Ch 17: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

Qin Zhao went to Li Dali’s house to pick out a few packs of vegetable seeds, then returned home.

The little koi, having been bored waiting alone at home, had already fallen asleep. The tiny fish floated in the water, its tail and fins occasionally making gentle movements, creating shallow ripples on the water’s surface.

Qin Zhao lightened his footsteps as he walked over to the table and sat down.

When he first rescued this little creature, Qin Zhao had thought of releasing it back into nature once it recovered. But after discovering that the little fish could understand him and showed no intention of leaving, he gave up the idea of letting it go.

When a person is lonely for too long, they naturally yearn for companionship—even if it’s just from a fish.

Qin Zhao believed in the spiritual nature of all things, but he didn’t believe in supernatural forces or mysterious gods.

It’s like how hunters enjoy keeping dogs and wealthy families in the city raise parrots. Some animals can develop intelligence, understand human language, and interact with people—it’s nothing unusual.

This was also how he viewed the little fish.

So, in the days they had spent together, he had assumed this little creature had a bit of intelligence, but he never considered the possibility of it being something supernatural.

But the events of last night made him consider the possibility.

If there were more evidence…

Qin Zhao’s eyes searched the room for a moment and settled on the straw raincoat and hat by the low cabinet.

Because of his health, Qin Zhao rarely went out in the rain, so he hadn’t used the raincoat much.

Last night, he had forgotten to take it because he was in a hurry to leave.

The raincoat was still placed where it had always been, its surface dry and showing no signs of use.

Qin Zhao stepped closer and gently brushed his fingers over its surface.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

He pondered for a moment, then walked over to the basin of laundry waiting to be washed and picked up the soaked clothing on top.

Qin Zhao lifted the garment and carefully examined it inch by inch until he found what he was looking for.

A small, dried piece of straw.

The same material as the raincoat.

At that moment, all his doubts were resolved, and it felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart.

The half-asleep, half-awake boy he had seen the previous night, the clothes the little fish had hidden, and the seemingly untouched raincoat—all made sense now.

Strangely enough, after deducing the truth, Qin Zhao felt no surprise or fear—just a sense of curiosity.

It seemed he had inadvertently saved a little demon.

Soft splashing sounds came from behind him. Qin Zhao turned to see the little koi swimming toward the edge of the bucket.

The fish looked at Qin Zhao, and when its eyes landed on the clothes in his hand, its body visibly tensed.

Noticing this reaction, Qin Zhao calmly set the clothes aside and walked over to the table. “You’re finally awake. I was just about to go to the creek to do some laundry.”

Just laundry?

Jing Li looked at him suspiciously, and only when he saw that Qin Zhao wasn’t acting strangely did he finally relax.

He flicked his tail, causing a few small splashes.

Qin Zhao understood what he meant and asked, “Do you want to come along?”

Jing Li nodded repeatedly.

He really didn’t want to stay at home alone; it was too boring.

Qin Zhao fell silent.

Take him along, please!

The little koi swayed his fins, his eyes full of a pleading look. Seeing that Qin Zhao still wasn’t responding, Jing Li flicked his tail, jumping up to give Qin Zhao’s fingertip a quick kiss.

Normally, this gesture wouldn’t mean much, but today it felt different.

Qin Zhao withdrew his hand, feeling a tingly sensation in the small area where Jing Li had touched him, making him feel quite uncomfortable.

Jing Li looked up at him, puzzled.

Is Qin Zhao starting to feel feverish again? Why do his ears look so red?

The little koi’s gaze made Qin Zhao a bit embarrassed, so he averted his eyes and said, “Alright, I’ll take you with me.”

The sun hadn’t set yet when Qin Zhao, carrying a washbasin and holding a small fish basket, arrived at the stream where the villagers did their laundry.

In Linxi Village, the same stream was used for both laundry and cooking, so there were specific times and places for doing laundry. Over time, the villagers had learned not to draw drinking water during laundry hours.

Similarly, when it was time to cook, someone would go upstream to give a reminder.

Qin Zhao had come a bit late, so only three or four women were left at the riverbank.

Laundry was typically a woman’s job, and there were no strict rules about women not showing their faces in this small village. Unmarried girls especially liked to come here together, playing and washing clothes at the same time, turning the chore into something fun.

Today was no different.

When the women saw Qin Zhao approaching, they quickly stopped their playful chatter and fell silent.

To avoid any misunderstandings, Qin Zhao didn’t get too close. He found a spot a little further away and set down his things on a shallow part of the stream.

“Remember to swim a bit farther away,” Qin Zhao said as he released the little koi from the fish basket.

Jing Li, not wanting to get the scent of soap on himself, flicked his tail and swam toward the middle of the stream.

Only after seeing him swim away did Qin Zhao begin to scrub the clothes with some soap powder.

The women, who had already finished their work, suddenly slowed their movements, half-heartedly slapping at the clothes they’d already washed clean, while occasionally glancing in Qin Zhao’s direction.

Li Dali had a point: with Qin Zhao’s looks, no one could resist liking him.

When Qin Zhao first arrived in the village, quite a few women would intentionally or unintentionally pass by his house, just to catch a glimpse of him.

But as time went on, everyone learned that this man had a strange illness, a mysterious past, and couldn’t handle heavy labor.

For these villagers, who had farmed for generations, someone who couldn’t carry or lift anything was basically useless.

Not to mention, he had to take medicine regularly, which was another big expense.

It was only then that the village girls gave up on him.

Still, if they happened to run into him, sneaking a few glances wasn’t out of the question.

After all, who doesn’t enjoy looking at something beautiful?

Qin Zhao remained oblivious to the situation, but Jing Li noticed everything.

