Chapter 336: Trouble Comes Knocking

Yan Liqiang held a bamboo basket and stood under the waterfall. His head was raised as he kept trying to use the bamboo basket to scoop the Steeled-Skin Loaches that were coming down the waterfall.

The slippery Steeled-Skin Loaches were finally restrained by the bamboo basket that was over three feet tall. Soon enough, more than ten Steeled-Skin Loaches were caught.

The Steeled-Skin Loaches kept on jumping about in the bamboo basket, each of them capable of leaping about one foot in the air. However, the bamboo basket in Yan Liqiang’s hands was over three feet tall and no matter how high they jumped, they were unable to jump out of it.

It was only at this time that Yan Liqiang was able to carefully assess the appearance of the Steeled-Skin Loaches which he was unable to capture with his hands.

From the exterior, the Steeled-Skin Loaches shared a resemblance with ordinary loaches, but their bodies were thinner. They were yellowish-brown with black prints. What that was even more astonishing was that the texture of their skins was like a metal sheet with a thin coat of translucent viscous liquid. It gave one the feeling as if a layer of oil had been spread on metal.

Yan Liqiang kept on scooping under the waterfall for over two hours before he heard Li Hongtu’s voice coming from the thatched cottage not far away, “That should be enough. Bring the Steeled-Skin Loaches over. It’s time to cook them…”

It was only after hearing his voice that Yan Liqiang raised the bamboo basket, slid into the water from the huge boulder, and then swam to the shore. He did not even put on his clothes before he ran to Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage with the bamboo basket.

Li Hongtu had started up a fire in the thatched cottage. The moment Yan Liqiang entered the place, he could feel warmth coming from the fire.

There was a huge pot next to the fire, and the opening of the pot was the same size as the bamboo basket that Yan Liqiang was holding.

“Let me see how many there are!” Li Hongtu rubbed his hands and walked over. When he glanced at the bamboo basket, his face was full of smiles, “Not bad, not bad. There are two to three jins in there. It’s enough for a good meal. Turn the bamboo basket over into this pot. Be careful. These Steeled-Skin Loaches are really slippery. Don’t let them jump out from the bamboo basket.”

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang replied as he nimbly turned the bamboo basket over onto the pot. All the Steeled-Skin Loaches immediately slid into the pot.

“Don’t move your hands away yet. Cover it for a while…” Li Hongtu reminded from the side.

“Master, what are you stewing in this pot? Why do I smell wine?!”

“The thing in this pot is wine. We’ll first make these Steeled-Skin Loaches drunk. Moreover, these Steeled-Skin Loaches taste nice only when stewed in wine. Hahaha….”

Sensing no more motion coming from the pot after a few minutes, Yan Liqiang removed the bamboo basket. Those Steeled-Skin Loaches that had been poured into the pot were no longer moving. Li Hongtu put the pot onto the fire before bringing out bags of condiments, and then added them into the pot. He then added more water and put the lid on the pot before he let out a satisfied sigh.

“Alright, go put on your clothes!”

“This afternoon, I’ll have a taste of Master’s Steeled-Skin Loaches!” Yan Liqiang said.

“Mmm, in consideration of your hard work…”

Yan Liqiang laughed and ran out of the house. Two minutes later, after he put on his clothes, he returned to the cottage and sat next to the fire, staring at the pot together with Li Hongtu. “Master, did you often eat these Steeled-Skin Loaches in the past?”

“What rubbish! This isn’t something that can be eaten easily!” Li Hongtu rolled his eyes and glared at Yan Liqiang. “These Steeled-Skin Loaches usually live in caves and it’s hard to come across them. Every July, if one is lucky, in the event that there are thunders and a surge in the rainwater, they then swim out from the caves and are washed down. There are plenty of food stalls and restaurants in the Imperial Capital. Go ask around and see how many places serve this. Oh, right, what martial arts has that Ji guy been teaching you over the past few days?”

“Master Ji is teaching me the Lizard Wall Climbing Technique and Thunder Flash Steps. He says that if I wish to learn the art of archery, then I must first grasp these two skills!” Yan Liqiang looked at Li Hongtu’s countenance and carefully replied.

