The strange feeling of suffocation woke Jing Li from his sleep.
He opened his eyes and saw a shining machete.
The blade reflected a cold light, reflecting Jing Li's current appearance.
—The body was covered with bright red scales, and there was a look of confusion in its clear red eyes. The thin, almost transparent fins flapped gently beside the belly of the fish.
A koi carp as big as a palm.
Jing Li quickly realized his situation; he was lying on a chopping board.
The chopping board had been used for who knows how many years, and the lingering fishy smell made him feel sick. Not far in front of him, there was a bloody fish head lying.
Ahhhh!
Jing Li screamed in shock, but no sound came out. The next moment, the machete was pulled out forcefully, and the knife fell down -
Jing Li slapped the chopping board with his tail, and his body rose up, narrowly avoiding the knife that was coming from the air. The machete was deeply embedded in the chopping board, only a few inches away from Jing Li's head.
He fell back onto the chopping board, the fish's body heaving wildly, and he was still frightened.
That was a close call.
"Hey, this fish is still alive?" The fishmonger pulled out his machete and muttered.
When the fish was brought to him, it was motionless and he thought it was a dead fish.
The price of live fish is high, but the economy has been bad in recent years, and the nearby villages are getting poorer and poorer, so dead fish are easier to sell than live fish.
The fishmonger didn't think twice, held the fish body with one hand and raised the machete again.
The fish shop was set up at the entrance of the market, with a stall outside. The inner room, separated by a piece of coarse cloth, was where the fish were killed and marinated.
It was still early, the villagers who were going to the market had not arrived yet, and the market was quiet.
Only in the back of the fish shop, someone was making a crackling sound. The lady boss who was watching over the stall was annoyed: "Yu Laoer, are you killing pigs?"
She opened the coarse cloth curtain and saw something flying towards her.
"Ouch!"
The proprietress dodged to the side and the thing hit the fish stall directly.
Jing Li was dizzy from the fall, and before he could catch his breath, he saw the fishmonger chasing him with a machete in his hand: "Don't run!"
Only a fool wouldn't run!
Jing Li first jumped into the basin next to the fish stall with a splash, took a deep breath in the water, and then jumped up again. Water splashed everywhere, and Jing Li dodged left and right, narrowly avoiding the opponent's blade every time.
There was chaos at the fish stall, with pots and pans scattered all over the floor.
The fishmonger chased after the fish breathlessly, but he didn't even touch a fish scale.
"This fish... Is this fish a spirit?" The proprietress murmured in amazement.
He is not a spirit, he is a human being!
Jing Li tried his best to hide himself beside the wooden rack supporting the fish stall, and his tail slapped the edge of the table in annoyance.
He has been looking like this since he woke up three days ago.
Jing Li has been unlucky ever since he can remember.
Taxis break down, subways get into accidents, and even airplanes can make emergency landings. Not to mention falling on flat ground, losing money when going out, and choking on water.
But he still didn't expect that just taking a nap at home would lead him to travel to this shabby place and turn into a fish.
And it wasn't just an ordinary fish, he was transformed into a koi.
These were said by the two people he met when he first arrived.
At that time, he was put in a clay pot filled with water and was being carried on a ox cart.
Jing Li heard from their conversation that he was a koi that could bring good luck to people. A big shot in the city took a fancy to him and wanted to buy him for one thousand taels.
This kind of trick can only deceive those who have too much money and don't know where to spend it.
This has been the case throughout the ages.
If he really was a lucky fish, how could he have fallen to the point of being resold
Taking him with me would be bad luck.
As expected, the ox cart overturned halfway, and Jing Li fell into a small ditch nearby and regained his freedom.
However, this freedom did not last long. He just had another ordinary sleep and when he woke up, he found himself captured and brought here.
He must have owed God a lot of money in his previous life.
Jing Li was distracted for a moment and didn't notice the machete coming towards him again.
He was unable to dodge and several scales on his flank were cut off by the sharp machete!
pain!
Jing Li was so scared of the pain that he almost cried on the spot. But the fish couldn't shed tears, so he just reflexively jumped up from the fish stall, flew out of the stall, and hit someone in the chest with a thud.
The place where the scales were scraped off felt like a layer of skin was peeled off, and it was burning with pain.
Jing Li had no strength left. His soft fish tail trembled weakly and his body slid down.
But it was caught by a hand.
Then he smelled a pleasant medicinal aroma.
That hand didn't look like a farmer's hand at all. The texture of the palm was very delicate. He closed his fingertips, supported Jing Li's body, and let out a soft "eh".
Jing Li raised his eyes and met a pair of calm and deep eyes.
His mind went blank for a moment, and even the pain in his body was not so obvious.
He had never seen anyone so good-looking.
The man was wearing a light blue gown, and his figure was thin and frail, revealing a clean and elegant scholarly air. The cuffs of the gown had rough stitching, and the fabric was not good, but even with such a piece of clothing, it could not conceal the man's innate noble temperament.
His eyes were lowered, and the sunlight shone on his somewhat pale face, revealing deep and delicate features.
"Thank you, thank you, this fish is so hard to clean..." The fishmonger didn't even bother to put down his knife, and hurried out. He saw the person in front of him clearly, but the smile on his face fell, "So it's Qin Zhao, coming to the town to get medicine again?"
The tone suddenly turned cold, even with a hint of sarcasm and disgust.
Jing Li was stunned.
The man has a gentle temperament and is definitely not the type that would be disliked.