The women upstream had already stopped working, their heads huddled together, whispering and giggling as they pointed at Qin Zhao. At one point, they even nudged each other playfully, laughing as they spoke in hushed tones.

Jing Li: “…”

He recognized that look all too well—it was clear they were interested in Qin Zhao.

The little koi suddenly felt a surge of displeasure.

With a flick of his tail, he swam over, intent on chasing them away. As he approached, he overheard one of the women say, “If you want to go talk to him, just do it. Why are you pushing me?”

Another woman blushed, her ears turning red with embarrassment. “I don’t want to go! It’s you… you all who want to!”

The women continued to giggle and jostle each other, when suddenly the hairpin from the first woman’s hair slipped out and fell into the water.

“My hairpin!” the woman exclaimed in panic, quickly standing up.

The water here wasn’t particularly fast-flowing, only reaching the height of a grown man’s calf. However, the stream bed was full of rocks, making it easy to lose footing or difficult to find something once it fell in.

The women stopped their teasing and started searching the water.

But even after searching for a while, they couldn’t find it.

The woman was on the verge of tears, “That was the only thing my mother left me… what should I do?”

Jing Li noticed the small wooden hairpin lying not far from him and let out a small bubble: “…”

It was right there, so close.

These silly girls.

Resigned, he swam over, picked up the hairpin in his mouth, and surfaced, swimming towards the woman who had lost it.

She was about to cry when she saw a fish swimming toward her with the hairpin in its mouth, leaving her stunned.

The little koi wagged his tail at the woman, and she bent down, cupping him gently in her hands.

“Did you… did you find this for me?” the woman asked, her eyelashes still wet with tears, her voice trembling.

Jing Li let go of the hairpin, dropping it back into her hand, and lightly tapped her fingers with his tail.

That’s right, it was me. No need to thank me. But in the future, please don’t gather by the river to watch others—that’s my spot.

Jing Li looked up at the woman, conveying his message silently in his heart.

Of course, the woman couldn’t understand what he was thinking.

One of the other women picked up the hairpin and exclaimed, “It really is your wooden hairpin! This little fish is amazing!”

“And it’s so cute! Can I pet it?” another woman asked.

“I’ll go first, I’ll go first! I really want to take it home and raise it.”

“I want to, too. What if we secretly take it back with us?”

The women crowded around, and the little koi shrank back, curling his tail slightly.

This… this is…

“No,” a clear male voice suddenly spoke up behind them.

The women froze and turned around.

Qin Zhao walked up to them, slightly bowing to the woman holding the little koi. “Apologies, but this little fish is mine. Could you please return it to me?”

The woman was momentarily stunned, finding herself face-to-face with the person they had just been talking about, and now he was speaking to her. She was at a loss for words.

Qin Zhao’s gaze shifted to the little koi, and he extended his hand. “Come here.”

The little koi flicked his tail and obediently jumped into Qin Zhao’s palm.

Only then did Qin Zhao’s stern expression soften a bit. He bid the women farewell and turned to leave.

The women exchanged glances, and after a long moment, one of them spoke up, “So… so it really was his fish. How did he raise it so well? It even found the hairpin…”

“That’s nothing… but Qing’er sure got lucky today. Qin Zhao spoke to you!”

The woman called Qing’er just stared after Qin Zhao’s retreating figure, not saying a word.

Qin Zhao returned to the shallow part of the stream, immediately placing the little koi back into the fish basket without a word.

Jing Li: “???”

What was this about? He hadn’t finished playing yet!

Qin Zhao gently tapped the little koi on the forehead with his finger. “You’ll stay here and reflect until I’m done washing clothes.”

This little demon was too captivating, he had almost been taken home by someone else.

“…If you run off again, there’ll be no sugar cake tonight.” Seeing the little koi wriggle as if trying to jump out, Qin Zhao added.

Jing Li: “…”

He’s threatening a fish again!!!

Under Qin Zhao’s oppressive influence, Jing Li had no choice but to obediently stay in the fish basket until Qin Zhao finished washing clothes and took him home.

Finally, during dinner, he got to eat the cake.

The little koi focused intently on munching away, his tail wagging joyfully.

Qin Zhao broke the sugar cake into small pieces, giving him another only after he finished one, to prevent him from eating too quickly and choking.

He had once read stories about spirits and demons.

Most spirits and demons cultivated in remote mountains, and when they took human form and entered the human world, it was usually for a few reasons: revenge or gratitude.

The former absorbed human essence, sometimes even endangering lives.

But he had spent so much time with this little demon and not only had he not been harmed, but his life had also improved considerably.

If it weren’t for this little guy, he might not have even gotten through the Chen family incident. He would have been driven out of the village long ago.

Instead, now he had some money, rented land, and was preparing to build a house.

But if this little demon was here to repay a debt of gratitude…

He couldn’t stay in fish form forever, could he?

Qin Zhao was lost in thought and forgot to give Jing Li another piece of sugar cake.

The little koi raised his head high, staring at the piece of cake in his hand, his tail wagging impatiently.

“Oh… sorry.”

Qin Zhao quickly broke off another piece of cake, but just as he was about to toss it, he paused.

Seeing the little demon’s eager expression, he suddenly thought that if he used the sugar cake to threaten the little demon to take human form, it would probably work.

But that thought only flashed through his mind briefly before he dismissed it.

There were plenty of ways to get the little fish to tell the truth—there was no need to resort to such a boring method.

Qin Zhao tossed the sugar cake, and before it hit the water, the little koi jumped up and caught it perfectly. The little koi swam to the side with the cake in his mouth, happily munching away, his cheeks puffed out.

Qin Zhao rested his chin on his hand, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.

After all… watching how silly this little demon could be was its own kind of fun.