“Mmm, that Ji’s Lizard Wall Climbing Technique isn’t bad and it’ll be useful for you in the future if you learn it. It seems that he hasn’t been hiding his skills!” Li Hongtu nodded and snorted. “It’s just that his Thunder Flash Steps is just something superfluous. Your current movement techniques and lightness skill techniques aren’t bad and you’ll be able to attain a higher level naturally without having to learn anything else. Why is there a need for you to learn his Thunder Flash Steps…”

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“Master’s right!” Yan Liqiang smiled and accommodated to Li Hongtu, as if he was pacifying a kid. “But it’s just that I’ve yet to master your abilities, so I’m learning that Thunder Flash Steps for now. It’s always good to have more skills!”

“Mmmm. Let me ask you. Did that Ji guy say bad things about me in front of you for the past few days?”

“No, definitely not. These few days I’ve been with Master Ji, he hasn’t said a bad word about you!” Yan Liqiang quickly shook his head. “Master Ji only once mentioned that the two of you used to be friends!”

“I don’t have a friend like him!” Li Hongtu’s face was filled with fury and only suppressed the rage when he saw that Yan Liqiang was the one next to him. He took in a deep breath before waving his hand impatiently and said, “Alright, let’s not talk about things that’ll spoil our appetites!”

Seeing how enraged Li Hongtu was, with a single thought from Yan Liqiang, Li Hongtu’s thoughts immediately appeared in his mind one after another, like bubbles.

——B*stard. To think that I thought of you as a brother back then, but you snatched my Little Ying.

——B*stard

——B*stard

——B*stard

——Despicable guy

——Despicable guy

Sensing the series of vengeful thoughts in Li Hongtu’s mind right now, Yan Liqiang burst out in cold sweat. He let out two awkward laughs before quickly cutting off the ‘connection’.

“Oh right. Do you know why I got you to catch these Steeled-Skin Loaches today?” Li Hongtu suddenly changed the topic.

“This… Didn’t Master say that they are very nourishing?”

“That’s just one of the reasons!” Li Hongtu shook his head and his gaze immediately became deeper, “Do you think the reason why Master ordered you to spend the entire morning catching these Steeled-Skin Loaches is only because I wish to have a good meal?”

Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment, “Master means…”

“Do you think you’d be able to use the long spear to pierce the Steeled-Skin Loaches that have been washed down from the waterfall if you were to stand under the waterfall right now?”

Yan Liqiang shook his head without giving it a second thought. “It’s not difficult to hit these Steeled-Skin Loaches underneath the waterfall, but the difficulty lies in piercing through them. I discovered earlier that the skin of these Steeled-Skin Loaches is hard and slippery. Even if I were to catch them with my hands, they’d slip through my fingers the moment I come into contact with them, let alone if I attempt to pierce them with my spear. When these Steeled-Skin Loaches landed on my trembling long spear earlier, they were able to bounce off, unscathed and unaffected by the force. If I wish to use my spear to pierce through the Steeled-Skin Loaches, I feel that the difficulty would be the same as trying to use a long spear to pierce through a small steel ball coated with a layer of oil, falling off from the top of the waterfall. It’s almost impossible!”

“That’s because you’ve yet to master the skills that have been taught to you. If you had mastered them, even you’re blindfolded you’d be able to piece through these Steeled-Skin Loaches that are hiding under the waterfall’s currents with ease. You’d be considered to have graduated when you’re able to spear a pot of Steeled-Skin Loaches with that long spear while standing under the waterfall. You’d have learned all of my capabilities!” Li Hongtu said solemnly to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang thought that Li Hongtu was joking with him, but he soon realized that what Li Hongtu said was the truth…

Not long after, the pot over the fire started to boil and a mysterious fragrance filled the cottage.

After finishing the Steeled-Skin Loaches together with Li Hongtu and then washing up the bowls and scrubbing the pot, it was already noon. Yan Liqiang had just returned to his place when he saw Little Li running over to his place anxiously and sweating profusely. “Commandant Yan. Eunuch Liu is looking for you…”

“What’s the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“A few officials have arrived from the Imperial Capital and said that you murdered people in the city last night. They wish to arrest you and they are now at Eunuch Liu’s place…”