Just as the two of them were about to be dragged into the river, Mi Tang arrived in time.
He reacted instantly, grabbing Jiang Chen’an’s hand holding the whip. His arm muscles bulged as he forcibly hauled the massive catfish out of the water. Water splashed everywhere, as if even the air had shaken.
Mi Tang and Jiang Chen’an worked together and flung the giant catfish onto the riverbank. Gu Xiaomai, in the process, was flipped over and ended up facing upward.
None of them had time to care about her at the moment.
Mi Tang’s arms tensed with power. He clenched his fists, originally intending to smash straight into the fish’s head, but the wildly flailing tentacles blocked him. He had no choice but to aim for its spine instead.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen’an used his whip to entangle the catfish’s tentacles, preventing Mi Tang from getting struck.
Gu Xiaomai took the opportunity to sit up and tug at the tentacles, trying to add some damage so it would release her.
But her strength was basically equivalent to tickling it—the tentacles didn’t budge at all.
At this moment, she regretted leaving her bone-cutting knife under her pillow. She had forgotten to bring it.
As if responding to her thoughts, the bone-cutting knife suddenly appeared in her hand.
Without hesitation, she swung it down.
A catfish tentacle was instantly severed.
At the same time, a sharp crack echoed through the air.
Mi Tang’s punch snapped the catfish’s spine.
With injuries in two places, the catfish convulsed violently, spewing transparent fluid from its body.
The liquid spilled onto the ground and flowed under Mi Tang’s feet. The moment he shifted slightly, he slipped and fell hard, unable to approach the fish again.
Gu Xiaomai was the same—she slipped the moment she moved and couldn’t get close. Even the severed tentacle still tried to coil around her.
Both of them lay on the ground, crawling out of the transparent fluid area before sitting down to watch Jiang Chen’an fight the catfish alone—one using a whip, the other flailing tentacles.
Jiang Chen’an could still injure the catfish with his whip.
But the catfish was also using the whip’s force to slide itself back toward the river.
Gu Xiaomai grew anxious. “Captain Mi, where’s your gun? Shoot it! It’s going to escape!”
Mi Tang shot her an annoyed look. “Do you think everyone has a gun? That’s a rare item even in the military!”
Yet when she first woke up, she remembered seeing soldiers like Wei Gang each carrying one.
Even the guards at the camp gate had them. She had assumed guns were standard issue for soldiers here.
She was a bit stunned. “Then what do we do? We can’t let it get away!”
“If it escapes this time, we won’t be able to come near this river again.”
“Brother Chen! Hold it with the whip—don’t let it run! And Captain Mi, go help him!”
“Got it.” Jiang Chen’an didn’t know what she planned, but still tightened his whip around the catfish.
Mi Tang also grabbed the whip and helped stabilize it.
Gu Xiaomai circled the fish head, carefully avoiding the tentacles.
Suddenly, the bone-cutting knife left her hand and returned again.
In the next instant, the giant catfish went rigid and stopped moving completely—its eyes losing all light.
Gu Xiaomai let out a breath of relief. “Brother Chen, you can let go now.”
Both Jiang Chen’an and Mi Tang were confused. They didn’t understand what she had done with that single strike to the gill area that caused the fish to stop moving entirely.
They remained cautious and didn’t move immediately.
“What exactly did that strike do?” Mi Tang asked.
At that moment, dark red blood began continuously flowing from the fish’s gills, mixing with the transparent liquid on the ground.
Before she could explain, a shout came from behind.
Turning around, they saw Yu Mi running toward them with a machete raised.
“Stop!”
But Yu Mi was running too fast. Even with the warning, he couldn’t stop in time on the slippery ground and slid straight onto the catfish, landing face-first into it.
His eyes widened.
The slick, wet sensation on his lips made him instantly realize what had happened.
Panicking, he tried to pull back—but slipped and fell flat on his back.
Gu Xiaomai, Jiang Chen’an, and Mi Tang were all trying desperately not to laugh.
Yu Mi saw their expressions and slammed the ground in frustration.
“YOU GUYS!!!”
“I came here for you!”
“And you’re laughing at me!”
