Chapter 48: A Highly Nutritious Substance

【Golden Loach: A rare fish, golden all over its body, skilled at burrowing into holes.】

【Contains spiritual essence; the flesh is delicious and nutritious, capable of nourishing Yin and supplementing Yang. It is a highly restorative substance.】

【Legend has it that Golden Loaches always appear in pairs, one male and one female, inseparable and never seen swimming alone.】

Looking at the creature in the bucket, which resembled a loach but emitted a reddish-white glow from its body, Lu Qing felt a surge of pleasant surprise.

As expected, this fellow was a rare fish.

And it was a rare fish of the same grade as the Red Moon Carp.

What surprised Lu Qing even more was the information on the third note.

These Golden Loaches always came in pairs and never appeared alone.

In that case, there was another Golden Loach under this water!

Although he didn't know if the other Golden Loach had been scared away by the recent commotion, Lu Qing still wanted to try.

He hooked another Blood Apricot Fruit onto the fishing hook and sank it to the bottom.

He thought he would have to wait a long time again, perhaps even in vain.

However, to Lu Qing's surprise, not long after the hook was lowered, he saw the float plunge violently into the water.

"So fast?!"

Lu Qing was caught off guard, but he reacted quickly, immediately grabbing the fishing rod.

From there, there was no suspense.

After another bout of battling strength and cunning, another Golden Loach was reeled in.

Looking at the two Golden Loaches in the bucket, Lu Qing fell into silence.

It seemed he had underestimated the attraction of the Blood Apricot Fruit to rare fish.

Something that could be called an "Exotic Fruit" by the supernatural ability was indeed extraordinary.

He wondered what its specific peculiarity was that could attract these rare fish to swallow them one after another.

Lu Qing put away a few Blood Apricot seeds, intending to find a time to ask his master if he knew about this kind of exotic fruit.

Hooking another Blood Apricot seed, Lu Qing continued fishing.

But this time, his luck wasn't as good.

He waited for a long time but didn't catch another fish.

Forget rare fish; even ordinary fish were nowhere to be seen.

"Strange. Could it be that these rare fish have a sense of territory, and only one species appears each time?" Lu Qing wondered.

After thinking for a moment, he pulled up the hook and replaced it with an earthworm.

As he lowered the hook into the water again, a fish bit the hook almost immediately.

With a beautiful flick of the rod, a small white fish drifted through the air, its tail wagging continuously.

Looking at the little white fish on the hook, Lu Qing fell silent.

"You really are everywhere, aren't you?"

Sensing that there were likely no more rare fish below, Lu Qing stopped using the Blood Apricot seeds.

Instead, he continued fishing with earthworms.

After a while of continuous reeling, he had caught dozens of small white fish.

With all these small white fish plus the ones left at home, it should be enough for the little black beast to have a wonderful meal.

Having caught enough food for the little black beast, Lu Qing prepared to pack up.

It was a bit of a pity; he had originally intended to catch one or two big fish to give the little black beast a feast.

But whether it was because of the presence of the Golden Loaches, the big fish were nowhere to be found today.

Even when he switched to corn halfway through, there was no movement.

If he couldn't catch them, there was nothing he could do. He could only let the little black beast settle for small fish; after all, small fish tasted quite good too.

"Xiao Yan, let's go. Time to head back."

After packing up his things, Lu Qing carried the bucket and called out to Xiao Yan, who was nearby, crouching on the grass playing with something.

"Coming, Brother!"

The little girl came running back pitter-patter, clutching a small bunch of wildflowers in her hand.

It turned out she had gone to pick flowers just now.

"Brother, look! These are the flowers I just picked. Are they pretty?"

Xiao Yan held up the bouquet to show off to Lu Qing.

"They're pretty."

Lu Qing nodded. Seeing some grass leaves stuck in her hair, he reached out and plucked them away.

"Heehee, I knew Brother would like them!"

Receiving the praise, Xiao Yan was instantly delighted.

Seeing the little girl's happy expression, a thought suddenly struck Lu Qing.

"Xiao Yan, you come fishing with Brother every day. Do you ever feel bored?"

"What is 'bored'?" The little girl tilted her head and asked in confusion.

"Uh... I mean, do you ever feel unhappy?" Lu Qing rephrased it.

"No! As long as I'm with Brother, Xiao Yan won't be unhappy," the little girl said earnestly. "There are flowers to pick here, and butterflies too. It's so much fun!"

"...Alright then."

Lu Qing was speechless.

He had been thinking that if Xiao Yan felt bored, he might leave her in the village to play with the other children the next time they went fishing.

After all, she often ran out to play with her friends in the village after meals.

Since she didn't feel that way, he would decide later.

After returning home, he poured out the small fish, leaving only the two Golden Loaches in the bucket, and fell into deep thought.

He was considering how best to handle these two Golden Loaches.

Should he sell them, or keep them to eat?

In truth, Lu Qing was more inclined to eat them.

Firstly, if he sold them, his master hadn't had much time to go into town lately, and he didn't know how long these Golden Loaches would survive out of the river.

If they died in a couple of days, it would be a huge loss.

Secondly, he wasn't as short on money as he had been before.

Rare fish were things one could encounter but not seek; selling them felt somewhat wasteful.

Lastly, the efficacy of the Golden Loach was very tempting to him.

According to the description from the ability, the Golden Loach was a highly restorative substance.

Currently, he had entered the initial stages of the Body Cultivation Fist, and stepping into the Blood and Qi Realm was a near certainty.

The only thing he lacked was his physical foundation, which had always been somewhat weak due to his previous major illness.

These two Golden Loaches might be able to help him make up for that weakness.

After pondering for a while, Lu Qing finally decided to keep both Golden Loaches to eat.

However, although he decided to eat them, Lu Qing didn't plan to enjoy them alone.

Instead, he planned to take them to the Half-Mountain Courtyard tomorrow to enjoy them with his master.

Last time, with the Red Moon Carp, he had originally intended to give it to his master, but ended up selling it for money.

Since becoming a disciple, Lu Qing had never been able to repay his master with anything; he had only ever received his kindness.

This time, having caught a rare fish again, it was the perfect opportunity to let his master have a proper taste.

Lu Qing's plan was excellent; however, an unexpected turn of events occurred that evening.

After Xiao Yan fell asleep, the little black beast came to scratch at the door again.

As usual, Lu Qing brought out a basin of fish and placed it on the ground.

To his surprise, the little black beast, which usually rushed up to feast the moment the fish was set down, did not approach this time.

Instead, it twitched its nose several times, and then its eyes lit up as if it had discovered something, circling around Lu Qing.

After circling a few times, it even sat there quietly watching him.

"What's wrong? Aren't you eating? I even added extra fish for you today," Lu Qing said, feeling puzzled.

Had this little thing changed its ways? It didn't even care for fish anymore?

"Awoo!"

The little black beast suddenly let out a soft cry, startling Lu Qing.

It was the first time he had heard the fellow make such a sound.

He had heard its voice during those first few nights, but back then, it had been a low growl carrying a warning, which was very different from this.

This sound was somewhat like a kitten's meow—tender, adorable, and surprisingly pleasant to hear.

However, Lu Qing couldn't focus on whether the little black beast's voice was pleasant or not.

Because he noticed that after making the sound, the little thing was staring intently at the house behind him.

To be precise, it was staring toward the direction of the kitchen.

Recalling how the little black beast had reacted to the scent on him earlier, a thought suddenly rose in Lu Qing's mind.

"Could this little thing be..."

(End of Chapter)