At the Hundred-Foot Pole

At dawn, a thin mist shrouded the vast Jiang Huai Great Marsh.

A dozen or so small boats formed a crooked, zigzag line.

Last night there was a heavy rain and a strong wind on the river, everyone was listless, and the boat lines looked quite messy.

"Make way, everyone make way!"

Someone wearing a straw hat rowed a small boat and shouted as they went, causing the other small boats in the middle to move to both sides and clear the way for the river.

Several burly men, who were dozing off, perked up upon hearing this and grabbed the rower to ask him questions.

"Could it be the river official from the River Conservancy Office?"

"What? They're already here?"

One of them lifted his raincoat and sat up from the boat.

The boatman shook his head. "They didn't come. There are mackerel that need to go across."

"Ah?"

He covered himself with the raincoat again and went back to sleep.

The others were uninterested.

"Let's take a break. It's just a merchant ship. Brothers, you're getting too excited too soon."

"Sigh, everyone's gone, it's no fun."

"Liu San, go row and clear the river."

Several small boats in the middle moved closer to both sides, making way for a wide river channel.

Three large, flat ships emerged from the mist. After the downpour, wisps of smoke rose from their hulls, and Rain Water flowed from the sides of the ships into the marshland along the drainage Great Marsh. The mist clung to the ships, condensing into dew.

A typical merchant ship, with a huge bow towering high, the side of the ship curving upwards along the hull, several tens of feet long and about six feet wide, a single ship could carry more than two thousand shi of grain.

Fishermen call this kind of boat "blue mackerel" because it looks as thick and flat as a blue mackerel and swims very fast.

"Brother, could you please tell me what major event has caused such a commotion?"

A bearded Steward was leaning halfway out from the edge of the boat.

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't!"

Despite being rebuffed, the Steward didn't seem too angry. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Brother, please don't take offense. I was just curious."

"Sorry, Steward, my men are all a bunch of rascals and they were a bit harsh with their words. I hope you won't take it to heart. This little bit of money is for the men to have some drinks."

A loud voice came from afar, and a money bag transformed into a streak of light, tracing a curve in the thin mist before landing squarely in the Steward's palm.

In a few leaps, a figure reached the small boat.

"Gang Leader!"

The man who had just spoken suddenly stood up, causing the entire small boat to rock.

The other men also stood up.

The ship's Steward took the money bag, weighed it in his hand—eleven taels and two mace—bowed, and disappeared along the edge of the ship.

"Gang Leader, did I say something wrong?" the first man to stand up asked hurriedly.

Liu Jie pointed to the flag on the departing merchant ship. "See that flag? What do those words say?"

The man scratched his forehead and shook his head.

"I know you can't read, so I didn't blame you." Liu Jie chuckled and shook his head. "That means Kang Ji Company, Tong Ji Company, and Hui Ji Company. The fact that it has the character 'Ji' in it means it's a ship from the Heng Ren Merchant Group. The Heng Ren Merchant Group is much more powerful than us, do you understand?"

The man nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, I know you've all worked hard. Let the brothers come back and switch shifts." Liu Jie patted the man on the shoulder and took out a second money bag from his pocket. "Take the brothers out for a good meal and a few drinks."

Everyone was overjoyed.

"Thank you, Gang Leader!"

While Xiao Zhou's gang quickly spread the news, cheers erupted from the Jiang Huai River.

A dozen or so small boats moved and headed towards the shore.

Some disembarked, some boarded, and they changed shifts with the brothers on the shore, greeting the other two Gang Leader in turn.

"Second Gang Leader, Third Gang Leader!"

Liu Yi and Zheng Tianfu nodded.

Once the crowd on the shore had dispersed, Liu Yi stepped forward and asked, "Brother, has the matter of the official position been settled?"

Liu Jie shook his head. "Fatty Du didn't agree, he only conceded that he would recommend Wen Yang, but whether it will work out is still unknown."

"Damn it!" Zheng Tianfu slammed his fist into the tree trunk in anger, shattering the thick willow wood into pieces that embedded themselves in the ground. "Half of our silver is spent on them every year, and they struggle so much to even get a ninth-rank official position! I really want to roast that fat man's body fat off the ground!"

