This Fish Is Targeting Me!

At this moment Chen Yi still did not know that inexplicable trouble was tracking his scent to find him.

He was sitting in the pavilion, eyes fixed squarely on the fish float in the pond, turning over thoughts in his mind.

Although confinement had brought much boredom and dullness, fortunately his harvest was plentiful. Not only had his way of calligraphy reached great completion, elevating his calligraphy to the Proficient Level, but he had also practiced the Martial Path, possessing the Proficient Level Great Spear Stance Cultivation.

Only, having been abruptly released from confinement, for a moment he could not think of what to do outside.

Mostly it would just be wandering about, going to look at the local customs and practices of this world, or going to see famous mountains and great rivers...

Oh, for the time being he could not go too far.

There were still those unidentified people hiding in the dark, just like fish bones stuck in his throat, making him feel somewhat disgusted.

Thinking thus, Chen Yi turned his head to look at Xiao Die and asked, "Are there any places worth visiting around here in Shuzhou?"

"Brother-in-law, there are plenty of fun places in Shuzhou," Xiao Die moved her stool closer, cupped her chin in both hands, looked up at him, and smiled:

"Except for the passes and military garrisons to the south of Shuzhou which cannot be visited, there are lakes and seas to the east, Wushan and Chishui to the west, and many county towns to the north with plenty of fun things."

"However, Shuzhou is too vast, so Brother-in-law probably cannot go too far. As for the prefectural city here, you can go to West City. Every day there are many merchants coming from foreign territories there, bringing all sorts of bizarre little knick-knacks."

Hearing her say this, Chen Yi grew interested: "Coming over the Tea Horse Road?"

Xiao Die nodded, "Those people all hang big and small gemstones on their bodies, wear strange hats on their heads, some even wear veils around, and their eyes are all sorts of colorful colors."

Chen Yi understood in his heart, somewhat resembling people from the White Elephant.

"What else?"

"And then there are many academies and wine shops over in the north of the city, mostly gathered by learned people, which Brother-in-law will surely like."

Quite the contrary.

Chen Yi did not like it at all.

From the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty until now, over two hundred years, the spirit of the Martial Path remained flourishing, but literary scholars and ink-sodden poets given to affectation were likewise countless.

Wherever men of talent gathered, poems and songs, singing of antiquity and disparaging the present, and discussing court politics were indispensable.

Fortunately, the Great Wei Dynasty had not invented literary prisons yet; if one day the emperor's brain went haywire, the more poems and lyrics one wrote, the greater the risk.

Furthermore, Chen Yi currently only had calligraphy and poetry he could show off; in zither, chess, painting, and books he was completely incompetent. If by any chance he leaked flaws over there, the fun would be huge.

Either the rumors in Jiangnan Prefecture were false, or he had changed into a different person.

Whichever kind it was, it would affect his days as an idle son-in-law in the Xiao Family.

"Then there is also East City. Occasionally, tribes from the mountainous regions perform there. Eldest Miss took me there once before, so amazing..."

"What about the south of the city?" Chen Yi asked casually.

Xiao Die's smile faltered, "The south of the city, south... Brother-in-law, you cannot go over there, or Eldest Miss and Second Miss will scold you."

"Why?"

As soon as Chen Yi asked, he saw the fish float twitch, and with eyes glowing, he gripped the fishing rod tight and jerked it upward fiercely.

Who knew that fish of unknown breed only followed to expose its head, before shaking off the hook and dropping right back down.

"There are many face-powders in the south of the city..." Xiao Die tilted her head, scavenging for phrasing.

"Oh~ understood."

Places with much face-powder were willow lanes and flower alleys.

If a matrilocal son-in-law like him ran to that kind of place, he truly might be hung up and beaten by the people of the Xiao Family.

Just like this moment-Chen Yi was thinking of hauling that damned fish out of the pond and then fiercely beating it up.

A full two days.

He had fished here for a full two days, not only failing to hook a single fish, but also being toyed with by the very same fish.

Why did he know it was the same one?

Indeed that fish was too easy to recognize; the one with a small tuft of golden whiskers on its head was it.

Therefore, Chen Yi even gave it a very apt name, "Golden-haired Carp".

"Consider it fast-running, or else tonight this brother-in-law of yours will taste the flavor of charcoal-roasted golden-haired fish."

Muttering to himself, Chen Yi pulled back the fishing line and cast the bait out anew.

"Where was I just talking to?"

