Ch 9: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

Jing Li soon drifted into a hazy sleep.

It wasn’t a restful sleep.

It felt like he was being placed in a pot of warm water, with the temperature gradually rising, making his body hotter and hotter.

This sensation made Jing Li inexplicably uneasy. He wanted to wake up but couldn’t open his eyes. Only the soft fish tail gently swayed on the water’s surface, causing tiny ripples.

No one noticed that in the silent room, that faint red glow appeared once more.

The red light grew brighter, soon covering the little koi fish entirely, as if every scale was emitting light.

Moments later, the red light flew out of the bucket and landed on the floor.

In the dazzling, blinding red light, a young boy’s figure gradually appeared.

“Qin Zhao…” Jing Li mumbled softly in his sleep, still feeling unbearably hot. He turned over uncomfortably, murmuring, “Don’t eat me…”

Jing Li was still dreaming.

He dreamt that the warm water had turned into boiling hot water, making him feel excruciatingly uncomfortable all over. Just as he struggled to escape the hot water, he found himself landing on solid ground.

The ground was uneven, and the hard gravel pressed against his tender skin, almost cutting into it.

When Jing Li opened his eyes, he immediately sensed something was off.

His body felt unusually heavy. Jing Li stared blankly ahead for a while before he realized something was wrong.

—He wasn’t in the water.

The boy lay on the ground, his bare body partly covered by wet, long hair, revealing only glimpses of porcelain-white skin. The gravelly ground pricked him painfully, and Jing Li furrowed his brows tightly, using his hand to prop himself up.

…A hand???

Jing Li blinked in confusion, looking down at his hands.

They were indeed human hands, fair and slender, with delicate fingers. A few small, rounded fish scales clung to his fingers and arms, and his fingertips were still dotted with crystal-clear water droplets, making his skin look even paler.

The boy blinked blankly.

He… had turned into a human?

Jing Li took a deep breath, the fresh air filling his lungs, no longer the suffocating feeling of being out of water.

He had really changed back!

Jing Li, excited, tried to stand up, but his lower body suddenly gave way, and he collapsed back to the ground.

He looked down in confusion.

He wasn’t wearing any clothes, and from his shoulders to his chest, his skin was dotted with tiny, bright red fish scales. Even more absurd, he didn’t have legs below his waist, but rather a long, vibrant red fish tail.

The fish tail lay quietly behind him, and as Jing Li looked at it, the tail tip innocently tapped the ground.

Jing Li: “…”

If you’re going to turn me into a human, at least do it all the way! What’s the deal with turning me into a half-human?

The human form was much heavier than the fish body, and the fish tail couldn’t support the weight, making it impossible for him to stand. Jing Li struggled on the ground for a long time, finally managing to prop himself up enough to sit on the bench behind him.

The bucket that had held him was still on the table. Jing Li leaned against the edge of the table, his fish tail thumping against the floor.

What should he do now…

He didn’t know why he had suddenly turned into a human, nor did he know how to turn back. He was sure that his half-human, half-fish appearance would frighten Qin Zhao.

Would he be considered a monster and be driven away?

Jing Li sighed in distress.

“Grumble…”

A light growl suddenly came from his stomach, and Jing Li rubbed his belly.

He had just eaten not too long ago, so why was he hungry again?

As Jing Li rubbed his belly, his gaze unconsciously fell on the fire in the stove.

The fire had burned down a bit, no longer as strong as it was at the beginning. The chicken leg that Qin Zhao had roasted before he left was still lying quietly in the embers, the mud-covered shell completely hardened and charred.

As Jing Li stared at it, his stomach rumbled again.

A battle raged in his mind.

He had slept deeply earlier and wasn’t sure how long Qin Zhao had been gone, nor did he know where he had gone. But given that the sickly man had such a weak constitution, he probably wouldn’t be away for too long.

Maybe Qin Zhao was already on his way back.

He didn’t have much time, and he should be focusing on how to change back.

But…

He was so hungry, and he really wanted to eat.

That chicken leg had been roasted for him to eat, after all.

Jing Li pressed his lips together, then gave a small thump of his fish tail on the bench as he slowly scooted closer to the stove. He picked up the fire poker by the stove and gently prodded the fire.

Pop.

The mud-covered chicken leg rolled out of the fire and hit the ground, breaking off a small piece of the outer shell.

The rich aroma of the meat immediately filled the air.

Jing Li’s eyes lit up.

xxx

The midday sun was blazing as Qin Zhao walked along the mountain path, sweat beading on his forehead.

After a while, he could no longer suppress the churning sensation in his chest and had to lean against a tree by the roadside, bending over to cough.

He coughed violently, and it wasn’t until his throat burned and he tasted blood in his mouth that he finally stopped.

Qin Zhao sat down by the tree, took out his canteen, and rinsed his mouth.

The taste of blood was temporarily washed away, and Qin Zhao breathed heavily in silence for a moment, then smiled bitterly. “This useless body of mine…”

The sunlight was scorching, and Qin Zhao raised his hand to shield his eyes. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of his hands.

His hands didn’t look like those of an ordinary scholar, nor did they look like those of a laborer. There were a few calluses on his right fingertips and thumb, but they had become quite thin from lack of use.

These were the signs of someone who had once practiced martial arts.

