Forest Kingdom, Great Marsh Prefecture, Great Marsh Lake.
Moonlight spilled across the ground like liquid mercury, and the lake's surface shimmered with ripples.
Two black-canopied boats lay alongside each other, a bean-sized lamp glowing at their bows.
Great Marsh Lake was vast and misty, stretching eight hundred li from end to end. Its waters teemed with fish and nourished countless fishermen along its shores.
Suddenly, a cry brimming with delight rang out. "Caught it! We caught a Crimson Blood Carp!"
"Good job, Ah Yu! This is a Crimson Blood Carp with the bloodline of a lesser dragon... One of these can fetch at least several dozen taels of silver at the fish market!"
A mangy-headed man in a straw rain cape, barely in his twenties and with crooked eyes and a twisted mouth, stared in wild delight at the carp struggling endlessly in the net. Then he looked toward the back of the other youth, tightening and loosening his grip on the fish spear over and over.
"Huh?"
Aaron came back to himself, as though awakening from a long, endless dream.
Then he caught sight of an ugly man reeking of fish, gripping a fish spear as he watched him with an uncertain expression. There seemed to be a vicious gleam in his eyes.
Yet this body was terribly frail, with scarcely any strength to speak of.
Without a second thought, he spun around and swung his lower leg upward!
--A groin kick!
The kick was vicious and heavy. More importantly, the mangy-headed man had not expected it at all. The blow landed squarely on his vital spot, forcing his legs to clamp together in agony. His back hunched over, and tears nearly spilled from his eyes.
Aaron's right hand shot out like a venomous snake, striking the mangy-headed man