Tongtian Square pier.
“Five baskets of assorted fish, how does one White Jade Coin sound?” a skinny man fiddled with Chen Mu’s catch and said.
That… that’s one White Jade Coin?
Thinking of how many baskets of fish the Five Ghosts Bag had devoured, Chen Mu’s face twitched.
What it ate wasn’t fish, it ate White Jade Coins!
“Fine,” Chen Mu said wearily.
He returned the boat and went straight back to Low Mountain courtyard.
“There’s no rush to get the deposit back, since I’ll have to rent a boat again tomorrow anyway.”
“Actually, this is a pretty good source of income,” Chen Mu perked up.
He had the magical bait, along with the Heartless Bell and the Five Ghosts Bag, making fishing ridiculously easy.
“No need to go after those large and fearsome Exotic Beasts, too dangerous.”
“Just focus on small fry like the ones today.”
“It’s so easy to make money!”
Chen Mu’s eyes inadvertently lit up.
“I can totally do this!”
…
For seven or eight consecutive days, Chen Mu practiced the Hundred Intentions Illusion Breaking Technique in the mornings, and around three in the afternoon, he went fishing on the Tongtian River.
Improved magical bait to stupefy, the Heartless Bell to finish off, the Five Ghosts Bag to capture.
Just find a calm water bay, and in less than an hour, five or six baskets of fish could be caught.
The rest were all fed to the Five Ghosts Bag.
Although the Five Ghosts Bag still showed no signs of growth, Chen Mu didn’t mind.
“One a day, thirty a month, an unexpected windfall!”
That was enough to cover a third of his expenses.
“If it weren’t for the worry of attracting attention from the people at the pier, I could earn even more!” Chen Mu lamented.
Where there are people, there is the Jianghu.
And there were a few small organizations at the pier that exploited the fishermen.
“Lucky that I only catch small mixed fish about half a meter long,” Chen Mu commented, quite proud of his own wisdom.
Just catch the small fish, a maximum of six baskets each time, and safely and securely make money!
He was thinking about how to balance his cultivation and fishing time.
Suddenly, a fishbone boat rushed towards him.
“Are you Chen Mu?” Ai Ji asked with impatience on his face.
Chen Mu glanced at the reckless Ai Ji, then at Xu Rao gripping the steering wheel, face gloomy.
Hmm, Gongsun Sheng’s cover probably hasn’t been blown yet.
So Chen Mu earnestly looked at the two and said, “No, I’m not!”
Ai Ji paused, then turned to look at Xu Rao.
“Ding Si, the No. 9 boat, that’s him,” Xu Rao said, his face growing colder.
Ai Ji almost laughed in anger: “Trying to fool your uncle, huh!”
They know my boat number?
Was it the pier’s old goat-bearded man who spilled the beans?
Damn old man! Definitely took a bribe!
“What can I do for you gentlemen?” Chen Mu feigned caution.
Thinking about the antics of the Wu Mountain seven brothers, Chen Mu figured it out.
I’m just selling some small fish, and now I’ve caught your eye?
“Last night you played dice with us, lost, and ended up broke,” Xu Rao said.
“To clear your gambling debts, you decided to sell yourself to us to work for two years and seven months.”
“Here’s the debt note, sign it. Tomorrow, you’ll get on our boat to fish for us,” Ai Ji said smoothly, tossing a palm-length scroll to Chen Mu.
Dice? Ruin? A debt note?
This blatant?
“I…”
Before Chen Mu could finish speaking, Ai Ji waved his hand dismissively, clearly impatient, and interrupted.
Then whoosh, Ai Ji leapt onto Chen Mu’s boat: “Thinking of resisting, huh? The ones before you thought the same.”
His right arm quickly became covered with Jet Black Soul Strength.
Then the Soul Strength piled up and compressed at his wrist, resembling coils of Iron Rings being stacked.
