Ch 1: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

Thandar: New novel. Farming, BL, and MPREG as requested. Hope you’ll like it ☺️

xxx

The unfamiliar sensation of suffocation jolted Jing Li awake from his sleep.

He opened his eyes and was immediately met with the sight of a gleaming machete. The blade reflected a cold, menacing light, showing his current appearance in its reflection.

— His entire body was covered in bright red scales, his clear red eyes still held a hint of confusion, and his thin, almost transparent fins lightly fluttered by his belly.

He was a palm-sized koi fish.

Jing Li quickly realized his situation—he was lying on a chopping board. The board, worn from years of use, had a lingering fishy smell that was nauseating. Not far from him lay a blood-stained fish head.

Ahhhhh——!

Jing Li tried to scream, but no sound came out. In the next moment, the machete was forcefully pulled out and came down swiftly—

Jing Li slapped his tail hard against the chopping board, causing his body to leap up, narrowly avoiding the descending blade. The machete embedded itself deeply into the chopping board, just inches from Jing Li’s head.

He landed back on the board, his fish body heaving with the remnants of fear.

That was close.

“Huh, this fish is still alive?” The fishmonger pulled out the machete and mumbled to himself.

When the fish was delivered, it hadn’t moved, so he assumed it was already dead.

Live fish fetched a higher price, but in recent years, business had been bad. The nearby villages were all getting poorer, and dead fish were actually selling better than live ones.

The fishmonger didn’t think much more about it. He pressed down on the fish’s body with one hand and raised the machete again.

This fish stall was set up at the entrance of the market, with an outdoor stand. Behind a coarse cloth curtain was the area where the fish were killed and salted.

It was still early, and the villagers hadn’t arrived yet. The market was quiet, except for the constant noise coming from the back of the fish stall, which annoyed the stall owner’s wife: “Yu Lao’er, are you slaughtering pigs?”

She lifted the coarse cloth curtain and saw something flying straight at her.

“Oh!”

The stall owner’s wife dodged to the side, and the object landed squarely on the fish stall.

Jing Li was dizzy from the fall, but before he could catch his breath, he saw the fishmonger coming after him with the machete: “Don’t run!”

Only a fool wouldn’t run!

Jing Li first leaped with a splash into the water basin beside the fish stall, taking a deep breath in the water before springing out again. Water splashed everywhere as Jing Li dodged left and right, narrowly avoiding the fishmonger’s blade each time.

The fish stall erupted into chaos, with pots, bowls, and pans crashing to the ground. The fishmonger, panting heavily from the chase, hadn’t even touched a single fish scale.

“This fish… has it turned into a spirit?” The stall owner’s wife was dumbfounded and muttered to herself.

It’s not that he’s turned into a spirit; he was human all along!

Jing Li did his best to hide beside the wooden frame supporting the fish stall, his tail angrily slapping the edge of the counter.

Since he woke up three days ago, he’s been stuck in this wretched form.

Jing Li had always been unlucky. Whether it was cars breaking down, subway accidents, or even emergency landings on flights, he seemed to attract misfortune. Not to mention the small stuff, like tripping on flat ground, losing money, or choking on water.

But he never imagined that simply falling asleep at home would result in him transmigrating to this awful place—and worse, turning into a fish.

And not just any fish; he had turned into a koi fish.

He learned this from the two people he encountered when he first arrived. At that time, he was placed inside a water-filled clay pot, being transported by an ox cart.

From their conversation, Jing Li gathered that he was a koi fish said to bring good fortune, and a powerful figure in the city had taken a liking to him, willing to pay a thousand taels to buy him.

Such tricks could only fool those with more money than sense.

It’s been the same throughout history.

If he really were a koi fish that brought good fortune, would he have ended up being sold like this?

He was more likely to bring bad luck.

Sure enough, the ox cart overturned halfway, and Jing Li fell into a small river ditch nearby, regaining his freedom.

