14 – A New Fishing Rod And A New Fishing Spot

After looking at the thread for a while, a faint red glow emerged.

【Snow Silkworm Thread: Spun by a spiritual insect, the Snow Silkworm, extremely tough.】

【Impervious to fire and water, resistant to swords and blades, it seems to be a fine treasure.】

【Main material for making Snow Silkworm Silk Clothes.】

When Lu Qing used his strange ability to probe the information about the thread sent by Old Doctor Chen, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

This mysterious thread was actually a red-glow level item.

Ever since awakening his ability, Lu Qing had learned that the glow emitted by objects under his ability’s inspection often represented their level of rarity.

So far, he had detected three types of glows: grey, white, and red.

Among them, he had only seen the red glow once before, on Old Doctor Chen.

And the information revealed by the ability showed that the old doctor was a deeply hidden cultivator.

Now, he had found another red-glow item.

And this item was also a gift from the old doctor.

“I didn’t expect this to be a red-glow treasure.”

Lu Qing had thought this thread was not a common item, but he didn’t expect it to be this precious.

If his ability evaluated it as a treasure, it must be extraordinary.

Look at how the information described it…

Impervious to fire and water, resistant to swords and blades!

What kind of thread could have such properties? If this isn’t a treasure, what is?

“I wonder if Old Doctor Chen knows how magical this thread is.”

Lu Qing felt a bit conflicted.

In just a few days, he and Xiao Yan had received many favors from Old Doctor Chen.

Now he had even given him such a precious thread.

This really made him feel both moved and ashamed.

After all, he knew that his initial intention for approaching Old Doctor Chen was not entirely pure.

“It seems I can only catch some really good fish to give to Grandpa Chen.”

Lu Qing really wanted to repay Old Doctor Chen’s kindness.

But at home, they were truly dirt poor, without even a decent item to their name.

And with the old doctor’s eye for quality, money might not even catch his interest.

After all, he had casually given away such a treasure as the Snow Silkworm Thread.

The only thing Lu Qing could do was to start with the old man’s hobby.

From what he had heard from the old doctor before, it seemed he had a fondness for fish.

And coincidentally, fishing was Lu Qing’s strongest skill.

“Looks like you are destined to become my fishing line.”

Lu Qing picked up that small bundle of Snow Silkworm Thread, feeling a soft and cool sensation.

The thickness of the thread was about the same as the fishing lines he had used in his past life, and he wondered just what kind of magical creature the Snow Silkworm was to be able to produce such thick silk.

Although the bundle didn’t look like much, Lu Qing carefully checked it and found that if fully extended, it might be a hundred meters long.

For making a fishing line, clearly, not so much thread was needed.

Lu Qing fetched a kitchen knife from the kitchen, intending to cut off a segment of the thread to make a fishing line.

However, when he placed the thread on a piece of wood and sliced down, the thread sank with the knife into the wood, completely unharmed.

It was then that Lu Qing remembered the ability’s description of the thread.

Impervious to fire and water, resistant to swords and blades.

He had initially thought this might be some kind of metaphor, describing the thread’s toughness.

But he didn’t expect it to be literal.

At least for now, with the not-so-sharp kitchen knife at home, it was clear he couldn’t cut through the Snow Silkworm Thread easily.

Lu Qing wasn’t anxious now.

To verify if the Snow Silkworm Thread was truly impervious to fire and water, he got a fire starter from the kitchen, lit it, and then held a small segment of the thread over the flame.

As a result, the Snow Silkworm Thread didn’t break immediately, holding out for a good five minutes before burning through.

“It seems impervious to fire and water just means hard to damage, not impossible to damage.”

Lu Qing pondered as he looked at the small piece of thread that had fallen to the ground.

Of course, resisting a flame for five minutes was already impressive enough.

After all, this was silk thread, not iron wire.

However, the fact that the Snow Silkworm Thread could be burned through was good news for Lu Qing.

If even fire couldn’t deal with it, he would have had no choice but to make it into a casting rod.

But making a casting rod was much more complicated than a hand rod.

Moreover, in the past, when he made casting rods, many parts were bought directly, never having tried making everything from scratch.

Given his current conditions, making a functional casting rod was quite unrealistic.

Fortunately, now that the Snow Silkworm Thread can be burned by fire, it saves a lot of trouble.

