Chapter 164

Chapter 164

Around the edge of the ice hole, over a dozen horned beastmen were stabbing at the surface with wooden poles. The ice had only just formed and wasn’t very solid, so it quickly broke apart.

Qi Bai was by the shore helping organize the fishing net. When Quan Lie called out, several people gathered together, carefully avoiding the hooks as they carried the fishing net onto the ice.

The large fishing net woven by Hu Huo and the tribe had been modified by Qi Bai into two different types.

The first was the one they were using now—a large net equipped with iron hooks.

At the moment, they had already opened up a 30-meter-wide gap in the river’s ice. Broken ice chunks were piled along the edges.

Qi Bai handed the starting end of the net to Hu Huo and Lang Ye. “Wait here. In a moment, we’ll sink the net to the riverbed. You must hold onto this long grass rope. The water is so deep—if the net falls in, we might never get it back.”

Hu Huo nodded. “Got it.”

The fishing net made by the Heishan tribe was much heavier than modern nylon ones. Qi Bai also worried that the twisted grass ropes would weaken once soaked, so unlike a typical fisherman’s net, it wouldn’t be easy to pull back up.

That’s why every 7–8 meters along the net, there were two 10-meter-long fixed ropes.

These weren’t just for deploying and retrieving the net—they also helped them sense underwater activity.

The fish at the bottom of the Cannibal River looked pretty vicious, with many of them having outward-facing teeth. If a big fish started tearing the net, the movement of the fixed ropes would signal it, and they could pull the net up in time.

The net itself wasn’t valuable, and a torn net wasn’t a big deal—but the iron hooks were precious. Losing them in the river would be the real loss. They couldn’t risk catching just a few fish and losing a bunch of iron hooks in the process.

Qi Bai and Diao Lan walked the ice to the other side of the gap, leaving two people along the way to hold the ropes, until they reached the end of the net.

“I’ll count to three, then we’ll all lower the net,” Qi Bai shouted to Hu Huo and Lang Ye.

“One, two, three!”

Splash. Splash.

The net slowly sank, and soon the surface of the river was calm again.

The water was deep, and from atop the ice, they couldn’t see anything below. Only the tension in the fixed ropes confirmed the net was still there.

Everyone stood still on the ice. Diao Lan asked in a whisper, “When will the fish bite the hooks?”

Qi Bai rubbed his cheek with his fur glove—he honestly didn’t know.

But with all the noise they’d just made lowering the net, it would take some time for the fish to return.

He estimated it would take about an hour or two.

Waiting longer wouldn’t help much either, since the bait on the hooks would eventually be eaten. Once that happened, keeping the net in place would be pointless—it’d be better to pull it up and rebait.

Qi Bai looked up at the sky. “When the sun is overhead, we’ll pull up the net.”

The ice was bitter cold. Qi Bai’s breath frosted on his nose and eyebrows. But to avoid disturbing the fish below, no one moved or spoke loudly.

Everyone agreed: fishing was just like hunting. The net was a trap, and catching prey required patience.

Beastmen never underestimated their prey. Even a small rabbit, if it sensed danger, could become clever and elusive—let alone fish living in a deep river.

After less than an hour, Qi Bai felt a strange movement in the rope—not quite in line with the current.

He tightened his grip and adjusted the direction of the rope.

Another 10 minutes passed before two young horned beastmen shouted, “Bao Bai! Our rope is moving a lot!”

Qi Bai noticed it too and called out loudly, “Haul the net!”

“Haul the net!” “Pull it up!”

The command echoed across the ice, though it didn’t really need to. Everyone had been watching Qi Bai closely and started pulling the ropes the moment he did.

The sudden vibration of the net sent a jolt through them all. Their frozen limbs felt like they were igniting from within.

“There’s fish! I see fish!”

The tribespeople weaving rope by the shore heard the commotion and ran to the opposite edge of the ice, craning their necks to peer into the water.

“Faster! One just got away!”

Qi Bai dug his feet into the ice and leaned back, pulling the net up with all his strength.

He wasn’t an experienced fisherman, but he knew this much—until the fish were hauled up onto the ice, they weren’t really caught.

