“Where’s Shang Huan?”
“That fat guy wouldn’t listen to advice and renewed for another month’s worth of fees,” Old Hao said, curling his lip in disapproval, “He hasn’t mastered the secret technique; staying at the dojo for a year is just a waste of money!”
“Maybe he’ll succeed this time,” Chen Mu chuckled.
It was unclear whether the distance was too great or if the Upper Court had special restrictions that blocked transmission.
The United Heart Rope could connect, but the information received was always blurred.
“Forget about him, let’s go. We’ll go back to farming and save money, and try again next year,” Old Hao said, waving his hand indifferently.
“You have a really good attitude, sir. At your age, you’re not discouraged by failure and still have the courage to try again; admirable!” Chen Mu gave a thumbs up in admiration.
“If you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak at all!” Old Hao rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“I’m young with plenty of time. Why should I be discouraged?”
Chen Mu: “…”
Did I just judge someone by their appearance again?
Fine…
Although the old man had lived over sixty years, who could blame him if he could live another sixty?
Indeed… his age was not considered much.
…
Days passed and the moon phased, time kept flowing.
One month later, in the Xinyou District, at Lu Ku’s residence.
“Another one gone?” Lu Ku frowned deeply.
“This is the third one,” Yu Lin said with a resonance to his voice.
“The individuals chosen were indeed capable.”
“Once given enough benefit, they were more active than anyone else.”
“And they were well-informed, always able to find good fishermen for catching assorted fish. Using a mix of both carrot and stick, they managed to bring in more than twenty people.”
“But for some reason, they always seem to disappear mysteriously.”
“Is someone picking a fight?!” Ai Ji asked fiercely.
“That shouldn’t be the case. The groups at the dock are only eyeing the exotic beast materials and don’t care about the meager profits from miscellaneous fish,” Wu Ruo said with narrowed eyes.
“Did they run off?” Xu Rao’s face clouded over.
“Impossible,” Yu Lin shook his head. “Working for us, they earn five times more in a month than before. Why would they run away?”
The group lapsed into deep thought.
What exactly was going on?
“Could it be…” Shi Xian suddenly spoke up, furrowing her brow tightly.
The others turned to look.
“What have you thought of?” Ai Ji asked eagerly.
Shi Xian wore a serious expression, “Could they have fallen into the water and drowned!”
Ai Ji: “…”
“You might as well say the fish ate them!” Ai Ji rolled his eyes, “At least that’s somewhat plausible.”
“Makes sense!” Shi Xian looked at Ai Ji admiringly.
The rest: “…” They should have known better than to rely on this scatterbrain!
“Tell them to stop,” Lu Ku massaged his temples.
Lately, he felt that things were not going smoothly, as if they had offended some deity or spirit…
…
At Tongtian River, in an unnamed river bend.
A burly man with a scarred face, accompanied by two other broad-shouldered, beefy men, steered a fishbone boat straight towards Chen Mu’s fishbone boat.
They stopped abruptly just before the collision.
The surging water rocked Chen Mu’s boat violently from side to side.
The three men laughed raucously, looking mockingly at Chen Mu.
“Chen Mu?” the leader with the scarred face asked menacingly.
“You…”
“I gambled with you guys last night, lost everything, and went broke,” Chen Mu said expressionlessly.
The man with the scarred face paused, “Ah, right!”
“You…”
“I can’t pay back the money, so I sold myself to you, to work for two and a half years,” Chen Mu sighed.
“Hold on,” the scar-faced man pulled out a scroll, “Two years and six months will do.”
Chen Mu rolled his eyes.
As if there’s a difference!
“Are you guys from the Wu Mountain Seven Brothers?”
Great, worried about being targeted by me, they don’t want to get involved, so they’re using a proxy?
“What crap Wu Mountain Seven Brothers,” the man with the scarred face said irritably, “We’re from the Fishermen’s Alliance!”
I might as well be from the Avengers!
“Qi Forbidden Hundred Miles!”
Crack!
Underneath the scar-faced man’s fishbone boat, as if seized by an invisible hand.
Four immense cracks appeared suddenly.
With great force, the wooden fragments flew, and the tough fish bones were instantly snapped.
