Chapter 49: Reaching an Agreement

"Little thing, you wouldn't happen to have your eyes on my two golden loaches, would you?"

Seeing the little black beast staring incessantly toward the kitchen, Lu Qing couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead.

He couldn't help but guess; it definitely was.

Because those two golden loaches were kept right in the kitchen.

He recalled how the little black beast had been circling him and sniffing just now; it must have caught the scent of the golden loaches on him.

After all, he had only just transferred the two golden loaches into the water tank at dusk, pressing them down with a wooden board to prevent them from jumping out and escaping in the middle of the night.

Once the fishy smell clings to you, it is difficult to remove in a short amount of time.

He hadn't expected this little thing's nose to be so sensitive—to be able to distinguish the scent of the golden loaches amidst the mixed smell of so many other fish.

The little black beast did not answer, merely watching Lu Qing quietly.

However, through their time spent together, Lu Qing had learned to read its meaning.

It simply wanted to eat those two golden loaches.

Lu Qing felt a headache coming on.

"Little thing, let's make a deal. You can eat whatever fish you want here. If it's not enough, I'll get you more. But I'm keeping those two golden loaches, alright?"

Regardless of whether the little black beast could understand his long explanation, Lu Qing began to negotiate with it.

However, it was unclear whether the little black beast was playing dumb or truly didn't understand.

In any case, it merely blinked and continued to stare fixedly toward the kitchen behind Lu Qing.

Fine, Lu Qing understood now—this little thing was dead set on eating the golden loaches.

Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Lu Qing could only compromise.

"One. I can only give you one. I need to keep the other one for something important; I can't give it to you."

Lu Qing held up one finger and spoke earnestly.

The little black beast watched Lu Qing quietly for a moment before finally nodding.

"You really can understand me!"

Seeing the beast's reaction, how could Lu Qing not realize it?

He had suspected it before, but he had never been certain.

Now, seeing this fellow's performance, he could finally confirm it.

This fellow had been able to understand him all along; for all this time, it had just been playing dumb!

Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, the little black beast reverted to its previous expression of dazed, cute tranquility, looking for all the world as if it had no idea what he was talking about.

But Lu Qing wouldn't be fooled again.

Thinking about how he had actually been played by a little beast for so long, he felt a mix of laughter and helplessness.

Turning back to the kitchen, he lifted the wooden board covering the water tank, grabbed a golden loach, and returned to the courtyard.

"Only one. Do you want it or not?"

Seeing the struggling, wriggling golden loach in Lu Qing's hand, the little black beast's eyes had long since lit up.

As soon as Lu Qing finished speaking, he felt a black shadow flash before his eyes. His hand loosened, and the golden loach in his grasp vanished into thin air.

By the time he focused his eyes to see clearly, the little black beast was already there, tearing into the golden loach with large bites.

Watching it bite the head off the golden loach, Lu Qing felt a pang in his heart.

That was worth over a hundred taels of silver.

However, he saw that as the little black beast ate, its eyes squinted with joy and its tail wagged back and forth, looking extremely happy.

He could only comfort himself.

Forget it; at least this little thing had given him that precious hundred-year-old ginseng last night. It was only right to give it something good to eat; consider it a return gift.

The little black beast did not eat slowly. Before long, a plump golden loach weighing over two catties had completely disappeared into its stomach.

After finishing the loach, the little black beast looked at Lu Qing again.

Startled, Lu Qing hurriedly said, "That's it! I have use for the remaining one, I can't give it to you!"

The little black beast gave Lu Qing a sidelong glance, seemingly disdainful of his stinginess, then walked over to the basin of fish and began to eat leisurely.

Lu Qing: "..."

So, it wasn't that you disliked these small fish, you just wanted to eat the good stuff first.

However, seeing that the little black beast did not continue to demand the remaining golden loach, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this little thing was reasonable; otherwise, if it had truly tried to snatch the other loach by force, Lu Qing wouldn't have been able to stop it.

Watching the little black beast eat happily, Lu Qing thought for a moment and then crouched down.

"Little thing, do you really like eating rare fish like that one just now?"

Having confirmed that the little black beast could understand him, Lu Qing's interest in communicating grew.

The beast lifted its head to look at Lu Qing, its eyes sparkling.

Lu Qing quickly added, "I'm not saying I'll give you the other golden loach, don't misunderstand."

Hearing this, the little black beast immediately lowered its head to eat the fish, ignoring him once more.

Lu Qing didn't mind. "However, just because I can't give you the golden loach doesn't mean I can't give you other rare fish if I catch them in the future."

The beast lifted its head again, looking at him with some confusion.

"Little thing, how about we make a trade?" Seeing its interest, Lu Qing took the opportunity. "In the future, if I catch another rare fish like the golden loach, as long as you find that kind of plant root from last night, I'll trade it with you. How about it?"

The plant root from last night?

The little black beast tilted its head and thought for a moment before realizing Lu Qing was talking about the herb it had given him last night.

It had only dug up that herb because it instinctively felt it was somewhat special, and thus gave it to the two-legged beast.

It seemed he liked it quite a bit?

It remembered that herb; there were some growing in its usual territory in the mountains.

However, although digging up herbs was not difficult for the little black beast, it couldn't agree so easily.

Who told him he was too stingy to even give it one extra fish? Hmph!

The little black beast pretended to hesitate for a long while before finally giving a reluctant nod of agreement.

Lu Qing had no idea that a beast still in its infancy could have such complex schemes.

Seeing the beast agree, he was overjoyed.

If the little thing could truly dig up another hundred-year-old ginseng, then it wouldn't matter if he gave it all the rare fish he caught in the future.

After all, to him, the value of ginseng was far greater than that of rare fish.

And so, both the human and the beast felt they had gotten the better end of the deal, reaching a happy agreement.

Even after eating a golden loach, the little black beast still finished all the fish in the basin, leaving its belly somewhat bulging when it departed.

Watching the little black beast cross the fence with a slightly clumsy gait, Lu Qing shook his head with a smile.

Truly, it loved fish like its own life, preferring to eat until stuffed rather than leave a single fish behind.

Once the beast's figure disappeared, Lu Qing took the wooden basin back to the kitchen to wash it clean, then went to his room to sleep.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Lu Qing rose and practiced the Body-Nurturing Fist several times, immediately feeling refreshed.

The Body-Nurturing Fist truly lived up to its name, being a technique painstakingly created by his master.

True to its name, its effects on regulating and nourishing the body were excellent.

After only two or three days of practice, Lu Qing could already feel his constitution strengthening significantly and his spirit becoming much more vigorous.

After eating a simple yet nutritious breakfast, Lu Qing took Xiao Yan and, carrying the golden loach in a bucket, headed toward the small courtyard halfway up the mountain.

As he climbed the mountain, Lu Qing felt a sense of anticipation.

According to what his master had said before entering seclusion yesterday, the Qi-Replenishing and Blood-Nourishing Pill would be finished today.

With the help of the pill, he believed that stepping into the Blood-Qi Realm was just around the corner.