Chapter 50

Arriving at the Halfway House.Lu Qing was surprised not to see his master practicing boxing in the open space in front of the door.

He went inside to take a look and found the door to the medicine room still tightly closed, with a faint medicinal fragrance wafting out.

Knowing his master was still refining medicine inside, he did not make a sound to disturb him.

Instead, he placed the bucket in a corner, consciously took out a broom, and began to clean the yard.

Seeing her brother cleaning, Xiao Yan also dragged out a small broom from the corner to help.

When the siblings had almost finished cleaning the yard, Lu Qing finally heard the sound of the door opening from inside the house.

Immediately following was the hearty laughter of the old doctor.

"You two, have you been here for a long time?"

Seeing Lu Qing and Xiao Yan cleaning the yard, the old doctor asked.

"Not very long, less than half an hour," Lu Qing replied honestly.

"Grandpa Chen, Xiao Yan helped her brother clean too," the little one boasted, holding up her broom.

"Grandpa knows, Xiao Yan is the best," the old doctor praised immediately.

"Hee hee," the little one smiled happily upon receiving the compliment.

"Master, did you stay up all night?"

Lu Qing asked, noticing that the old doctor's clothes were exactly the same as yesterday's.

"That's right. In the path of medicine refining, one cannot be negligent. Especially with this Blood-Nourishing and Qi-Tonifying Pill, it's best to refine it in one go to preserve the ginseng's efficacy to the maximum," the old doctor nodded.

"Master, don't you want to rest for a while?" Lu Qing asked with some concern.

"No need, it's just one night. My old body isn't that weak yet," the old doctor waved his hand. "Moreover, old people naturally need less sleep; sleeping a little less is no big deal."

Lu Qing observed that his master's face was still rosy and energetic, with no signs of fatigue.

He knew his master was telling the truth.

After all, his master was a powerful martial artist at the Internal Organs Realm. Staying up all night would hardly affect him.

"Does this mean the Blood-Nourishing and Qi-Tonifying Pill is ready?" Lu Qing's eyes lit up.

"Indeed, it's already refined," the old doctor took out a white porcelain bottle. "That old ginseng yielded twenty Blood-Nourishing and Qi-Tonifying Pills."

"With these twenty pills, not only will it be much easier for you to enter the Qi and Blood Realm, but your cultivation progress will also be very rapid once you do."

Lu Qing took the porcelain bottle, feeling its weight.

He suddenly asked, "Master, is it best to take these pills after entering the Qi and Blood Realm?"

The old doctor was stunned for a moment and then replied, "That's right, these pills are one of the best auxiliary pills for the Qi and Blood Realm. Refining just one can bring significant progress. Many martial artists in the Qi and Blood Realm would spend a fortune to get a few pills."

"Then wouldn't it be a waste if I take these pills before entering the Qi and Blood Realm?"

"Although some efficacy would be wasted, your foundation is a bit weak. Without the help of these pills, even if you've mastered Health Nourishing Boxing, it would still take some time for you to enter the Qi and Blood Realm."

Hearing his master's words, Lu Qing smiled and changed the subject.

"Master, yesterday I went fishing and caught two peculiar fish that seem quite unusual. I wanted you to take a look."

"Oh, what good things did you catch this time?" The old doctor was interested.

He knew that his disciple had a great talent for fishing and often caught unusual fish.

These days, there was never a shortage of small fish at his place.

Fried small fish were delicious, especially with wine, which had almost depleted his two jars of aged wine.

"This type of fish is something I've never caught before. It's small but quite strong and feels very unusual."

Lu Qing took out the bucket with the golden loach from the corner of the yard.

The old doctor looked inside and saw the golden loach swimming around. He suddenly widened his eyes.

"This is a golden loach!"

"Master, you recognize this fish?" Lu Qing asked.

"Of course I do," the old doctor said excitedly. "Remember the Red Moon Carp you caught before? I told you it was one of the Ten Delicacies of the world."

"Is this fish also one of the Ten Delicacies?" Lu Qing was intrigued.

He hadn't expected this.

"Yes, this fish is also a rare one, called the golden loach, and it ranks among the Ten Delicacies, though much lower than the Red Moon Carp, being one of the last. Therefore, its taste is not as good as the Red Moon Carp."

"However, what it lacks in taste, it makes up for in its highly nourishing properties, making it perfect for those with weak constitutions."

"Last time, I told you that your Red Moon Carp was bought by a nobleman in the city to nourish his wife."

"After eating the Red Moon Carp, her health improved significantly, but she was still somewhat weak."

"If she had eaten this golden loach, she would have fully recovered."

Lu Qing was surprised to learn that the golden loach was indeed one of the Ten Delicacies.

He realized that he had caught two types of the Ten Delicacies in the small river outside the village.

A small rural river hiding two, possibly more, rare fish was quite intriguing.

Could it be because of the Blood Apricot Tree, or some other unknown reason?

Lu Qing couldn't help but ponder deeply.

The old doctor had evidently thought of this as well.

"A Qing, where did you catch this golden loach?"

"At the same place where I caught the Red Moon Carp," Lu Qing replied honestly.

"The small river outside the village has both Red Moon Carp and golden loach?"

The old doctor realized something unusual.

"Master, is there something wrong with that?" Lu Qing asked humbly.

"It is quite unusual," the old doctor said. "But I can't explain the reason. However..."

"However, what?" Lu Qing noticed the old doctor's serious expression and asked quickly.

"Don't tell anyone about the rare fish in the river outside the village," the old doctor warned solemnly. "Rare fish are valuable, and once the news spreads, it might not be good for the village."

"I understand," Lu Qing nodded. Sᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

He understood his master's warning.

The so-called crime of having a treasure—rare fish were too valuable.

If others found out about the rare fish in the river, they might try to take over the river and drive the villagers away.

This kind of thing he had seen in many news stories in his past life.

It would be a disaster for the villagers of Jiuli Village.

It seemed he could no longer reveal the rare fish he caught.

Understanding this, Lu Qing immediately made up his mind.

Even if he caught rare fish in the future, he wouldn't sell them.

After all, he had an agreement with the black beast: if he caught rare fish, he could exchange them for ginseng.

"Just remember that," the old doctor nodded, knowing his clever disciple wouldn't need too much guidance.

However, he was curious about something else.

"Didn't you say you caught two golden loaches? I remember golden loaches always appear in pairs. Where's the other one?"

"The other one was eaten by that black beast," Lu Qing replied with a bitter smile and then explained how the black beast insisted on eating the rare fish, leaving out their agreement.

"I originally wanted to keep both golden loaches, but the beast wouldn't let up, so I had to give it one."

"I see. That's not a problem. The black beast gave you a hundred-year-old ginseng, so it's only fair to give it a rare fish in return," the old doctor said, not feeling it was a loss.

"Master, there's only one golden loach left. Why don't you enjoy it? Consider it a token of my appreciation," Lu Qing suggested.

"It would be a waste for me to enjoy such a good thing alone," the old doctor laughed. "Let's eat it together."

"Besides, your timing in catching this golden loach is perfect. If we're lucky, you might enter the Qi and Blood Realm today."

Hearing this, Lu Qing was stunned.