“Brother Chen, help me up!”
“Waaah…”
It was utterly humiliating.
Finally, they couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
After all the chaos, the catfish finally stopped moving. It was confirmed dead.
Jiang Chen’an retracted his whip and used it to wrap around Yu Mi, pulling him out of the slippery zone.
“Why did you come here?” he asked.
“I heard someone scream!” Yu Mi said while wiping his mouth. “You two weren’t back, I was worried something happened! And I saw Captain Mi and you both being dragged, and Xiaomai couldn’t fight it off—of course I rushed over without looking properly!”
He shot them all an accusing glare.
Gu Xiaomai and Mi Tang both looked away awkwardly.
They knew it was funny—but it really was funny.
“How can you laugh at me like that!” Yu Mi complained.
“Yeah, they’re wrong,” Jiang Chen’an said seriously.
Yu Mi nodded immediately. “Exactly—”
Then paused. Something felt off.
Now all three of them turned to look at Jiang Chen’an.
Why did it suddenly feel like one scapegoat had disappeared?
Sensing their murderous looks, Jiang Chen’an changed the topic.
“Xiaomai, what did your strike just do? How did it kill the fish?”
Hearing this, Yu Mi looked at her in surprise.
“That fish… was killed by Xiaomai?”
It was nearly a two-meter catfish.
Not by Captain Mi? Not by Brother Chen?
“…It’s a technique called blood drainage in cooking,” Gu Xiaomai explained with a smile. “You cut the gill area to sever a major artery, letting the blood drain quickly. It keeps the fish meat clean and fresh.”
She had only remembered it because her father once taught her how to kill fish.
Luckily, she had hit the right spot.
She then looked at the fish. “What do we do with this? Leaving it here isn’t ideal, right?”
“I’ll take it back to the camp,” Mi Tang said. “If it’s a purified fish, you’ll get a share. If not, it’ll be processed directly.”
No one objected.
Yu Mi, however, silently hoped it was a purified fish so Jiang Chen’an would get more.
“Also,” Mi Tang added, “tell everyone to continue reclamation work today.”
On the way back, Gu Xiaomai naturally followed Mi Tang toward the camp.
Jiang Chen’an stopped her. “That’s the direction to the camp.”
“I know. We’re covered in dirt—we need to wash up.”
Yu Mi immediately objected, “You can only bathe once every seven days.”
“Why?” she asked. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Camp rules. It saves resources, and frequent washing isn’t good for the skin,” Jiang Chen’an explained.
Reluctantly, she changed direction back toward the tents.
“You can’t just wash with water?” she asked.
“That would require a lot of points,” Yu Mi said. “Only people with excess points or water-type abilities can afford that.”
She immediately perked up. “How do I get a water ability? I want one.”
Yu Mi also looked at Jiang Chen’an.
“I don’t know either,” Jiang Chen’an said flatly.
“Then how many water-type ability users are there?” she asked.
“About 1% of all awakened abilities each year.”
“1%? That’s basically hopeless…” she groaned. “My dream of unlimited water…”
“Then earn more points,” Yu Mi said.
They began discussing ways to make money—clearly unrealistic ones.
Jiang Chen’an didn’t bother listening and walked ahead.
By the time they returned to the camp, the reclamation team surrounded them and asked what happened.
After hearing the explanation, everyone sighed in relief.
At least the fish was dead.
Gu Xiaomai asked Liu Ju for a set of clothes, changed, and hung her washed herbs and dirty clothes outside to dry.
Then she went back to work on farmland Plot 34 with Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi.
Near noon, Mi Tang called her and Jiang Chen’an to Tent 4.
“The fish was a purified fish. Total weight: 270 jin. Do you want fish meat or points?”
“Points,” Jiang Chen’an replied immediately.
After settling payment, Mi Tang asked, “Tell me—why were you at the river?”
Jiang Chen’an said he was training.
Gu Xiaomai explained she went to wash medicinal roots.
“What roots?” Mi Tang asked.
“They’re medicinal herbs—dang gui, dang shen, and huang qi,” she said. “They can replenish blood.”
Then she added, “Do you want to take them back?”