Chapter 15: Fishing out the Cave in the Lake

  Guo Zhen waited for half a day, extremely impatient, pouting her small mouth and saying: "How come all these fish are blind, they don't even care about my excellent bait!"

  Hu Bin laughed and said: "If they actually come to bite, that would be blind!"

  Guo Zhen gave him a fierce stare and said, "You'd better remember! Once I catch it, you have to roast it for me to eat! Don't try to welch on the deal later!"

  "Hu Bin smiled and said, 'I won't forget! You catch one, I'll roast one. You catch a hundred, I'll roast a hundred. Let you eat your fill! The only question is whether you have the good fortune to enjoy it.'"

  "Watch and see!" said Guo Zhen with a slight pout.

  The people around also found it more interesting and came to tease Guo Zhen.

  A young man laughed and said: "Look! There's a fish biting the hook!"

  Kwok Zhenyi listened, but when he looked, it was just the ripples on the water's surface caused by the wind. He knew he was being teased and became even more serious, staring intently at the float drifting on the water's surface without blinking, afraid of missing something accidentally.

  Hu Bin handed over a well-roasted, fragrant and juicy sausage. Guo Zhen smiled as she took it, nodding while eating: "Mmm! It's roasted just right, the timing is perfect! The grilled fish later will definitely be delicious!"

  Hu Bin listened and smiled, but didn't say much.

  After a while, Wu Xin and others came down the mountain with laughter.

  Fang Xiaoqin saw that Hu Bin had already roasted some things beside him, and hurriedly ran over to grab two of them. She smiled and handed one to Wu Xin.

  Wu Xin laughed and said: "Hehe, it seems that my mouth is quite good!" Seeing Guo Zhen also turned around to look at him, he hurriedly smiled and said: "A Zhen, how many fish did you catch?"

  Guo Zhen laughed and said: "Wu Xin! Come quickly, I've caught a very strange fish, and I don't even know its name! Its shape is somewhat like that of a grass carp, only the color is darker!"

  Wu Xin suddenly walked over and said, "Oh? There's actually such a fish? It can't be the legendary mountain old fish, right?" The girls also came to take a look, but Hu Bin secretly smiled to himself.

  When Wu Xin walked up to take a look, Guo Zhen suddenly grabbed him and burst out laughing: "Everyone come quick and take a look! I've finally caught a big colorful fish, but it turns out that eating too much grass has made it look like a grass bundle!"

  Everyone suddenly realized, just looking at each other and smiling. Wu Xin bitterly smiled: "Saying I'm a bumpkin? I don't have any opinion on that, everyone knows I've always been very humble! As for saying I'm this...this big and...this, it's actually biased, how could I be that kind of person?"

  Fang Xiaoqin sneered, "Is this what you call humility? It's laughable! As for that sentence, I actually agree with Ah Zhen's view, it's spot on!"

  Wu Xin let out a bitter laugh, seeing the sour taste in Xiao Qin's eyes, and stopped talking, only staring at her with a helpless expression. Fang Xiaoqin was stared at by him until her face turned red with shame, feeling embarrassed herself, gave him a coquettish and resentful glance, then ran to Ah Zhen's side to watch her fish.

  Guo Zhen saw Xiao Qin coming over and hugged her, saying: "Sister Xiao Qin, why aren't the fish biting? Do you have any secret fishing techniques? If we catch some later, can we eat them together?"

  Fang Xiaoxin was happily thinking about Wu Xin's gaze and didn't hear for a moment, only calling out "Ah?" after Guo Zhen finished speaking.

  Guo Zhen gazed at her rosy face and immediately understood, leaning in close to whisper with a chuckle: "You're really infatuated! Thinking of your lover, you didn't even hear a word I said! Just wait and see how I'll tease you!" With that, she reached out to pinch Fang Xiaoqin.

  Fang Xiaoqin blushed and said to Rao: "Alright, Ah Zhen, let's focus on fishing!"

  Guo Zhen smiled and said: "You think it's so easy for me to let you off, it's not that simple!"

  When the two were chatting and laughing together, Huang Xiuying also came over.

  Huang Xiuying crouched down, leaning between the two of them, and smiled softly: "Ah Zhen, Xiao Qin, I have a way to catch fish, do you want to hear it?"

  The two of them were both surprised and laughed, saying: "Oh? Come on, let's hear it!"

  Huang Xiuying smiled lightly and pursed her lips, but didn't answer. She just gave Wu Xin a ambiguous look with her eyes.

  "Great idea! Little Qinsister and Yingying have both agreed, you won't object, will you?"

