Ch 23: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

The little demon did not disappoint Qin Zhao. For the remaining hours of their journey home, the little koi lay at the bottom of the wooden bucket, deep in thought, without moving an inch.

He had completely missed Qin Zhao’s hint.

Qin Zhao glanced at him from time to time, sighing silently.

Fool.

The ox cart moved slowly through the countryside. Just as they were about to exit the forest, Qin Zhao caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye.

A young man was lying unconscious under a tree by the roadside.

He stopped the ox cart.

Jing Li also poked his head out to look.

The young man appeared to be around Chen Yanan’s age, disheveled and in a sorry state.

He was wearing a light purple robe, and although Jing Li couldn’t tell what material it was made of, it was clearly expensive. However, the once-fine garment was now torn in several places, stained with dirt, and the embroidered patterns were barely visible.

Qin Zhao approached him and bent down to check his breathing.

His breathing was still steady.

Qin Zhao gently shook the young man’s shoulder. “Young master, wake up.”

The young man’s brows furrowed, and he muttered in his sleep, “Uncle Wang, don’t bother me. Let me sleep a little longer…”

Jing Li tilted his head.

Why does this voice sound so familiar?

Before Jing Li could figure it out, the young man finally opened his eyes, still groggy, and upon seeing Qin Zhao, he grabbed his hand. “Please help me, please! I can give you money…”

Qin Zhao calmly removed his hand and asked, “Who are you, and why did you faint here?”

“I… I’ve been lost in these mountains for several days. I haven’t eaten in so long. Can you take me home?” The young man was practically sobbing.

Qin Zhao thought for a moment, then reached out to help him up.

But as soon as the young man stood up, he yelped and fell back down.

Qin Zhao squatted in front of him, reaching for his ankle. The young man flinched and gasped in pain.

“It’s dislocated,” Qin Zhao said.

Tears welled up in the young man’s eyes as he asked, “What should I—”

Before he could finish, Qin Zhao swiftly applied force, and there was a loud “crack” as the bone snapped back into place.

“Ahhhhhh—”

Qin Zhao straightened up and said calmly, “It’s fixed. Try standing.”

“Couldn’t you have warned me first?” the young man shouted at Qin Zhao, tears in his eyes.

“Would it have hurt less if I had warned you?” Qin Zhao asked.

“Well… no, not really.”

The young man stood up, somewhat sheepishly, and moved his ankle, finding that the pain was gone.

Qin Zhao helped him onto the ox cart, covered the bucket holding Jing Li, and then handed him an oil paper packet of steamed buns from the basket. “Eat something to tide you over. We’ll reach the village soon.”

“Th-thank you,” the young man stammered.

They were not far from Linxi Village when they found the young man. Less than an hour later, Qin Zhao’s ox cart arrived at the village entrance.

Qin Zhao said to the young man, “This cart isn’t mine, so I can’t take you all the way home. If you follow this road, there’s a post station where you can rent an ox cart back to town.”

The young man blinked in confusion. “How did you know I live in town?”

Qin Zhao asked, “Is your surname Fang?”

“It is,” the young man replied. “My name is Fang Tianying. Have we met before?”

Qin Zhao was silent for a moment before saying, “In a way.”

Fang Tianying didn’t press further. After hesitating, he asked, “Could you… lend me a bit more money?”

Qin Zhao looked up at him.

Fang Tianying said, “I lost my money a few days ago, and when I tried to walk back home, I got lost, which is how I ended up like this. I’ll return the money to you as soon as I get home. What’s your name?”

Qin Zhao gave him ten wen for the fare and exchanged names with him before parting ways.

The little koi popped its head out of the wooden bucket and watched the young man’s retreating figure.

Not only did Qin Zhao know his name, but Jing Li also remembered him.

Isn’t this the young master of the Fang family in town?

Last time, when the Fang family had come to Qin Zhao for the Wushan ginseng, they had visited the Fang residence.

This young master had done something to get himself into trouble and had been beaten by his father until he screamed—the same scream he let out when Qin Zhao reset his ankle earlier…

The Fang family was well-known among the neighboring towns, so it wasn’t surprising that Qin Zhao recognized their young master. This was also why Fang Tianying hadn’t been too suspicious when he heard that Qin Zhao knew him.

However, it’s likely that Young Master Fang wouldn’t want to know the real reason Qin Zhao recognized him.

Jing Li sighed inwardly and didn’t dwell on the matter.

Someone like Fang Tianying, a young master, and someone like Qin Zhao, a farmer, belonged to completely different worlds, with no chance of crossing paths.

He was more concerned about his own situation.

They returned to the village early, before mealtime. But two meals a day weren’t nearly enough for Jing Li, and he felt his stomach rumbling as he looked around the wooden bucket.

