“Just luck?”
Yang Chet gradually calmed down. He wiped the spray from his face and thought about it, realizing there was nothing wrong with that statement.
The Jade Fat Carp had tricky habits. While catching one was rare, it was not completely unheard of.
He had heard the older disciples bragging over drinks about how some lucky fellow had reeled one in with a single cast, boasting about it for a solid half-month.
Thinking of this, Yang Chet's mind eased, and his initial shock gradually faded.
He cleared his throat, rallied his spirits, and resumed pointing out to Shen Xiuhan which areas of the water were likely to yield a big catch...
The small boat traveled forward for another two and a half miles.
Just as Yang Chet was getting into his stride, he saw Shen Xiuhan reach out again and say calmly:
“Fishing rod.”
“Huh?”
Yang Chet looked taken aback.
Subconsciously, he handed over the bamboo rod whose line he had just finished winding.
A familiar scene played out before his eyes once more.
The fishing rod bent into a full moon, and the line sliced up through the water.
A large fish, completely pitch-black with two long whiskers growing near its mouth, was dragged out of the lake!
Yang Chet's eyes went wide. His lips trembled for a long moment before he finally mumbled a name:
“A-An Ink-Tail Chub...”
Splash!
The black fish was tossed into the fish basket, immediately thrashing about violently inside.
Shen Xiuhan turned around and looked up at Yang Chet, who looked like a dazed goose. He laughed in spite of himself.
“What are you daydreaming for? Row the boat. Keep heading north.”
“Oh, oh...”
Yang Chet nodded dumbly. He mechanically pushed the bamboo pole down, and the small boat swayed as it drifted northward.
After a moment, Yang Chet tried to hold it in, but ultimately failed to resist the urge. He asked cautiously:
“Senior Brother, w-was this also just luck?”
Shen Xiuhan raised an eyebrow as if it were only natural.
“Of course!”
A quarter of an hour later.
Splash!
A third Precious Fish, a Green-Patterned Crucian Carp, burst from the water!
Yang Chet's mouth twitched. No matter how simple-minded he was, he had finally caught on.
This Senior Brother Shen was no newcomer.
He was clearly an experienced veteran fisherman who loved playing the fool!
His previous display of humble listening was purely to watch him make a fool of himself!
When he recalled how he had confidently beaten his chest and rambled on, spraying spit as he shared his “secret fishing techniques”...
Whoosh!
A wave of burning heat rushed from the base of his neck straight to his forehead.
Yang Chet's dark face instantly flushed a deep purplish-red. He felt like digging a hole and hiding in it.
Only after a long while did he mumble awkwardly in a muffled voice:
“Senior Brother... where do we go next?”
“Straight north!”
Shen Xiuhan smacked his lips, full of high spirits.
He had originally planned to stop after catching two or three.
However...
All fishermen shared a common weakness.
Fishing was just too damn addictive!
Especially when what you reeled in wasn't some ordinary grass carp, chub, or common carp, but a Precious Fish of heaven and earth!
With each cast, the tension on the line and the thrill of a Precious Fish bursting from the water felt like a cat claw scratching at his bones. He simply couldn't stop!
No, just one last one. No more than that, or it will be too shocking... Hmm, I should also take the long way around to stall for time. This kid is already a bit slow; I shouldn't scare him half to death...
Thus, under Shen Xiuhan's random directions, the two drifted on the lake for over an hour.
It wasn't until Yang Chet's arms grew sore and weak that Shen Xiuhan finally signaled to stop the boat.
He baited the hook and cast the line!
He twisted his waist and pulled the rod!
The movements were seamless!
With a loud splash, a ferocious, large fish was instantly dragged out of the water!
The fish was as long as a forearm and as wide as two fists side by side. Its back was pure silver, its scales dense and gleaming.
Most eye-catching of all was a sharp, cone-like bone spur as long as a hand growing from the front of its snout. It gleamed with a cold light, sending a shiver down one's spine.
“A Tier Two Precious Fish, a Silverback Fish!!”