But that freedom didn’t last long. After another ordinary nap, he woke up to find himself captured and brought here.

He must have owed the heavens a great deal in his past life.

Jing Li momentarily lost focus and didn’t notice the machete coming at him again.

Unable to dodge in time, a few scales from his side were brutally sliced off by the sharp blade!

The pain—!

Jing Li was so terrified by the pain that he almost burst into tears on the spot. But fish can’t cry; instead, he reflexively bounced off the fish stall, flying out and landing with a smack against someone’s chest.

The area where his scales had been peeled off felt like a layer of skin had been torn away, burning with intense pain. Jing Li had no strength left; his soft fish tail trembled weakly as his body began to slide down.

But a hand caught him.

Soon after, he caught a whiff of a pleasant medicinal fragrance.

The hand didn’t feel like that of a farmer—it was smooth and delicate. The fingertips gently curled around him, supporting his body, and the person holding him let out a soft “hmm” of surprise.

Jing Li lifted his gaze and met a pair of calm, deep eyes.

For a moment, his mind went blank, and even the pain in his body seemed less intense.

He had never seen someone so handsome.

The man was dressed in a light blue robe, his figure slender and a bit frail, exuding a clean and refined scholarly air. The stitching on the robe’s cuffs was somewhat coarse, and the fabric wasn’t particularly fine, yet even in such simple clothing, his innate noble temperament couldn’t be concealed.

He lowered his eyes, and the sunlight fell on his slightly pale face, highlighting his finely sculpted features.

“Thank you, thank you, this fish was so hard to catch…” The fishmonger didn’t even bother to put down the knife, quickly running out. But when he recognized the person in front of him, the smile on his face vanished. “Oh, it’s Qin Zhao. Here to get medicine from town again?”

His tone instantly turned cold, laced with sarcasm and disdain.

Jing Li was taken aback.

The man’s gentle and refined demeanor was far from the kind that would provoke dislike.

On the contrary, his features were exceptionally good-looking. The line from his brow bone to his jaw was perfectly sculpted, his nose was high and straight, and even the curve of his thin lips was just right. If there was any flaw, it might be that the shape of his eyes was too sharp, adding a hint of distance.

But even this minor flaw was completely overshadowed by his gentle and calm temperament.

There was no reason for anyone to dislike him.

Jing Li looked the man up and down and quickly realized the issue.

The man’s complexion was poor—terribly so. There were faint dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were pale, standing out starkly against his fair skin.

He looked as if all the energy had been drained from him, leaving only a beautiful but lifeless shell.

So, he’s a sickly person.

…and the kind that doesn’t know how many days he has left.

The man seemed unconcerned about the fishmonger’s attitude, or perhaps he was used to it. He simply nodded lightly.

The fishmonger, uninterested in further conversation, said, “Give me back the fish.”

Jing Li shrank back in the man’s palm.

He hid his wet head between the man’s fingers, his trembling tail gently wrapping around the man’s wrist, as if in a plea, or perhaps to curry favor.

Please don’t hand him over.

Qin Zhao looked down at the little fish in his palm.

The fish was no larger than the size of a palm, with bright red scales that had a faint golden sheen around the edges. Its fins were so thin they were almost transparent, with delicate and intricate patterns visible in the sunlight.

The soft tail gently tapped against his wrist, tickling slightly.

Seeing that he hadn’t moved, the fishmonger sneered, “What, you’re not thinking of buying this fish, are you? You barely have enough money for medicine, and you think you can afford a fish?”

Qin Zhao didn’t respond.

Jing Li felt the fingers holding him loosen slightly, and his heart sank.

There’s no way this man would buy him.

From his clothing, it was clear that the man’s financial situation was poor, possibly even dire. He held Jing Li in one hand while the other clutched a few packets of medicine.

Medicine in ancient times was expensive…

Sure enough, the man stepped forward and placed Jing Li back into the water basin by the fish stall.

