We arrived at the small courtyard halfway up the mountain.
Lu Qing was surprised not to see his master practicing boxing in the open space in front of the door.
He went inside and found that the door to the medicine room was still closed, and a faint fragrance of medicine wafted out.
Knowing that his master was still inside refining medicine, he didn't make a sound to disturb him.
Instead, he placed the bucket in the corner, took out a broom, and began sweeping the yard.
When Xiaoyan saw her brother cleaning, she went to the corner and dragged out a small broom to help.
Just as the brother and sister had almost finished cleaning the yard, Lu Qing finally heard the sound of a door opening inside the house.
Immediately following was the old doctor's hearty laughter.
"Have you two been here long?"
Seeing Lu Qing and the other person cleaning the yard, the old doctor asked.
"It wasn't long, less than half an hour," Lu Qing replied truthfully.
"Grandpa Chen, Xiaoyan also helped her brother clean up!" The little girl held up the broom, eager to show off.
“Grandpa knows that Xiaoyan is the best girl,” the old doctor immediately praised.
"Hehe." The little guy was immediately happy to receive the praise.
"Master, didn't you sleep all night?"
Looking at the old doctor's clothes, which were exactly the same as yesterday, Lu Qing couldn't help but ask.
"Indeed, one cannot be negligent in the art of alchemy, especially with this Blood-Nourishing and Qi-Boosting Pill. It is best to complete the pill in one go, so as to preserve the medicinal effects of ginseng to the greatest extent." The old doctor nodded.
"Master, would you like to rest for a bit?" Lu Qing asked with some concern.
"No need for that. I only stayed up one night. My health isn't that bad yet." The old doctor waved his hand. "Besides, old people don't need much sleep anyway, so a little less sleep won't hurt."
Lu Qing observed for a moment and found that his master's complexion was still rosy and he looked energetic, without a trace of fatigue.
I know he's telling the truth.
That's true. Master is a martial arts expert at the Inner Strength Realm. How could staying up all night have any effect on him?
"From what Master means, that blood-nourishing and qi-boosting pill..." Lu Qing's eyes lit up.
"It's all ready." The old doctor took out a snow-white porcelain bottle. "That old ginseng has yielded twenty blood-nourishing and qi-boosting pills."
"With the help of these twenty Blood-Nourishing and Qi-Boosting Pills, not only will it be much easier for you to enter the Blood and Qi Realm, but once you enter the Blood and Qi Realm, your cultivation progress will be extremely fast."
Lu Qing took the porcelain bottle and felt its heavy weight.
Suddenly, he asked, "Master, is it true that the Blood-Nourishing and Qi-Boosting Pill is most effective when taken after one has entered the Qi and Blood Realm?"
The old doctor paused for a moment, then replied, "That's right. This Blood-Nourishing and Qi-Boosting Pill is one of the best auxiliary pills for those in the Qi-Blood Realm. Just refining one pill can bring considerable progress. Countless Qi-Blood Realm martial artists would spend a lot of money to obtain a few pills."
"Wouldn't it be a waste to take this pill before I've even reached the Qi and Blood Realm?"
"Although it will waste some of the medicinal effects, your physical foundation is somewhat weak. Without the help of pills, even if you have already mastered the basics of the Body Nourishing Fist, it will probably take some time before you can step into the Qi and Blood Realm."
Hearing his master's words, Lu Qing smiled and changed the subject instead of asking further questions.
“Master, I went fishing yesterday and caught two strange fish with unusual appearances. They look quite unusual, and I would like to have you take a look at them.”
"Oh, what good catch did you catch this time?" The old doctor became interested.
He knew that his disciple was very talented in fishing and often caught some unusual fish.
These days, he hasn't lacked any small fish.
The fried small fish tasted delicious and were perfect with alcohol, which led to the near-complete consumption of his two jars of treasured aged wine.
"This is the first time I've caught this kind of fish. It's not big, but it's quite strong. It feels very unusual."
Lu Qing took out the bucket containing the golden loach from the corner of the yard.
The old doctor peeked inside and saw a golden loach swimming there. After a moment of identification, his eyes widened in surprise.
