Chapter 8: Evolution of Grass Carp

“How am I being shameless?”

Lin Fan argued with a thick face.

“This is clearly a white lie!”

[Marvelous~ Your lie is truly so… ‘well-intentioned.’]

The System said in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

[This System is very curious, how do you manage to spin tales without blushing?]

“Be serious, I have something to ask you.”

Knowing he was in the wrong, Lin Fan started to change the subject.

“Since Bai Ling and I were both reborn in the northern part of the Xianling Continent, does that mean… the other reincarnated fairies are also here?”

This question was very important.

If the other reincarnated fairies were also reborn in the northern part of the continent, then the difficulty of Lin Fan’s search would be greatly reduced.

[Not necessarily.]

The System poured a basin of cold water on Lin Fan’s hopes.

[Also, you’re wrong about something. Bai Ling wasn’t reborn in the northern part of the continent, but in the distant western part~]

“What?!”

Lin Fan glanced at Bai Ling’s room in shock.

“That little one can run that far?!”

[So, to complete the mission, Host, you’ll have to work much harder…]

“Right,”

A flash of inspiration struck Lin Fan.

“Besides Bai Ling, are there any other fairies from special races?”

After all, special races had more distinct features compared to ordinary humans and would be easier to find.

[Nope, dear.]

The System shook its head decisively.

[Apart from Fairy Bai Ling, the other fairies are all from the human race~]

‘Is that so…’

With his shortcut method denied, Lin Fan couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment.

“Forget it.”

Lin Fan stood up and stretched.

“I’ll sleep early. I still have to prepare breakfast for the little one tomorrow.”

[Wuwuwu~ What does a big demon lord’s breakfast taste like? I want to try a bite too~]

“Shut up!”

Lin Fan snapped in a low voice.

“You talk too much!”

However, what Lin Fan failed to notice was that the moment he stood up, a golden medicine pouch slipped out from his sleeve.

Without deviating, it fell right into the pond below the pavilion.

Gurgle gurgle~

A few fish swam by, and ripples spread across the water’s surface.

That night, Lin Fan suffered from insomnia.

To be precise, he had a nightmare.

In his dream, Lin Fan saw himself successfully completing the main quest assigned by the System.

However, just as Lin Fan was celebrating, a blade was pressed against his neck.

“My dear disciples, what are you…”

“Master, this is the last time I will call you Master…”

Bai Ling’s eyes were filled with sorrow.

“Finish this cup of wine, and you can go on your way in peace…”

“Dear disciple, calm down… don’t… Ah!”
Lin Fan suddenly woke with a start.

He had to admit, the soundproofing of these inner walls was truly excellent.

Even with the huge commotion Lin Fan made, Bai Ling’s sweet dreams remained undisturbed.

Lin Fan glanced at the sky outside the window; it was just before dawn.

“Whatever, I’ll go take a walk in the courtyard.”

However, just as Lin Fan was passing by the pond, a “splash splash” sound instantly caught his attention.

Following the sound, he saw several incredibly large grass carps vigorously slapping the water’s surface with their tails.

[TL Note: Grass carp – A type of freshwater fish. In xianxia/fantasy, even ordinary animals can become intelligent after consuming spiritual or immortal substances.]

“What the hell!”

Seeing this scene, Lin Fan was momentarily stunned.

‘This… this fish must be at least thirty jin, right?! What did it eat to grow so big overnight?!’

But what shocked Lin Fan even more was that in the next second, the grass carp actually began to speak human words.

“Brat, this fish is the reincarnation of a true dragon. If you know what’s good for you, hurry up and let your grandpa out, or else…”

Bang!

Before the grass carp could finish speaking, Lin Fan grabbed a stick and smashed it on its head.

Because he was so fast, the grass carp didn’t even have time to react before it flipped onto its back, belly up.

“Although I’m not sure what’s going on, for some reason, I feel a bit annoyed…”

After speaking, Lin Fan turned his gaze to the other grass carps.

“What, are you also reincarnations of true dragons?”

“No, no, no…”

Seeing Lin Fan’s cold gaze, the other grass carps turned pale with fright.

“Sir, it… it’s just a lunatic! We don’t know it, we don’t know it!”

“Oh?”

Lin Fan slowly retracted the stick in his hand.

“Then can you tell me what on earth is going on here?”

“Sir, we don’t know either. We just casually ate something, and then we… we became like this.”

Just then, Lin Fan caught sight of a golden cloth pouch floating on the pond’s surface out of the corner of his eye.

“Hm?”

Lin Fan subconsciously felt the pocket in his sleeve.

After fumbling around for a while, he finally understood the cause of the matter.

“So you ate the dregs of an immortal medicine…”

“Sir, since you already know what happened, could you… could you spare our lives?”

A grass carp begged.

“Alright~”

Lin Fan nodded in tacit approval.

“I’ve been a bit bored lately, so this can serve as some amusement.”

“Sir, your approval alone isn’t enough.”

A nearby grass carp quickly swam over.

“You also have to keep an eye on that big fat cat. Last time, this little one was almost swallowed alive by her.”

The big fat cat, of course, was referring to Bai Ling.

Lin Fan’s face was covered in black lines—a cat she was, but she could hardly be called fat, right?

But on second thought, it wasn’t wrong, since fish and cats were natural enemies.

“Alright, alright, I know.”