"Killing officials and killing commoners are two different things." Second Gang Leader Liu Yi sneered. "He dares to act so arrogantly because we don't have official positions. He's afraid of us, afraid of our people, and afraid of our abilities."

"At least there's some hope. Fatty Du will stay here for at most two more years. If I put in a little more effort next year, it'll be done. He'll take the benefits and go to take up a post elsewhere, leaving us to deal with the next County Magistrate."

"I thought that earning so much money every year meant I was getting ahead, but I never expected..." Zheng Tianfu was exhausted. "Those sons of officials start as eighth or seventh-rank officials. For us to become a mere Patrol Inspector, it's like they're tearing our hearts and lungs out."

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Haven't the people from the River Conservancy Office arrived yet?"

Zheng Tianfu shook his head. "It's been seven or eight days, and I haven't run into him."

"After coming and going, it's time to get here..."

"It's a good thing that it didn't happen," Liu Yi laughed. "It means that the official in River Conservancy Office is just like Fatty Du. Who knows where he's drinking? It'll be difficult to talk to him if you're really meticulous."

Having witnessed Fatty Du's actions before, Liu Jie nodded thoughtfully.

Everything should be discussed first, until both parties are satisfied.

If they really can't reach an agreement...

Then you'll have to find someone else to date.

The water rippled.

The midday sun penetrates the water, its rays refracting into swaying arcs in the flowing water.

Liang Qu sat cross-legged on the boulder, his tied-up black hair fluttering in the waves. His aura was contained, almost merging with the boulder. As his Qi and Blood circulated, strands of them were absorbed into his marrow.

Several small fish swam by, devouring the algae that grew beneath the boulder.

A shadow silently descended upon the fish. The Fat Catfish grinned, extended its tentacles, and before the small fish could react, it scooped them up and tossed them out of the water.

Liang Qu opened his eyes.

The Fat Catfish turned its eyes back and spat out a Treasure Fish was pure white with blue stripes on its side.

Having regained its freedom, the Treasure Fish displayed an extremely fast escape speed, but unfortunately, it was trapped in place by the water flow before it could leap even a meter.

The flowing water pushed the Treasure Fish to Liang Qu's side.

"Blue-Striped Fish, the varieties of Treasure Fish around Feng Bu County are quite different from those in Ping Yang County."

Liang Qu reached out and grabbed the Blue-Striped Fish, returned to the boat, gutted it, and distributed it to the other animals.

[Marsh Essence +6]

The whole Blue-Striped Fish wasn't very big, only a little over two pounds. After removing the bones and internal organs, only seven or eight ounces of good meat remained.

After finishing the Blue-Striped Fish, Liang Qu ate two Cockscomb Fruit.

Eating three Cockscomb Fruit a day is most effective, and this fruit has excellent preservation properties; it can be stored for more than ten days even in the height of summer.

Before Liang Qu left, he had exchanged fifteen coins, enough for five days, and now they were almost gone.

He added all twenty-five points of Marsh Essence to the Fusion, and the precious medicine itself began to take effect. His Blood Qi were replenished again, and he underwent two more blood refinements.

A slight sense of unease arises in the marrow, about to overflow.

Liang Qu was moved.

Martial Artist's intuition told him that he only needed two or three more blood refinements to break through the Blood Barrier! And that's not all.

The Liang Qu connects to the Ze Cauldron, providing the conditions for the evolution of the four beasts.

[Can consume 1.2 points of Marsh Essence to evolve Jiaomu Crocodile into Jiaomu Azure Crocodile]

[Can consume 2.6 points of Marsh Essence to evolve the Tiger-Head Catfish into the Fearsome Tiger Catfish]

[Can consume 3.6 points of Marsh Essence to evolve the Rock Turtle Crab into the Rock Turtle Crab King]

[Can consume 4.7 Marsh Essence to evolve the Heavenly Water Centipede into the Two-Winged Heavenly Water Centipede]

Liang Qu took out the last two Cockscomb Fruit and divided them into four portions.

Even if Liu Jie uses all sorts of tricks, he will still drown in the Jianghuai marshes!