Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ying Yuanxing watched the bus’s sluggish pace, assuming it was broken. "Good thing it didn’t break down while we were on it," he sighed in relief, "or who knows how long we’d have been delayed."

The village chief, scanning the area for Elder Brother Yu, heard Ying Yuanxing’s remark. He glanced at the bag in Ying Yuanxing’s hand, then paused. "Little Ying," he said, "I have some business to attend to, so you…"

"Chief, go ahead. I’ll just find a spot to set up shop and sell the fish," Ying Yuanxing replied, waving dismissively. He was no longer a child; he didn’t need the village chief to chaperone him while selling fish.

The village chief nodded and left.

Ying Yuanxing surveyed his surroundings. They had arrived early, and the market still looked somewhat empty. He quickly found a spot, laid out the five tyrant fish, and added a portion of the other fish. He didn’t bring too many of the latter, as they lacked the vitality of the tyrant fish and wouldn’t survive long outside the backpack.

Once everything was arranged, Ying Yuanxing turned on his phone, cranked the volume to maximum, and started a pre-recorded sales pitch.

The phone’s loudspeaker quickly drew attention, but to Ying Yuanxing’s surprise, most people just glanced at his stall before moving on.

Were his fish really that unappealing?

Ying Yuanxing looked down at the fish on display. The tyrant fish were still lively, their scales gleaming, while the other fish were fresh, occasionally twitching on the ground.

What’s more, he hadn’t seen any other stalls selling fish along the way. With no competition, why was business still so slow?

Ying Yuanxing couldn’t help but wince. If the fish didn’t sell, he’d lose a potential income stream. And if even the fish couldn’t sell, what about the vegetables he planned to grow later? After setting aside what he needed for himself, he’d have to sell the rest—what if those didn’t sell either?

A pang of financial dread shot through him.

Ying Yuanxing’s predicament didn’t escape the notice of his livestream audience.

【Is selling fish in the Weird game really this hard? The passing Weird creatures don’t seem interested at all. If the streamer can’t make money, what’s he gonna do?】

【Don’t panic, it’s not that bad. The streamer can always dumpster dive. At least in the village, he’s got farmland—food and shelter are covered. He just can’t buy anything.】

【LOL, thought inheriting the farm was some kind of jackpot? Now he’s stuck with no income. That’s what he gets.】

【Quitting his job was way too impulsive.】

【Hold on, though. Don’t forget those two meals of Weird Food the streamer ate at the village chief’s place. Just those alone are worth years of wages.】

【Exactly. Even ignoring the Weird Food, if he were still at Hongxing Company, he’d be shelling out for food, rent, and other expenses. Since returning to the village, he’s only spent six bucks for the bus ride.】

The chat soon veered into discussing Ying Yuanxing’s frugal life after returning to the village.

Ying Yuanxing hesitated, wondering whether to lower the prices or wait a bit longer, when a tall young man approached his stall, his gaze fixed on the tyrant fish.

A customer!

Overjoyed, Ying Yuanxing immediately launched into his sales pitch. Though he hadn’t tasted tyrant fish himself, he had done his research beforehand, memorizing descriptions like "few bones," "delicious flavor," "firm yet tender texture," and "chewy."

He rattled off the pitch with practiced ease, with such confidence that it seemed like he’d been eating tyrant fish for years.

Elder Brother Yu listened to Ying Yuanxing’s words, then glanced at the lethargic Yu Fei and Yu Ye. Unaware that the two little Weirds were just hungry and craving food, he took it to mean Ying Yuanxing had actually eaten their kin. If not for the rational reminder that the guy in front of him was a Weird with power beyond comprehension, he would’ve lunged at Ying Yuanxing on the spot.

Even so, Elder Brother Yu’s restraint faltered for a moment, causing a surge of Weird Qi to erupt around him. The entire market went dead silent in a heartbeat.

Countless eyes turned toward them, hovering on Ying Yuanxing for a split second before locking onto Elder Brother Yu—then snapping away instantly.

Elder Brother Yu noticed that Ying Yuanxing didn't seem to mind the small Weirds' taunting at all. Remembering the village chief's warning, he suppressed his anger and pointed at his younger brother and son laid out on the ground, asking, "Boss, I want these five fish. How much?"

"These ones are a little pricier—they’re rare," Ying Yuanxing replied.

Elder Brother Yu was ready to be overcharged. After all, getting his brother and son back was the best outcome. Even if it was pricey, he could accept it—worst case, he could sell some more things.

Clenching his fists, Elder Brother Yu heard Ying Yuanxing say, "This type of fish costs... um, fifty a pound."

Ying Yuanxing had searched online but found no information about the tyrant fish. Maybe he hadn’t looked in the right places, but clearly, this fish was quite rare. Fifty a pound wasn’t exactly cheap anyway.

