Ch 48: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

The room fell into a moment of silence.

Xue Ren noticed Jing Li entering and promptly fell silent.

Qin Zhao pressed his fingers to his brow, finally understanding what Xue Ren had been implying. “You’ve misunderstood, sir. We didn’t—”

“There’s no need to explain; I understand,” Xue Ren replied kindly. “The medicine on the stove is still brewing, so I’ll head out. After drinking this medicine, you might feel a bit drowsy. Just rest for a while, and if you don’t have a fever tonight, it means the medicine is working. I’ll make the remaining medicine into pills, which will last you a month.”

Unable to clarify the misunderstanding, Qin Zhao simply stood up and said, “Thank you, sir.”

After seeing Xue Ren out, he closed the door and turned to Jing Li, who was standing by the door. “Dr. Xue… misunderstood. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Huh?” Jing Li blinked and then realized what he meant. “Oh, no, I’m not bothered by it.”

“Don’t wander around too much. You should lie down; Dr. Xue said you need plenty of rest.”

Jing Li moved to help Qin Zhao back to the bedroom. After helping him settle back into bed, Jing Li tucked him in securely. After a moment of thought, he added seriously, “Don’t worry about it. No matter what, I like you just the way you are. It’s okay.”

Qin Zhao: “…”

Qin Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but the medicine soon made him feel drowsy, and he gave up on explaining.

He drifted off to sleep, and when he woke again, it was already dark outside.

The room was softly lit by the flickering shadows of the lamps. Qin Zhao touched his forehead and found it no longer hot, and his body felt relatively normal.

He sat up and noticed a figure sitting at the desk. Jing Li was slumped over the table, with several books beneath him, fast asleep.

“…” Qin Zhao walked over and called softly, “Xiao Yu? Let’s go sleep on the bed. You’ll catch a cold here.”

The young boy was sound asleep, and even after being called, he didn’t wake up, only stirring slightly in a half-asleep daze. “Don’t bother me…”

As he shifted, his arm moved slightly, revealing the book he had been resting on.

Qin Zhao saw a few lines of text: “… A demonic creature turning into human form consumes a great deal of spiritual energy. Excessive consumption will cause them to occasionally revert to their original form… Under no circumstances should they neglect their cultivation, or else, when their spiritual energy is depleted, they will permanently revert to their original form and will never be able to change back…”

So this was what Xiao Yu brought back a few days ago?

Qin Zhao’s brows furrowed slightly. He was about to pull the book out to take a closer look when Jing Li suddenly yawned and opened his eyes.

“Oh, you’re awake…” Jing Li rubbed his eyes sleepily. “Are you hungry? There’s porridge simmering in the kitchen. I can get some for you.”

Qin Zhao had slept through the entire afternoon and evening without eating or drinking anything, so he was undoubtedly hungry.

Jing Li, still half-asleep, struggled to keep his eyes open as he tried to stand up, only to wobble and sit back down.

Qin Zhao chuckled softly. “I’ll get it myself. You should wash your face and then join me for a bit of food, okay?”

Jing Li nodded, “Alright.”

Qin Zhao’s nap had lasted so long that it was now close to the hour of Hai (9:00 PM to 11:00 PM). Xue Ren and Ah Yi had already left, and the kitchen was filled with unfinished medicine pills. On the stove, a pot of white porridge was still simmering, keeping warm.

Qin Zhao took out two earthenware bowls, cracked an egg into one, and stirred the hot porridge into it, mixing it evenly. The village eggs had no off-putting smell, and when added to the porridge, they emitted a rich aroma.

After preparing the egg porridge, Qin Zhao added a bit of pickled vegetables that the village chief had given them and then carried the bowls back to the room.

Qin Zhao placed the porridge on the table, glancing at the desk in the room out of the corner of his eye.

The desk was now empty; the book from earlier had already been put away.

Jing Li didn’t show any signs of anything being amiss. He had just washed his face, and his temples were slightly damp, with water droplets trailing down his jaw. He sat obediently in the room, waiting, and when he caught the scent of the egg porridge, his eyes lit up.

