Chapter 221: From Today On, You Are South Lake's Security Guard

Ning Fei took the little guys for a lap around the lake.

He mainly wanted to familiarize himself with the surrounding environment, looking for areas that needed modification and spotting suitable places to build a few things.

South Lake was formed by the accumulation of groundwater. A few small tributaries flowed downstream from it, and there was another tributary at its source.

"It's flowing water, but the tributaries seep out from underground."

"In other words, once a slightly larger fish swims in here, it has no way to leave."

"Even the path to swim upstream is difficult."

Ning Fei observed South Lake's structure and explained it to the viewers.

"Does Temple Master Ning mean that this lake is basically a cage, and once fish enter, they can never get out?"

"Putting it that way is a bit scary."

"Then wouldn't the carnivorous fish in this lake become the overlords?"

"No wonder there are so few fish in South Lake. It's hard for small fish to survive."

"Thinking about it from a small fish's perspective, it's pretty terrifying. Being trapped in an enclosed, inescapable space surrounded by horrific large fish that want to eat you—just thinking about it gives me the creeps."

The viewers continued to discuss it among themselves.

Ning Fei shook his head and said, "Not exactly. Every lake and river has large carnivorous fish like snakeheads and bass."

"The other small fish live perfectly fine alongside them. There's no problem."

"Fish reproduce incredibly fast. They can lay hundreds of eggs at a time, and they grow quickly. The big fish simply can't eat them all."

"I can only say that the current ecological nightmare in South Lake is precisely because the total number of fish is too low. This forces the carnivorous fish inside to fight with everything they have for food, even resorting to cannibalism."

"Plus, they belong to a rather ferocious subspecies of bass, which is why the fish here grow so large."

Once Ning Fei thoroughly understood South Lake's situation, the rest of the work became much easier to handle.

"The solution to this problem is very simple: release some fish fry into the lake and come here to feed them from time to time."

"Then South Lake will take on a completely different appearance."

Ning Fei was very satisfied with his plan.

He could already picture the vibrant scene of fish constantly leaping out of South Lake's waters.

"However, autumn and winter aren't suitable for raising fish. The best seasons for it are spring and summer."

"A large-scale release of fry will have to wait until next year."

Just then, the little falcon suddenly descended from the sky, plunging headfirst into the water.

Its talons snatched a fish, which it promptly dropped onto the deck.

It was another snakehead bass, roughly 40 centimeters long. It could definitely be considered a big fish.

This sight left the viewers full of praise.

The little falcon wasn't fully grown yet; its size didn't even look as big as this snakehead bass.

But judging from its performance just now, it had effortlessly hauled a fish larger than itself onto the boat.

Little Fox, Little Dog, and Little Fei all looked at the little falcon with expressions of pure admiration.

Especially Little Fei, who chirped the loudest, fluttering its wings back and forth around the little falcon like an absolute fanboy.

"This silly chicken."

Watching Little Fei from the roof of the boat, Xiao Feng also let out a squawk. But upon meeting the little falcon's sharp gaze, it immediately snapped its beak shut, not daring to make another sound.

After all, the little falcon's intimidating presence as the big brother of the group was no joke.

"Well done," Ning Fei said to the little falcon with a smile.

When it came to catching fish, the little falcon was still the best.

Ning Fei drifted across the lake in his small boat.

One side of South Lake was bordered by a mountain, while the other edges were lined with shrubs and low-hanging trees. Opposite the mountain lay a grassy meadow and a sparse woodland; anyone coming to South Lake had to pass through those woods.

As for the other two sides, basically no one ever went there.

As Ning Fei rowed the boat and looked toward South Lake's shore, his expression suddenly shifted.

"There seems to be something over there."

Ning Fei said, gazing into the distance.

Hearing him say this, the viewers instantly grew curious.

"Something? What is it?"

"Is there something else by South Lake?"

The little guys also peered over.

Little Dog noticed the movement by the lake too and immediately gave two warning barks.

The drone's camera turned in that direction and zoomed in. The viewers finally saw exactly what Ning Fei was talking about.

On the shore of South Lake stood a black bear, not even the height of a person. At this moment, the bear was hiding behind a tree, leaning half its body out to cautiously eye Ning Fei.

Unlike the ill-tempered black bear Ning Fei had encountered before, this one looked much more simple-minded, and its face was etched with fear.

Every expression it made revealed a sense of extreme caution.

"There's actually a bear here!"

Ning Fei chuckled, speaking with great interest.

"I guess that makes us neighbors."

With that, Ning Fei punted the boat toward that side of the shore.

Seeing Ning Fei approaching, the black bear grew even more frightened. It quickly pulled its body back and hid entirely behind the tree.

