Chapter 59: The Dignity of the Fisherman

Profit Street.

Tunzuo passed through a grove of coconut trees and arrived at a fishing gear rental spot on Golden Sand Beach.

Here, all sorts of oddly shaped fishing rods were on display—some were completely translucent, carved from highly resilient magic crystals;

Others had fishing lines made from the tendons of some unknown magical beast, giving them a wild look.

Olivia casually picked up two rods that looked the most pleasing to her, then handed one to Tunzuo. But Tunzuo waved his hand to refuse.

“Sister An Lin already bought a fishing rod from the commercial street earlier. I’ll use hers instead. Otherwise, it’d be a waste of money if we bought one and never used it.”

As he said this, Tunzuo led Olivia toward where Sally and Huli were building a sandcastle.

However, before they even reached the destination, Tunzuo spotted a huge sandcastle standing on the beach from a distance.

Good grief—this was no ordinary sandcastle.

It was practically a miniature version of the Shanhai Pass!

The massive city walls wound and twisted, four tall watchtowers stood at the corners, and the central keep was ornately decorated.

Even simple defensive runes had been embedded into the walls using seashells.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think someone had built a military fortress on a vacation beach.

“Did… did Sally and Huli build this?”

Tunzuo’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide with shock.

“It seems so. Nice craftsmanship.”

Olivia nodded appreciatively at the sandcastle, as if it were a perfectly ordinary feat to her.

Tunzuo walked up to the foot of the majestic sandcastle, tilted his head back, and shouted toward the city.

“Sister An Lin! Sally! Huli! Are you all in there?”

A few seconds later, three little heads poked out from the top of the city wall.

An Lin held a command flag woven from seaweed, while Sally and Huli each carried spears made from shells and wooden sticks.

The three witches looked down at Tunzuo with serious expressions.

“Who dares trespass upon my city?”

An Lin waved the command flag and bellowed with full energy, her voice carrying an inexplicable air of heroism.

“Heheh!”

“Hahah!”

Sally and Huli joined in, waving their spears back and forth as they let out cute, childish battle cries.

Tunzuo twitched the corner of his mouth and raised a hand to his forehead.

‘Are we really doing a roleplay now?’

Still, to get his hands on the fishing rod, Tunzuo cleared his throat and decided to play along with An Lin and the two little ones.

“Ahem, I am but a passing Ghost Witch, here to borrow a divine weapon. I pray the general on the wall will grant me passage!”

Tunzuo cupped his fist in a salute and shouted toward the wall in a proper manner.

Hearing this, An Lin’s serious expression instantly cracked.

She giggled, revealing a satisfied look.

“Your sincerity is noted. You may enter the city!”

With An Lin’s command, the massive gate made of golden sand rumbled open, emitting a dull grinding sound.

Lei Ruiya rode the monarch snake Xiao Qing as it slowly slithered out from the city gate, coming to welcome Tunzuo inside.

Lei Ruiya still kept her usual cool, expressionless face, but her eyes were filled with joyful laughter.

“Honored guest, please enter.”

Lei Ruiya gave Tunzuo a slight nod and made a “please” gesture.

Tunzuo followed Lei Ruiya into the sandcastle and, looking at the sand-made fortifications inside, couldn’t help asking:

“Teacher Lei Ruiya, what’s going on? What are you all playing?”

“Obviously, it’s a roleplay.”

Lei Ruiya explained calmly, snapping her fingers.

With the crisp sound, the loose sand on the beach began to shift inward, quickly coalescing into sand soldiers clad in armor and holding spears.

These sand soldiers moved in perfect unison, stomping their feet and saluting Tunzuo with their spears, producing rustling sounds.

“An Lin is the city lord, Sally and Huli are her personal guards. We’re going to have a sand soldier battlefield drill later.”

As she said this, Lei Ruiya pointed to herself and introduced:

“By the way, I’m currently the city’s guardian general, and Xiao Qing is the guardian beast. Tunzuo, please don’t break our world-building.”

When her name was mentioned, Xiao Qing let out a cooperative “Yoo,” raising her head high and flicking her crimson tongue, looking quite majestic.

Tunzuo forced a smile, looking at the sand soldiers Lei Ruiya had summoned, silently complaining in his mind.

