Blue Silver Grass Strategy (Douluo Dalu Fiction)

At this moment, the house was empty. Both his father, Ling Xiaoshan, and his mother, Zhang Xiaoyu, had gone to the fields outside the village to prepare for this year's spring plowing.

Having spent over a year in daily proximity with his family, Ling Yi hadn't shown any astonishing behavior or speech. Nevertheless, his obedience and sensibility allowed his parents and elders to trust him to play at home unsupervised.

Ling Yi's eyes swept across the spacious courtyard. The ground was covered in a sea of blue. Without much hesitation, he stepped on the clusters of 'Blue Silver Grass,' striding directly towards one side of the courtyard wall.

There, he casually plucked a handful of fine yellow vines from the lush ivy clinging to the wall and, without moving away, sat down on the spot, fiddling with them intently.

It was fortunate that Ling Yi, from a young age, hadn't caused Zhang Xiaoyu and others any trouble regarding personal hygiene, sparing him the embarrassment of wearing pants with an open crotch. This also prevented the Blue Silver Grass from directly touching his delicate private parts.

One by one, he drew out and straightened the slender yellow vines, aligning them neatly on a bare patch of earth where no Blue Silver Grass grew.

Ivy vines typically had small barbed green appearances, yet these were clearly different.

'Daughter's Rope,' as his parents identified them, was the name Ling Yi learned for these yellow vines. Its exact origin was unknown, but apparently, it was called that throughout the Shuimu Principality. Likely, the same was true for the Douluo Continent.

Of course, in Ling Yi's eyes, it had another name—'Dodder.'

In his previous life, it seemed pretty common in rural areas, often parasitizing plants at the edges of fields, sunny slopes, roadside shrubs, and even near grave mounds.

Ling Yi distinctly remembered spotting a good number during a tomb-sweeping trip before his travel, particularly noticing crooked-neck trees sickened by these parasitic weeds.

Putting idle chatter aside, Ling Yi's distinct black-and-white eyes reflected the ten delicate fingers dancing rapidly. Before long, two small creations appeared before him.

“Whew~~”

Ling Yi let out a gentle sigh, glancing at the items in his right and left hands. His lips moved slightly but in the end, he said nothing, only murmuring to himself: "It's been a while since I've done this. My skill has really slipped."

Fortunately, at least the functionality isn't lacking, though the aesthetics leave much to be desired. Ling Yi shrugged off the thought, not dwelling on it further.

Standing up, he moved his small legs towards the courtyard gate, bent over, stuck out his rear, and started fiddling with his things again.

…

The sun continued to radiate its warmth, dispelling the lingering chill from the earth.

As noon approached, a series of footsteps approached the Ling household's gate from afar.

"Creak—!"

The mostly-smooth wooden door, slightly worn, emitted a somewhat harsh sound as a figure stepped inside.

The newcomer first cast their gaze over the courtyard, where "Blue Silver Grass" grew abundantly, a trace of helplessness showing on their face. Shaking their head slightly, they continued into the courtyard.

Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, they felt something tighten around their ankle. If not for their years of hard labor, which had strengthened their core and stabilized their gait, they might have stumbled.

Looking down, they found a thin, child-sized yellow "rope" looped around their ankle, while a short twig, as thick as a thumb, was half-buried in the soil, with just a small portion above ground.

"What on earth?"

With that, they forcefully lifted their bound foot, breaking the yellow "rope" and uprooting the nearby twig slightly from the ground.

Stomping his feet, he shook off the remnants hanging from his shoes. A shout burst forth from his lips, "Xiao Yi! Come out! I see you—!"

He said, casting his eyes towards the direction of the main house door.

In the next moment, Ling Yi's figure appeared there, dashing towards the courtyard gate. As he ran, he spread his arms wide, calling out, "Uncle, you're here—!"

"Hey—!"

Zhang Dahe quickly crouched down and scooped up the running Ling Yi, gently rubbing his stubbled chin against Ling Yi's soft and tender cheek. Then, with their foreheads touching, they locked eyes. "You little rascal, I was just telling your brother that little troublemaker, that you were so obedient and sensible, and you pull a stunt like this on me?"

