The silence inside and outside the Spirit Fish Pool lasted for a long time.
Only when Lu Ming leaped out of the Spirit Fish Pool with the fish basket on his back did the crowd finally snap out of it. They cast incredulous looks at his figure, and a clamor of voices immediately erupted.
“Holy crap, fifteen golden-eyed spirit fish?!”
“No one has ever caught that many before!”
“How did he do it?”
“What kind of divine ability technique can do this?”
...
Not only did the young people from the various clans find it unbelievable, but even the clan heads in attendance exchanged looks of utter astonishment.
“The helper the Li Family Matriarch found this time seems to have some unique skills,” Yan Jing, the head of the Yan family, said with narrowed eyes as he looked at Lu Ming, smiling at Li Yan beside him.
Li Yan was also deeply shocked in her heart by Lu Ming's haul of fifteen golden-eyed spirit fish, but she did not let it show on her face at all. She merely smiled and said, “He does have some skill.”
Yan Jing pondered slightly before saying, “However, catching fifteen golden-eyed spirit fish in one go is a bit excessive. Why don't you speak to him, Matriarch Li, and have him take only five?”
“Five golden-eyed spirit fish is already an excellent harvest for a disciple of a Divine Ability Hall.”
Hearing this, the eyes of the other clan heads flickered, and they nodded in agreement with smiles. After all, they had pooled their resources to build this Spirit Fish Pool, and none of them wanted an outsider to take such a massive advantage.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan's face darkened, and she said coldly, “It's not as if our families haven't hired outside help for fishing in the past. It's just that they lacked the ability to achieve such a harvest. Why is it that now that my Li family has found the right person, the rules have to be changed?”
Sensing the displeasure in Li Yan's tone, the heads of the other smaller clans fell silent. After all, the strength and heritage of the Li family were not things they could compete with.
Only Yan Jing smiled and said, “Matriarch Li, there is no need to be angry. It was merely a suggestion. If you truly find it inappropriate, then let's drop it this time. However...”
He paused, speaking with a touch of helplessness, “For the next Spiritual Fish Feast, it would be best not to invite him. After all, it is not easy for our families to pool money to raise these fish. If he comes a few more times, wouldn't we just be paving the way for others? This is no way to maintain a long-term partnership.”
Li Yan fell silent for a moment. She knew this was Yan Jing's final concession. If she still refused to budge, the Spiritual Fish Feast might not even be held next year. Ultimately, she nodded in agreement.
After Lu Ming withdrew from fishing, the others continued, but with his stunning harvest casting a shadow over them, everyone else seemed utterly eclipsed. This caused the atmosphere of the entire fishing session to become rather oppressive.
Yan Qing's face was particularly pale, looking like an eggplant wilted by frost.
As time passed, the Spiritual Fish Feast gradually drew to a close.
In the end, Zhou Fuling caught six golden-eyed spirit fish. Because Yan Qing's mood had been affected, his harvest ended up matching Li Shuang's at a mere four. Most of the others only managed a pitiful one or two.
Zhou Fuling walked over to Lu Ming's side. With her hands clasped behind her back, she circled him twice and asked curiously, “How did you do it, kid?”
Lu Ming said seriously, “I speak fish language. After communicating with them, they were willing to sacrifice their bodies for me.”
Zhou Fuling rolled her eyes, clenched her delicate fist, and gave his arm a light punch. “Full of lies, slick-tongued.”
Lu Ming said with a slight grievance, “Senior Sister, I didn't want to make such a big scene, but they just had to mess with me. I had no choice but to push back.”
“Vulgar,” Zhou Fuling muttered.
She gave him an annoyed look, then lowered her voice, letting out a crisp, soft chuckle. “But it was indeed very satisfying.
“And don't play the victim with me, brat. Don't worry, if they try to bully you using their influence or make excuses to withhold your spirit fish, I'll back you up.”
Lu Ming's eyes lit up, and he gave her a thumbs-up. “Senior Sister is so righteous!”
He had indeed been worried that these Divine Ability Clans might go back on their word.
As the two whispered, Yan Qing stood not far away, his face livid as he watched. He had never expected that despite gathering so many helpers, he would not only fail to stop Lu Ming but also allow him to reap an unprecedented harvest.
