Ox-Horn Pomfret

The bottom of the water lay in silence, sunlight scattering into fine, dense lines of brightness. The Fat Catfish crouched flat in the silt, utterly still, its blue-brown skin blending almost perfectly into its surroundings. If Liang Qu could not sense it, there would be almost no telling that a ferocious predatory beast was lying here. At Liang Qu's arrival, the Fat Catfish flicked its tail, stirring up a small puff of silt, and blew a bubble from its mouth. Following its indication, Liang Qu looked in that direction. Beneath a rock thick with algae, two pomfrets — one large, one small — nestled together. Strangely, though, each of the two fish had a pair of small horns growing from its head! Treasure fish. Without a doubt, treasure fish! Shaped like pomfrets yet with two horns sprouting from their heads — anyone could tell at a glance that these fish were extraordinary. In his original life as a fisherman at the very bottom of the heap, Liang Qu had often heard of people catching treasure fish, but had seen them only rarely — and not just him; most fishermen in Yixing were the same. Still, the fishermen had their own way of judging a treasure fish: a treasure fish must carry some extraordinary sign! A bit like the seventy-two black moles on Emperor Gaozu of Han's thigh, or Xiang Yu's double pupils. The tiger-head grouper from neighboring Lianshui Wharf, for one, bore strange markings shaped like tiger stripes; the fisherman who caught it was certain it was a treasure fish, and in the end it proved to be exactly that. As he gazed at the two fish, one large and one small, Liang Qu's face lit up with excitement. He had never imagined that the treasure fish he had failed to find for days would turn up as two at once today! Ah Fei really was a lucky star. The two ox-horn pomfrets had no idea they had been marked, and went on playing beneath the rock. Behind the rock, one man and two beasts crouched in silence, not striking rashly. Liang Qu watched for a long while and found a cave under the rock where the fish played — likely their den. To guard against other exits inside it, he had to wait until they came out before attempting the capture. He sent the Fat Catfish around by another route to lie in ambush on the far side, while he tied one end of the fishing net to the Sow Dragon's tail. Man and beast split apart, slowly spreading the net. A fishing net was actually a precious resource. He had not owned one to begin with — this net was only borrowed after he treated Li Libo to a meal. Then came the quiet waiting. Whenever he was about to run out of air, Liang Qu took out the inflated pig bladder float, pressed it over his mouth, and drew breath from it. The air inside had a strong gamey stench, but for the sake of treasure fish, it was all worth it. Only after the better part of an hour, once the pig bladder float had gone flat, did the ox-horn pomfrets beneath the great rock stir. The two fish drifted gradually away from the cave, as if heading out to feed. Once they had moved several meters from the cave mouth, Liang Qu saw his chance and urgently signaled the Fat Catfish to strike! At the command, the Fat Catfish, lurking beneath the silt, quivered, folded its body into a curve, and in an instant sprang out like a launched bolt, churning up great clouds of mud in the water — a truly thunderous arrival. The two-meter six-whisker catfish's charge was astonishing, and it terrified the ox-horn pomfrets — but they had strayed too far from the cave, and with the Fat Catfish charging in from behind the rock, turning back was no longer possible. In a panic they could only bolt the opposite way — exactly as Liang Qu wanted! Now! Liang Qu kicked off. The Sow Dragon twisted its body and swung its tail, and man and beast hauled the net upward through the water. The net rose like a great stage curtain and closed right over the fleeing ox-horn pomfrets! A massive force came through the rope holding the net. Hiss — what strength! One jin of fish means ten jin of pulling force — with these fish, it must be triple that! Liang Qu immediately used his water control to check their momentum. These fish had two horns on their heads, and the net was coarse cloth with hemp — nowhere near as strong as the nylon fibers of later ages. If they tore it apart, that would be a disaster. Losing the money was a small matter; losing the fish was the real trouble. With the pomfrets' charge under control, Liang Qu sank fast and drew the net back in. Man and beast circled and crisscrossed, wrapping the treasure fish in tight coils, shrinking the space the two fish had to move. Unable to build momentum, their struggling strength would not be so great. Once they were fully netted, Liang Qu grabbed the net bundled into a ball and swam swiftly upward, clambered onto the boat, found the net's mouth, and tipped both ox-horn pomfrets into the fish basket. These horned fish had truly ferocious tempers. Even in the dry fish basket they crashed about wildly, tipping the basket left and right, and he had to reach out and steady it. Liang Qu