“Hm?” Zhao Xing pricked his ears, listening to the direction of the wind.
“What’s wrong, Young Master?” After Old Eight Xu boarded the boat, he shook the water out of his ears; he had dived a bit too enthusiastically just now.
“Shh, don’t make a sound.”
Old Eight Xu immediately froze, his expression a bit stiff. Were there dirty things? Surely not? He had paid respects to Lord Donghu earlier today, and his heart was very sincere! He really wasn’t thinking about the Wang family’s wife when he paid his respects.
“Row that way.” Zhao Xing pointed in a direction. At the same time, his Clear Eyes began to apply Spell, expanding its scanning range.
Although there was lake water obstructing the view, at a depth of over ten meters, as long as it wasn’t too murky, Zhao Xing could see clearly.
“Oh, oh!” Old Eight Xu paddled the boat with all his might. He didn’t dare to ask too many questions now. Clearly, this Young Master wasn’t doing this for the first time. He felt that Zhao Xing was even better at looking than river scavengers.
“What exactly are the wandering spirits subconsciously avoiding? Cold, light – these match the characteristics of the Donghu Pearl, but for a Donghu Pearl to influence a ghost, its quality would have to be at least Third Grade, right?”
Zhao Xing concentrated on casting his Spell, his Clear Eyes never stopping. It was currently approaching the Dingmao hour, which was when the ghost Luck was strongest.
If he couldn’t find it within a quarter of an hour, it would be very difficult to find it afterward.
The so-called strong and weak moments of Luck meant that when it was strong, you could pick up treasures just by walking, but when it was weak, you wouldn’t recognize a treasure even if it fell into your hand.
“If there’s still no harvest during the second Dingmao hour, I’m afraid it will be difficult to capture anything during the third Dingmao hour.” Zhao Xing picked up a bamboo pole and, along with Old Eight Xu, exerted force, heading in the direction of the wind.
After paddling vigorously for half a quarter of an hour, Zhao Xing’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Stop!”
Deep in the lake bottom, there was a hidden reef, and beneath the reef lay a dead turtle, holding a pale blue pearl in its mouth.
Because the hidden reef grew in a crisscrossing pattern, it couldn’t be seen from the other three directions on the water surface; only from Zhao Xing’s position could this pearl be seen.
“A turtle? So that’s what it meant. I thought it was just some nonsensical ghost talk… Old Eight Xu, how deep can you dive?”
Old Eight Xu patted his chest proudly, saying, “Within thirty meters, it’s all within Old Eight Xu’s grasp.”
Zhao Xing nodded and said, “Good. You can go down from here. After diving fifteen meters, you’ll find a hidden reef cluster about ten meters square. To the south side of the reef, there’s a crisscross point. Go down diagonally three feet and seven inches, and you’ll be able to touch the treasure!”
“Alright! Young Master, watch me!” Seeing Zhao Xing so confident, Old Eight Xu rubbed his hands together and jumped into the water.
Zhao Xing, meanwhile, observed quietly from the boat.
Old Eight Xu truly hadn’t exaggerated; he dived down very easily. Following Zhao Xing’s directions, he effortlessly found the blue pearl in the turtle’s mouth.
Then, Old Eight Xu slowly ascended, and a faint blue light also slowly rippled in the water.
“Young Master, Young Master! There really is a treasure!” Old Eight Xu was also excited.
“Come up quickly.” Zhao Xing hurriedly pulled him onto the boat.
“Hiss, hiss~” Old Eight Xu threw the pearl onto the small boat. After getting on, he kept gasping for air. On such a hot day, he actually felt a bit cold, and it was all because of this pearl.
“A Fourth Grade Donghu Pearl, and an extremely rare Ice Pearl. This quality… should it be considered Fourth Grade Medium Grade?” Zhao Xing picked up the pearl and examined it in his hand.
A chill emanated from his hand, as if he were holding a block of ice.
Old Eight Xu couldn’t handle it, but Zhao Xing, being at the Third Grade of Qi Gathering, had no problem.
