"CLEAR, BRIGHT PEARL"—success!
The long-awaited sound of the system's chime was like the heavens
singing down to him. Li Yu was so happy he could float, but since he was
right in front of Prince Jing, he had to restrain himself. He couldn't just
enter the system and abandon Prince Jing.
As soon as the quest was complete, Li Yu had no further use for the
luminous pearl. He was struggling to hold on to it and wanted to put it
down, but Prince Jing and Wang Xi were both gathered at the porcelain
tank, gazes burning as they stared down at him…
He felt like if he dared to abandon the pearl now, the tyrant might
stab him to death with his eyeballs.
Prince Jing must've given Li Yu the pearl because he thought he
really liked it, right? Li Yu couldn't just get rid of the pearl after he had
made such an effort to apologize. He had to make it seem like he adored it,
but his mouth was really sore from holding it.
He thought it over some more, and then he set the pearl down at the
bottom of the tank and nudged it shyly with his mouth. The round pearl
rolled forward a bit before coming to a stop. Li Yu continued to use his
mouth to prod at it, pushing the pearl quite a long way around the tank.
Might as well pretend it's a soccer ball, Li Yu thought to himself as he
played gleefully.
"Your Highness, look, the little thing loves the pearl you gave it. It's
rolling it around."
Just moments ago, the little carp had been jumping around happily
and even caught the shining pearl from its owner's hand. Wang Xi couldn't
be more excited.
Hm…except this pearl that was being rolled around the tank could
fetch quite the price. Wang Xi couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the
noble consort.
As the little carp chased and played around with the luminous pearl,
the cool, clear light made the silvery gray of the fish gleam. It was a rare
and breathtaking sight.
Prince Jing smiled lightly. The little fish really did want the pearl.
Li Yu rolled the pearl until he had pushed it into a corner. Pretending
he was tired, he lay down on the white rock bed and entered the system.
Sure enough, he was immediately met with the reward prompt for finishing
the side quest.
Suppressing his excitement, Li Yu carefully read through the
instructions for the transformation medicine. He was just about to confirm
and accept when a light bulb went off in his head and he realized
something.
The bottle that held the medicine looked rustic and was carved with
images he had never seen before. It might not look very big, but where was
he, a fish, supposed to store it if he accepted it right now? Was he supposed
to let it float in the water in his inventory?
…What a cursed image.
After considering his options, Li Yu asked the system, ‹Will the
medicine disappear if I don't accept it right away?›
The system replied: ‹No. Rewards from completed quests will be held
indefinitely.›
Li Yu nodded, satisfied. ‹Very good. Then I'll just leave the prize for
now and use it when the time comes!›
The system said nothing.
Li Yu felt like he had just discovered a whole new world. The
inadequate size of his inventory wasn't going to stop him from using such a
clever method to store the things he didn't need right now. He was always
being tricked by the system—it felt good to outsmart it once in a while!
When he first heard about the transformation medicine, he'd been
ecstatic. But having spent more time thinking on it, he couldn't just use it
willy-nilly. Li Yu didn't exist in the original book, and if he suddenly
appeared in his human form, it might create additional chaos that he didn't
need or want. Plus, there was also the issue of being able to maintain his human form for only two hours. Everything had to be planned out in
advance: it was important he think about the timing and purpose of his
transformation. He also had to find a suitable getaway plan on the off
chance he turned back into a fish in front of everyone. That would be no
good either.
He could worry later; the medicine was in his hands now.
Li Yu cheerfully closed the quest "Clear, Bright Pearl." He checked
the main quest again and immediately deflated.
The time left for "getting along" was still counting down, reminding
him that he had less than a day before the time was up. If he couldn't
complete this main quest, it didn't matter if he had the medicine; he
wouldn't ever get a chance to use it.
‹We're already at this point, and the fish-scamming system still won't
give me a single hint. Don't you have a conscience?›
‹The system has no conscience,› the system agreed. ‹Please have
some patience when completing your quest.›
…He always knew this thing was heartless.
Li Yu exited. Night had fallen, dark and quiet, but the luminous pearl
was still emitting its soft, faint glow, lighting up the porcelain tank as if it
were daytime. Li Yu covered the luminous pearl with the leaf blanket to
block out its light, and then he yawned and fell asleep leaning against the
pearl.
