Fishing Date Set, Rice Wine as Bait

The orange-red sun hung high in the heavens.

Scorching heat radiated across the land.

The incessant chirping of cicadas droned noisily.

Now and then, a faint breeze blew by, yet it brought not the slightest bit of coolness.

"Summer is far too unfriendly to a Wood Spirit Root." Xu Changqing slumped in a wooden chair at the doorway, his face the very picture of lifeless despair.

He was clearly not afraid of the cold in winter, yet once summer arrived, he could not stand the heat.

The higher the temperature, the more listless he became.

And it was not just him.

Even the little yellow dog and the Pearl Chickens were dispirited.

They were all curled up in shady corners, not daring to step outside at all.

Just then, a Communication Talisman in his small storage pouch began to vibrate.

Xu Changqing took it out and saw that it was Hu Bugui.

"What is it?"

"Coming out to fish?"

"Aren't you selling manure?"

"It's too hot. Hard to sell anything!"

"Oh? Where are we fishing?"

"Just tell me whether you're coming or not."

"I want to, but I don't have any fishing gear."

"I've got some."

"Where do we meet?"

"Wait at the fork near the Core Administration Office. I'll be there shortly."

With nothing else to do anyway, Xu Changqing accepted Hu Bugui's invitation.

Though his fishing skills were nothing to write home about.

He was quite curious about what kind of fish they might catch.

Before leaving, however, he packed two jin of Spirit Rice Wine.

Then he went to the Grade-Two Spirit Field and picked a half-ripe watermelon.

"It's a bit far, so I won't bring you along. Rest well at home." Xu Changqing placed a bamboo hat on his head, then headed toward the fork near the Core Administration Office.

Under the blazing heat, he could not help quickening his pace.

There was hardly anyone to be seen along the way. Nearly everyone was hiding at home rather than going outside.

The fork was where he had rented a flying paper crane on his last trip to the Red Maple Valley market.

He waited and waited... and waited and waited...

At last, a series of thudding vibrations came from the distance.

Xu Changqing glanced sideways and saw a camel charging toward him.

Hu Bugui sat between its humps, waving excitedly. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"You finally made it." Xu Changqing let out a breath of relief.

Soon, the camel stopped in front of him.

Then it lowered its body slightly.

Xu Changqing immediately climbed aboard.

Once he was seated firmly, Hu Bugui shouted, "Run!"

At once, the camel's four hooves pounded the ground as it galloped forward.

To be fair, it really was quite fast.

But it kicked up a great deal of dust as well.

Xu Changqing had no choice but to pull his bamboo hat lower, or his face would be covered in grime.

At that moment, Hu Bugui said, "You're still so young. Why do you stay in the Spirit Fields all day long? Come out and wander around when you have time. Have some fun everywhere."

Xu Changqing shrugged. "I'm more of a homebody."

"A homebody? You like houses?" Hu Bugui looked utterly bewildered.

Xu Changqing blinked, then explained, "I just joined the Spirit Field Core. I don't dare let my guard down. I'm afraid the yield will fall short and I won't be able to complete my tasks."

Hu Bugui nodded lightly. "I understand. I was just like you when I first joined Beast Spirit Valley."

The two chatted idly, one topic leading to another.

Nearly half a shichen passed in the blink of an eye—about an hour.

The scenery ahead gradually began to change.

To the left stood a lush forest.

To the right flowed a sparkling river.

Quite a few fishing enthusiasts were already gathered there.

In the height of summer, beneath the scorching sun, they sat as steady as Mount Tai at their fishing spots without uttering a word.

"There are too many people here. Let's go a little farther ahead." Hu Bugui did not stop.

After traveling another few hundred meters or so, they came upon a left turn.

There was hardly anyone in sight anymore.

Even if there was, they were on the opposite bank.

At that point, Hu Bugui guided the camel to gradually slow down.

Before long, it stopped beneath a patch of cool shade.

The two of them jumped down from the camel's humps one after another.

As Hu Bugui took things out of his small storage pouch, he said, "If you don't feel like fishing, you can go down for a swim."

"There isn't anything in this river, is there?" Xu Changqing could not help recalling the Black Tortoise Companion Beast he had seen at the Water-Control Pavilion before—that hundred-zhang-long yellow Soaring Serpent.

Hu Bugui wore a mysterious expression. "Other than spring water, every stream and river in the Spirit Fields originates from Black Lake at the Water-Control Pavilion."

Xu Changqing raised his brows. "You mean there really is something in it?"

Hu Bugui stepped closer to the riverbank and began choosing a fishing spot. "I heard people say that a black coffin once floated down this river.

"The blood that seeped from its cracks killed every living thing in the water.

"It even alarmed the immortal masters at the time."

This piqued Xu Changqing's curiosity even more. He moved closer and asked with a fascinated look, "Then doesn't that mean people were already here before our Dongting Immortal Sect?"

"Seems like it." Hu Bugui was not very sure either.

After all, that had happened several thousand years ago, perhaps even tens of thousands of years ago.

He was merely a formal disciple who had joined Beast Spirit Valley a few years earlier.

Everything he knew had come from other people.

Maybe we should go back. What if there really is danger? Xu Changqing thought.

"Are you fishing or not?" Hu Bugui had finished setting everything up. When he turned around, he found that Xu Changqing still had not moved.

"Uh... fishing." After thinking it over, Xu Changqing ultimately put aside the thought of leaving.

It was not easy for him to get out for once.

And his friend had invited him.

He could not spoil the other man's mood.

So, he found himself a spot nearby.

The hooks, lines, rods, and bait were all provided by Hu Bugui.

Xu Changqing, meanwhile, took out the Second-Grade Spirit Rice Wine and a half-ripe watermelon.

"Spirit Rice Wine." Hu Bugui's eyes immediately lit up.

He had been craving the stuff for ages.

The jin he had brought back last time had long since been finished.

He had been racking his brains for an excuse to ask for more, only to find that Xu Changqing had brought it himself.

Xu Changqing chuckled. "Fishing alone is too dull."

The two of them then drank while they fished.

In the end, they caught no fish, but drank more than half the wine.

Meanwhile, the fishing enthusiasts across the river reeled in fish one after another, their haul growing quite substantial.

After a while, Hu Bugui said with a flushed face, "Something's not right. Why are all the fish over there?"

Xu Changqing watched closely and pondered, "That person seems to be using some kind of method."

Although the river was not turbulent, it was far from calm.

Yet the stretch across from them did not have even the faintest ripple.

It was as still as a mirror. One look was enough to tell that something was wrong.

"Then what the hell are we fishing for?" The alcohol went to Hu Bugui's head, and he flung his hand in irritation.

At once, the remaining half cup of Spirit Rice Wine in his hand splashed into the river.

Something miraculous happened.

There had not been a single fish on their side.

Yet almost the instant the Spirit Rice Wine dissolved into the water—

Both their fishing rods began trembling.

The fishing lines went taut in an instant.

"The fish are biting?" Xu Changqing and Hu Bugui exchanged a glance, both utterly astonished.

Splash!

Splash!

Before long, two plump silver carp were hauled out of the water.

After that, it was as though the two had broken some curse.

Fish came one after another.

"What's going on?" Across the river, Zhao Ziyue was dumbfounded.

He had used the Water-Severing Technique to cut off the flow of water before him.

Then he had scattered the bait he had prepared in advance.

Yet ever since the two men appeared across the river—

The fish on his side had grown fewer and fewer.

By now, not a single fish had bitten for ten minutes.

But the other side could not stop catching them.

In only a short while, they had caught at least dozens of large silver carp!!!