King of the Wilderness

"It’s here! The halo of the new rod is firing up!"

He didn’t lift the rod immediately but instead let his wrist sink slightly. Following the force, he released a little more of the fishing line, giving the fish enough time to completely swallow the bait.

The next second, a small force came from underwater, instantly bending the slender tip of the bamboo rod!

"Got it!"

Lin Yu’an shouted in a low voice, lifting his wrist upward in a short, precise motion!

"Splash!"

The splash wasn’t big, but a sleek, shimmering silver fish arced through the air and landed precisely on the grass by his feet.

It was a Mountain Lightlip Fish, just over the length of his palm, about fifteen to sixteen centimeters. In the wild stream fish category, this size was already quite decent.

Its body was spindle-shaped, with tight muscles, and its silver scales reflected a metallic luster under the setting sun.

"Beautiful! A great start!" Lin Yu’an’s face broke into a joyful smile, "We’ve got the main dish for dinner."

Carefully removing the fish hook, he noticed the stream fish had bitten aggressively, but the sturdy Snakebone Fish Hook was unscathed. Quickly, he switched to a new bait and cast the line into the previous spot.

He knew that in such streams, catching big fish was more a matter of luck; the real strategy was to aim for quantity.

Sure enough, in the next ten minutes of golden time, his luck was unbelievably good.

Perhaps it was the strong feeding desire of the fish at dusk, or maybe he had chosen an excellent fishing spot, but the signals from the tip of the rod never stopped.

He successfully caught four more slightly smaller Mountain Lightlip Fish, each about twelve to thirteen centimeters long.

The last rays of the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, and the light between the bamboo groves turned dim.

He decided to call it a day, not continuing any further.

Looking at his spoils for the evening, five sizable Mountain Lightlip Fish, he felt genuinely satisfied.

"Awesome," he said to the camera, showing the three fish that were still jumping around, "Enough for us to have a hearty meal, and still some left for tomorrow’s journey."

"Alright, before heading back, we need to finish up the kitchen work."

He spoke to the camera, "Bringing back blood and guts to the camp will attract unnecessary trouble, like insects or even nocturnal predators."

"The most professional method is to complete all the preprocessing work right at the water source."

Lin Yu’an squatted on a large rock by the stream, smoothed by the water flow like a natural chopping board. "When preparing fish, there are a few sources of odor that must be thoroughly removed."

He first used the blunt side of a sharp flint stone to scrape off the dense scales on the five fish, going against the direction.

Silver-white fish scales flew in all directions under the sunset’s afterglow, falling into the water and being swiftly carried away by the stream.

He then sliced open the fish belly with the pointed end one by one, not throwing the innards directly into the water but instead tossing them into the grass far from the stream, leaving them for scavengers like mongooses or civet cats.

Next was the finer internal processing, meticulously tearing away the thin black membrane inside each fish’s abdominal cavity and repeatedly rinsing in stream water.

"This black membrane must be cleaned thoroughly; it’s one of the sources of the odor."

He then pried open the fish mouth and used the stone piece to completely remove the bright red gills.

Finally, he cut open the fish body along the spine, revealing a deep red bloodline underneath the bones—the fish’s kidney, which he meticulously scraped clean.

The five fish were quickly processed, their bodies inside and out clean and fresh, lined up on the stone board waiting to be cooked.

When Lin Yu’an returned to the shelter, it was already completely dark.

The first thing he did was take out two small bundles wrapped in moist leaves from the backpack.

"The physical deodorization is done; now let’s give them some soul. On today’s march, besides avoiding danger, I didn’t forget to collect some treasures."

He first opened the first bundle, which contained several branches with new sprouts and tiny thorns.

"Buds of wild Sichuan pepper," he picked a few tender leaves, rubbed them in his palm, and a fresh, overwhelming numb aroma spread instantly.

"March, just the time for them to sprout. Its numbness is different from the harshness of dried Sichuan pepper; it’s a fresh numbness with plant juices, a top-notch natural spice for enhancing meat flavors."

He then opened the second bundle, which contained a few leaves emitting a rich lemon fragrance.

"Mountain Ash, also known as Wood Ginger, today luck was good, encountered one in bloom. Its leaves are natural lemongrass, excellent for deodorization."

He prepared the two spices and then started dividing tonight’s dinner.

"Five fish, we can’t eat them all at once. We’ll make soup with the two largest ones tonight. The other three will be preserved as road rations."

He first handled the three fish intended as road rations, stuffing a few pieces of wild Sichuan pepper buds into their bellies, then skewering them with sharpened thin bamboo sticks from mouth to tail.

"The numbing aroma of pepper not only enhances the flavor but also has some insect-repelling and preservative effects, perfect for making preservable foods."

After preparing the road rations, he picked up the two largest Mountain Lightlip Fish, both longer than a hand.

He placed a few crushed Mountain Ash leaves, along with pre-sliced spring bamboo shoots and black fungus, into a half-filled bamboo pot.

Then he placed the skewer with fish marinated in pepper buds to the side of the fire, at a moderate distance from the charcoal fire, slowly roasting and dehydrating it.

Afterward, he carefully placed the bamboo pot filled with fish, bamboo shoots, black fungus, and Mountain Ash leaves over the main fire pit, starting to heat it slowly.

He summed up to the camera: "Two spices, two uses, the lemon aroma of Mountain Ash, fresh and direct, best for making soup, maximizing the freshness of the fish soup."

"While the numbing aroma of wild Sichuan pepper, more complex, is better suited for grilling, making the fish flavor more multidimensional and rich."

As night fell, he finally sat down to enjoy an unprecedentedly sumptuous dinner, earned from a day of hard work.

On the fire pit, three grilled fish sizzling, the golden fish oil mixed with the pepper aroma dripping into the charcoal, raising appetizing blue smoke.

Meanwhile, in the bamboo pot beside him, the fish soup was bubbling away, with fish pieces, bamboo shoots, and black fungus floating in the broth.

A fragrance mixing the freshness of fish soup, bamboo’s scent, and the unique aroma of wood ginger spread throughout the camp, enough to dispel all fatigue.

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(Only 10 images can be inserted per Chapter, it’s just not enough!!!)