Leaving Ping Yang County for Now

A gentle breeze blows, and ripples appear on the water.

Awei on his wrist trembled a few times, his Centipede shook, and he crawled into the pool, swimming freely. The small fish around him fled in panic. Liang Qu then communicated with the four beasts in his mind.

In less than fifteen minutes, a Little River Porpoise swam out of the well, its eyes darting around as it looked at the surroundings, and called out to Liang Qu.

Then a big head shoved the Little River Porpoise porpoise away, followed closely by Fat Catfish poking its head out.

Just as it was about to come out, a tremendous force came from its tail, and it was dragged back into the well before it could react.

While Round Head and Fat Catfish were arguing, Fist and Cannot Move rushed out first, with Fist holding a Treasure Fish in his hand.

Liang Qu was very pleased.

With this channel, Treasure Fish can now be delivered directly to our homes, so Liang Qu won't have to go to the river to get them anymore.

Feeding the Sturgeon King meat is also more convenient; just let the four beasts come over to eat by themselves along the undercurrent at mealtimes.

Cannot Move its claws to grip the edge of the pool, it crawled out belly-to-belly along the bluestone bricks, splashing water everywhere, and two small fish were also pulled out, jumping on the ground.

It found a good spot in the huge yard, lay down belly up, limbs outstretched, basking in the warm spring sun.

The Fist followed closely behind, presenting the Treasure Fish to Liang Qu; it was a Tiger Head Grouper weighing over five pounds.

"Well done."

Liang Qu took it casually, praised it, and then put it into the water vat.

I can't go to Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang's dinner party tonight empty-handed.

After breakfast, the Old Monk came to the courtyard and showed little expression upon seeing the animals frolicking around.

He simply went to the edge of the pond, picked up two small fish from the ground, and put them back into the water.

Having traveled all over the country for so many years, the Old Monk had seen countless animal tamers and had personally experienced the power of the Gu worms in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

The saying that raising animals is difficult only applies to the imperial court.

What the imperial court wanted was not a docile individual, but a species that could produce a stable output, requiring generations of patient breeding.

Like the River Dolphin finless porpoise, anyone can be controlled by holding a token, without needing to cultivate any relationship.

If the goal is simply to tame an individual, one can raise an emotional bond by keeping them by one's side from birth or subdue them through absolute force; there are many methods available.

Some powerful Aristocratic Clan even have Demon Beast of near- True Image quality guarding them.

Demon Beast of the same realm are already physically powerful, and with the addition of learning human techniques, no one dares to provoke them easily.

It's nothing special that there are only a few Water Beast now.

Cannot Move in the courtyard, he saw the Old Monk and glanced at Liang Qu, who had not given any orders. He then closed his eyes and continued to bask in the sun.

Fist moved quickly, following closely beside Liang Qu.

The Fat Catfish shook off its Round Head, poked its head out of the well, and spat out some saliva as a greeting.

"You Spirit Monster, you're so intelligent."

The Old Monk admitted that he had misjudged the Spirit Monster; its strength and intelligence were not well-matched, which was quite rare.

Liang Qu laughed and said, "I just want the master to know that I have raised a few Water Beast. If they come to the courtyard in the future, please do not kill them as Spirit Monster."

The emergence of the five beasts can be considered an experiment by Liang Qu.

Since ruling over Water Beast isn't anything special, we can try to get them to show up more often.

"Good."

evening.

As agreed, Liang Qu took Tiger Head Grouper to Li LiBo's house for a drink.

Looking around the streets, the entire Yi Xing Town has undergone a complete transformation, resembling the former Ping Yang Town.

Looking out, it was no longer the small village full of familiar faces; there were many people he didn't recognize.

The faint smell of firecrackers could still be smelled in the air. Many new shops opened on both sides of the road, including new rice shops, cloth shops, and restaurants.

Liang Qu even saw two Martial Arts School in Yi Xing Town, with only seven or eight students coming and going, and they were not large in scale.

This is probably because many people haven't fully settled down yet.

With grain prices so high, those with some money at home need to hold onto it tightly to prevent unexpected expenses and avoid spending it easily.

Learning martial arts is no different from gambling; without follow-up support, it's likely to be a complete waste of money.

