Stranger Danger

Ye Qing: "..."Ah. So I'm a test subject.

"It looks like the rumors are false after all."

Feng Qingyou ignored Ye Qing's stern gaze and ate a slice of fish meat. After downing a cup of Burning Fire, she remarked, "It is pretty good."

"......"

"Don't be mad. I know another fish that's just as tasty as the Jade Holder. I'll treat you to a meal once I catch it, okay?"

"It's not booby-trapped like this one, is it?" Ye Qing was still suspicious.

"Of course not," Feng Qingyou promised before pouring Ye Qing another cup of wine. "Here, this is my apology to you. Cheers!"

"Fine. I'll believe you this once."

Ye Qing picked up the cup and drained it in one gulp. He wasn't actually angry, of course. It was just a harmless joke after all.

A single plate of fish wasn't enough to sate two warriors, of course. They finished it in no time at all. So, Feng Qingyou went away to prepare the second and, most likely, last plate.

While a Jade Holder was big and fleshy, it could not be preserved for an extended period of time. By the time they finished the second plate, the rest of the Jade Holder would have become inedible.

Of course, they could probably eat a third plate if they rushed their meal, but the reason they ate wasn't because they were hungry, but to take pleasure in the delights and the atmosphere. It would be counterintuitive to engorge themselves upon the food.

Ooo ooo ooo!

It was at this moment what sounded like horn blares suddenly came from under the sea. When Ye Qing looked, he saw that an enormous shadow had appeared under the Cloud Boat before they knew it. The shadow was at least a hundred meters wide in radius. Compared to it, the Cloud Boat might as well be an ant.

"What a humongous fish!"

The shadow was really a big fish. It was shaped like a manta ray but more than a hundred times bigger. Pitch black in color, its fins were adorned in all sorts of mysterious patterns. It looked both mysterious and beautiful.

Although the giant fish's presence was as formidable as it was scary—it was at least a Disaster-class Stranger—it did not feel violent or bloodthirsty. On the contrary, it felt... gentle.

The giant fish was slowly circling around the Cloud Boat. The Cloud Boat possessed the ability to conceal its tracks and aura, making it invisible to most Strangers' senses. However, this giant fish clearly didn't fall under that category.

For whatever reason, the giant fish wasn't attacking the Cloud Boat. Not only that, it was sticking out of the water from time to time and examining Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou with a pair of eyes that were shockingly small considering its full size. It was also letting out a soft, gentle cry that felt like a pet badgering its owners for a treat.

"What is it doing?" Ye Qing asked curiously.

"It's expressing good will toward us and asking for a treat."

Feng Qingyou answered before grabbing a few slices of Jade Holder meat and tossed it in the giant fish's direction.

The fish meat didn't even touch the water before the giant fish leaped out and opened its maw. The giant fish was massive, and its maw was no smaller. It would have been all too easy for it to swallow the entire Cloud Boat. And yet, the fish only ate a few slices of fish meat before landing back into the water.

Amazingly, despite the giant fish's titanic size, both its exit and entrance back into the water elicited no splash whatsoever. It was quite extraordinary.

After returning to the water, the giant fish continued to circle around the boat slowly while showing its belly from time to time. Judging from its soft, contented cries, it was extremely happy with the meal it just received.

"This is the Gluttonous Fish. It loves to eat, and it especially loves human delicacies just like your average glutton. That is why people call it the Gluttonous Fish."

Feng Qingyou explained, "The Gluttonous Fish is sweet-tempered. It does not attack a human unless provoked, and it is fairly friendly toward humans. If you feed it some food such as chickens, ducks, pigs, goats and other kinds of meat—it has to be cooked, of course—then the Gluttonous Fish would automatically lend you its aid and afford you some conveniences."

"This is why some fishermen or fleets would prepare some delicious food before heading to the sea. If they run into trouble or danger, they would use them to lure the Gluttonous Fish over to help them. The more delicious the food, the stronger the Gluttonous Fish that is lured over, and the greater the aid they could provide."

"As for this one, it probably found us through the use of scent."

"Hah! A gluttonous fish, huh?" Ye Qing was rather amused. He went into the kitchen, grabbed the rest of the Jade Holder's meat, and tossed it all in the Gluttonous Fish's direction.

They couldn't finish the rest of the meat anyway. They might as well give it to the Gluttonous Fish.

But to Ye Qing's surprise, the Gluttonous Fish completely ignored the food. If he didn't know better, he would say that the Gluttonous Fish hadn't even noticed it.

"Why isn't it eating?"

Ye Qing was puzzled. Was this fish a feminist or something? Was that why it ate Feng Qingyou's food but not his?

Feng Qingyou giggled. "This Gluttonous Fish is clearly stronger than your ordinary Gluttonous Fish. It also means that it has a very discerning taste. Most food will not stimulate its appetite, much less a bunch of unprocessed Jade Holder meat. You have to remember that unprocessed meat is basically raw meat, and it's not like this is the first time the Gluttonous Fish has eaten one. Naturally, it cannot be interested."

"I see!" Ye Qing replied. This time, he grabbed a few slices of processed Jade Holder meat and tossed it in the Gluttonous Fish's direction. As expected, it leaped into the air and devoured it without hesitation.

"It really is a glutton," said Ye Qing with a chuckle.

If the Cloud Boat was an ant compared to the elephant that was the Gluttonous Fish, then the fish slices were less than a speck of dirt. Despite the disparity in size, the Gluttonous Fish clearly enjoyed it greatly.

It was such an encouraging sight that Ye Qing himself felt hungry.

A short while later, the Gluttonous Fish floated to the water surface once more, blinked its cute tiny eyes at them, and cried softly.

When Ye Qing grabbed another fish slice though, it shook its head left and right like a human.

"Huh? You don't want it?"

Ye Qing asked in puzzlement until he noticed that the Gluttonous Fish was staring at the wine pot on the table.

"What, you want some?" Ye Qing asked, thinking he was making a funny joke. That was why he was caught off guard when the desire shone in the Gluttonous Fish's eyes, and it nodded seriously.

"I never knew that a fish could enjoy wine?"

Ye Qing lifted a dubious eyebrow, but he ultimately poured a cup of Burning Fire into the Gluttonous Fish's mouth.

"Ooo ooo ooo!"

After the Gluttonous Fish swallowed all the wine, it let out an unusually excited and pleased cry. It began swimming back and forth in the sea while the mysterious patterns on its fins flickered erratically. It looked mighty beautiful.

A while later, the Gluttonous Fish slowly flipped on its belly and just floated on the sea surface, unmoving. It allowed the waves to carry it wherever they were going.

"Is it... drunk?" Ye Qing exclaimed in astonishment. It was true that Burning Fire had quite the strong, delayed kick, but that only applied to humans, didn't it? Forget that the Gluttonous Fish was a fish, it was a Disaster-class fish. Was it really possible for one cup of Burning Fire to knock it out like this?

"Er... I think so?"

Even Feng Qingyou wasn't quite sure what was going on. "I've certainly never heard of a Gluttonous Fish who drinks wine."

"Hahaha... There's a first time for everything. Maybe it would fall in love with this taste?" Ye Qing shrugged.

A while later, the Gluttonous Fish finally regained its bearings and caught up with the Cloud Boat. Then, it floated to the sea surface and opened its mouth.

It was obvious what it wanted.Another cup, please!