  Xiao Qin still didn't understand what was going on and asked strangely: "What's going on? Is there a fish over there or something?"

  Huang Xiuying smiled lightly after hearing this, then leaned over to Xiao Qin's ear and whispered for a while, making Xiao Qin burst out laughing. Then she said: "I have no opinion, you guys handle it!"

  "However, there's one more condition. You go and call him over, I guarantee he'll behave himself. But you're not allowed to listen in on our conversation!"

  The two of them were a bit strange, they just took a glance at her and then happily ran towards Wu Xin.

  Wu Xin was roasting chicken legs when he was pulled by two people towards Guo Zhen, and didn't know what was going on.

  Guo Zhen saw the two men dragging Wu Xin over, and then ran off to barbecue again. She quickly grabbed Wu Xin and smiled flirtatiously: "Husband! Will you accompany me fishing?"

  Wu Xin suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and awkwardly said: "Ah Zhen! There are so many people here, don't shout like that, it's too embarrassing! Someone will die!"

  Guo Zhen listened, her flower branch trembling with laughter: "Husband! What's embarrassing about this? Tonight... hehe... tonight I still want you to accompany me!"

  Wu Xin's body jerked backward, almost falling over, and he stared at Guo Zhen with an even more shocked and strange expression. He forced a smile and said, "Ah Zhen, don't be ridiculous! If others hear it, it'll be troublesome!"

  Guo Zhen twisted her waist and pouted: "I want to! I still want to call you old... loudly!" As she said this, her voice indeed became extremely loud.

  Wu Xin reacted quickly and hurriedly covered Guo Zhen's small mouth, saying in a frightened tone: "I'm afraid of you! Don't read it, okay?"

  "I just like it when you touch my face like that!" Guo Zhen said with a sly smile, blowing a stream of hot air onto Wu Xin's hand.

  Wu Xin hastily withdrew his hand and secretly worried, this girl was really too troublesome!

  Guo Zhen smiled slyly and said softly, "Husband! I know you dislike me. Otherwise, you'd give me fishing, if I don't catch any, I'll definitely accompany you tonight; if I do catch some, everything can be negotiated. Is that fair?

  Wu Xin smiled wryly: "So you want me to catch fish for you!"

  "Where! I like you! You are a big bear, and now I want fish, but more than that, I want this bear. When the bear can't be had, I'll take the fish first. If I get it, then I won't even want the fish!" Guo Zhen giggled in Wu Xin's ear, her voice extremely soft and sweet, with a hint of sweetness, making Wu Xin's heart skip a beat.

  Wu Xin smiled lightly and said, "You're so bold? Aren't you afraid I'll intentionally not catch any fish?" As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that he was being too frivolous, and didn't dare look at her.

  Guo Zhen sighed softly: "Can't find it!"

  Wu Xin dared not to be careless again, took over her fishing rod and began to think about fishing.

  Guo Zhen then chose an easy target and ran to the barbecue stall to grab some food.

  Hu Bin smiled: "What's wrong? Did you catch me off guard? But I don't admit to being caught by others!"

  "He's mine, I caught him, and he naturally belongs to me. If you're capable, go catch someone else to help you grill fish!" Guo Zhen scolded.

  Hu Bin didn't argue much: "Will he be okay just because he's fishing? I think the fish aren't that obedient!"

  Guo Zhen listened and thought it made sense, so he grabbed a few roasted things and ran back to Wu Xin's place.

  Before they even reached the lake, the entire lake suddenly became murky, with muddy sediment surging up from the bottom of the lake, constantly emitting large bubbles, as if a fierce battle was happening at the bottom of the lake. Guo Zhen was shocked and stared at Wu Xing's right hand holding the fishing rod, drawing circles in mid-air, and knew it was Wu Xing's skill, momentarily stunned.

  Hu Bin had been secretly watching Guo Zhen, seeing her just now still jumping and leaping like a rabbit, but suddenly standing still, feeling something was wrong, hurriedly got up to take a look. Several girls saw it too, also felt strange, holding delicious food in their hands, rushed over to take a look.

  The lake is not wide, with a diameter of only about 100 meters, and the lake is not deep. There are often tree leaves sinking in it, and there is water grass growing in it, so even in summer, it is clear and blue, very beautiful. As for winter, the water grass has long since withered and sunk to the bottom, and the lake bed can be seen at a glance. The yellow leaves and withered branches on the lake bed are clearly visible, very clear. Just now, everyone stood by the lake and could see the nearby lake bed, and the water was even clearer and more transparent. However, it is completely different now! The lake bed seems to have added a dragon, constantly rolling and struggling, stirring up huge waves, colliding left and right, rising and falling. In the process, it rolls up the withered branches and leaves on the lake bed, as well as mud and dust. The lake surface also begins to become chaotic and unbridled, slightly trembling, occasionally surging high, water hitting the stone blocks on the shore, triggering a clear and crisp sound.

