Chapter 16: Red Moon Carp

!!!

The sudden strike caught Lu Qing off guard.

Fortunately, with his years of fishing experience, his reflexes were always sharp.

In an instant, he gripped the fishing rod and stabilized his stance, preventing himself and the rod from being dragged into the water.

The force of this tug was not much weaker than that of the previous Green-Armored Fish!

"Good grief, do all the fish in this other world love to launch sneak attacks?"

Feeling the pull on the rod, Lu Qing didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

As an old angler, he had nearly suffered two disasters today; he was practically about to become the bait himself.

The big fish in this other world lacked any sense of sportsmanship—they gave no warning before striking, always opting for sneak attacks.

If he hadn't been so experienced, they really would have succeeded.

However, since the first sneak attack failed, then come on, all of you!

Lu Qing gripped the rod with both hands, constantly sensing the changes in tension and reacting accordingly, beginning a new round of struggle against the fish underwater.

After a brief battle of wits and strength, Lu Qing realized something was wrong.

Originally, he thought the new fish on the hook would be a large fish like the Green-Armored Fish.

After all, the force of its initial tug was quite significant.

But now, he felt a difference.

Unlike the heavy, relentless, and straightforward power of the Green-Armored Fish, this fish's strength, while fierce, lacked stamina.

As long as Lu Qing could stabilize himself during the initial sprint, its strength would quickly diminish.

It was the type that had plenty of explosive power but lacked endurance.

Relying on his experience, Lu Qing guessed that the fish underwater probably wasn't as large as he had thought.

Instead, it was likely a fast-swimming fish with high explosive power but a relatively small body.

Realizing this, Lu Qing felt more at ease.

A fish that relied on sprinting speed was much easier to handle than a massive fish like the Green-Armored Fish.

A large fish like the Green-Armored Fish possessed such immense strength that every burst of power required him to respond with extreme caution.

Furthermore, they had great endurance; it was a contest of patience between both sides.

With an explosive-type fish, as long as he could weather the initial struggle, its strength would steadily fade, making escape impossible.

Things proceeded exactly as Lu Qing anticipated.

After stabilizing himself through several more bursts of strength from the unknown fish, he clearly felt its explosive power beginning to wane.

Then, after a period of pulling and tugging, the silhouette of the fish appeared.

"A red fish?"

When he saw the fish surfacing, Lu Qing froze for a moment.

Because he saw that the fish was actually a vibrant, fiery red.

A Strange Fish—this was definitely a Strange Fish!

Seeing such a dazzling and vivid red, Lu Qing's heart instantly raced with excitement.

At the same time, he saw that the red fish indeed wasn't large, measuring only about twenty to thirty centimeters in length.

With this knowledge, Lu Qing's handling of the fish became even more relaxed.

Before long, he had tired the fish out until it had almost no strength left, and he lifted it directly out of the water.

"Brother, that fish is so beautiful!"

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up as she looked at the fish on the grass.

"It is very beautiful."

After seeing the fish clearly, Lu Qing couldn't help but praise it.

The newly caught fish was about a foot long with a slender body, looking somewhat like the carp from his previous life on Earth.

It had two elegant, long barbels at the corners of its mouth, and its tail was shaped like a blooming flower.

Combined with its flame-like red scales, the entire fish looked exquisite.

After watching it for a moment, the fish's information began to surface before Lu Qing's eyes.

[Red Moon Carp: Strange Fish. Covered in red armor-like scales, possesses extremely fast swimming speeds.]

[Because it contains a trace of spiritual charm, its flesh is extremely nutritious and delicious; its scales can also be used as medicine.]

[Rumor has it that if a Red Moon Carp is raised properly, there is a slight chance it may evolve into a Spirit Fish.]

Along with the lines of text, there was a glow emanating from the fish—a white light tinged with a hint of red.

"Red light?"

At first, Lu Qing thought he had misseen it.

He thought the red glow was merely the reflection from the Red Moon Carp's scales.

But after careful observation, he confirmed it wasn't a reflection; it was indeed the light representing the grade of an object, which only his special ability could perceive.

In other words, this Red Moon Carp was not merely at the White Light grade.

It was a Strange Fish of a grade between White Light and Red Light.

No wonder there were three lines of description.

Ordinary White Light items usually only had two lines of description.

He immediately focused his attention on the third line.

"A slight chance to evolve into a Spirit Fish..." Lu Qing looked at the third line, lost in thought. "Is a Spirit Fish a higher existence than a Strange Fish?"

He suddenly remembered the Snow Silkworm Silk given to him by the old doctor.

Snow Silkworm Silk was already a Red Light grade treasure; could the snow silkworms that produced such a treasure be Spirit Silkworms?

Unfortunately, this guess was destined to remain unanswered for the time being.

Even Old Doctor Chen didn't know the origin of the Snow Silkworm Silk; even if Lu Qing wanted to ask, he had nowhere to seek guidance.

Therefore, compared to the third line, the description in the second line was more useful to him.

"Flesh is extremely delicious and nutritious..."

Looking at the information on the text, Lu Qing couldn't help but let out a smile.

Finally, he had a gift for Old Doctor Chen tomorrow.

Originally, he had planned to carry the Green-Armored Fish to the old doctor if he didn't find anything else.

But now, it was clear that this Red Moon Carp was far more precious.

Moreover, its size wasn't too large, making it more suitable as a gift.

Thinking of this, Lu Qing hurriedly brought out the Green-Armored Fish and placed the Red Moon Carp into the bucket.

Since it was intended as a gift, he couldn't let it die.

Fortunately, the Red Moon Carp lived up to its status as a Strange Fish. Although it had been exhausted by Lu Qing and had spent some time on the grass, it immediately began to swim again once it touched the water in the bucket.

Its vitality was quite tenacious.

Once he had the Red Moon Carp, Lu Qing had no intention of continuing to fish.

After battling two large fish in succession, his physical strength was nearly depleted.

If he kept fishing, even if he caught more, he wouldn't have the energy left to play them out.

It was better to stop while he was ahead.

"Xiao Yan, let's get ready to head back."

Using materials at hand, Lu Qing braided a grass rope, tied the Green-Armored Fish, and slung it over his back.

With a bucket in one hand, a machete and a fishing rod in the other, he spoke to Xiao Yan.

"Brother, let me help you carry some things."

Seeing her brother carrying so much—both on his back and in his hands—Xiao Yan felt a pang of sympathy.

"Alright then."

Lu Qing tried walking and found that with so many things, it was indeed difficult to move.

After a moment's thought, he first hung the bamboo tube containing the earthworms around Xiao Yan's neck.

Then, he placed the fishing rod across her shoulder.

"Xiao Yan, carry this fishing rod. Walk carefully, don't trip."

"Mhm, Xiao Yan understands!" The little girl nodded with a serious expression.

And so, the siblings—one carrying a fish on her back and the other carrying a fishing rod—made their difficult trek back.

As they passed the small fishing spot, the villagers were left dumbfounded by the sight of the large man and the small girl.

(End of Chapter)