Jiang Chan moved with lightning speed, disregarding beauty or ugliness, only seeking speed.
Soon, a rough, loose, oddly shaped, and even somewhat prickly ring of dry grass was born in her hands.
It's done!
She grabbed the grass ring and rushed to the blurry human-shaped boulder on the shore.
There was a slightly protruding lump of stone at the "head" of the rock, just big enough to hold something.
Jiang Chan tiptoed and, without hesitation, slipped the incredibly ugly grass ring onto the rough and blurry "stone head"!
The grass rings hung crookedly on the stones, and the withered grass swayed in the wind, making them look even more comical.
[Ding! Quest: The Mountain God by the River (Completed)]
[Reward: Large Carp x1 (to be distributed), would you like to claim it now?]
Jiang Chan replied without hesitation, "Yes."
Just as she finished making her choice, she immediately remembered that there was a stranger there.
She subconsciously turned to look at Chen Yan, who was still by the puddle behind her, and just then—
Almost at the same second, the surface of the murky puddle where Chen Yan was squatting to scoop water suddenly exploded!
"Splash—!!!"
The sound was terrifyingly loud, like a thunderclap on flat ground, sounding extremely abrupt on the desolate riverbank!
The murky yellow muddy water was pushed apart and exploded by a tremendous force!
A huge, dark shadow that should never have existed in this stagnant water, carrying mud and water droplets, suddenly shot into the sky from the puddle with an incomparably fierce posture!
Chen Yan was staring intently at the pottery jar in his hand—the jar had just been submerged in the water, and not even a ripple had yet spread.
The explosion and the huge black shadow that suddenly appeared happened right under his nose, less than an arm's length away!
"ah!"
Chen Yan had never made such a short, terrified, and instinctive cry before.
That's... a fish!
A fish!
A huge, ridiculously fat fish!
The fish was as long as an adult man's arm, with shimmering golden scales. Its tail thrashed violently, creating a large splash of murky water, before it crashed heavily onto the dry riverbed between Jiang Chan, Xiao Tao, and Chen Yan!
Its entire body was covered in sticky yellow mud, but its thick body, its tail thrashing wildly with explosive power, its wide-open mouth, and its vibrant gills all seemed to be emitting a silent scream—
It's alive!
It's still alive!
It sprang out alive from this stagnant water, so murky that even water fleas should have been wiped out!
Chen Yan froze.
They were completely frozen in place.
Time seemed to stand still.
Jiang Chan: "..."
Xiao Tao: "..."
Chen Yan: "..."
Three pairs of eyes stared intently at the giant carp on the ground, which was jumping and struggling desperately!
Chen Yan maintained the posture of scooping water, with one hand still suspended in mid-air, holding the jar.
But his eyes were wide open, almost tearing their sockets, as he stared intently at the fish thrashing wildly on the riverbank.
Each time the fishtail slammed against the ground, making a dull "thud," it was like a heavy hammer blow, slamming into his crumbling worldview.
Impossible... Absolutely impossible!
This puddle of water is so murky that a chopstick can stand upright in it!
There wasn't a single decent aquatic insect in the water, let alone a fish!
The starving people swept across the river like locusts, leaving not even a single blade of grass or leaf on the riverbed!
This fish... this fat carp that's thicker than an adult man's arm... where did it come from?
How could it possibly be here?
How could it possibly survive in such a godforsaken place?!
And... how could it... suddenly pop out?!
A chilling aura suddenly shot up from Chen Yan's spine and instantly spread throughout his limbs and bones.
His gaze, like a rusty gear, moved away from the incredible fish on the ground, extremely slowly and with great difficulty, inch by inch.
His gaze swept over the pottery jar in his hand and the murky mud.
It was firmly fixed on top of the large rock by the river—that crooked, ugly ring of grass.
He looked at the stone, then at the grass ring, then at the fish jumping around on the ground, and finally, his gaze was fixed on Jiang Chan's face, which was equally shocked, but clearly conveyed a strange sense of "it's finally here."
The time, the place, her inexplicable actions... what a damn coincidence!
The coincidence is so unbelievable it's chilling!
A sacrifice? Was she offering a sacrifice to that broken stone? But that stone was just a stone!
The river god has appeared?
Or was he hallucinating from hunger? He couldn't help but rub his eyes.
But... the fish was still flailing its tail in vain, each struggle stirring up the sticky mud.
Chen Yan knelt there stiffly, as if his soul had been sucked away along with the fish.
Xiao Tao was the first to react, pointing at the fish, her face flushed with excitement, "Fish! Big fish! A fish given by the Mountain God!"
Jiang Chan's lips twitched, and she quickly suppressed the absurdity in her heart, forcing herself to squeeze out a "surprised" expression, "...Yes...yes...thank you, Mountain God!"
This lousy system really did give me a fish. I thought it was prepared food, but it turned out to be a live fish!
The key point is that their entrance scene was just too... outrageous!
She didn't have time to appreciate Chen Yan's horrified, soul-stirring expression.
She took a deep breath and, trying to appear calm, strode over.
She bent down and pinched the fish's gills.
The fish was still thrashing its tail in frustration, splashing mud all over her face, but she didn't care. She grabbed it tightly and lifted it up with all her might.
The fish lifted off the mud, its heavy weight making her arm sag, but it also filled her with immense joy.
She picked up the fish and turned to walk towards Chen Yan, who was still standing there, his eyes unfocused.
Chen Yan's gaze seemed to be drawn by an invisible thread, moving mechanically with her movements.
He watched as the large, vibrant fish, covered in mud yet still dazzlingly alive, drew closer and closer to him.
He could even smell a fresh fishy smell mixed with the scent of river mud.
Jiang Chan stopped a few steps away from him, and handed him the still-wriggling fish. "Everyone gets a share. Do you know how to cook fish? The three of us... plus your companion, can eat together!"
The fishy smell is stronger now.
Chen Yan's gaze slowly, little by little, shifted from the swaying fish tail in front of him to Jiang Chan's face.
That face was equally withered and haggard, splattered with mud, and, like him, tormented by hunger and thirst.
But at this moment, there was none of the awe or fear he had expected in the face of "miracle".
There was only one kind of... a near-calm composure, a "taken-for-granted" calm.
That calm gaze sent a chill down his spine and left him more bewildered than the fish that had appeared out of nowhere.
That rock... that grass ring... this fish... and this strange woman... what's going on?!
Finally, under Jiang Chan's "imposing presence," Chen Yan nodded very slowly and stiffly.
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