‘Seriously, Teacher Lei Ruiya, your sand soldiers look like they can connect to the Shurima network. The déjà vu is strong!’

But he couldn’t ignore the performance that needed to be maintained.

So Tunzuo spoke respectfully:

“As you command, General.”

Passing through the square lined with sand soldiers, Tunzuo climbed the city wall and saw An Lin standing on a watchtower, giving orders with excitement.

“Sister An Lin, how did you build such a huge sandcastle? This is way too over-the-top.”

Tunzuo asked curiously.

An Lin giggled, brushed the remaining sand off her hands, and told Tunzuo with a smug expression:

“Sally and Huli said they wanted a big one. Those two little ones are just too cute, so I couldn’t help myself and went overboard. You know, as an Alchemy Witch, it’s only natural that I know a bit about civil engineering and structural mechanics, right?”

Hearing this, Tunzuo gave An Lin a very pitiful look, walked up, and silently patted her on the shoulder.

“You worked hard, Sister An Lin.”

Tunzuo didn’t say much more, but his eyes were filled with sympathy.

‘Sigh, still a civil engineer, and yet she still dreams of landing a rich spouse.’

An Lin was confused by Tunzuo’s gaze and was about to ask what was wrong, but was distracted by Tunzuo’s next words.

“I’m here to get the fishing rod, Sister An Lin.”

“Oh, right, right, the fishing rod!”

An Lin suddenly remembered, quickly pulled a plastic-steel fishing rod out of her storage ring, and handed it to Tunzuo without hesitation.

“Here, the rod you wanted. Go have fun fishing with Olivia.”

Then, like a magician, An Lin produced a highly complex mechanical device from behind her back, leaned in close to Tunzuo’s ear, and whispered mysteriously:

“Oh, by the way, Little Sister Tunzuo, do you want any special gear? I have a fully automatic anchor-line fishing rig here. Just put it in the water, and it will automatically chase and spear fish. Guaranteed effective! It’s an essential home fishing tool~”

Tunzuo looked at the strange automatic fishing rig in An Lin’s hand with extreme disgust.

“Get that away from me! Impure objects without the will to fish—don’t defile my noble fishing spirit!”

“Fishing is about the process, the battle of wits, the joy of outsmarting the fish! Using something like this is no different from just buying fish at the market. It’s a desecration of a true angler’s pride!”

Tunzuo firmly rejected An Lin’s goodwill with righteous indignation.

Seeing Tunzuo’s determination, An Lin had no choice but to put the automatic rig away with a shrug.

“Alright, alright, whatever makes you happy. Just don’t come crying to me if you end up empty-handed.”

“Hey, who said I’d end up empty-handed? I absolutely will NOT!”

Tunzuo snorted, grabbed the plastic-steel fishing rod, and turned to leave, going to find Olivia for some fishing.

He didn’t want to waste more words with An Lin.

Olivia was already standing by a quiet rocky beach, manually threading her fishing line.

When she saw Tunzuo approaching, she flashed a smile.

Tunzuo swung the rod and nodded confidently at Olivia.

“Ready, little ghost? We’re starting now.”

The rocky beach was at the edge of Golden Sand Beach.

The seawater was clear to the bottom, and occasionally groups of colorful fish could be seen swimming in the shallows.

Tunzuo skillfully baited the hook and cast the line in one smooth motion.

The hook traced a graceful arc through the air and landed precisely in a deep-water area far away.

He was clearly an experienced veteran angler.

Olivia, on the other hand, casually attached bait to the hook, then flicked her wrist, sending the rod sweeping out.

With a “plop,” the hook hit the water, splashing up a large spray.

Seeing Olivia’s technique, Tunzuo felt a surge of pride.

‘Hmph, from the looks of it, that perverted dragon Olivia is definitely a beginner. I’ll catch tons of fish and enjoy her jealous expression!’

But the harsh reality soon delivered a resounding slap to Tunzuo’s face, stinging him badly.

Within minutes, Olivia’s rod suddenly bent sharply and shook violently.

“Fish on!”

Olivia exclaimed.

Tunzuo raised an eyebrow and turned to watch how Olivia would clumsily struggle with the fish.

But the next second, Olivia simply flexed her arm, the muscles in her forearm tensing instantly, then yanked upward with force.