“Congratulations, Young Master! You’ve obtained a Third Grade Donghu Pearl.” Old Eight Xu quickly offered his congratulations. He couldn’t tell it was Fourth Grade, thinking it was only Third Grade, as he had never seen a Fourth Grade one in his life.
“I should thank you for this.” Zhao Xing smiled slightly, putting away the pearl. “After we go back, there will be a reward for you.”
“Thank you, Young Master.” Old Eight Xu’s face showed joy. According to their agreement, he didn’t get a share of the profits, but if the boss was happy enough to give him a reward, that was an unexpected bonus.
As river scavengers, they didn’t often receive rewards, because if it were a sure profit, the river scavengers would do it themselves. This kind of work still carried a significant risk of loss.
“Just this one pearl is enough to be considered getting rich overnight,” Zhao Xing thought to himself.
A Fourth Grade Donghu Pearl was a treasure produced by a ‘houbian’ (a ten-year transformation), and even then, it was only possible to appear after a ten-year houbian. As for an Ice Pearl, that was even rarer; it could sell for at least five hundred taels!
“A Fourth Grade Ice Pearl is most beneficial to a Martial Artist. It can minimize the damage to the body when Cultivating fire-element Cultivation Technique or Martial Skill, and it can also be used to assist in Cultivating water-element Cultivation Technique. If the right buyer is found, it’s not unusual for the price to double.”
Having obtained a treasure, Zhao Xing’s mood also brightened considerably.
Originally, after finding the Ice Pearl, he could have gone back, but since he was already here and there was still another Dingmao hour, he shouldn’t miss it. Who would complain about having too much money?
Over the next half an hour, the ghost Luck declined.
However, with his Clear Eyes, Zhao Xing found over a dozen First Grade Donghu Pearls.
Old Eight Xu was simply full of admiration for Zhao Xing.
Every time he went into the water, there was a harvest, never coming up empty-handed. How could anyone not be impressed?
When he told the story back home, even his boss probably wouldn’t believe him!
… … … …
Time passed. Zhao Xing didn’t find anything good in the next hour, only finding a single emerald-studded earring, he didn’t know which noble lady had dropped it while boating.
“A single one, not a pair, is probably only worth seven or eight taels.”
“But we can go back now.” Zhao Xing looked at the almanac.
It was already the fourth quarter of the Hai hour. There would be no more harvests after this, especially after the Zi hour; attempting to get ghost wealth then would only bring bad Luck.
“Old Eight Xu, let’s go back.” Zhao Xing decided to call it a day.
“Alright!” Old Eight Xu was also content. Today’s achievements would be enough for him to boast to his companions for a long time.
“Ah—”
“Someone fell into the water!”
“Big boat, quickly go over and save them!”
Suddenly, voices came with the wind. Old Eight Xu paused, then turned to ask Zhao Xing, “Young Master, it seems someone fell into the water over there.”
“I see it, but someone has already gone into the water to rescue them. No need for us to worry.”
“That’s true. Nine out of ten people on Donghu can swim.” Old Eight Xu began to row towards the shore.
After passing a grassy cove, they happened to encounter river lanterns floating by, illuminating the cove.
In the grassy cove, a small boat was moored, and a young girl stood on it—it was Lin Baiwei, whom they had seen earlier.
Seeing the big boat and the lotus lanterns drifting over, she couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression.
Especially the appearance of Zhao Xing and Old Eight Xu made her even more flustered. Because she was soaked, her graceful figure was faintly visible in the light of the lotus lanterns, and what worried her even more was that her aunt was still in the water.
If the big boat came over and people gathered to watch, it would be a public execution.
“This…” Old Eight Xu quickly lowered his head, preparing to go around.
“No need for such trouble.” Zhao Xing stopped him, then the Cloud Movement Spell enveloped the entire grassy cove, concealing both Lin Baiwei and Lin Sanniang.
“Thank you.” A faint, mosquito-like voice came with the wind.
Zhao Xing and Old Eight Xu went ashore.