The moonlight was clear and bright.
Liang Qu glanced around and saw twenty strong men working for him.
They were cutting planks, erecting beams, and mixing clay.
Despite the cold winter, they were all sweating heavily, the smell of sweat thick in the air.
In the winter, it wasn't easy for ordinary families to take baths.
You'd have to chop wood and boil water, and if you weren't careful, you could catch a cold, which would be a big loss.
So people tried to avoid bathing as much as possible.
Liang Qu didn't mind; he'd made it big and wore a fragrant sachet at his waist, masking any odor with a pleasant scent.
Not so long ago, he too smelled of fish.
"Have you all eaten?" "We have. The meals are filling; even the vegetables have minced meat. No one else is as generous as you are."
"Exactly. During winter, when there's no work, everyone lives off their savings. Having food to eat and money to earn is a great blessing."
"Minced meat?" Liang Qu shook his head.
"Next time, tell Chen Tongmin to use pork slices instead. Every stew should have three pounds of pork."
The workers were so shocked they forgot to work.
Liang Qu then pulled out a couple of silver coins and handed them to Liu Quanfeng.
"Tomorrow's New Year's Eve, so take an early break today. I'm giving you three days off. Come back the day after tomorrow. Uncle Fu, help buy some pork, two pounds each for everyone, and pick the fattest ones, so everyone can have a dish of meat for the New Year."
Pork in Great Shun was only slightly over twenty coins per pound, while chicken and duck cost over fifty coins each.
Save where you can, spend where you should.
Liu Quanfeng, handling the silver as if holding hot coals, quickly retracted his hand, "I can't accept this, I really can't!" "Why can't you? One part meat, one part strength; more meat, more strength. Let's not waste time with formalities!" Before Liu Quanfeng could respond, the men on the roof started cheering.
"You're generous, Master Liang!" "Agreed!" "We'll finish the main house before spring begins!" The joyous shouts drew the neighbors to open their windows, curious about the commotion.
"Master Liang, we're not in a hurry to go home. It's a clear day, there's light, we can work a bit longer!" "That's right, tomorrow's only New Year's Eve. Let's work through the night to make up for Master Liang's kindness!" Liang Qu laughed, "Suit yourselves."
This was exactly the effect he wanted: high morale and enthusiasm so he could move into his grand house sooner.
Once the house was built, he’d hire a couple of servants to help around.
Then he'd eat and live as he wanted, and everything would still be pristine and tidy.
Liang Qu stretched out his legs, leaning back comfortably on the timber.
Dreams he hadn't realized in his previous life had come true so easily in this one.
Just thinking about it made him feel satisfied.
"Alright, that's enough for me. I'm leaving now."
"Safe journey, Master Liang."
Liu Quanfeng saw him off respectfully, watching as Liang Qu exited the half-finished courtyard.
Then he turned and shouted to the others.
"Each of you, no slacking! Get those beams up! Tonight, finish all the main beams for me, and install the rafters. Before dawn, the roof boards on the main house must be laid down!" "You got it, Uncle Fu!" Under the moonlight, a long oar churned the water, creating whirlpools, with invisible currents pushing the black canopy boat quickly across a certain water area.
Liang Qu figured if there were any dragon boat races, he’d win them single-handedly.
Three beasts surfaced early at that point, ready to assist.
Liang Qu grabbed the Subduing Waves spear and Azure Wolf blade, jumping into the water to measure his lotus root.
Since burying the Crab Monster shell and the unknown martial artist's bones, the lotus root’s growth speed had noticeably increased.
Its growth area expanded, seemingly repairing the damage the Crab Monster had done.
Confirming that the buried items had brought benefits, the lotus root was in a healthy state.
Liang Qu and the three beasts ventured to explore further, mainly focusing on the bottom of the water.
Many Water Beasts liked to make holes and live at the bottom, and species like the Fat Catfish and Pig Dragon were hard to find even for Fist.
Firstly, they were hard to discover; Treasure Fish were smart enough to cover their entrances with mud, making them indistinguishable without careful observation.
Secondly, their large sizes were hard to handle with short hands once found, unless you waited for them to come out on their own.
But for Liang Qu, it wasn’t an issue.
His sensing range was twenty meters, with detailed sensing at ten meters, and he could still detect about a meter deep despite obstacles from muck and sand.
His exploration advantage was far greater than the three beasts, yet Liang Qu didn’t usually waste time searching for resources.
Instead, he preferred practicing his stance training.
As he groped along the water bottom, spotting holes, Liang Qu sent the Heavenly Water Centipede to explore.
Some holes were empty while others occasionally drove out small fish, just common species.
After half an hour, Liang Qu sensed an unusual hole.
Its structure was long, the entrance as thick as a human leg, with depths beyond his sensing range.
No ordinary fish could exert such strength; there might be a surprise in store.
Having dug for eels in his youth, Liang Qu acted with caution.
He explored nearby first, successfully finding two other sizable mud holes for the Fat Catfish and Pig Dragon to lie in wait outside.
With all exits blocked, Liang Qu let the Heavenly Water Centipede venture into the hole.
Its small size and significant power, coupled with a tough shell and metal-like defense, made it ideal for such exploration.
Said to be undetectable even by Treasure Fish bites, it curled up effectively when needed.
Upon receiving orders, Ah Wei twitched its antennae and crawled deep into the large cave.
Through the Spirit Link, Liang Qu could feel Ah Wei moving deeper until it reached about three meters underground, where it suddenly stopped before retreating quickly.