“Did you not eat dinner?” Qin Zhao asked with a smile.

“I did,” Jing Li replied softly, biting on his spoon, “but after a nap, I got hungry again.”

Qin Zhao was silent for a moment before reminding him, “Don’t eat too much at night, or you’ll have trouble sleeping.”

“Mhm, I know…”

Jing Li agreed readily, but then… he had Qin Zhao refill his porridge bowl three times.

After finishing the meal, Jing Li rubbed his now full and round stomach as he paced around the room.

“I told you not to eat so much,” Qin Zhao said, somewhat helplessly. He couldn’t understand how such a small body could hold so much food without gaining any weight. “Come lie down for a while, don’t keep walking around.”

But Jing Li shook his head. “I’m not lying down.”

He paused, then added, “I’m going to sleep outside tonight.”

Outside, which meant he planned to sleep in the water.

Qin Zhao asked, “Why?”

“Uh…” Jing Li’s eyes darted around, and he replied evasively, “You just took your medicine, so you need to rest well. I don’t want to disturb your sleep.”

Qin Zhao laughed, “And you’re not worried that I might get sick again in the night and there’ll be no one to take care of me?”

Jing Li was momentarily stunned.

“Wait for me!” Jing Li said, and then quickly ran out to the courtyard.

Qin Zhao instinctively felt something was off, and sure enough, Jing Li soon returned, carrying a small wooden bucket filled with water.

It was the same small wooden bucket Jing Li had used before he moved here. Since moving, the bucket had not been used.

Jing Li said, “I’ll sleep here tonight. If you feel unwell, just call me.”

“…” Qin Zhao was silent for a moment before asking, “So why are you—”

Before he could finish his question, a sudden flash of red light filled the room, and Jing Li’s clothes fell to the floor as he transformed into a bright red koi fish, which dropped into the small bucket.

Qin Zhao: “…”

The little koi flicked its tail in the water and looked up, speaking in a human voice, “What were you about to say?”

Qin Zhao, resigned to his fate, picked up the clothes scattered on the floor. “…Nothing.”

The night had grown deep, and Qin Zhao blew out the oil lamp in the room before lying back down on the bed. The bucket with Jing Li was placed on the nearby table. The little koi floated to the water’s surface, peeking over the edge of the bucket with its eyes, secretly watching him.

The effects of the medicine seemed to linger, and Qin Zhao’s breathing had already returned to a steady rhythm.

During the hours he waited for Qin Zhao to wake up, Jing Li had taken out the book he bought earlier, The Record of Demonic Creatures, and read it.

He still struggled with reading, but by referencing the elementary texts he had studied before, and guessing where necessary, Jing Li managed to glean quite a bit of useful information from the book.

For instance, when a demon transforms into a human, they occasionally revert to their original form due to a lack of spiritual energy, which needs to be replenished through cultivation.

Additionally, the book mentioned that every moment a demon spends in human form, they are consuming spiritual energy. As a result, they must practice tirelessly to maintain their human form. To remain stable in human form, at least several hundred years of cultivation are required.

However, since Jing Li had transmigrated here, he hadn’t cultivated even once.

He didn’t know whether the original koi he inhabited before his transmigration had cultivated, or if that was the reason he had enough spiritual energy to transform into a human.

He only knew that he had no knowledge or memory of any cultivation methods.

The book said that a demon’s spiritual energy is like an hourglass—if it isn’t replenished in time, once it’s exhausted, it’s gone, and they might never be able to transform into a human again.

If that was the case… Jing Li couldn’t afford to keep expending his energy.

That’s why he suggested sleeping in the water tonight.

Spending the night in his koi form might at least slow down the consumption of his spiritual energy.

The book didn’t provide specific cultivation methods, but it did mention some ways to replenish spiritual energy.