  Hu Bin and others stared blankly at the changing lake water, unmoving. When they looked at Wu Xin again, he was still silently fishing with his right hand, drawing circles in mid-air. Suddenly, Wu Xin's hand jerked back, pulling up a wave of water that splashed onto the shore, creating a splash two or three meters high, like a brief rain shower, startling nearby tourists who rushed over to see what had happened. On the ground lay a large carp, weighing seven or eight kilograms, its body wrapped in fishing line, still flailing about but unable to break free. The onlookers were shocked - how could someone catch fish in this cold winter? They too were momentarily stunned as they gazed out at the lake water.

  Kuo Chen was stunned for a moment, then saw the carp jumping around on the shore, and his heart was filled with joy. He quickly ran over, flapping his arms, and grabbed the carp with both hands, slowly untying the fishing line from its body. As the fish struggled, he didn't care about getting dirty, tightly hugging it with both hands, afraid that it would jump back into the lake. At the same time, he excitedly shouted: "Haha! I finally caught a fish! Hu Bin, you've lost this time!"

  Everyone else was amused by her lovely appearance and momentarily forgot about their daze, bursting into laughter.

  Wu Xin's face turned red, and he didn't expect the lake water to be stirred up like this. He pretended to be nonchalant and walked towards the barbecue area.

  Hu Bin also came back to his senses, couldn't help but smile, and said softly to Guo Zhen: "Still, you're the one with skills! You caught a big fish that's hard to handle, I can only help you roast it well!"

  Just as he was about to take the fish away to kill and clean it, the lake's administrator came running over, exclaiming in shock: "You really caught a fish! How is this possible?"

  When he saw the big carp in Hu Bin's hands, he was speechless. Seeing that half of the lake surface was murky, he suddenly became angry and said: "What have you done? Fishing is okay, but how did you make the lake water so turbid?"

  "Wu Xin hurried over and said, 'Old man! You're being muddled. How could we possibly make the lake water like this with just fishing rods? Can we even dive to the bottom of the water by ourselves to cause trouble?'"

  That old man was also a reasonable person. As soon as he spoke, he knew it wasn't right and hurriedly asked in a low voice: "What's going on with this lake water? What have you done?"

  "Wu Xin laughed and said, "Old man! We didn't know either, we were just fishing and suddenly it became like this. Old man, I want to ask you something, could there be... some unclean things in this lake?" He intentionally teased him a bit."

  But unexpectedly, the old man's face changed upon hearing this and he said lightly: "Nonsense! How is that possible? What unclean thing could be here?"

  Passersby were too lazy to listen to their whispers, or ran to the lake to watch the muddy water, or were too lazy to pay attention and went to busy themselves with their own affairs.

  Hu Bin hastily brought over a string of fragrant ham, laughing: "Uncle! Since there's nothing else to do, why don't you chat with us for a bit? Come on, come on, sit down!" He led the old man to sit down. The old man felt a bit guilty that they couldn't communicate properly, but seeing Hu Bin offer him delicious food, he was actually very happy, his face clearing up as he chuckled: "How can I accept this?! Hmm, this ham is roasted just right, you have skills!"

  Hu Bin gave Wu Xin a look, then said: "Uncle! You sit down first, I'll go deal with this carp. Later you try my roasted carp, I guarantee you'll like it!"

  "Alright! Oh, right! You go to that small hut up front. There's a kitchen knife in front of the house and water beside it, you can make yourself at home there!"

  "Haha, alright then, thank you so much! Please sit down and chat with them for a bit. I'll be right back!"

  "What's with the thanks? No need to be so polite?" Ah-Ber said with a hint of displeasure, but still smiling.

  Wu Xin Bian also came over and smiled: "Ah Bo, how long have you been here?"

  "Wow! I've been here for decades! The environment is great! It's just a bit too humid!" Ah Bo laughed.

  "Is there really a monster in that lake?" Guo Zhen was the most curious, having just caught sight of Lao Bo's expression.

  The old man's whole body was a bit uncomfortable, his smile dimmed slightly, and he said lightly: "What monster is in this lake? You're not allowed to talk nonsense! I think you all have good intentions and are smart, so I'll tell you a secret. It's a bit strange, but I don't know if you'll be afraid!"

