"Little thing, you wouldn't happen to have your eye on my two golden loaches, would you?"
Lu Qing noticed the little black beast staring intently towards the kitchen and couldn't help but cover his forehead.
I can't help but guess, it must be.
Because those two golden loaches were kept in the kitchen.
He recalled how the little black beast had circled around him and sniffed him earlier; it must have caught the scent of the golden loach on him.
After all, he had just transferred the two golden loaches to the water tank in the evening and weighed them down with a wooden board to prevent them from jumping out and escaping in the middle of the night.
Once you get a fishy smell, it's hard to get rid of it in a short time.
I never expected this little thing to have such a sensitive nose. It could still distinguish the scent of the golden loach from so many fish smells mixed together.
The little black beast did not answer, but simply looked at Lu Qing quietly.
However, through their time together, Lu Qing came to understand its meaning.
It still wanted to eat those two golden loaches.
Lu Qing felt a headache coming on.
"Little one, let's make a deal. You can eat as much fish as you want here, and if you're not full, I'll get you more. I'll keep those two golden loaches, okay?"
Lu Qing didn't care whether the little black beast could understand his long speech or not, and started discussing it with it.
However, it was unclear whether the little black beast was feigning ignorance or genuinely didn't understand.
Anyway, it just blinked and continued to stare fixedly at the kitchen behind Lu Qing.
Alright, now Lu Qing understands that this little thing is determined to eat the golden loach.
Knowing there was no room for negotiation, Lu Qing had no choice but to back down.
"I can only give you one. I'm saving the other one for when I need it, so I can't give it to you."
Lu Qing held up one finger and said earnestly.
The little black beast watched Lu Qing quietly for a while, and finally nodded.
"You really can understand me!"
Seeing the black beast's actions, Lu Qing immediately understood.
He had suspected it before, but he had never dared to be sure.
Now that I see this guy's performance, I can finally confirm it.
This guy has always been able to understand what he's saying; he's been pretending to be stupid all this time!
Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, the little black beast regained its somewhat dazed and calm expression, as if to say, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
But Lu Qing would never be fooled by it again.
He felt both amused and exasperated that he had been fooled by a small animal for so long.
Turning back to the kitchen, Lu Qing lifted the wooden board on top of the water tank, grabbed a golden loach, and then went back to the yard.
"I can only give you one, do you want it?"
Upon seeing the struggling golden loach in Lu Qing's hand, the little black beast's eyes lit up.
As soon as Lu Qing finished speaking, he felt a dark shadow flash before his eyes, and his hand loosened, and the golden loach in his hand had vanished.
When he looked closely, the little black beast was already there, munching on the golden loach.
Lu Qing felt a pang of pain as he watched it bite off the golden loach's head.
That's over a hundred taels of silver!
However, he saw the little black beast eating happily, its eyes narrowing and its tail wagging back and forth, appearing extremely pleased.
I can only comfort myself.
Well, this little thing did give him such a precious century-old ginseng last night, so it's only right to give it something good to eat. Consider it a return gift.
The little black beast ate quickly, and before long, a plump golden loach weighing almost two pounds was completely inside its belly.
After finishing the golden loach, the black beast looked at Lu Qing again.
Lu Qing was startled and quickly said, "That's all. I need the last one, so I can't give it to you!"
The little black beast glanced at Lu Qing sideways, seemingly disgusted by his stinginess, then walked over to the bowl of fish and began to eat leisurely.
Lu Qing:...
So you're not disgusted by these small fish, but rather want to eat the good stuff first?
However, seeing that the black beast did not continue to demand the remaining golden loach from him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, this little thing is reasonable; otherwise, if it had really tried to snatch another golden loach, Lu Qing wouldn't have been able to stop it.
Watching the little black beast eat happily, Lu Qing thought for a moment and then squatted down.
"Little one, do you really like eating those strange fish like we just had?"
After confirming that the little black beast could understand him, Lu Qing became more interested in communicating.
The little beast looked up at Lu Qing, its eyes sparkling.
Lu Qing quickly said, "I didn't mean to give you the other golden loach, don't misunderstand."
Upon hearing this, the little black beast immediately lowered its head to eat the fish and ignored him.
Lu Qing didn't care. "However, just because I can't give you the golden loach doesn't mean I can't give it to you if I catch other exotic fish in the future."
The little beast raised its head again, looking at him with some confusion.
"Little thing, how about we make a deal?" Seeing its interest, Lu Qing seized the opportunity and said, "If I ever catch another rare fish like the golden loach, I'll trade it to you as long as you find that plant root from last night. How about it?"
Plant roots and stems from last night?
The little black beast tilted its head and thought for a moment before realizing that Lu Qing was referring to the plant it had given him last night.
It instinctively sensed that the grass was somewhat special, so it dug it up and gave it to the two-legged creature.
Now it seems he really likes it?
The grass remembered that it usually grew in its usual habitat in the mountains.
However, digging grass is not a difficult task for the little black animal.
But it couldn't just agree to that.
Who told him to be so stingy as to not even give it an extra fish to eat? Humph!
The little black beast pretended to hesitate for a while before reluctantly nodding in agreement.
Lu Qing had no idea that a young beast could have so many complicated thoughts.
He was overjoyed to see that the little beast had agreed.
If the little creature can really dig up a hundred-year-old ginseng, then it doesn't matter if it eats all the strange fish it catches in the future.
After all, for him, the value of ginseng far exceeded that of the strange fish.
And so, both the human and the beast felt they had gotten a great deal and happily reached an agreement.
Although it ate one golden loach, the little black beast still finished all the fish in the bowl, and its belly was a little bulging when it left.
Watching the little black beast awkwardly cross the fence, Lu Qing smiled and shook his head.
He truly loves fish to the point of obsession, preferring to eat until he's stuffed rather than leave a single fish behind.
After the little beast disappeared, Lu Qing took the wooden basin back to the kitchen, washed it clean, and went back to her room to sleep.
Nothing was said that night.
The next morning, Lu Qing got up and practiced the health-preserving boxing several times, and immediately felt refreshed.
The Health Preservation Boxing style truly lives up to its reputation as a boxing technique painstakingly created by my master.
As its name suggests, this style of boxing is extremely effective in conditioning and nourishing the body.
Lu Qing had only practiced for two or three days when he felt that his physique had improved a lot and his spirits had become much stronger.
After a simple yet nutritious breakfast, Lu Qing, carrying the golden loach in a bucket, headed towards the small courtyard halfway up the mountain with Xiao Yan in tow.
As Lu Qing climbed the mountain, she still felt a sense of anticipation.
According to what the master said before he went into seclusion yesterday, the Qi-boosting and blood-replenishing pills should be ready today.
With the help of elixirs, it's believed that he will soon reach the Qi and Blood Realm.
