Qi He looked at the wriggling fish in the stream, about two or three inches long, and his interest grew immensely.
"Sister Fu, there are so many small fish here. Shall we catch some to take back? These small fish taste delicious, and they are best for making dipping sauce."
Fu Xin Ci glanced at the naturally advantageous geographical environment, with its clear mountains and beautiful water, as picturesque as a painting.
Then she thought of delicious dried small fish, seasoned with cumin, five-spice, or spicy barbecue. Every flavor made her mouth water.
She immediately replied, "Yes. Brother Qi, let's catch some together."
Seeing Sister Fu's eagerness, Qi He nimbly took off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and walked into the stream.
"Brother Qi, wait a moment." Fu Xin Ci said, then found a fishing net from her space and handed it over.
It was Qi He's first time seeing such a fishing implement. He was intelligent and, upon taking it, understood how to use it. He swung it towards the school of fish.
"Wow." He easily scooped up half a net full of fish, his excitement growing, his eyes alight with enthusiasm.
"Sister Fu, Sister Fu." Qi He held the fishing net, wanting to ask where to put these small fish.
"Here." His Sister Fu was holding a wooden bucket, placed on a flat spot by the stream.
"Sister Fu is indeed thoughtful."
With the wooden bucket to hold the small fish, Qi He had no further worries and scooped even more diligently.
Before long, relying on his height and long legs and swift movements, he filled the wooden bucket.
Without him needing to worry, his Sister Fu put away the filled bucket and placed an empty one by the stream.
They exchanged smiles, a world of affection unspoken between them.
Thus, back and forth, in just half an hour, the four wooden buckets Fu Xin Ci had prepared in her space were all filled.
Not far away, Qi He, carrying the fishing net, called out to her, "Sister Fu, bring the water bucket quickly."
"Coming!" Fu Xin Ci cheerfully responded, reaching into her space and pulling out a red plastic bucket. She mischievously thought, This is the water bucket you asked for, don't blame me if you're shocked.
She had forgotten that over the years, Qi He had been trained by her to be unfazed by anything.
A mere plastic bucket was something Qi He had grown accustomed to.
Looking at the stoic Qi He, Fu Xin Ci herself began to doubt.
Why was it that every time she brought out something novel, this guy always had that look of "I knew it"?
If she didn't know Qi He so well, she would have suspected he had transmigrated with her.
Ahead lay a patch of water weeds, and Qi He had a premonition that there must be a big catch here.
As expected, when his fishing net probed the area, it stirred up a flurry of water.
"Haha, Sister Fu, look here, there's a big one!" Qi He said, then put down the fishing net, afraid the fish might be too large and break it.
Fu Xin Ci also saw the white belly of a fish turning in the weeds, estimating it to be at least two to three pounds.
"..." She really wanted to use her wood element ability to scoop out all the big fish hidden in the weeds.
Alas, she could only think about it.
She couldn't be too greedy and didn't want to spoil Qi He's fun. She loved his sunny, handsome smile.
As the number of large fish in the plastic bucket increased, Qi He's laughter grew even more cheerful.
Fu Xin Ci did nothing else but squat by the bank and watch him fish.
Qi He didn't notice at first. By the time he did, his Sister Fu had been watching him for quite some time.
Hmm, he liked the way Sister Fu looked at him, just as he looked at her, with love, with lingering affection, with...
He once again lamented his limited vocabulary, only able to recall these two words. He couldn't, like scholars, eloquently express the beauty in his heart and let his beloved know.
He was fortunate he didn't try, as Fu Xin Ci truly didn't like that kind of thing.
In Fu Da Niu's heart, living together meant being practical.
You only needed to know your good life yourself; there was no need to show it off to others.
As for romantic notions and such, a few glances exchanged and mutual understanding were enough. More was truly unnecessary; it didn't fill the stomach.
With hands on her hips, Fu Da Niu always considered herself a practical person.
"...?" An unusual aura was transmitted.
Fu Xin Ci lowered her voice, reminding Qi He, "Brother Qi, someone is coming."
"...?"
Qi He: How come he didn't sense it?
"There are two of them, and they are approaching slowly. They should have been attracted by our voices." To be precise, it should be Qi He's laughter.
Qi He: He only heard the sound of someone stepping on dry twigs.
"Brother Qi, don't mind them. Let's continue fishing."
They hadn't eaten such plump wild freshwater fish in a long time. When they returned, she would ask her beautiful mother to cook them into delicacies.
One steamed, one stewed in sauce, and then one braised.
Oh my, just thinking about it made her mouth water uncontrollably.
While her mind was occupied with delicious food, her senses accurately captured the exact positions of the two approaching individuals.
"Oh my, I didn't expect there to be a beautiful little lady in such a desolate place."
With a hoarse, husky voice akin to an old smoker, speaking broken Liaodong dialect, his first words were enough to disgust anyone.
Fu Xin Ci didn't turn around. Qi He straightened up, glaring furiously at the two individuals opposite them.
"Oh dear, little brother, why so angry about one sentence? Is this little beauty your wife?"
As he continued with his lewd and teasing tone, he felt something violently trip his foot. Before he could cry out, he fell headfirst in a perfect somersault.
"Heh heh." Fu Da Niu turned around, calmly observing the two figures, one human and one "shallot," not far away.
Both were tall and burly. Although they wore the attire of people from the Ming Dynasty, their slightly exotic faces immediately gave them away.
With high noses and deep-set eyes, if their hats were removed, their hair would surely be yellow.
Heh heh, their identities were already revealed.
An unintentional silent confrontation ensued. The "shallot" on the ground finally managed to get up.
When he clearly saw the face of the little beauty opposite him, the wickedness in his eyes intensified.
The two large faces leaned together, and a torrent of unintelligible gibberish followed. Fu Xin Ci, however, could guess the general meaning of what the "shallot" was saying.
Fu Xin Ci didn't want to be disgusted any longer. She handed Qi He a Tang saber and activated her wood element ability, tripping both Tatar men to the ground.
Before they could even react to how they fell, Qi He finished them off with one saber thrust each.
Under the blazing sun, Qi He gazed at the gleaming saber blade for a long while before coming to his senses.
"Sister Fu, can you give me this saber?"
"It's for you to use."
Upon hearing Sister Fu say it was for him to use, Qi He chuckled, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.