Chapter 71

The vast waters of Taihu Lake attract a large number of tourists every day, who enjoy boating and playing on the lake.

The activities of the tourists vary.

Some simply admire the scenery on the lake, while others paddle small boats and fish with lines.

For many people, fishing is a very relaxing recreational activity. They are not fishing for the fish themselves, nor do they care whether they can catch any fish. What they value more is the pleasure in the process of fishing.

However, if they can cultivate their sentiments and also have some harvest, catching a few big or small fish, it would certainly make the anglers feel more relaxed and joyful.

For example, at this moment, a large fish, at least a foot long, suddenly leaped out of the shimmering lake surface, immediately drawing the attention of many people.

"What a big silver fish..."

"Is it wild?"

The large fish was entirely silver-white, its scales gleaming brightly under the sunlight. Its body was agile, appearing and disappearing, sinking and floating, stirring up waves on the lake surface.

"Fish, fish..."

Not far away, a few sightseeing boats slowly drifted by. Some cute little girls and mischievous children on the boats also noticed the large fish, immediately clapping their little hands, jumping around, and rejoicing.

While everyone was paying attention, someone with keen eyes immediately noticed that the large fish seemed to have a fishing line in its mouth...

"Wow, you actually caught a big fish."

With that person's reminder, others finally noticed that the large fish was circling around a small boat, clearly struggling in the water to break free from the fishing line.

Qi Xiang sat at the bow of the boat, holding the fishing rod steadily, reeling in and letting out the line, everything under his control. After about ten minutes, the large fish was exhausted and was easily dragged onto the small boat.

In the cabin, there was a small pond for keeping fish. When he was about to put the large fish into the pond, a speedboat suddenly sped over, leaving a long trail of water on the lake.

The speedboat darted over in an instant.

Before it even got close, someone on the speedboat shouted, "Young brother, how much for the fish you caught?"

"Sorry, I'm not selling this fish," Qi Xiang replied casually, unhooked the fish, re-baited the hook, and gently cast it back into the water, waiting for the next big fish to bite.

The speedboat approached and slowly stopped. The person on the boat carefully examined the large fish on the small boat and immediately offered a price, "Young brother, consider it, I can offer a high price... five hundred yuan, how about it?"

Qi Xiang ignored him. Such a large fish was worth several hundred yuan anyway, so this was hardly a high price.

"Ahem!"

The person realized his mistake and quickly corrected himself, "No, no, no, I mean eight hundred, eight hundred yuan, okay?"

"I said, I'm not selling."

Qi Xiang was a bit impatient and rowed away from the area. Mainly, he had seen through the water and noticed the situation in the lake. After all the commotion, the big and small fish had all fled in fear.

With no fish in the water, he had to move to a new spot.

Seeing Qi Xiang row away, the person became anxious and shouted, "One thousand, one thousand yuan!"

A thousand yuan for a fish was indeed a high price. This also showed that the person was genuinely interested in buying it.

If it were any other time, Qi Xiang wouldn't mind fulfilling his sincere wish. However, he wasn't fishing for the fish itself but for the possibility of the Taihu Mystic Pearl in the fish's belly.

So no matter how much the person shouted, Qi Xiang remained unmoved and rowed even faster. The small boat glided swiftly on the lake, quickly drifting away.

"Hey, young brother..."

The person on the speedboat was both angry and frustrated, and had no choice but to turn back.

In a new location, with no one to disturb him, Qi Xiang continued fishing. His eyes easily penetrated the layers of lake water, seeing fish, shrimp, and crabs of all sizes.

However, Qi Xiang ignored the ordinary fish and shrimp. He believed that only the big fish might have the Taihu Mystic Pearl in their bellies. Or, conversely, only fish that had swallowed the Taihu Mystic Pearl could grow so large.

In any case, targeting the big fish should be the right approach.

While Qi Xiang was carefully searching for big fish in the lake, a speedboat approached again, breaking through the layers of lake waves and rushing toward the small boat...

The sound of the speedboat's engine, like a siren, immediately caught Qi Xiang's attention. He looked up and saw a familiar figure on the small boat, frowning.

"Really, what a narrow path we meet on!"

Qi Xiang sighed, wishing to leave immediately, but the small boat lacked power and couldn't match the speedboat. Unable to avoid it, he simply reeled in his fishing rod and waited quietly.

In a moment, the speedboat was close.

There were two people on the boat, one of whom was the one who had come to buy the fish earlier. The other was a young man with a light beard, not very tall, and slightly plump.

At that moment, the young man saw Qi Xiang, first stunned, then his face suddenly changed, "It's you..."

