The sound came from a place not far from the camp. Qin Tian hurried along the path and arrived there in less than a minute.
Bursting out of the woods, Qin Tian immediately searched for Ye Lin’s figure, but something he saw made his pupils shrink.
Not far from Qin Tian, Ye Lin stood naked in the water, arms crossed over her soft chest, staring ahead with a pale face.
Half-hidden like a pipa’s silhouette, this subtle yet revealing posture was often the most tempting and deadly. Qin Tian had never seen such a thrilling scene before, and his mind went blank.
When Qin Tian spotted Ye Lin, she saw him too.
Like seeing a savior, Ye Lin pointed to a spot in the creek and shouted at Qin Tian, “Snake! There’s a snake there!”
Hearing this, Qin Tian snapped back to his senses and looked in the direction she pointed. In the water was a more than one-meter-long figure swimming toward Ye Lin.
Startled, Qin Tian rushed over. As he got closer, he recognized the creature, and at the same time, relevant information flooded his mind.
Yellow Eel: Also known as “shàn yú,” it has a slender, snake-like body reaching up to one meter. The body is round in front and flat on the sides toward the rear, with a tapered tail. Its smooth, mucus-covered skin has no scales. Its color is yellow-brown, with few spines, thick flesh, and a delicious taste. It commonly inhabits rice fields, small rivers, creeks, ponds, canals, and lakes.
Their meal for the day wasn’t settled yet, and unexpectedly, this Yellow Eel had come knocking. Qin Tian’s eyes lit up, and he jumped straight into the water.
Probably for convenience while bathing, the creek where Ye Lin stood was waist-deep. Once Qin Tian plunged in, both he and the Yellow Eel vanished from sight.
Half a minute later, the water surface calmed.
Worried about Qin Tian, Ye Lin instinctively approached the spot where he had entered the water, but after a few steps, Qin Tian surfaced.
Ye Lin breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re okay…”
Her voice stopped abruptly when she saw the wriggling Yellow Eel in Qin Tian’s hand. Her face turned pale as she took several steps back, almost slipping and falling.
Seeing this, Qin Tian quickly reassured her, “Calm down! Calm down! Look carefully, this isn’t a snake, it’s a Yellow Eel!”
Only then did Ye Lin calm down and take a closer look, confirming that Qin Tian was indeed holding a Yellow Eel. It looked so much like a snake that she had initially mistaken it.
***
Suddenly inspired, Qin Tian said playfully, “Yellow Eels are non-venomous, no need to be afraid. But their burrowing ability is quite impressive.”
Qin Tian’s comment caught Ye Lin off guard, but the implications were obvious. Her face flushed red, and she splashed water at Qin Tian, cursing, “Get lost!”
Laughing, Qin Tian climbed ashore but didn’t leave immediately. To guard against any further mishaps, he found a tree nearby and sat down.
With nothing else to do, Qin Tian examined the Yellow Eel in his hand, marveling. He had seen Yellow Eels before, but this was by far the largest he’d ever encountered.
Moreover, his information explicitly stated that Yellow Eels do not grow beyond one meter, yet this one’s length and size far exceeded that limit.
Could it be because the habitat was better here? Qin Tian wondered silently.
But trying to figure out the reason on this Deserted Island was impossible—and Qin Tian didn’t have the time.
Thinking that Ye Lin must have almost finished washing, Qin Tian didn’t wait long before hearing her footsteps and then stood to go out.
Ye Lin was taken aback when she saw Qin Tian, but a warm feeling soon welled up inside her. “Thank you.”
Knowing Qin Tian well, Ye Lin understood that he had stayed here out of concern for her, not any other motive.
Qin Tian said nothing, simply staring blankly at Ye Lin.
There was nothing to dry herself with on the Deserted Island, so after bathing, Ye Lin had to put on her clothes while still wet. The long skirt was thin, and once wet, it became somewhat transparent, faintly revealing the shy undergarments beneath.
Because the skirt clung tightly to her body when wet, it outlined her perfect curves—full front and rear.
Additionally, Ye Lin’s already stunning features were enhanced by the creek’s refreshing water, making her look even more beautiful and enchanting. Even the phrase “lotus emerging from water” fell short of describing her.
“What are you looking at!” Seeing Qin Tian’s gaze, Ye Lin hugged herself tightly, cheeks flushed.
“Nothing, nothing.” Realizing his awkwardness, Qin Tian turned his head, embarrassed.
But the next moment, on a sudden impulse, Qin Tian turned back and looked at Ye Lin with a tone both sincere and somewhat playful: “Just looking because you’re pretty.”
The moment those words escaped him, Ye Lin’s face blazed crimson. She never expected Qin Tian to say something like that.
She had heard too many flowery compliments from her suitors, so many that she was numb to them.
