Chapter 48

【Golden Loach: A peculiar fish, entirely golden in color, adept at burrowing.】【Contains spiritual essence, its flesh is delicious and nourishing, capable of enhancing both yin and yang, a superb tonic.】

【It is said that Golden Loaches always appear in pairs, a male and a female, inseparable and never swimming alone.】

Seeing the creature in the bucket, its body glowing with a white and red hue, resembling a loach, Lu Qing was filled with joy.

Indeed, this creature was a peculiar fish.

Moreover, it was on the same level as the Red Moon Carp.

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

Golden Loaches always appeared in pairs and never swam alone.

This meant there was another Golden Loach in the water! Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Although he didn't know if the commotion just now had scared the other Golden Loach away, Lu Qing still wanted to give it a try.

He baited the hook with another Blood Apricot Fruit and lowered it into the water.

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

However, to his surprise, the float sank into the water shortly after he lowered the hook.

"So soon?!"

Caught off guard, Lu Qing quickly reacted and grabbed the fishing rod.

There was no suspense after that.

After another bout of strength and skill, he pulled up another Golden Loach.

Staring at the two Golden Loaches in the bucket, Lu Qing fell silent.

It seemed he had underestimated the allure of the Blood Apricot Fruit to these peculiar fish.

It was no ordinary fruit to be called a mystical fruit by the abilities.

He wondered what was so special about it that it could attract these peculiar fish to devour it relentlessly.

Lu Qing put away a few Blood Apricot Fruits, planning to ask his master about this mystical fruit later.

Baiting another Blood Apricot Fruit, Lu Qing continued to fish.

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

He waited a long time without another catch.

Not even an ordinary fish.

"Strange, could it be that these peculiar fish have territorial awareness, and only one type appears at a time?" Lu Qing wondered.

He decided to lift the hook and replace the bait with a worm.

As soon as the hook was lowered again, a fish bit it quickly.

A neat flick of the rod brought up a small white fish flapping its tail in the air.

Looking at the small white fish on the hook, Lu Qing was silent.

"You're really everywhere."

Feeling there were no more peculiar fish below, Lu Qing stopped using the Blood Apricot Fruit.

Instead, he continued fishing with worms.

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

With so many small white fish, plus the ones left at home, it should be enough to feed the black beast well.

After catching enough food for the black beast, Lu Qing decided to pack up.

It was a pity, though, as he had hoped to catch one or two big fish to give the black beast a hearty meal.

But perhaps because of the Golden Loach's presence, all the big fish were nowhere to be found.

Even when he switched to corn bait midway, there was no action.

Unable to catch any, he could only let the black beast settle for small fish, which tasted good anyway.

"Xiao Yan, let's go home."

After packing up, Lu Qing called out to Xiao Yan, who was playing in the grass nearby.

"Coming, brother."

The little one ran back happily, holding a small bunch of wildflowers.

She had gone to pick wildflowers earlier.

"Brother, look at the flowers I just picked. Aren't they pretty?"

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

"Pretty."

Lu Qing nodded, noticing some grass leaves on her head and casually picked them off.

"Hehe, I knew you'd like them."

Xiao Yan was delighted with the compliment.

Seeing her happy, Lu Qing had a sudden thought.

"Xiao Yan, do you get bored coming fishing with me every day?"

"What's bored?" the little one asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Uh... do you ever feel unhappy?" Lu Qing rephrased.

"No, as long as I'm with you, I'm never unhappy," she said earnestly. "There are flowers to pick and butterflies to chase, it's so much fun!"

"...Alright then."

Lu Qing had nothing to say.

He had thought about leaving her in the village to play with other kids if she felt bored while he went fishing.

After all, she often played with her friends in the village after meals.

But since she didn't feel bored, he decided to let it be for now.

Back home, Lu Qing poured out the small fish, leaving only the two Golden Loaches in the bucket, and fell into contemplation.

He was considering what to do with these two Golden Loaches.

Sell them or eat them himself?

He preferred eating them.

First, his master hadn't been able to go to town lately, and he didn't know how long the Golden Loaches would live out of the river.

If they died in a few days, it would be a big loss.

Secondly, he wasn't short of money anymore.

Peculiar fish were rare, and selling them felt like a waste.

Lastly, the Golden Loaches' effects were very tempting.

According to the abilities, these Golden Loaches were superb tonics.

Now that he had started practicing Health Nourishing Boxing and was about to step into the Qi and Blood Realm, his body still felt weak due to a past illness.

These two Golden Loaches might help him overcome this shortcoming.

After some thought, Lu Qing decided to keep both Golden Loaches for himself.

But he didn't plan to enjoy them alone.

He intended to take them to the Halfway House tomorrow and share them with his master.

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

Since becoming a disciple, Lu Qing had only received benefits from his master without giving anything in return.

Now that he had caught these peculiar fish, it was a good opportunity to let his master have a taste.

Lu Qing's plan was excellent, but an unexpected event occurred that night.

After Xiao Yan fell asleep, the black beast came scratching at the door again.

Lu Qing brought out a bowl of fish and placed it on the ground.

To his surprise, the black beast, which usually devoured the fish as soon as it was put down, didn't move this time.

Instead, it sniffed a few times, its eyes lit up, and it circled around Lu Qing.

After a few circles, it sat down and stared at him.

"What's wrong? Not eating? I even added extra fish today," Lu Qing said, puzzled.

The little creature had changed its habits, no longer interested in fish?

"Meow!"

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

It was the first time he had heard it meow.

He had only heard its warning growls in the first few nights.

This meow was different, like a kitten's, cute and endearing.

But Lu Qing couldn't pay attention to how pleasant the sound was now.

Because he noticed that after the black beast meowed, it stared straight at the house behind him.

More precisely, at the direction of the kitchen.

Remembering how the black beast had sniffed him earlier, a thought suddenly struck Lu Qing.

"Could it be..."