Jing Li curled up in dejection.

He was injured, with no strength left to escape. Even if he managed to get away, where could he go? He was a fish—without water, he couldn’t move, and he wouldn’t survive for long.

He wasn’t a koi fish after all; he was just an unlucky wretch.

Suddenly, a clear, pleasant voice came from above: “Is this money enough? I’d like to buy it.”

Jing Li looked up and saw the man placing a few copper coins on the fish stall.

xxx

A man dressed in a blue robe walked along the mountain path.

In the early spring, the morning air in the mountains was still cold, yet Qin Zhao had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

He carried a few packets of herbs in his left hand and a small wooden bucket filled with water in his right. Inside the bucket, a bright red fish tail flicked across the water’s surface, revealing a small head.

Jing Li peeked at him through the water.

Jing Li wasn’t sure how long they had been walking since leaving the market, but it had to be at least two hours. Even he would have struggled to walk for two hours on mountain roads.

Especially for someone like Qin Zhao, who was so frail.

Jing Li swished his tail in the water.

But…

Finally, he was saved.

It seemed that what those people said earlier wasn’t a lie—being captured and brought to the fish stall only to meet someone willing to save his life. Maybe he really was a lucky koi fish—

A sudden “crack” sounded from somewhere, and Jing Li instinctively felt something was wrong. He then saw the wooden bucket’s handle snap with a “pop.”

The small wooden bucket fell to the ground, and most of the water splashed out instantly.

Jing Li: “…”

He took back what he just thought; he really was just an unlucky wretch.

The spilled water soaked the hem of Qin Zhao’s robe, causing him to pause and look down.

Today, after buying the medicine, Qin Zhao only had enough money left for the fare to return to the village. But because he bought this fish, he now had to walk back to the village.

It was already difficult enough for him to walk, and now the bucket’s handle had broken…

Who knew how long it would take him to get back to the village now?

But Qin Zhao only slightly moved his eyes before bending down nonchalantly to pick up the bucket.

He still walked steadily, and from the bottom of the bucket, Jing Li couldn’t even see any change in Qin Zhao’s expression.

But he could clearly feel that the hands holding the bucket were trembling slightly, and the man’s steps had noticeably slowed.

A mountain breeze suddenly blew by, and Qin Zhao abruptly paused, dropping the bucket heavily to the ground.

He turned his head and began to cough violently.

He coughed so hard that his thin back bent deeply, as if he was about to cough up his internal organs.

Jing Li was startled by his appearance and anxiously looked up at him.

He couldn’t see Qin Zhao’s face, only the fingers gripping the edge of the bucket. The knuckles were taut and white, trembling uncontrollably with each cough.

How could this man be so severely ill?

It was all his fault. If it weren’t for him being a burden, this man wouldn’t have to struggle so much.

Jing Li felt a pang of guilt.

Since childhood, anyone who got involved with him always ended up facing all sorts of bad luck.

It seemed this man would be affected by his misfortune as well.

Wasn’t he supposed to be a lucky koi fish? So why hadn’t he brought any good fortune to this man yet?

Even if it was just making his life a little easier…

Jing Li thought dejectedly.

Qin Zhao caught his breath, and after resting for a moment, he picked up the bucket with Jing Li and continued walking. They hadn’t gone far when the sound of cart wheels came from behind.

“Hey, isn’t that Qin Zhao?” A farmer driving an ox cart spotted Qin Zhao from a distance and called out loudly, “Qin Zhao, what are you doing here?”

Qin Zhao straightened up and turned around, “Oh, it’s Uncle Lin.”

The farmer stopped the ox cart in front of him, looked him up and down, and said, “Went to town to get medicine? What a coincidence, I just met a wealthy customer on the road who bought all the firewood I was carrying.”

“Get on, get on. I’ll give you a ride back. With that frail body of yours, who knows how long it’ll take you to walk!”