Compared to those elaborate phrases, Qin Tian’s compliment was too straightforward, without any embellishment—almost bland—but precisely these simple words inexplicably made her happy.
“I—I’m going back to the camp first.” Trying to hide her feelings, Ye Lin said and then quickly left like she was fleeing.
Watching her retreating figure, Qin Tian was stunned. Not to mention Ye Lin, he hadn’t expected himself to say something like that either.
***
Without further thought, after Ye Lin disappeared from view, Qin Tian took off his clothes, hung them on a nearby tree branch, and plunged into the water.
Qin Tian was no stranger to Yellow Eels. Their nutritional value was very high. When he was young, he often went with adults to catch them by the fields for treats.
In his memory, Yellow Eels didn’t live in groups but never alone in a single water area. In other words, there had to be more Yellow Eels in this body of water.
Knowing this, Qin Tian hadn’t followed Ye Lin back to the camp.
No way would he let such good food slip away.
Yellow Eels burrow holes in the moist soil by the water as their nests. Once in the water, Qin Tian began searching along both banks. Soon, he discovered a hole about the size of a wrist in the mud near the water’s surface.
Based on experience, Qin Tian was certain this was a Yellow Eel hole. He immediately scooped some mud and firmly blocked the entrance.
Yellow Eel nests usually have two exits. By sealing one hole, Qin Tian effectively cut off the Yellow Eel’s escape route.
A few minutes later, Qin Tian found another hole nearby but didn’t reach in. Instead, he pulled several strands of grass from the shore and twisted them into a rope over a meter long.
It was important to remember that Yellow Eels weren’t the only burrowers along the river; there were also Crabs and other creatures, including Water Snakes.
Water Snakes, while burrowing creatures, don’t dig their own holes—they always seize the nests of others. Due to their similar size, they especially liked to occupy Yellow Eel burrows.
Qin Tian had experience pulling Water Snakes out from Yellow Eel holes.
He still clearly remembered how excited he was when he thought he had caught a Yellow Eel, and how terrifying it was when a Water Snake suddenly leapt out and tried to bite him.
Fortunately, it was a non-venomous Twin-Spotted Krait; otherwise, he wouldn’t be alive to tell the tale, and his grave would have grass over a meter tall by now.
However, in summer, he wouldn’t have to worry about pulling out Water Snakes from Yellow Eel holes.
Summer was Yellow Eel mating season. Pregnant Yellow Eels would expel a large amount of foam in the water to keep fertilized eggs afloat and developing.
Because of this, in summer, one could tell whether a hole belonged to a Yellow Eel by checking for white foam around the entrance. But now was spring, so Qin Tian had to use grass to test whether the hole held a Yellow Eel or a Water Snake.
Holding his breath, Qin Tian inserted the grass rope into the hole and gently shook it.
After several seconds, he felt a tug on the grass.
But just as Qin Tian prepared to pull, the grass rope broke, which ironically made him smile.
The reason was simple: Water Snakes had no interest in the grass, only Yellow Eels would bite.
There were two common methods to catch Yellow Eels:
The first was fishing gear. But where would Qin Tian find such tools here? Even if he had them, why bother fishing for Yellow Eels when he could fish for fish directly?
The second was to use one’s hands to dig them out. But the hole was too small for Qin Tian’s hand to fit, let alone dig.
Therefore, Qin Tian planned a third method: stir up the water inside the Yellow Eel hole to make it turbid and force the eel out.
This method was risky, as the Yellow Eel could escape easily, so few people used it. But without tools, this was Qin Tian’s only choice.
Yellow Eels are extremely fast at escaping. Before starting, Qin Tian sealed the hole’s entrance tightly with mud, then began stirring the water inside the burrow.
When the clear water turned muddy yellow, Qin Tian stopped and stared intently at the entrance.
He waited for a long time but saw no sign of the Yellow Eel.
Was the water not turbid enough? Qin Tian wondered.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the Yellow Eel suddenly shot out of the hole.
Because Qin Tian had sealed the hole’s entrance, the Yellow Eel couldn’t escape before he reacted, giving him a chance to catch it.
Quick as a flash, Qin Tian reached for the Yellow Eel, but its slimy body was so slippery he couldn’t grab it.
Finally, with all his strength, he pinched the bones of the Yellow Eel and subdued it.
Luckily, this Yellow Eel was large. If it had been a normal-sized one, it would have slipped away the moment he let go, with no chance of recovery.
Using this method, Qin Tian caught another Yellow Eel half an hour later.
He planned to catch more, but after another half hour of searching, he found no other Yellow Eel holes.
It made sense—three such large Yellow Eels would have a much larger appetite than ordinary ones. This small water area supporting three of them was probably the limit.
Still, Qin Tian was more than satisfied with the three Yellow Eels he had caught.
After all, they amounted to food for both of them for two whole days.