"Where did you two find this?"
"At the bottom of the water? Floating on its own? You saw it glowing and brought it back?"
Liang Qu had taught both beasts how to spot treasure fish: look for anything that looked different from ordinary fish, with unique, rare colors and shapes.
Those words had been deeply etched into the minds of the two beasts. When they saw the glowing feather, they knew it was not a fish, but they still felt it must be a good thing, so they brought it back.
Their reasoning was not wrong.
The feather was massive, a full three chi long and one chi wide.
Liang Qu reached out to touch it, only to be forced back by the astonishing heat radiating from it.
*Good grief, it's so scorching hot! No wonder Cannot Move and Ah Fei didn't dare carry it in their mouths, juggling it back and forth between their heads like a hot sweet potato.*
A gigantic feather, astounding heat.
Liang Qu's thoughts instantly went to that blazing giant bird flying through the sky during the battle between the two demons the previous night.
Undoubtedly, this feather had fallen from its body, drifted with the currents to this spot, and been discovered by the two beasts.
*Well done, Brother Toad! Slaying a great demon and even leaving me some scraps to sup on.*
Liang Qu manipulated the water currents to wrap around the feather. Only after the water had carried away enough of the heat did he dare reach out and try touching it.
The shaft of the feather was as hard as iron, gleaming with a cold, unyielding luster and glowing in the darkness. The vane, on the other hand, was soft, feeling exquisite to the touch. Yet without water flowing over it to cool it down, it was simply too scorching to touch at all.
What was a feather good for?
Beasts and birds did not contain essence of the waters to absorb. If he tried to use it as a hand warmer, he would have to worry about his clothes catching fire.
Liang Qu fell into deep thought, unable to figure out how to put it to use.
Regardless, an item from a great demon was bound to be precious. He could take it back for his master and senior brothers to look at; perhaps they would know what to do with it.
Liang Qu did not skimp on praise: "Well done! In the future, if you see anything that isn't a fish but looks unusual, you can bring it back."
Having received his praise, the two beasts twirled around in the water, churning up vigorous currents.
After some splashing around, Liang Qu surfaced. Seeing that the time was about right, he instructed Cannot Move to return and guard the lotus root, while Fat Catfish was to explore more of the nearby waters.
In particular, the nearby shallow waters—to see if there were any sunken boats, human artifacts, treasures, treasure plants, or treasure fish. If it could find more feathers like this, or even a piece of that aquatic great demon, that would be ideal.
Liang Qu was very curious to know how much essence of the waters a part of such a great demon's body would contain.
Not just near Yixing, but the waters around nearby Yunjiang Wharf and Pingyang Town were all fair game for exploration.
Ah Fei was quite massive now. As long as it did not recklessly venture into deep waters, there was essentially little danger.
Dragging the feather, Liang Qu climbed back onto the sampan. He glanced into the watertight compartment. Aside from ordinary fish, there were two carp, a yellow croaker, and a tiger fish—all fine catches.
When he returned to the wharf, day had fully broken. Liang Qu took his catch to Lin Songbao to sell.
"Doesn't look like much today, how come only two baskets?" Lin Songbao helped him carry the fish baskets into the fishing yard, but when he opened them, he was stunned. "Whoa, so many good fish? One yellow croaker, two carp, and a tiger fish? Did you strike a fish nest or something?"
"Just lucky today."
"Impressive! In winter, everyone else catches less and less, yet you catch more and more." Lin Songbao gave him a thumbs-up. "In total, that comes to three hundred forty-six wen. How about I give you three qian of silver?"
Lin Songbao was no fool. Even though his father had not said anything, he knew that an astonishing change had certainly come over Liang Qu. He offered an even more generous deal than before. Three qian of silver would normally fetch at least three hundred sixty copper wen in exchange.
"Much obliged!"
"Don't mention it. Having you here saves me a trip looking for you anyway. The private room has been booked—Langyun Restaurant tonight, Earth-tier Private Room Bing. My dad told me to ask if you want him to send a carriage to pick you up."
Liang Qu needed to show the feather to his senior brothers, so he shook his head. "No need. I'm heading into town today anyway."
"All right then. Keep this safe, here's your money."
Taking the money, Liang Qu turned and returned to his boat. He took off his hemp coat, soaked it thoroughly with cold water, wrapped it around the feather, and headed home. Passing the fishing yard, he saw someone else selling fish.
"Songbao, help me weigh this again. Did you make a mistake? Look at how big this fish is."
"Uncle Chen Hu, didn't we just weigh it? Fifty-three wen, that's correct. Minus the forty-five percent cut for renting the fishing boat, that leaves thirty wen."
"Th-that's just too little. Songbao, have a heart, loosen your hand a bit, make it more, a little more." The dark-skinned middle-aged fisherman wore a humble, pleading smile, his hand gesturing upward. "My boy is only eight years old, right in his growing years. You've seen him, just that tall, always calling you older brother."
"I really can't. Last time I gave you five wen extra, my dad scolded me when I got back. Besides, Uncle Hu, you know that over at Yunjiang Wharf nearby, they take a fifty-two percent cut."