"Nowhere." Worried he would ask about the south of the city again, Xiao Die shifted the topic and asked:

"Brother-in-law, I've seen you fishing here for two days, and it seems like you haven't hooked a single fish?"

"Uh, are you questioning my fishing level?" Chen Yi looked at her with murder in his eyes.

He was only because he had just started getting familiar with fishing and hadn't figured out the fish nature of this world yet.

Give him a little more time, and he would definitely be able to hook all the fish in this pond.

"No, no... it's just," Xiao Die shrank her head, "it's just that when I went to Eldest Miss's place today, Eldest Miss asked me what Brother-in-law has been doing recently."

"Oh."

"I, I didn't say anything!"

Perhaps because Xiao Die's voice was a bit loud, Chen Yi turned his head in surprise and looked at her.

Xiao Die lowered her head and dared not look at him.

Her mind was entirely occupied by that "rebellious poem", terrified of being silenced by Brother-in-law if she spoke it out.

That was fine.

What Xiao Die feared most right now was facing Xiao Wan'er, just like how smoothly Xiao Wan'er had inquired about Chen Yi's recent life that morning, and she had almost failed to hold back from saying:

"Jade steps, jade trees, like your appearance, rare in the human world."

Fortunately she reacted promptly, only mentioning the matter of fishing, and her brain became completely empty, not even remembering how Eldest Miss had replied.

Thinking, Xiao Die stammered and said: "I just said Brother-in-law was fishing, nothing else."

"Just fishing, if you said it then you said it."

Chen Yi waved his hand indifferently, then continued to cast out the fish hook, leaning back leisurely on the recliner.

These days he practiced stance for one hour every morning, studied running script for half an hour, and spent all the remaining time fishing.

Yet what depressed him was-because not a single fish had been hooked, there were no prompts whatsoever on the panel, and he didn't even know if there was such a thing as "fishing Dao".

If there were, he would definitely max it out and clear out all the fish in this pond.

Just as Chen Yi was contending with the golden-haired carp, light footsteps came from behind, followed directly by a childish child's voice:

"Second Brother-in-law, what are you doing in the pavilion?"

"Wu Ge, run a bit slower."

Before Xiao Die could remind him, Chen Yi put down the fishing rod, stood up, and looked toward the source of the voice.

He saw Xiao Wuge, dressed in brocade attire, running in the front, and Xiao Wan'er, still draped in that pure white cloak, following behind with a full face of smiles.

Following that, Chen Yi saw Shen Huatang holding a sword with both hands and carrying a blank expression behind them, her face instantly turning serious as she bowed and said:

"Young Marquis, Sister Wan'er."

Elder sister-in-law Xiao Wan'er was two years older than him, so calling her elder sister was no loss.

Younger brother-in-law Xiao Wuge, with his status right there, naturally could not be called directly by name, seeing as he was currently only a lowly matrilocal son-in-law of the Xiao Manor.

"Second Brother-in-law, are you fishing?" Xiao Wuge walked up to the front, took a look, and curiously flipped through the fish basket beside them: "There are no fish?"

Brat, for the sake of your sister, this angler temporarily forgives your unbridled words.

Thinking thus, Chen Yi placed one hand in front and kept the other behind his back, saying: "Jiang Taigong fishes, willing participants take the bait."

Don't ask; asking means I don't want to haul them up.

Clearly Xiao Wuge didn't understand, "Oh, so the fish are unwilling to take the bait, right?"

"Wu Ge, did you forget how Eldest Sister taught you?" Xiao Wan'er, however, had caught the artistic conception of those words, scolding him with a gentle pat while recalling who Jiang Taigong was.

Thinking for a moment, she couldn't find this person either, so she smiled toward Chen Yi:

"Brother-in-law's learning is extraordinary, every time you speak it contains principles."

"Flattered." Chen Yi coughed, catching out of the corner of his eye that Shen Huatang seemed to twitch her long sword, and directly asked:

"Sister Wan'er, do you have business with me?"

Ever since he was pressed against the neck by this sword last time, he had some stress response to a certain extent, always feeling that at any moment of disagreement, this Guard Shen would thrust a sword straight over.

"Indeed there is a matter that requires brother-in-law to lend a hand."

Instead, Xiao Wan'er felt he was straightforward by nature, so she pointed at Xiao Wuge and said: "I need to leave home for a period of time, these days I trouble brother-in-law to look after Wu Ge."

Chen Yi was stunned. This was asking him to babysit and be a male nanny?