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As he lazily cleaned his teeth with a willow twig brush, his eyes unfocused, drifting around the room. Suddenly, something felt off, and his gaze sharpened. Walking over to the bamboo poles, he saw that the two bamboo hoops were empty. His eyes widened in surprise.

Who on earth had stolen his two large pieces of fish?

Could it be someone from the village?

Lu Qing quickly dismissed the thought. Although the villagers were not wealthy, no one was so poor as to steal two pieces of fish. Yesterday, when he offered fish to everyone, they all declined. Besides, if someone really wanted to steal, they would have taken the whole lot, not just two pieces. More importantly, there were still bits of fish left on the bamboo hoops, indicating that the fish had been forcibly pulled off.

What kind of thief would make such a noise, risking waking everyone?

Unfortunately, he had slept too soundly last night to notice any disturbance outside.

Carefully, Lu Qing searched around and found some plum blossom-shaped mud prints on the wall, with small holes in them. Similar prints were also on the ground. He quietly observed the prints, soon noticing a faint white glow emanating from them.

White glow?

Lu Qing was slightly startled and quickly looked at the emerging text.

[Mud footprints: Judging by their shape, they seem to belong to a mysterious small beast.]

[The small holes in the footprints indicate this creature has sharp claws.]

As he read the descriptions, a scene formed in Lu Qing\'s mind. A mysterious and nimble little beast leaped, using the wall for support, and pounced on the fish hanging on the bamboo pole, forcibly tearing it down.

What kind of creature could it be? A cat? But were there even cats in this world?

He hadn’t seen anyone in the village keeping cats. Anyway, it was enough to know it wasn\'t a person who stole the fish.

Lu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. If a villager had stolen the fish, it would not have been good news for him. Fortunately, it was just a wild beast, and judging by its footprints, it wasn\'t very large. The village was near the mountains, and wild beasts occasionally came down, which was quite normal. However, from now on, he would need to be more careful about closing doors and windows at night to prevent any beasts from sneaking in and harming Xiao Yan.

After figuring out what had happened, Lu Qing was no longer concerned. He couldn\'t fight a wild beast anyway; he could only make sure to store things properly at night.

Suddenly, Lu Qing remembered something and hurried to the kitchen. He came out a while later, looking relieved. Fortunately, he had kept the Red Moon Carp in a wooden basin in the kitchen, covering it tightly with a wooden board and stones to prevent the fish from jumping out. Otherwise, it might have been taken by the beast as well.

After this little incident, Lu Qing was fully awake. He didn\'t tell Xiao Yan about it. Instead, he made breakfast, and after eating, the siblings carried the bucket with the Red Moon Carp and headed to the small hillside where Doctor Chen lived.

This time, Lu Qing deliberately delayed a bit before going. He was afraid of arriving too early and catching the doctor practicing Tai Chi again, which would tempt him to use his abilities to mimic the doctor\'s techniques. The doctor had been so kind to them, and he couldn\'t do anything so ungrateful. So, he avoided testing his moral limits by arriving a bit later.

His strategy worked. When he and Xiao Yan arrived at the small courtyard halfway up the hill, they saw Doctor Chen finishing his practice. Clearly, he had just completed his Tai Chi routine.

"Grandpa Chen, we\'re here to see you!" Xiao Yan ran up happily when she saw the doctor.

"Oh, Xiao Yan is here!" Doctor Chen picked her up, his old face beaming with a smile like a chrysanthemum.

"Good morning, Grandpa Chen," Lu Qing also greeted politely.

"You’re here, why are you later than last time?" Doctor Chen asked.

"Because my brother was lazing in bed!" Xiao Yan laughed. "I had to wake him up this morning!"

Lu Qing blushed slightly. "I spent the whole morning fishing by the river yesterday. I was a bit tired, so I slept more deeply."

"Sleeping more is good," Doctor Chen nodded. "At your age, getting enough rest is important for growing up."

He looked at Lu Qing and Xiao Yan’s complexion. They seemed much better than a few days ago, indicating they had been doing well lately, which pleased him.

"Grandpa Chen, my brother caught a huge fish yesterday!" Xiao Yan started to boast.

"Oh? How big?" Doctor Chen smiled.

"Really big, as big as me!" Xiao Yan gestured with her hands.

"That big?" Doctor Chen was surprised. He had thought Xiao Yan meant a fish of two or three pounds at most, but if it was as she described, it would be much more.

"Yes, yes! The fish is not only delicious but also has beautiful stones on it. My brother made it into a pendant and gave it to me. Look, Grandpa Chen, isn\'t it pretty?" Xiao Yan pulled out the fish stone pendant from around her neck to show the doctor.

"This is... a Blue-armored Fish Stone?" Doctor Chen was even more surprised.

Hearing this, Lu Qing\'s heart skipped a beat. He feigned surprise. "Grandpa Chen, do you know what this stone is?"

"You didn\'t know?" Doctor Chen asked.

"No, I found it in the fish\'s throat when I was cleaning it. I thought it looked nice, so I made it into a pendant for Xiao Yan," Lu Qing explained.

"Well, you\'re quite lucky. This fish stone is quite a rarity," Doctor Chen examined the pendant. "The fish you caught must be an old Blue-armored Fish. Otherwise, it wouldn\'t have such a well-formed fish stone."

"This Blue-armored Fish Stone, once crystallized, has a magical calming effect. It\'s also a rare medicinal material. Its powder, when mixed with water, can calm a child\'s nerves."

"By the way, where did you catch this Blue-armored Fish?"