"It's me," Qi Xiang nodded, sighing at the unexpected encounter. He didn't expect to meet Zhu Shen, the arrogant second-generation heir of a wealthy family from Wuxi, in Taihu Lake.

"Is the fish yours?" Zhu Shen asked with a sidelong glance.

"Yes, I caught it," Qi Xiang admitted, as it was the truth.

"Give me the fish, and you can leave," Zhu Shen lifted his chin, rudely.

"…No!" Qi Xiang lowered his eyelids, calm and composed, "What will you do?"

"No?" Zhu Shen widened his eyes, "Do you believe I'll ram you?"

"Ram me?" Qi Xiang frowned, "How?"

"Like this…" Zhu Shen pushed the person driving the speedboat aside, started the engine, and threatened, "I'll drive over and capsize your boat, making you a wet chicken!"

"…If you have the guts, go ahead," Qi Xiang frowned, unhappy.

"Do you think I'm bluffing?" Zhu Shen snorted and suddenly let go.

Vroom, the speedboat immediately emitted a low engine sound, then started to move, as if ready to charge.

But in the next second, a large wave suddenly rose from the bottom of the lake, causing the water to surge and form a significant undulation. The speedboat also swayed violently.

"Ah ah ah…"

Zhu Shen and the other person were caught off guard and couldn't stand steady on the speedboat. They fell into the lake with a splash.

"…Karma!"

Qi Xiang felt a sense of schadenfreude, his eyes filled with amusement, and his palm shimmered with the light of a turtle shell. If not for some concerns, he would have directly pierced the speedboat.

"Help, help me!"

At the same time, Zhu Shen's face turned pale as he started flailing, seemingly unable to swim. He even swallowed a few mouthfuls of water while flailing on the lake surface.

"So useless?"

Qi Xiang was surprised. Growing up by Taihu Lake and not knowing how to swim was indeed rare.

Of course, he only wanted to teach Zhu Shen a lesson, not really harm him. Seeing Zhu Shen gulping water and about to sink, he naturally took action.

"Phew!"

Qi Xiang seized the opportunity, thrust his fishing rod, and accurately forked it under Zhu Shen's armpit. Then he pulled hard, lifting Zhu Shen out of the water.

The small fishing rod, like a lifeline, was tightly clutched by Zhu Shen, who refused to let go.

Seeing this, Qi Xiang felt a bit helpless and had to remind him, "Mr. Zhu, don't you want to climb onto the speedboat? When do you plan to do it?"

Zhu Shen ignored him, closed his eyes, and held the fishing rod tightly with both hands.

"Tsk…"

Qi Xiang couldn't help but shake his head. Such poor mental fortitude… truly fitting for a rich second-generation.

He still had to fish and didn't have time to waste. He then pulled the fishing rod, like pulling a radish, and directly dragged Zhu Shen onto the small boat.

As for the other person in the water, he was much better than Zhu Shen. He knew how to swim and, seeing that Zhu Shen was fine, quickly climbed onto the speedboat, successfully rescuing himself.

Zhu Shen, once on the small boat, finally let go of the fishing rod but curled up into a ball, shivering, looking very afraid.

"Just falling into the water, is it that serious?" Qi Xiang was puzzled and rowed the boat toward the speedboat, intending to send Zhu Shen back and continue fishing.

As he lowered his head to row, the curled-up Zhu Shen suddenly jumped up, pushed Qi Xiang's back with both hands, and laughed loudly, "Bastard, go down… ah ah ah!"

Reacting quickly, Qi Xiang tilted his body to the side before Zhu Shen could push him.

Zhu Shen missed and flailed his hands in the air, grabbing nothing. Without any surprise, he fell into the water again with a splash.

" Splash!"

The lake water splashed, forming ripples and a small whirlpool.

However, this time, Zhu Shen didn't shout for help. He moved his body lightly in the water, not sinking. His hands, like kneading cotton, gently patted the water, maintaining his balance, clearly a skilled swimmer.

"Bastard, you dare to trick me…"

In the water, Zhu Shen, flexible like a fat fish, glared and shouted, "Do you believe I'll have you sunk to the bottom of the lake…"

Qi Xiang rolled his eyes and responded rudely, "Do you believe I'll ram you with the boat now?"

As he spoke, he moved his hand, rowed the boat, and turned the bow toward Zhu Shen. With a little more effort, the small boat would dart forward like an arrow, directly crushing him.

"You… wait for me…"

Zhu Shen, furious but understanding the principle of not fighting a losing battle, quickly swam back to the speedboat.

Seeing this, Qi Xiang laughed a bit. At this moment, he noticed a glint of gold in the lake water, somewhat blinding.

"What is it?" Qi Xiang was curious and looked over…