"It's coming!" With the Subduing Waves spear in hand, Liang Qu readied himself at the entrance.
As Ah Wei retreated to less than a meter from the surface, a lengthy creature entered his sensing range.
An eel! A thick one! Could it be a Treasure Fish? Liang Qu was delighted.
As the Heavenly Water Centipede climbed out and the huge eel peeked out, Liang Qu thrust his spear.
The sharp spearhead of Subduing Waves pierced smoothly through water, and the unsuspecting eel was skewered through its head, forcing it forward by a small measure under inertia.
From its head to its neck, a large cut spilled blood through the water currents.
Realizing belatedly, the eel coiled its body, frantically struggling, resulting in its head being cleanly severed despite the spear remaining still.
Liang Qu sighed.
Sometimes, being too sharp caused problems, failing to keep the prey whole; a little struggle, and its head was off.
Fist grasped the remaining half of the eel still in the hole, pulling it out.
Upon seeing the seven purple spots on its body, Liang Qu was overjoyed.
"Seven-Star Eel!" He wasn't the inexperienced rookie anymore and recognized many common Treasure Fish.
Seven-Star Eel was one of them.
They were slippery and strong, living in burrows, making them harder to catch than normal Treasure Fish.
Yet, despite being hard to catch, they offered benefits similar to the Tigerhead Grouper.
This one was just under two pounds, not yet known if it could allow Immovable to evolve.
Liang Qu called Immovable over and offered it the entire Seven-Star Eel.
Immovable eagerly wagged its tail, swiftly gulping the whole eel without chewing.
The Fat Catfish looked on jealously, its whiskers quivering constantly.
Liang Qu shrugged, "Can't help it, Fatty. You need eight points, while Immovable requires only six. It still has a chance at evolution with this whole fish, whereas you don’t have any, for now. Be patient, the next one will be all yours."
Commanded by a heavenly decree, the Fat Catfish could only hold back its appetite, swimming around to catch two big Grass Carps to satisfy its hunger, sharing two fish heads with its fellow comrades.
Fist and Ah Wei, unabashed, each enthusiastically took a fish head and gnawed on it.
Connecting with the Marsh Cauldron, [Consume 1.2 units of Water Essence to evolve Grand Marsh Crocodile into Hornwood Crocodile.] Liang Qu heaved a contemplative sigh.
True as expected.
Despite being prepared, seeing it in person didn’t make it any less disappointing.
The effects of Seven-Star Eel and Tigerhead Grouper were similar; a two-pound large eel provided around four to five units of Water Essence.
Only continued searching was the path forward.
Liang Qu remained undeterred, accompanying several water beasts in further exploration, searching throughout until just before dawn without discovering another Treasure Fish, utterly exhausted.
Uncle Chen would be setting out to fish by this time, and lingering further would be improper.
Liang Qu had advised Chen Qingjiang against fishing in the middle of the night, asserting his bait worked just as effectively by day.
However, Chen insisted that fish were more active at night, and better baiting results were garnered through this ancestral fishing wisdom passed down.
Though logically sound, Liang Qu had no chance of convincing him otherwise.
Best return and rest at the Martial Hall! The following day.
Having gone through meat refining, Liang Qu estimated Uncle Chen was still at sea fishing in the morning.
After sparring with his senior brother, he headed to Righteous Prosperity City by noon.
Hu Qi, still flexing and stretching, advised, "Master's wife invited us for dinner tonight. Don't forget."
"Don’t worry, I’ll be back before the fourth quarter of the rooster crow!" Liang Qu’s voice trailed off beyond the doorway, leaving Hu Qi shaking his head helplessly.
"Today I'll definitely evolve Immovable!" Liang Qu rowed the boat, full of confidence, but just as he passed by the dock, he heard cheers from the street, as if a crowd had gathered.
He paused, keenly listening.
"A Treasure Fish, it has to be a Treasure Fish. I've never seen such a magnificent fish!" "Isn't this fish enormous? How did you catch it?" Treasure Fish!? Another fisherman caught a Treasure Fish? Liang Qu was thrilled.
Of course! Besides himself, there were other fishermen out there.
Every dock produced a few Treasure Fish monthly; he’d been caught in a mental block.
Being a martial artist and not short on funds, if he didn’t catch one, buying from others wasn’t any different! Eager to see what a Hornwood Crocodile looked like, Liang Qu didn’t bother exchanging pleasantries with the townsfolk and quickly barged into the group, only to find someone he recognized!
"Chen Qingjiang, lucky you are!"
"Old Chen, can I borrow some of your bait?"
"Hahaha, Old Li, dreaming of mingling with Martial Master, are you?"
"Forget Old Li, how exactly did you catch it?"
The gathered crowd surrounded a soaking wet, red-faced Chen Qingjiang, whose excitement made him oblivious to the cold.
In between breaths, he laughed and explained, "After finishing fishing today, I saw a fish surfacing to breathe while on my way back. It looked like a carp from afar, but I’ve never seen a back like that, shining blue and colorful, incredibly beautiful.
Carps are already expensive, so I thought it might be a Treasure Fish and hurriedly rowed towards it. My hands got blistered, afraid the net would tear, so I cast two nets at once, both torn apart. I was so anxious, my instincts kicked in, and I grabbed an oar, jumped in, and whacked the fish’s head a few times.
Half-frozen, but I managed to stun the fish and haul it back onto the boat!" Liang Qu, at the fringe of the crowd, listened in amazed disbelief.
Oh, heavens.
So the key to evolving those two beasts lay in Uncle Chen's hands all along! (End of Chapter)