Yang Chet cried out in shock.
Shen Xiuhan hooked his fingers into the fish's gills. Looking at this familiar fish, a hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself:
Long time no see, old friend... This time, I will be the one to send you on your way again!
...
Meanwhile.
In the center of the island, on the second floor of the bamboo building, next to the Nine Cranes Bronze Censer, the atmosphere was so tense it had almost solidified.
“Too slow, Hongling!”
The speaker was a tall, middle-aged man wearing a deep blue uniform with wave-like patterns embroidered on the cuffs.
With his brows furrowed tightly, he stood by the window with his hands behind his back. He was none other than one of the five great deacons of Tingquan Academy...
Teng Chong!
“Since the beginning of the year, the Yinsha Sect has completely and secretly infiltrated the four prefectures and three hundred and sixty counties of our Cangzhou!”
Teng Chong turned around, his gaze dark and heavy as he said,
“Over a hundred inner sect elites from our Four Academies of Star-Plucking are currently on the front lines, fighting bloody battles against the demon sect scoundrels. Since February, eleven have fallen, and countless others have been wounded.”
He paused, his tone growing even heavier:
“As things stand, our sect is facing a massive shortage of healing and force-generating pills. The Elixir Pavilion has already pressed us for them three times.”
“Therefore, I am ordering you to gather and hand over this entire batch of Precious Fish within twenty days!”
“Twenty days?” Duan Hongling's face paled.
What was originally a deadline of over twenty days had suddenly been cut short by several days!
Duan Hongling gritted her teeth, a look of distress on her face as she said urgently,
“Deacon Teng, it is not that I am slacking off, but the Precious Fish pond is severely understaffed. Even counting myself, there are only six inner sect disciples. To make up such a massive catch in twenty days is truly...”
“Do you think I don't know that?”
Teng Chong's brow furrowed deeper as he sighed and cut her off:
“But right now, apart from the disciples stationed at our various properties, there are very few disciples left behind in the inner sect across the four academies, and they all have their own urgent duties.”
“If you want more inner sect disciples to help you catch fish, my hands are tied.”
But seeing Duan Hongling's anxious expression, he pondered for a moment and finally relented:
“Very well!”
“I will find a way to dispatch twenty reliable outer sect disciples to you. This is the maximum support I can squeeze out for now. As for the rest, you will have to manage on your own!”
“...I understand. Safe travels, Deacon.”
After seeing Teng Chong out of the bamboo building,
Duan Hongling sat back down on her bamboo chair with a look of sheer frustration.
After sitting quietly for a moment, she suddenly stood up, grabbed a large net leaning against the corner, and marched toward the lakeside.
She had only taken a few steps—
When a familiar figure carrying a fish basket came strolling leisurely toward her along the bamboo-lined path.
“Shen Xiuhan?”
Duan Hongling stopped in her tracks, her eyebrows arching as she said in an unfriendly tone, “Why aren't you fishing? Why have you come back?”
Seeing her unhappy expression and the dark, heavy net gripped in her hand, as if she were about to go down and catch fish herself, Shen Xiuhan instantly understood the situation.
Without offering much explanation, he simply took the fish basket off his back, lifted the bamboo lid, and cupped his fists.
“Reporting to Senior Sister, I have naturally come to deliver fish.”
“Deliver fish?”
Duan Hongling's voice caught, her beautiful eyes blinking as if she hadn't quite registered his words.
“Indeed.”
Shen Xiuhan pointed to the fish basket at his feet and said in a relaxed tone:
“I was fortunate enough to catch a few just now. Fearing that keeping them too long would cause the Precious Fish to lose their blood qi and diminish their medicinal efficacy, I brought them over first.”
“A-A few... Precious Fish?!”
Duan Hongling looked half-believing and half-doubtful.
But seeing Shen Xiuhan's serious expression, which did not look like he was joking, her heart instantly began to race.
Duan Hongling took a deep breath, took a few quick strides to stand before him, and cast her gaze down into the basket.
Rate on N.U.
