The fish fell on the ground, and Bai immediately became nervous, reaching out repeatedly with her hands to grab the carp.

However, the fish seemed to have a mind of its own, slipping from her grasping hands multiple times.

"Be careful!" Wang Xiaole suddenly shouted.

Bai had concentrated too much on the carp, so she didn't notice the surroundings.

In her pursuit of the fish, she quickly neared the edge of the pond.

Wang Xiaole also noticed the urgent situation and warned Bai to be more careful, then he hurried over to her.

"Oops!" His worry was indeed necessary, as Bai soon slipped a foot into the pond due to not paying attention to where she was stepping.

Splash!

Bai fell into the pond, her hands splashing the water constantly, creating white splashes.

Although the water in the pond was not deep, she was somewhat like a cat and afraid of water; in her panic, Bai drank a few mouthfuls of water from the fish pond and began to slowly sink down.

Seeing Bai fall into the pond, Wang Xiaole's whole body tensed up, and rapidly he jumped into the pond to save her.

After reaching Bai, he quickly reached out with his hands and lifted her out of the water.

Suddenly, he felt something soft when his hand touched something; he immediately knew what it was; however, Wang Xiaole didn't dwell much on it. After lifting Bai a bit, he then carried her all the way back to the shore.

Bai didn't object and let "Big Brother" carry her as they headed back to the shore.

After falling into the pond, Bai's mind went blank, and she just reacted on instinct. When "Big Brother" touched her hand, she grasped onto him tightly, as if grasping at a lifesaving straw.

Only when "Big Brother" carried her back to shore did she slowly release her grip.

"Are you okay?" Wang Xiaole asked anxiously.

"…." Bai coughed in response. Due to drinking some pond water earlier, she started coughing violently, and at one point, she spat out a mouthful of water forcefully.

Seeing Bai coughing incessantly, Wang Xiaole squatted down and gently patted her back, hoping to make her feel better.

With his patting, Bai gradually managed to expel the water she had ingested and her coughing gradually subsided.

"How are you feeling?"

"…."

"Oh, you're fine now, just feeling uncomfortable with your wet clothes."

As Bai had not been in the water for long, she quickly recovered. She felt uncomfortable due to being soaked, but otherwise was fine.

With Bai's response, Wang Xiaole's eyes subconsciously glanced over her. He noticed her soaked clothes clinging tightly to her petite body, revealing her figure. Through her wet clothes, he could see her undergarments, the faint curves, and the droplets on her fair skin.

Seeing this, Wang Xiaole realized that they couldn't continue fishing, so he lifted her again, holding her close to his chest as they headed back to the room to warm up by the fire.

As the temperature quickly dried Bai's clothes, the warmth penetrated deep into her body, replacing the chill.

During the time she was warming up, Bai began to feel much better. However, deep down, she still couldn't forget the elusive carp she had caught and lost.

Bai kept quiet, not wanting to cause any trouble for "Big Brother." Unfortunately, Wang Xiaole was sharp and could tell what she was thinking with just a glance, sharper than a knife slicing through belly worms.

"Rest in the room. I have something to do outside. If I don't come back at night, don't wait for me," Wang Xiaole said after patting her head gently, then left the room.

Initially, Bai didn't think too much about it. She knew Wang Xiaole had his own matters to attend to and didn't want to waste his time. Heeding his advice, she obediently waited in the room.

The little girl waited from dusk to night, from night to midnight, and then from midnight to the early morning. Bai didn't dare fall asleep, even if it was just to rest briefly on the table. She was afraid that if she fell asleep, she might not see "Big Brother" when she woke up again.

She worried that he might find her annoying or remember the injury she had caused him, leading him to leave in frustration and not return. If that happened, she felt she could never repay her debt to "Big Brother," and she would live with guilt forever.

Just as she started feeling anxious, the sound of a door opening rang out, and Bai almost instinctively stood up.

Wang Xiaole entered with a cold night breeze trailing him, water droplets falling from him as he walked, dampening the floor with each step.