Lin Fan waved his hand impatiently, then fished the belly-up grass carp out of the water.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

“Master, what are you doing? It smells so good~”

Early in the morning, Bai Ling was awakened by the alluring aroma of grilled fish.

“Ling’er’s awake? Wait a moment, Master is grilling fish. It’ll be ready soon.”

Lin Fan said with a smile, looking at the sleepy-eyed Bai Ling.

“Yah! Such big fish!”

Bai Ling came to the edge of the pond as usual and immediately saw the several unusually large fish.

Similarly, the grass carps also noticed Bai Ling.

“Sir~ Great Sir~ Help!”

Lin Fan looked up and saw Bai Ling holding a grass carp in her hands, examining it with curious eyes.

“Screech—”

Just as Lin Fan was about to stop Bai Ling, a sharp eagle’s cry cut through the air above the small courtyard.

‘Hm?’

Lin Fan furrowed his brow.

‘There’s something wrong with this sound…’

A normal eagle’s cry was sharp and prolonged.

But this cry, in addition to those characteristics, seemed to be mixed with a low-pitched beastly roar.

‘This place… has demonic beasts?’

“Ling’er, go out and see if any demonic beasts are passing by. Right, don’t forget to bring the sword Master gave you.”

“As you command, Master.”

After receiving the order, Bai Ling casually tossed the fish in her hand back into the pond.

“My heavens!”

After Bai Ling left, the grass carp that had escaped death quickly dove into the depths of the pond.

“I’m not coming out… I’m never coming out again, even if you beat me to death!”

On an open space halfway up the mountain, Bai Ling observed her surroundings with a look of confusion.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s anything unusual,”

Bai Ling tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“The demonic beast Master mentioned… where is it?”

“Screech—”

Another eagle’s cry cut through the air.

Bai Ling looked up in the direction of the sound and saw an enormous eagle circling in the sky above the open space.

“Is that… a Two-Headed Eagle, comparable to a fourth-tier demonic beast?! Wait… what is it holding in its talons?!”

Bai Ling was shocked to discover that clutched in the Two-Headed Eagle’s talons was a person.

[TL Note: Talons – Sharp claws of birds of prey, used to catch and hold onto things (like prey or, in this case, a person).]

That person was covered in bloodstains and looked extremely weak.

After circling in the air for a while, the eagle saw that the ground was relatively open and simply released its talons.

In an instant, the person in its claws fell straight down like a crashing meteor.

“Not good!”

Bai Ling leaped into the air with a powerful jump and reached out to catch the person.

“Hiss… so heavy, so heavy, so heavy…”

Bai Ling used almost all her strength to barely get the injured person to the ground.

“Screech—”

Seeing its meal being intercepted, the Two-Headed Eagle let out an angry cry and then dove straight toward Bai Ling’s position.

“You’re courting death!”

Bai Ling shouted fiercely and swung a powerful slash of sword energy into the air.

Originally, Bai Ling had only intended to knock the Two-Headed Eagle down, but…

Perhaps because she didn’t control her strength well, the moment the sword energy made contact, the Two-Headed Eagle’s body was torn to shreds.

“What a pity…”

Bai Ling sighed.

“I’ve never eaten roasted eagle meat before…”

After a moment of regret, Bai Ling lowered her head and carefully examined the injured person’s face.

It was a middle-aged uncle with a weathered face.

“Th… thank you, young lady…”

The middle-aged uncle looked at Bai Ling before him and spoke weakly.

“Hey~ Hang in there, I’ll take you for treatment right away.”

With that, Bai Ling prepared to carry the middle-aged uncle on her back and walk towards the courtyard.

“Heave-ho—heave-ho—heave-ho—”

Perhaps due to her limited strength, Bai Ling had not taken more than a few steps before she was nearly exhausted to the point of collapse.

“No, this won’t work, I need to find another way… Huh? I’ve got it!”

Bai Ling put the middle-aged uncle down from her back, then ran to a large tree and pulled off a few vines that looked reasonably sturdy.

“Young lady… what are you…”

The middle-aged uncle opened his eyes, looking at the vines in Bai Ling’s hand with some confusion.

Before the middle-aged uncle could ask, Bai Ling tied him up tightly, just like bundling a zongzi.

[ TL Note: Zongzi- A traditional Chinese food made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. They are often triangular or pyramidal in shape.]

“Mmm~ This should be fine now.”

After patting the dust off her hands, Bai Ling happily pulled on the vine.

“Ah… Ah…”

Although his body was secured, the rugged mountain path made the middle-aged uncle dizzy from being jostled around.

“Um… young lady…”

The middle-aged uncle struggled to speak.

“I think… I can walk on my own…”

Under the pavilion, Lin Fan looked at the fragrant grilled fish on his plate and let out a long yawn.

“This fish is almost cold, why isn’t Ling’er back yet?”

Lin Fan’s expression was a little worried.

‘Nothing happened, right?’

Knock knock knock!

Just as Lin Fan’s thoughts were running wild, a rapid knocking came from the door.

“Master, open the door~ I’m back!”

“Finally back!”

Hearing Bai Ling’s voice, Lin Fan hurried over to open the door.

However, in the next second, Lin Fan was startled by the scene before him.

Bai Ling’s face was stained with blood, and she was dragging a strange, triangular object behind her.

“Ling’er,”

Lin Fan was a little confused.

“Are you… dragging a zongzi?”