With a loud water-breaking sound, a huge grouper over six feet long, covered in sharp rocky bumps, was flung directly onto the shore.

No technique whatsoever—just pure strength and raw stats.

The grouper crashed heavily onto the rocks with a dull “thunk,” its tail still slapping the ground, making the earth tremble.

“Not bad—this is a Rock-Shatter Dragon. The meat is extremely fresh. Looks like we’ll have a good dinner tonight.”

Olivia smiled as she unhooked the fish, lifted it up, and showed off her catch with an easygoing expression.

Tunzuo stared at the enormous grouper in Olivia’s hands, then at his own rod, which hadn’t moved at all.

The look on his face stiffened.

“Th-this is just beginner’s luck! I’ll catch way more than you later!”

Tunzuo pouted, looking unconvinced.

But as time passed, Tunzuo’s confidence gradually turned into anxiety.

Olivia was catching fish one after another like she was cheating.

Ironclad Swordfish, Dragon-Blood Tuna, and even nine deep-sea monsters that looked like sharks—Olivia dragged them all ashore as easily as pulling radishes.

Meanwhile, Tunzuo hadn’t even seen a scale, except for a few clumps of seaweed that he occasionally hooked.

“Empty-handed… am I really going to end up empty-handed?”

Tunzuo’s grip on the rod tightened, and his expression grew darker.

Seeing her little ghost’s face turning sour, Olivia quickly put down her own rod, walked up behind Tunzuo, and, while he wasn’t paying attention, tossed a golden object into the water in front of him.

Plop.

The golden object sank, sending ripples across the surface.

“Huh? Perverted dragon, what are you doing?”

Tunzuo turned around suspiciously, looking at Olivia’s strange behavior.

“Just some special bait. I’m chumming the waters for you.”

Olivia explained with a innocent expression, looking completely guileless.

Tunzuo was skeptical of her words.

But soon, his rod suddenly jerked downward.

“Hey?! It actually worked!”

Tunzuo’s eyes lit up as a heavy tug came through the line.

“Hehe, I guess my luck isn’t so bad after all!”

Tunzuo excitedly reeled in, a happy smile spreading across his face.

Olivia stood to the side, arms crossed, watching with a grin, taking no credit.

Meanwhile, deep in the sea where Tunzuo was fishing, Hai Lanyue was swimming, stunned by the scene before her.

Several mermaid maids were frantically manipulating water currents, desperately herding schools of fish from far away toward Tunzuo’s hook.

“Hurry! Hurry! The boss sent a signal! Drive all the fish over there!”

“I know! I’m not stopping!”

Hai Lanyue watched the mermaids’ actions with wide eyes.

Just then, the light around her suddenly dimmed.

A huge shadow loomed over her from behind.

Hai Lanyue turned around in confusion.

When she saw what was behind her, her eyes shot wide open, pupils contracting sharply.

At the same moment, Tunzuo, who was happily pulling in a fish, suddenly felt his rod snap taut, bending into a terrifying arc.

“A big one! Definitely a super big one!”

Tunzuo’s eyes focused, his heart surging with joy.

But before he could exert force, the fishing line started disappearing at an alarming rate.

The rod bent dangerously, as if it might snap at any moment.

A terrifyingly powerful force transmitted through the line.

Tunzuo couldn’t hold on; he was dragged forward several staggering steps.

“Pervert dragon! Help! This fish is too big! I can’t hold it!”

Tunzuo shouted in panic to Olivia.

Seeing this, Olivia’s expression changed.

She rushed over and grabbed the rod behind Tunzuo, helping him hold it.

But the moment her hand touched the rod, her eyes narrowed.

Something was wrong.

There shouldn’t be a fish this strong in the waters of Golden Sand Beach.

“Hold tight, little ghost! We’re in trouble!”

Olivia yelled, her arm muscles bulging as she braced the rod.

Under the combined pull of two witches, the sea began to churn violently.

Boom!

A massive wave, like a tsunami, rose from the surface, carrying countless bubbles and rocks, and crashed down hard on Tunzuo and Olivia.

Inside the wave, Hai Lanyue flailed her arms in terror, swept ashore by the current, landing flat on her back in the sand.

Tunzuo stared at the towering wall of water before him and at Hai Lanyue washed up on the beach.

His mind went blank.

“Did… did I just fish up the entire ocean?”