Thinking back on his previous harsh words now, he felt like a complete clown.
Li Yan stepped down from the high platform. Watching the intimate way Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling interacted, she couldn't help but knit her delicate brows. At the same time, she was deeply puzzled. Why was the Ward Master's niece so close to Lu Ming?
With these doubts in mind, she walked over and first scolded Lu Ming, “You brat, I brought you here to get some opportunities, but you almost smashed the whole pot.”
Lu Ming let out a sheepish laugh and proactively handed over the fish basket from his back. “Aunt Li, I'll leave these golden-eyed spirit fish to you to handle. Even if you pour them all back into the pool, I won't utter a single complaint!”
Li Yan reached out to take it, peered inside, and then smiled. “Slick kid, stop trying to corner me with those words. What kind of scene hasn't your Aunt Li witnessed?”
With a flick of her finger, she used her primordial energy to sweep up three of the golden-eyed spirit fish and tossed them into Li Shuang's basket nearby. “These are the terms we agreed upon. No objections, right?”
Lu Ming shook his head repeatedly.
Li Yan handed the basket, which still contained twelve golden-eyed spirit fish, back to Lu Ming. “Fortunately, you knew when to hold back and didn't catch any more. Otherwise, it would have been really hard to resolve this.”
Judging by Lu Ming's previous methods, he had clearly held back. Otherwise, he could have caught even more golden-eyed spirit fish. But if he had, the minds of the various clan heads would probably have broken, and they would have inevitably resorted to some unsightly methods, making the situation very awkward.
Hearing this, Lu Ming was delighted, knowing that Li Yan had already resolved these troubles for him.
“However, they probably won't allow you to participate in future Spiritual Fish Feasts,” Li Yan warned.
Lu Ming didn't really care. By the time the Spiritual Fish Feast was held again in a year, the golden-eyed spirit fish might not hold any attraction for him anymore.
“Follow me later. I'll send you back to Thunderfire Hall while I'm at it, so you don't arouse envy carrying these golden-eyed spirit fish on your back,” Li Yan said.
“Thank you, Aunt Li.” Lu Ming naturally would not refuse her kindness.
Li Yan waved her hand, then looked at Zhou Fuling, asking seemingly casually, “Are you and Fuling very close?”
Lu Ming did not hide it either. “I've been studying the Dao of Alchemy under Ward Master Zhou Xuan recently. A lot of the knowledge on alchemy is being taught to me by Senior Sister.”
Li Yan was instantly stunned, saying in astonishment, “You're studying the Dao of Alchemy under Ward Master Zhou Xuan?! You actually have talent for that?”
Just as Lu Ming was about to speak, Zhou Fuling smilingly chimed in, “He's just learning casually. He hasn't really accomplished anything yet.”
Li Yan didn't press further. After all, by any estimation, Lu Ming had probably only been exposed to alchemy for a few days, so he naturally couldn't have mastered anything. What puzzled her more was why Zhou Xuan had chosen Lu Ming.
With Thunderfire Hall's meager assets, they certainly couldn't afford Zhou Xuan's apprenticeship fee.
Could it be because of Zhou Fuling?
Li Yan's eyes suddenly flashed, and her heart skipped a beat.
Otherwise, there was really no explaining why Zhou Xuan would treat Lu Ming so well.
This speculation filled Li Yan's heart with a trace of worry, yet also a sense of relief. The complexity of her emotions felt like a lump of stuffy air stuck in her throat, hard to put into words.
Ultimately, she could only shake her head. “Let's go.”
With that, Li Yan turned and led the way, with Lu Ming, Zhou Fuling, and Li Shuang following behind.
The group left the mountains, and Zhou Fuling took her leave. Before departing, she instructed Lu Ming in front of Li Yan to remember to go to the Ward Office tomorrow to continue studying alchemy.
Afterward, Lu Ming rode in Li Yan's carriage, passing through the ward city to arrive at Thunderfire Hall.
Lu Ming, with his fish basket on his back, had just jumped off the carriage. Before he could even utter a word of thanks, Li Yan waved her hand, and the carriage quickly drove away.
Standing at the entrance of Thunderfire Hall, Lu Ming watched the departing carriage and scratched his head in confusion. Why does it feel like Aunt Li suddenly became a bit cold?
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