Five brawny men plunged headfirst into the water.
Just when they tried to flop towards Chen Mu’s boat, they were pushed under the water by an invisible hand.
Crunch…
A muffled crunch followed, and their entire bodies were twisted and mangled in an instant.
Like a flood dragon, the Five Ghosts Black Smoke suddenly burst out underwater, devouring all five men in a single gulp!
Via the connected sensation, Chen Mu glanced at the Wu Mountain siblings who were still diligently training and couldn’t help but sigh.
“Without the Wu Mountain siblings, now there’s the Fishermen’s Alliance.”
“The world is truly in chaos, earning a bit more money just brings trouble!”
“I was also careless,” Chen Mu shook his head.
How could he have imagined that earning a single White Jade Coin in a day would be seen by ordinary fishermen as the work of an expert at catching sundry fish!
After encountering two malicious individuals one after another, Chen Mu finally remembered.
Earning four to five White Jade Coins per month is the norm for an ordinary disciple of the Lower Courtyard on Jilong Road.
“This business can’t be done anymore,” Chen Mu sighed.
Now, anyone with a bit of sense already knew of his reputation. The man with the scarred face was already the fourth wave of people.
And that damn goateed old man even took bribes!
“And there’s this Fishermen’s Alliance,” Chen Mu said, annoyed, “Don’t let me find out who came up with this damn thing.”
…
“Today can only be the last day,” Chen Mu sighed, “I can’t come back here for a while.”
“I need to wait for my notoriety to fade,” Chen Mu planned in secret, “Just come occasionally for a little extra income, it can’t be a long-term thing.”
“This time I’ve got to catch a big one,” Chen Mu was determined.
He wasn’t going for proficiency anymore.
He scattered large amounts of intoxicating bait, repeatedly ringing the Heartless Bell. More than ten bamboo baskets were quickly filled.
Chen Mu continued, tossing the catches directly into the Five Ghosts Bag.
Since he might not come back for several months, he might as well feed the Five Ghosts Bag its fill all at once.
At evening, the setting sun cast a golden red sheen on the surface of the river.
Squinting against the glinting light, Chen Mu finally stopped, still feeling unsatisfied, “That’s enough.”
Looking at the murky water bay, Chen Mu couldn’t help but smile.
He thought back to the days in Qingshan County, where he practiced the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse from dawn to dusk, never leaving until it was dark.
“From now on, you can’t eat that much,” Chen Mu patted the Five Ghosts Bag on his chest with a laugh.
“There’s said to be a dragon here.”
“What if you actually attract the Dragon King? Haha…”
Roar!
A deafening roar suddenly erupted from the horizon.
Chen Mu, like a duck whose neck was squeezed, had his mocking laughter abruptly stuck in his throat.
The roar was long and deep, as if it resounded in the depths of his heart. The entire Tongtian River fell silent. Even the sound of the flowing water mysteriously disappeared! empire
Chen Mu’s scalp tightened instantaneously.
Could it be?!
Boom!
An explosive sound burst forth north of the river bend.
Chen Mu quickly turned his head.
He saw a huge figure hundreds of meters long burst from the water.
With a serpent’s body, crocodile’s head, lizard’s legs, eagle’s claws, deer’s antlers, black scales, whiskers at the corners of its mouth, and clouds swirling around it.
A dragon?!
Chen Mu was frozen on the spot.
All I did was catch some fish, and now I’ve really drawn a dragon?!
Crack!
The black dragon opened its mouth, and a scarlet lightning bolt suddenly flew towards the ground.
Boom!
The earth shattered!
Even from a great distance, the rocks on the nearby bank were shattered to pieces by the shock.
The sky stirred as clouds billowed, and the Tongtian River suddenly surged with waves.
“Dong Li!”
A voice roared like thunder.
The dragon bent its body, like a spring compressed to the extreme, and with a sonic boom, it shot out into the air.
As if teleporting, it vanished on the spot!
It took Chen Mu a good while to come to his senses.
Dong Li?
The Sect Master of Jilong Road, Dong Li the Daoist?
This dragon is targeting Jilong Road!
This is bad!