Li Yu awoke to the smell of ink. The row of fish food he had saved to
give to Prince Jing was close by. Prince Jing hadn't touched his gift. It'd be
such a waste if his gift was left sitting so long it went bad. Looked like it
was up to Li Yu to take care of it himself.
After eating, he thought of the main quest that was now doomed to
fail. Was he just supposed to float there and watch the time trickle away?
No way. He was going to check on what Prince Jing was doing, then
take matters into his own hands and force them to have some sort of
interaction. Throwing something against the wall and hoping it stuck was
better than not throwing anything at all.
Li Yu could hear Prince Jing moving around in the room, but the
porcelain tank was a little too tall. If the prince didn't walk over, it was very
difficult to see him.
Li Yu quietly gathered his strength in his tail. Now very familiar with
his tail, and practically an expert at jumping out of the tank, he wanted to
take it to the next level and try a new, never-before-attempted trick. Instead
of only stealing a brief glance before inevitably falling back down to the
bottom, Li Yu would grab on to the side of the tank and lean against it.
Holding on to the edge required body-fin coordination. He wasn't sure he'd
be able to do it.
Prince Jing, who was writing at his desk, heard a noise and saw the
little carp come leaping out with a swish of its tail.
Prince Jing had seen the carp wave its tail a few times, so he wasn't
surprised. Although the emperor hadn't believed Noble Consort Qiu when
she insisted the carp was able to fly, Prince Jing didn't doubt it. He knew
his fish could "fly" in its own way, but he wasn't about to speak up for the
noble consort.
Seeing the fish prepare to jump again, Prince Jing relaxed. It would
fall down soon enough.
But Prince Jing waited for a while, and the fish didn't fall. Instead, it
smacked into the edge of the tank. It flapped its tail and fins furiously but
slowly started to slide down.
And then, splash.
Undeterred, the little carp jumped up again without hesitation.
Prince Jing watched, bemused. At this point, he had a pretty good
guess as to what the fish was trying to do. The second time the little carp
fell back into the tank after another bout of flailing, he reached over and
lifted the fish up at just the right moment.
This time it was Li Yu's turn to be confused.
The little carp had been absorbed in waging a great battle against the
fish tank when he suddenly felt weightless and was picked up. He looked
up—who else could it be but Prince Jing?
Li Yu curled his tail happily around Prince Jing's finger: Master,
you've come to help me!
Prince Jing coughed lightly while holding the fish. His finger felt a
bit ticklish. He had moved without thinking and didn't think to find
something to put the fish into beforehand. Concerned about the little fish
being out of water for too long, Prince Jing gently put the fish in a clean tea
bowl.
Made out of white jade and wrapped in a hint of green, the tea bowl
was shaped like flower petals and was just big enough for a fish. Prince Jing
poured some fresh water into the tea bowl. It was very shallow, so as soon
as the little carp was in the tea bowl, it could look up with ease to see its
surroundings.
Although he was now living in Prince Jing's room, a fish's field of
vision from the inside of a tank was very limited. He could hear the sounds
of people coming and going every day, but he had never seen what the room
looked like. In this new position, he was suddenly able to.
Li Yu was a little disappointed.
Compared to the exquisite luxury of Qianqing Palace, Prince Jing's
room looked rather shabby. After surveying his surroundings, though, his
conclusion was that the room suited the tyrant's cold disposition: reserved,
simple, and mature. Prince Jing evidently only kept the essentials, as there
was a pitiful lack of interior decor. It was almost like a snow cave.
No matter, Li Yu thought. The entire reason he was here was to turn
the tyrant's personality around. Perhaps he could bring some warmth to the
snow cave.
Next to the tea bowl was a brush and ink. After Prince Jing set Li Yu
down, he sat down and picked up the brush.
So he was going to write or draw! Li Yu remembered the ink he had
smelled earlier and swished his tail excitedly. He knew quite a lot about this
subject; he could give the prince some ideas.
