Chapter 44 – Divine Chi Gathering Fish
After bidding farewell to Wu Yun Liang, Meng Chao Ran remained silent on the way back to Purple Bamboo Garden.
Even though Chu Yang knew that Meng Chao Ran was worried about him, he did not know how to deal with it. He wanted to tell his teacher something, but he felt that no matter what he said, he would not be able to dispel Meng Chao Ran’s fears. Therefore, Chu Yang remained silent as well.
As teacher and student walked through the gate of Purple Bamboo Garden, they heard Tan Tan’s ear-piercing screams, “Don’t escape! If you keep trying to escape, I will make soup out of you.”
The two were stunned. They immediately ran in to see Tan Tan bending down by the pond with water splashing everywhere. Afterward, he suddenly cheered with satisfaction as he jumped up holding a fish over his head. He was overjoyed.
Meng Chao Ran was shocked, and suddenly ran forward.
Chu Yang was also amazed! He could not believe that Tan Tan was able to catch such a valuable thing!
This was a strange fish. Its whole body was black without any scales. Its head was completely round without any eyes. It was a kind of fish without sight! The fish was not all that big, no more than half a pound in weight.
“Tan Tan, drop it.” Meng Chao Ran screamed, “You absolutely cannot kill it!”
Tan Tan’s face was full of confusion as he turned around. When he saw the person screaming was Meng Chao Ran, he exclaimed excitedly, “Master, Chu Yang, look, look… I just caught a really strange fish.”
Tan Tan was still showing off when the fish sudden twisted violently and jumped from his hand. It drew a beautiful arch in the air as it was falling back into the pond.
Meng Chao Ran’s reaction was incredibly fast as he jumped and caught the fish in mid-air. After that, he immediately did a spin and landed back on the ground. Without a pause, there was a bucket in Meng Chao Ran’s hand. He filled the bucket with water from the pond and placed the fish in it.
When everything was done, he splashed water on his face and gave Tan Tan the bucket. He said with a smile, “Put this in your room and take care of it carefully. This fish is extremely precious. You must never let it die.”
Puzzled, Tan Tan said, “Master, what kind of fish is this? It’s so small… not even enough for soup.”
“Soup?! You only think about food!” Meng Chao Ran was annoyed and amused at the same time. He hit Tan Tan on the head and scolded, “This is a priceless treasure! Isn’t it wasteful to just eat it?”
“Priceless treasure?” Tan Tan started to understand somewhat and looked at the fish curiously. Looking left and right, it was still just a fish. Even though its appearance was a little weird, it was still just a fish…
“This is the Heavenly Chi Gathering Fish.” Chu Yang yelled out as he knelt down and looked at the looked at the fish carefully. “I really can’t believe… Tan Tan was able to find such a treasure! Such good luck.”
“Heavenly Chi Gathering Fish?”
Chu Yang gently replied, “Yes, Heavenly Chi Gathering Fish. According to ancient stories it was the Heavenly Three Star Clan’s treasure. Before the fish matures, eating it will have no special effect. However, if you take care of this fish in your room it could gather the energy of heaven and earth all around it! This will help you multiply the effectiveness of your cultivation! This fish is a treasure that martial artists can only dream of!”
“Exactly, moreover, the best thing about this fish is when it is near, the energy gathered around it is extremely pure. This is its most valuable characteristic. This fish is the stuff of legends. For many years, no one has seen it; its description can only be found in books. Tan Tan, how did you find it?” Meng Chao Ran asked in surprise.
“It was just now. I went out to get some water from the pond when the sky suddenly darkened. I could not see anything at all. I was too scared to move so I just stayed still next to the edge of the pond. After about an hour, it started brighten. That was when I notice at a muddy area on the water’s edge was moving as if something was trying to get out… I watched it carefully…” Tan Tan shrugged, “Afterward, I saw the fish came out from the mud… I was curious about its strange appearance, so I grabbed it.”
“The sky suddenly became dark?” Meng Chao Ran frowned… When the strange phenomenon happened, he and Wu Yun Liang was still underground so he did not know. Hearing this from Tan Tan, he found the whole thing really odd.
“The sky became dark for an hour? After that, the fish came out from the mud?” Meng Chao Ran looked up at the sky. There was a flash of worry, “All things relating to the Divine Clan have not appeared in this world for a very long time. Why did the Divine Chi Gathering Fish suddenly appeared? And why did the sky suddenly become dark when it was morning?”
“Perhaps, there is going a big change?” Meng Chao Ran thought for a while and finally gave up. But judging from his pinched brows, another worry had been added to his mind.
Chu Yang was also confused. He did not know that the moment he obtained the Nine Tribulations Sword Tip, this monumental phenomenon happened.
“Tan Tan, since you found the fish, you should keep it in your room.” Meng Chao Ran had recovered his usual unaffected attitude.
“Yes, master. Chu Yang and I share the same room so we can both benefit from this, ha ha.” Tan Tan was really excited.
“Starting from today, you and Chu Yang will stay in separate rooms!” Meng Chao Ran said with a somber face.
“Why?” Tan Tan asked disappointedly.
“There are no issues. Chu Yang just has something important to take care of.”
“Then… then we should put the fish in Chu Yang’s room.” Tan Tan pleaded with extreme sadness, “Even though I really need it, but Chu Yang is about to leave on a dangerous mission, he needs it more than me. Even if it will help him just a little, it would still be good. Even better, when Chu Yang leaves, he should take it with him so he can absorb energy from heaven and earth whenever he needs.”
Chu Yang was touched. He turned around and looked at Tan Tan. A warm emotion surged up inside him. But he did not say anything for a long time.
Meng Chao Ran already clearly explained what made the Heavenly Chi Gathering Fish so special. Even though Tan Tan can be simple at times, he was not dumb. He was not unclear on the matter. However, with a treasure like that and he adamantly wanted to give it away… he didn’t even blink!
This was something he wanted, but he still wanted to give it to me!
“Why?” Meng Chao Ran asked, his eyes full of admiration.
“I will be staying with you so there’s no danger at all.” Tan Tan said seriously, “Chu Yang needs it more than I do.”
“Silly boy.” Meng Chao Ran raised his hand and patted Tan Tan’s head as he spoke, “If you want to help Chu Yang, you must first increase your own strength. That way, when he does need you, you can give him your greatest efforts. Chu Yang will be out and about; bringing this fish will only lead to danger. Do you understand?”
Tan Tan’s mouth opened wide. He stuttered, “Then… then… then I will keep it here.” Looking somewhat embarrassed, he turned to Chu Yang to explain, “Chu Yang, I… I am not stingy with you but this… is…”
“I understand.” Chu Yang squeezed his shoulders and said sincerely, “You’re a good brother!”
“Tan Tan, how did you know that I was leaving?” Chu Yang asked.
“These past few days, you have been preparing. You didn’t say anything to me… I am not stupid… we grew up together… whenever you don’t tell me about something, it usually is dangerous.” Tan Tan huffed, “Plus, these days, master clearly tried to be as close as possible to you. If I still don’t know what’s going on, I would be an idiot.”
Chu Yang laughed.
With another huff, Tan Tan suddenly said sincerely, “Chu Yang, I don’t know where you are going. But I will definitely work hard to cultivate and help you in the future.”
“Good! I will wait for you. At that time, you and I will fight side by side to change this world!” Chu Yang was filled with pride and let out a loud shout… He felt a surge of triumph.
With such a good martial brother, how could I not work hard? This time, inverting fate will also change Tan Tan’s fate!
A martial brother like this, how could I let him die?!