That night, Lu Qing slept very soundly and didn't even dream.
Unlike usual, Xiaoyan didn't wake up in the middle of the night crying out for comfort.
Both siblings slept well.
In fact, Lu Qing slept so soundly that Xiao Yan had to wake him up in the morning.
Still half asleep, Lu Qing helped Xiao Yan put on her coat, brush her teeth, and wash her face. She then casually tied her hair into two little buns before starting her own washing up.
Lu Qing absentmindedly cleaned his teeth with a willow brush, his gaze drifting aimlessly across the room.
After scrolling for a while, he suddenly sensed something was wrong, and his eyes gradually focused.
As I stepped forward, my eyes widened as I looked at the two empty bamboo rings on the bamboo pole.
Good heavens, which scoundrel stole his two big pieces of fish?
Are they from the village?
Lu Qing immediately had this idea.
But he quickly rejected the idea.
Although the villagers are not wealthy now, no one is so poor that they would steal a couple of pieces of fish.
He wanted to treat everyone to fish yesterday, but everyone declined.
Besides, if you really want to steal, wouldn't it be better to steal the whole thing at once? Why only steal two pieces?
More importantly, he discovered that there were still some fish meat residues on the two bamboo strips.
It was obvious that the two pieces of fish were forcibly pulled away.
What thief would make such a commotion when stealing something? Are they afraid of not attracting attention?
Unfortunately, he slept too soundly last night and didn't notice the noise outside.
Lu Qing searched the vicinity carefully and finally found several mud marks on the wall that resembled plum blossoms.
Each mark also has several tiny holes.
Similar marks were also found on the ground.
He stared quietly at the mud marks.
Soon, a faint white light could be seen shining through it.
White light?
Lu Qing was slightly startled.
He quickly looked at the two notes that had appeared.
【Muddy footprints: Judging from their shape, they appear to be the footprints of some kind of mysterious small animal.】
【Look at the small holes in the footprints; this belongs to a creature with sharp claws.】
Looking at the description on the two notes, a scene instantly flashed into Lu Qing's mind.
A mysterious and agile unnamed little beast pushed off with its feet, using the wall for leverage, and pounced on the fish meat on the bamboo pole, tearing it off with its bare hands.
What could it be, a cat?
By the way, do cats exist in this world?
A question popped into Lu Qing's mind.
Anyway, he had never seen anyone in the village keep a cat.
However, now that we've confirmed it wasn't a person stealing the things, that's fine.
Lu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
If it's villagers coming to steal things, that's not good news for him.
Fortunately, it was just a wild animal, and judging from its footprints, it wasn't very big.
His village is located not far from the mountains, where wild animals occasionally run down, which is perfectly normal.
However, it seems I'll have to be more careful to close the doors and windows tightly when I sleep from now on.
Otherwise, if some wild animal sneaks in in the middle of the night and hurts Xiaoyan, that would be bad.
After figuring out what had happened, Lu Qing didn't care much anymore.
The key issue is that he can't fight a wild beast, so he can only put things away after nightfall.
Thinking of this, Lu Qing suddenly remembered something, his eyes widened, and he hurriedly ran to the kitchen.
After a while, he came out looking relieved.
Fortunately, he kept the red moon carp in a wooden basin and put it in the kitchen last night.
To prevent the fish from jumping out, the wooden basin was covered tightly with planks and stones.
Otherwise, it's hard to guarantee that they won't be carried away by that wild beast.
After this incident, Lu Qing fully regained her senses.
He didn't tell Xiaoyan about it, but went to make breakfast. After the brother and sister ate, they carried the red moon carp in a wooden bucket and walked towards the small hill where Dr. Chen lived.
This time, Lu Qing deliberately delayed his visit to Dr. Chen's clinic.
He was afraid that if he arrived too early and encountered the old doctor practicing martial arts, he would be unable to resist using his supernatural abilities to imitate the doctor's techniques.
The old doctor has been so good to them, he can't do something so ungrateful.
So I simply ruled out that possibility and avoided testing my moral bottom line.
Lu Qing's strategy was quite effective.
When he and Xiaoyan arrived at the courtyard halfway up the mountain, they saw Doctor Chen slowly finishing his practice, clearly having just finished his boxing routine.
"Grandpa Chen, we've come to see you!"
Xiao Yan was overjoyed to see the old doctor and ran up to him.
"Hey, Xiaoyan's here!"
When Dr. Chen saw Xiao Yan running over, he picked her up and his old face beamed like a chrysanthemum.
"Good morning, Grandpa Chen." Lu Qing also stepped forward to greet him.
"You're here. Why are you later than last time?" Dr. Chen asked.
"Because my brother overslept!" Xiaoyan giggled. "I was the one who woke him up this morning!"
Lu Qing blushed slightly: "I went fishing by the river all morning yesterday and was a little tired, so I slept a little more soundly."
"It's good to get more sleep." Dr. Chen nodded. "You are at the age when you are growing, so sufficient rest is necessary."
The old doctor examined Lu Qing and Xiao Yan's complexions and found they were much better than they had been a few days ago.
Knowing that they should have been doing well these past few days, I was quite satisfied.
"Grandpa Chen, my brother and I went fishing yesterday, and my brother caught a really, really big fish!"
At this point, Xiaoyan began to boast to the old doctor.
"Oh, how big is it?" Dr. Chen asked with a smile.
"It's so big! It's as big as Xiaoyan!" The little guy gestured vigorously.
"So big?" Doctor Chen was quite surprised.
He thought the big fish Xiaoyan mentioned was only two or three pounds at most, but if it was really as she said, it would be much more than that.
"Yes, that big fish is not only delicious, but it also has very beautiful stones on its body. My brother made it into a pendant and gave it to Xiaoyan. Grandpa Chen, look, this is it, isn't it pretty?"
Xiaoyan pulled out the fish-shaped stone pendant from her neck and showed it to Dr. Chen.
"This is... the Blue Armored Fish Stone?"
The old doctor was even more surprised when he saw the pendant around Xiaoyan's neck.
Hearing his words, Lu Qing's heart stirred.
He feigned surprise and asked, "Grandpa Chen, do you know what this stone is?"
"What, you didn't know?"
"I don't know." Lu Qing shook his head. "I found this stone in the throat of that big fish when I was killing it. I thought it was pretty, so I made it into a pendant for Xiao Yan to wear."
"You're quite lucky. This fish stone is a rare item, and you actually managed to find it."
Dr. Chen picked up the pendant and examined it closely.
"The big fish you caught should be a blue carp, and a rather old one at that."
"Otherwise, such a high-quality fish stone could not have been produced."
"Once this blue-shelled fish stone is jade-like, it will have a rather magical function that can soothe the mind. At the same time, it is also a rare medicinal material. Its powder mixed with water can calm a child's frightened soul."
"By the way, where did you catch that blue carp?"