The oil paper packet that had once held steamed buns was now crumpled at the bottom of the cart, discarded by the young man.

Jing Li: “…”

He distinctly remembered there being three or four left!

Jing Li wanted to pick a fight with Fang Tianying.

Qin Zhao followed the little koi’s gaze and saw the crumpled oil paper packet. He reached out and patted the little koi’s head gently, saying in a warm voice, “Don’t worry, I’ll make something good for you when we get home.”

The little koi flicked its tail in displeasure but didn’t make a fuss.

If there’s meat, he might just reluctantly agree.

The cart carrying the bamboo had already arrived in Linxi Village earlier and was now stacked on the empty plot of land on the west side of the village. Qin Zhao first returned the ox cart to Lin Lao’er, then went to Lin Changzhong’s house.

They had agreed before the trip that Qin Zhao would contact Lin Changzhong once the bamboo arrived.

Lin Changzhong had already inspected the delivery and said to Qin Zhao, “Leave the rest to me. I’ll go to the village chief early tomorrow to post a notice. It shouldn’t be difficult to hire help since the spring plowing season is over.”

Qin Zhao thanked him and then returned home with the little koi.

The issue of building materials was now completely resolved.

And so was the matter of people constantly asking about the koi.

Qin Zhao’s trip proved effective, as for the next few days, no one mentioned the koi to him.

There was one downside, though: the little koi could no longer accompany Qin Zhao on outings.

Jing Li naturally understood this.

As long as that notice remained up in town, his safety was at risk. Plus, he had already caused Qin Zhao enough trouble and didn’t want to make things harder for him.

The little koi became very well-behaved and sensible in important matters. Since returning from Shanglin Village, he no longer pestered Qin Zhao to go out and play.

Every day, when Qin Zhao left the house, the little koi stayed home alone, sleeping peacefully without causing any commotion. Unlike before, he didn’t try to transform into a human and sneak out to play, and he would sleep soundly until Qin Zhao returned.

One day, when Qin Zhao came home, the little koi was, as usual, sleeping at the bottom of the water.

With construction underway, Qin Zhao had become especially busy in recent days.

Building a house in reality was quite different from working with blueprints. Even though the village wasn’t as particular as the wealthy families in the city, there were still many details that needed to be discussed.

Qin Zhao, worried someone might come by and discover the little koi, didn’t dare invite anyone to his house, so he had to go to the construction site himself.

As soon as he closed the door, he heard the sound of water splashing behind him.

The little koi was leaning against the edge of the wooden bucket, wagging its tail at him.

Its eyes were moist and clear, sparkling with a lively and energetic look.

Seeing the little fish in such a state, Qin Zhao felt as though all the fatigue of the day had been washed away in that moment. He walked over, patted the little koi on the head, and said, “You’re hungry, aren’t you? I had someone buy some white sugar in town. I’ll steam some sugar cakes for you in a bit.”

Sugar cakes?

Qin Zhao can make those?

Jing Li was a little surprised.

In truth, Qin Zhao had never made them before.

He didn’t have a sweet tooth and had never thought of learning how to make such pastries. But after seeing how much the little koi liked this treat last time, and since he couldn’t always go to town to buy them, he thought he might as well learn how to make them himself.

He asked around the village and quickly found out that Li Dali’s wife knew how to make them, so he went to her to learn the recipe.

But whether he could actually make them, he wasn’t so sure.

The rice had already been soaked the day before, and after draining it, he ground it into powder and sifted it. The sifted rice flour needed to be mixed with water to form a batter, stirring continuously as water was added.

This step was particularly tricky; if done incorrectly, the cakes wouldn’t set properly.

Making pastries required careful attention to detail. By the time the rice cakes were placed in the steamer, the sky had already turned dark.

“They need to steam for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Why don’t you have some bread first to tide you over?” Qin Zhao offered a piece of bread to the little koi, who shook its head and shrank back.

It didn’t want any.

It wanted to save room for the sugar cakes.

Seeing this, Qin Zhao didn’t insist and said, “The house will take another three or four days to be built. Once it’s finished, I’ll take you to see it. In a few days, I’ll visit some nearby villages to find a few carpenters. Everything in this house belongs to the Chen family, so we can’t take it with us—we’ll need to make new things.”

He meticulously shared with the little koi everything about his day and his plans for the future. The little koi listened intently, occasionally wagging its tail in response.

By the time he finished talking, the rice cakes were ready.

Qin Zhao turned to the stove to serve the cakes, and the little koi eagerly craned its head to watch his movements. Suddenly, there was a noise at the door.

It was faint, like someone lightly pushing the door.

Qin Zhao, too, heard it.

He put down what he was holding and walked over to open the door. Outside, it was quiet and empty. It was late now, with no stars or moon, and the darkness was so deep it was impossible to see your hand in front of your face.

