Chapter 108: The Pawn

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At Ye Family Village, there was still one skill Yun Qing had yet to learn: fishing.

As the caravan moved forward, the supplies from the Xuan Iron mine were running low. Most of the meat came from hunts by the caravan’s guards along the way.

Yun Qing, who had little say in matters, turned to the cook, with whom she had grown somewhat familiar despite both having little influence. “Xiao Jingzi, have you ever eaten fish?”

Xiao Jingzi, who was sorting the lion-horse beast rations, wrinkled his nose. “Don’t look down on me. Who hasn’t eaten fish?”

“I’ve eaten fish too. The flesh is tender, and many fish are rich in Qi and blood energy. I wonder when we’ll eat fish again.”

“In a place with no village or store nearby, having anything to eat is a blessing. You still want fish?”

Yun Qing gazed at the blue sky outside the carriage, her eyes full of hope. “Purified catfish, cooked with internal energy, can heal wounds; purified carp, carefully prepared, can greatly enhance Qi and blood; it’s summer now—summer is when the black bluefish is at its fattest. Legend says eating black bluefish fills one with endless strength. Is there truth to this?”

Xiao Jingzi looked hopeful but had eaten very little fish.

“It’s definitely true!” Old Li said, adding, “The fish you mentioned are fresh, but fresh fish don’t keep well. Even stored in a storage pouch, the taste and effect diminish. Otherwise, the caravan would sell fresh fish more often; salted fish, frozen fish, and dried fish are less popular.”

“Old Li, have you eaten many kinds of fish? When we reach the next city, can we buy some to try?”

Old Li smiled mysteriously. “Do you want to taste fresh fish without waiting for the next city?”

“Of course!”

Old Li whispered something to Xiao Jingzi, who nodded repeatedly. After Old Li finished, Xiao Jingzi dropped his stick and jumped off the carriage.

Yun Qing’s eyes lit up—could it be that the opportunity to learn fishing had come so soon?

She took over his tasks but caught a glimpse of Xiao Jingzi heading to Carriage No. 1 to find his brother.

His brother was a guard for the merchant guild, occasionally hunting with other guards to improve the caravan’s meals.

As for the two new guards, Fang Rui and Wei Yi, they hardly hunted. Compared to enduring the wild’s cycle of crops, they preferred taking fasting pills.

Having scarcely tasted the meals cooked by Yun Qing and the others, they naturally hadn’t warmed to her.

It turned out Old Li had suggested to Xiao Jingzi to ask his brother to fish.

Unexpectedly, the midday of the next day, Chief Jing ordered the caravan to stop by a slow-flowing river, waving his hand. “Today, we rest here. Everyone will fish. Everyone participates.”

Yun Qing’s suspicion grew—Xiao Jingzi and Chief Jing, could they be connected?

Just as excitement bubbled within her at the prospect of learning a new craft, Chief Jing added, “Except for the cook.”

“Alright! Alright!” Cheers erupted through the caravan. Chief Jing’s management was strict with few entertainments; a sudden new activity delighted everyone.

Wei Yi grew interested and raised an eyebrow at Fang Rui, bowing slightly. “Competition?”

“Alright!” Fang Rui, who had been searching for the special people and events his master mentioned, considered Wei Yi the most unique he’d met in over half a month. They had become friends.

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Yun Qing and Xiao Jingzi, unable to fish, dragged wooden buckets to the river to fetch water for everyone’s journey, somewhat dejected.

“Yun Qing, Xiao Jingzi will boil the water. You handle the fish.”

“Wh-what?” Yun Qing hadn’t gotten to fish but unexpectedly got to clean fish. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“What, you don’t know how?”

“I do, of course.” Sharing the carriage for over ten days, Yun Qing had done slaughter work before, which the others had learned by accident—and that’s why cleaning fish fell to her.

Yun Qing took a knife, cutting board, and large basin from the dining carriage and sat at the back, waiting for everyone to bring her their catch.

“Slap!” A small fish about an inch long, emanating a faint black aura, was tossed at her feet.

Catfish, Level 35.

“I’m faster than you! The first catch is mine!” Wei Yi boasted at a distance to Fang Rui.

“Slap!” Another fish with a black aura was dropped at Yun Qing’s feet. “Speed is good, but my fish tastes better!”

Perch, Level 34.

Watching the lively fish at her feet, Yun Qing’s heart brightened. She thought for a moment and grabbed the Xuan Iron cleaver.

Both fish on the ground had very low health bars. Yun Qing raised the back of the blade and struck the restless catfish.

-40;

Combat experience +220;

She had expected a level 35 monster to be tough, but the fish, once out of water, had so little health it was easy to stun. It was left with just a sliver of life.

Since there would soon be many fish and she couldn’t handle them all if they revived, Yun Qing struck the catfish again.

-10;

Combat experience +180;

The catfish was dead. She turned to the level 34 perch.

-40;

Combat experience +280;

Killing a fish granted plenty of combat experience and was very easy.

Seeing her combat experience rise rapidly and a line of caravan members helping her catch monsters, Yun Qing was elated. These were her tools to help catch monsters.

“Liuliu, it’s not that I don’t want to practice the basics properly, it’s just that when good fortune comes knocking, you don’t refuse it.”

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“Don’t keep your mouth open—be careful you don’t drool on the fish. If that happens, no one will want to eat your cooking, and even the cook won’t let you prepare meals.”

“That’s impossible. I want them to see how fast I am at cleaning fish.”

Some fish need no scaling; she gut them directly. Others require scaling, which she did patiently. It was okay to be slow the first time; by the second, the system automatically recorded her movements and she became swift.

Just then, she saw a system prompt:

Received: 2 silver coins.

Received: 3 silver coins.

Seeing this, Yun Qing couldn’t help but smile broadly—good fortune kept coming.

She almost forgot about such windfalls. Liuliu helped her pick up monster drops, which she herself could not collect.

She couldn’t quite understand why a fish would drop silver coins, but this was unimportant—what Liuliu collected was hers.

Gathering experience +350;

Received: Contaminated catfish meat x1;

“Liuliu, the gathering experience is so generous. Fishing really is a good thing.”

As Yun Qing grabbed her second fish, others also gradually brought their catches to her feet.

Xiao Jingzi called out everyone’s haul one by one: “Brother, you caught a big grass carp.”

“Chief Lu, you’re amazing—you caught a mandarin fish.”

“Second carriage leader, wow! That carp you caught is beautiful.”

“Third carriage leader, your catfish is huge.”

“Duan Mengrou, a small crucian carp.”

“Zhang He, your crucian carp is even smaller.”

“Hahaha! What do you mean Zhang He’s crucian carp is smaller?” the group teased.

1 second to memorize 114 Chinese characters.