CH 12

Chapter 12: Who has the Golden Finger?

“Do you know how to fish?” Yang Xiaolong asked.

“Well, I know a little bit,” Jing Tian replied, sitting on a small stool nearby, her hands propping up her chin.

“Do you want to try it?” Yang Xiaolong handed her the fishing rod he had in his hand.

“I’ll pass. I only know how to use a hand rod.”

“Hey, there is some movement there.”

As they were talking, the hand rod they had just cast began to shake, and Yang Xiaolong didn’t have a free hand since he was holding the fishing rod.

“Jing Tian, quickly reel it in, don’t let it get away!”

“Oh, okay,” Jing Tian snapped out of her daze and tightly gripped the fishing rod, looking nervous.

Yang Xiaolong retracted the hook, realizing that he couldn’t just let Jing Tian fish on her own. If anything happened to her small hands and legs, he wouldn’t be able to explain it to the old man later that night.

“Brother Long, I can’t hold on anymore.”

“Don’t worry,” Yang Xiaolong took the fishing rod from her and pulled it up sharply, catching a fish weighing over two pounds.

Jing Tian shone a flashlight on it. “It’s a male stone dog fish.”

“Brother Long, the other rod is moving too.”

Just as they were about to celebrate, the fishing rod next to them moved again.

Yang Xiaolong quickly stepped forward and grabbed the rod.

Not wanting to waste any time, Jing Tian took off the Stone Dogfish they had caught earlier and put it in the bucket.

“How is it, can you reel it in?” Jing Tian’s previous lack of enthusiasm had disappeared, and she watched Yang Xiaolong intently.

“I’m not sure, this one should be bigger than the last, and it’s putting up a fight.”

Although it was dark, the fishing line was bouncing up and down on the surface of the water, creating splashes that showed the strength of the fish. The end of the hand rod was bent into an arch from the strain.

Jing Tian didn’t bother him and stood quietly beside him, biting her lip with excitement and nervousness.

After a few minutes of struggle, the strength coming from the hand rod noticeably decreased. Although the fish was bigger than the Stone Dogfish they caught earlier, it was estimated to be only about three catties, otherwise the hand rod would not be able to withstand the strain.

The hand rod’s line was already relatively short, and if Yang Xiaolong wasn’t worried about the rod breaking, he could have just pulled it up directly.

In no time, the fish was pulled up to the side of the boat.

“Jing Tian, get ready to net it.”

“Okay.”

Jing Tian’s excited face turned red as she held a fishing net and leaned over the boat’s rail to prepare for fishing.

Due to her well-developed body, the two lumps in front of her were almost popping out. Although it was night, Yang Xiaolong couldn’t help but feel a little thirsty when he looked at her.

“Brother Long, what are you staring at? Hurry up and pull it up!”

“Oh, right.”

Embarrassed by her shout, Yang Xiaolong quickly turned his attention to the fish in the water.

With a splash, the fish was lifted out of the water. Jing Tian caught it with the net just in time, but it was a bit difficult to lift it with her hands because the boat was too high. Nevertheless, she managed to pull it up.

“It’s a frogfish.” Jing Tian was a little disappointed.

“This fish is so ugly.” Yang Xiaolong took a look at it. The fish had a very peculiar shape, with a short conical body, a huge and flat head, a flat but particularly wide mouth with a row of sharp teeth pointed inward at the edges, and eyes on its back, seemingly without scales.

“Jing Tian, is this fish expensive?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Why do you call it a frogfish?”

“Well, actually it’s called an anglerfish, but because it looks a bit ugly, we call it frogfish locally. Some people also call it an old man fish because its voice sounds like an old man’s cough.”

Yang Xiaolong nodded. That’s how it was. But as soon as he heard that it was not worth much, he lost interest. It was no wonder, with such an ugly appearance, it took courage to even consider eating it. How could it be expensive?

However, he was in a good mood tonight. He didn’t use a blue ring and he still caught fish. This was his first time coming to the seaside, which was enough to show that the resources in the open sea were indeed more abundant.

“Hehe, Brother Long, can I try too?” With the experience of the first two catches, Jing Tian’s fishing addiction was also aroused, and her fishing enthusiasm was even stronger than his.

“Okay, but you have to be careful.”

“I know.”

Yang Xiaolong walked to the side and started to play with a fishing rod since both fishing rods were occupied by Jing Tian. Sea fishing was more exciting, and fishing rods were more suitable for reservoirs or rivers.

The blue-ringed octopus had rested enough, so Yang Xiaolong released it. There weren’t many nets in this area, so he dared to let it out. Otherwise, he wouldn’t take the risk at night when visibility was poor.

As soon as the blue-ringed octopus came out, it started to eat the small shrimps swimming around it, gobbling them up like eating melon seeds.

After a few minutes, it might have had enough to eat and swam around the surrounding area.

While Yang Xiaolong controlled the octopus, Jing Tian was also busy, pulling up a fish every now and then. It felt like two fishing rods were not enough, making Yang Xiaolong somewhat depressed. Could she also have a golden finger? That shouldn’t be the case.

Nighttime visibility was poor, especially underwater. Although some coral reefs would emit light, the ripples were making him dizzy.

There were quite a few fish in the water, but they were all small, only the size of fingernails.

After circling around and finding nothing, Yang Xiaolong was about to give up when he suddenly spotted a small tail in a coral group.

“What the hell is that?” He controlled the blue-ringed octopus and approached slowly. The tail was thin and yellow-brown, and the body’s back was covered with irregular light-colored spots.

The head was obscured by coral, so it was unclear, but it weighed at least ten or twenty pounds. He recognized this fish, and it was called a cat shark.

The cat shark was also a carnivorous fish, and Yang Xiaolong hung a fresh baby octopus on his lure, aimed at the right position, and cast the bait out directly.

Fishing at night has its benefits, as the movements can be a bit louder without causing any trouble. Generally, the fish at the bottom of the water are either feeding or resting and don’t pay much attention.

As the octopus enters the water, it sinks rapidly with the lead weight. The cat shark is feeding in the coral group, and the blue ring swims to the front and emits a halo.

The cat shark was enjoying its meal when an unwelcome guest arrived. Its teeth moved like a cat’s, and its shining eyes stared at the blue ring. This gesture was not to be taken lightly.

However, the blue ring was not there to fight. It saw that it had successfully caught the cat shark’s attention, so it turned around and left. The surrounding fish and shrimp were also startled and scattered, disappearing in an instant.

When the cat shark saw the blue ring leaving, it relaxed its vigilance a little. Since the food had fled, it flung its tail and darted out of the coral group.

Cat sharks have the aggressive nature of cats. They not only eat fish and shrimp in the water, but sometimes also catch seabirds on the surface. Since it was disturbed by the blue ring, the cat shark continued its search for food after it had not eaten enough.

As soon as the cat shark emerged from the coral group, it saw a baby octopus right in front of it. It looked around warily and then circled around it twice.

Yang Xiaolong shook his rod, as live bait could stimulate the cat shark’s aggression.

Sure enough, as soon as the baby octopus moved, the cat shark immediately opened its big mouth and fiercely bit down.

“Crunch.”

Yang Xiaolong was caught off guard and was almost knocked down.

Jing Tian, who was beside him, noticed that something was wrong and without hesitation, she hugged him from behind. This was the deep sea area, and falling down was no joke.