Qi Bai fashioned a simple fishing rod by tying a piece of green vine grass to the end of a long branch. The rod wasn’t designed to bear weight; its sole purpose was to throw bait into the Man-Eating River. The real work would be done by the vine basket they had painstakingly crafted earlier.
Langze carried the vine basket protectively in his hands, as if it were a prized possession, while Qi Bai scanned their surroundings.
When they passed the red fruit trees from earlier in the day, Qi Bai suddenly stopped.
Langze looked at him with confusion.
Qi Bai had paused because he remembered Tuya’s words about piranhas tasting “bitter and fishy.”
Freshwater fish often carried a natural fishy smell, but Qi Bai knew this could be mitigated through cooking techniques. In his old world, ingredients like cooking wine, vinegar, or aromatics like onions, ginger, and garlic were often used to remove unpleasant odors. Unfortunately, none of these were available to him here.
But there was another option: fruit acid.
In modern cooking, adding lemon juice to fish often enhanced its flavor. While Qi Bai didn’t have lemons, the red fruits they had gathered earlier might serve as a substitute.
Noticing that more red fruits had fallen to the ground since the afternoon, Qi Bai quickly gathered a handful of the intact ones and stuffed them into the small animal skin pouch on his chest.
By the time the two arrived at the Man-Eating River, it was already late at night. The moonlight reflected faintly on the water, and the sound of the river rushing below filled the air. Despite the hour, neither of them felt tired. Qi Bai was too excited to be sleepy, and Langze, stoic as ever, prepared himself for whatever was to come.
As they walked along the riverbank, Qi Bai spotted a tree that fit their needs. It was tall and sturdy, with a thick branch extending out over the water.
Langze looked at the tree, then at Qi Bai, clearly understanding what needed to be done. He moved to climb it with practiced ease, but Qi Bai stopped him.
“Wait,” Qi Bai said, pulling a spare green vine from the basket. He began tying it securely around Langze’s waist.
Langze struggled uncomfortably. “Climbing trees is something every orc learns to do. For a tree this big, I don’t need vines.”
Qi Bai glanced up at him, unconvinced. “But it’s dark. Won’t it be hard to see clearly?”
Langze’s wolf-like eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light. He turned his face away, mumbling, “We wolves can see in the dark just fine.”
Still, Qi Bai persisted. “What if the piranhas pull you off balance? I’d rather not risk it.”
Langze froze, his throat bobbing slightly as he swallowed his retort. Eventually, he sighed and stopped resisting.
Satisfied, Qi Bai tied the other end of the vine to the tree trunk, making sure it was secure before waving Langze onward.
Langze turned, holding the wicker basket in one hand, and leapt into the tree with incredible agility. His movements were so fluid and natural it was as if he were running along flat ground.
Qi Bai watched in astonishment, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Okay, maybe the vine wasn’t totally necessary… I guess I still don’t understand how strong orcs really are.
Once Langze reached the branch extending over the river, he crouched down and began lowering the vine basket into the water below.
Meanwhile, Qi Bai tied an earthworm to the end of his simple fishing rod.
“Ready?” he called up to Langze.
Langze gave a short nod.
Qi Bai held his breath and swung the fishing rod, dropping the earthworm directly above the submerged basket.
The reaction was immediate.
“Splash!”
Piranhas surged toward the bait from every direction, their sleek bodies cutting through the water like knives. Within seconds, the fishing rod jerked violently as the bait was devoured, the vine grass at the end bitten clean through.
Qi Bai’s eyes widened as the frenzy intensified. One of the piranhas that had snagged the bait was caught in the vine basket, along with three others that had followed too closely in the chaos.
“They’re trapped! Pull them up and throw them ashore!” Qi Bai shouted.
Langze already felt the weight of the basket in his hands. The piranhas were powerful and aggressive, their sharp teeth gnawing at the vines. Without hesitation, Langze tightened his grip on the vine rope and swung the basket up and out of the river, sending it hurtling onto the rocky beach.
The moment the piranhas hit the ground, they began thrashing violently. Each jump sent them half a meter into the air, their razor-sharp teeth snapping at anything within range.
But on land, their power was useless.
Qi Bai scrambled toward the writhing fish, grabbing a large stone in both hands. His heart raced as he smashed the first piranha with the rock, the sharp “crack” of its skull echoing in the night.
Langze quickly joined him, using his wolf claws to subdue the remaining fish.
In the span of minutes, the chaos subsided. Four large piranhas lay still on the ground, their silvery scales glinting faintly in the moonlight.
Qi Bai, panting from the exertion, looked at Langze with exhilaration. “We did it!”
Langze nodded, glancing at the fish. “They’re bigger than I thought.”
Qi Bai grinned. “And we’re just getting started.”
Langze tilted his head slightly, a flicker of curiosity in his golden eyes. “What’s next?”
Qi Bai’s grin widened. “First, we cook them. Then, we find out if they really taste as bad as Tuya said.”
By the time Qi Bai had dealt with the fourth piranha, he was already much more confident in handling the thrashing fish. Stepping firmly on its body, he knocked it unconscious with two quick strikes of a rock.
He waved excitedly at Langze, who was still perched in the tree. “Got it! Each one is as long as an arm. Let’s catch some more!”
Langze nodded silently, watching as Qi Bai returned to the grass to find more earthworms.
They repeated the process two more times, catching seven additional piranhas, bringing their total haul to eleven.
