On the cramped kitchen deck at the stern, Yang Bencai laid the fish flat on the ground.
The Golden Carp seemed to have finally realized it was about to be killed. Until now, only its mouth had occasionally opened and closed, but it flopped twice before Yang Bencai pinned it down and struck its head hard twice with the flat of his cleaver. Smack! Smack!
The fish went completely still, apparently stunned.
Then Yang Bencai drew the blade across its belly, but it failed to cut through. He tried again, yet still could not open it.
"Huh? Has this knife gone dull?"
Yang Bencai lifted the cleaver to inspect it, ran a finger along its edge, then searched around until he spotted a whetstone in a corner.
He immediately fetched the stone, sharpened the knife, and returned to his spot.
"Brother Yang, perhaps we should leave it be. This fish looks rather strange to me. Even with a slightly dull knife, you should still be able to cut it open."
Seeing that the fish remained motionless, Yang Bencai figured the blows must have killed it.
"It's already too late to worry about whether we should kill it."
As he spoke, Yang Bencai pinned the fish down again and tried to slit its belly, but this time it suddenly twitched.
"Hiss-ow!"
Yang Bencai set down the knife and clutched his hand. A cut had opened beneath his thumb, and blood flowed steadily, dripping onto the deck and the Golden Carp.
Flap, flap. Flap, flap.
The Golden Carp began flopping on the deck. Yi Shuyuan saw clearly that, as it moved, the carp caught the blood dripping onto its body in its mouth.
"Hey, Brother Yang, your fish!"
Yi Shuyuan called out from beside him. Yang Bencai looked down and saw that