Chapter 61: A Fishing Trip Far from Ordinary

“Hey! Got it!”
Almost immediately, Dai Guang felt the fishing rod in his hands grow heavier and cried out in delight.
Lu Kuan stood up, equally pleased, and quickly instructed, “Don’t yank the rod too hard, or the crab will escape.”
“Do I need your reminder? Have you forgotten last time at the reservoir? I caught several times more fish than you!” Dai Guang replied disdainfully, gripping the rod with nervous excitement.
“Yeah, right! That was because you went into the water with a net!” Lu Kuan retorted, refusing to back down.
As the two exchanged barbs, the crab beneath the water slowly surfaced and was soon hauled to the riverbank by Dai Guang.
Lu Kuan waded into the river, scooping up the crab with a net. He examined it carefully. “It’s a slippery crab, but a bit small. It doesn’t have any Shadow Grass on it yet.”
“No matter. Now that we’ve started, the crabs will keep coming,” Dai Guang declared confidently.
Perhaps due to Dai Guang’s words, the bites came fast and frequent. Within ten minutes, they had caught three crabs, and from the largest slippery crab, Lu Kuan obtained the first stalk of Shadow Grass.
Just as the two were celebrating, two young men from the nearby group swaggered over, hands in their pockets, and said with a slick tone, “You two have caught enough, haven’t you? Maybe it’s time to let someone else have a turn?”
Lu Kuan turned in surprise, sizing up the pair without any change in expression.
Dai Guang was less restrained. He stared them down, responding sarcastically, “Are you two out of your minds?”
“What did you say? Not happy, huh?”
One of the young men barked aggressively, glaring at Lu Kuan. At his shout, the rest of their group stood up and began walking over.
Lu Kuan, seeing this scene, couldn’t help but laugh. Clearly, these guys had grown envious after watching Dai Guang and him haul in crabs nonstop, and now they wanted to claim this “prime fishing spot” for themselves.
“Fatty, don’t bother arguing with them,”
Lu Kuan stood, patting Dai Guang’s shoulder with a relaxed smile. “The shade here is nearly gone anyway. We might as well find another place.”
“But these punks are way too cocky. It’s really getting on my nerves…” Dai Guang grumbled, unwilling to yield, shooting another glare at the pair.
Lu Kuan chuckled, packing up his gear as he tried to persuade Dai Guang, “Come on. Do you think I’m afraid to take them on? The thing is, our time is valuable. No need to waste it here. Let’s go—I know a place where the crabs are even more plentiful.”

Seeing Lu Kuan’s indifference, Dai Guang’s anger quickly faded, and he secretly admired his childhood friend’s composure. He thought to himself, I need to learn from him.
Meanwhile, the two young men, seeing Lu Kuan and Dai Guang “obediently” give up their spot, grinned triumphantly and called their friends over.
“Hurry over here, let’s fish in this spot. Hey, beauties, didn’t you say you wanted to catch crabs?”
“You can’t just do that, though. You guys didn’t force them out, did you?” a girl in the group asked, frowning.
“Heh, no way—they left of their own accord.”
“Yeah, right. You guys better behave. Didn’t you notice their badges aren’t from basic professions? They’ve probably advanced already.”
“So what if they have? Just because they’ve advanced doesn’t mean they’re better than us! Let’s find a chance to test them out. Who do they think they are, acting so tough…”
…
In truth, Lu Kuan and Dai Guang were the innocent victims here. They had put away their weapons for convenience while fishing, only to be bullied by a group of newbies.
Lu Kuan didn’t give the matter a second thought. The bait for slippery crabs was his own special recipe. If those people managed to catch a crab, it would be nothing short of a miracle.
Soon, Lu Kuan found another spot, a place he remembered as teeming with slippery crabs. It wasn’t long before fat, juicy crabs started biting again.
“System notification: You successfully caught a slippery crab (Quantity: 1, Weight: 2), consumed 1 fishing energy.”
“You successfully caught a slippery crab (Quantity: 1, Weight: 4), consumed 1 fishing energy.”
“Your fishing skill proficiency has increased to 10.”
“You obtained Shadow Grass (Quality: 8).”
Lu Kuan glanced at the system message and grinned broadly. “Haha, got it! Shadow Grass of quality seven!”
Dai Guang hurried over for a closer look at the tender yellow water plant Lu Kuan mentioned, incredulous. “According to what you said earlier, such a tiny stalk of grass is worth over a dozen gold coins?”
“Only in theory,”
Lu Kuan carefully placed the Shadow Grass into a water-filled glass bottle, shaking his head. “Right now, it’s basically overpriced and unavailable. Those who need it think it’s too expensive, and those who don’t have never even heard of it.”

Dai Guang responded with an “Oh.” Originally, he thought that since the herb fetched a high price and wasn’t too difficult to obtain, it would be an efficient way to make money. But after hearing Lu Kuan’s explanation, it seemed less reliable.
Lu Kuan saw what Dai Guang was thinking and advised, “Even if it’s profitable, this method isn’t ideal. We’re not life players. Leveling up while earning is the best way. If we waste time making money and neglect leveling, it’s not worth it.”
“Right!” Dai Guang nodded. Lu Kuan’s words woke him from his daydream, and he quickly abandoned his unrealistic ideas.
As their fishing skills improved, their catch rate increased. Crabs of all sizes and various fish were hauled one after another into Lu Kuan’s net bag.
Dai Guang took a moment to glance at the other group. Just as Lu Kuan predicted, they had claimed the best spot but lacked the skill; not a single catch in ages. Dai Guang sneered, scoffing before turning back to his own fishing.
Half an hour later.
“Hey? What’s this weird thing?” Dai Guang reeled in his line to find not a crab or fish, but some unknown object wrapped in water plants.
Lu Kuan laughed immediately, “Don’t toss that away. There’s a small chance you’ll find something good inside. You can open it and see.”
The word “treasure” made Dai Guang instantly excited. He hauled the object ashore and, after some fussing, peeled away the dense water plants to reveal a bundle inside.
“A piece of burlap… a bottle of basic health potion…”
Dai Guang picked up the items, shook the mud off, and said with distaste, “Lu Kuan, this is what you call a good find? Can this stuff even be used?”
“Haha, what did you expect? But the potion is perfectly usable,”
Lu Kuan laughed, explaining, “Once your fishing skill is high enough, you can catch all sorts of things from the water. The higher the level of the map, the better the loot you can get.”
This was news to Dai Guang, and he found it fascinating. “Is it possible to fish up purple gear? Or even pets?”
“Of course, but you know how rare that is—and there are lots of extra requirements,” Lu Kuan nodded.
Naturally, the things one could fish up were far more varied than what Lu Kuan had just described.