Delivering Fish

"Feeling pretty good."

"Though there really wasn't much meat."

Yun Shou glanced at the pile of fish bones off to one side. Spiny Fin Fish had far too many bones, and this Fish King had evolved that trait to the extreme: some of the bones inside its body had even formed into plate-like pieces, like a crab's, while some flesh was hidden within exceedingly tiny, hard gaps between the bones.

Only because he was a martial artist could he crush even such fish bones into powder with two fingers. An ordinary person would need a hammer.

"There's still some fish meat and bones left. I'll bring some to Uncle Ji, Old Man Wang, and little Hu Tou."

It was already afternoon. Yun Shou took apart the roasted Fish King, packed it into cleaned pots and bowls, and returned to Qing He Village.

At the village entrance, he spotted his first target: four or five children gathered in a circle, listening to the leader instruct them.

The eight- or nine-year-old boy at the head of the group stood tall and proud, pointing at a girl. "Er Ya, I told you, you're the Empress. You need to be more magnanimous and listen to the Emperor. Don't quit just because I ate one piece of your jerky!"

Then he pointed at a dull-looking boy. "Hu Tou, you're the Great General. When I run into danger, you have to be the first one charging over to save me, not Er Ya!"

"And you, San Tu, you're the grandmaster rebel. The first person you should kidnap is the Emperor, not the Empress."

"Look at Shui Zi—he's doing a good job. He'll definitely become an incredibly formidable traitorous minister someday! My great rival!"

Yun Shou: "..."

Honestly, as someone who had transmigrated here, by the time he was eight, he had stopped playing the upgraded version of house with these children—playing kingdom.

He interrupted the children's roleplaying game and beckoned. "Little Hu Tou!"

"Huh? Brother Yun Shou?"

The dull-looking boy turned around. Seeing Yun Shou wave at him, he hesitated. "I'm the Great General right now. I have to protect His Majesty, so I can't go over."

"Come here. I'll give you meat."

In a flash, little Hu Tou forgot the Great General's duties and hurried over in a little run. Then he led Yun Shou home, where Yun Shou left some of the meat and bones in a bowl.

Hearing the commotion, his mother came out from the inner room. When she saw Yun Shou had come to deliver food, her expression grew somewhat complicated. She gave a cold snort but said nothing.

Two years ago, after Yun Shou fell into the water, he had lain in bed for over half a month. Song Xiaohu had worried about his "Brother Yun Shou" and secretly brought food from home every day to help him recover.

Though he had not taken much, and Yun Shou had not lacked food under Uncle Ji's care, that thoughtfulness could not be overlooked.

Song Xiaohu had even been hung up and whipped by his parents after stealing two eggs from home for Yun Shou, his cries echoing through half of Qing He Village...

Naturally, Song Xiaohu's mother had no favorable impression of Yun Shou, the person who had "tricked her foolish son into stealing his own family's money." Seeing that his gift was merely the most common fish from the lakeshore, her expression did not improve.

She had no idea it was a Fish King.

After Song Xiaohu came Old Man Wang, the old man who had saved him.

Little Hu Tou probably did not understand what a Fish King was, and his parents were not fond of Yun Shou, so Yun Shou had not explained much. But with Old Man Wang, he could say it.

"Old Master Wang, you absolutely must boil these fish bones into a rich soup."

Yun Shou set down the portion of fish meat and bones.

"What's so special about that?" Old Man Wang asked with a genial smile.

"I encountered a Fish Dragon Dance, and there was a three-foot, three-inch Spiny Fin Fish inside!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Old Man Wang's face froze. He hastily looked around, and only relaxed after seeing no one nearby. His voice turned stern and angry. "Are you tired of living!? You dared roast and eat a Fish King in secret? If the Qing He Gang finds out, they'll sink you in the lake!"

For ordinary fish, even edible fish with the freshest taste or ornamental fish with the prettiest appearance, ordinary fishermen could handle them however they liked after catching them. As long as they did not sell them outside the gang's territory, they could even smash the fish around for fun.

Only Fish Kings were different. They were absolutely controlled fish, property of the gang!

It was one thing if you failed to catch one. But if you did, you had to hand it over to the Qing He Gang—the Qing He Gang would also offer a hefty reward—or else they would not merely drive you from the area. They might beat you to death alive!

Outsiders who borrowed the Qing He Gang's grounds to fish might not be beaten to death if they were tough enough. But someone like Yun Shou, who had a contract of sale... would be sunk straight into the lake, certain to die!

Old Man Wang was terrified. The Qing He Gang was a great mountain pressing down upon the heads of ordinary fishermen. In some small cities, its gang leader Xu Ruohai was a top expert, a renowned figure of one region!

Under such pressure, who would dare defy their orders?

Faced with Old Man Wang's frightened gaze, Yun Shou instead smiled mysteriously. "Old Master Wang, do you remember what I told you yesterday?"

He pinched a thumb-thick fish bone between two fingers. Rather than releasing it outward, his Force Qi amplified his strength like the Internal Force of a Second-rate Martial Artist.

With a twist of his fingers, there was a crack, and the fish bone snapped apart.

Old Man Wang froze.

"I met my master yesterday. He said my innate bones were earth-shatteringly strong, and took me in to train in martial arts..."

Yun Shou flicked his toe, sending a stone fragment on the ground flying into the air, then caught it in one hand.

The youth clenched his fist, Force Qi grinding through his palm.

He opened his hand, and stone dust spilled through the gaps beneath his fingers.

Old Man Wang: "..."

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

That joke from the other day had actually been true?

"It's true." Yun Shou smiled lightly. "The Qing He Gang's rules can no longer reach over my head."

The final portion was delivered to Uncle Ji's home.

Yun Shou hesitated on the way.

It was still afternoon. Uncle Ji probably had not returned yet; he and his wife had always gone out on the boat together.

The Qing He Gang's "shipping organization" had merely proposed the idea and had not yet formally been established, so Uncle Ji and the others still relied primarily on fishing.

Yun Shou worried that he would reach their doorstep only to find the door locked and be unable to enter. Fortunately, their home was not far from his own, only several dozen meters away.

When he came within several dozen meters of Uncle Ji's house and saw the door shut, Yun Shou was about to leave when he keenly heard movement from inside. He immediately strode forward.

But as he drew closer, he saw that the front door was securely locked, while the sounds within grew louder and louder with his approach.

"Is that... a thief?!"

Yun Shou reacted at once, but what thief would rob poor fishermen...? Last night, when Uncle Ji had wanted to help repay his debt from the contract of sale, the sound of scattered copper coins had startled someone away!

It was a fisherman from the village. Seized by greed at the sight of money, he had slipped into the house while no one was home and was now turning the place upside down!

Yun Shou set down the pots and bowls, stepped forward in several strides, and saw the window wide open. There was more than one person inside—two people were searching nonstop.

"They hid it damn deep." One of them complained and looked up, only to meet Yun Shou's eyes. Both froze.

Shao Erdan, the village's most notorious rogue and hooligan, because there were only two good-for-nothings in the entire village who spent all day stealing chickens and dogs.

Many people could not figure out how this brat had managed to loaf around on Qing He Gang territory for so many years, but Yun Shou had learned something through simulation: he knew at least one official member of the Qing He Gang.

Since one of them was Shao Erdan, the identity of the other was already as plain as day.

Of course, it was Shao Erdan's full-blooded brother from the same mother, the other hooligan of Qing He Village: Shao Yimao!