The river approaching night was still gentle and soft.
Moonlight twirled in the swirling eddies, a cool breeze brushed over the water, causing the slender wild grass to sway.
A few glowing insects fluttered back and forth like fallen stars, while silver-scaled fish occasionally leaped out, snapping at the insects resting on the grass tips.
Frogs squatting among the tangled grass roots made restless sounds, rising and falling, merging into a continuous symphony.
The oil lamp cast a warm yellowish hue on the flowing water, as Chen Zhou removed his shoes, stepping barefoot into the riverbed.
In one hand he held the lamp, while the other carried a wooden bucket, containing a Long Saber for digging loaches and a wooden wine cup for catching tadpoles.
He faintly remembered that in childhood, searching for loaches was done by probing the clay at the bottom of slow-moving waters. Chen Zhou walked up along the riverbank for dozens of meters, looking for a suitable spot.