However, the tree was very small—it looked like it couldn't even cover a third of the bear's bulk.

The scene was truly quite comical.

A black bear was hiding behind a tree smaller than itself, standing at rigid attention with its head pressed tightly against the trunk, looking absolutely terrified.

"This bear is hilarious. Is it trying to hide behind the tree?"

"For some reason, it reminds me of how Chopper hides in One Piece."

"Bro, you're a bear! Where is your strength?"

"This black bear is actually this cowardly?"

"Hahaha, it looks so comical."

"It's true what they say: in a big forest, you'll find all kinds of bears."

"Black bear, you've got to toughen up!"

"Am I the only one who thinks this bear is smart? It actually knows not to mess with Temple Master Ning."

"Makes sense. After all, Temple Master Ning is a man who stands at the top of the food chain."

"A black bear spirit meeting a demon-subduing Taoist priest—how could it not be afraid?"

Everyone found it amusing, and the bullet comments immediately surged across the screen, all teasing the black bear.

Ning Fei docked the boat on the shore, then leaped off and walked toward the bear.

Little Dog rushed down after him, while the other little guys remained on the boat.

Seeing Ning Fei and Little Dog walking toward it, the black bear was so scared it instantly turned to flee. It dropped to the ground, using its front paws to swiftly scramble away.

"This black bear... what is it running for?"

Ning Fei smiled with interest and sped up. It wasn't long before he caught up to the bear.

When Ning Fei appeared right next to it, the black bear sprang to its feet with a swish, simultaneously throwing its arms wide to strike a highly intimidating pose.

"Woof, woof!"

Little Dog barked at it twice from the side. The black bear instantly dropped back down to the ground, lowering its head and looking at Ning Fei with a slightly aggrieved expression.

The black bear's expressions and movements perfectly epitomized the word 'cowardly.'

"Little Dog, don't scare it!"

Ning Fei scolded gently.

Hearing Ning Fei's words, Little Dog immediately stopped barking. It just stood off to the side, wagging its tail and tilting its head as it stared at the black bear with curiosity.

Ning Fei hadn't expected this black bear to be so timid either—it was actually scared of a little Malinois puppy.

"Don't be afraid. I just came to say hello."

Ning Fei said to the black bear in a gentle tone.

The black bear was clearly even more afraid.

Ning Fei scanned the surroundings and realized that this area was likely the bear's territory.

He muttered to himself, "There are so few fish in South Lake, yet you've claimed it as your territory."

"It seems you either couldn't find a good spot, or you were bullied by your own kind."

"No wonder you have this kind of personality, and your body looks so thin and weak too."

This black bear really wasn't robust. Ordinary black bears were broad-shouldered and thick-waisted; otherwise, people wouldn't use the idiom 'a tiger's back and a bear's waist' to describe a burly man.

Then, Ning Fei turned back to the viewers and said, "Look, everyone. This bear isn't very muscular. It's likely that it inherently doesn't know how to hunt, or because of its softer personality, it couldn't compete with its peers."

"With so few fish in South Lake, the fact that it came here to claim territory and survive shows just how miserable its life has been."

"If my guess is right, South Lake might be the only place it can survive. There are fewer of its kind around here, and no other wild beasts either."

After that, Ning Fei glanced at the black bear again and smiled. "Other bears fight for territory, act like kings, and dominate a region. But you—you ran off to this unpopulated place, only wanting to peacefully chase butterflies and sleep soundly."

Hearing Ning Fei's words, the viewers felt that this black bear was truly a bit pitiful.

Fleeing to a place with such scarce resources, just wanting to live out its life in peace and quiet.

At this moment, Ning Fei spoke again:

"However, I've already contracted South Lake. Having an unfamiliar black bear lingering nearby isn't exactly a good thing."

Upon hearing this, some viewers immediately spoke up:

"Ah, Temple Master Ning, don't drive the black bear away!"

"Yeah, it wasn't easy for this black bear to find a place like this."

"It's already so miserable. South Lake might be its only habitat."

"It finally found its own little paradise, and now it's going to be kicked out just like that?"

"There's no other way. If someone contracts a pond and there's a black bear nearby, they're definitely going to drive it away. Any normal person would do the same."

"Yeah, no matter how cowardly the black bear is, there's always a risk of it hurting someone."

As everyone debated the matter, Ning Fei suddenly burst into laughter.

He said softly to the black bear, "My fish pond doesn't allow unfamiliar bears nearby."

"So, starting today, I am officially hiring you as South Lake's security guard."

"Your salary will be enough large fish to keep your belly full."

"What do you think?"

Hearing Ning Fei's words, the netizens' discussions came to an abrupt halt.

Temple Master Ning was actually going to... hire the black bear as a security guard?!