Liang Qu gritted his teeth.
Zheng Xiang, Scabby-head Zhang, not a single decent person among them! Last night, when Zheng Xiang left so decisively, not even wanting the yellowfish, Liang Qu had truly thought the guy just wanted to make a deal.
After all, although personal freedoms could be compromised, the Great Shun wasn’t exactly a society where everyone was equal.
But in the end, it was that cursed servant who put the final straw on the camel’s back.
"Brother Shui, Big Brother Shui, I've told you everything there is to say. I promise I'll repay the debt in the future. Please, have mercy and let me go, just like a fart passing through."
Beaten until he was barely conscious, Zhang Tieniu finally mustered the strength to speak coherently.
Seeing Liang Qu glance over, he instantly forced a smile.
Liang Qu hesitated, showing signs of reluctance.
Zhang Tieniu, feeling secretly pleased, was about to plead further when he found the figure beside him suddenly disappearing, replaced by an ominous shadow above.
Looking up in confusion, he suddenly let out a scream.
Hanging upside down, he saw a human face approaching him, with pitch-black eyes staring right at him.
The disheveled hair parted as the face broke into a silent grin, its rows of white teeth seemingly ready to snap his neck!
"Brother Shui, Brother Shui! What are you doing? Don't scare me like this!"
Zhang Tieniu's heart nearly stopped, and he panicked, stepping backward into the water.
Liang Qu fixed his gaze on the heavily injured Scabby-head Zhang and cast aside his smile.
"You saw me manipulating water just now, didn't you?"
"Manipulating water? What manipulating water? I don’t know anything. I saw nothing!"
"It doesn't matter if you saw or not."
Liang Qu stood up, the evening sun casting a long shadow over the small fishing boat.
The river breeze whispered as the seed-heavy reeds swayed, pollen floating in the air.
Zhang Tieniu, relieved that the terrifying face had retreated, slowly calmed his tense heart.
But as time passed, shrouded in shadow, his anxiety grew.
Straining his neck, he saw only the dark silhouette framed by golden sunlight.
Scooting backward again for a better view, a glimpse revealed a mocking face and, above it, a stone raised high in the air!
Zhang Tieniu's pupils shrank, his throat quivering.
Yet before he could even take a breath tainted with blood...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Splash!
In the reed marsh, immense splashes erupted, with white foam occasionally tainted by dark red.
Below the boat, a shadow moved.
The Pig Dragon swam, dragging the body, tied to a stone weight, toward the deep water.
After handling everything, Liang Qu collapsed onto the small boat, his heart pounding fiercely, saliva sticky like glue.
He raised his hand, noting its trembling, nails filled with blood foam.
For the first time in his life, a series of murderous actions flowed seamlessly from his hands.
Fearing that Scabby-head Zhang's struggle would be too violent to restrain, Liang Qu didn’t dare to drown him; he could only smash his skull with a stone.
"Zhang Tieniu was too much of a bully. If I didn’t strike while he was down, even if I managed to save up enough from fishing, he'd still target me when he recovered," Liang Qu muttered, gagging by the boat's edge, only to bring up stomach acid.
Even with sufficient reason and decision made, at the moment of action, his mind went blank, stopping only after collapsing the back of the skull, leaving a bloody mess.
In the Jianghuai Marshlands, vicious carnivorous fish were numerous, and attracted by the scent of blood, Zhang Tieniu’s trace would soon vanish from this world.
After retching, Liang Qu returned to the boat.
As it stood, his black canopy boat had turned into a small fishing craft, and more troubling was the attention from the Zhao Manor, though whether Master Zhao had a hand in it was unknown.
The narrative suggested Zheng Xiang and Zhang Tieniu cooked it all up themselves, but with only one side of the story, whether Zheng Xiang acted on orders from Master Zhao or to curry favor was indeterminate.
A mere steward wouldn't divulge secrets to a scab.
If the latter were true, it would be troublesome.
Master Zhao was in his sixties, a repulsive situation!
In his past and present life combined, nearing forty, Liang Qu was still a bachelor, while some filthy old men had indulged to the point of seeking perverted pleasures.
The only silver lining was the couple of ounces of broken silver in the pouch.
Unable to offend the Zhao Manor, Liang Qu needed to quickly gather seven ounces of silver to train at the Yang Clan Martial Hall in Peaceful Sun Town and gain a decent status.
But how could he use the small boat openly?
Time flew swiftly.
At the misty dock, silhouettes crowded the area.
Late at night, fish gathered to forge for food—a golden time for fishing.
Experienced fishermen would seize this opportunity to untie their boats.
However, there was a young man in the marsh, rowing against the current back to the dock.
Seeing the young man, a fellow untying his boat asked, "Ah Shui? Isn't your family supposed to have a black canopy boat? How come it's turned into a small fishing boat? And why are you back at this hour?"
Liang Qu raised his gaze, smiling as he replied, "Oh, it's Uncle Chen Yi."
This Uncle Chen wasn’t Chen Qingjiang, who had brought cakes when Liang Qu first arrived.
Many in Righteous Prosperity City bore the surname Chen; this one was merely an acquaintance.
Seeing a handful of other fishermen around, Liang Qu knew the timing was right.
Adopting a sorrowful expression, he spoke plaintively, as if about to cry: "Uncle Yi, you know, just a month back my father—"
Interspersed with indignation and a few sighs, Liang Qu explained, albeit with slight alterations, how after his ‘father's’ death, Scabby-head Zhang had bullied him.
For instance, instead of Zhang outright seizing the black canopy boat, he had forced an exchange for his fishing craft.
Hearing his tale, the fishermen at the dock harbored no doubts, finding the narrative reasonable.
Seizing a fisherman’s boat was akin to killing a parent; it wasn’t widely publicized, hence few knew.
Moreover, those aware weren’t clear on whether an exchange even occurred.
Scabby-head Zhang, faint-hearted, rarely provoked the influential, never going to extremes.
Liang Qu, an orphan with no support but possessing a good boat, had appealed to Zhang Tieniu’s greed, leading to his reckless abandon.
"A real scoundrel, that Scabby-head Zhang."
"Should’ve sorted him out a long time ago."
"Indeed, always snatching fish from my basket, makes me want to smack him with a paddle!"
For a moment, righteous indignation filled the dock.
Yet a keen ear could discern: most were curses and discontent, with not one person suggesting righting Liang Qu's wrong by confronting Scabby-head Zhang to reclaim the boat.
Tall and robust, Scabby-head Zhang held no fear being a lone rogue; everyone had elders and children and didn’t want to invite trouble for an orphan.
Liang Qu sighed, lifting a board to reveal a dozen or so fish: "Without proper tools, I fished all day, utterly exhausted. Just caught some good ones and needed to rest."
The crowd glanced over, noting the mix of grass carp and silver carp worth about twenty to thirty coins, nodded, then departed for their fishing trips.
Liang Qu felt relief settle.
Claiming no ties to Scabby-head Zhang would seem calculated.
If someone were to unravel the entire affair from beginning to end, they might uncover discrepancies—for instance, if it were an exchange, why would Zhang Tieniu sell the black canopy boat outright?
Though a layabout, it seemed extreme not to leave any leeway.
While plausible, the threadbare logic remained.
Humans, wary of overthinking, projected far less focus onto others' affairs than assumed.
The world didn’t revolve around anyone, and for matters unconcerned with oneself, memories were fuzzy and could easily be steered in new directions with a nudge.
No one would suspect a young boy dared enough to ambush a robust man—or possessed the ability.
A seed merely needed planting, without glaring defects, for it to sprout, establishing an accepted story.
(End of Chapter)