With only five fish available, if the price turned out to be too low, he could always raise it later.

"Fifty thousand?"

Even though he knew this would cost him dearly, Elder Brother Yu’s face fell at Ying Yuanxing’s price. He didn’t have that much money on him at the moment.

Noticing Elder Brother Yu’s troubled expression, Ying Yuanxing’s stomach dropped. Maybe his pricing was too high?

"Boss, I don’t have that kind of money. Can I trade blood for it instead?" Elder Brother Yu asked. He didn’t dare leave, afraid that if he walked away now, he might never get another chance to redeem his brother and son. Thinking hard about what else he could offer, the only thing of value was his own blood.

As an aquatic Weird, his blood contained the concentrated essence of Weird Qi. If refined by himself, the Weird Qi in his blood would be even purer, making it more valuable.

Ying Yuanxing blinked. He looked at Elder Brother Yu—he looked well-dressed. How could he be so poor that he couldn’t even afford fish at fifty a pound, resorting to selling blood to buy them?

Seriously, if things were this bad, maybe he shouldn’t be eating fish at all.

Seeing Ying Yuanxing stay silent, Elder Brother Yu scrambled to think for anything else he could sell. Besides blood, there were his scales, which could be made into armor or some kind of food.

But scales wouldn’t fetch as high a price as blood. He’d probably have to peel off a third of his scales.

"Do you really have to eat fish? Why not get these cheaper fish instead? This one..." Ying Yuanxing thought for a moment. If fifty a pound was too much, then ten a pound for ordinary fish was probably still out of reach. He picked up a small fish and said, "This one’s cheaper. You can have it for five. If you really want fish, take this one."

Ying Yuanxing’s tone was sincere, but Elder Brother Yu’s jaw dropped.

Cheaper? Five? Had he misunderstood something?

"Is this fish fifty..."

"Yes, fifty a pound," Ying Yuanxing nodded, then tried to persuade him. "When you’re strapped for cash, it’s best to save. Selling blood for fish... I don’t know who in your family wants to eat it, but if they knew you had to sell blood just to buy fish, they’d lose their appetite."

"Wait, this fish isn’t fifty thousand?" Elder Brother Yu finally realized his mistake.

Ying Yuanxing almost thought he’d misheard. After confirming, he stifled a laugh. "If this fish sold for fifty thousand, I wouldn’t dare put it out here."

At that price, it’d have to be an endangered species—no, something even rarer. Otherwise, how could it be worth that much? Maybe a critically endangered kind.

Wait a minute... Had he actually caught a protected species?

The thought made Ying Yuanxing panic. He quickly searched his memories, but his past self had never paid attention to protected species lists, let alone fish.

Better not risk it. Even if the authorities here seemed lax, you never knew. Ying Yuanxing just wanted to sell some fish for money, not land in jail.

Seeing Elder Brother Yu take out money, Ying Yuanxing stopped him. "I’m not selling these fish for now."

Elder Brother Yu froze. His hope evaporated. Even if he didn’t understand why Ying Yuanxing had changed his mind, he knew he’d just missed his chance.

"You..." This was the last straw.

Unable to hold back any longer, Elder Brother Yu was about to grab the fish from Ying Yuanxing when he saw him grab the five tyrant fish, dash to the river by the market, and chucked them in. They vanished under the water in a flash.

Ying Yuanxing breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the fish swim away. He carefully recalled the events—from catching the fish to the village, where even the village chief had only seen them through the bag. As for the market, though he had taken the fish out, he doubted anyone noticed.

As for Elder Brother Yu, he had indeed seen the fish, but since Ying Yuanxing had already released them, there was no way he could buy them now.

Ying Yuanxing sighed. Among the five fish, two had been particularly hard to catch, and he had hoped to earn a bit more from them. But now, he had no choice but to set them free.

Turning back, he worried that Elder Brother Yu might still think he had the aggressive fish species and keep bothering him, but to his surprise, the man had already vanished.

Had he gone after the fish?

The idea flashed through his mind, but he shrugged it off. Though the river by the market wasn’t particularly wide, catching five specific fish would be no easy task for a person. He just hoped the fish would ride the current back to where they belonged.

Checking the map, he saw that the river connected to the spot where he had caught four of the fish. If they were indeed protected species, he could at least take comfort in having contributed to nature.

Just as he finished this reflection, he turned around and noticed something amiss at his stall—a thin young man lay on the ground, wailing, with several fish scattered around him. A black cat had just leaped off the man and was now picking up the fish one by one in its mouth, placing them back on the stall.

Damn it, someone was stealing his fish.

Ying Yuanxing’s musings vanished in an instant as he sprinted toward his stall. He had truly underestimated how cutthroat the world was.