A Fantasy of Fishing (Part One)

The Endless Sea stretched around the entire Azeroth Continent. Like all planets that harbored life, most of its surface was covered in water, with only a small portion made up of land.

After executing several more magical beasts foolish enough to get in his way, Lin Lei arrived at the beach west of Crouching Dragon Ravine.

The flat beach glittered like gold beneath the sun. Now and then, a few starfish washed ashore, their bodies curled up.

Before Lin Lei, a crab about the size of an adult man's palm was scuttling sideways with an air of utter dominance, as if to say none could rival it.

Its two little eyes darted about, and milky-white foam frothed at the corners of its mouth. It seemed to be mocking the fool shouting in front of it.

"Hey, you little rascal, you've got some nerve! Red Fire, teach it a lesson."

Lin Lei had been shouting when he lowered his head and spotted the mockery in the little creature's eyes. Feeling insulted, he ordered Red Fire to deal with it.

Crunch, crunch!

Red Fire didn't disappoint. Its jaws opened and closed, turning the crab into an appetizer before its meal. Juices spilled onto the beach with every bite.

"What a perfectly good crab, wasted by that little brat. What a waste."

Lin Lei sighed insincerely beside it, pretending to lament its fate.

This is my first time seeing the ocean. I should look around some more.

Lin Lei had to admit that in his previous life, he had never seen the ocean. Even after reaching adulthood, he had rarely seen the blue sky. It was only after arriving here that he'd finally gotten to see the sea for real.

He continued along the beach. The tide washed over his ankles, and the cool water felt wonderful. Red Fire ran freely beside him.

The spray that leapt up from the sea eventually fell back into it. Everything came from nature, and in the end, everything returned to nature.

He gazed into the distance.

White waves crashed against the reefs far away. Every so often, a flying fish cut through the sky, getting a taste of what it was like to fly.

The sea was clear and clean, with no plastic bags or discarded water bottles. The deep blue filled his vision, while the roar of the waves filled his ears. For a moment, Lin Lei was completely absorbed in it all.

Some trees resembling coconut palms grew along the edge of the beach. Their fruit was large and plump.

Lin Lei plucked one, split open its husk, and gulped down the juice inside.

"Ptooey..."

He spat it all out after just one swallow.

"Damn, that's awful. It tastes exactly like wild coconut water."

Wild coconut water didn't taste good at all. It was sour and astringent. Tourists usually drank coconuts that vendors had specially cultivated.

Lin Lei tossed the coconut aside and climbed onto a massive rock, where he gazed toward the horizon.

"What's that? It's sparkling."

Curious, Lin Lei made his way to a pool cut off from the sea.

The pool was about half the size of a basketball court and filled with seawater. Fish darted past him now and then. It must have been left behind when the tide came in.

The flash of light Lin Lei had just seen had come from here. But when he arrived, all he found was clear seawater and nothing else.

"Did I see it wrong?"

Lin Lei was a little disappointed. Then, suddenly, a golden flash appeared in the pool.

"Whoa! Is that the legendary Golden Carp?"

He cried out in delight. The Golden Carp was every angler's dream catch. He'd heard stories about it back in his old world, and he couldn't believe he'd actually encountered one in another world.

There were legends of the Golden Carp in Azeroth, too. Just as its name suggested, it was like a koi, representing good fortune. Anyone who ate an entire Golden Carp would see their luck improve many times over.

It could turn passersby into supporting characters, supporting characters into protagonists, and anyone into the chosen one—though the effect lasted only one day.

"I can't wait to catch it!"

Lin Lei took off his heavy armor and plunged into the pool with a powerful leap. It looked small, but it was at least ten meters deep.

As Lin Lei moved, the Golden Carp seemed to sense danger and darted off at incredible speed. It was at least five times faster than Lin Lei, vanishing so quickly that he couldn't even see it.

He could only make out where it was when it stopped. It seemed the legendary Golden Carp really wasn't easy to catch.

Lin Lei climbed ashore, unwilling to give up.

If one plan failed, he'd come up with another.

If I drain the water, it won't be able to swim away.

As soon as the idea came to him, he put it into action.

Lin Lei didn't have a large, modern pump. All he had were his own two hands. By controlling his strength, he moved a hundred liters of water at a time.

As Lin Lei worked, the water level in the pool visibly dropped. Before long, the Golden Carp would have nowhere to hide.

Splash! Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash!

To his utter disbelief, the trapped Golden Carp leapt out of the water, slapped Lin Lei across the face several times, then used his body as a springboard to leap all the way back into the sea.

"The Golden Carp got away."