The drizzle continued, but it was light and steady, with no signs of thunder. The two sat under a large tree near the riverbank, and Langze quietly watched as Qi Bai began processing the piranhas.
Qi Bai started by chopping off the piranhas’ menacing heads with a small bone knife. In his world, fish heads could be used for soups or stewed with peppers, but that wasn’t an option here. The meaty bodies of the fish were far more valuable given their limited resources.
Langze watched in silence, thinking this was enough preparation, but Qi Bai continued. He carefully slit open each fish’s belly and began removing the internal organs.
“What are you doing?” Langze asked curiously.
Qi Bai explained as he worked, “Just like rabbits, fish need to be cleaned before cooking. Otherwise, the meat will taste bitter.”
Langze followed suit, slicing open a fish and removing its insides. Just as Qi Bai had warned, he found a small bile sac nestled among the organs.
“You have to be careful not to break this gall,” Qi Bai added, pointing to the sac. “If it bursts, it’ll make the meat bitter and might even make you sick if you eat too much.”
After cleaning the fish, Qi Bai rinsed them with river water and laid them on large leaves. The piranhas had small, sparse scales, so he skipped any further descaling.
Next, Qi Bai retrieved the red fruits he had gathered earlier. Their texture was similar to hawthorn, with firm flesh and little juice, making them unsuitable for squeezing over the fish like lemons. Instead, Qi Bai crushed the fruits into a rough puree on a leaf and stuffed it into the cleaned fish cavities to marinate them.
With Langze’s help, all eleven fish were quickly processed and packed into the vine basket, layered between leaves.
Langze lifted the basket with ease, carrying it in one hand as they made their way back to the cave.
When they arrived, only Houyan and a few others were still awake by the fire, deep in discussion about the next day’s plans. The main fire had long since burned out due to the firewood shortage, leaving only the small flame beneath the stone pot flickering faintly.
Foxfire was the first to notice the basket in Langze’s hand. Initially, he seemed puzzled by it, unsure of its purpose. But when Langze set the basket down and began pulling out the leaf-wrapped piranhas, realization dawned on Foxfire’s face.
Although weaving had been practiced to some extent in their tribe, it was rudimentary at best, limited to simple knots and rough ties using vines, grass, and animal skins. A well-constructed wicker basket like Qi Bai’s—capable of carrying more supplies with ease—was an innovation none of them had seen before.
When Foxfire learned that Qi Bai had made the basket himself, Yang Luo’s excitement was palpable. His hands trembled slightly as he examined the workmanship.
Yang Luo and the others surrounded Qi Bai, eager to learn how the basket had been made. But Qi Bai, distracted by the thought of grilled fish, quickly stepped aside and pushed Langze forward instead.
Langze glanced at Qi Bai, his expression unreadable. Though he had watched Qi Bai weave the basket and was clearly fascinated by it, he hesitated to step into the spotlight. His status as a slave made him reluctant to stand before the group.
Yang Luo frowned at Qi Bai’s insistence but let it slide when Qi Bai declared he was more interested in grilling the fish.
That’s when Yang Luo finally noticed the piranhas. His eyes widened in alarm. “Didn’t I tell you the Man-Eating River is dangerous? What if you fell in? You’d be stripped to the bone!”
Qi Bai raised his hands in mock surrender and quickly explained their method. He reassured Yang Luo that they had taken every precaution and that Langze had never been in any real danger.
Yang Luo’s expression softened slightly but remained stern. “You can’t act alone like this in the future. If you want to do something risky, you must inform me first.”
Qi Bai nodded obediently, eager to move on to the task at hand.
Yang Luo relented and let Langze demonstrate the basket-weaving process to the others. Foxfire, unable to contain his excitement, darted out of the cave and returned moments later with an armful of green vines, jogging all the way back.
Langze, now more comfortable, began weaving under Qi Bai’s guidance. The others gathered around, watching intently as Langze patiently explained each step.
Meanwhile, Qi Bai sat by the fire, skewering the piranhas on sticks and roasting them over the flames.
The fish skin sizzled and popped as fat dripped into the fire, filling the cave with an irresistible aroma. Qi Bai flipped the skewers carefully, ensuring the fish cooked evenly. The marinade from the red fruit had completely neutralized the fishy smell, leaving behind a mouthwatering combination of savory and tangy scents.
As the first fish finished cooking, Qi Bai couldn’t resist biting into it immediately, the heat still stinging his tongue.
The crisp skin gave way to tender, flavorful meat, the tangy sweetness of the red fruit perfectly balancing the rich fattiness of the fish. It was, without a doubt, the best thing Qi Bai had eaten since coming to this world.
“High-end ingredients really do only need the simplest cooking methods,” Qi Bai thought, smiling as he remembered a famous cooking quote from his previous life. Teacher Li never lied to me!
By the time he finished his first fish, he was already skewering two more.
Langze was engrossed in weaving when a skewer of grilled fish suddenly appeared before him. Without thinking, he leaned forward and took a bite.
The explosion of flavor caught him completely off guard. He looked up at Qi Bai, who was squatting nearby, smiling mischievously.
Langze realized his head had stretched out instinctively, and he quickly straightened up, embarrassed. But his surprise quickly turned to amazement.
“This… piranha is so delicious?”
His words drew the attention of the others, who finally noticed the tantalizing aroma wafting through the cave.
Yang Luo, abandoning his usual priestly reserve, slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Tomorrow, everyone will go fishing!
