Chapter 401: Intense rivalry (1/2)
Chapter 401: Intense rivalry
The Illusory Sea Lake was absolutely silent. Long Feiye and Han Yunxi’s group sat by the shore, gathering warmth from the fire they’d set up. Of their number, Baili Mingxiang was the only one who had ventured onto the ice. Jun Yixie and Ouyang Ningruo were also keeping warm on the opposite shore, but they had 10 fishermen to their name on the lake surface. The two groups were less than 100 meters apart, and the difference in strength between them was obvious. Although neither side spoke nor acted impulsively, they each kept an eye on their respective opponents.
The smell of gunpowder had already spread across the lake. Both Baili Mingxiang and the ten fishermen were measuring each others’ strength by their movements. Suddenly, one fisherman stomped ferociously on the ice. Whatever was on the bottom of his shoe pierced into the surface and formed a depression. He stomped in the same place three more times until he made a hole. Naturally, just random stomping wouldn’t reveal any fisheyes, but the fish would still gather to the breathing hole to get some air. The fisherman actually took a long spear and stabbed into the water before getting a pole full of at least twenty large fish.
“Heheh, this lord is quite hungry!” Jun Yixie roared in delight as he accepted the offered pole and placed it over the fire for roasting. He is obviously taking advantage of the situation! Although anyone could make a hole and spear some fish, the fisherman’s quick and efficient moves proved him an expert. An ordinary person might take ages just to break through the ice itself. Long Feiye and Han Yunxi simply watched on coldly without saying a word.
Baili Mingxiang was a very calm, collected woman. She knew those fishermen were formidable, but she wasn’t afraid. There were plenty of fisheyes hidden in this lake, but it took skill to find them all. Rather than quantity, they were competing in quality. Otherwise, she could have found her own team of experienced fishermen as well. She looked back at Han Yunxi and said in a bantering tone, “Esteemed wangfei, are you hungry?”
“After seeing a certain someone’s tastes, I’ve lost my appetite. Let’s start.” Han Yunxi wore a brilliant smile, being even calmer than Baili Mingxiang. If they expected to scare her with such a simple show, they were greatly underestimating her. General Baili had only brought along Baili Mingxiang, but he most likely had his own reasons.
“Yes!” Baili Mingxiang was glad to see esteemed wangfei trusted her so much. Still, she couldn’t resist glancing at His Highness Duke of Qin during the second she turned back. It was enough to fill her vision with his handsome profile and drink deep of his fathomless gaze, as well as his frozen heart.
Your Highness Duke of Qin,just for the sake of this one glance today, Baili Mingxiang will help you win this battle.
Ignoring the demonstration from her opponents, Baili Mingxiang crouched down to carefully examine the ice, her jade-like fingers knocking lightly against its surface as she listened to the sounds produced. She stroked the frozen floor and gradually lost herself in the search, so much that she forgot all about the cold. Subconsciously, she gathered up her sleeves and began to measure the ice with her bare arms.
Seeing that their provocation had failed, the fishermen, Jun Yixie, and Ouyang Ningruo all lost interest in continuing the charade.
“Start searching. Whoever finds something will be rewarded with a multi-deck ship.” In all of Cloud Realm Continent, only Ouyang Ningruo’s wealth could be compared to the Duke of Qin’s. He made the declaration quite casually, but the fishermen were all elated at the promise. Very soon, all ten of them were searching studiously on the ice. Though the scene looked serene, an intense rivalry had just begun!
Jun Yixie purposely rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the lake to survey Baili Mingxiang’s delicate figure. Soon enough, Ouyang Ningruo joined him with a murmur. “This girl isn’t as simple as she looks.” Long Feiye had to have a reason to send out such a frail-looking figure.
“What, are you afraid of her?” Jun Yixie retorted. Ouyang Ningruo remained smiling soundlessly. Of his ten fishermen, two were first-rate experts with extensive records in fish hunting on Fishery Island. How could I be afraid? When have I ever made a bad business deal?
Jun Yixie stared at Baili Mingxiang for a long time and couldn’t help but feel that her complexion looked off. This sickly looking beauty didn’t seem ill, but poisoned instead. Unfortunately, he was too far away to ascertain his suspicions. He was puzzled as to what kind of poison lurked in her body. Was it something that Han Yunxi couldn’t cure herself? And how had the woman gotten poisoned in the first place? As Jun Yixie lost himself in his thoughts, there was a sudden noise.
Kerthunk!
Following the sound led one to a fisherman who’d violently stomped at the ice, sending ripples of cracks emanating from the center.
Could it be… Jun Yixie was an amateur when it came to fishing, but Ouyang Ningruo had starting laughing out loud long before his young partner knew what was going on.
“Old Yu,1 your skills certainly have improved!”
The fisherman burst into racous laughter. “Master’s over praising me. My decrepit self’s merely found a small fisheye, that’s all.” So speaking, he took out a spear and broke through the ice, revealing a hole teeming with noisy water. One could well imagine the quantity of fish thrashing beneath the surface.
As soon as the fisheye was found, the workers on the side swooped in with their nets to catch the fish. They had curved handles that allowed them to dip into the water and catch fish from a distance, thus allowing them to snag a large quantity of fish in a short amount of time.
“That fast! You guys can take it easy, don’t net all the fish in the lake!” Jun Yixie laughed as he walked closer to observe the fisheye.
“Your Highness Duke of Kang, it’s impossible for us to catch them all. Still, we can probably manage to net all the fish in this section of the lake,” Old Yu said happily.