Still dazed from being slapped by a fish, Lin Lei stared blankly as the Golden Carp turned into a golden streak and vanished over the horizon, leaving only a few red marks on his face.

"And just like that, it got away."

Lin Lei calmly repeated himself, once again demonstrating that repeating things was simply human nature.

To be honest, there was no way Lin Lei wasn't furious. In fact, for a while after the Golden Carp disappeared, he smashed every rock nearby to pieces.

Rock: The fish slapped you. Why take it out on me?

"Forget it."

He looked at the scene of the past few hours' work. The water in the pool was now less than half a meter deep. With a light touch, he could grab the fish still left in it.

"Since I didn't catch the Golden Carp, I'll have to settle for you instead."

Lin Lei pulled a bag more than a meter across out of his inventory and filled it with the remaining carp, crucian carp, crabs, lobsters, sea urchins, and every other edible seafood he could find.

He hefted the bag. It probably weighed a few hundred pounds—not much, but enough to feed dozens of people for a meal.

At last, Lin Lei brought the seafood with him and ended his first visit to the Endless Sea.

"Take this to the head chef and tell him I'm only eating carp tonight. Keep the rest alive for later. Make all kinds of carp dishes for dinner—steamed, braised, whatever you can think of."

Once he entered the Lord's Mansion, Lin Lei handed the bag to a maid standing nearby and told the Halfling to prepare a good meal with its contents.

After handing the bag of fish to a servant, he went to his bedroom, took off his armor and weapons, and lay down in his bathtub.

The bathwater was just the right temperature; the servants had tested it by hand. When the hot water covered Lin Lei's whole body, a feeling of immense comfort washed over him.

It felt as if every pore on his body had opened, with warmth coursing through them. It was wonderfully soothing.

Without a word, Lin Lei lounged in the tub until the water had gone completely cold before getting out.

"My lord, the head chef has prepared dinner according to your instructions. Miss Aierlan is waiting for you."

"Understood. You may go. Tell her I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, my lord."

The butler bowed and withdrew.

Lin Lei straightened his clothes: a suit made in his own territory. The local tailor had created it according to his instructions. Although Lin Lei hadn't explained the design very clearly, it still looked more than ninety percent like a modern suit.

"Wow, they really did make all kinds of carp dishes."

Lin Lei was astonished to see a table full of carp dishes. He'd only said it out of spite, but they'd actually gone and made them.

"There's boiled carp, braised carp, steamed carp, chopped fish head with garlic, stir-fried fish slices, and spicy grilled fish. That's amazing! Butler, give them a hundred gold coins as a bonus and add it to their wages."

Lin Lei said.

"Yes, my lord."

The butler replied. Then, with a keen sense of the moment, he directed the servants to leave, keeping only a few essential attendants on hand and giving Lin Lei and Aierlan some time alone.

"Darling, how do you think I should talk to your parents? What if they don't like me and want you to find some noblewoman with a higher status?"

Aierlan looked worried, and Lin Lei couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"They won't. Have you been reading too many melodramatic knight-romance novels? How could my parents not like you? Don't overthink it. Just act naturally around them. And stop reading all those ridiculous novels."

"Oh."

Aierlan looked a little embarrassed. A new bookstore had recently opened in Crouching Dragon Ravine, run by an outsider. It carried all sorts of books. Aside from magic training memoirs and other specialized works, it mostly had light novels of every kind.

She'd been browsing a magic training manual one day when she accidentally came across one. Ever since, she'd become hooked on these pointless novels. She often cried over them, much to Lin Lei's dismay.

"By the way, why are there so many fish dishes tonight? I asked the butler, and he said you ordered them. Why?"

Aierlan quickly changed the subject. Her question immediately wiped the smile from Lin Lei's face.

In less than five minutes, Lin Lei told her the whole story from beginning to end. When she heard that a kingdom's nobleman had been slapped in the face by a fish, she burst out laughing again.

This time, it was Aierlan who laughed.

And so, as the two traded one remark after another, the dinner party passed amid their laughter.

"The baron and Miss Aierlan get along so well. I've never seen such a cheerful, lively noble before,"

a maid standing outside said.

Another maid beside her quickly chimed in.

"I heard the baron is planning to marry Miss Aierlan in half a month. They've already started buying supplies for the wedding banquet."

"What are you doing here slacking off? Get back to work!"

The head maid came out from nearby and scolded them.

She was someone all the maids feared. If she caught them making a mistake, they could be dismissed, and it was nearly impossible to find a job in Crouching Dragon Ravine as comfortable and well-paid as working at the Lord's Mansion.