The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#621 - Golden Scale

“There's a carp in this pond with four yellow scales on its left flank, shimmering with golden light, quite peculiar.”

Qi Wenren didn't hide anything when Lu Jing asked about it.

“A strange object?” Lu Jing raised his eyebrows.

“Doesn't seem like it. I've been observing it all these days and haven't seen any fixed behavioral patterns. It's just eating and drinking like other fish every day,” Qi Wenren said.

Lu Jing didn't ask further. Why Qi Wenren was suddenly fascinated by that fish was no longer important. Anyway, he had already decided to take both the man and the fish away.

Well, at worst, he could leave Le Shaobai another ten taels of silver as money for buying the fish.

While thinking, Lu Jing began searching for the carp with the golden scales.

Although it was late at night and there was almost no moonlight, Lu Jing's eyesight still allowed him to see about three feet below the water's surface. Unless the target was hiding at the bottom of the pond, it was only a matter of time before it was found.

But just as Lu Jing was looking for the fish on the bridge, he heard footsteps coming from behind him again.

Lu Jing pushed against the railing and flipped directly to the other side of the wooden bridge.

He grabbed a protruding plank, pressed his body against the underside of the bridge, and planned to knock the person unconscious after they approached.

However, he then heard Qi Wenren say in a low voice, “Leave this person to me; you just hide.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a young man's voice sounded from the other side, “Teacher, what were you just saying?”

“Oh, nothing, just a few complaints inspired by the moment. Why aren't you asleep so late?” Qi Wenren said.

“I don't know why, but I felt uneasy tonight and couldn't sleep,” the young man said. “So I decided to get up and walk around, thinking that Teacher would probably come here to see the fish, so I came over. Oh, right…”

“Also, the thing you asked me to inquire about, Teacher, I've already found out. That fish was sent to my father by Tong Tuqiu.”

“Tong Tuqiu, the one from Shizhou?”

Qi Wenren didn't pay much attention to politics and took a while to remember who Tong Tuqiu was.

The young man continued, “Teacher, are you trying to remind me that the Tong family has bad intentions?”

“Uh, this…”

“Although Tong Tuqiu is a member of the Shen tribe, he also has a considerable understanding of Central Plains culture. He must have heard the story of the carp transforming into a dragon, so he had someone send this fish to my father. This is clearly intended to sow discord between my Le family and the imperial court.”

“What I don't understand is why Father accepted this fish. With his strategy, how could he not see through this little trick? Especially after the outbreak of the Northwest war, if someone secretly reports this matter to the Emperor, even if the Emperor doesn't pursue the matter now because he needs my Le family to quell the rebellion, he will definitely use us as scapegoats after the war is over.”

“……”

This touched Qi Wenren's blind spot, so he could only remain silent.

The young man continued to speak to himself, “If possible, I still hope that you, Teacher, can persuade my father. You are a scholar of heaven and man, knowing everything from astronomy to geography, and you must be able to explain the reason why this carp has golden scales.”

“I really can't explain this,” Qi Wenren shook his head. “Your family's fish is different from other people's fish. According to your previous statement, it only had one golden scale when it was first sent here, and now it has four. It's the first time I've seen such a thing.”

“But I see you coming to see it all the time, Teacher. Don't you have any discoveries?”

“No,” Qi Wenren said simply. “I come to see it just because it's pretty.”

“Is that so?” The young man was a little disappointed, but he quickly adjusted his mood, bowed to Qi Wenren, “I'm sorry, Teacher, I took it for granted. I've been outside for so long tonight, it's time for me to go back to sleep, so I won't disturb you, Teacher.”

“Okay,” Qi Wenren nodded, holding the lantern as he watched the young man gradually walk away.

After the latter's figure disappeared into the darkness, Qi Wenren turned back again, only to see that Lu Jing was already standing behind him, holding a carp that was constantly struggling and wagging its tail.

And near the abdomen of that carp, there were four golden scales.

Qi Wenren was shocked, “Why did you scoop it out?”

“You wanted it,” Lu Jing said. “With it, you can come back to the academy with me.”

“No, I can't go back with you yet. Next, I plan to meet with that Tong Tuqiu.”

“Because this fish came from him?” Lu Jing frowned. He had also heard what Qi Wenren and the young man had said just now.

“Yes,” Qi Wenren said. “This fish is very important, and I have to continue investigating it without delay, so I can only trouble you to tell Supervisor Huang and the others that I will go find them after I deal with this matter.”

Lu Jing looked at the fish in his hand again, still unable to see what was so special about this fish besides the four golden scales that could make Qi Wenren so fascinated.

Speaking of which, didn't this guy come to Liangzhou to investigate the secret realm? Why did he suddenly change his mind and start studying fish? Could it be that this fish has something to do with the secret realm at Luo Changshi's residence?

Lu Jing closed his eyes dubiously and concentrated on the carp in his hand as Qi Wenren instructed.

After a moment, Qi Wenren asked him, “Did you feel it?”

“I felt it. This thing is quite slimy, and it's a bit disgusting after holding it for a long time.”

“……”

“I'm not asking you to feel the sensation of holding it,” Qi Wenren said, “Besides the tactile sensation, didn't you notice anything else?”

“What should I feel?” Lu Jing asked back.

“Mystic energy.” Qi Wenren looked like he hated that iron couldn't become steel. “Aren't you a disciple of the academy? You cultivate every day; you should be very sensitive to mystic energy, right? How can you not feel that the mystic energy inside this fish is more abundant than outside?”

Okay, this matter also touched Lu Jing's blind spot, because due to a bug, he was born unable to sense any external mystic energy, but that's not the point. The point is that Qi Wenren's words made him a little dazed.

“You mean that the mystic energy inside this fish is more abundant than outside… Does that mean that its body stores mystic energy?”