"This thing is a golden loach!"
"Master, do you recognize this kind of fish?" Lu Qing asked.
"Of course I recognize it." The old doctor looked quite excited. "Do you remember the red moon carp you caught before? My master once said it was one of the ten most delicious fish in the world."
"Could this fish be one of the ten delicacies of the world?" Lu Qing wondered.
He really hadn't expected this.
"That's right. This fish is also a rare fish called the Golden Loach. It is also one of the Ten Delicacies of the World. However, its ranking among the Ten Delicacies is much lower than that of the Red Moon Carp. It is in the last position, so its flavor is inferior to that of the Red Moon Carp."
"However, its umami flavor is slightly inferior. However, the golden loach has one advantage over the red moon carp: it has a high nutritional value and is most suitable for people with weak constitutions."
“I told you last time that your Red Moon Carp was bought by a nobleman in the city to nourish his wife.”
"After eating the Red Moon Carp, the noblewoman's health improved considerably, but she was still somewhat weak."
"If she had eaten this golden loach that day, she probably would have made a full recovery."
Golden loach is indeed one of the ten delicacies.
Lu Qing was surprised.
So, by that calculation, he has already caught two kinds of the "Ten Delicacies" fish in the river outside the village.
The fact that such a small rural river harbors two or even more unusual fish species is quite intriguing.
Is it because of the blood apricot, or some other, lesser-known reason?
Lu Qing couldn't help but think deeper.
The senior doctor had obviously thought of this problem as well.
"Ah Qing, where did you catch that golden loach?"
"It's right where I caught the Red Moon Carp last time," Lu Qing said without hiding anything.
"How could both red moon carp and golden loach appear in this small river outside the village at the same time?"
The old doctor realized something was amiss.
"Master, is there something wrong with this?" Lu Qing asked humbly.
“It is indeed somewhat unusual,” the old doctor said, “but as to what the reason might be, this old man cannot say for sure either, but...”
"But what?"
Seeing that the old doctor's expression seemed somewhat solemn, Lu Qing quickly asked.
"Don't mention the strange fish hiding in the river outside the village to anyone else," the old doctor said solemnly. "The strange fish is rare and extremely valuable. If the news gets out, it might not be a good thing for the village."
"This disciple understands."
Lu Qing understood his master's meaning.
The saying goes, "To possess a treasure is to be guilty," meaning the value of this rare fish was far too high.
If others find out that there are strange fish in the river outside the village, there's no guarantee that someone won't try to seize the river and drive away the villagers.
He had seen many examples of this kind of thing in the news in his previous life.
For the villagers of Jiuli Village, this would be nothing short of a disaster.
It seems I can't tell anyone if I catch any more unusual fish in the future.
Once Lu Qing understood this, he immediately made a decision.
Even if I catch another rare fish in the future, I will not sell it.
Anyway, he and the little black beast had already reached an agreement that he would exchange the strange fish for ginseng.
Just remember that.
The old doctor nodded, knowing that his disciple was always intelligent and did not need much guidance from him.
However, he became curious about something else.
"Didn't you say you caught two golden loaches? I remember that golden loaches always come in pairs and never come alone. So where's the other one?"
"There was one more, which was eaten by that little black beast."
Lu Qing gave a wry smile, then explained how the little black beast insisted on eating the strange fish.
They simply concealed the agreement with the little beast.
"I originally intended to keep both golden loaches, but the little beast wouldn't give up, so I had no choice but to give it one."
"I see. It's alright. That little beast gave you a hundred-year-old ginseng. In return, it's only right to give it a rare fish."
The old doctor didn't feel it was a pity.
“Master, there’s only one golden loach left. You should enjoy it. It’s my way of showing my appreciation to you,” Lu Qing said.
"It would be a waste for me to enjoy such a good thing all by myself," the old doctor said with a smile. "Let's eat it together."
"Speaking of which, you've had the perfect timing for this Golden Loach Fishing. If you're lucky, you might be able to reach the Qi and Blood Realm today."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing was taken aback.
