Perhaps because of the disturbance caused by the Tuo Dragon, there was no one on this road.
As he approached the Black Water Pool, the sun was already high overhead. Shen Yuan ate a simple flatbread and drank some water, preparing for a major effort when the time came.
By the time of the Autumn Equinox, most of the surrounding leaves had turned yellow, but the shrubs near the Black Water Pool were still very lush. In his past and present lives, he was never a botanist, so he couldn't understand the secret behind this.
He could only attribute it to the deep mountains and spiritual land, nourishing these plants well.
Cautiously approaching the Black Water Pool, Shen Yuan chose a less shrubby, more open spot.
Without shrubs blocking the view, any lurking Tuo Dragons could be spotted at a glance, making it relatively safe.
After scouting a good spot, he immediately set down the fishing net on his shoulder to get started, but suddenly noticed a silhouette on a large rock not far away!
Frowning, Shen Yuan squinted to get a better look. There was indeed a person there, wearing a brown long robe and a conical hat, sitting cross-legged on the rock, with a fishing rod in front. It was hard to tell their age.
The two were not far apart, but the dense shrubs surrounding the person made them difficult to notice.
Seeing the other person fishing, Shen Yuan hesitated for a moment and ultimately decided not to cast his net here.
Those who come to the Black Water Pool are all common people from nearby villages. People are fishing, and the noise from net casting would disturb the surrounding fish.
Putting the fishing net back on his shoulder, Shen Yuan was about to move to a further spot, when the figure with the conical hat seemed to notice him too, taking off the hat to reveal a head full of silver hair, smiling.
"Young man, go ahead and cast, don't mind this old man."
It was an elder. Although his voice was not loud, it was very clear.
Shen Yuan slightly clasped his hands: "Since elder is fishing here, it would be inappropriate for me to cast a net."
"The Black Water Pool has many Tuo Dragons and giant pythons. With dense shrubs around you, be more cautious."
The elder either didn't hear him or didn't care, as he didn't continue to respond.
Without saying much more, Shen Yuan turned to find another good spot further away, ensuring he wouldn't disturb the elder before starting to cast his net.
The fishing net formed a perfect circle and quickly fell into the water.
A moment later, he started collecting the net.
Feeling the weight of the fishing net in his hands, a slight smile appeared on his face.
There's a catch!
And it seems to be quite a lot!
When the fishing net was lifted from the water, seven or eight blue fish, each estimated to weigh two to three jins, were struggling fiercely in the net.
After acquiring the Ninth Grade Bloodline, his strength had increased significantly, easily lifting the net.
With big risks come great rewards.
The nearby villagers feared the Tuo Dragons and giant pythons of the Black Water Pool, not daring to fish here, resulting in more and more fish accumulating in the pool.
Happily, Shen Yuan took out a hemp cord to string up the blue fish from the net one by one.
"I'll send two to Master Lu later."
Selecting two larger, more vibrant blue fish, Shen Yuan thought to himself.
Lu Zhiyuan, being Ah Nu's teacher, was very dedicated to Ah Nu, even helping to buy Niu Erzhu's land and Uncle Ya caring for the orchard.
Not having anything decent to offer as thanks, he enjoyed eating fish, so perhaps he would send over a couple later.
Hanging the fish on a branch nearby, Shen Yuan sorted out the fishing net and cast it again.
This time, the haul was not as big as the first, but there were still two blue fish and four or five half-jin grass carp.
After organizing the catch, Shen Yuan was tidying up the net when a voice sounded behind him.
"Young man, you're lucky."
The sudden voice startled him, turning around to find it was the elderly fisherman he had seen before.
"Does this old man walk soundlessly?" he internally complained, then cheerfully asked: "How's your catch today, elder?"
The elder stroked his snow-white beard and shook his head slightly: "Not a single fish has bitten so far."
That bad?
Shen Yuan was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
"Hehe, there's nothing surprising about it. The creatures in this Black Dragon Pool are imbued with Dragon Qi, very shrewd." The old man said, almost comforting himself.
Shen Yuan didn't respond.
Rookies often make excuses, like blaming bad weather...
"Young man, this old man has an unreasonable request."
The elder glanced at the fish catch hanging on the tree as he spoke.
Is he asking to buy fish again?
Looking at him, Shen Yuan felt a bit troubled.
These fish were intended for the full moon banquet, and the leftovers were for Master Lu.
Even if he were to sell them, he'd need more catch to feel comfortable doing that.
The elder seemed to see his dilemma and smiled: "This old man offers twenty silver ingots to buy your third net's haul."
"No matter how much this net yields, it belongs to this old man. What do you say?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan frowned lightly.
Buy the net?
This is gambling on luck.
"Elder, this doesn't seem right."
He wasn't worried about a loss on this third net.
Even if it yields as good a catch as the first net, it wouldn't be worth twenty silver ingots.
His concern was if the catch were too small, the elder might become unhappy, causing needless trouble.
"Young man, don't worry." The elder said, pulling out two ten-silver ingots from his pouch: "Even if this third net doesn't yield a single fish, this old man won't go back on his word."
With that, he placed the two silver ingots in Shen Yuan's hand.
"This..."
Initially, Shen Yuan thought the elder was joking, but the weight of the silver made him hesitate.
"Go ahead and cast, but let me make it clear, if this third net yields many fish, young man, you can't regret it."
With that, Shen Yuan laughed too.
The Black Water Pool's fish are more expensive than those from the Laishui River, but with twenty silver ingots, one could buy a hundred jins of fish. He didn't believe he could catch a hundred jins worth of fish in one cast.
"As long as the elder doesn't mind a loss, that's fine."
"How about this: if this net has no yield, I'll give the elder a blue fish and a few grass carp."
"Can't let you go empty-handed."
Thinking it over, Shen Yuan ultimately chose a way that he could live with his conscience.
Hearing this, the elder showed a satisfied smile.
"Young man, you're kind-hearted. Well then, let's begin."
Shen Yuan nodded slightly, organizing the fishing net before casting it vigorously.
Perhaps truly not wanting the elder to lose out, he cast the net a bit farther than usual.
With a splash!
The net sank into the water swiftly.
The elder quietly watched the water surface, and after a moment, Shen Yuan began to carefully reel in the net.
"Huh?!"
As he pulled the net rope, he suddenly let out a surprised sound.
Before he could even react, the net rope suddenly went taut!
A massive force pulled Shen Yuan off balance, almost causing him to fall into the water!
"What is this...?"
Panicking, Shen Yuan quickly stabilized himself and held onto the net rope tightly, trying to pull it back.
But whatever was caught in the net had terrifying strength, holding firm without moving an inch.
Shen Yuan tried a few times and found he couldn't budge it, so he quickly tied the net rope around a nearby tree trunk to prevent himself from being dragged into the water.
The old man behind him noticed this, his eyes flashing with a brilliant light, before coming over to take hold of the end of the net rope.
"Young man, let me help you," he said.
"Elder, it's dangerous, please step back!"
Shen Yuan quickly shouted, worrying that his Ninth Grade Bloodline-modified body couldn't even move it, and this elderly man was clearly already advanced in age. If something happened, wouldn't he be unwittingly dragged into trouble?