Chapter 156: Twin Fish Treasure Hunting, Shocking Discovery
In the Grand Canal.
Golden Scaled Perch and Silver Scholar, one in front of the other, glided silently through the water bottom.
In Silver Scholar’s mouth was still a Golden Head Overlord, like a compass, buzzing and trembling lightly from time to time, guiding the two fish to potential treasures.
Before the two fish entered the water, Chen Shun’an had earnestly instructed them—
“Stay far away from people,” “Look for glowing things, fish you’ve never seen, and very hard things,” “If you encounter fish you want to eat, bite at most one mouthful, and bring it to the High God,” “Don’t go to water marshes that look like ox horns,” “Golden Scaled Perch, don’t open your mouth, there’s a Golden Head Overlord in your mouth, if something happens to the Golden Head Overlord, you’ll be held accountable,” “If you encounter something strange you can’t figure out, call my divine name”…
It was both a survival guide and precautions for treasure hunting underwater.
Of course, for Golden Scaled Perch, no matter how much Chen Shun’an said, it was useless.
It couldn’t remember.
Mainly, it relied on Silver Scholar, acting as the doghead military advisor with strong self-management ability, constraining the two fish and one insect.
When Silver Scholar learned that the High God was actually letting it return to the water marsh, it was overjoyed and agreed without thinking.
Although there were various overlord clauses, although it was moving from a small cage to a slightly larger cage, although it still had to report regularly…
But at least it didn’t have to stay cooped up in a small fish tank, where even gnawing fish heads was discriminated against by other miscellaneous fish.
Silver Scholar’s thoughts were very complicated.
Golden Scaled Perch, on the other hand, seemed very happy, stirring up large swaths of mud and sand at the water bottom, carefully nibbling on water algae and swimming insects.
The sadness between fish and fish is not shared.
Its intelligence was very low.
The water bottom was pitch black, and the two fish drifted with the current.
In the mud and sand, clam shells of various sizes gradually increased.
The shells were gray and dusty, blending perfectly with the surroundings, especially with gullies everywhere this time and the water black, making it extremely hard for human eyes to distinguish unless getting close and searching carefully.
But for the two fish, it was obviously no problem.
But faint sounds of oars entering the water and Tanka Fishermen diving came from overhead.
The two fish did not stop, gradually swimming toward deeper water.
The pearls here had mostly been harvested, leaving only empty shells.
Moreover, the quality was mostly poor, just white; yellowish pearls were extremely rare.
‘Chir chir chir~’
A not-too-urgent grasshopper call suddenly muffled out from Golden Scaled Perch’s mouth.
Golden Scaled Perch’s mouth and gills suddenly bulged, and it quickly pressed them with its own fins.
“Alright, got it, stop calling.”
Golden Head Overlord immediately quieted down.
The two fish followed the sound, and soon found a clam shell the size of a sea bowl beside the wreckage of a sunken ship.
Silver Scholar circled the clam shell once, found a suitable opening, and rammed its head hard; with a cracking sound, the clam shell revealed a thin slit, emitting faint yellowish light.
Golden Scaled Perch immediately took over, slamming its round body under the upper and lower shells, with the momentum of one man guarding the pass against ten thousand, forcibly prying open the clam shell.
There was seen an Eastern Pearl with smooth texture, crystal-clear luster, thumb-sized, lying quietly in the clam flesh.
Silver Scholar quickly drilled in, gently and precisely parting the clam flesh, leaving only a tiny wound, and pushed out that Eastern Pearl.
It turned to Golden Scaled Perch and said: “Open your mouth.”
It immediately pushed this Eastern Pearl into Golden Scaled Perch’s mouth, and dug out an ordinary white Eastern Pearl from Golden Scaled Perch’s mouth.
Golden Head Overlord choked on a mouthful of water and buzzed discontentedly twice.
Silver Scholar then placed the white Eastern Pearl back into the clam flesh.
If nothing unexpected happened, this clam shell would gradually heal and wrap this white Eastern Pearl, continuing to produce pearls.
After doing this, the two fish and one insect quickly left to find the next treasure.
Clam shells that could nurture yellowish pearls were at least three or four decades old.
For ordinary Tanka Fishermen, pearl gathering underwater was extremely difficult, almost impossible to successfully extract pearls without killing the clam shell.
They could only kill the chicken to get the eggs.
But for these water spirits, they had their own methods in harmony with heaven and man.
In the following period, the two fish and one insect continued patrolling the waters near Sancha River.
Not only did they harvest another seven or eight yellowish pearls, but even a longan-sized green Xuan bead.
Stuffing Golden Scaled Perch’s mouth full, like a bubbling big steamed bun.
Squeezing Golden Head Overlord into constant complaints, like a resentful woman in the inner chambers.
Besides that, the two fish also found some sunken ships, sunken wood, unrecognizable antiques like basins and covered bowls…
But none had any spiritual treasure light.
At this time, the two fish swam to a Turning Bay with eerie water currents.
The water grass here was ferocious like ghost hands, the river channel abruptly turned, and underwater it was filled with yin energy.
Several river drifters, entangled by water grass and pressed by large stones, bobbed up and down in the water, their faces blurred and terrifying.
River drifters were floating corpses in the water.
Not necessarily drownings; Wuqing County was a mix of fish and dragons, plus Sancha River was such a prime place for destroying corpses and traces.
Every year, besides drowning victims, many violently killed people were also dumped into Sancha River.
Moreover, Turning Bay here had special terrain, trapping wind and gathering energy, so many river drifters from upstream gathered here.
Dead people were still people.
Although the two fish had no taboos against ghosts, gods, or corpses, following Chen Shun’an’s orders, they still detoured far around the river drifters, preparing to treasure hunt elsewhere.