  Everyone suddenly became curious. Wu Xin said lightly: "Uncle, don't worry, we won't be afraid and absolutely won't tell outsiders!"

  "It's been over thirty years, I'm a bit surprised, and I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me, but it's so vivid, I was only in my early twenties back then, my vision has always been good, I shouldn't be mistaken!" The old man muttered to himself. Everyone became even more curious, staring at him.

  Hu Bin also came over, holding the prepared fish, using several forks to pick it up and placing it on the fire to roast. He too listened intently.

  It was a summer midnight, the weather was sultry, I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, but suddenly heard a low sobbing sound outside! At that time, I immediately lost all drowsiness, cold sweat broke out on my head!

  Fang Xiaoqin was startled when she heard the "sobbing sound", feeling as if she had been scared onto Wu Xin's body, her whole body trembling. Although she knew it was daytime, everything around her seemed pitch black, and a low sobbing sound came into her ears. Huang Xiuying was also startled, and quickly hugged Zi Yi, but also felt some curiosity. Xiao Lan, on the other hand, hugged Guo Zhen tightly, both of them staring at Lao Bo with not much fear.

  I thought for a moment, I don't believe in ghosts and gods, so I felt very strange, thinking of going to see what's going on, and didn't even turn on the light. The crying sound was low, but it seemed like a man's, coming from this lake. I quietly opened the window and took a look, only to see a frightening scene!

  Huang Xiuying let out a "wow!" and her face turned pale, lightly laughing: "How terrifying!" She couldn't help but tightly hug Zi Yi with one hand while patting her own chest with the other. Fang Xiaoqin had already hidden into Wu Xin's arms, shivering slightly and feeling quite stimulated. Wu Xin gently said: "You guys don't have to listen, go play for a bit on the side!" But unexpectedly everyone was unwilling, saying: "It's fine, continue telling us, we're still curious!"

  The old man paused, smiled and continued: "At that time, I saw a person standing on the lake surface. The dim moonlight shone on him, and it was clear that he was a man. He was holding a woman in his arms, who seemed to be wearing red clothes. You all know that this lake is not big, and my small cottage is by the lake, so I could see very clearly! The man held the woman, whose skirt was trailing in the water, constantly stirring the water surface, which sparkled under the moonlight. But the man's feet were suspended in mid-air, without touching the water at all. Tell me, wasn't it frightening?"

  The girls finally breathed a sigh of relief, but instead became unafraid, knowing that he must be a highly skilled martial artist, and they were all just curious.

  The old man saw that everyone was not afraid, but instead became confused himself, and continued to say: "Those two people seemed to be young, while the woman seemed to have died. The man just kept crying and talking, but I couldn't hear a word. I was scared and didn't dare to go out and take a look, so I just kept watching like this. Not long after, another man came, floating from the sky, looking like an immortal. That man also floated in mid-air, quietly watching the two people. The first man bowed his head and mumbled for a while before raising his hand, and the woman flew up into the air. The two men then began to gesture and argue. At first, I thought the two were quarreling, but later when I looked down at their feet, I discovered that the lake water was surging and churning like crazy, with waves rolling in."

  The two of them started spinning around, gesturing for a while. The girl's body fell down again, and the man from before hugged her again, and they both stopped gesturing. They stood still, motionless, just like at first! After a while, I got tired, blinked my eyes, but suddenly saw nothing! Isn't that strange? I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me!" said the old man quietly.

  "What else did you find out?" Hu Bin asked urgently.

  The old man laughed and said, "You're still clever! The next day I got up and ran to the lake to take a look, but I was frightened. The lake water was very turbid, as if it had been stirred up. It could be seen that the whole lake was full of dead fish, with their white bellies facing upwards, looking quite spectacular! So I thought, what I saw last night must have been real, I saw a ghost! But then again, I didn't understand, those two men were ghosts, but what about the woman? If she was a ghost, how could she die? Fortunately, in all these years, I haven't seen anything as strange as that again! So just now when I saw the lake water become turbid, it reminded me of that incident!"

  Wu Xin laughed and said, "So that's it! I thought maybe it was just a momentary dizziness after all! There are many reasons why the lake water becomes turbid, and it is also possible that there was a collapse or something similar at the bottom of the lake. When the lake water becomes turbid, the water changes a lot, and many fish may not adapt to it and die, which is easy to explain."

  The old man smiled and said: "Yes! I've thought about it too. Otherwise, how come we haven't seen each other again later?

  Everyone burst out laughing at once.

  Chapter 15