"Little thing, you wouldn't happen to fancy those two golden loaches of mine, would you?"
Lu Qing saw the little black beast staring continuously in the direction of the kitchen, and couldn't help but facepalm.
He guessed it must be the case.
After all, those two golden loaches were placed in the kitchen.
He remembered how the little black beast had kept circling him, sniffing; it must have caught the scent of the golden loaches on him.
In the evening, he had just transferred the two golden loaches to the water tank, pressing them down with a wooden board to prevent them from jumping out and slipping away at night.
Once the fishy smell clings, it's very hard to get rid of in a short time.
He hadn't expected this little creature to have such a sensitive nose—among so many fishy smells mixed together, it could still distinguish the scent of the golden loaches.
The little black beast didn't answer, just quietly watching Lu Qing.
But through the time they had spent together, Lu Qing understood its intentions.
It really wanted to eat those two golden loaches.
Lu Qing couldn't help but feel a headache.
"Little thing, let's make a deal. You can eat any other fish here, and if that's not enough, I'll get you more. But those two golden loaches, I need to keep them. Is that okay?"
Lu Qing didn't care whether the little black beast understood his long speech, and just began to negotiate.
However, whether the beast was playing dumb or truly didn't understand, it just blinked and continued to gaze steadily towards the kitchen behind Lu Qing.
It seemed Lu Qing now understood this little creature had set its heart on the golden loaches. Explore stories on empire
Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Lu Qing could only step back.
"I can only give you one; the other one I need to keep for a purpose, I can't give it to you."
Lu Qing held out one finger, speaking earnestly.
The little black beast quietly looked at Lu Qing for a moment and finally nodded.
"So you really do understand what I'm saying!"
Seeing the action of the little black beast, Lu Qing could not be mistaken.
He had suspected it before but had never been sure.
Now, seeing how it acted, he could finally confirm.
This guy had always understood him; all this time, it had been playing dumb!
Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, the little black beast resumed its somewhat dazed and calm expression, looking as if it didn't get what he was saying.
But Lu Qing would not be fooled again.
Thinking that he had been played by a little beast for so long, he couldn't help but feel a mix of laughter and tears.
Turning back to the kitchen, he lifted the wooden board on the water tank, scooped up a golden loach, and returned to the yard.
"You can only have one, do you want it?"
Seeing the golden loach in Lu Qing's hand struggling and wriggling, the little black beast's eyes had already brightened.
As soon as Lu Qing finished speaking, he felt a blur in front of him, a brief loosening of his grip, and the golden loach had already flown from his hand.
When he regained his focus, the little black beast was already chomping down on the golden loach.
Lu Qing watched as it bit off the head of the golden loach, his heart aching.
That was worth quite a lot of silver.
However, seeing the little black beast munching and squinting its eyes in happiness, wagging its tail gleefully, he could only console himself.
Well, at least this little thing had brought him such a precious century-old ginseng last night; giving it something good to eat was only fair, considered a return gesture.
The little black beast was quick in its eating, and before long, a fat golden loach of nearly two pounds had completely filled its stomach.
After finishing the golden loach, the little black beast looked again towards Lu Qing.
Lu Qing was startled and quickly said, "No more, the remaining one is useful for me, I can't give it to you!"
The black little beast glanced at Lu Qing disdainfully, as if it found him stingy, then walked to the basin of fish and started eating leisurely.
So it's not that you dislike these small fish, you just wanted to eat the tasty ones first.
However, seeing that the black little beast did not continue to demand the remaining golden loach, he heaved a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, this little thing was still reasonable; otherwise, if it had really wanted to forcefully take the other golden loach, Lu Qing would have been powerless to stop it.
Watching the black little beast eat happily, Lu Qing thought for a moment and then squatted down.
"Little thing, do you really like eating those strange fish like the one before?"
Once Lu Qing confirmed that the black little beast could understand him, his enthusiasm for conversation grew.
The little beast raised its head and looked at Lu Qing, its eyes twinkling.
Lu Qing quickly said, "I'm not saying I'll give you the other golden loach, don't misunderstand."
Hearing this, the black little beast immediately lowered its head back to eating the fish, ignoring him.
Lu Qing didn't mind, "However, just because I can't give you the golden loach doesn't mean I can't give you other strange fish if I catch them in the future."
The little beast raised its head again, looking at him with some confusion.
"Little thing, how about a trade?" Lu Qing saw its interest and seized the opportunity, "If I catch strange fish like the golden loach again, you just need to bring me more of the roots from last night, then we can swap, how about that?"
Roots from last night?
The black little beast tilted its head, thinking for a moment before realizing that Lu Qing meant the plant it had brought him the previous night.
That plant was just something it instinctively felt was special, which is why it had dug it up and brought it to this two-legged creature.
It seems he liked it?
That plant was something it remembered; there were still some growing in its usual roaming area in the mountain.
However, even though digging up plants was not difficult for the black little beast.
It couldn't just agree to his request this easily.
Who told him not to even spare one more fish for it to eat, huh!
The black little beast pretended to hesitate for a while before reluctantly nodding in agreement.
Little did Lu Qing know, a little beast still in its juvenile stage could have such circuitous thoughts.
Seeing that the little beast agreed, he was very surprised.
If the little thing could really dig up the Century-old Ginseng, then he wouldn't mind giving it all the strange fish he catches.
After all, for him, the value of ginseng was much greater than that of any strange fish.
In this way, both the person and the beast felt they had gotten a great deal and happily made an agreement.
Although it had eaten a golden loach, the black little beast still finished all the fish in the basin, leaving with its belly slightly bulging.
Watching the black little beast clumsily hop over the hedge, Lu Qing shook his head with a smile.
It truly lived for fish, preferring to overeat rather than leave any fish behind.
Once the figure of the little beast disappeared, Lu Qing took the wooden basin back to the kitchen to clean it, then went back to his room to sleep.
A night passed without incident.
The next morning, Lu Qing got up and practiced Nourishing Body Boxing several times, immediately feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Nourishing Body Boxing, as its name suggested, had an excellent effect on conditioning and nurturing the body.
Having practiced for just two or three days, Lu Qing already felt his physique had greatly improved, and his spirit had become much more vigorous.
After a simple yet nutritious breakfast, Lu Qing, together with Little Yan, carried the bucket with the golden loach and headed to the Half Mountain Small Courtyard.
As he ascended the mountain, Lu Qing was filled with anticipation.
According to what his master had said before going into seclusion the day before, the Qi and Blood Building Pill would be ready today.
With the aid of the Elixir, he believed that entering the Qi Blood Realm was within reach.