One of them was the dual cultivation method that Ah Yi had read to him about the other day…

The passage in the book more or less meant this: When a demon first takes on human form, their spiritual energy is unstable. They can replenish it through dual cultivation with a human. Additionally, close contact with a person can also absorb a small amount of their vital energy to replenish spiritual power, though it’s far less effective than dual cultivation.

Jing Li, of course, knew what dual cultivation meant, but…

Old Dr. Xue had said that Qin Zhao’s body was still too weak.

Not only that, but until Qin Zhao fully recovered, Jing Li couldn’t afford to get too close to him. What if he accidentally absorbed Qin Zhao’s vital energy, making his condition worse?

And he couldn’t tell Qin Zhao the truth either.

It would definitely make him feel bad.

Before reading this book, Jing Li had been skeptical. But the book was written in such a convincing way that he couldn’t help but believe it.

Besides, he had already transmigrated from a human to a fish and then back to a human. It was better to be safe than sorry.

The little koi blew a bubble in the water and silently sank to the bottom of the bucket.

xxx

“—It’s done!” Xue Ren placed the last of the rolled pills onto the bamboo tray.

The tray was neatly filled with dozens of pills. Ah Yi and Jing Li carried the tray to the bamboo wall in the courtyard. Xue Ren instructed, “Let them air-dry for two more days, then store them in a dark, airtight container. Take one pill a day, and these should last you over a month. After that, we’ll see if the dosage needs adjusting.”

Qin Zhao bowed respectfully to him, “Thank you for all your efforts, elder.”

“No need to be so formal,” Xue Ren waved his hand. “If you truly recover, then all my efforts these past few days won’t have been in vain.”

Qin Zhao asked, “Are you leaving soon?”

“Yes,” Xue Ren sighed as he looked in Ah Yi’s direction. “We’ve been here for nearly half a month, but my good grandson still needs to tend to the pharmacy. We can’t afford to close up shop.”

They could afford to rent a carriage, which was much faster than an ox cart. If they left Linxi Village in the afternoon, they could make it back to the county before sunset.

Qin Zhao said, “In that case, I have something I’d like to show you before you go.”

Xue Ren followed Qin Zhao into the house.

Qin Zhao took a few books from the shelf, each marked with bamboo leaves, with small notes written in the margins.

Xue Ren flipped through a few pages, his expression changing. “This—”

“These are some herbs I found based on my studies of medicinal principles,” Qin Zhao explained. “I’ve detailed everything within. You can take your time to review it. These herbs are more commonly found in ordinary households and might serve as substitutes for the rare ingredients in your antidote.”

Xue Ren looked more closely at the notes Qin Zhao had made and asked, “Did Xiao Yu say you’ve been reading medical books these days just for this?”

Qin Zhao nodded. “Yes.”

At first, he was simply concerned that the ingredients in Xue Ren’s incomplete formula were too rare, so he wanted to see if he could find more common substitutes in the medical texts.

Later, when Xue Ren suggested that he help promote the formula, Qin Zhao became even more determined.

Xue Ren had once been an imperial physician, so naturally, he prioritized using the best ingredients without considering their value or rarity. However, the ingredients in this formula were difficult for ordinary people to obtain, let alone use.

What Qin Zhao wanted was for everyone in need to have access to this medicine, to prevent anyone from facing the same predicament he had.

Xue Ren closed the medical book in his hands and said slowly, “You do realize that if you replace the rare herbs with common ones, the efficacy of the antidote will be compromised.”

“I understand,” Qin Zhao replied. “But a formula that can only save a few people, while leaving the majority unable to obtain it, compared to one that is slightly less effective but accessible to all, I believe the latter is far more practical to promote.”

Xue Ren was stunned for a moment, then smiled faintly.

Qin Zhao asked, “What are you smiling at, elder?”

“I’m smiling because I finally understand why the court implemented that withdrawal formula,” Xue Ren sighed. “They likely knew the soup had its risks, but they had no other choice.”

“It’s not hard to promote a more precise medicinal formula, but the challenge lies in ensuring that everyone who needs it can access it.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “It seems I’ve been wrong about them all these years.”