Special Skill

The Celestial Steed River stretched for hundreds of li, and the fishermen who made their living from its waters numbered in the hundreds and thousands.

Making a living on the water was no easy matter. Wind and waves, hidden reefs, water beasts, river bandits, and even the strange horrors lurking beneath the river constantly threatened their safety.

An Old Fisherman like Sun Bo, who had spent forty years fishing and could still handle an oar and cast a net, was undoubtedly as rare as a phoenix feather or qilin horn!

His experience was incomparably vast.

Fishing was skilled work, after all. Sculling a boat, sounding the waters and tracking fish, casting nets and angling—every part of it required experience.

Under normal circumstances, the precious experience an Old Fisherman accumulated over a lifetime would never be taught to outsiders.

The principle that teaching an apprentice starves the master held true in all worlds!

Yet who knew what methods Chen Zhize had used to make Sun Bo willingly teach Zhang Yuan everything he knew.

He held nothing back.

At first, Sun Bo taught him the techniques of sculling.

That was because the new fishing boat Chen Zhize had half-sold and half-given to Zhang Yuan was a Black Awning Sculling Boat.

Unaffected by wind or water depth, the scull was the most efficient human-powered means of propelling a boat.

The scull was mounted at the stern. Embedded in it was a square piece of hard, wear-resistant wood—the Oar Pad—with a semicircular hole carved into its center, fitted over a pivot fixed to the stern.

The flat end of the scull extended into the water, while its handle was tied to the side of the boat with hemp rope.

The person sculling needed only to grip the oar and push it forward, then pull it back.

The scull swayed through the water, paddling it and driving the boat forward!

It sounded simple and looked uncomplicated, but actually doing it was an entirely different matter.

Zhang Yuan spent three days barely mastering the technique of sculling.

Sun Bo was left utterly astonished!

Back then, it had taken him nearly two months to become proficient in the skill.

And Zhang Yuan's daily practice time had actually been quite limited.

In the days that followed, Zhang Yuan came to the dock early every morning to meet the Old Fisherman. They boarded the boat, sculled downriver, and Zhang Yuan learned the methods of fishing.

He usually disembarked at the river bend before Whale Fortress, then went to the Wooden Dummy Room in the Wubao to diligently train in the Surging Wave Palm.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yuan returned to the river bend to practice his swimming skills.

At the same time, he searched for the Extraordinary Lifeform he had encountered last time.

When he returned home at night, he still needed to continue practicing the Boulder Foundation Skill and soak in medicinal baths to temper his flesh and skin.

Bit by bit, he improved his vitality and strength.

His days were incomparably full.

In the blink of an eye, autumn had arrived.

That morning, when dawn had only begun to brighten the sky, Zhang Yuan sculled the fishing boat into the tranquil river bend.

He handed the scull to Sun Bo, then went to the bow and grabbed the fishing net lying on the deck.

The next moment, Zhang Yuan suddenly twisted his body and swung his arm, casting the net in his hand.

The fishing net instantly spread open in midair and fell over the surface of the water.

Then it quickly sank!

The entire process flowed in one smooth motion, flawless to the extreme.

After a moment, once he sensed that the net had reached the bottom, Zhang Yuan slowly began pulling in the large net.

Before long, water splashed as silver scales flickered beneath the net. The thrashing force was not weak at all.

He had netted big fish!

Sure enough, when Zhang Yuan hauled in the entire net, it contained one large carp, two mandarin fish, and more than a dozen miscellaneous fish.

It was a bountiful catch!

The large carp in particular was the most valuable.

Carp from the Celestial Steed River were famous far and wide. Their flesh was delicious and free of any muddy odor, and they also had nourishing properties.

This carp weighed six or seven jin. It could sell for at least one tael of silver at a restaurant in the city.

Delighted, Zhang Yuan placed the large fish into the live-water hold.

"Little Brother Zhang..."

