Hooking a Moistening Duck

"Stop the car."

Cola eased off the accelerator. After looking around and seeing that the car had come to a complete stop without hitting anything, he slowly let out a breath.

Oh yeah!

They had made it here from the farm without a hitch!

Wild joy and pride suddenly appeared on Cola's sunglasses-covered face. He shook his head and wagged it about, waiting for his master's praise.

"Good job."

A huge grin split Cola's face. He wanted to imitate Spark and put on an aloof act, but the smug expression on his face simply would not fade.

Chen Yuan stroked his chin and thought to himself, Looks like things will be much easier from now on.

Compared to driving, he preferred sitting in the passenger seat and enjoying the scenery.

The man and two Contracted Beasts got out of the car. Chen Yuan carried the fishing gear toward Mingyu Lake.

Along the way,

Cola was exceptionally excited. One moment, he would dart into the woods; the next, he would circle Chen Yuan and yelp without stopping.

"Chirp~"

Spark shot Cola a particularly disdainful glance, though his deep blue eyes remained calm.

Fine, he could let him be smug for a while.

He could not beat him anyway.

In the blink of an eye, Mingyu Lake was right before them.

Compared with yesterday, there were more fishing enthusiasts gathered around Mingyu Lake—several dozen or so.

Clearly, news of Chen Yuan catching a spirit fish yesterday was still spreading.

Fortunately, Mingyu Lake was hidden away in a remote location. Otherwise, a swarm of fishing enthusiasts would have descended upon it, disturbing this tranquil place.

When they saw Chen Yuan approaching, they all rose to greet him.

"Little Chen, here to fish again?"

"Your grandpa was telling us this morning how filial you are. He said that fish was huge and delicious."

Chen Yuan smiled helplessly.

No wonder the old man had vanished early in the morning. He had gone to the village to brag.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Yuan found a good spot and copied Zhang Hao's fishing procedure.

Only after casting his rod did he sit down.

Next came the contest of patience.

Fishing was a matter of skill and luck, but more importantly, it required the transcendent mindset of one who fished alone through the ages.

Seeing the rod cast, Spark closed his eyes to rest. Cola had originally planned to charge into the woods to play, but then he remembered how he had missed so many things last time because of playing around. He forcibly suppressed the urge.

"Aw~"

Bored out of his mind, he lay by Chen Yuan's feet and stared blankly at the calm lake.

Ah, the water was so blue.

Were there lots of fish in there?

Why did Master not just go underwater and catch them directly?

Time was like the leisurely white clouds in the sky. When you stared at them, they drifted along slowly, silent and still; but when you spaced out for a moment, they had already floated away.

In the blink of an eye, it was already four in the afternoon.

Other than a few common small fish, there was not a single spirit fish in the bucket beside Chen Yuan.

The other fishing enthusiasts were the same. Not one of them had caught a spirit fish.

"Did I use up all my luck yesterday?" Chen Yuan rested his chin on his right hand, secretly puzzled.

At the bottom of Mingyu Lake,

The water was crystal clear, aquatic plants swayed gently, and cold-water fish chased and frolicked among the gravel and weeds.

Just then, a blue figure shot out with a bang, startling the fish into fleeing in all directions.

"Quack quack quack~"

Watching the school of fish vanish in an instant, the Moistening Duck laughed smugly.

Then, its pale blue eyes darted around as though searching for something.

Suddenly,

It spotted a slender yellow figure faintly visible in a corner littered with gravel. Its eyes immediately lit up, and its short little body shot forward, displaying a speed utterly at odds with its build.

Ripples spread as water flowed around its white body.

Seeing the Moistening Duck charging fiercely toward it, the Golden Crucian Carp turned to flee.

But the Moistening Duck was simply too fast. In an instant, it caught up to the Golden Crucian Carp, opened its flat yellow bill, and bit down!

Before the Golden Crucian Carp could even react, it had already swum into the Moistening Duck's stomach.

"Quack~"

The Moistening Duck could not help letting out a satisfied burp. An expression of enjoyment appeared on its face. It patted its slightly bulging belly, then continued looking around for hiding spirit fish.

These fish were delicious, but there were too few of them. And if it was not careful, they would slip away, making them hard to catch.

Luckily, this time it had encountered a stupid fish.

As the Moistening Duck's thoughts ran wild, it suddenly spotted something strange floating beneath the lake's surface. It instinctively opened its mouth and bit down.

"Half an hour left. If no fish bite by then, we're going home." Chen Yuan said this as he glanced at Cola, who was so bored he was staring into space.

"Aw~"

Cola's ears drooped. Without even lifting his head, he gave his master a perfunctory response.

He had heard that line several times already.

Yet the result was always the same: no fish caught, and no one went home.

"Hm, hooked a big one?" Feeling movement from the fishing rod, Chen Yuan abruptly looked up, delight flashing across his face.

That heavy pull was definitely not some little thing!

"Aw!" Cola immediately raised his eyes, which gleamed brightly as he cheered his master on.

"It's a little heavy, but I can handle it." Chen Yuan stood up, steadied his footing, tensed both arms, and pulled hard.

Cola wagged his tail as he watched, his entire face tense.

Whether they got to eat spirit fish depended on this moment.

"Hu!"

After a brief stalemate and tug-of-war, Chen Yuan took a deep breath, summoned all his strength, and yanked the fishing rod upward!

The next moment, a white figure burst from the water along with the flying fishing line and landed with a solid thud on the lakeshore.

Chen Yuan froze where he stood.

He had indeed hooked a big catch.

But why was it a duck?!

This duck-like Extraordinary Creature was covered from head to toe in white feathers. Atop its head sat a fluffy hairstyle made of pale blue feathers, while a yellow heart emblem stood out on its chest.

It was an Extraordinary Creature that looked exceptionally flashy.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Yuan finally remembered this Extraordinary Creature's name—Moistening Duck, a Water-type Contracted Beast.

"Instead of catching a spirit fish, I caught a Moistening Duck?" Chen Yuan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

In the distance, when the fishing enthusiasts saw that Chen Yuan had not caught a spirit fish, they all sighed in relief and sat back down.

"Quack quack quack!"

The Moistening Duck yanked the fishhook from its mouth and glared furiously at the fishing rod in Chen Yuan's hand. Its oval blue eyes were filled with rage.

Chen Yuan silently tossed down the fishing rod in his hand, spread his palms, and said, "How about you listen to my explanation first?"

"Quack quack quack!"

The Moistening Duck refused Chen Yuan's explanation and spat out a swift stream of water.

"Chirp!"

Spark abruptly opened his sharp eyes. Sparks churned in his mouth, and scorching flames would erupt the next second.

However, Cola reacted even faster. Excitement flickered in his eyes as he stepped forward without hesitation, shielding Chen Yuan behind him. At the same time, Wind Blades howled forth one after another!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Wind Blades and water stream collided explosively midway. They wrestled against each other for a moment with fierce blasts, only to cancel each other out.

After that exchange, neither side had gained the upper hand.

Chen Yuan first looked at the still-enraged Moistening Duck, then at the expectant Cola. He had no choice but to say, "Cola, you're up."

"Aw aw aw!"

Seeing that his request to fight had been granted and that he was about to enter his first official battle, Cola was instantly beside himself with excitement, light blooming in his eyes.

"Spark, hold the line from the side."

Cola immediately fell silent.