Ch 12: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

For the next two days, Qin Zhao rarely had the opportunity to rest at home.

But he didn’t idle away his time. That afternoon, Qin Zhao sat at his desk, not writing, but sketching on a piece of xuan paper.

Jing Li poked his head out to watch.

Qin Zhao’s brush strokes were smooth and fluid, sketching and drawing. At first, Jing Li couldn’t make out what he was drawing, but gradually, a rough sketch of a courtyard began to take shape on the paper.

Jing Li: “…”

Is there anything this man can’t do???

Farm courtyards usually had a low fence around them, but the downside was the lack of privacy—people could easily see into the yard from the outside. However, building a brick and stone wall like the Chen family’s would cost much more.

Qin Zhao decided on a compromise.

There was a bamboo grove halfway up the mountain, along the stream that flowed outside the village. Qin Zhao planned to hire someone to cut some bamboo. Bamboo was tall and, when used to enclose the courtyard, would serve as a natural, attractive, and practical wall.

After solving the privacy issue, there would be two small rooms—one for a bedroom and the other for a kitchen.

In the village, houses were typically built by the farmers themselves or hired workers, but before construction, one needed to pay for the land based on the area. Since Qin Zhao lived alone, there was no need for a large courtyard, though he did leave space for an additional room in the future.

With better conditions later on, he could perhaps add a study.

Finally, there was the pool for the little koi fish.

If he was going to build it, Qin Zhao didn’t want it to be too simple—it should be large, deep, and have a steady flow of fresh water. Digging a pool wasn’t difficult, but ensuring clean, flowing water, and figuring out how to drain the water from the courtyard, would be a challenge.

The village had no shortage of water; the remaining concerns were the location and the design of the drainage system.

After finishing the pool’s design, Qin Zhao noticed that Jing Li was watching intently and asked, “What do you think? Are you satisfied?”

Jing Li was already stunned by the plans and quickly wagged his tail in approval.

But Qin Zhao seemed still unsatisfied. After studying the drawing for a moment, he made a few adjustments.

Huh, why change that part? He liked it as it was!

The little koi protested by slapping the side of the wooden bucket.

Qin Zhao explained, “By simplifying it, we’ll use fewer materials.”

These were just preliminary layouts and designs, but completing them as envisioned would require a lot of money.

Previously, Doctor Ge had roughly mentioned the prices offered by several clinics in town—they were all similar, with little room for negotiation. Completing this entire project might require spending all the money earned from selling the Wushan ginseng.

Qin Zhao didn’t want to use up all his savings just to build a house.

Jing Li understood his reasoning and felt a bit disappointed.

There was nothing to be done—Qin Zhao was perfect in many ways, except that he was broke.

Such a shame.

Outside, the sky was overcast, and a gentle breeze made the windows creak.

Qin Zhao pushed open the window, looking at the gloomy sky with a slight frown. Then, he put away the drawings and took a coat from the wardrobe.

Was he going out?

Jing Li watched him from the water.

Just as Qin Zhao finished dressing, there was a knock on the door.

It was Doctor Ge.

Doctor Ge stepped inside, beaming with a smile. “It’s done! The buyer has been finalized!”

Qin Zhao welcomed him in and poured him a cup of water.

But Doctor Ge was too excited to even think about drinking it. He exclaimed, “Didn’t I tell you before that the prices offered by several clinics in town were more or less the same? Well, guess what? This morning, a wealthy family from town suddenly contacted me and agreed to increase the price of each Wushan ginseng by 400 wen!”

The initial estimated price was around 1,600 wen per plant, but with the additional 400 wen, it would now be 2,000 wen.

Even Qin Zhao couldn’t help but be a bit surprised.

Two thousand wen—that’s a price you’d only get by selling it in a major city.

Doctor Ge was thrilled and said, “They’ll send someone the day after tomorrow to collect the herbs, Qin Zhao. You need to go and gather the herbs as soon as possible.”

Qin Zhao replied, “I was just about to head out to gather them.”

“Yes, it’s best to do it quickly,” Doctor Ge said. “Around Qingming, there’s more rain, which isn’t good for gathering herbs. That plant is valuable, and if it’s exposed to wind and rain for a few days, it could lose half its potency.”

“I understand.”

After sending Doctor Ge off, Qin Zhao said to the little koi, “You heard that, right? I need to go up the mountain to gather the herbs. Be good and stay at home.”

The little koi obediently wagged its tail.

Qin Zhao thought for a moment and then took out two egg pancakes from the stove, placing them on a plate on the table. “If you’re hungry, you can eat these.”

The little fish had already managed to steal a chicken leg, so helping itself to a pancake shouldn’t be a problem.

Jing Li’s eyes lit up at the sight of food, but Qin Zhao gently tapped him on the head. “But don’t eat too much, or you’ll make yourself sick.”

Got it!

Jing Li lightly nibbled on his finger.

Qin Zhao raised an eyebrow, gazing down at him. They locked eyes for a moment, and the little koi, who had initially retreated, nervously swam back and gently rubbed its fin against the spot where it had bitten him.

Qin Zhao couldn’t help but smile.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to town to buy some medicine. I’ll get some meat too and make braised pork for you.”

Jing Li’s mouth watered at the thought, and he wagged his tail eagerly in the water.

There was no sunshine today, so it would get darker earlier than usual. Without wasting any more time, Qin Zhao quickly shouldered his pack and left.

Jing Li listened quietly as the footsteps faded away, then with a splash, he jumped out of the water.

