The Wonderful Adventures of Bait

Gulp!

Suddenly falling into the water without any warning, Su Yu Niang felt like she had entered an endless, dark, and cold abyss.

It took her a while to regain her senses.

She quickly struggled and swam in the cold well water, assessing her situation.

A large, thick lip hook was inserted into her mouth.

Was I used as live bait by a fisherman?

Are they serious?

Her mind raced with possibilities.

It was fortunate that Su Yu Niang herself was broad-minded. If it were Jiu Cai Rong, who was afraid of ghosts, or Yan Hua, who was timid, they would have been completely terrified by now.

This family had a rather peculiar way of fishing.

She wondered if this was how people fished in this world, or if this family was just unconventional.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~

She floated on the surface, looking up at the round well opening above.

Moonlight streamed down.

Ning Jiaojiao was already by the well, admiring the moon and brewing tea. She held a fishing rod, exuding an elegant air as if discussing poetry and romance, finally enjoying the pastime Ning Zheng usually indulged in.

Su Yu Niang slapped the water, unable to help but tilt her head up and ask:

"What's the process of fishing like?"

A loud echo came from the well opening.

"Go down and find the river demon! It'll swallow you, and I'll pull you up!" Ning Jiaojiao shouted down into the well.

If it were an ordinary traveler, they would have been scared senseless by now.

But Su Yu Niang's focus was strangely different. Swimming on the surface, she muttered, "Then why didn't you explain it clearly up there? I could have been prepared. I wasn't refusing your commission!"

Ning Jiaojiao shouted back down, "When Big Brother taught me to fish for the first time, he suddenly hugged me and threw me into the well just like this. He said I'd learn faster that way. Was he wrong?"

Su Yu Niang: "..."

Why do I feel a bit sorry for her?

But it was indeed quite logical.

From a rational standpoint, acting first and reporting later yielded better results.

First, they throw you into the well. If you don't lure the river demon, they won't pull you up.

It was like skydiving; someone always had to give you a push for your first jump.

"But why hook my head? Couldn't you tie it to my hand or waist?" Su Yu Niang yelled from below.

Ning Jiaojiao thought for a moment and explained, "You need to bleed sustainably to attract the river demon. Just splashing around in the water won't do; they aren't that stupid."

Su Yu Niang was taken aback and said, "Then why aim for my head, fingers, or palms to draw blood? That seems terrifying."

"Ah? Are you trying to die?"

Ning Jiaojiao, on the other hand, looked genuinely perplexed. "Cultivators first train their heads. Isn't the head the strongest part of a person? Of course, we use the head to fish!"

"Hands and feet are very fragile. What if you haven't cultivated those parts in the Five Bodies Realm? What if the wound gets infected from continuous bleeding?"

"We're just inviting guests to fish with us. Harming a guest would be incredibly rude," Ning Jiaojiao said. "Fishing is a risk-free recreational activity. As long as the operation is proper and correct, even if you don't get a bite, there's no danger to life! After all, river demons don't have teeth; they swallow."

Of course, this applied to ghouls with physical bodies, who could bleed and attract river demons.

Poor ghosts without flesh couldn't bleed no matter how much they were cut.

The Su Yu Niang before them was, naturally, a ghoul with flesh and blood.

The moment she was born, Dao Jiujiu had thrown a pile of crow meat into the blacksmith shop's inventory for her, filling the void with flesh and blood.

Therefore, Su Yu Niang's head was indeed a head of flesh and blood.

"So, using your head to fish is normal?" Su Yu Niang exclaimed, utterly shocked.

But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense!

It seemed that within this world's system, the head was universally recognized as the hardest and safest part.

After all, in the Five Bodies Realm, the head was the first!

Therefore, when undertaking any risky activity, it was said to be "the first to bear the brunt."

Yes, in a literal sense.

Thus, hooking the head was considered quite scientific in their understanding.

Does everyone in this world fish like this?

There are just too many questionable points!

Su Yu Niang, confirming that this wasn't an evil NPC but rather a matter of local custom, calmed down. She began to test the strength of the hook and the flexibility of her head, finding it quite secure.

To be fair.

If her head wasn't afraid of death, this would indeed be a good spot to hang from.

She clamped her mouth onto the hook, and the speed of the upper and lower hooks was incredibly fast. It was simple, idiot-proof, and easy to operate.

Gulp~!

"Then I'm going fishing! Remember to pull me up later!"

She dived down, bit onto the big, thick fishing hook, and excitedly plunged into the dark underground river channel.