“Hurry up! Use all your strength. The quicker we finish, the sooner you can sign!” Ai Ji urged, clearly impatient.
Chen Mu: “…”
Are you that practiced? How many times have you done this?!
He couldn’t help but sigh.
Before, he thought the Wu Mountain seven brothers had been scared straight by Mo Wuzhou.
Turned out they just switched their line of business.
And damn his luck, it landed right on his head!
There was no way he could start a fight, a dead person could very likely cause trouble.
The United Heart Curse would be much simpler.
“Gongsun Sheng’s disguise seems like it can’t be maintained,” Chen Mu thought resignedly as he activated the United Heart Rope.
He was just about to reveal his identity when he saw the previously ferocious-looking Ai Ji suddenly change color.
The right fist that he had pulled back, ready to gather force and originally covered with a Jet Black Soul Strength resembling an iron ring, suddenly disappeared.
Not only that, but Ai Ji even scratched his head pretentiously, as if his threatening punch was just a playful gesture.
Then he awkwardly flashed a big grin and laughed dumbly, “Have you eaten?”
Chen Mu: “…”
He looked baffled at Ai Ji and then at Xu Rao on the opposite boat, who was smiling an uglier smile than a cry, completely at a loss.
What the hell?
“Still… signing?” Chen Mu asked cautiously, feeling that something was off.
Ai Ji broke into a sweat on his forehead. Sign? If that deed of sale were seen by Gongsun Sheng, wouldn’t they be finished?!
Xu Rao steering the boat also couldn’t help but tense up, staring hard at Ai Ji.
Don’t you dare say the wrong thing; otherwise, I’ll kill you first!
“Sign… a sales contract?” Ai Ji gasped heavily, drenched in sweat.
I finally caught on to the conversation!
“We’re all so familiar, why sign a sales contract, I’ll take all your fish catches from now on!” Ai Ji waved his hand grandly and said with relief.
“The folks on the dock will fleece you; you’ll earn more selling to me.”
“We’ll trade in cash, no monthly accounts.”
“Such generous terms, only the Wu Mountain seven brothers can offer.”
“Selling to me won’t leave you at a loss, and I’ll make money too, it’s the best of both worlds!”
Ai Ji, afraid that Chen Mu would speak up, rambled on incoherently.
Chen Mu: “…”
Something was definitely off here.
“The price is negotiable, you’ll be satisfied!” Ai Ji continued on solemnly.
Chen Mu glanced at the babbling Ai Ji and then at the extremely nervous Xu Rao.
The price… is negotiable?
“Then… ten White Jade Coins?”
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Ai Ji: “…”
Extorting me?!
You actually dare to extort me?!
“Fine!”
Chen Mu: “…”
Did he sense the perceptual connection of the United Heart Rope?
It seems like they are really scared that I saw their wrongdoing…
Watching Ai Ji, who clearly looked ready to devour him, yet reluctantly handed over ten White Jade Coins through gritted teeth.
Chen Mu narrowed his eyes and curled the corner of his mouth.
Oh roar, seems like I’ve discovered a new source of wealth, haha…
…
For three days in a row, Chen Mu had been using the United Heart Rope to keep tabs on the Wu Mountain seven brothers.
He found that this bunch really was up to no good.
Just like they used to trick people into farming for them.
This time they were duping people into fishing for them.
With the threat of force, contracts for proof, they even seemed to have bribed the dock managers.
And they targeted those who were small fry, catching miscellaneous fish, not strong, with no backing.
They were actually thriving for a while.
And as soon as he connected with them through the United Heart Rope, these guys would immediately change their tune, turning from fearsome thugs to gentlemen in an instant.
Their expressions sincere, their words earnest, their voices gentle.
If he hadn’t encountered Ai Ji and Xu Rao in person and known what they were up to.
Just by perceptual connection, he would have never spotted anything amiss!
They can act this well?
Has the threshold for being a bad guy gotten this high?
“Talents indeed!”