Chapter 107: Sudden Fish Tide

Vision blurred, eyes stinging, the fat man instinctively opened his mouth to shout, but unexpectedly, a piece of flatbread was shoved in, muffling his voice.

Immediately after, sharp pain shot through his chest and abdomen; the young man opposite had landed at least three punches in half a breath! All three punches landed on his diaphragm, making the fat man's vision go black and rendering him unable to breathe.

Not satisfied, He Lingchuan then delivered a flying kick, striking him directly in the groin. The agonizing pain made the fat man immediately clutch himself and collapse, convulsing. Faced with such intense agony, the foul odor seemed less terrifying.

The guard was also quick-witted, fearing the fat man would make a loud thud when falling and attract attention from outside. He immediately supported him and pressed him to the ground. Sweat poured down the fat man's greasy face, but he couldn't make a sound.

He Lingchuan pulled out a silk-bound rope from his storage ring and quickly bound the fat man's hands. This type of rope, used by the city guards for suspects, was lightweight, flexible, and elastic. He Lingchuan not only kept it in his storage ring but had also specifically learned the corresponding knot-tying methods before setting out, allowing him to bind quickly.

When the fat man regained his senses and tried to struggle, the more he fought, the tighter the rope became. With a piece of flatbread still in his mouth, he couldn't call for backup from outside. Furthermore, the spoiled young master drew a dagger and held it to his throat, threatening, "Struggle again, and I'll cut off your ears before gouging out your eyes!"

The captive quieted down considerably.

He Lingchuan gestured to his guard, who then went to inspect the premises. A short while later, he returned and reported, "There were two people outside the courtyard asking about the commotion earlier. I told them the young master had too much to drink... They didn't suspect anything."

He Lingchuan kicked the captive on the ground. "It seems your combat prowess is good; others are very confident in you." Perhaps because the fat man was inside, keeping things under control, the bandits didn't give it much thought, trusting that he could handle He Lingchuan and the two guards. Therefore, his decision not to engage in direct hand-to-hand combat with the fat man was correct. The sound of a fight would have attracted trouble, not to mention whether he could even win—this guy clearly looked like a desperate man, and his counterattack wouldn't be weak.

Regardless, he and Zhu Shi finally had a chance to speak directly. He Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief, frisked Wang Pangzi, took all his valuables, and didn't forget to pry the Black Thorn ring off his hand.

He Yue and Zeng Feixiong left the magistrate and his wife's lodging and headed towards the lake.

He Chunhua had already explained the situation to Zeng Feixiong, who was now going to gather his men and make quiet preparations. "Why is the second young master out here too? It's dangerous outside."

By the lake, scattered groups of people were all bandits. After He Chunhua's warning, Zeng Feixiong now saw everyone as a bandit.

He Yue retorted, "My brother just came out, why didn't anyone say he was in danger?" He also had two personal guards following him.

"Uh..." The eldest young master clearly looked like he could take care of himself, unlike the seemingly delicate second young master.

He Yue waved his hand. "Don't mind it, I was just joking. I can't always stay with my parents; it would arouse suspicion. I also won't go too far from you." He was in his early teens, an age of high energy, and for a young man like him to constantly stay cooped up in his parents' room would be too unnatural.

Just then, a few villagers walked past, and the two stopped talking. They continued walking to the lakeside, where they heard splashing sounds. He Yue looked into the lake and couldn't help but chuckle, "I hope this isn't where the villagers get their water."

This section of Immortal Lake had a narrow waterway, and wetlands cut it into a secondary pool. The slope was very gentle, and the water surface was originally clean and calm, with only a few fallen leaves. But at that moment, four or five soldiers were splashing and laughing noisily in the water. In October, the cold was particularly intense deep in the mountains, but this team had been trekking for a long time. Rubbing themselves anywhere would reveal a thick layer of grime, so seeing the clear lake water was genuinely irresistible. Besides, these robust men were perfectly capable of taking a cold bath; what was the harm?

Maotao was among them. Although he came from a bandit background, he was skilled at socializing and had clearly blended in with the other soldiers. Seeing He Yue and Zeng Feixiong approach, he enthusiastically invited them, "Second Young Master, Chief, come down quickly! It's so pleasant here; there are even small fish nipping at you in the water, so itchy and refreshing!" As he spoke, he puckered his lips, mimicking the small fish's pecking and sucking motions. The others laughed and imitated him, filling the lake with strange noises for a moment.

He Yue asked in surprise, "Do fish eat people?" Blackwater City had streams and seasonal rivers, but no vast, endless lakes like this.

"No broken skin, no bleeding, no pain," Maotao quickly said as he scooped a small, fingertip-sized fish from the water. "Look, it seems they only eat dead skin."

"Alright, everyone out. What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket?" Zeng Feixiong, burdened with worries, didn't want to spend more time with them.

But no sooner had he spoken than Maotao suddenly shushed them, "Quiet, everyone, listen!" Others were about to mock him, but Zeng Feixiong's expression changed, and he sharply commanded, "Shut up!" Now everyone fell silent, and He Yue also heard a strange sound.

A rustling sound, quite familiar, like sand being stirred up. Maotao pointed to the open lake surface not far away. "It's coming from over there!" Not only that, but the sound was moving from far to near, growing from soft to loud, heading straight for the shore. Now everyone could see that the water surface seemed to be boiling, and a wave of white was rushing towards them.

Zeng Feixiong's expression also changed, and he shouted, "Everyone, get out of the water!" Unfortunately, he was still a step too slow. Only two soldiers had climbed out when the white wave crashed in. First, two palm-sized fish leaped out of the water and smacked Maotao in the face, stunning him. Immediately after, five, then ten more fish jumped into the secondary pool. Then twenty, thirty... one hundred, a thousand...

The fish that jumped into the secondary pool still seemed restless, frantically flapping onto the shore. Only then did everyone clearly see that what appeared to be a white wave on the lake was, in fact, countless frantically leaping fish! Several soldiers, unable to protect both their upper and lower bodies, cried out as they were jabbed by the flying fish.

The fish that poured in varied in size and species, from as small as a pinky finger to as large as seven or eight feet. The others, however, laughed loudly, "Extra meal! Tonight's late-night snack has arrived!" An eight-foot-long fish flopped onto the sloping bank but couldn't get any further, just struggling in the mud and sand, splashing everyone with muddy water. Far from being alarmed, the soldiers rejoiced, "This must be a king fish, right? Enough to feed dozens of people!"

On the shore and in the water, live fish were wildly flopping everywhere, appearing to weigh at least one to two thousand pounds. Villagers and soldiers nearby, hearing the commotion, rushed over to watch. However, only the soldiers entered the water or went near the shore to catch fish; the villagers stayed on the sidelines, watching the spectacle from at least 40 to 50 feet away from the water.

He Yue keenly noticed this, and a thought struck him: Could there be some danger lurking behind this? He suddenly remembered the broken Water Spirit tablet mentioned in the blood-stained letter. This frantic fish surge was clearly abnormal; could it be connected to that?

He shouted loudly, "Get out! Stop catching them!"

Just then, a person pushed through the tall grass, rushed down the slope to the lakeshore, and with a splash, leaped into the water, sinking out of sight.