Chapter 245: Showing Off
Translated by Gumihou
Edited by Onionpi
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
Warning: Animal cruelty abound. Do not abuse animals, do not support the harvest of shark fins.
Su Nuan Nuan was so traumatized she had to cover her eyes: After being influenced by all the Protect the Sharks movements and posters in her past life, Su Nuan Nuan could not bear to see a shark be so mercilessly slaughtered by the little marquis. Though one could say that the shark was the one who came looking for death, for daring to approach their boats in such an aggressive manner.
However, another very important point suddenly struck her. She quickly took her hands away from her eyes and shouted, “Don’t keep stabbing it…” unfortunately, it was all too late.
It is in the treatment of animals that one could see the depth of cruelty a person is capable of. It turned out that this little marquis was capable of incredible cruelty. Su Nuan Nuan had just opened her mouth to stop the man, but by then, the sea around the shark had been dyed red with its blood.
The people from the dozen over little boats looked on stupidly until one of the boats in the lead reached the little marquis who heroically leapt on with his prize. The poor shark was still struggling a little. Sadly, it was unable to do anything but wriggle pathetically at the deck of the boat. The little marquis stood over his prize like a godly hero, and the crowd burst into deafening cheers. One person bowed down in worship, then everyone was bowing down in worship shouting ‘Godly Hunter’, ‘Godly Hunter’ at the increasingly smug little marquis.
Su Nuan Nuan looked nervously at the bloody sea. Duan Tingxuan fished out a silk handkerchief and wiped the blood off his sword. Spotting his wife’s nervous look, he smiled conceitedly, “It’s done, there’s no need to worry. Aren’t I alright now?”
“Idiot, who ask you to act on your own? These things usually moved in schools, in big groups, understand? Now that you’ve killed it and left its blood in the sea, its friends would soon come…”
“Oh? To avenge it? To think that even beasts like these could have some sense of loyalty.”
Duan Tingxuan smirk was incredibly arrogant, Su Nuan Nuan was getting pissed off. She really hated that he was in another boat and she couldn’t kick him to let off steam. “It’s not for revenge, these fish are extremely fierce. The smell of blood will make them go berserk. Their sense of smell is incredibly sensitive too, no matter how far they are, they would all converge on this area soon. And if there are too many, even the boats could be turned over by them you know?”
Something has to be said here. The majority of Su Nuan Nuan’s understanding of sharks came from televisions and light novels, such as that infamous movie Jaws. Most sharks are very timid, and would normally avoid confrontation. Unless humans enter their territory and make them feel threatened, they seldom attack humans. Of course, just as there are bloodthirsty perverts among humans, there are inevitable ‘scum’ sharks who indulged in killing for fun. However, that was a completely different matter altogether.
One other thing everyone has to remember, Su Nuan Nuan had been transmigrated into a novel, thus…
Less than a quarter-hour after Su Nuan Nuan made her fatalistic little speech, the sea grew black with dense shadows. Numerous triangular fins could be seen cutting through the waves… At the sight of such impending doom, everyone’s face grew ashen. Zhang Tianming stared at the horrifying sight for a moment before shouting, “Leave… quick! Turn the boats around and go back. We can evade them once we reach the shallows.”
“It’s too late,” Su Nuan Nuan said fatalistically. “Have you ever heard of boats outrunning sharks before? It’s not like we’re on modern speedboats…”
In the time it took to complete this dialogue, the school of sharks had covered a whole li. Su Nuan Nuan gritted her teeth and suddenly ordered, “Quick! Throw that shark down. Whilst they’re eating that carcass, we can make our escape. If we’re lucky, they won’t come after us.” It was all crazy talk, of course. After all, how long do you think one shark is going to occupy hundreds of sharks? However, they were currently desperate people clutching at straws now.
Zhang Tianming was also at his wit’s end. He was about to follow Su Nuan Nuan’s orders and get his people to throw the shark overboard when Duan Tingxuan said solemnly, “That’s pointless, would they even eat their own kind?”
“Of course they’ll eat their own kind, ah.” Su Nuan Nuan shouted.
Duan Tingxuan said furiously, “Hah! As expected of beasts, and here I thought they might still have some virtue of loyalty. To think that they’re all rushing here to eat their comrade’s corpse. How cruel is that? We ought to just kill them all.”