In a few months, after the rice harvest, the price of grain will drop, and the number of apprentices will at least double.

I wonder if I'll be able to continue serving as the Chief Priest for the River God Sacrifice on June 6th.

Liang Qu stroked his chin, clearly very concerned about the matter.

He had tried secretly a long time ago to find a place to kill a chicken as a sacrifice, but he didn't get a single feather. He still had to rely on a proper River God Sacrifice.

Let's have another River God Sacrifice.

With the number of people, the quality of the offerings, and the status of the Chief Priest all improved, he can guarantee that the Favorability increase by at least tenfold and decrease by one zero.

But it's difficult. The current Yi Xing Town is no longer the Yi Xing City that a few Village Elder could decide with absolute authority.

Not many people are willing to pay for Liang Qu's account, so it's uncertain whether the River God Sacrifice can even be held. No wonder everyone wants to be a powerful figure with a voice, and the feeling of being the undisputed leader in the local area is indeed very comfortable.

"Hey, A Shui's here!"

Chen Jiechang stood at the door exchanging pleasantries with the guests, while Li LiBo patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the street.

Chen Jiechang glanced at it, said a few words to let people in, and quickly went up to greet Li LiBo.

Liang Qu looked around. "Am I late?"

Li LiBo slapped his thigh. "How can it be late? Water Bro, you're the main guest. This banquet can only start after you arrive. How can it be late?"

Liang Qu laughed and picked up the Tiger Head Grouper from his hand.

"Look at these good things I brought you! Congratulations on becoming true Martial Artist! I wish you both continued success in your martial arts career!"

"Hiss, Tiger Head Grouper? This must weigh five pounds, right? We told you to come empty-handed, but we have no right to carry it like this."

"It didn't cost any money. I caught it this morning. To be honest, I eat Tiger Head Grouper every few days, and I'm tired of it."

"How come we never noticed before that Water Bro had a habit of bragging?"

"Bullshit, take it! Your arm will get sore from carrying it."

Liang Qu tossed the lively Tiger Head Grouper in his hand to the two men, strode into the courtyard, and saw Xiang ChangSong and Hu Qi. He sat down next to them and said, "Senior Brother Hu, Senior Brother Xiang? You're here too!"

"Since we had nothing else to do, the two of them insisted on coming over." Xiang ChangSong, eating fried peanuts.

Hu Qi poured Liang Qu a cup of tea. "Junior Brother Liang, are you about to Breaking Blood Barrier?"

Liang Qu nodded. "Within the last ten days, I guess."

"That's great, we can have another meal. Don't complain about being broke later."

"Bring it on." Liang Qu patted his pocket. "My wallet's bulging, junior brother!"

"How's the work at the River Conservancy Office going? Are there any problems?"

"That's good. Big Brother Xu and Commander Wei are in charge separately. No one will bully me on Big Brother Xu's side. I can earn some credit and exchange it for some things every day. It's quite easy."

"This is your first time in office. Although you have Big Brother Xu's help, you still need to be careful with your words and actions. They are all young masters from the Imperial Capital, and many of them have bad tempers."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Hu, I'm not one to cause trouble. Just don't mess with me."

"Um."

midnight.

After finishing his meal, Liang Qu loosened his belt, shouldered his Subduing Waves Spear, and went to patrol the river. As usual, he would take a few dead fish heads to the ship to register his merits. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by Secretary Li.

"Don't leave yet, we have a mission today."

Liang Qu paused, "Mission? What mission?"

Li Shoufu opened the drawer and pulled out a booklet from the cabinet.

"This morning, the neighboring county reported that a water monster was causing trouble. All the powerful ones here have gone to deal with the Ghost Mother Sect. There aren't many River Earl River Chief left, so we might have to trouble them. I don't know if it's convenient for them."

Although the River Conservancy Office was located in Ping Yang County, it governed the entire Huaiyin Prefecture.

Other counties experiencing water monster incidents all fall under the jurisdiction of the River Conservancy Office Management Bureau.

Liang Qu took the booklet and, according to the description, it was just an ordinary Spirit Monster that would take less than three days to come and go.

"Okay, I'll go then."