21: Chapter 21 What the hell did they get?

Under Qin Yin's command, the crew made their final preparations before setting sail.

Inspecting the fishing boats, organizing the fishing nets, and carrying fresh water and dry rations.

Although the crew still harbored fear of the vast sea, they felt a bit more at ease when they saw the statue of Lord Qinling inside the shrine.

On the shore, the women, children, and elderly waved tearfully, with Qin Mo mixed right in among them.

Qin Mo also wanted to go out to sea, but since Qin Yin was already the captain, Qin Mo, as her younger brother, naturally couldn't board the ship.

Otherwise, if anything happened to the ship, both siblings would be done for.

The sails slowly rose in the morning wind, and the boat gradually sailed away from the crude dock, merging into the sparkling sea.

Qin Ling's avatar was inside the shrine at the cabin entrance, and he could sense a faint connection between this statue and the one in Qin Family Village.

This meant that if any real situation arose, both his avatar and his true body could perform divine art Teleportation.

"Having Lord Qinling with us makes me feel much more at ease."

An old crew member adjusted the ropes, his gaze occasionally glancing at the statue of Lord Qinling at the cabin entrance.

"Indeed, Uncle, I also feel like I'm not as panicked as the last time we went out to sea."

The young crew member rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with reverence as he looked at the statue of Lord Qinling.

One day later, the boats of Qin Family Village arrived at the fishing grounds.

Qin Yin stood at the bow of the ship, her headscarf tying back her flowing black hair.

She was sensing the wind direction and ocean currents.

Back then, it was precisely because she could do this that she became the last captain of Qin Family Village.

Now, with the help of the qi and blood talisman bestowed by Lord Qinling, she had become a martial artist, and her perceptive power was much stronger than before.

Moments later, Qin Yin's gaze turned sharp, and she began issuing a series of orders.

"Hard to port, head northeast! There were traces of fish jumping over there just now."

"You can cast the net early! Slow down, make sure the net mouth opens properly! Watch the winch!"

"It's getting windy, raise half the sail, maintain this speed!"

Relying on her years of experience as a captain and an almost instinctive intuition about the sea, Qin Yin commanded the fishing boat to chase the traces of the fish school across the boundless sea.

The first net went down with mediocre harvest, yielding only some scattered small fish.

Qin Yin's expression remained unchanged as she looked up at the movement of the clouds in the sky.

"Change location, let's try the outer periphery of that reef to the southeast. The currents converge there, making it easy for fish to gather."

Her voice was steady.

The crew had full trust in Captain Qin Yin; the fishing boat adjusted its direction and plowed through the waves.

Sure enough, in the second fishing area chosen by Qin Yin, not long after the net sank, they felt an unusual heaviness when pulling it.

"We got it! We got it! So heavy!"

The crew members responsible for pulling the net instantly became excited.

The muscles in their arms bulged as they chanted work songs, jointly pulling the fishing net up slowly.

"Splash~"

As the fishing net left the sea surface, a flash of silver appeared!

Numerous plump mackerels jumped and struggled in the net.

That silver light was precisely the reflection of their scales in the sunlight.

This net harvest was quite bountiful!

"Great! Wonderful!"

The crew burst into cheers, sweeping away the exhaustion of sailing at sea for days.

They deftly sorted the catch and dumped it into the pre-prepared water tanks inside the cabin.

For the crew, this wasn't just a net of fish, but the rations for the villagers of Qin Family Village in the coming days.

It was the reliance for the villagers of Qin Family Village to survive in this dangerous world!

A smile also curled at the corners of Qin Yin's mouth.

But she didn't relax, her gaze still vigilantly scanning the surrounding sea.

During the next few casts, although not as bountiful as the second net, they still harvested something.

The fish catch inside the cabin increased at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The crew's morale soared, and some crew members even offered incense to Qin Ling's small statue during their rest intervals.

"Thank you, Lord Qinling, for protecting us and granting a bountiful harvest."

"Thank you, Lord Qinling, for protecting us so the sea remains calm and peaceful."

[incense points + 2]

[incense points + 2]

Huddling in the shrine and collecting these incense points, Qin Ling felt that his trip hadn't been in vain.

There were only so many people in Qin Family Village, and the incense points from each villager burning incense were precious to him.

After casting two nets with no harvest, Qin Yin commanded the fishing boat to arrive at the third selected fishing spot.

This place was already some distance from the coast. The seawater presented a deep ink-blue color, and the outlines of vast contiguous reefs were faintly visible underwater.

"The water is deep here, and there are many reefs, making it easy to hide large fish, but it's also dangerous. Cast the net carefully and don't get snagged."

Qin Yin instructed, personally taking the helm.

Under her steering, the fishing boat moved carefully along the edge of the reef at an extremely slow speed.

The huge trawl net was slowly lowered into the sea, sinking into that ink-blue abyss.

At first, everything was normal.

The fishing net drifted along with the current, and the cables made a regular tightening sound.

But just as they started dragging the net for fishing.

Qin Ling, who had been peacefully resting his hands in his sleeves inside the shrine, suddenly opened his eyes.

His perception sensed a strange sensation.

This anomaly was different from encountering the evil spirit last time; instead, it was somewhat similar to the demonic qi on those three wandering merchants.

What this net caught...

What on earth was this damn thing?

Qin Ling pondered for a moment, and then his avatar leaped down into the sea.

The things in the deep-water fishing net below sensed Qin Ling approaching, and they instantly let out wary, low growls.

When Qin Ling approached the fishing net, he could only see the severed fishing net.

The things inside were long gone.

Qin Ling frowned, but quickly relaxed again.

Although he didn't know what on earth the net had just caught.

But at least, these things were wary of his avatar's strength.

That meant the situation wasn't too bad.

At least it was much better than encountering that massive evil spirit on the last voyage.

And just as Qin Ling's avatar leaped into the sea and startled away the things in the net, the work on the deck also entered a critical stage.

"Haul the net! Slow down, steady! This net feels extra heavy, it must be a big catch!"

The crew member in charge of turning the winch shouted excitedly, and together with two other fellows, they forcefully turned the heavy winch handle.

The cables were taut, making a teeth-aching creaking sound, clearly showing that the harvest in the net had plenty of weight.

But in the very next second, the crew members turning the winch suddenly felt the originally heavy winch instantly become light.

Other crew members gathered around, with expectant smiles on their faces, ready to welcome another bountiful harvest.

When the fishing net completely left the sea surface and was pulled above the deck by the crane arm, the smiles of all the crew members froze on their faces.

There was nothing inside the fishing net; it was completely empty!

"What is going on?!"

A crew member widened his eyes, looking at the empty fishing net in disbelief.

"What the hell! Where are the fish? Something was still bumping against the net when we were pulling it just now!"

Another crew member cried out involuntarily.

"Did the net break? Did it leak out?"

A crew member guessed.

Someone immediately stepped forward to carefully inspect the fishing net, and sure enough, they found a huge hole inside the net gear.

"That shouldn't be the case, wasn't this fishing net woven not long ago?"

The old crew member responsible for bringing the net aboard muttered.

"That's not right! Why is the hole in this fishing net so smooth and neat?!"

"...It looks just like it was cut open by something!"

A young crew member's shout attracted everyone's attention.

When everyone saw that the hole in the net was indeed as the young crew member had said.

An inexplicable eerie atmosphere instantly shrouded the deck.