Chapter 109: A Joyous Occasion
Yun Qing quickened her movements, swiftly finishing cleaning the second fish. After gaining more than 300 points of gathering experience, she casually picked up the level 38 giant catfish that Team Leader Yi had caught.
She charged her energy and swung her luck-infused blade. The targeting reticle appeared, and with a single strike of the blade’s edge, the giant catfish’s health bar was instantly depleted.
-70;
Combat experience +550;
Hundreds of experience points rolled in. Indeed, killing fish was proving to be a great way to gain experience—she could kill a fish with a single strike.
She didn’t rush to use her gathering skills, wary that Xiao Jingzi nearby might snatch the monsters she was targeting. She also worried that once these monsters were brought ashore, they wouldn’t survive long, and she’d end up with nothing.
Gathering experience was important, but combat experience was far harder to come by.
Yun Qing cut down fish one after another, slapping the ones dropped at her feet to death.
-60;
Combat experience +400;
-40;
Combat experience +280;
Obtained: Silver x4.
Obtained: Silver x3.
Each fish brought Yun Qing combat experience ranging from over 200 to more than 500 points. Including gathering experience, the total doubled, and each fish dropped a few taels of silver that Liuliu eagerly collected.
She hadn’t expected such good fortune today—a group of companions catching passive monsters for her to kill, all the experience dropped going to her. Even in games, such luck was rare; yet here in reality, she encountered it, making her laugh heartily in her mind.
Her combat experience at level 33 was already more than one-third full. After killing more than twenty fish, her experience bar was full. The caravan members were still fishing by the riverbank, continuously throwing fish to her, especially Wei Yi and Fang Rui, who were the fastest anglers.
She had heard of breakthroughs in battle, but never of breakthroughs from killing fish.
Fortunately, she had obtained the Conceal Breath technique from a previous lottery draw; otherwise, she would have had to fake breakthroughs while killing fish. With the increasing number of fish caught, she might have had to perform continuous breakthroughs in the midst of slaughtering fish.
Ten taels of silver a day was a good income, and Liuliu had collected dozens of taels for her. Yun Qing used Conceal Breath to mask her true strength, displaying externally as only the third tier of innate cultivation.
Shortly after using Conceal Breath, her combat level and character level rose to 34.
The fish killing continued. Her large basin was filled with fish she had slain, and many lay piled at her feet. When she was just over a thousand combat experience points away from reaching level 35, Leader Lu waved his hand and announced, “Fishing ends here for today. Everyone rest here and recover your internal energy.”
Although everyone was reluctant to stop, fishing was energy-consuming, so they reluctantly put away their rods.
“Old Li, you better hurry. Everyone’s waiting for your fish to eat!” Team Leader Yi shouted, glancing at the cooks among the pile of fish.
“Don’t worry. We’ll cook here today, and I guarantee it’ll be even better than on the wagon,” Xiao Jingzi said as he unloaded cooking utensils, while Old Li prepared the seasoning for the grilled fish.
Yun Qing had already gathered all the experience. Using her gathering technique, she began skillfully removing the guts, gills, and other parts people disliked.
Gathering experience +80;
Obtained: Contaminated catfish meat;
In a good mood today, she no longer hesitated to use her internal energy to purify the poisonous gases contaminating the fish meat, employing her purification skill directly.
Crafting experience +60;
Obtained: Catfish meat x1;
Catfish meat: Good quality, tender texture, nutritious and filling when cooked, with attribute-enhancing effects.
The fish scales, gills, and innards that others disliked were not put into her energy converter. Xiao Jingzi collected these to feed the lion horse beasts.
After purifying a fish, Yun Qing handed it to Xiao Jingzi, who scored delicate cuts into the fish meat and carefully applied the prepared seasonings, marinating it.
Marination took some time to infuse the flavors, and Old Li’s charcoal fire required time to burn hot.
Yun Qing’s speed was fast; she had processed two fish while Xiao Jingzi just finished marinating one. When Old Li’s fire was ready, he joined them, and the three worked at a balanced pace.
Upon completing the last fish, Yun Qing’s gathering level reached 37.
By then, the first fish was already fully marinated.
At grilling time, Old Li knew Yun Qing had excellent control over the heat, so he entrusted her with the grilling task. He and Xiao Jingzi assisted, infusing internal energy into the fish meat.
With the aid of an automatic food-turning formation and system prompts notifying when the fish was perfectly grilled, this easy way to gain experience suited Yun Qing perfectly.
Amid the fragrant aroma, system notifications appeared frequently:
Crafting experience +150;
Obtained: Grilled crucian carp x1;
Crafting experience +160;
Obtained: Grilled grass carp x1;
Crafting experience +180;
Obtained: Grilled catfish x1;
“Grilled crucian carp: Flavor rating 1, restores 30 fullness and 10 energy.”
“Grilled grass carp: Flavor rating 1, restores 55 fullness and 30 energy.”
“Grilled catfish: Flavor rating 1, restores 40 fullness and 5 health.”
The caravan members who were recovering their internal energy were drawn by the delightful scent. Soon, many gathered around Yun Qing’s workstation, eagerly awaiting the meal.
With so many people, some reached out to grab the freshly grilled fish. To prevent chaos in food distribution, the disciplined Leader Jing organized everyone to spread out and appointed one person per wagon to line up and receive the grilled fish.
After one grilling session, the caravan’s journey was delayed by over an hour. Each person received three grilled fish. Yun Qing earned a substantial amount of experience, Liuliu collected plenty of silver, and the logistics staff of the supply wagon each received a 100 tael silver reward from the leader.
Having tasted the rare grilled fish, the caravan members were excited, discussing making fishing a regular activity every few days. Yun Qing also eagerly looked forward to the next time.
After the meal, Yun Qing, reluctant to spend silver, sat in the wagon to meditate and cultivate the Qi of Heaven and Earth technique. She feigned a ‘breakthrough’ to the fourth tier of innate cultivation and lifted the Conceal Breath technique.
She was just 1,000 experience points shy of reaching level 35. If she fished again, she was certain to reach level 36.
This fishing activity had taken considerable time, and since each person only got three fish, the leader was unwilling to organize such a pastime again.
The tedious journey resumed. Once the novelty wore off, the scenery and game no longer captivated them, and each day felt like a monotonous repetition.
Duan Mengrou and Zhang He passed time with study and cultivation, while Yun Qing remained busily occupied every day. Wei Yi found the days unbearably dull, and Fang Rui often meditated with closed eyes, seemingly pondering matters unknown to others.
Indeed, Fang Rui, from a reclusive family beyond the outer seas, had been transported by a long-distance teleportation formation to the Xuan Iron Mine in the inner sea to join the trade guild, solely because his ancestor said that on his path of trial, he would encounter crucial people and events capable of resolving the dark crises plaguing the Zhongzhou continent.
Having joined the caravan for half a month, he had only met a few dozen people, among whom Wei Yi was the most straightforward and promising—a trustworthy friend.
However, Wei Yi was impatient with the slow, leisurely pace of the caravan’s journey. This was not the kind of trial he desired; the road offered no excitement. Traveling alone might be freer, and if he could bring Fang Rui along, the experience would be more interesting.