Reborn, I Became a Male God - Chapter 41

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Qi Lili had a boyfriend who was a fishing enthusiast. The two had met in university. During their time at school, she would often accompany him on fishing trips—not just to commercial fishing grounds, but also to all the nearby rivers and lakes, both big and small. Most of the time, it was her accompanying her boyfriend, and even if she wanted to go shopping on the weekend, she had to inform him in advance.

Her friends couldn’t understand it and asked her what she saw in a boyfriend like that.

“He’s handsome!” Qi Lili cupped her face and smiled like a love-struck girl.

And indeed, her boyfriend was very handsome, the kind that would turn heads when walking down the street. On top of that, he came from a good family background, and countless girls had pursued him growing up. But in the end, she was the one who won him over, which made Qi Lili feel extremely proud. She never missed a chance to brag about him. She was very accommodating toward this boyfriend who gave her face. Want to go fishing on the weekend and skip shopping? No problem! Over time, she even developed an interest in fishing herself, and the two became even more in sync.

Three years of university flew by, and soon it was graduation season. Her boyfriend, Gao Wei, became increasingly obsessed with fishing. Ordinary fish no longer satisfied him, so he started aiming for big fish. However, with increased human activity, environmental damage, and overfishing, big fish had become a rare sight.

To fulfill this long-standing wish, Gao Wei decided to take their graduation trip to the place with the most large freshwater fish—Jiudu River. At first, Qi Lili was very reluctant. She didn’t follow the news much, but even she had heard of the infamous Heduo District. Even if she didn’t know the exact situation, she knew the place was chaotic.

However, after a barrage of sweet talk from Gao Wei and his promise to buy her the latest Pamela-brand handbag once they returned, she eventually agreed.

There was a direct flight from their city to Shantong City, near the Huguer border. After landing, they handled the visa procedures, rested for one night, and then set off for Jiudu River the next day. There were local tour groups available, but since Gao Wei came for fishing, he naturally couldn’t go with a group. The two wandered along the shore for over half an hour and finally found a Chinese cargo ship. After negotiating a price with the shipowner, they set off that very afternoon.

Qi Lili had initially felt uneasy, but as the boat drifted downstream, the breathtaking scenery on both shores gradually enchanted her. With only the sounds of birds and insects and not a single human figure in sight, she slowly relaxed.

As the sun set and night fell, Gao Wei had the shipowner slow the boat down in hopes of finding a good spot, since large fish were more likely to bite at night. Around the middle of the fifth bend of the Jiudu River, he found an ideal location.

The cargo ship turned off its engine and came to a stop. Gao Wei brought out his gear to the deck and began setting up. After a few trial attempts, he found a suitable spot to cast his line, then sat down motionless.

Time passed slowly. A few fish nibbled at the hook during this period, but they were all small ones. Gao Wei wasn’t anxious—fishing was a test of patience, and catching a big fish was especially rare.

The moon rose higher in the sky. Just as the prime fishing time was about to end and he was getting ready to pack up and try again tomorrow, a sound came from ahead, slicing through the silence of the night and drawing closer.

“It’s a speedboat! Get back here now!” the shipowner ran out of the cabin to shout, then quickly returned to start the engine. At this time of night, regular people wouldn’t be driving speedboats around—it was safest to leave quickly.

As it turned out, the shipowner’s instincts were correct. The newcomers were definitely not ordinary people. The speedboat had four people on board. Their outfits didn’t give much away, but their weapons were real. Upon spotting the cargo ship, they fired a shot into the air and ordered them to stop.

If they had only been carrying knives, the shipowner might’ve taken a chance. But with guns involved, he didn’t dare resist and stopped the boat immediately. Naturally, Gao Wei and Qi Lili were also captured.

River bandits were rampant along the Jiudu River, and nearly every cargo ship traveling this route had encountered them. These people were only after money and usually left after robbing, so the shipowner and his crew weren’t too scared—just complained about their bad luck. But Gao Wei and Qi Lili, who had grown up in safe and stable environments, were nearly scared to death when faced with the black muzzle of a gun.

The ship, originally heading downstream, turned back after the robbery and began moving upstream along the way it came.

The riverside scenery during the day was beautiful, but at night it became rather eerie. Whenever the wind blew, the trees on the cliffs would sway like grasping demons. Strange calls rang out from unknown sources, sending chills down spines.

Qi Lili, Gao Wei, and the others were bound hand and foot and locked in a corner of the cabin. The two clung to each other, trembling uncontrollably.

“This is all your fault! Coming to Jiudu River of all places! If you’d just listened to me, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Qi Lili whispered angrily, her voice choked with sobs and filled with resentment.