On the contrary, his facial features were very good. The line from his brow bone to his jaw was so delicate that there was nothing wrong with it. His nose was high and straight, and even the curvature of his thin lips was just right. If there was one flaw, it might be that his eyes were too sharp, adding a sense of distance.
But even this shortcoming was completely concealed by his gentle and peaceful temperament.
It shouldn't be the reason why he is hated.
Jing Li looked him up and down and saw the problem.
The man's complexion was bad, it could be said that it was extremely bad. There was a faint dark blue under his eyes, and his lips were pale, which was particularly obvious on his fair face.
It was as if all the energy and spirit had been drained out of her, leaving only a beautiful and gentle appearance.
It turns out he is a sickly person.
I still don't know how many days I can live.
The man didn't seem to mind the fishmonger's attitude, or perhaps he was used to it, and nodded slightly.
The fishmonger was too lazy to say anything more to him: "Give me back my fish."
Jing Li shrank back in the man's palm.
He hid his wet head between the other's fingers, and his still trembling tail gently climbed around the man's wrist, as if to please or beg.
Don't hand him over.
Qin Zhao looked down at the little fish in his palm.
This fish is only the size of a palm, with red scales all over its body, and the edges of the scales faintly glowing with a light golden luster. The fins are so thin that they are almost transparent, and you can even see the smooth and delicate texture in the sun.
The soft fish tail gently slapped his wrist, which was a bit itchy.
Seeing that he didn't move, the fishmonger sneered, "Why, you don't want to buy this fish, do you? You don't have enough money to buy medicine, how can you buy fish?"
Qin Zhao didn't answer.
Jing Li felt the fingers holding his body loosen, and his heart sank.
There is no way a man could buy his.
From his clothes, it can be seen that the man's family is not well off, and can even be said to be very tight on money. He held Jing Li with one hand and carried a few medicine bags in his right hand.
In ancient times, it cost a lot of money to buy medicine...
Sure enough, the man stepped forward and put Jing Li back into the basin next to the fish stall.
Jing Li curled himself up dejectedly.
He was injured and had no strength to escape. And even if he escaped, what would it matter? He was a fish and could not move without water, let alone survive for long.
He is indeed not a lucky fish, he is just an unlucky guy.
Suddenly, a clear and pleasant voice came from above my head: "Is this money enough? I'll buy it."
Jing Li looked up and saw the man putting a few copper coins on the fish stall.
A man in a blue shirt was walking along a mountain path.
It was early spring and the weather in the mountains was cold in the morning, but Qin Zhao had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
In his left hand he held a few bags of herbs and in his right hand he held a small wooden barrel filled with water. In the barrel, a bright red fish tail flashed across the water, revealing a tiny head.
Jing Li looked at him quietly through the water.
Jing Li didn't know how long they had walked since leaving the market, but it was at least two hours. Even for him, walking on the mountain road for two hours was a bit unbearable.
What's more, Qin Zhao is a sickly guy.
Jing Li shook his tail under the water.
but…
Finally I was saved.
It seems that what those people said before was not a lie. Even after being caught and taken to the fish shop, he still met a noble person who was willing to save his life. He might really be a lucky fish.
There was a cracking sound from somewhere, and Jing Li instinctively felt that something was wrong, and then he saw the handle of the wooden barrel break.
The small wooden barrel fell to the ground, and most of the water splashed out instantly.
Jing Li: “…”
He took back what he had just said. He was indeed just an unlucky guy.
The splashing water wet Qin Zhao's clothes. He paused and lowered his head.
After Qin Zhao bought the medicine today, he only had money left for the trip back to the village. As a result, in order to buy this fish, he had to walk back to the village.
It was already very difficult to walk, and now the handle of the barrel is broken...
Now I don’t know when I can get back to the village.
But Qin Zhao's eyes just moved slightly, then he bent down as if nothing had happened and picked up the wooden barrel.
He was still walking steadily. Jing Li looked at him from the bottom of the water and couldn't even see any change in Qin Zhao's expression.
But he clearly felt that the hands holding the wooden barrel were trembling slightly, and the other party's steps were also much slower.
A gust of mountain wind blew by, Qin Zhao suddenly stopped, and the wooden barrel fell heavily to the ground.
He tilted his head and coughed violently.
He coughed so violently that his thin back bent deeply, as if he was going to cough out all his internal organs.
Jing Li was startled by his appearance and looked up anxiously.
He couldn't see Qin Zhao's appearance, he could only see the other party's fingers resting on the edge of the wooden barrel, his knuckles were tense and white, and trembling with the sound of coughing.
How could this person be so sick
It's all his fault. If he weren't the burden, this person wouldn't have to work so hard.
Jing Li felt a little guilty.
From childhood to adulthood, anyone who has anything to do with him will always encounter all kinds of bad luck.
It seems that this man will also be influenced by him.
Isn't he a koi? Why hasn't he brought good luck to men
Even if it's just to save him from having to work so hard...
Jing Li thought dejectedly in his heart.
Qin Zhao took a breath and rested for a while before picking up Jing Li and walking forward. Before they had gone far, they heard the sound of wheels rutting behind them.
"Hey, isn't this Qin Zhao?" A farmer driving a bullock cart saw Qin Zhao from a distance and called out, "Qin Zhao, why are you here?"
Qin Zhao stood up and turned around: "It turned out to be Second Uncle Lin."
The farmer stopped the cart in front of him and looked him up and down. "Going to town to get medicine? What a coincidence! I just met a wealthy man on the road and he bought all the firewood from me."
"Get in the car, get in the car. I'll take you back. How long will it take you to walk with your broken body?"