Chapter 63: The Giant Creek Stone Bass

“Husband, is that you?”

Hearing a voice from the forest, Xiulan opened her flashlight and called out. She seemed a little scared, as the deep mountain forests could have bears at night.

“It’s me, come help!”

Lin Heng’s voice was filled with excitement that he couldn’t hide. This 40-50 kg buck was so exhilarating! It was the biggest game he had ever hunted, surpassing even the wild boar in size.

“Did you get it?”

Hearing Lin Heng’s excited voice, Xiulan hurriedly ran over. She was sure he had caught something.

When she saw the huge game Lin Heng had slung over his shoulder, she couldn’t help but open her mouth in surprise. “Oh my, such a big buck!”

The bucks she’d seen in the village were only 20-30 kg, but the one Lin Heng carried was as large as a mountain goat—terrifying!

“Hehe, impressive, right?”

Lin Heng grinned and dropped the buck on the ground.

“Not just impressive, it’s unbeatable!” Xiulan nodded repeatedly, looking at the big buck. She couldn’t find words to describe it.

Hearing his wife’s praise, Lin Heng was in a good mood. He took a vine and tied the buck’s hind legs, hanging it up on a tree.

“Won’t you bring it back to the cave?” Xiulan asked as she helped lift it up, confused.

“No, hanging it here will allow it to ventilate and won’t spoil easily. Also, if any animals come to steal it during the night, we can hunt them too,” Lin Heng explained. He added that it was safer this way. The scent of blood shouldn’t be inside the shelter, or it might attract predators like black bears, clouded leopards, or golden cats, leaving no chance to escape.

“Ah, I see now. You’re really thoughtful,” Xiulan nodded, admiring her husband’s careful planning.

With Xiulan’s help, Lin Heng easily hung the buck about two meters above the ground.

Afterward, Lin Heng returned to the shelter and sat down, sighing, “Xiulan, you don’t know how cautious these animals are. I had to stay completely still for over an hour before getting the chance to take the shot. Finally, I managed to kill it with one arrow.”

“You’re the big hero. You must be covered in mosquito bites, and your legs must be sore, right?”

Xiulan smiled and took out some mugwort leaves, squeezing them to get juice and applying it to the places Lin Heng had been bitten by mosquitoes. She had thought ahead and collected the leaves in the morning, knowing he might be bitten.

“Thanks, wife,” Lin Heng chuckled, feeling relaxed by her gentle touch.

“This is nothing. Hunting is tiring. You not only fight with the game but also deal with mosquito annoyances. I can’t even sit still for half an hour,” Xiulan said, while taking out a steamed bun she had saved for Lin Heng.

“Eat up, I’m not hungry. I ate plenty of meat this afternoon.”

She handed him the bun and then gently placed his legs on her lap, massaging them lightly.

“You eat too.”

Lin Heng took a bite, then offered it to Xiulan.

Her kindness melted his heart. Marrying Xiulan was the best thing that ever happened to him.

She smiled and took a small bite. Together, they ate the bun, sharing it bite by bite.

Lin Heng then lowered his legs, not wanting Xiulan to continue massaging them—she was probably tired as well.

“Let’s go for a walk. It’s still early.”

Lin Heng pulled Xiulan by the hand.

It was the 16th of April on the lunar calendar, and a round, bright moon hung in the sky, casting a silver veil over the mountain forest.

After catching such a large buck, Lin Heng wasn’t too eager for more game. Tomorrow, just carrying this buck back would be enough work.

As for other animals, he wasn’t too hopeful about catching more. The chances weren’t high.

“Okay!”

Xiulan nodded. The canyon at night had its own unique beauty.

“Tree frog!”

When Xiulan turned on the flashlight, she saw a tree frog perched on a tree.

“Let’s go check the creek. When we come back, we can catch a few more and roast them over the fire.”

Lin Heng nodded, thinking there might be some surprises in the creek, as no one would have come to this remote mountain stream in the summer nights.

“Okay.”

Xiulan agreed, and they headed toward the creek.

Shining the flashlight into the water, Lin Heng spotted many creek bass. Since it was nighttime, they were moving sluggishly.

“These creek bass are really big,” Xiulan said in surprise.

“Of course. Almost no one comes this deep into the mountains for small fish. I’ll catch a few big ones, and we can roast them.”

Most of the creek bass were over five centimeters, with distinct black horizontal and vertical stripes. Some even reached 10 cm in length, and Lin Heng estimated they weighed about one or two jin (approximately 500-1000 grams).

Xiulan held the flashlight while Lin Heng grabbed the fish. It was very easy to catch them at night—he just extended his hands under the water, slowly scooped them up, and caught them.

The key was to close the gap properly when grabbing them.

“This one’s huge!”

After catching two, Xiulan suddenly pointed to a rock.

“Wow!”

Lin Heng exclaimed, tiptoeing over cautiously.

He carefully extended his hand, and once he caught the fish, he let out a breath, saying, “It’s so big! I’ve never seen a creek bass this big before.”

The fish was slightly longer than his palm and looked like a small grass carp. Could creek bass really grow this big?

“I think this fish must have evolved!” Lin Heng joked.

“Then should we release it?” Xiulan blinked.

“Impossible. Even if it turned into a dragon, I’d still eat it.”

Lin Heng grinned. Once a fish was in his hands, there was no chance it would be released.

He tossed the fish into the bag, and they continued catching the big ones, ignoring the small ones.

Splash!!

Xiong Ba suddenly jumped into the water, but after failing to catch any fish, it turned around and looked at Lin Heng innocently.

“Go away, if you splash water again, I’ll punish you.”

Lin Heng tossed a creek bass to the dog as a warning.

“Chomp chomp!!”

Xiong Ba devoured the fish in two bites and looked back at Lin Heng, seemingly asking for another one.

“Get lost!”

Lin Heng tossed another fish behind him, and Xiong Ba happily ran off to fetch it.

After a while, the dog returned and continued begging. This cycle repeated over and over again.

“Enough already, if we catch any more, we won’t be able to finish them, and they’ll go to waste.”

After catching about twenty, Xiulan said quickly.

“Alright, let’s find a bigger pond and kill the fish,” Lin Heng agreed. He’d already given Xiong Ba a dozen or so.

“There’s one up ahead.”

Xiulan pointed to a small pond ahead.

They walked happily toward a 5-6 square meter pond. Lin Heng was about to crouch to kill the fish when suddenly, there was a loud splash, and a black shadow darted away.

“Damn, there’s a turtle here too!!”

Lin Heng shouted, shining the flashlight. The large turtle’s front half had already burrowed into the sand.

“Wow, it’s even bigger than the one we caught last time. Quick, grab it before it escapes!” Xiulan said anxiously. This big turtle could be worth twenty-something yuan.

Hearing this, Lin Heng smiled. “Escape? Where can it run?”

The small pond was too small, and with no big rocks around, once he spotted it, it had no chance of escaping. He could even scoop out the water to catch it.

(The end of this chapter)