Chapter 151: Taking Office, Shopkeeper Chen!
“It’s just that a new official takes office with three fires, and I don’t know where to start burning them. At the Three Forked Road, it seems someone is quite discourteous to my man Zhao Mou…”
Zhao Guangxi’s eyes showed a contemplative look as he walked back under the well shed and sat down in front of the chessboard.
Outside the chessboard, Zhao Guangxi wins it all.
On the chessboard, Zhao Guangxi also had only one black chess piece left, which could also win it all.
His gaze turned to the chessboard, then he blinked, his face showing astonishment.
He saw that on the chessboard, the black and white offensive and defensive positions had changed.
At some point, the white chess pieces had gained the upper hand, instead squeezing the black chess pieces into the corner.
Elder Feng placed a chess piece at the heavenly origin, strangling the black chess pieces.
Then he slowly withdrew his hand, his aura around him deep as the sea, and indifferently said,
“I accept your concession; this old man has won.”
……
Black Fork River.
The drizzle was like silk threads, thousands upon thousands, fine as dust, enveloping the vast river surface in a layer of semi-transparent light gauze.
A sampan bobbed lightly with the waves.
At the bow, a half-century old man wearing a bamboo hat and a straw cloak was fishing in the river heart.
His eyes were slightly closed, as if dozing off, letting the fine rain wet his lapels, seemingly blending into the misty rainy river scene.
Today was Chen Shun’an’s last day protecting the Tanka Fishermen pearl gathering; with matters here settled, a fourth-class minor merit was in hand.
Plus the water monkey incident and the previous minor merits, he had enough three fourth-class minor merits to exchange for one third-class great merit.
Of course, for outer department members of the Wuqing Stick Bureau, accumulating minor merits to exchange for great merits required other conditions as well.
Such as completing specific dangerous tasks, donating money or treasures, or having sufficient reputation.
But the inner department benefits were plentiful, and anything below third-class great merit could be exchanged freely.
Chen Shun’an planned to exchange for another batch of Azure Dragon Gall, to digest and cultivate in peace, and wouldn’t come to the Banye Ferry Crossing side during this time.
It was really that there were too many people and eyes here, quite inconvenient, and cultivation had to be done stealthily.
Moreover, exposed to wind and dew, with sky as canopy and ground as mat, the food and drink were also poor, not suitable for an elderly person to stay long for health preservation.
The county was still better.
Chen Shun’an had suffered hardship for most of his life and was past the age of reminiscing on bitterness and thinking of sweetness; he only wanted to enjoy himself properly now.
Chen Shun’an had been safe without incident here, but he heard that Cheng Bin had somehow escaped from prison, fleeing from the water prison, whereabouts unknown.
Regarding this, Chen Shun’an no longer wished to meddle.
He had already done all he could in benevolence and righteousness.
“Oh no, Hei Sanwa’s water rope broke!”
“Quick, go into the water to save him!”
“There’s a monster, there’s a monster—Hei Sanwa was dragged away by a monster!”
Urgent shouts came one after another.
A boatman desperately pulled the water rope in his hand, but with a ‘patta’ sound, the water rope snapped!
The broken end carried a sharp blast of air and whipped back, lashing fiercely against the boat, causing the sampan to shake violently with wood chips flying.
Several Tanka Fishermen with martial path cultivation hurriedly dove in to rescue, but after just a few breaths, they all surfaced in disarray, coughing up mouthfuls of turbid water with blood foam, their faces full of fear as they said,
“Pig-Dragon, it’s a Pig-Dragon!!”
Looking into the water, there was a blurry shadow nearly five or six zhang long, swimming rapidly, vaguely shaped like a spindle, neither fish nor shrimp.
An extremely long giant tail stirred the undercurrent, clamping Hei Sanwa in its mouth, diving swiftly toward the depths of the Black Fork River, about to disappear into the dark river heart.
The Tanka Fishermen wore expressions of incredulous fear and panic.
Whoosh!
A faint yet sharp sound of piercing air suddenly rang out!