braced both hands on the basket's rim, gazing at the two pomfrets with little horns on their heads, too excited to contain himself. "Ah Fei, well done! Well done!" With this, his plan's timeline could be cut by more than half. The only question was how much these two treasure fish were worth. At least a few taels of silver. Even if it wasn't enough to learn martial arts, at least the autumn tax would be no worry. "What a shame, though — they look awfully tasty." Back underwater he hadn't felt it, but now that the fish were caught in the basket, Liang Qu immediately sensed the two fish's intense pull of attraction, like a starving man beholding fragrant, steaming white rice. He wasn't even that hungry. Such an abnormal reaction was, without a doubt, one more proof they were treasure fish. Should he eat one? The treasure fish's allure was astonishing, and a bold idea took shape in Liang Qu's mind. He asked Cannot Move and Ah Fei, and found the fish held no great attraction for them — which made sense. If these fish were born easy for other water beasts to notice, how would they ever survive? The first thing Liang Qu thought of was the Marsh Cauldron. Perhaps treasure fish were useful to it — did they also contain essence of the waters? Once the thought began to run, Liang Qu could barely hold it in check. He deliberated a long while, then decided to try his hand on the slightly smaller ox-horn pomfret. A cauldron that would dominate every water and marsh in the world — it sounded worth a try, whatever way you looked at it. Liang Qu carefully took out the smaller pomfret. This fish was about as big as a human face, roughly one jin; the large one was around three jin, considerably bulkier. The horns on its head were extremely hard — hard as refined steel — and very sharp. The decision to close the net when he did had indeed been right; otherwise a few rips and tears, and they truly might have escaped. There was no knife on the boat, so Liang Qu used a shard of stone to slit the fish open and gut it. The smell of fresh blood spilled out, and the two beasts guarding around the sampan at once grew lively — now they, too, felt that intense pull of attraction. Both the Sow Dragon and the Fat Catfish had put in tremendous effort to catch the treasure fish, so Liang Qu was not stingy: he tossed the fish innards and every scrap into their mouths. The two beasts showed no disdain at all and swallowed everything straight down. Who knew whether eating a treasure fish would bring any change to the two of them? Liang Qu looked away, lit a fire with firewood, set a clay pot over it, and when the water boiled, dropped in the fish fillets. Scabby-Head Zhang had indeed come out to recuperate from his wounds: there was a little stove aboard the sampan, ready to use the moment it was brought out. Worried that the killing might come to light, Liang Qu had also stocked some supplies on the boat in advance, including a fire striker, in case he needed to flee at any moment. Not knowing whether the treasure fish's effects would be lost through stewing, Liang Qu blanched the fillets lightly, judged them free of parasites, and took a bite. Savory and sweet! An unprecedented savory sweetness flooded his mouth, the flesh springy and clean on the tongue. No scallions, ginger, or garlic, yet not the least bit fishy — utterly unlike ordinary river fish. And it had no bones! It was so delicious that Liang Qu wolfed the whole thing down, broth and all, in a frenzy; in the end he even crushed the skull and ate most of it. Only the spine was truly too thick and hard; after sucking out every last bit of marrow, he tossed it to Cannot Move and the Fat Catfish. The only evidence that this fish had ever existed was that pair of hard little horns, each as long as a finger bone. [Essence of the Waters +1.8] The Marsh Cauldron in his mind bloomed once more with blue-green light, and at the sight of that message, Liang Qu nearly ate the three-jin big fish as well. 1.8 essence of the waters! That return was worth eighteen pieces of essence lotus root! If the small fish was like this, wouldn't the big one be triple that — perhaps 5.4 essence of the waters? His fusion already stood at 6.5; add the big fish and the small, and he could break straight through to 10! But Liang Qu held himself back. Knowing that treasure fish could raise his essence of the waters was already enough. What mattered most remained the martial path — and the Zhao residence, so close at hand. Become a martial master, make big money, live in a grand mansion, keep beautiful maids! Silently reciting the three-character formula once, Liang Qu poured all the essence of the waters into raising the marsh spirit's fusion. As the fish meat digested, it began to take effect. Warmth spread from his stomach through his whole body. Liang Qu lay over the side of the boat; above the water, his face visibly flushed ruddy, his whole body faintly fever-hot, blood surging through his veins like a great icy river. Every cell was whooping and leaping for joy, breathing freely, breathing with all its might.