Su Nuan Nuan was speechless. Hey brother, are you trying to discuss etiquette with the sharks? Those things are sharks, ah. Their basic instinct is to survive at all cost, not every animal could be as reasonable as humans, you know?
Unfortunately, before she was able to inform Duan Tingxuan of the intricacies of a shark’s characteristics, the little marquis had turned away to order Zhang Tianming, “Get everyone to ready their nets. We shall capture this group of beasts. Make sure to calculate well and don’t take too many on board. We don’t want the boats to sink.”
“Lord… heir…” Zhang Tianming’s voice trembled like rustling leaves in the wind. Even Su Nuan Nuan was shocked by the little marquis’ domineering attitude. Her mouth had fallen open into an ‘o’ shape, but no words came out.
Duan Tingxuan took out a second, shorter sword in hand and smirked at the people around him. He gave Su Nuan Nuan a tight hug under the eyes of all the people around him and said, “Nuan Nuan, just keep your eyes on this husband of yours. I shall slaughter these group of beastly fish for you, wait for me.” With that, he brushed a kiss as fleeting as a passing dragonfly’s wings before suddenly stooping to gather a few planks from the deck of the boat and leapt out into the sea.
What followed next was a scene worthy of the best CGI movie populated by expert stuntmen. Su Nuan Nuan felt as though she was watching a high budget martial arts movie. A movie cinema with a thousand other audience gaping at the physics-defying acts before them.
The man who had glided out nearly two miles straight into the sea with a few planks in his hand, was that really her husband? That is clearly the hero of some ridiculous martial arts movie, right?
The little marquis’ next action showed Su Nuan Nuan that there was really nothing to worry about.
As Duan Tingxuan systematically sliced up the school of sharks, it was no longer a battle of supremacy. It was a one-sided slaughter. The stupid sharks did not realize that them gathering so closely together like this only gave the little marquis a better foothold on their tough backs, continued to converge upon the area where the scent of blood was most concentrated. The little marquis’ method of dealing with the sharks was simple, jump onto the back of a shark, stab it in the head then leap off for the next target. The shark would splash about vigorously for a short moment before going limp.
On the sparkling sea, the white foams of the waves foamed red as dozens of sharks floated with their bellies facing the sky. Who knows what kind of tricks the man employed to stand so well on water with just a few planks. At any rate, this was the second time Su Nuan Nuan got the impression that she had crossed over into a martial arts novel. The first time being the unexpected appearance of the Secret Chamber at Suzhou.
Looks like I’ve really crossed into a martial arts novel, right? Thought the first madam to herself. She was still mulling over this when there was a sudden cheer from the crowd. Apparently, sharks were not as completely stupid as she had expected. Survival instincts told them that a great predator was amongst them, and they were now collectively fleeing from the scene of slaughter. Leaving dozens of their fallen comrades floating freely in the bloody sea.
So, it looks like sharks still have the ability to recognize danger, and have the brain capacity to flee from danger? Her natural curiosity overcoming her worry, Su Nuan Nuan looked up to see her husband, the conquering hero of the day, skipping over the waves towards the boat. The flood victims happily took out their hooks, spears, fishing nets and other fishing paraphernalia to drag the floating trophies out of the sea and onto the decks of their boats. Each time they managed to haul a shark on board, a loud cheer went up. As there were many sharks, the cheers continued intermittently, mimicking the ebb and swell of the sea waves.
Duan Tingxuan finally reached the boat, his face a little pale. Perhaps this shark hunting trick consumed a lot of energy, but despite his tiredness, the little marquis did not forget to wave at his adoring audience. He graciously received the worshipful bows of the flood victims and soldiers around.
Su Nuan Nuan stepped forward to hug her lover, but before she could say more than a few words of praise, she was dragged into the cabin by the little marquis. Surprised, and a little annoyed she thought of protesting, but finally allowed it since he had worked so hard.
Once the door was closed, Duan Tingxuan coughed out a mouthful of blood and collapsed against her.
[Gumihou: 0.0]
If you love my translations, do consider:
Leaving a tip at ko-fi
Put in a review at novelupdates!
Or read ahead via Patreon ~
o(〃＾▽＾〃)o