Though most of what she said was true, Gao Wei was in a terrible mood too and didn’t feel like comforting her. He snapped back, “Shut up! If you really had guts, you wouldn’t have come at all! What’s the point of saying this now?!”

Without thinking, Qi Lili retorted, “If you hadn’t begged me, I wouldn’t have come in the first place!”

Gao Wei sneered, “Stop pretending. You only came because of the money!”

The shipowner’s wife couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to calm them, “Both of you stop arguing. They only want money—just give it to them, and everything will be fine.”

But neither of them listened. Their argument escalated, and they even dredged up past grievances. What started as a minor quarrel quickly snowballed in this high-stress situation. If arguments aren’t stopped in time, they often turn physical. The others on the ship found the couple’s argument baffling and gave up trying to intervene. Predictably, the two eventually started fighting.

There’s a natural strength difference between men and women. Gao Wei had the upper hand, but Qi Lili wasn’t easy to deal with either. Even with her hands and feet tied, she still managed to strike back. Her long nails scratched several marks onto Gao Wei’s face, and he also kicked her more than once.

The bandits outside heard the commotion and came in. Upon seeing the pair fighting wildly, they didn’t get angry—instead, they cheered them on. After a while, one of the bandits, perhaps feeling it wasn’t exciting enough, pulled out a dagger and cut the ropes binding Gao Wei, telling him to “go all out.”

Qi Lili had already been at a disadvantage. Now that Gao Wei was untied, she had no advantage left. He grabbed her by the hair and began punching and kicking her viciously. Gao Wei seemed to go insane, attacking her like an enemy, each strike filled with rage.

Qi Lili finally became afraid and began wailing for mercy. But her screams only drove him further into madness. The other bandits also became excited. What started with one coming in soon turned into three. They spoke an unfamiliar language, but their tone and expressions showed their excitement clearly.

Things had escalated beyond control. The shipowner and others dared not speak anymore. Unable to stop it, they turned their heads away. But the girl’s screams still echoed in their ears.

The cries for mercy and the mad laughter intertwined and spread across the river, carried by the wind into the distance, more chilling than the natural sounds along the banks.

Fei Hu gathered his team and quickly drew up a plan. After sailing for about ten minutes, there was still no sign of the cargo ship. As for the sounds, the river was never quiet—either it was animal calls or something else, but nothing sounded like cries.

Even those like Er Tiao, who never believed Jing Ling to begin with, weren’t the only ones having doubts—Fei Hu was beginning to question it too.

“Jiang Yang…” He stepped into the cabin, intending to ask for an update, but saw Jing Ling feeding the bird—the same one as before. When Jing Ling heard him, he turned around and said, “Almost there. Once we get past that big bend up ahead, we’ll see it.”

His calm expression and tone were so steady that it made people believe him instinctively.

Fei Hu stared at him for a few seconds, then turned and returned to the deck.

Sure enough, as they approached the large bend, they could faintly hear something—desperate crying, weak and distant.

They had studied this stretch many times before and knew there was a calm patch of water near the big bend. The trees there grew exceptionally dense and drooped over the water’s surface. Since it was on the shadowed side, it was practically a natural hiding spot. Fei Hu had the boat head toward it, cut the engine, and waited silently for the enemy to approach.

Soon, a cargo ship came into view. All its signal lights were normal. In the beam of the ship’s searchlight, a person could be seen standing on deck, clearly holding a gun based on his posture. Cries for help and laughter came from the cabin.

The cargo ship drew closer, entering firing range. But Fei Hu didn’t dare give the order to shoot. They hadn’t anticipated this kind of emergency and didn’t equip suppressors. If they fired, the enemy would immediately be alerted.

As he weighed his options, a voice spoke up beside him: “Need help?”

Fei Hu turned his head—it was Jiang Yang.

“What kind of help could you offer? Go back to the cabin,” he said.

Jiang Yang didn’t get angry. He asked again, “You want to take out the lookout on the bow, right? Hard to keep him alive, but killing him is easier. So, want help?”

Fei Hu stared at him for a few seconds and asked, “What could you possibly do?”

As soon as he spoke, Jiang Yang suddenly had a cold, glinting dagger in his hand. He aimed at the enemy deck and threw it.

Even though the enemy ship looked close, it was actually at least ten meters away. And it was nighttime, with poor visibility—hitting the target accurately was no easy feat. Even if you had ties to the Li family, it didn’t mean you were some hidden martial arts master straight out of a drama!

Fei Hu instinctively wanted to mock him—but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the silhouette on the enemy deck collapse without warning.

One strike. Instant kill.

Fei Hu and the other team members: “!!!”