Chapter 17: Mental Breakdown

When the figures of Lu Qing and Xiao Yan appeared at the Little Fish fishing spot.

The group of villagers who were still fishing there were all dumbfounded upon seeing the fish on Lu Qing's back.

"Lu... Lu Qing, wha... what is that you're carrying on your back?" one villager asked stumblingly.

"Fish," Lu Qing replied, catching his breath.

He truly felt a bit exhausted.

His body hadn't fully recovered yet, and he had just spent so much time battling the Green-Armored Fish and the Red Moon Carp.

Walking with so much weight on his back now was truly becoming more than he could handle.

However, his answer caused the villagers to feel somewhat broken.

Nonsense, of course they knew what was on his back was fish!

The question was, where on earth did he catch such massive fish!

Looking at the giant fish on Lu Qing's back—which was more than half his height with its tail dragging on the ground—the villagers' eyes felt dizzy.

Good heavens, this was the first time they had ever seen fish this large!

However, some villagers noticed Lu Qing's current distress and hurried forward to help him unburden the fish.

"Come, come, let me carry it for you. Your body has only just recovered; don't overexert yourself again."

Lu Qing did not refuse.

He was indeed struggling to hold on; he had thought he could carry the fish home himself, but it seemed he had overestimated his physical strength.

"Thanks, Brother Da'an."

Lu Qing set the fish down and took a breath.

"Hehe, no need for thanks. It's my first time seeing such a big fish. Being able to touch it is a blessing. Wait, there's another one in this bucket! This fish is so beautiful!"

The villager Wang Da'an was rejoicing, but upon looking down, he cried out in surprise again.

Hearing this, the other villagers could no longer restrain themselves and immediately crowded around to peer into the bucket.

"It really is! There's another big fish in the bucket!"

"What kind of fish is this? It's fiery red; I've never seen anything like it!"

"This fish is so beautiful; the lords in the city would surely love it."

"Good heavens, Lu Qing, how on earth did you catch them? Two big fish at once?"

When the last question was asked, everyone turned to look at Lu Qing.

"How did I catch them? Just like you guys do," Lu Qing reached out and took the fishing rod from Xiao Yan's shoulder. "I just picked a spot in the upstream section. I didn't expect to actually catch two big ones; it was just luck."

"Then where did you fish?" one villager asked, his eyes darting around.

As soon as these words were spoken, several other villagers immediately looked at him with disdain.

His intentions were far too obvious; he wasn't even willing to hide them. He was practically bullying a child.

After asking, the villager also felt something was off and quickly gave a sheepish laugh. "I was just curious. Don't tell me none of you are curious."

Lu Qing could, of course, hear what the villager meant, but he didn't care much.

Even if he didn't say anything, they would certainly go searching for it later.

The traces he left from opening up the fishing spot could not be hidden.

So, he said directly, "It's not far upstream, but I advise you not to go there right now."

"Why?" the villager blurted out.

"Because the school of fish there has been spooked. Right now, forget about big fish, there isn't even a small fish left. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come back so quickly," Lu Qing said, half-truthfully.

The other villagers thought this made sense.

Lu Qing had caught two big fish in a row, especially the one on the ground, which was staggeringly large.

Making such a commotion while catching a fish that size would surely scare everything else away.

However, despite the warning, some villagers still held onto a sense of hope.

For instance, the villager who had asked about the spot made up his mind to sneak over later to see exactly where Lu Qing had been fishing.

Lu Qing didn't care what these villagers were thinking.

He had said his piece; if they didn't believe him and insisted on going there to fish, there was nothing he could do.

Moreover, even if someone actually went there, he didn't mind.

He didn't care about small fish, and as for big fish...

It wasn't that he looked down on these villagers, but with their skill, it was simply impossible for them to catch big fish.

Even if they were lucky enough to get a big fish to bite, their fragile hemp lines wouldn't be able to withstand the terrifying impact of a large fish.

After resting for a while, Lu Qing felt his strength returning slightly.

"Everyone, Xiao Yan and I are heading back. You all continue fishing."

With that, he prepared to lift the Green-Armored Fish.

Seeing this, Wang Da'an hurriedly bent down to pick up the fish. "Didn't we agree I'd help? Lu Qing, you just carry the bucket. Here, this big fish is so heavy! It must be nearly twenty pounds!"

Once he actually lifted the Green-Armored Fish, Wang Da'an realized it was even heavier than he had imagined.

He couldn't help but look at Lu Qing, finding it truly hard to imagine how someone with Lu Qing's small frame could have pulled up such a massive fish.

"Then thank you, Brother Da'an. Once we get back, I'll treat you to some fish!"

Lu Qing did not decline; he was quite happy to have someone help him.

"That sounds great! In all my life, I've never eaten a fish this big!" Wang Da'an became instantly joyful.

Watching the three of them walk toward the village, the remaining villagers looked at one another.

Suddenly, a villager shouted, "What's the point of fishing anymore! Let's go back to the village to watch the excitement!"

"Exactly! We've been guarding this spot all morning and only caught a few small fish. It's better to go back and see how Lu Qing cleans the fish!"

"I haven't seen enough of those two big fish yet; I need to go back and get a better look."

...

If the villagers had had the patience to keep waiting before Lu Qing returned, then watching Lu Qing leave with two big fish caused their mental state to crumble.

They had been waiting here for two or three days, yet their harvest couldn't even compare to a fraction of what he had caught in two hours. Where was the justice in that!

There was no point in fishing these fish!

With their morale broken, the villagers began packing their things to return to the village.

Lu Qing and the others had only just left; if they ran fast, they might just catch up to them.

"Old Zhao, aren't you going back?"

While everyone was packing, one man remained unmoved, still sitting there fishing.

Seeing this, the others asked him.

"You guys go ahead. I'll fish a bit longer. Maybe a fish will come along in a moment."

The villager who had previously asked about the spot, referred to by the others as Old Zhao, gave a simple, honest smile.

"Fine, then keep fishing. If you ask me, I've been fishing here for several days and the fish have long been fished out. Didn't you see how much Lu Qing disliked this place earlier?"

Previously, people hadn't taken Lu Qing's fishing skills seriously, thinking he could catch so many small fish only because of his secret recipe of using earthworms as bait.

But after seeing those two big fish just now, no one dared to underestimate his skill.

If it were them, they would absolutely not be able to catch fish that large.

It wasn't that no one had tried to hook a big fish over the past few days; the result was always a defeated return.

Either the line snapped or the rod broke; not a single person could pull a big fish in.

After packing up, everyone gradually left.

Only Old Zhao remained, calmly continuing to fish in place.

After a while, once he was certain no one was watching, Old Zhao suddenly leaped up.

He hurriedly began packing his things.

"A bunch of fools! Believing everything that kid Lu Qing says! I don't believe for a second that the fish there have really been fished out!"

With that, he grabbed his belongings and ran in the direction Lu Qing and Xiao Yan had gone.

(End of Chapter)