Chapter 228: Ten-Pull, River God Sculpture

Once the fish fry were released, Ning Fei signed the contract, and the people from the fish fry company drove off.

The moment they left, Xiaoxiong happily trotted out. He gazed at South Lake, looking rather excited.

"They're just tiny fish. Even if you wanted to catch them right now, you wouldn't be able to."

Standing beside him, Ning Fei offered the remark with a smile.

Afterward, Ning Fei didn't resume fishing. Instead, he punted his boat, planning to take a look around the lake.

Little Dog hopped onto the boat as well.

This time, South Lake felt completely different.

As the wooden boat cut across the water, he could see several fish swimming lazily right alongside the hull.

South Lake had instantly become brimming with vibrant life.

Little Dog lay on his stomach at the bow, looking very happy as he watched the fish in the lake.

He would run to one side and bark a couple of times, then dart to the other side and bark again. Originally, a few fish had been following them, but the moment Little Dog barked, they scattered.

Little Dog learned his lesson after that. He stopped barking and instead stared fixedly at the fish in the lake, remaining perfectly still.

The very next second, in a move that completely caught Ning Fei off guard, Little Dog leaped headfirst into the water.

"Splash!"

Little Dog plunged into the lake.

Ning Fei looked over and saw that it didn't take long for the puppy to pop back up to the surface.

He had a fish clamped in his jaws and paddled toward the wooden boat with a perfect doggy paddle.

Once he reached the side of the boat, Ning Fei grabbed his front legs and hauled the puppy up, setting him back on board.

Little Dog dropped the fish and wagged his tail, looking incredibly proud of himself.

"Yes, yes, you know how to catch fish too. You're amazing."

Ning Fei praised him with a laugh.

Then, Ning Fei looked out at the fish in South Lake. He knew that merely stocking the lake with fish fry wasn't going to be enough.

Raising fish was never that simple.

However, Ning Fei had his own methods.

He parked the wooden boat on the lake, went inside the small wooden cabin, and sat down.

He checked his System information.

Currently, his total Popularity Points sat at 39 million, with 6 million available to spend.

He couldn't afford a Diamond Draw Ten-Pull, but a Platinum Draw Ten-Pull was well within his means.

'System, I need some items for raising fish. Give me a Platinum Draw Ten-Pull,'

Ning Fei said silently in his mind.

"Ding! Host has selected the Platinum Draw Ten-Pull. Drawing..."

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the following items:"

"Water Plant Seeds x5 bags. Miraculous water plant seeds that can grow in bodies of water to produce fresh water plants that fish love to eat."

"Clear Water Diatoms x10 bags. Miraculous diatom seeds that can create water blooms to increase the dissolved oxygen rate in a body of water."

"Fish Feed (Advanced) x5 bags. High-grade feed that fish love to eat; accelerates the growth rate of fish."

"Fish Feed (Advanced) x5 bags."

"Fish Bait (Advanced) x10. High-grade fish bait that greatly increases the chance of catching fish; specially loved by red-scaled fish."

"Feces Dissolving Bead (Fish): A miraculous bead that can convert fish waste into nutrients. It can only convert fish waste within a water body of 3,000 cubic meters."

"Wooden Cabin Design Blueprint: Detailed blueprint information for a wooden cabin, including the size and assembly process of every piece of material."

"River God Sculpture: A small decorative sculpture. Rumor has it that throwing it into the water can keep a body of water peaceful."

"Red Phoenix Pill x50. Feed for raising a Red Phoenix Canary."

"Constant Temperature Water Drop: Maintains a certain temperature in deep water layers to ensure that fish fry will not freeze to death in winter."

"Sandalwood Stove: A miraculous stove made of special agarwood. Once lit, it can effectively maintain the temperature."

A barrage of System notifications chimed in Ning Fei's mind.

Overall, this draw was excellent, though it was a pity he didn't pull any skills. However, the further along he went, the harder it became to draw skills. Only the Diamond Draw offered a higher probability of acquiring them.

The items Ning Fei had just drawn were enough to trigger an earth-shattering transformation in South Lake.

The items Ning Fei found most interesting were the Feces Dissolving Bead (Fish) and the Constant Temperature Water Drop, as these two things clearly transcended the bounds of reality.

'Feces Dissolving Bead... why specifically state that it's for fish?'

Ning Fei wondered to himself.

'Could there actually be a feces dissolving bead for humans?'

'How does it even work?'

'If I sold something like that to a sewage treatment plant, how much would it be worth?'

Of course, he was only entertaining the thought as a joke.

This item was just like the Insect Repellent Incense. It was enough that he knew about it; he could never let anyone else find out.