Seeing him return, Bai's racing heart finally calmed down.

Then, Bai finally cast her eyes on what he was holding.

Taking a look, Bai immediately realized that Wang Xiaole was carrying several baskets, each containing lively carp.

As Wang Xiaole approached the fireplace, drying up, he somewhat embarrassedly informed Bai, "I caught all the carp, and there must be the one you caught in there!"

Although Wang Xiaole didn't own the fish pond, he had made sure to catch all the carp there; as the saying goes, "better wrong fishing than letting go."

To accomplish this, he felt he hadn't spent too much time, about eight or nine hours at most.

Though he felt a bit shy talking about it, he couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph inside: "Isn't there a saying 'kill two birds with one stone'? Well, I've done it fishing with one rod!"

Seeing so many fish that she loved, Bai's stomach growled.

Hearing her hungry belly, Wang Xiaole smiled and patted her head, telling her some good news, "Whether you've eaten dinner or not, you must have this extra meal as supper!"

Leading Bai to the kitchen provided to guests by the inn, Wang Xiaole started cooking in earnest.

With his left hand firmly holding the carp's mouth, Wang Xiaole gently lifted it and tossed it into the air.

Watchful, Bai attentively observed the technique of "Big Brother" and the movement of the knife. Each glint from the blade met the front of the carp's spine.

Plap!

The carp landed back in the fish plate, followed by another swift glint of the blade.

From the first cut to the final one, Wang Xiaole didn't take more than ten seconds, yet for Bai, it felt like it had been an hour.

Her observation was meticulous, being so close to Wang Xiaole; she could see every cutting movement clearly.

The knife Wang Xiaole held wasn't meant for filleting the fish, rather to make flavor cuts on it; each cut only pierced the fish skin without damaging the fish meat and was made where the scales met, leaving no visible scars.

Although Bai couldn't keep track of the exact number of cuts, she was acutely aware that the fish had suffered at least a hundred cuts. Nevertheless, thanks to Wang Xiaole's skillful knife work, the fish appeared as if nothing had changed.

After grabbing a handful of salt and seasoning the carp, Bai watched curiously as Wang Xiaole sprinkled salt generously over the fish, unsure if it was too much.

Not rushing to explain, after four sprinkles of salt, Wang Xiaole gingerly massaged the fish, turning it to coat the exposed flesh.

At this, Bai let out a low gasp. Although soft, her voice echoed in the quiet room, reaching Wang Xiaole's ears.

The technique Wang Xiaole was employing was for marinating the fish. However, instead of the typical method, he used a massage technique to enhance the flavor.

Turning the fish over, he continued to massage the other side, adding another four sprinkles of salt before massaging.

Once he finished the fish massage, Wang Xiaole picked up a ladle of water from the nearby basin and rinsed off the excess salt from the carp.

Any chef witnessing this scene would have been taken aback, as typically the fish would require at least five minutes with the salt before rinsing. Yet Wang Xiaole managed to do it in under a minute.

After washing off the salt, the process seemed more like torture than cooking, but Wang Xiaole had a plan unraveling.

Next, Wang Xiaole's actions left Bai slightly dizzy as he picked up a handful of flour and generously coated the fish with it. The water on the fish mixed with the flour immediately, creating a paste.

Following this process for about ten minutes, the entire carp turned into a white doughy mass; to the unknowing, it could be mistaken for a cocooned caterpillar.

Suddenly, Wang Xiaole gave the fish a light shake with his left hand, and the fish re-emerged from the powdery coating, shedding it on the floor like stones being smashed open.

As Bai leaned in to sniff, a spark of realization flashed in her mind, finally understanding what "Big Brother" was doing.

The simple answer: he was removing the fishy smell from the large carp!

Salt could neutralize the fishy smell, but it could also dull the fresh flavor. After sprinkling salt and massaging it in, Wang Xiaole allowed some salt to penetrate the fish meat, hence the swift rinse.

The water rinsed away the excess salt, crucially entering the fish's flesh due to Wang Xiaole's massage technique.