Chapter 21: Meeting Old Doctor Chen Again (Please bookmark and follow)

That night, Lu Qing slept exceptionally well, without even having a single dream.

Xiao Yan did not wake up startled in the middle of the night as she usually did, crying out for him to comfort her.

Both siblings had a good night's sleep.

In fact, Lu Qing slept so deeply that it was Xiao Yan who had to call him awake in the morning.

With bleary eyes, he helped Xiao Yan put on her outer garment, brushed her teeth, and washed her face, tying her hair into two casual little buns before he finally began his own grooming.

As he brushed his teeth with a willow twig in a rhythmic, distracted manner, Lu Qing's gaze lacked focus, wandering aimlessly around the room.

After brushing for a while, he suddenly sensed something was wrong, and his eyes gradually regained focus.

Walking forward, he looked at the two empty bamboo rings hanging from the bamboo pole, and his eyes widened.

Good heavens, which unscrupulous fellow had stolen his two large pieces of fish meat?

Was it someone from the village?

That was the first thought that occurred to Lu Qing.

But he quickly dismissed it.

Although the villagers were not wealthy at present, no one was so poor that they would resort to stealing two pieces of fish meat.

Yesterday, when he had intended to treat everyone to fish, they had all declined.

Furthermore, if someone truly wanted to steal, wouldn't it be better to take the whole pot at once rather than just two pieces?

More importantly, he noticed that a few traces of fish meat still remained on the two bamboo rings.

It was obvious that those two pieces of fish had been forcibly ripped away.

What kind of thief makes such a commotion? Are they afraid of not alerting people?

Unfortunately, he had slept too soundly last night and had failed to notice any movement outside the house.

Lu Qing searched carefully around the vicinity, and finally, he discovered several mud prints on the wall that resembled plum blossoms.

Each print also contained several tiny holes.

He even found similar marks on the ground.

He stared silently at these mud prints.

Soon, a faint white light began to emanate from them.

White light?

Lu Qing was slightly startled.

He hurriedly looked at the two strips of text that surfaced.

[Muddy Footprint: Judging by its shape, it appears to be the footprint of some kind of mysterious small beast.]

[Looking at the small holes on the footprint, this is a creature with sharp claws.]

As he read the descriptions on the two strips, a scene instantly flashed through Lu Qing's mind.

A mysterious and lightweight unknown small beast had kicked off with its hind legs, used the wall for leverage, and lunged at the fish on the bamboo pole, tearing it away by force.

What could it be? A cat?

Speaking of which, are there cats in this world?

A question surfaced in Lu Qing's mind.

At any rate, he hadn't seen anyone in the village raising a cat.

However, since he had confirmed it wasn't a person stealing, that was fine.

Lu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

If it had been a villager stealing, that would not have been good news for him.

Fortunately, it was just a wild beast, and judging by its footprints, it wasn't very large.

Not far behind his village were the mountains; it was perfectly normal for wild beasts to occasionally wander down.

It was just that, in the future, he would have to be more careful about locking the doors and windows when he slept.

Otherwise, if some beast slipped in during the night, it would be bad if Xiao Yan got hurt.

Once he understood what had happened, Lu Qing didn't care much.

The key was that he couldn't exactly pick a fight with a wild beast; he could only make sure to put things away securely after dark.

Thinking of this, Lu Qing suddenly remembered something. His eyes widened, and he rushed toward the kitchen.

After a while, he walked back out with a look of relief on his face.

Fortunately, last night he had kept the Red Moon Carp in a wooden basin inside the kitchen.

To prevent the fish from jumping out, he had even covered the basin tightly with a wooden board and stones.

Otherwise, it would have been hard to guarantee the beast wouldn't have snatched it away.

After this little episode, Lu Qing was completely wide awake.

He didn't tell Xiao Yan about it; he simply went to make breakfast. After the siblings had eaten, they carried the Red Moon Carp in a wooden bucket and headed toward the small hillside where Old Doctor Chen lived.

This time, Lu Qing deliberately delayed his departure to Doctor Chen's place.

He was afraid that if he arrived too early and caught the old doctor practicing his martial arts, he wouldn't be able to resist using his special ability to simulate the man's techniques.

The old doctor was so good to them that he couldn't commit such an ungrateful act.

So, he simply avoided the possibility altogether to avoid testing his own moral bottom line.

Lu Qing's strategy was quite effective.

When he and Xiao Yan reached the small courtyard halfway up the hill, they saw Old Doctor Chen slowly finishing his movements, clearly having just finished his practice.

"Grandpa Chen, we've come to see you!"

Seeing the old doctor, Xiao Yan ran forward happily.

"Oh, Xiao Yan is here!"

Seeing Xiao Yan running toward him, Old Doctor Chen picked her up, his old face smiling like a chrysanthemum.

"Good morning, Grandpa Chen," Lu Qing said, stepping forward to greet him.

"You're here. Why are you later than last time?" Old Doctor Chen asked.

"Because Brother was being lazy!" Xiao Yan giggled. "Xiao Yan had to call him out of bed this morning!"

Lu Qing's face flushed slightly. "I went fishing by the river all morning yesterday and was a bit tired, so I slept a little heavily."

"Sleeping more is good," Old Doctor Chen nodded. "You are both at the age of growing; plenty of rest is necessary."

The old doctor observed the complexion of Lu Qing and Xiao Yan; it was much better than when they had come a few days ago.

Knowing they had been doing well these past few days, he felt quite satisfied.

"Grandpa Chen, yesterday Brother and I went fishing, and Brother caught a huge, huge fish!"

At this moment, Xiao Yan began to boast to the old doctor.

"Oh? How big was it?" Old Doctor Chen smiled.

"So big, as big as Xiao Yan!" The little girl gestured vigorously.

"That big?" Old Doctor Chen was somewhat surprised this time.

He had thought the big fish Xiao Yan mentioned would be at most two or three catties at most; if it was truly as she described, it would be far more than that.

"Mhm, mhm! That big fish was not only delicious, but it also had a very beautiful stone growing on it. Brother turned it into a pendant and gave it to Xiao Yan. Grandpa Chen, look, it's this one. Isn't it pretty?"

Xiao Yan pulled out the fish-stone pendant from around her neck and showed it to Old Doctor Chen.

"Is this... a Green-Armored Fish Stone?"

As the old doctor saw the appearance of the pendant around Xiao Yan's neck clearly, he became even more astonished.

Hearing his words, Lu Qing's heart stirred.

He also feigned surprise: "Grandpa Chen, do you know what this stone is?"

"What, you don't know?"

"I don't," Lu Qing shook his head. "I found this stone in its throat while I was cleaning the big fish. Seeing how beautiful it was, I made it into a pendant for Xiao Yan to wear."

"Then your luck is quite good. This fish stone is considered a rare item, and you actually stumbled upon it."

Old Doctor Chen took the pendant and examined it closely.

"The big fish you caught should be a Green-Armored Fish, and an old one at that, having lived for many years."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't have nurtured a fish stone of such fine quality."

"Once this Green-Armored Fish Stone undergoes jade-ification, it possesses a rather miraculous function: it can soothe the mind. At the same time, it is also a rare medicinal ingredient; its powder, when taken with water, can calm a child's startled soul."

"By the way, where did you catch this Green-Armored Fish?"

(End of Chapter)