Next, Lu Qing devoted himself wholeheartedly to making a fishing rod.

First, he chose the bamboo rod.

With a machete in hand, Lu Qing spent an entire day in the bamboo forest behind the village, picking some small, old bamboo, and finally brought them back home.

After selecting the bamboo, the next step was to trim and bake it, along with treating it for insects, and so forth.

These tasks also took a lot of time.

However, Lu Qing couldn’t wait that long, so he selected a piece of old bamboo, slightly baked it, and then directly used it to make the fishing rod.

The remaining pieces of bamboo were left to be baked more meticulously later.

Once the bamboo was chosen, the rest was simple.

Without much effort, Lu Qing completed the new fishing rod.

“Ta-da! Xiao Yan, look at this new fishing rod I made. How does it look?”

This morning, with the newly made fishing rod on his shoulder, Lu Qing asked Xiao Yan.

“It looks great!”

The cute and obedient Xiao Yan immediately transformed into a fan, nodding vigorously.

“I think it looks great too!”

Lu Qing swung the fishing rod, looking proud.

Although it was made in a hurry this time, the quality of this new fishing rod wasn’t bad.

Because in Lu Qing’s eyes, this new fishing rod was emitting a strong white light.

【Snow Silkworm Fishing Rod: A fishing rod made with Snow Silkworm Thread as the fishing line.】

【The fishing line is tough and the rod is sturdy, capable of enduring a hundred pounds of force without breaking. With this fishing rod, perhaps one can catch big fish.】

When he first saw these two lines, Lu Qing was taken aback.

His new fishing rod could actually withstand a hundred pounds of force.

Snow Silkworm Thread is a treasure, being able to withstand a hundred pounds of force is impressive, but still reasonable.

But it was beyond his expectations that the old bamboo growing randomly in the mountain behind the village was also this tough.

One could only say that it deserved to be an unusual world, where not only extraordinary things like Snow Silkworm Thread could be born, but even the growing bamboo was so outstanding.

If those avid fishing enthusiasts from his past life knew, their eyes would probably turn green with envy.

“Brother, now that the fishing rod is ready, are we going fishing?” Xiao Yan asked.

“Yes, of course we are!”

With the new fishing rod in hand, Lu Qing was brimming with confidence.

Moreover, it had taken him two days to make this fishing rod.

The fish at home were almost all eaten during these two days. More importantly, in another day, it would be time for the agreed acupuncture session with Old Doctor Chen.

This time, he couldn’t go to Old Doctor Chen’s house empty-handed again.

“Yay! We can go fishing again!” Xiao Yan exclaimed happily upon hearing this. “Brother, I’ll go dig for earthworms to help you.”

Saying this, she ran outside.

Lu Qing shook his head.

He didn’t know why, but generally, little kids, especially girls, were somewhat afraid of earthworms and bugs.

Yet she showed no fear at all, even wanting to help him catch the earthworms. Her courage far exceeded that of ordinary little girls.

“I wonder if Xiao Yan will become a lady as she wishes, or will she turn into a tomboy in the future?” A trace of worry flashed through Lu Qing’s mind.

Although being a tomboy wasn’t bad, if possible, he still hoped his sister could become a gentle and virtuous girl.

Shaking his head to clear these distant thoughts, Lu Qing grabbed the fishing rod and walked outside.

Outside the courtyard, Xiao Yan was already waiting with a bamboo tube full of earthworms.

“Hurry up, Brother!” Xiao Yan urged.

“Coming, coming.”

Lu Qing picked up the shovel outside and walked over.

After digging the earthworms, Lu Qing also took a small cloth bag from home and put it in his pocket.

“Brother, what’s that?” The little one curiously asked.

“It’s a secret weapon. Whether we can catch big fish today will depend on it,” Lu Qing said mysteriously.

“Big fish!” The little one’s eyes lit up immediately.

She didn’t know how big Lu Qing’s ‘big fish’ exactly was, but it sounded great!

After packing the secret weapon, Lu Qing found the wooden bucket for holding fish from a few days ago, picked up the new fishing rod, and set out.

“Let’s go, set off!”

“Set off!” The little one chimed in her tender voice.

…

Before long, the two siblings arrived at the village entrance.

The little one, holding the bamboo tube full of earthworms, hopped ahead.