At that moment, Sun Bo suddenly said, "You can fully strike out on your own now. This old man has taught you everything I can. Your fishing skills are now about as seasoned as someone else's after three or four years!"

The Old Fisherman was feeling rather bitter inside.

He had a son and had long intended for his son to inherit his trade, passing all of his fishing skills on to him.

Yet Sun Bo's son had been born on the water, but had not learned the slightest bit of a fisherman's ability.

He rammed the shore while rowing, lost the rope when casting nets—dull beyond compare!

But Zhang Yuan, by contrast, had learned seventy to eighty percent of his skills in less than a month.

Comparing people really could make one mad with envy!

If Zhang Yuan had been his son, Sun Bo would truly have woken laughing even from his dreams.

Zhang Yuan smiled. "It's all because you taught so well!"

The capable were teachers. Zhang Yuan held this Old Fisherman in considerable respect.

Of the fish he caught during daily practice, he kept at most one or two to bring home for himself to eat.

He gave all the rest to Sun Bo as compensation.

Sun Bo waved his hand, sighed, and sat down at the stern.

He looked utterly dejected.

Zhang Yuan's heart stirred. He set down the net and asked, "Sun Bo, have you run into some trouble?"

After hesitating for a moment, Sun Bo still answered, "It's not anything major..."

The reason he had agreed to Chen Zhize's request and taught all of his fishing skills to Zhang Yuan,

aside from Chen Zhize's status,

was mainly because he wanted to secure a livelihood for his son!

Sun Bo's son was already in his twenties. Having failed to learn his father's skills, he made his living selling fish.

Naturally, the fish he sold were from their own catch.

But after fishing for nearly forty years, Sun Bo had been left with rheumatism and all manner of aches and pains. His aging body had long been unable to bear the burden.

He was only holding on by force now. He likely would be completely unable to continue after another year or so.

And he had a large family to support.

If this source of income was cut off, they would all have to swallow chaff and eat vegetables!

Chen Zhize had promised Sun Bo that once he had taught Zhang Yuan, he would arrange a job at the dock for his son.

That way, with the Raging Whale Gang to rely on, he could at least scrape together enough food and warmth.

Now that Zhang Yuan could already strike out on his own, Sun Bo could not help worrying that Incense Master Chen might be too busy with important affairs...

After hearing him out, Zhang Yuan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

But he could fully understand the other man's misgivings.

Because if Chen Zhize truly reneged on his promise, Sun Bo would have no way to deal with it.

Such was the sorrow and helplessness of little people at the bottom!

Patting his chest, Zhang Yuan said, "Don't worry. I'll speak to Brother Chen. I guarantee there won't be any problem!"

In truth, given Chen Zhize's character, he would never do something so beneath him.

But to put the Old Fisherman at ease, Zhang Yuan added his personal guarantee.

Sun Bo immediately beamed. "Thank you, thank you, Little Brother Zhang. Now this old man can rest easy."

A great weight had been lifted from him, and even his tightly furrowed brow relaxed.

Gritting his teeth, the Old Fisherman suddenly added, "Little Brother Zhang, this old man actually has another skill—Flying Hook Turtle Fishing. I had originally planned to take it into the coffin with me, but now I'll pass it on to you as well!"

Flying Hook Turtle Fishing?

Zhang Yuan's eyes lit up—it sounded impressive!

So-called Flying Hook Turtle Fishing involved using thin line and fishhooks to fly-fish for soft-shelled turtles in the Celestial Steed River.

River turtles were one of the water's treasures, worth far more than carp.

But the wild soft-shelled turtles in the Celestial Steed River were exceptionally alert, making them difficult to catch with ordinary fishing methods.

Sun Bo's Flying Hook Turtle Fishing, however, was his own creation.

Other than himself, no other fisherman had mastered it!

If Sun Bo had not held Zhang Yuan in high regard, and if he had not been reluctant to see this skill lost, he would never have taught it to him.

One promise from Zhang Yuan had earned him a unique skill!