This is an almost black fish, but you can vaguely see ink powder and dark blue. Its scales look as if they have been stripped off, and it has countless wounds, as if it will rot and die at any moment. Its eyes are hollow and sunken, making it look particularly miserable and ugly, and it makes people want to vomit.

Aside from its outline resembling a fish, it doesn't look like food at all.

Quan Ji's gaze faltered for a moment, and she asked Jun Chenlan after a moment's thought, "Are there... are there any other ones that look better? Or is this what Xinmengyu naturally looks like?"

In her previous life, she didn't have time for romance, so she never came to the Heart Dream Empire and never imagined that the world-famous Heart Dream Fish would turn out like this.

Jun Chenlan's gaze also darkened, and he shook his head. His strong upper body was covered with a thin layer of water, which looked smooth and particularly alluring under the moonlight.

He said, “The Heart Dream Fish doesn’t look like this. It’s an extremely beautiful and plump pinkish-blue fish, but… I just saw it. The entire Heart Dream Lake is full of these fish, almost none of them are whole. It’s completely different from when I visited the Heart Dream Empire Alliance before.”

Quan Ji swallowed hard: "How did it become like this? Is this why there's no one left in Xinmeng Lake? Where are the Xinmeng Fish?"

Jun Chenlan shook his head: "I don't know if that's the reason, but this fish... is indeed a Dream Fish. The heart shape on its tail is the best symbol, and you can also vaguely see the pinkish-blue color."

Upon hearing this, Quan Ji glanced at the fish again, but lost all appetite.

"You mean... all the Dreamfish in Dream Lake have turned into this?"

Jun Chenlan nodded, then glanced at the lake again. Under the moonlight, the pinkish-blue lake looked particularly strange because the fish were no longer jumping: "Although it's hard to believe, it is indeed the truth."

Quan Ji swallowed hard. "Can we still eat it?"

Jun Chenlan nodded: "It's been tested with energy, and it's non-toxic."

Quan Ji had a bad feeling, but overall she thought it was okay: "Alright then."

Soon, Jun Chenlan lit a fire and started roasting the food, casually sprinkling some spices on it.

It didn't smell good after baking, and when it was finally placed in Quan Ji's hands, Xin Mengyu wasn't as upset as she was when it was alive.

Quan Ji took a bite, her face turning extremely pale. She was so stunned she didn't even have the courage to take another bite, and looked at Jun Chenlan with a tearful expression:

"Lan, can I throw up?"

Jun Chenlan frowned and asked, "It doesn't taste good?"

Quan Ji nodded and spat directly into a spatial treasure bag that she had specially brought to store trash.

"It's one thing that it doesn't taste good, but the main problem is that it's very strange."

Jun Chenlan narrowed his eyes. Impossible... No matter how he does it, it shouldn't taste so bad.

He took the Dream Fish and took a bite, his expression indescribable.

Quan Ji silently handed the spatial treasure bag containing the trash to Jun Chenlan, who then spat it out.

Both of them grew up in hardship and would never waste food under normal circumstances, but—this fish was just too strange.

The meat is loose and mushy, like a dead fish that has long been rotten. It is sticky, disgusting, and the fish itself has a variety of indescribable stench and bitterness, with a faint spicy tinge. It is impossible to describe this strange taste in words.

In short, once you've tasted it, you'll never want to touch it again.

Quan Ji looked up at Jun Chenlan, her expression tinged with pain: "Is this the famous delicacy of the continent? The meat is plump, bouncy, and even stretchy!"

Jun Chenlan couldn't speak, but pursed her lips and said, "It's different from what I ate before, it's very strange... It looks different and the taste has changed. It tastes like it's rotten, but it's still alive and well. Especially—in the entire Heart Dream Lake, all I see are Heart Dream Fish like this, it's terrifying."

So what he said before was a complete slap in the face.

Quan Ji glanced at the lake and could vaguely see the Dream Fish inside. They were lifeless, as if they had lost their vitality, yet they seemed to be hanging by a thread, not yet dead.

No matter how you look at it, it seems very strange and pitiful.

"What exactly happened here...?"

Just then.

Glug glug—

Quan Ji's stomach rumbled.

Quan Ji: "..."

Jun Chenlan glanced at Quan Ji, then silently raised the grilled heart-shaped fish in her hand: "Want some...?"

Quan Ji, utterly despondent, declared: "I choose to die."

To make such a fool of myself in front of my friend Lan is truly an unbelievable incident.

"Look at the moon, looking at the moon will make you less hungry."

Kwon Ji comforted herself.

I've heard that the moon in the Heart Dream Empire is always round, no matter when.

As they thought about it, they looked up and were both surprised. Then they looked down at each other.

Quan Ji: "The moon of the Xinmeng Empire is so unique?"

Jun Chenlan shook his head: "It's different from when I came last time."

The moon is indeed round, but there is a large hole in the middle.

The moon appears different from every point in Noah's Empire.

It's not that the moon is different, but rather that, under the blessing of the gods, each country embellishes the moon, resulting in different regional styles.

But the fact that the full moon, which represents completeness, has a large hole in the middle makes it look particularly puzzling.

Just then, a gentle female voice came from inside.

"Excuse me...are you travelers here?"

Quan Ji and Jun Chenlan both turned to look. It was an extremely beautiful woman, who looked to be in her twenties. Her temperament was as elegant and beautiful as an orchid. She was wearing a very simple dress that resembled a kimono, and her long hair was tied into a large braid that was placed on her shoulder. She was someone you would like at first glance.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!