Fivefold Diligence Speed! Whoosh—the wind blew in from the gorge, tossing the man's short hair every which way as the Ice Silkworm Fishing Line gleamed.
Blue Lake heaved in layers, clear tides wrapped in white foam slapping against the shingle shore. A black earthworm pierced by a curved hook "swayed" its body, drawing the covetous approach of Silver-scaled Fish. Then the wind suddenly tugged the silver line, moving the hook.
The icy water jolted the dying, powerless worm into desperate struggles. The little fish fled in panic. Amid the surging spray, an irregular ripple suddenly spread outward. A black shadow fell from the sky, talons reaching down.
Screech! The spray stirred up by the hooked fish happened to be blown into a great wave, smashing fiercely into the hawk falcon's wings. At just the right moment, it knocked the goshawk from the air as it flapped—its old force spent, its new force yet to arise. Its wings touched water, and it floundered in panic, scattering streaks of spray.
The commotion of its struggle drew an even greater hunter. A shadow prowled over, coveting the taste of bird flesh. Its great tail slapped the water, and it leaped out, jaws closing around the goshawk's neck. The black shadow writhed like a dragon, four feet long, sharp teeth interlocking in its mouth.
A Black Spotted Dragon! The fiercest carnivorous fish in Blue Lake, a Giant Crocodile of Jianghuai, a great catfish of the marshlands! Its flesh came apart like garlic cloves, delicious beyond compare. Shipped ice-fresh to the Central Plains, it was worth several dozen taels!
Stimulated by the taste of blood, the Black Spotted Dragon failed to notice that it had landed on the silver line. Today's chaotic wind was like a giant hand, tangling up the leaping fish form and