Suddenly, the water surface tore open a crack.
A seven-or-eight-zhang hooked long pole stabbed straight to the water bottom like a venomous dragon!
Silver Scholar reacted quickly, its tail whipping fiercely, pushing and colliding to bring Golden Scaled Perch darting to the side.
Then faint voices came from the water surface,
“Eh? There seemed to be something at the water bottom just now, like a precious fish?”
“It ran, too fast… Never mind, fish grown in this ghostly place are mostly used to eating human flesh, inauspicious; hurry and recover the bodies.”
“Alright… By the way, has that river drifter floated over? Brothers have been coming for days straight and haven’t fished it up.”
“Almost, let’s work.”
Sancha Body Recovery Team?
Silver Scholar and Golden Scaled Perch stirred up mud and sand at the water bottom, silently hiding under the sand and stone.
Hearing this, Silver Scholar’s heart stirred.
Where there were river drifters, there was naturally the trade of recovering river drifters.
Sancha Body Recovery Team was funded jointly by merchants, fishing markets, and several large shipping companies at Banye Ferry Crossing, forming a civilian body recovery team.
Each had excellent water skills, superb martial arts, and tough fates!
After all, to recover corpses underwater, without some sheep blade murder, lone star widow constellations, strong body gods and evils, clashing fate, one couldn’t eat this bowl of rice.
The body recovery team rowed the boat, using hooked long poles to rake the water bottom.
Encountering those few river drifters, the hooked long poles poked at the corpses, seemingly distinguishing the feel, but did not recover them, instead heading to the next target.
Seeming to be searching for something.
Soon, a suppressed surprised voice came.
“This feel is off, seems like the good stuff!”
Silver Scholar then saw the hooked long pole rake out from the drifting water grass a corpse block almost unrecognizable as human, like a blood lump.
The other river drifters, soaked underwater for many days, were either bloated and rotten or covered in river moss, long and fine like hair.
They might even attract fish and shrimp to nibble.
But this corpse block was hard as iron, bone fragments like jade, with lingering might, emanating a ferocious baleful aura that frightened the water spirits.
Several poles struck together, yet the corpse block didn’t budge, weighing terrifyingly heavy.
Plop!
Successive sounds of entering the water rang out.
Several body recovery people wearing special hoods and tight fish skin garments, not exposing any skin, swam down.
Seeing that corpse block, the several body recovery people were both somewhat surprised and somewhat timid.
Circling the corpse block, they bowed and kowtowed several times, then used ox tendon ropes-wrapped hemp ropes to bind the corpse block, pulling it up together toward the surface.
Silver Scholar stared with its fish eyes, bright and alert.
Golden Scaled Perch was about to fall asleep.
Then, Silver Scholar faintly heard the group of body recovery people discussing and distinguishing something, vaguely catching words like ‘Iron Buddha’, ‘Nie Zheng’, ‘mourning hall’, ‘hiding corpse’.
Nie Zheng?
This name sounded somewhat familiar?
Seemed heard somewhere before.
Silver Scholar racked its brains.
Golden Scaled Perch drowsed off.
The boat on the water gradually rowed toward the shore; Silver Scholar glanced at Golden Scaled Perch and shook its head helplessly.
Fish teammate!
Silver Scholar whipped its tail hard on Golden Scaled Perch’s face, cursing,
“You lazy thief, hurry and follow!”
Golden Scaled Perch, nose bruised and face swollen, followed behind Silver Scholar.
……
Half a incense stick later, Silver Scholar quietly surfaced.
Night was dim and murky.
River Wind wrapped in fishy smell swept over the reed marsh; by the shore, only a few fishing fires floated in the mist like ghostly eyes.
Those body recovery people rowed into the reed clumps, lifted the blue cloth oilcloth on the boat, looked around, and together carried the corpse block in the sack ashore.
Only heard whistles from the reed marsh; someone came from the shore to meet them, driving a horse-drawn carriage with several corpses on it.
Placing the corpse block on the carriage, the body recovery people then took off their fish skin garments, removed their hoods, pretended to have just recovered corpses from elsewhere, and drove away.
Silver Scholar looked in the direction the several people left.
Over there, there seemed to be a mourning hall.
Silver Scholar’s eyes showed contemplation, seeming to be thinking about something.
Then it didn’t figure it out.
“Forget it, report to the High God!”
Silver Scholar immediately decided, sank into the water, rummaged in the river channel, found some oddly shaped stone blocks, some still glowing, piled them into a small circle like a miniature altar.
It also slapped Golden Scaled Perch, making it spit out a yellowish pearl, placed in the center of the circle as some kind of offering.
Then, it looked at the still-dazed Golden Scaled Perch and felt somewhat proud,
“Among the High God’s subordinates, the first general is none other than I, Silver Scholar!”
……
After drinking flower wine, Chen Shun’an ruthlessly pushed away the apricot-faced peach-cheeked pure courtesan willing to offer her first pure body.
Got off the boat, walked toward the public office residence.
As long as Zhao Guanghui lived, Chen Shun’an was terrified even visiting brothels, afraid another ‘Xiao Man’ would appear and leave him penniless.
He, Chen Shun’an, had worked hard to save some family assets, was it easy!
Night deepened; water vapor from the river surface drifted into the alleys; late-returning fishermen shivered, wetly coming ashore, tying their sampans to wooden piles.
Seeing Chen Shun’an’s brocade clothes, the fishermen couldn’t help showing awe, afraid their fishy smell would offend Chen Shun’an, so they stood by the shore, making way.
Seeing this, Chen Shun’an felt a momentary daze, vaguely feeling the current fishermen were like him before.
Just like this, cautious and careful, yielding the road, not daring to disturb the noble person patrolling the street.
“Power and influence…”