Splash! The net broke the surface, and the people pulling it felt a sudden lightness before stumbling backward.

Then came an even louder cheer—because the net was full of big fish.

The fish had barely nibbled on the bait before getting hooked. Their mouths were pierced and they thrashed furiously, unable to escape. Now they were yanked out of the water, flopping helplessly on the ice.

They seemed to scream: Let us go! We’re suffocating!

But the people of Heishan didn’t care. They had worked hard to catch these river monsters.

Tu Ya came running across the ice with two sub-beastmen and a basket. “We’ve got fish! We can eat fish!”

Since the cannibal fish had left, it had been ages since Tu Ya had seen this many big fish.

In warmer months, they could still catch some small ones from streams and waterfalls, but they were tiny and mushy—not nearly as satisfying.

Sun Qing started listing dishes: “Grilled fish, fish soup, fish meatballs—Bao Bai! Can we have fish meatballs today?”

Qi Bai smiled, “Sure! Fish meatballs it is.”

“Awesome!”

Ma Liang was quietly unhooking fish from the net. He looked at the ugly creatures—didn’t seem like they’d taste good. But watching the others drool, he swallowed hard too.

Who knows? They might actually taste great.

As the tribe celebrated the amazing net, Qi Bai secretly frowned.

They’d caught just 18 fish from a 30-meter-long net and half a morning of effort.

Sure, the fish were big, but not enough for 200+ people in the tribe. And the net’s efficiency wasn’t impressive.

Qi Bai clenched his fist. This was far below his expectations.

He called over Hu Huo and Tu Ya. “Did you catch how to operate the net?”

Hu Huo asked, “You’re leaving?”

These iron hooks were precious. They were still nervous using them. Having Qi Bai around made them feel safer.

Qi Bai pointed to the other nets on the shore. “I made two fish traps. I’m going to test them. But we’ll need to dig new holes—they’ll be farther away.”

Tu Ya asked, “I understand how to place and retrieve the net, but when do we pull it up?”

Concepts like “1 or 2 hours” weren’t helpful to her and Hu Huo.

Qi Bai thought and said, “There’s no strict time. If the net starts shaking like just now, pull it up.”

“If the net stays still, wait until you’ve boiled two pots of water—then check the net and rebait the hooks.”

Tu Ya smiled, “Now I get it. I know how long it takes to boil a pot of water.”

Satisfied that they understood, Qi Bai and Diao Lan set off with their team.

Their first trap site was the river where the tribe had once used baskets to catch cannibal fish.

Back then, there were tons of fish here—probably because of the rich riverbed. So this should be a good spot for other big fish too.

Qi Bai and Diao Lan’s small team had six people. They took turns chiseling the ice with large wooden spikes. Once it cracked, they shoveled away the pieces and soon had a one-meter-wide hole.

Unlike the previous ice holes shattered by Niu Xin, this one immediately gushed out yellowish water—and several small fish.

Mouse You yelped, then gleefully started scooping fish with a shovel.

Right! Last year, cannibal fish had jumped out like this too—she’d nearly forgotten.

But only about a dozen fish leapt out to breathe. No matter how long Mouse You waited and stared into the hole, no more came.

Meanwhile, Qi Bai and Diao Lan finished prepping the long fish trap.

This was the second type of tool Qi Bai had modified from the large net—a 20+ meter trap.

He’d woven the net into a long tube, sealed both ends, and made side entrances.

The entrances were designed like fish baskets: wide outside, narrow inside. Once a fish entered, it couldn’t get out.

To lure them in, they tied meat strips inside each entrance.

Diao Lan patted Mouse You’s head. “These fish are a bonus. If there aren’t more, that’s fine. Time to work.”

Mouse You sighed and stood up, helping to lower the trap into the hole.

Long grass ropes were attached to the top of the trap.

Diao Lan tied the rope to a big tree and asked, “We’re just leaving it here?”

“This should work like a fish basket,” Qi Bai nodded. “That way we don’t have to watch it all day.”

“Let’s go find the next spot.”

They only had two traps, and they couldn’t be placed together.

Fish numbers varied in each part of the river. Qi Bai’s plan was to test everywhere—and hopefully find the spot with the most fish.