CH 80.1

Jin Wang looked at the broken bamboo stick in his hand, threw it away, then picked up another one.

After he sharpened it a couple of times, he took the rope from her hand and tied it to the end. He yanked it twice to test if it would fall off. Then with two fingers, he pinched the bamboo stick and threw it into the stream with speed and accuracy. It flew like a sharp arrow, whistling through the air.

Then with a flick of Jin Wang’s wrist, the bamboo stick was yanked back. Nailed at the end was a fish that was still alive and flailing.

Yaoniang waited nervously for Jin Wang to speak, but he didn’t seem to have heard her.

Could it be that her voice was too quiet?

But she didn’t dare to repeat herself, much less at a louder volume.

Seeing Jin Wang almost drop the fish, she hurriedly put Xiaobao on a large rock, then approached him to take it.

Jin Wang passed the fish to her. His red eyes were dark and no waves could be seen. Her heart pounding, she avoided his eyes. She bent down and placed the fish into the bucket beside her.

On the large rock, Xiaobao sat there with his chubby legs crossed.

In fact, he had already realized in his heart that he was the root of his mother’s troubles. The reason why his mother died in his previous life probably had a lot to do with him. If his father didn’t hold a grudge in his heart if his father loved his mother, how could he not protect her with all his might?

Xiaobao’s back was straight, but his eyes slowly grew sad.

“Why are you in a daze? Come and catch them!”

Jin Wang’s voice travelled over as if nothing had happened just now.

Yaoniang grabbed the bucket hurriedly to pick up the fish, but Jin Wang was too fast. One fish after another came up without pausing. Yaoniang rushed around, trying to catch them, and many drops of water splashed onto her face. At the same time, she also yelled that it was too much and that they didn’t need anymore.

It seemed as if nothing had happened and everything was the same as before but who knows?

After catching half of the bucket of fish, Jin Wang stopped…

There were a lot of fish, but all of them were dead. They couldn’t be released, but there was no way they could eat them all by themselves.

Yaoniang looked at these fish and felt a headache.

“What should we do with all these?”

Jin Wang glanced at her. “Throw them away if we can’t finish it.”

“These fish are so fresh. Why throw them away? So wasteful.”

“Take back the ones you think we’ll need and leave the rest here. They won’t go to waste.” After that, Jin Wang started to walk back towards the house. Dressed in blue, not a speck of dust could be seen on him. In his hand was the bamboo stick with the rope attached to it.

Yaoniang had said that this bamboo stick was very helpful and could still be used next time, so he didn’t throw it away.

“Why won’t they be wasted? Isn’t leaving them here just wasting them?”

Yaoniang looked at the fish in the bucket with mixed feelings. She wanted to take them all back, but she couldn’t lift the bucket. She also couldn’t count on Jin Wang to do it. Plus, she had to carry Xiaobao. In the end, she could only pick and choose, so she threw some of the fish onto the rock beside them. She tried to lift the bucket. It wasn’t as heavy as before. Then she picked up Xiaobao, put his little arms around her neck, and reached out to carry the bucket with the other hand.

Before she could reach the bucket, something dark flashed by her eyes.

“I can do it!”

Uh…

Before she could realize what Jin Wang meant, her arms felt lighter. Xiaobao was taken away by Jin Wang.

“How is this little brat so fat?” Jin Wang lifted Xiaobao and looked him up and down with disdain. Then he finally set him on his uninjured shoulder.

Yaoniang lowered her head and blinked. Without speaking, she went to carry the bucket.

“Keep up.”

“Hey!”

She blinked away the mist in her eyes, hurriedly lifted the bucket, then stepped forward to follow.

“This little brat is so heavy! Fat and heavy.” 

The little brat looked at the back of Jin Wang’s head, wondering whether he should do it.

“Babies are all like this. They are a bit chubby in the beginning, but after a while, they will gradually lose weight,” explained the little brat’s mother.

Jin Wang snorted coldly, accepting this statement.

After the three of them left, a man jumped down from the treetop. Dressed in a black shirt, his steps were vigorous but light, akin to a big cat running in the dark. He came to the large rock and stared at the fish on it with distress.

How could he eat all this? The last two days, he had relied on the fish in the stream to fill his belly. He didn’t expect that after His Highness only came here for a while, all these lively fish were killed by him. Then he actually said that they must not be wasted.

Since they mustn’t be wasted, should he eat them?

Back at the wooden house, Yaoniang began to think about how to cook these fish.

Steam, boil, fry, grill? Finally, Jin Wang decided to grill them.

Yaoniang wasn’t too good at this, but Jin Wang said calmly that he could do it.

The three of them didn’t stay inside. Yaoniang only went in to find a sheet. It was stained with blood but she took it outside and spread it on the lawn.

Xiaobao couldn’t walk and the great lord, Jin Wang, was injured. They both needed a place to rest. After the two were settled in, she went to find a small shovel to dig a pit. According to Jin Wang, a fire pit was needed to grill fish. Yaoniang had no experience with any of this. Under Jin Wang’s instructions, she started to dig a crooked pit in the ground.

After digging the pit, she went to get some firewood.

Yaoniang piled the firewood in as if it were a stove, leaving only a small hole in the middle. Then Jin Wang said this wouldn’t do, the wood needed to be stacked upright. Disliking her for being clumsy, he drove her away and started to do it himself.

Yaoniang went to wash the fish then she marinated them. Once they were marinated, she took them out. By then, Jin Wang had already lit a fire.

Using the bamboo sticks from before, they skewered the fish then grilled them on a wooden rack, turning them as they cooked. Yaoniang had nothing to do, so she sat next to Jin Wang, watching him grill fish. She felt that his skills were quite good and that the him right now was nothing like a typical prince.

“I never expected that Your Highness could grill fish.”

“This prince is not as dumb as you!”