"Boss, it's the Yulan Festival again, isn't it?"
On the ice, Loa sat cross-legged, fishing. A crude bamboo rod, a thin line, an iron hook, and a wriggling earthworm on the hook. Wangcai crouched beside him, watching him fiddle with it all.
"Mm." Loa stared at the hole in the ice. "Counting the days, tomorrow should be the Yulan Festival."
He paused, then added, "Year 9997. Time really flies."
So fast it left him a little dazed.
He had spent these years traveling all over, spending more time training outside than staying in the city. But even out here, the Yulan Festival still called for a little celebration.
Looking at the hole in the ice, Loa suddenly frowned.
He kept feeling he had forgotten something important.
And whatever it was, it was very important.
But he simply couldn't remember it.
"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. "My damned memory fails me when it matters."
Wangcai tilted his head at him. "What did you say, boss?"
"Nothing."
The moment he finished speaking, the fishing rod in his hands lurched downward!
Loa's eyes lit up. He pulled with both hands, the muscles in his arms instantly tightening. The fish struggled desperately underwater, pulling the line taut and sending chips of ice tumbling from the edge of the hole.
"Up!"
With a heave of his arms, a fish over a meter long flew out of the hole, traced a silver arc through the air, and slammed onto the ice, leaving a web of cracks.
The fish flopped a few times on the ice, then slowly stopped moving.
"Haha!" Loa stood, walked over, and picked up the fish, hefting it in his hand. "Pretty big. Grilled fish it is today."
Wangcai came over to sniff it, then backed away two steps.
"Boss," he