"Mm?" Zhao Xing perked up his ears, listening to the direction of the wind.
"What is it, Young Master?" Xu Laoba, after boarding the boat, shook the water from his ears, having just taken a rough plunge.
"Shh, don't make a sound."
Xu Laoba immediately froze, his expression stiffening. Could there be something unclean? That shouldn't be the case, right? He had sincerely worshipped at East Lake Duke's shrine during the day! He had not thought of the Wang family matron at all during the prayers.
"Row that way." Zhao Xing pointed in a direction. At the same time, he activated his Mingmiao, expanding his field of vision.
Although there was lake water obstructing his view, with a depth of over ten meters, as long as the water wasn't too murky, Zhao Xing could see clearly.
"Oh!" Xu Laoba rowed vigorously. He dared not ask too many questions now; it was evident that this Young Master was not new to this kind of work. He felt that Zhao Xing was even more skilled at spotting things than the river scavengers.
"The wandering souls are instinctively avoiding something. What could it be? Cold, light—this indeed matches the characteristics of an East Lake Pearl. However, for an East Lake Pearl to affect wandering souls, it must be at least Gathered Essence Third Level, right?"
Zhao Xing focused and cast his spell, his Mingmiao never ceasing. At this moment, it was just before the Dingmao hour, the time when ghostly fortune was at its strongest.
If he couldn't find it within a quarter of an hour, it would be very difficult afterward.
The so-called moments of strong and weak Fortune meant that during strong moments, one could find treasures just by walking, while during weak moments, even if treasures fell into one's hands, they would be unrecognizable.
"If we haven't made any gains by the second Dingmao hour, it will be hard to catch anything in the third Dingmao hour," Zhao Xing said as he picked up a bamboo pole and, together with Xu Laoba, exerted their strength, heading in the direction of the sound of the wind.
After rowing hard for a quarter of an hour, Zhao Xing's eyes suddenly lit up: "Stop!"
At the bottom of the lake, there was a dark reef, and beneath the rocks lay a dead turtle, its mouth holding a light blue pearl.
Due to the interwoven growth of the reef, the pearl was invisible from the other three directions on the water's surface; only Zhao Xing's position could see it.
"A turtle? So that's what it means. I thought it was some nonsensical ghost talk... Xu Laoba, how deep can you dive?"
Xu Laoba patted his chest proudly and said, "Within thirty meters, everything is within my grasp."
Zhao Xing nodded and said, "Good, you dive from here. After going down fifteen meters, you will find a dark reef cluster about ten meters square. On the southern side of the reef, there is an intersection; if you go down at a slant for three feet and seven inches, you can touch the treasure!"
"Alright! Young Master, watch me!" Seeing Zhao Xing's confidence, Xu Laoba eagerly jumped into the water.
Zhao Xing quietly observed from the boat.
Xu Laoba indeed did not boast; he easily dove down and, following Zhao Xing's directions, quickly found the blue pearl in the turtle's mouth.
Then Xu Laoba slowly surfaced, a streak of blue light rippling through the water.
"Young Master, Young Master! There really is a treasure!" Xu Laoba was also excited.
"Quick, come up." Zhao Xing hurriedly pulled him onto the boat.
"Hiss ha, hiss~" Xu Laoba tossed the pearl onto the small boat and, after coming up, began to breathe heavily. Despite the hot weather, he felt a chill, all because of this pearl.
"A Gathered Essence Fourth Level East Lake Pearl, and it's an extremely rare Ice Pearl. This quality... should be considered mid-grade among Fourth Levels?" Zhao Xing picked up the pearl and examined it in his hand.
A wave of coldness surged from the pearl, as if he were holding an ice block.
Xu Laoba couldn't withstand it, but Zhao Xing at Gathered Essence Third Level had no problem.
"Congratulations, Young Master! You've obtained a Gathered Essence Third Level East Lake Pearl." Xu Laoba quickly congratulated him, not recognizing that it was Fourth Level, thinking it was only Third Level, as he had never seen a Fourth Level in his life.
"Thanks to you." Zhao Xing smiled slightly and stored the pearl, "When we return, you will certainly receive your reward."
"Thank you, Young Master." Xu Laoba's face showed joy. According to their agreement, he wouldn't get a share of the profits, but if the boss was happy to reward him, that would be an unexpected gain.
As river scavengers, they rarely received rewards, because if it were a sure profit, the river scavengers would do it themselves; there was still a significant risk of loss involved.
"Just this one pearl is enough to make one rich." Zhao Xing thought to himself.
The Gathered Essence Fourth Level East Lake Pearl was a treasure produced by 'transformation', and it could only appear after ten years of transformation. As for the Ice Pearl, it was even rarer, worth at least five hundred taels!
"The Fourth Level Ice Pearl is most beneficial for martial artists, as it can significantly reduce the physical toll of cultivating fire-based techniques or martial skills. It can also assist in cultivating water-based techniques. If the right buyer is found, it wouldn't be strange for the price to double."
Having obtained the treasure, Zhao Xing felt much more at ease.
Originally, he could have returned after finding the Ice Pearl, but since he was already there and there was still one Dingmao hour left, he didn't want to miss out. Who would complain about having too much money?
For the next half an hour, the ghostly fortune declined.
However, relying on his Mingmiao, Zhao Xing found over a dozen Gathered Essence First Level East Lake Pearls.
Xu Laoba was utterly in awe of Zhao Xing.
Every time he dove, there was always a harvest; he never came back empty-handed—how could one not be impressed?
When he returned and spoke of it, even the boss might not believe it!
Time passed, and during Zhao Xing's next hour, he couldn't find anything good, only a single earring inlaid with a green gemstone, which he didn't know which noblewoman had dropped while boating.
"Just one, not a pair, probably worth only seven or eight taels."
"But it's time to go back." Zhao Xing glanced at the almanac.
It was already the fourth quarter of the Hai hour, and there wouldn't be any more gains, especially after the Zi hour. Trying to seek ghostly fortune then would only bring misfortune.
"Xu Laoba, let's head back." Zhao Xing decided to finish up.
"Alright!" Xu Laoba was also satisfied; today's achievements were enough for him to boast about to his companions for a long time.
"Ah—"
"Someone has fallen into the water!"
"Big boat, hurry over and save them!"
Suddenly, voices carried on the wind, and Xu Laoba paused, turning to Zhao Xing: "Young Master, it seems someone has fallen into the water over there."
"I see, but someone has already jumped in to rescue them; we don't need to worry."
"That's true; nine out of ten people in East Lake can swim." Xu Laoba began to row towards the shore.
After passing a patch of grass bay, they happened to encounter a river lantern floating by, illuminating the grass bay.
They saw a small boat anchored in the grass bay, with a girl standing on it—it was Lin Baiwei, whom they had seen earlier.
Seeing the big boat and the lantern approaching, she couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression.
Especially with Zhao Xing and Xu Laoba's appearance, she felt even more flustered. She was drenched, her graceful figure partially revealed in the lantern's glow, and what worried her more was that her aunt was still in the water.
If the big boat came over and people gathered to watch, it would be akin to public execution.
"This..." Xu Laoba quickly lowered his head, preparing to take a detour.
"No need to be so troublesome." Zhao Xing stopped him, then used his cloud technique to envelop the entire grass bay, concealing both Lin Baiwei and Lin Sanniang.
"Thank you." A voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz came through the wind.
Zhao Xing and Xu Laoba stepped ashore.
(End of Chapter)