A section of fishing line shot out, instantly piercing the water surface, wrapping with perfect precision around a joint at the tail of that massive shadow!
Chen Shun’an’s figure appeared beside the boatman, hands gripping the fishing rod, his face actually showing a bit of delight,
“Finally, a fish is on the hook.”
The boatman opened his mouth, somewhat stunned.
You call this fishing?
The fishing line went taut, emitting a tooth-grinding ‘zzzz’ sound.
The Pig-Dragon suddenly felt pain, its massive body thrashing wildly in the water, with overwhelming force directly snapping the fishing line laced with force.
The sampan under Chen Shun’an’s feet groaned as if unable to bear the weight, suddenly sinking down, river water instantly submerging his ankles!
Seeing this, Chen Shun’an’s gaze sharpened.
Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit—think you can get off the hook?
Plop!
Chen Shun’an rolled up his sleeves and dove into the water with a powerful leap.
With a series of gurgling bubbles, the Pig-Dragon and Chen Shun’an’s figures gradually vanished from everyone’s sight.
“Oh no, Senior Chen has gone into the water!”
The underwater world was always a forbidden zone of life for humans.
Even for martial artists with excellent water skill, entering the water meant losing three or four tenths of their strength—how could they be a match for a water demon of the same realm?
What’s more, this Pig-Dragon had a notorious reputation and was a frequent visitor to the Black Fork River, appearing every few months to specifically attack Tanka Fishermen during pearl gathering.
The boatman climbed back aboard and glanced at the river heart.
“It’s over…” The boatman’s face was ashen, he closed his eyes, unable to bear watching further.
Those martial artists who had just failed in the rescue also showed dejection, silently rowing their boats to shore.
The entire riverbank fell into dead silence, only the pattering rain and the Tanka Fishermen frantically rowing away from the river heart, breaking the water surface.
Then, from behind the crowd, suddenly came the sound of churning river water.
However, in this oppressive dead silence—
“Up!”
A low yet clear shout came from the river heart!
The crowd turned back in horror, only to see a human figure bursting out of the water—it was Chen Shun’an!
Chen Shun’an’s arms exerted force, muscles bulging, qi and blood surging around his body.
Under the crowd’s shocked gazes, he actually treaded water to steady himself while rawly grabbing the Pig-Dragon’s tail, dragging this thrashing behemoth in the water inch by inch toward the shore!
And in Chen Shun’an’s arms, he was also cradling an unconscious young man.
Finally, under everyone’s gazes of shock as if seeing a ghost, Chen Shun’an yanked fiercely, thoroughly dragging the ferocious Pig-Dragon onto the shallow muddy beach.
One fist smashed down, striking right at its cranial vital point!
“Bang!”
A muffled thud.
The Pig-Dragon immediately went obediently still.
This Pig-Dragon, which had even killed a second-rate expert in the past—and still underwater—had actually been dragged to shore and taken down by someone?
The boatman watched this scene in disbelief, his eyes filled with awe.
And those martial artists who had failed in the rescue earlier understood the intricacies even more clearly.
Rumor had it that this Senior Chen was only second-rate late stage cultivation, but looking at this lightness skill and water skill, even a True Intent Master might be no better, right?
Was the Three Refinements Martial Body really that terrifying?
And those Tanka Fishermen who had previously been somewhat resistant and exclusionary toward Chen Shun’an now felt their faces burning with embarrassment, shamefully lowering their heads.
Chen Shun’an set the young man down.
An experienced old Tanka Fisherman rushed forward, overlapping his palms and pressing hard on the chest for emergency rescue.
After a few presses, the young man shuddered violently, spewing a large mouthful of turbid river water, and blankly opened his eyes,
“What happened to me?”
“What else could it be? Kid, how did you go into deep water again? This time you’re lucky Master Chen stepped in, or you’d have been Pig-Dragon food long ago!”
Hearing this, the young man’s gaze caught sight of the scale-armored, menacing giant beast corpse beside him, now silent, startling him fully awake.
