Zhang Yuyao sheepishly shut her mouth at that and raised no further objections.
Li Xian's thoughts, meanwhile, were drawn back to "fishing" by the topic. As he recalled Ji Xie's expression while fishing yesterday, his steps suddenly faltered.
There seemed to be something by the wall.
Zhang Yuyao was walking behind Li Xian, and when he stopped, she stopped too. Catching sight of an object in the shadows at the foot of the wall, she gave a sudden start. Only after getting a clear look at it did she breathe a sigh of relief:
"That scared me... Why is there a fish here?"
Her words drew everyone's attention, and they all looked down. A fish about twenty centimeters long lay motionless at the foot of the wall, and they couldn't tell whether it was alive or dead.
Hoodie Woman ventured a guess: "Could some of the eggs that big fish laid this morning have gotten in here?"
Zhang Yuyao said, "But the entrance here is usually closed, right? And none of us saw this fish when we came in..."
Li Xian found it strange too. He crouched down to touch the fish, but the instant his fingertips brushed its scales, the previously motionless fish began thrashing wildly, slipping out from under his hand and landing half a meter away.
Li Xian froze for a moment, then quickly reached out to grab it again. As luck would have it, the fish was flopping straight toward Ji Xie, who stood nearby holding the box in both hands. He flicked his foot out-and struck the wriggling fish squarely with his toe.
Then it flew back into Li Xian's hand like a boomerang.
Ji Xie's kick hadn't looked particularly hard, but it had knocked the fish unconscious. This time, it lay quietly in Li