Chapter 742: Admiring the Same Moon
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
While Li Du was looking at the sky from the sea, the moon appeared even before the sun had set.
Furthermore, for some unknown reason, Li Du felt that the moon looked much bigger when viewed from the sea than from land. Just like what he used to write in his primary school essays, the moon was, “a big silver plate hanging in the middle of the sky.”
As the sky gradually darkened, the moon became brighter and brighter, with its snow-white glow shining onto the sea. With the rippling of the water, the rolling waves, and the reflection of the moon on the water, tens of thousands of moons appeared on the water.
Every wave that rolled by had a moon moving along with it, and every ripple of the water had a moon appearing on it.
The moon was bright, and the stars were few. Although the moon was huge that night, there were no clusters of stars to be found. The few sparkling stars that could be seen were scattered throughout the sky, keeping the moon company.
As the moonlight was bright enough, Li Du felt that there was no need to switch on the lights.
This was the first time he realized that moonlight could be this bright, so much so that the reflection of the moon in the clear water lit up the entire surface of the sea. When Li Du looked down at the sea from the yacht, he felt that the sea water was not black but silver blue.
Robinson, the owner of the yacht, walked over and handed him a beer before saying, “Hey Mr. Li, it’s best not to stare closely at the seawater during a full moon.”
After taking the beer, Li Du smiled and asked, “Oh? Why?”
The owner shrugged his shoulders out of habit before explaining, “It’s a King Island legend. You know, the sea has taken many people’s lives.
“Normally, the spirits stay at the bottom of the sea. During a full moon, they float to the surface to absorb the energy from the silvery glow of the moon. If they happen to spot your reflection in the water, they will engulf your reflection and use it to compensate for their own deceased soul.”
Big Quinn laughed. “That really is a scary legend.”
Li Du responded, “Compared to the saying in our Chinese culture of water ghosts looking for substitutes, this legend is very mild.”
Big Quinn became interested and asked, “Water ghosts looking for substitutes? What kind of legend is that? Boss, tell us.”
The owner stepped back while waving his hand and said, “Don’t. Are you guys going to start talking about terrifying legends when the moon is full? If that’s the case, I’m very sorry, I cannot join in. I will go prepare a fishing rod.”
They were pretty lucky to have encountered a full moon, as this type of weather was extremely apt for night fishing.
As most fish were attracted to light and the chilly moonlight was especially attractive to them, they would swim up to the surface of the water, which made catching large fish easier.
It was a coincidence that they were able to go night fishing during a full moon. Nonetheless, as a lot of experienced anglers specifically waited for this day, there were quite a number of people who had sailed out to sea for night fishing.
The area of the sea that Robinson had found contained shoals of large fish. Because so many people knew about this location, there were a lot of fishing boats scattered all over the area.
Compared to Li Du and his group, who had no background in this sport, the anglers were much more professional. Gradually, quite a number of lamps began lighting up on the surface of the water. They were fish-luring lamps that were specifically used to attract fish to the surface of the water.
On the deck of the Fortune Harvest were railings that had fishing rod holders in front of the deck chairs. With the holders, all they had to do was cast the line and wait for a fish to take the bait.
When Robinson asked if he knew how to fish, Li Du nodded. “I am not a fishing expert but I know the basic techniques. If a fish bites the bait, I will reel it in.”
Hearing his words, the owner said, “That’s good. I will hand the fishing rod over to you then. You take charge of it. I want to go into the water and find some food for dinner.”
Li Du was shocked. “Going into the water at this hour? Is it dangerous?”
The owner laughed loudly. “I grew up in Tasmania. Even before I learned to walk, I learned to swim. What problems could there be with going into the water in such good weather?”
He was actually more concerned about Li Du. “I will definitely be alright, but are you sure you are adept at night fishing? There are differences between the techniques for night fishing and normal fishing.”
Li Du asked humbly, “Please guide me. I want to find out if my experience can be put to use.”
The owner passed him a toolbox that was filled with items such as fishing hooks, fishing lines, fishing floats, and bait.
After the toolbox was opened, he introduced the tools one by one. “You have to use the bigger fishing hooks so that the fish will not easily escape. For the fishing line, you can use slightly thicker ones so that the line will not break easily when the hook gets caught on the seabed.
“This is different from normal fishing. During normal fishing, using large hooks and thick lines will easily alert the fishes. Doing so will not be a problem at night because the fish are nearsighted and will not be able to see clearly without sunlight.
“The rod needs to be sturdy, and the fishing sinker needs to be heavier. I recommend using the 100-gram fishing sinker to allow the fishing hooks to go deeper into the water, but you still have to prepare a float. Use a luminous float so fish won’t be able to get away whether they are in deep water regions or on the surface of the water.”
Besides those words of wisdom, the owner also taught him how to use some supplementary tools. Among those, the most important tool was a type of fishing lamp.
This type of fishing lamp had the same effect as other fish-luring lamps. However, unlike a professional fish-luring lamp, it did not have the option to switch to the brightness that was most effective for attracting the fish’s attention.
The light from it was mainly used to light up the surface of the sea as night fishing was tough on the eyes.
The fishing lamp had a display screen that showed its battery level and had two options, close and far, to choose from for the type of light. Each type of light also had weak, medium, and strong options to choose from.
In addition, there were other supplementary tools such as fishing nets, multi-purpose clip-on fishing rod holders, and mosquito repellent. After putting everything together, Li Du immediately felt like a professional angler.
Seeing that he had more or less learned how to use the tools, the owner changed into a diving suit and jumped into the water.
As the owner had a box in hand, a fishing net around his waist, and a spear and harpoon gun on his back, Li Du supposed that he would not be in any danger at the bottom of the sea.
After releasing the little bug to survey the surrounding water, Li Du discovered that the yacht was parked a little over ten meters north of a reef.
The reef, which was only a few meters from the surface of the water, had some aquatic plants and seaweed growing on it and bright colorful fish swimming around in it.
After diving into the water, the owner swam towards the reef. With that, Li Du was even more at ease, as it was apparent that the owner knew about the existence of the reef and wanted to go fish in it.
The reef was not deep in the water. Based on the owner’s swimming ability, there was no need to worry.
Having cast the fishing rod, Li Du relaxed on a deck chair before looking leisurely at the brightly lit night sky and the gradual ascension of the full moon.
With the high visibility of the night sky, which was due to Australia’s great air quality, and the night’s bright moon, he was able to vaguely see the craters on the moon with his naked eye.
As Australia was rich in marine resources and the spot Robinson had chosen for night fishing was in an area of the sea that had shoals of fish everywhere, the luminous fishing float began moving even before Li Du had finished half a bottle of beer.
Seeing this, he sat up straight and said, “Godzilla, come, we will be eating grilled fish tonight. The fish has taken the bait!”
Godzilla hurriedly ran over. In the end, due to being too anxious, Li Du reeled the line in before the fish had completely taken the bait. The fish was frightened, broke free from the hook, and escaped.
Seeing the empty fish hook, Godzilla laughed casually and walked over with bottles of beer and snacks that the owner had left behind such as dried fish, fish slices, grilled prawns, and pickled crabs before saying, “Boss, take it slow.”
After casting the line back into the water, both of them drank beer and ate the snacks. For some unknown reason, Li Du thought of a line from a poem:
“A bright moon rises above the sea, people from far and wide are admiring the same moon!”
