The duo walked out of the village periphery as darkness fully engulfed the remaining light. They followed a mud path wide enough for carriages to travel. Jasper walked side by side with Barry and noticed a few people passing them from both directions. Looking at the activity along the path, he guessed that fishing on the lake must be quite famous.
After walking for ten minutes, they finally reached the lake. From afar, Jasper could already see the water. When the lake finally came fully into view, his mouth fell open.
The lake was enormously large. Even in the dim night light, he could not see where it ended.
"Wow, the lake is so big," Barry exclaimed.
Jasper felt somewhat disappointed in himself. The lake was very close to where he lived, yet he had never heard about it in his life. Still, he couldn't blame himself. He had rarely visited most places in Gruoce Town. Most of his life had revolved around the slum area and his house.
"So how are we going to catch it?" Jasper asked, hoping Barry had a plan. He felt uneasy around the water after seeing its sheer size, and knowing they were supposed to catch a snake in that lake made him even more uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, I have a plan. Do you see that islet?" Barry pointed toward the center of the lake. Jasper saw a tall, mountain-like mound of land rising amid the water.
"I got secret intel about the Golden Orange Snakehead. They live inside that islet's inner lake, which connects to the main lake through an underground passage," Barry whispered.
"The unfortunate thing is that the secret intel was already exposed to my gang members. So it's not a secret anymore. We need to hurry and catch that rumored Golden Orange Snakehead fish before those bastards do," Barry said angrily.
Jasper listened carefully to the details until he heard the word fish. His expression immediately changed.
For the past ten minutes he had been seriously wondering how he was supposed to capture a snake. But the moment he heard the word fish, his heart jolted.
So the target was a fish, not a snake.
Jasper quietly let out a sigh of relief. However, another thought soon appeared in his mind. The request had been to catch a Giant Orange Snakehead, yet Barry had mentioned a different name.
"Isn't the request for a Giant Orange Snakehead?" Jasper asked.
"Yes, of course the request is to catch the Giant Orange Snakehead. But I went to great lengths to collect secret intel about the Golden Orange Snakehead. If we catch that one, we will get double the profit," Barry said with a snicker.
"So what do you think? Can we capture the Golden Orange Snakehead?"
Jasper grew more excited when he heard they would be paid more for catching it. As long as he earned enough money, he didn't care whether it was a fish, a snake, or even a dragon.
"Yes, we can capture it without killing it. That way we can earn more," Jasper said excitedly.
"Great, that's what I thought. But we should keep our pride low. Let me tell you another piece of intel," Barry said as he leaned toward Jasper and whispered. "There are more than two dozen Golden Orange Snakeheads in this lake. Most of them live deep under the water. No one has been capable of catching them for centuries."
Jasper recoiled slightly, pulling his head away from Barry after hearing the last part.
No one capable of catching them for centuries? Jasper muttered in his mind. Then how were they supposed to catch one?
"You don't believe my intel?" Barry asked after noticing his reaction.
"It's not that I don't believe your intel. I was just thinking—if those people couldn't catch them before, how can we capture one? Can't we just catch the Giant Orange Snakehead instead?" Jasper asked.
"The thing is, capturing a Giant Orange Snakehead is equally difficult. So the effort will be the same. If that's the case, why not catch the rare one?" Barry replied confidently.
"I heard that the great Renato Baldini came here to catch the Golden Orange Snakehead but failed even after great effort. Just imagine if we capture the one that even legends failed to catch," Barry said, his eyes shining.
The name Renato Baldini rang a bell in Jasper's mind. He had heard that name before. Renato Baldini was a famous swordsman who wielded two blades. Jasper had heard many stories about him during his childhood, and his favorite was the one where Renato supposedly drank volcanic lava during his travels when he had nothing else to eat.
"Let's go. We need to start before those bastards ruin our plan."
The duo wasted no more time and soon reached the edge of the lake, where many people stood along the shore. Jasper saw several wooden vessels sailing across the water.
His eyes drifted toward the horizon of the lake as he stood there in a dazed state.
Splash!
Suddenly he heard a loud sound of something dropping into the water. Turning toward the noise, his eyes landed on a wooden boat large enough to carry several people, swaying on the water.
"Let's go," Barry said as he boarded the boat.
Where did he get the boat from? Jasper muttered to himself as he quickly jumped in as well.
Barry grabbed the tiller, and the boat slowly began moving into the lake. Jasper looked back toward the shore as they drifted deeper into the water.
"So what is the plan?" Jasper asked Barry, who was staring directly at the islet in the center of the lake.
"The plan is simple. We need to lure that fish out of the inner lake," Barry said.
"So we need to swim through the underground passageway?" Jasper asked.
"No. We don't need to enter the islet. We only need to climb the outer wall. Once we find the secret path, we will lure the Golden Orange Snakehead out of the inner lake," Barry declared.
"I want you to climb onto the wall," Barry added as he steered the boat directly toward the islet.