Leng Juesheng died, Bei Huang was taken away by Chu Jin after his cultivation was sealed, and True Person Shouyi and Daoist Mingzhang also flew away together once the matter was settled.
Only Fan Boyu stayed behind, sitting with everyone at Huangfu Manor for a while before leaving with Du Yueyao and Wang Xiaowan.
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan stayed overnight, then accompanied the old matriarch for a day.
“Another three hundred plus strands of qi fortune light credited.”
The deceased Leng Juesheng contributed the most, while Bei Huang, not dead, contributed slightly less. However, according to Chu Jin, with Bei Huang in hand, the Zhenyi Division might launch a hunting operation against the demons of Du Yushan.
Du Yushan’s strength was average, far inferior to the Yuansheng Sect. The truly formidable one was actually only the black wolf king Leng Li; the others posed no great problem.
In truth, the Da Jing Dynasty had not originally planned to bother with Du Yushan. After all, Du Yushan did not have a particularly good reputation even within Montian. Letting them continue killing and eating people might even lead to infighting.
However, since Du Yushan had sent personnel into the Central Plains to cause chaos and had repeatedly abducted people from Da Jing, now that Bei Huang provided intelligence, the Zhenyi Division did not mind killing more great demons. Whether for refining magical treasures or killing to eat the meat, it was all quite good.
…
“Jade seal, elevate!”
“Buzz!”
On the third morning, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan bid farewell, then soared back on a cloud.
Between Yizhou and Yaozhou ran the Wanyuan River. Though not comparable to great rivers like the Lu River, it still sustained countless people along the banks of the two provinces.
Well, of course, it also sustained quite a few demons. Last time, Lu Zheng had eliminated a wicked flood dragon on the Lan River, a tributary of the Wanyuan River.
When the two flew over the Wanyuan River, Liu Qingyan had a sudden feeling and recalled the scene from last year when they boated in the small city.
“Lu lang, I want to take a boat.” Liu Qingyan smiled cheekily and linked arms with Lu Zheng.
Liu Qingyan rarely made requests, so Lu Zheng had no objection. This place was in the south anyway; going upstream along the Wanyuan River could bring them close to Tonglin County.
Lu Zheng looked down and spotted a town right by the Wanyuan River bank.
They descended from the cloud and landed in the town. Finding a secluded spot to reveal themselves, they strolled idly towards the docks.
“This fishing village town truly differs quite a bit from the county city.” Liu Qingyan said.
Every household hanging salted fish was a touch excessive, but children playing with crab and turtle shells, street vendors hawking fresh fish and shrimp, fishermen coming and going in rain capes, and merchants from nearby counties’ restaurants coming to procure.
This town was the centre for over a dozen small fishing villages around. Fishermen, after catching fish, would sell almost all here except for what they kept as rations.
Thus, at the core of the town, the bustle was no less than that of an ordinary county city.
“See if there are any fresh catches. If there are softshell turtles, buy a few to take back and stew a pot of softshell turtle soup.” Lu Zheng followed her lead.
Liu Qingyan’s lips curved lightly. She nodded and continued, “On the way back, first go to Renxin Hall to get some goji berries, cassia bark, deer antler, and fairy spleen, then stew them with the softshell turtles for half a day.”
Lu Zheng: ?_??
Liu Qingyan chuckled softly, shot Lu Zheng a flirtatious glance, her jade face alluring, her charm piercing to the bone.
Glaring at Liu Qingyan, Lu Zheng said seriously, “Good! It is settled then. Tonight you come to my room; no need to call Shen Ying.”
Liu Qingyan was stunned, her flower-like face paling. “Without Sister Shen?”
How could she endure it alone! Especially since he had now taken a fancy to her tail!
Liu Qingyan wilted instantly, the momentum from just teasing Lu Zheng vanishing in a flash. “Well, Qingyan has to make rounds tomorrow.”
“No problem! I will cover for your rounds!”
“Ah!?” Liu Qingyan’s small mouth parted slightly. Just as she was about to think of another excuse, she was interrupted by a loud voice nearby.
“Fish for sale! Fish for sale!”
“Today’s fresh catch, all lively and jumping, plump and fine!”
“Today we also netted a koi carp. Buy it to stew in soup for good fortune shining high, or keep it for viewing to make everything go smoothly!”
By now, the two had reached the docks at the edge of the town. Along the shore were docked fishing boats one after another. Opening the fish holds revealed all sorts of colourful fish swimming about.
The fishermen hawked from their boats, while merchants and commoners walked the docks, sometimes pointing and selecting the fattest and leanest themselves.
If commoners wanted fresh, they carried their own buckets. Merchants had horse-drawn carts modified with square wooden tubs, five or six chi across, enough to transport the fish alive back to the county city or even the provincial capital.
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan thus arrived at the docks, mingling among the commoners and merchants, chatting while eyeing the fish.
The one who had just called out was a burly, broad-shouldered man who had just found an empty spot by the shore, steadied his boat, and begun hawking before even uncovering the fish hold.
Interrupted by him, Liu Qingyan’s eyes turned. She pulled Lu Zheng two steps forward to the side of the fishing boat. “Boatman, I will pick two fresh river fish.”
Though Liu Qingyan wore no makeup, her beauty was peerless. At her question, the big man’s face reddened involuntarily. He hurriedly said, “All fresh! All fresh!”
He stepped aside, lifted the fish hold cover, revealing dozens of fish inside.
“Miss, take a look. All fat and big, lively and jumping, full of vigour!”
The man pointed at the hold and said, “All big Wanyuan River carp, crucian carp, grass carp. Oh, right, we also netted a haul of crabs and softshell turtles.”
Two other men lifted a large basin from the cabin, containing dozens of big crabs and five or six large softshell turtles.
“We released the little ones; kept only the big fellows!”
“Boatman, weigh out two softshell turtles for me!” Lu Zheng said immediately. “And three fish.”
“Right away!” The big man reached in, scooped out two softshell turtles, bound them securely with straw rope, then fished out three carp, threading straw rope through their gills one by one.
“One hundred and twenty cash, please.” The big man handed the softshell turtles and carp to Lu Zheng.
After paying and taking the fish, Lu Zheng was about to leave when Liu Qingyan let out an “eh” and stopped.
“What is it?” Lu Zheng turned back.
“What a pretty koi.”
The response was not from Liu Qingyan but from a scholar in a blue robe, tall and straight, handsome in appearance.
Lu Zheng and the scholar exchanged glances. The scholar cupped his hands and said, “I am Li Yong; greetings to this learned brother.”
Lu Zheng cupped his hands in return. “Lu Zheng.”
After greetings, they heard the big man point at the three-coloured koi that had just swum out from the depths of the fish hold. “Pretty, eh!”
The koi was not large, only about a palm and a half long, neither fat nor thin, with a balanced form. It looked smaller than the other fish, but wherever it went, the other fish scattered, keeping their distance from it.
“Pretty.” Li Yong nodded. “How much for this fish?”
The big man’s eyes turned. “This koi is a lucky charm. Three strings of cash, no bargaining.”
“Good, I will take it.”
The reply to the big man was not from Li Yong but from Liu Qingyan.