She kept chanting, ‘Big fish, big fish…’

Some villagers passing by saw her and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Xiao Yan, where are you going with Brother Lu?”

“Oh, Uncle Zhao, I’m going to the river with my brother to fish, we will catch big fish!” The little one replied politely.

“Oh, big fish? How do you know you’ll catch big fish?” Uncle Zhao teased her.

“Of course I know! Because my brother said so! My brother is the best at fishing!” The little one said proudly.

“Haha, right right, your brother is the best.”

Seeing her proud little face, Uncle Zhao laughed even more and agreed with her.

“Children are innocent. Uncle Zhao, please don’t mind her,” Lu Qing said apologetically.

“It’s nothing, nothing. Xiao Yan is adorable this way. When you were sick the other day, she cried so much; it was really heart-wrenching,” Uncle Zhao laughed.

“But, when you go fishing, make sure to watch over Xiao Yan. Don’t let her play in the water.”

“I understand,” Lu Qing responded seriously.

“Xiao Yan, did you hear that? Listen to your brother. When you get to the river, don’t secretly play in the water,” Uncle Zhao advised Xiao Yan again.

“I got it,” the little one replied obediently. “I am very good.”

“Yes, Xiao Yan is the best.”

Uncle Zhao patted her on the head, his tone a bit nostalgic.

After saying goodbye to Uncle Zhao, the siblings continued heading to the river.

However, when they reached the river, they were both dumbfounded.

Because they found that the spot where Lu Qing last fished had already been taken.

And it wasn’t just one or two people, but seven or eight people crowded into the small area.

Moreover, the siblings recognized these people; they were all villagers.

“Lu Qing, you’re here to fish too? Want to squeeze in with us?”

A villager greeted the siblings when he saw them.

“Yes, we’ve run out of fish at home, so I wanted to come and catch some,” Lu Qing smiled.

Then, a bit curiously, he asked, “Why are you all crowded together to fish? Aren’t you afraid of tangling your lines?”

“Don’t mention it, we don’t want to either,” the villager said bitterly. “Other spots are too hard to catch fish. You can wait half a day for just one. Only in this spot is it easier to catch fish. By the way, I heard from Hu Zi that you fished here last time?”

Because it’s easier to catch fish, you’re all crowding together?

Lu Qing was speechless.

But he still nodded, “Yes, I fished here last time.”

“You’re really something!” The villager gave him a thumbs up. “You picked a good spot right away. Over the past two days, we’ve caught the most fish here. But today for some reason, the fish aren’t biting much.”

Of course, they’re not biting!

With so many people crowded in one spot, even the most abundant fish would be caught. And those left would be too scared to bite.

Lu Qing shook his head.

This fishing spot is probably going to be wasted.

At least for a long time, it would be hard to restore it to its original state.

“You all go ahead and fish. I’ll go try my luck elsewhere.”

Feeling speechless, Lu Qing led Xiao Yan in another direction.

The villagers didn’t try to keep them. Instead, they were relieved.

This place was crowded enough. Adding one more person would make it intolerable.

As for Lu Qing saying he would try his luck elsewhere, they didn’t care.

Over the past few days, they had tried other sections of the river with little success.

After all the fishing, they found this spot to be the easiest to catch fish.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t all be crowded here.

After leaving the small fishing spot, Lu Qing led Xiao Yan forward.

Although the villagers’ actions left him speechless, there was nothing he could say.

After all, the river was for everyone. Everyone had the right to fish there.

It wasn’t as if fishing in a spot once made it his.

Therefore, he didn’t mind the villagers taking over the small fishing spot.

After all, he had special abilities. He could find another spot.

This river was long, with numerous fishing spots. There was no worry about not finding a place to fish.

Thinking this, Lu Qing continued walking with Xiao Yan.

He didn’t even go to the two other spots he discovered last time.

Because those spots were also within the villagers’ sight.

If he started catching fish there, others might rush over and squeeze in again. What would he do then?

So he decided to go farther and fish where nobody could see, avoiding unnecessary trouble.

He was well-prepared this time, not only bringing a fishing rod and a bucket but also a hatchet from home to clear new fishing spots if needed.

Lu Qing walked slowly along the river with Xiao Yan, using his ability to scan the river surface.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.