Following that, Ning Fei stepped out of the wooden cabin. His expression remained calm, so the netizens didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

He rowed the small wooden boat to the center of South Lake and controlled the drone to broadcast footage of the black bear on the opposite shore.

Then, he tossed the Water Plant Seeds, Clear Water Diatoms, Feces Dissolving Bead, and Constant Temperature Water Drop into the lake.

On the outside, the Feces Dissolving Bead and the Constant Temperature Water Drop looked exactly like ordinary stones. Had Ning Fei not known beforehand, even he wouldn't have realized they were beads with special functions.

The Constant Temperature Water Drop was extremely useful.

During the winter, fish generally hid in deep water areas because the temperature there was relatively higher, aiding their survival.

However, many fish fry couldn't adapt quickly enough to environmental changes, which led to them freezing to death. The Constant Temperature Water Drop would ensure this problem was completely resolved.

Finally, there was the River God Sculpture.

Ning Fei had originally thought the River God would be styled as someone wearing a fisherman's hat and clutching a trident.

But upon holding it in his hand, he found the sculpture depicted an elderly man wearing long robes, looking much like an ancient poet.

The River God's appearance was far more elegant and free-spirited than he had imagined.

This was the System's default model for a River God. Perhaps, in some other world, this River God truly existed.

Holding it in his hand, Ning Fei silently recited a prayer in his heart:

'I pay my respects to the River God; please bless these waters with peace.'

Within Daoist culture, a Daoist priest was required to offer sincere reverence to the ancient gods of Huaxia.

Only then did Ning Fei carefully place the River God Sculpture into South Lake.

With that, the preparations for South Lake were finally complete.

The lake looked exactly the same as before, aside from the addition of some fish fry.

But Ning Fei knew that a miraculous transformation was quietly unfolding beneath the surface.

His South Lake was destined to become something extraordinary.

Afterward, Ning Fei went ashore and greeted the black bear.

Ning Fei noticed that the black bear had grown much braver.

He also looked a bit more confident.

In truth, animals were just like people. If someone was bullied from childhood, they would develop a cowardly personality.

This black bear had experienced the same since he was a cub. Because he had a weak constitution, his parents rejected him and his peers bullied him. He had grown up constantly enduring hunger and starvation, leaving him with no choice but to hide away here by South Lake.

But gentleness and sincerity could still influence a black bear.

This fellow just hadn't ever experienced the warmth of the world.

Yet, warmth would always arrive when least expected.

For the black bear, Ning Fei's arrival was allowing his heart to gradually mature.

He was a bear, after all. If he truly grew into his own, his strength and speed wouldn't lose out to any other black bear.

"I'm heading out. Live well here."

"Oh, right. When you catch fish, don't just stand perfectly still. You're a black bear—the fish can smell your scent, so they won't come close. You have to actively run and hunt for them."

"The muddier the water gets, the easier it'll be for you to catch fish."

As Ning Fei arrived at the shore, he didn't forget to teach the black bear the skills needed to catch fish.

Adult bears had two methods for catching fish. They would either wait upstream in a river and catch the fish when they swam up to spawn—'leaping the dragon gate'—before eating them.

Or, they would take the initiative and actively hunt them in the river.

Perhaps because no one had ever taught Xiaoxiong, he sorely lacked skills in this area.

"Temple Master Ning is so thoughtful, even teaching Xiaoxiong how to catch fish."

"I feel like Xiaoxiong is a lot more lively now. Before, he seemed really timid and submissive."

"Maybe following Temple Master Ning has subtly changed him."

"That's really possible!"

"The animals at Qingfeng Temple are all so unique. I used to think Temple Master Ning just had good luck to find so many amazing animals. But later I realized, maybe it's because Temple Master Ning is amazing that these animals became so smart."

"Saying that brings back that immortal aura."

"Maybe Temple Master Ning really is a reincarnated immortal."

After bidding Xiaoxiong farewell, Ning Fei turned back to board the wooden boat and, bringing Little Dog along, rowed toward the side of the mountain.

He rowed the boat to the crevice at the back mountain, tied it up with a rope once more, stowed the boat pole, and then carried Little Dog up the mountain.

Today's trip to South Lake had truly been full of rewards.

After walking up the mountain for a while, Ning Fei didn't forget to look back.

He saw the Little Black Bear sprinting joyously along the edge of the lake, kicking up splashes of water as he actively searched for fish.

It wasn't long before Xiaoxiong actually caught one.

He held the fish in his jaws and stood up straight, looking incredibly thrilled.

Seeing this scene, an imperceptible smile tugged at Ning Fei's lips.

Then, he turned back toward the mountain and continued his walk back to Qingfeng Temple.