life.

Clearly, now that she had a playmate, Little Fish's smile never faded.

Jiang Ming fished with great patience. From morning until night, not a single fish took the bait. Jiang Ming wondered why there was no beginner's protection period.

After catching nothing for so long, Jiang Ming grew somewhat irritated. He handed the fishing rod to Little Fish and had her fish there, while he leaped into the sea himself. The water-repelling barrier of the Black Gold Dragon-Pattern Robe automatically activated, and Jiang Ming used spiritual power to propel himself deeper into the ocean.

Once he reached a certain spot, Jiang Ming stopped. Looking at the surrounding schools of fish, the corner of his mouth curled up. The temperature of his entire body rose, bringing up the temperature of the surrounding seawater as well. Before long, the seawater in that area began to boil, and huge amounts of steam rose from the surface.

Jiang Ming burst from the water and stood in midair. Looking at the cooked sea fish floating one after another on the surface, he smiled faintly.

Jiang Ming smiled lightly. Life and death were impossible to predict. With a wave of his hand, dozens of cooked fish flew automatically into the storage bag in his hand.

When Jiang Ming returned and saw more than a dozen fish in Little Fish's bucket, he did not know what to say for a moment. It had to be that there were more fish at night. It had to be. He had left too early, otherwise he would have been the one to catch them.

Jiang Ming held the fishing rod in one hand and carried the bucket in the other as he led Little Fish home.

The old man had already returned home and was leaning in a wicker chair by the doorway, enjoying the breeze.

"Oh, not bad haul today!" Seeing the fish in the bucket, the old man smiled.

"Haha, it really is!" Jiang Ming laughed heartily as he also took the dozens of fish from his storage bag.

"You grilled all these fish, so why didn't you eat them?" the old man asked. He pinched one of the fish and said, "You even boiled fish?"

Jiang Ming kept smiling without answering.

"Then let's eat these tonight. It's a bit wasteful, though. We probably won't be able to finish them." As he spoke, the old man carried several fish into the house.

"Then I'll give some to the old men and women in the village," Jiang Ming called out to the old man.

"Little Fish, come here. Help deliver some fish to everyone in the village." Jiang Ming waved to her.

"Okay, Big Brother." Little Fish obediently carried several fish out the door. Since there were quite a lot of fish and she could only take a few each time, she had to run back and forth several times.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ming leaned back in the wicker chair, watching her with a smiling gaze.