A slender hand picked up a fishhook baited with lure and, with a plop, cast it into the river, where it floated peacefully on the water.
Bai Lingfeng sat by the riverbank, holding his fishing rod, his face full of contentment.
“When you’ve got nothing to do, casting a line and seeing whether you can catch a big fish is truly relaxing.”
Looking up at the clear blue sky, Bai Lingfeng hummed a tune to himself and quietly waited.
Fishing was one of his hobbies. Every so often, he would come out and try his luck, hoping to reel in a big catch.
Unfortunately, most of the time he ended up fishing out old shoes, discarded clothes, or even floating corpses from the riverbed, forcing him to file reports afterward. It was incredibly annoying.
Still, he firmly believed that perseverance paid off, and that one day he would finally catch a truly impressive fish.
Even when he failed to catch anything, he would never go to the market to buy fish just to save face. He preferred fish he had caught himself—it gave him a much greater sense of accomplishment.
Under the bright, cloudless sky, Bai Lingfeng enjoyed this rare moment of leisure amidst his cultivation.
About the time it took an incense stick to burn, two men dressed in black suddenly appeared on either side of him, both carrying fishing rods. Without any preparation, they immediately cast their lines into the water. Their movements were completely amateurish, causing Bai Lingfeng to frown slightly.
They’re not going to scare away all the fish, are they? Ah, forget it. As long as they don’t come looking for trouble, I’ll leave them alone.
But as the saying goes, when the tree wishes for calm, the wind will not cease.
Although Bai Lingfeng had no desire to cause trouble, the two black-clad men had come specifically for him. One of them took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
“Handsome young man, what a coincidence that we’re all fishing here today. Since fate has brought us together, would you mind getting acquainted? If we ever cross paths again, we could look out for one another.”
Though he wasn’t particularly interested in talking to them, they had greeted him politely, so Bai Lingfeng returned a smile.
“My name is Bai Lingfeng. I’m just an insignificant disciple of the Lingyun Sect, hardly worth mentioning. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much help to anyone.”
“No matter. We’re also members of the Lingyun Sect. We’ve recently become interested in fishing. Since you seem knowledgeable, could you teach us a little?”
“You don’t need to teach us everything. Just some basic knowledge will do.”
“That’s right, that’s right. We don’t mean any harm. You just seem approachable, so we wanted to make friends. The more friends you have, the more paths you have open to you.”
Bai Lingfeng’s brows furrowed slightly.
The two men were extraordinarily enthusiastic and repeatedly claimed they meant no harm and merely wanted to make friends. Yet his instincts told him their motives were far from simple.
More importantly, what was wrong with these two? If they wanted to talk, fine—but why were they speaking so loudly? Were they trying to make sure every fish in the river swam away?
Too lazy to bother with them, Bai Lingfeng simply smiled, shared a few basic fishing tips, and returned to quietly fishing. Unfortunately, the two men had no intention of leaving him alone. They continued forcing awkward conversations, desperately searching for topics. Their inability to communicate naturally was so painful that Bai Lingfeng almost felt embarrassed on their behalf.
If you don’t know how to chat, then don’t chat. Nobody’s forcing you. Don’t you realize how irritating this is?
Another cup of tea’s worth of time passed. Bai Lingfeng was finally driven to the end of his patience and began reeling in his line, preparing to leave.
Seeing this, the black-clad leader on his right suddenly exclaimed:
“Oh, now I remember! No wonder the name Bai Lingfeng sounded familiar. You’re that recently famous Heavenly Sword Star, Bai Lingfeng!”
The other black-clad man immediately played along.
“He’s Bai Lingfeng? That’s a ruthless figure! He killed two Foundation Establishment seniors the moment he entered the Foundation Establishment Realm. Since then, he’s slain nineteen Foundation Establishment cultivators in total. Truly terrifying.”
“His reputation shakes all of Weiyang. He can even stop children from crying at night—no, wait, I mean he’s awe-inspiring in every direction!”
At those words, Bai Lingfeng finally realized what felt wrong. His expression immediately darkened.
“You two didn’t come here to fish today, did you? You came for me.”
The black-clad leader waved his hands repeatedly.
“No, no, no. How could that be? We just happened to run into you by chance, and by chance we’d heard of your exploits. How could we possibly have come specifically for you?”
Bai Lingfeng let out a cold laugh.
“Not even a three-year-old child would believe such nonsense. If you have something to say, just say it directly. There’s no need for all these pointless games.”
The leader was about to continue explaining when the other black-clad man lost patience and dropped the act entirely.
“Bai Lingfeng, you’re right. We did come specifically to find you. We’re planning something big lately and we’re short on manpower. Your strength isn’t bad, so we’d like you to join us.”
“We’ve investigated you for quite a while. We even sat here playing this fishing game with you for so long. You’d better agree obediently. Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, or things won’t end well for you.”
The leader slapped a hand against his forehead.
Before coming here, he’d repeatedly warned his companion not to lose control, yet the man still couldn’t help himself. Truly hopeless.
But now that things had reached this point, he had no choice but to follow along.
Bai Lingfeng narrowed his eyes and replied coldly:
“This is how you invite someone to cooperate? Your methods are quite overbearing. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were demonic cultivators.”
“You may leave. I’m not interested in whatever grand undertaking you’re talking about. I simply want to cultivate in peace and have no desire to involve myself in disputes.”
What exactly is wrong with these two? Their behavior is unbelievably arrogant. The strange thing is that it feels like they’re actually holding themselves back. I’ve never seen people like this in the sect before. Could it be that after meeting enough people, you’re bound to encounter all sorts of odd characters?
The black-clad man raised an eyebrow and sneered.
“Bai Lingfeng, why are you pretending to be some innocent little rabbit? Do you really think you’re a good person?”
“You’ve killed countless people. Anyone can tell that from your record. And now you’re talking about avoiding conflict? I think you simply look down on us.”
Having played the villain, the leader immediately switched to playing the peacemaker.
“Brother Bai, there’s no need to make things sound so unpleasant. As long as you participate, you’ll earn a huge amount of spirit stones. There are only benefits and no drawbacks. Why refuse?”
“Follow us, and I guarantee you’ll be able to do whatever you want.”
“Sorry, but I still have to decline.”
“You already know such a sensitive secret. If you still refuse, that may not be a good idea.”
“What’s so bad about it? What, are you planning to teach me a lesson just because we disagree?”