As he spoke, Zhang Dahe held Ling Yi with his right hand, while his left hand pulled at his ankle to bring the yellow 'cord' remnant to their view.

"Huh?"

Before Ling Yi could say anything, Zhang Dahe brought the 'cord' closer for a better look and said curiously, "Is this... 'Lady Rope Grass'?"

"And also..." Zhang Dahe picked up a small twig lying on the ground nearby and examined it along with the 'cord,' glancing at Ling Yi and clicking his tongue, "Did you make this little thing yourself?"

Ling Yi nodded, his large, round eyes blinking, "Mm, yeah~"

Zhang Dahe inquired with great interest, "Is there more? Let me see~"

"Over there—" Ling Yi nestled in Zhang Dahe's arm, pointed a few steps away, and said, "There’s another one..."

Zhang Dahe stood up holding Ling Yi, walked to where Ling Yi pointed, bent down, and saw a small yellow net about the size of two palms among a few stalks of blue-silver grass.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Xiaoyu returned home with the evening glow at their backs, only to find their brother-in-law, Zhang Dahe, sprawled on the ground in the courtyard, his backside raised as he fiddled with something.

Nearby, their well-behaved and clever son, Ling Yi, sat on the stone steps in front of the main house, his small fair hands deftly weaving something together.

Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Xiaoyu exchanged puzzled glances, uncertain about the game these two were playing.

But as night approached, the fatigue of a long day's work and the gnawing hunger in their stomachs urged them to focus on the evening meal.

At noon, each had gnawed on a flatbread taken to the fields, and now it was long digested. Any questions could wait for discussion over dinner.

“So, these things Ling Yi wove to play with, like this ‘lasso’ and ‘vine net’, can be used to snare pheasants and rabbits, or even catch fish?”

Ling Xiaoshan looked at Zhang Dahe, who was grinning widely, and then at his son Ling Yi who was immersed in his food, asking with a hint of disbelief.

To be honest, Ling Xiaoshan thought it sounded quite far-fetched.

Could his one-year-one-month-old child, with his little crafts made for fun, actually achieve this?

Although his son had started twisting vines like ‘Climbing Tiger’ and ‘Dodder’ around for months, wasn’t that just playing around?

How did it suddenly turn into traps for hunting and tools for fishing?

Looking at Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Xiaoyu's skeptical expressions, Zhang Dahe shook his head and said, "You shouldn't doubt it, even though what Xiao Yi made—"

Zhang Dahe pointed to the 'lasso' on the table in front of him and continued, "I've never seen it before, but I experienced it personally at noon. The vine of 'Lady's Vine' is easy to tear, but if you switch to 'Iron Bark Vine', even I would have to summon my 'Hoe' martial spirit to cut through it..."

"Additionally~" Zhang Dahe pushed the small net next to the 'lasso' forward, "You should be familiar with this net, right?"

"Earlier, when we went to the market in Beikouhe Town, there were similar 'fishing nets' for sale there, though they were more refined and prettier..."

Both the lasso and the fishing net were understood by Ling Xiaoshan and the others.

The former, although unseen before, reminded them of similar animal traps they had heard of. It was unexpected that such a simple combination of a rope and a tree branch could form a trap.

As for the fishing net, most waterside villages and towns, and even cities, were familiar with this type of fishing gear. In fact, some people's martial spirits were "Fishing Nets".

However, often the greatest obstacle people fall into is the "curse of knowledge".

Likewise, the greatest hindrance to personal growth is also the curse of knowledge.

That is, your current understanding becomes the barrier that rigidifies your thinking and precludes future growth.

Ling Xiaoshan and Zhang Dahe knew about fishing nets and how they could be used for catching fish in the water. But they had never considered, in situations where they couldn't afford the nets sold in town, to weave one themselves.

Even if this self-made fishing net might have flaws like being not wear-resistant or easy to break.

(End of Chapter)