It’s been three days since the last time Jing Li transformed into a human. During these days, his body occasionally experienced that same scorching heat he felt on the day he transformed. However, since Qin Zhao had been with him the entire time, he would quickly submerge himself in the water to suppress the sensation whenever it arose.

He had a feeling that this sensation was related to his ability to transform into a human.

Unfortunately, with Qin Zhao constantly by his side these past few days, he hadn’t had a chance to test it out.

Today, he finally had the opportunity.

Jing Li lay on the table, quietly waiting for a moment.

But the scorching sensation didn’t come.

Come on, change.

Jing Li flicked his tail and fins, even hopped around on the ground for a while, but nothing happened.

“Gurgle~”

The little koi paused in its movements and turned its gaze towards the plate of egg pancakes on the table.

Hopping around had made him hungry.

Moments later, the little koi lay on his back on the water’s surface, his fins gently patting his round belly as he let out a small burp.

These days, Qin Zhao had spoiled him so much that he always felt sleepy after a full meal.

Jing Li floated on the water, drowsy and about to fall asleep when his body gradually started to heat up.

He instantly woke up and flipped over in the water.

This time, the sensation was even clearer, like a warm current emerging from within him, flowing through every part of his body. The temperature gradually rose, spreading out, and each of his scales began to emit a red glow.

The light became increasingly dazzling, and Jing Li felt something changing. He leaped out of the water and landed on the ground.

The moment he hit the ground, the light suddenly faded.

A young boy was now kneeling on the ground, his expression still somewhat dazed.

Jing Li first looked down at his lower half.

This time, below his waist, there was no fish tail; instead, it had turned into a pair of legs. The legs were long and well-proportioned, with skin that was extremely pale. Some parts of his skin were adorned with small, translucent red scales, which were still damp and glistening, almost transparent.

Jing Li wiggled his round toes, but before he could feel any joy, he realized something important.

He quickly raised his hands to touch his face.

Nose, eyes—everything was in place, a normal human face.

… Thank goodness.

Jing Li let out a sigh of relief.

He had been worried that since he only transformed the upper half last time, this time he might only transform the lower half. That would have been terrifying.

Still not quite used to his human form, Jing Li moved his limbs a bit, using the table for support as he slowly stood up.

Last time, he didn’t have a chance to see what he looked like after transforming into a human. Today, he finally had the opportunity to take a good look.

Jing Li walked barefoot across the floor, leaving a trail of water behind him.

In the entire house, only Qin Zhao’s bedroom had a bronze mirror.

He walked up to the mirror, where his reflection—a handsome, delicate young boy—appeared in the blurry surface.

The boy had large, round eyes that were bright and clear, with the ends of his eyes slightly upturned, giving him an innocent and gentle appearance. He smiled lightly at his reflection, revealing a pair of shallow dimples.

He looked just the same as before.

The only difference was that there were also a few fish scales around the corners of his eyes.

The scales were cool to the touch, bright red in color, adding a bit of charm to his face.

Jing Li wasn’t very pleased with these scales. He touched them with his fingers, frowning slightly.

He didn’t know when he would be able to turn back completely.

His hair was still wet, and after standing in front of the mirror for a while, a small puddle of water had already formed on the ground. But being in human form felt too good, so he didn’t want to change back just yet.

After all, he often got the floor wet before, so Qin Zhao probably wouldn’t suspect anything.

He grabbed the cloth that Qin Zhao had left nearby and used it to dry his long hair. Just then, a gust of wind blew the window open.

Qin Zhao’s house didn’t even have a courtyard, so anyone passing by on the road could easily see what was going on inside through the window. Jing Li had no clothes on when he transformed into human form, and he was now standing completely naked in the room.

He couldn’t let anyone see him like this.

Jing Li quickly grabbed a blanket to wrap himself up and wobbled over to close the window.

He reached the window and nervously peeked out, looking around to make sure no one was nearby before he reached out to pull the window shut.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

The sky had grown even darker than before, with thick clouds gathering overhead, as if rain could start falling at any moment.

Boom—

A deep rumble of thunder followed, and Jing Li looked worriedly towards the sky.

Qin Zhao still hadn’t come back. Would he get caught in the rain?

With his poor health, if he got wet in the rain, he’d definitely end up with a fever again.

Just as Jing Li was thinking this, another loud clap of thunder sounded, and the rain started pouring down.

Jing Li: “…”

Why did his worst fears have to come true???

Spring rain wasn’t too heavy, but it was persistent and once it started, it wouldn’t stop easily.

Jing Li sat on Qin Zhao’s bed, wrapping himself tightly in the blanket, curling up into a small ball.

Why isn’t he back yet…

After the rain started, the sky darkened quickly. Jing Li stared out the window, growing more and more uneasy.

The rain wasn’t heavy. Even if Qin Zhao had turned back as soon as he saw the rain, he should have been home by now.

They say that in the mountains, rain can easily cause landslides… could something have happened to him?

The more Jing Li thought about it, the more anxious he became. Finally, he couldn’t sit still any longer and got out of bed.

He opened the wardrobe and randomly grabbed one of Qin Zhao’s outfits to put on.

Ancient clothing was complicated to wear, and Qin Zhao was much taller than Jing Li, so the clothes didn’t fit him at all. But Jing Li didn’t care about any of that; he quickly tied the belt tightly, grabbed the raincoat and bamboo hat from beside the stove, and slipped out of the house through the window.