"Sigh..."
Standing on the bluestone street, Liang Qu listened for a long while until the cold hemp cloth in his grip grew warm, before slowly pacing his way home.
The weather was getting colder and colder, and the water temperature was shockingly low. Dipping one's hand into the water for just a moment would turn it purple from the cold.
When it was too cold, fish metabolism slowed, reducing their need for food, and they would congregate in deeper water where it was warm enough.
Not coming out, not moving, and staying deep—with the fishermen's methods, it was impossible to catch them. Even if caught, they would not fetch a good price, because the currents were slow, oxygen levels were low, and nutrient circulation was poor, leaving the fish with little to eat, skinny and small.
The bluestone slabs were not as dark as they had been two months ago. It was always like this every winter; it seemed as if the vibrancy of all things had shrunk back from the frost.
In the yellow mud alleys on either side of the bluestone street, there were more sallow-faced women than in autumn. Bundled in yellowed old padded jackets, they huddled on the stone steps. Whenever the paving stones clattered under footsteps or wheels, they would lift their heads to take a look.
Liang Qu saw a girl around his age sitting on the steps smiling at him. Her malnourished face was thin and yellow, her hair as dry and withered as wild grass, completely unattractive. He lowered his head and walked past with a blank expression.
In addition to the women in old padded jackets, many children had appeared in the yellow mud alleys. They gathered together burning dried twigs gathered from who knows where. The older ones, thirteen or fourteen, wore sorrowful expressions; the younger ones, only five or six, had long trails of clear snot hanging from their noses, playing finger games together.
There were also old women begging along the street.
"Phoo—"
A thick plume of vapor billowed from his nose and mouth. Liang Qu stood rooted in place for a long time.
"Damn it all!"
"Hey!"
Liang Qu called out, placed an oilpaper package on the ground, and turned to walk away.
"What is this?" A boy stepped forward, pinched open the oilpaper package with his fingers, and cried out, "Ah! Buns, it's buns! So many buns, more than ten of them!"
"Hooray, hot buns!"
"Don't snatch, don't snatch, there's enough for everyone!"
"Let me share them, let me share! Little brother, you're the youngest, you get two!"
A few alleys away, Liang Qu set down oilpaper packages one after another, then quickened his pace to leave.
So goddamn annoying.
Two qian of silver, gone.
Liang Qu suddenly felt a surge of irritation—aimless, baseless, purposeless, just pure irritation.
Perhaps he was annoyed at his own excessive kindness, perhaps annoyed at this fucked-up world, perhaps annoyed at why those pitiful wretches had to hover before his eyes.
Fire seemed to flow through his blood vessels. Everything around him was cold, yet he felt as hot as a lump of burning charcoal.
Exhaling deeply several times, Liang Qu finally calmed down.
Back home, he tossed the demon feather, still wrapped in the nearly dried hemp coat, into an iced-over water vat. Before long, the surface ice melted from the heat, and cloth and feather submerged together into the water.
Liang Qu assumed his stance and began skin tempering.
The day of breaking through the barrier was drawing closer and closer, practically just one step away.
Everything Liang Qu currently possessed could be called a different kind of "riding on someone else's coattails." But once he became a true martial practitioner, he would have achieved a transformation through his own strength, equivalent to an ordinary person becoming a xiucai.
Blood and qi circulated, suddenly spreading to all limbs and bones, flowing toward the outermost layer of skin and membrane.
After a long while, his flushed red skin gradually returned to a normal, healthy rosy hue.
Liang Qu could feel his body grow a fraction tougher. Although it felt no different to the touch, once attacked, a profound shift would take place, making it exceptionally resilient.
The progress in his strength dispelled most of his gloomy mood. Picking up the pastries he had bought earlier, he headed toward Chen Qingjiang's home next door.
Two days late, but luckily the pastries he bought were mostly peach pastries, which did not spoil easily in winter and were hardly any different from when he first bought them.
He knocked on the courtyard gate.
"Who is it?"
"It's me!"
"Sounds like Ah Shui's voice. I'll go check."
"Is it Ah Shui? Qingjiang, you make sure to thank him properly."
"I know, Dad."
Voices came from inside the house.
Over the low wall beside the gate, a little head suddenly popped up: "Yay, it's Brother Shui!"
Liang Qu held up the wooden box in his hand and shook it twice: "Shunzi, open the door for me, and I'll give you something delicious."
"Coming!"
Xiao Shunzi hopped down from his stool and pitter-pattered to the courtyard gate, swinging it wide open. He rushed forward eagerly. Liang Qu smiled, opened the box, took out a piece of peach pastry, and pressed it into Shunzi's hand.
"Mmm, so sweet!"
Shunzi stuffed his mouth full, cupping his other hand underneath to catch the falling crumbs, his face full of wonder.
Chen Qingjiang had just reached the doorway. When he saw the Wufangzhai label, he was utterly astonished: "Ah Shui, why are you feeding Shunzi something so valuable? You're throwing good money away!"
Chapter 48