Chapter 00107: The Sudden Fish Tide
# The Sudden Fish Tide
Chapter 107
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 107: The Sudden Fish Tide
The scene blurred, and his eyes ached.
The fat man instinctively opened his mouth to scream, but a piece of flatbread was shoved in, muffling his voice.
Immediately after, a sharp pain shot through his chest and abdomen.
The young man across from him had thrown at least three punches in half a breath, all landing on his diaphragm.
The fat man’s vision darkened, and he couldn’t breathe.
He Lingchuan wasn’t done yet.
He kicked out, hitting the fat man right in his most sensitive spot.
The pain was so intense that the fat man immediately doubled over, clutching himself and writhing on the ground.
Compared to this agony, the foul stench didn’t seem so bad anymore.
The bodyguard was quick-witted.
Worried that the fat man’s collapse might make too much noise and alert people outside, he immediately propped him up 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 a coiled silk rope from his storage ring and swiftly bound the fat man’s hands.
This type of rope was used by the city guards to restrain suspects—light, flexible, and elastic.
He Lingchuan had not only prepared it in his storage ring but had also practiced the knotting technique before setting out.
In no time, the fat man was securely tied.
By the time the fat man came to his senses and tried to struggle free, the more he moved, the tighter the rope became.
With the flatbread still stuffed in his mouth, he couldn’t call for help from outside.
To make matters worse, the young master pulled out a dagger and pressed it against his neck, threatening, “Keep struggling, and I’ll cut off your ears and gouge out your eyes first!”
The captive immediately calmed down.
He Lingchuan gave his bodyguard a meaningful look, and the latter went to inspect the house.
He returned shortly and reported, “There are two people outside. They asked about the noise 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. “Seems like you’re quite the fighter. Everyone trusts you to handle things.” It was likely that with the fat man inside, the bandits outside didn’t think much of it, believing he could easily deal with He Lingchuan and his two guards.
So, it had been the right choice not to engage in direct combat with the fat man.
The sound of a fight would have drawn attention, not to mention whether he could even win—this guy clearly looked like a desperate thug, and his counterattacks wouldn’t be weak.
At any rate, he and Zhu Shi finally had a chance to talk directly.
He Lingchuan let out a sigh of relief, searched the fat man, and took all his valuables, including the black thorn ring on his finger.
￥￥￥￥￥
He Yue and Zeng Feixiong left the residence of the prefect and his wife, heading toward the lake.
He Chunhua had already explained the situation to Zeng Feixiong, who was now going to gather his men and make preparations. “Second Young Master, why are you coming out too? It’s dangerous outside.”
By the lake, bandits were scattered in small groups.
After He Chunhua’s warning, Zeng Feixiong now saw everyone as a potential bandit.
He Yue wasn’t convinced. “My brother just came out earlier. Why didn’t anyone say it was dangerous for him?” He was followed by two bodyguards.
“Uh…” The eldest young master clearly knew how to take care of himself, unlike the second young master, who seemed more delicate.
He Yue waved his hand. “Don’t worry, I’m just joking. I can’t stay in my parents’ room all the time—it would raise suspicions. I won’t go too far from you guys.”
At his age, being a teenager full of energy, it would be unnatural for him to stay cooped up in his parents’ room all day.
As they walked, a few villagers passed by, and the two stopped talking.
When they reached the lake, they heard splashing sounds.
He Yue looked into the lake and couldn’t help but laugh. “I hope this isn’t where the villagers get their drinking water.”
This section of the Immortal Spirit Lake was narrow, with wetlands dividing it into a smaller pool.
The slope was gentle, and the water was originally clean and calm, with only a few fallen leaves floating on the surface.
But now, four or five soldiers were splashing around in the water, laughing and playing.
It was October, and the mountain air was especially cold, but this group had been traveling for a long time.
A quick rub of their skin revealed thick layers of dirt.
Seeing the clear lake water, they couldn’t resist.
Besides, these men were all strong and healthy—what harm could a cold bath do?
Mao Tao was among them.
Though he was originally a sand bandit, he was sociable and had already blended in with the other soldiers.
Seeing He Yue and Zeng Feixiong approach, he called out enthusiastically, “Second Young Master, Boss, come on in! It’s so refreshing here. There are even little fish nibbling at you—it tickles and feels amazing!”
He puckered his lips, mimicking the fish’s sucking motion.
The others laughed and imitated him, filling the lake with strange noises.
He Yue asked curiously, “Do the fish bite?”
Blackwater City had streams and seasonal rivers, but nothing like this vast, endless lake.
“They don’t break the skin or draw blood. It doesn’t hurt,” Mao Tao quickly fished out a small fish the size of a fingertip. “See? They only seem to eat dead skin.”
“Alright, everyone out. What kind of behavior is this, making such a ruckus?” Zeng Feixiong was weighed down with worries and didn’t want to waste time.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Mao Tao suddenly shushed everyone. “Quiet, listen!”
The others were about to laugh at him, but Zeng Feixiong’s expression changed, and he barked, “Silence!”
Everyone fell quiet, and He Yue also heard the strange sound.
Ssshhh… it was familiar, like the sound of sand being stirred.
Mao Tao pointed to the open lake surface not far away. “It’s coming from there!”
Not only that, but the sound was growing louder and closer, heading straight for the shore.
Now everyone could see that the water surface seemed to be boiling, with a white wave rushing toward them.
Zeng Feixiong’s face also changed, and he shouted, “Everyone, get out!”
But it was too late.
Only two soldiers had climbed out when the white wave hit.
First, two palm-sized fish leaped out of the water, smacking Mao Tao in the face and leaving him stunned.
Then five, ten fish jumped into the pool.
Followed by twenty, thirty…
A hundred, a thousand…
The fish kept leaping into the pool, and some even flopped onto the shore.
Only then did everyone realize that the “white wave” on the lake wasn’t water—it was a massive school of fish, frantically jumping!
Several soldiers were caught off guard, yelping as flying fish poked them.
The fish came in all sizes and varieties, from as small as a pinky finger to as large as seven or eight feet.
The others, however, laughed. “Extra food! Dinner’s here tonight!”
One eight-foot-long fish flopped onto the sloping shore but couldn’t make it any further, thrashing in the mud and splashing everyone with water and dirt.
The soldiers weren’t scared—they were delighted. “This must be the fish king! Enough to feed dozens of people.”
Fish were flopping everywhere—on the shore, in the water.
It looked like there were at least a thousand or two thousand pounds of fish.
Villagers and soldiers from nearby heard the commotion and came to watch.
But while the soldiers waded in or stood by the shore to catch fish, the villagers kept their distance, staying at least fifteen feet away from the water.
He Yue noticed this and felt a pang of suspicion.
Could there be danger ahead?
He suddenly remembered the blood letter and the broken water spirit tablet.
This frenzied fish tide was clearly abnormal.
Could it be related to that?
He shouted, “Get out! Stop catching fish!”
At that moment, a figure dashed through the tall grass, down the slope, and into the lake with a splash, disappearing beneath the surface.
(End of Chapter)