It was difficult for Qin Zhao to feel any strength in his body now. The long years of illness had wrecked his muscles and bones, and even taking a few extra steps left him breathless.

But when faced with danger earlier, the instinctual reflexes to protect himself had been very real.

Who exactly was he?

Many people care about this issue, and Qin Zhao even more so.

No one would willingly live their whole life as someone without a past.

Qin Zhao didn’t rest long in place; he quickly supported himself with the tree trunk and stood up.

He wasn’t alone now, and if he didn’t hurry back, that silly fish might get snatched by a cat again.

Moreover, who knows if that silly fish is scared being alone at home?

Thinking of this, Qin Zhao couldn’t help but quicken his pace.

Worried that the stray cat might sneak in again, Qin Zhao had made sure to lock all the doors and windows tightly before leaving. He quickly returned to his doorstep and was about to push the door open when he heard some noise coming from inside.

Qin Zhao frowned and pushed the door open with force.

The inside of the house was much messier than when he had left. The bench had fallen in the middle of the room, and there were water stains scattered on the floor.

On the table, the wooden bucket held only a bit of clear water, and the little koi fish was nowhere to be seen.

Qin Zhao’s heart tightened, and just as he was about to search, his peripheral vision caught sight of something near the stove.

The yellow clay and lotus leaves that had wrapped the chicken leg were carelessly discarded on the ground, but the chicken leg itself was nowhere to be found, with a lingering scent of meat still in the air.

Qin Zhao: “…”

Qin Zhao vaguely realized something, took a deep breath, and calmed himself.

He carefully observed the room. The most water stains were near the table, spreading out in two directions. One trail led to the stove, but it was sparse, likely dried by the heat from the fire.

The other trail, however, led straight into the bedroom.

Qin Zhao understood, set down his basket, and turned to enter the bedroom.

His bedroom was small, and he could see everything in it at a glance, but there was no sign of the little fish.

However, it seemed that a certain little fish didn’t realize that it was leaving wet evidence wherever it went.

Without looking away, Qin Zhao walked to the foot of the bed where the water stains ended and said softly, “Come out.”

Jing Li nearly let out a belch, quickly covering his mouth with his hand.

The boy had curled up under the bed, his small, delicate frame easily hiding in the space, with the tail behind him trembling nervously.

Jing Li hadn’t expected Qin Zhao to return so quickly. He had just finished eating the chicken leg and hadn’t had time to clean up the mess outside. Hearing the approaching footsteps, he had panicked and hastily hidden under the bed.

More importantly, he still couldn’t change back!

In this half-human, half-fish form, he would definitely be mistaken for a monster.

Please change back, please, please!

There was no movement from under the bed, and Qin Zhao, thinking he might have frightened the little fish, unconsciously softened his voice, “Come out quickly, aren’t you worried about running out of water?”

Jing Li had never wished more for the ability to run out of water.

He was so anxious that his eyes reddened, and after eating too much earlier, he couldn’t hold back a tiny burp.

Qin Zhao was just about to crouch down to retrieve the fish when he heard the small sound, and he froze.

That sound… did it just sound a bit like a person?

He quietly listened for a while, but there was no further sound from under the bed. Qin Zhao assumed he had misheard and continued to crouch down, bending over to look under the bed.

A flash of red seemed to pass before his eyes, and Qin Zhao blinked, only to find a bright red koi fish jumping into his arms.

Fi-finally changed back.

Jing Li let out a sigh of relief, his entire body relaxing, though he was still trembling uncontrollably.

But Qin Zhao remained still.

In that brief moment, had he… seen a boy’s figure?

He had never seen that boy before, and the time was so fleeting that he hadn’t even gotten a clear look at what the boy looked like.

Qin Zhao looked down, and the koi fish in his arms was tapping his wrist with the tip of its tail, trembling slightly, whether from nervousness or fear.

As he gazed into the koi fish’s moist eyes, an image of a pair of bright and wet eyes suddenly flashed in his mind.

Was it an illusion?

Qin Zhao felt a vague sense of unease in his heart.

The little koi in his arms had been out of the water for too long, and its scales were already starting to dry out.

Qin Zhao steadied himself, not daring to delay any further, and carried the koi fish outside.

Before standing up, his eyes caught sight of a chicken bone, gnawed clean, lying under the bed.

Qin Zhao: “…”

Once Jing Li was back in the water, his consciousness slowly returned.

He moved his fins around in the water, feeling the familiar flow and the lightness of floating, which made him feel at ease again.

Qin Zhao watched the little koi swim back and forth in the water and suddenly asked softly, “What were you doing under the bed just now?”

Jing Li looked up at him, and after a moment, obediently shook his head.

Fishie was sleepwalking. Fishie doesn’t know.

Qin Zhao asked again, “Did someone come by just now?”

Jing Li didn’t blink, his tail innocently wagging behind him.

Fishie was asleep. Fishie knows nothing.

“I locked the door from the outside, so no one should have been able to get in.” Qin Zhao glanced at the mess around the stove and asked in a drawn-out tone, “So, who ate the chicken leg?”

“!”

Jing Li couldn’t hold back and let out a bubbly burp.

Qin Zhao’s eyes narrowed slightly, and under his scrutinizing gaze, Jing Li hugged his now-round belly and hid at the bottom of the water.

The fish… The fish really doesn’t know!