Whenever the little carp felt joyful, its tail would lift high up in the
air. Prince Jing shot him a warning look, and Li Yu immediately put his tail
down. He was definitely going to be sent back to his tank if he accidentally got the prince's calligraphy or painting wet. The little carp settled on staring
quietly but ardently.
Prince Jing considered, then smoothed out the paper. With a few
quick strokes, he outlined a vivid, lifelike fish.
Li Yu peered over. That head, that body, that tail… Wow, Prince Jing
was drawing him! Li Yu was so thrilled someone was willing to draw a
portrait of him that every time he looked at Prince Jing, he felt delighted all
over again. Maybe Li Yu should put in a little effort too. Perhaps he should
try modeling for Prince Jing, since he was the prince's muse?
After some solemn deliberation, the little carp twisted in the tea bowl
in what he thought was a truly majestic pose. In reality, it was just a very
curvy "S."
Prince Jing smiled. The little fish was quite sharp. Keeping his eyes
on the fish, he added a few more strokes. Although neither of them spoke,
there was an air of amicability as the human and fish enjoyed each other's
company.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!" Wang Xi came in to report,
drenched in sweat. "His Imperial Majesty's gifts have arrived."
Prince Jing set down his brush and moved the painting to the side to
dry. Just before he headed out to accept the gifts, he glanced back and saw
that the little carp was swaying its tail, its face turned to the painting, as
though it wanted to try.
Prince Jing's eyelid twitched. He turned around and grabbed the tea
bowl with the fish in it; he didn't want to find a few new tail imprints on the
painting when he returned.
Li Yu was bewildered to find himself suddenly whisked away.
The news of Noble Consort Qiu trying to frame Prince Jing had
already traveled to every corner of the palace. If this had happened a couple
of years ago, the emperor would have never allowed the matter to pass so
easily, but since he already had plans for the second prince to be the crown
prince, he had to consider the second prince's reputation. In the end, the
emperor treated Mu Tianzhao coldly for a few days, but his choice for
crown prince remained the same.
While the emperor had, indeed, punished the noble consort, he had to
put in some effort to comfort Prince Jing as well, as was evidenced by the
long list of gifts. Without batting an eye, he shoved all sorts of priceless
treasures at the prince as though they cost nothing.
One of them was especially unique: a pair of koi that had been gifted
to the emperor by a foreign country. There were only a few pairs of these
fish in the world.
The emperor had given gifts to Prince Jing before too, but the prince
had always been a difficult person to please. He had no need for gold or
silver, and no interest in beauties. Every time he had to decide on a gift for
Prince Jing, it gave him a headache. Now that he'd discovered Prince Jing
actually had interests, the emperor waved his brush so enthusiastically it
was like he'd been injected with steroids. If the prince liked fish, then he
would give him more fish.
A huge smile split Head Eunuch Luo's face as he directed servants to
deliver a three or four-foot-long fish tank into Jingtai Hall. This tank was
truly rare, as it was carved from completely transparent crystal. Inside the
tank were two koi: one red and one gold, both handpicked by the emperor
himself. They had clearly been taken care of extremely well, because both
of them were huge. When they swam together, their colors flowed like rays
of light. It was quite a sight to behold.
Li Yu was currently in Wang-gonggong's hands, munching on the
food that Wang-gonggong had sprinkled into his bowl, but upon seeing that
the emperor had shoved a few more fish at Prince Jing, Li Yu's jaw dropped
in shock. A piece of food floated away.
In this day and age, did even fish have to compete for love?
With his intelligence, how could he stoop so low as to fight with
other fish? But…he had quests he had to complete. If the prince no longer
cared for him, who was Li Yu going to complete his tasks with?
No. He had to fight.
Li Yu observed carefully, resolving to guard Prince Jing the way a
hen looked after her eggs. If any other fish tried to seduce Prince Jing, he
would chase them away. The little carp secretly began readying himself for battle. But after Prince Jing took his time to admire the crystal fish tank
with the rare koi inside, he ultimately didn't accept them.
Prince Jing was not swayed. To Li Yu's relief and delight, the pretty
koi had failed to tempt him.
And of course, when Wang-gonggong brought him back to his room
and saw that his porcelain fish tank had been replaced with the huge, crystal
fish tank that originally held the koi, Li Yu was even happier.