Qin Zhao frowned slightly, looked around but saw no one, and then closed the door again.

The little koi hid in the bucket, only its eyes cautiously peeking out.

More than anyone, it was afraid of being seen.

Qin Zhao brought the steamed sugar cakes to the table and comforted the little koi in a gentle voice, “There’s no one outside, don’t worry.”

The little koi nodded and rubbed against Qin Zhao’s fingers, seeking comfort.

Qin Zhao gently stroked its head, feeling a sense of helplessness.

He had already thought of a solution to the situation.

The notice was looking for a koi. As long as the little creature was willing to transform into its human form, the problem would be solved.

But…

It was all because he couldn’t hold back at the time and told the little creature that he hated being deceived the most.

Ever since that day, the little creature had been even more secretive about its true identity. It hadn’t tried to transform into its human form again, and it didn’t even complain when Qin Zhao left it alone at home all day.

It seemed like he had made up his mind to act like an obedient and well-behaved pet fish.

He was so well-behaved that Qin Zhao started to feel a bit sorry for him.

Seeing how hard the little koi was trying to hide his identity made Qin Zhao realize just how cruel he had been in testing and teasing him before. It made him even more reluctant to expose the truth.

“Just hold on a few more days,” Qin Zhao said. “Once our new house is built and we move in, everything will be better.”

He had specially added a hidden channel to the pool that would lead directly outside. He told Lin Changzhong and the others that it was to ensure fresh water flow in the pool, but in reality, it was so the little fish could freely move outside without being noticed.

With some aquatic plants and rocks for cover, even if someone did enter the yard, they wouldn’t easily find the little koi.

Once they moved, everything would be fine.

Qin Zhao added, “I asked someone to make a new lock for the door a couple of days ago. It’s just finished today, so after we eat, I’ll install it. Now, let’s eat.”

For his first attempt at making pastries, Qin Zhao had done quite well. The white, glutinous cakes were cut into small squares and sprinkled with bits of red dates on top. They looked just as good as the ones sold in town.

The little koi immediately perked up, raising its head high, eagerly watching the cakes in Qin Zhao’s hand.

Qin Zhao blew on the cake to cool it slightly, then broke off a piece and tossed it to the little koi.

Before it even hit the water, the little koi jumped up and caught it mid-air.

But the next moment, as the little koi landed back in the water, it stiffened completely.

Under Qin Zhao’s hopeful and anxious gaze, the little koi’s gills moved as it struggled to swallow the cake, but it couldn’t help flipping over belly-up.

It was just… way too sweet.

The next morning, as usual, Qin Zhao got up early.

After dinner the night before, Qin Zhao did indeed replace the lock on the door with a new one, even securing the windows.

The old lock had been on the door since the house was rented from the Chen family, and it was so old and decayed that a strong adult could probably break it with one hard twist.

Although there had never been any cases of break-ins in Linxi Village, Qin Zhao was always cautious, preferring to be prepared.

After making breakfast and feeding the fish, Qin Zhao took care of his own tasks, then made a pot of congee and prepared a few side dishes, packing them up.

When hiring people in the village, in addition to paying wages, it was customary to provide a meal.

These days, Qin Zhao would make the meal at home and bring it to the worksite, staying there until the afternoon before returning home.

After packing the food and making sure the windows were securely locked, he bid farewell to the little koi and left.

The little koi watched the door close in front of him, heard the click of the new lock being secured, and the tail that had been wagging slowly fell, lightly tapping the water’s surface.

He hadn’t shown it in front of Qin Zhao, but the truth was, he really didn’t like being left alone.

The house was so boring—he couldn’t see Qin Zhao, and he was constantly worried that a cat might come by.

Jing Li longed to go out with Qin Zhao like before, to play by the river, follow him around the village, watch him interact with the villagers, and see how he gradually improved their life.

But ever since the news about the koi spread, he hadn’t had the chance.

Suddenly, Jing Li felt a bit aggrieved.

Being a koi wasn’t good at all.

He didn’t want to be a koi anymore.

The little koi blew a bubble in the water, then turned and dove to the bottom.

No more thinking. He might as well sleep.

After all, as long as he slept, he’d be able to see Qin Zhao again when he woke up.

Jing Li thought to himself as he curled up in the corner of the wooden bucket, soon becoming still.

But he didn’t sleep for long.

After some time, Jing Li suddenly heard a noise coming from outside.

The house was very quiet, making the footsteps outside particularly noticeable, and it was clear that there was more than one or two people. Jing Li instinctively sensed that something was wrong and silently floated to the surface, his eyes fixed on the closed door.

A moment later, unfamiliar voices sounded outside the door: “Are you sure that koi is in here?”