When Lu Qing and Little Yan appeared at the small fishing spot.
The villagers who were still fishing there were all dumbfounded as they saw the fish on Lu Qing's back.
"Lu, Lu Qing, what, what's that on your back?" A villager stammered.
"Fish." Lu Qing gasped and replied.
*He really felt a bit exhausted.*
*His body hadn't fully recovered, and he had spent so much time fighting with the Green Armored Fish and the Red Moon Carp.*
*Now carrying so much stuff, walking was becoming hard to withstand.*
Yet his answer left the villagers somewhat exasperated.
Well, duh, of course they knew it was fish on his back!
The real question was, where on earth did he catch such enormous fish?
The villagers looked at Lu Qing's back, at the fish that was taller than half his body and with a tail dragging on the ground, and their eyes went dizzy.
My heavens above, it was their first time seeing a fish that big!
But one villager noticed how strained Lu Qing looked and quickly went forward to help him take the fish off his back.
"Let me help you carry it, you're just recently recovering, don't exhaust yourself again."
Lu Qing didn't refuse.
*He truly couldn't hold on anymore; he had thought he could carry the fish home, but clearly overestimated his strength.*
"Thank you, Brother Da An."
Lu Qing set the fish down, took a deep breath, and said.
"Haha, no need to thank me! This is the first time I've seen such a big fish—being able to touch it is a blessing! Wait, there's another one in that bucket. Oh wow—this fish is gorgeous!"
Villager Wang Da'an was excited, but when he bent down for a look, he gasped again.
The other villagers couldn't hold back anymore when they heard this and immediately crowded around the bucket.
"It really is, there's another big fish in the bucket!"
"What kind of fish is this? It's fiery red—I've never seen such a thing!"
"This fish looks stunning. Those big-city folks are definitely going to love it."
"Wow, Lu Qing, how on earth did you manage to catch two big fish at once?"
As the last question was asked, everyone turned their gaze toward Lu Qing.
"How did I catch them? Same way as you, really." Lu Qing reached out and took the fishing rod from Little Yan's shoulder. "I just picked a spot upstream, and surprisingly managed to get two big fish. It's all luck."
"Where exactly did you fish?" One villager's eyes glinted, and he asked.
As soon as he spoke, a few other villagers cast disdainful looks in his direction.
The intent was too obvious—he wasn't even trying to cover it, acting like he was bullying a kid or something.
That villager himself realized something was amiss right after asking and quickly apologized with an awkward chuckle: "I was just curious! Don't tell me you guys aren't!"
Lu Qing certainly caught onto the villager's meaning, but he didn't care much.
*After all, even if he didn't disclose it, they'd definitely go searching eventually.*
*The traces of his fishing spot weren't something he could hide.*
So he answered directly: "Just not far ahead, but honestly, I advise you all not to go right now."
"Why?" The villager blurted out.
"Because it's completely fished out. Now, not to mention big fish, you probably won't even find small ones. Otherwise, I wouldn't have returned so fast." Lu Qing quipped, half-serious and half-joking.
The other villagers nodded in agreement at his reasoning.
Lu Qing had caught two big fish, especially the one lying on the ground—it was gigantic.
Catching such a big fish must've caused quite a commotion—the other fish would undoubtedly have swum away.
But, even so, there were still villagers clinging to a shred of hope.
For instance, the villager who had inquired about Lu Qing's fishing spot was determined to sneak over later and check out the area.
Lu Qing couldn't care less about the villagers' thoughts.
*He'd already said his piece—if they didn't believe him and insisted on going, he couldn't stop them.*
*And even if someone did go ahead and fish there, he wasn't worried.*
*Small fish weren't worth minding, and as for big ones...*
*It wasn't that he looked down on the villagers' fishing skills, but with their techniques, catching big fish was impossible.*
*Even if by chance a big fish took the bait, their flimsy hemp fishing line wouldn't withstand the terrifying impact of a big fish.*
After resting for a moment, Lu Qing felt his energy recovering a bit.
"Alright, everyone, Little Yan and I are heading back now. You all carry on fishing."
With that, he prepared to lift the Green Armored Fish.
Seeing this, Wang Da'an quickly bent down and picked up the fish: "You said you'd let me carry it, didn't you? You just take the bucket. Jeez, this fish is so heavy—it's gotta be close to twenty pounds!"
It was only after lifting the Green Armored Fish that Wang Da'an realized it was even heavier than he'd imagined.
He couldn't help but glance at Lu Qing, finding it hard to believe how someone as scrawny as him had managed to reel in such a massive fish.
"Thanks, Brother Da An. When we get back, I'll treat you to some fish!"
Lu Qing didn't hesitate. Having help was a relief for him.
"Now that's the spirit! All my life, I've never had a taste of a fish this big!" Wang Da'an grinned happily.
Watching Lu Qing and his companions head toward the village, the rest of the villagers glanced at each other.
Suddenly, one of them shouted: "Forget this fishing nonsense! Let's go back and watch the fun!"
"Exactly! We've only caught a few small fish all morning—we're better off watching Lu Qing butcher those big fish!"
"I haven't had enough of looking at those two big fish earlier. Gotta go back for another peek!"
...
Initially, before Lu Qing returned, the villagers still had the patience to keep fishing here.
But now, after watching him stroll off with two massive fish in tow, their spirits shattered.
*They had been sitting here for two or three days, and somehow their results couldn't even compare to a fraction of what Lu Qing had achieved in just two hours.*
*To hell with fishing!*
With shattered morale, the villagers began packing up, preparing to return to the village.
Lu Qing had only left a short while ago; if they hurried, they might just catch up.
"Old Zhao, aren't you going back?"
Everyone was packing up, yet one person remained unmoved, sitting there fishing as if nothing had changed.
Noticing this, another villager asked him.
"You guys go on. I'll fish a little longer—maybe something will bite soon." The villager known as Old Zhao chuckled sheepishly.
"Alright, suit yourself. But honestly, I've been fishing here for days and the spot's fish have long been depleted. Didn't you see how Lu Qing used to scoff at this place?"
If in the past, nobody truly took Lu Qing's fishing skills seriously—thinking his earlier success catching lots of small fish was simply due to his use of earthworms as bait—
Now, after seeing those two giant fish he'd caught, there wasn't a soul who dared to underestimate him anymore.
Fish of that size? If it were any of them, they'd have stood no chance whatsoever.
Over the past few days, plenty of people had experienced big fish taking the bait—yet not one of them succeeded.
Either the fishing line snapped or the fishing rod broke—none could haul in a big fish.
With their things packed, the villagers gradually left.
Only Old Zhao remained, calmly fishing at the original spot.
After a while, confirming the others were out of sight, Old Zhao suddenly bolted upright.
He hurriedly started gathering his belongings.
"What fools! They just believe whatever that Lu Qing kid says? I refuse to believe that spot's fish are completely gone!"
With that, he grabbed his gear and dashed in the direction where Lu Qing and Little Yan had returned from.