He struggled to turn over, kowtowing ‘dong dong dong’ several times toward Chen Shun’an, heedless of the mud and water on his forehead, his voice choked with post-rescue sobs,
“Thank you, Master Chen, for saving my life! Thank you, Master Chen, for saving my life!”
At this moment, a figure with graying hair staggered through the crowd—it was the old man who a few days ago had entrusted Chen Shun’an to look after his wayward son.
Having received the news on the way, the old man had been scared out of his wits.
Now seeing his son pale-faced but alive, he burst into old tears and ‘plop’ knelt down, choking toward Chen Shun’an,
“Master Chen… thank you, Master Chen, for saving my boy’s life! You are our family’s great benefactor!”
Chen Shun’an circulated his internal energy quietly, steam rising and swirling around him, his soaked robe drying at a visible speed.
“Just doing my duty. In the future, stay away from deep water, don’t make the white-haired send off the black-haired.”
Chen Shun’an’s expression was calm as ever; he patted his waist, and a dagger the length of an arm appeared in his hand.
His eyes sharp as a hawk locked onto a spot below the Pig-Dragon’s throat where the scales were relatively soft.
His strike was like lightning, stabbing in precisely!
In no time, Chen Shun’an dismantled the thousand-jin behemoth as if butchering an ox.
In Chen Shun’an’s eyes, this ferocious man-eating beast seemed no different from slaughtering chicken or duck.
Bloody, gruesome, awe-inspiring to behold.
River wind blew over, carrying a thick bloody stench.
Chen Shun’an casually swished the bloodied dagger in the river water, shook off the droplets, and sheathed it.
He took the barely formed fish dan, a section of crocodilian bone, and about thirty jin of the firmest, most tender tail meat.
“Thanks to everyone for taking care of me these past days; the rest can be Chen Mou treating the folks to a tooth feast. People head to blessed lands, tigers to high mountains—what grudge against this beast? Better to offer it to the five viscera temple!”
“Our green mountains unchanged, green waters ever flowing—we’ll meet again someday!”
……
“Shopkeeper Li, why have you come?”
Just arriving outside the public office at the Three Forked Road, Chen Shun’an saw a familiar figure standing under the green willows.
Shopkeeper Li, seeing Chen Shun’an, immediately came up with a beaming smile.
Chen Shun’an had never seen Shopkeeper Li smile so brightly, like a blooming chrysanthemum; he could even see his gold-inlaid molars.
Shopkeeper Li cupped his hands and said,
“Brother Chen, congratulations, congratulations—a huge piece of good news.”
“Ah?”
Chen Shun’an was somewhat puzzled.
Wasn’t it said that the winds were tight lately, telling us to watch our words and actions? What good news could there be?
Could it be…
Chen Shun’an’s heart stirred.
Shopkeeper Li said: “Effective immediately, Brother Chen is promoted to shopkeeper of Black Sand Well on Wusheng Street! Here’s the transfer letter, water map, and seal.”
With that, Shopkeeper Li waved his hand.
A servant behind him held a redwood tray with a letter, a scroll of silk paper like a map, and a square red seal.
What? So sudden?
Chen Shun’an was stunned for a moment.
The letter’s content was nothing more than in Zhao Guangxi’s tone, some words of praise and encouragement, along with Chen Shun’an’s specific transfer order, recording the year, month, day to take up post as Black Sand Well shopkeeper.
At the end, there was a separate page listing the names, realms, backgrounds, resumes, and the previous Black Sand Well shopkeeper’s evaluations of the current 38 water carriers on duty at Black Sand Well.
The water map depicted in detail the streets and alleys, stone bridges, gate towers, mansions, shops, waterways, etc., within the Black Sand Well jurisdiction.
Special clients, certain consulates, clan offices, etc., were particularly marked with notes.
Everything in perfect order, every aspect covered—not to mention anything else, just this water map alone was something many would break their heads to glimpse.
The finer details, Chen Shun’an had no time to look at now.
At this moment, he was entirely enveloped in a feeling of joyous surprise.