To be honest, as a rich second-generation, she had also been passionate about diving for a while.

So she had plenty of experience in this regard.

This was also why Jiu Cai Rong had sent her out.

She was an enthusiast of various outdoor sports and knew some wilderness survival skills, making her well-suited for this ancient mountain village.

"Fishing is really interesting."

"Is this a hidden quest map now? An underground underwater labyrinth?"

"The fish I catch with my large body must also be large. Does this mean there's a second demon beast population besides the crow flock?"

"So this is likely the game's second large monster spawn point!"

Her eyes lit up.

Most demon beasts, including Money Boys, could see at night.

She quickly discovered a small cave on the side of the well that a person could just barely squeeze into. It seemed like a temporary resting spot, and she continued to swim.

Swimming about seven or eight meters forward along the dark, cold river channel, she found three forks. She analyzed:

"Many branching currents. This is a fishing spot. Based on what Ning Jiaojiao just said, this might be the fishing system's tutorial! It's teaching us players how to fish at the well."

"The Planner is really thoughtful, with a beginner's tutorial. There are details everywhere."

Su Yu Niang's train of thought was as quirky as ever, leaning towards wild speculation. She'd see a cloud and suspect it would rain tomorrow.

A beginner's tutorial might hint at the upcoming opening of life skills!

As expected of a leisure manor, there was eating dirt, blacksmithing, scavenging... and now fishing!

Occasionally, translucent small fish with visible bones swam past.

She tried to grab one, but the fish swam away with the current.

Money Boys were naturally slow creatures, and even after death, they retained their pre-mortem habits. They were even slower in the water, making efficient activity in the water impossible.

After swimming for a while.

She saw several more forks. As a first-time explorer, she silently noted the distances to draw a map. Suddenly, a dark mass of a creature lunged at her with extreme speed.

Gulp!

It swallowed her whole.

The river demon clamped onto Su Yu Niang's lower abdomen and dragged her frantically into the depths of the water.

At the same time, Su Yu Niang's neck was yanked violently. Clearly, Ning Jiaojiao at the well felt a tug on the bait and started pulling frantically from the other end.

"They're starting to pull the bait over there. Is this to further demonstrate the tutorial's fishing techniques?"

She instantly felt that this game was incredibly cool.

This was too much fun.

She was experiencing being a worm, enjoying the mutual tug-of-war between the fish and the fisherman!

This game was heaven-defying in every aspect, shattering her worldview. Only someone with ten years of mental illness could create such a fun and interesting game!

The damn Planner really knew how to play!

This fishing tutorial was amazing!

"Awesome! Planner, are you watching? I approve of this gameplay! Please intensify it! Add this fishing gameplay to the Sword Forging Manor!"

While delighted, she gave a thumbs-up and praised it, silently enjoying the tug-of-war from both sides, her head being pulled in one direction and her legs in the other.

However, she suddenly felt her neck being pulled tighter and tighter, causing Su Yu Niang's mouth to twitch violently.

Is this person a beginner?

Is this girl fishing for the first time?

Girl, you need to play with your fish!

Fishing requires skill, not brute force. You need to learn to play with the line.

Loosen and tighten, and only reel it in when the big fish is tired. If you just pull like this, it's like a tug-of-war with the big fish, and the fishing rod will break.

"It's breaking, it's breaking!"

As expected, she felt her spine crack, and her head rapidly separated. Her headless body was about to be dragged away by the river demon.

She reacted quickly, terrified, and raised her hands to grab her severed twin-tailed Lolita head.

"Aaaah! My neck is broken, it's broken! If you pull any harder, I'll be gone. You'll only be able to reel back a head later. That's not how you fish! If you don't know how, hurry up and let your brother take over."

She frantically clutched her head, her heart going numb.

Okay.

Don't panic.

This is probably a negative example from a beginner's fishing tutorial, right?

Hold it together!

Su Yu Niang told herself she needed to stay calm.

Logically speaking, a fishing tutorial shouldn't kill anyone. She'd said before that fishing was a risk-free recreational activity, as long as you operated it properly. But the person in front of her was clearly operating it improperly!!

Crack!

The next second, the pulling force intensified. Her head completely came off and rapidly shot backward against the current, hooked and reeled in.

"Ah! My head!"

At the last possible second, her headless body suddenly shot out its hands again, grabbing the pigtails on her head and desperately saving herself. In her daze, she felt a flicker of relief.

"Good thing I have pigtails."