Hidden Water

In the pond of the Liang Residence garden.

The Old Giant Clam lay at the bottom of the water, while Liang Qu sat cross-legged on the dark giant shell, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

A tentacle-like current of water scooped up a pebble from the bottom of the water, which then floated and sank into the palm of the hand.

With a flick of his wrist, tentacle-like streams of water shot out rapidly, scooping up pebbles and sending them flying.

The stone left a white mark, struck the stone wall, bounced off, and fell into the water with great force.

With a wave of his hand, the water flow extended again, swirling up the stones, shrinking them, and gathering all its strength to pull them out like a whip.

Under immense force, the entire pebble broke out of the water and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

Liang Qu could only sense that in the last third of the process of throwing the stone, the stone pierced through the tentacle, and it was only by its remaining strength that it was able to fly out.

Even so, the results are already quite remarkable.

"The Vortex Aperture has such an effect?"

Liang Qu was greatly surprised.

I thought the Vortex Aperture could only store water on my body, which was equivalent to having an extra eight-ton ammunition depot.

However, as the eight tons of water stayed in the Vortex Aperture for longer and longer, he discovered that the water in the Vortex Aperture was undergoing some kind of inexplicable change.

The water flowing over your hands is the best proof.

In the past, if Liang Qu wanted water to lift something, the form was basically a fountain-like jet of water that would bring the stone to its hand.

Or perhaps the water flow was stirred up to form a waterspout, which then swept up the stones and carried them over.

These two are the fastest and most convenient methods.

It's absolutely impossible for a thin, tentacle-like stream of water to appear and wrap around the stone like this! Because it's simply illogical!

Water is a highly incompressible liquid; even a force of several thousand tons cannot compress it to one percent of its volume.

At a depth of 5,000 meters, the volume change of water is only 2%, but under such enormous pressure, a rock placed in it will still sink; it cannot "float" and is impossible to hold.

Essentially, it's because water is a liquid! Apart from "squeezing" and "spraying," water flow doesn't exhibit any other "force" effect.

The water in the Vortex Aperture was surprisingly extraordinary, almost like an extension of the Water Prison Art.

only...

Release control of the water-flowing tentacles, and the water disperses, mixing with the water in the garden.

Liang Qu lost its perception of the tentacle water flow, and the only way to reproduce the tentacle water flow was to continue pumping water from the Vortex Aperture.

"The water in the Vortex Aperture changes in a short time, usually within a day."

The difference begins to appear after one day, reaches a higher level after three days, and then cannot be improved further after five days.

The so-called Vortex Aperture is similar to a place in folk tales where weapons can be nurtured; the longer it is nurtured, the stronger it becomes.

However, the Vortex Aperture contains water, and it is unknown how long it will take to lose its current additional effects when exposed to the outside world.

Another major discovery has put Liang Qu in a good mood, not to mention that he has further strengthened his deterrent capabilities in the past two days.

He discovered that intimidation was remarkably effective against Water Beast; even those of the same cultivation level could be thrown into disarray by a single glare. Land beasts were slightly less effective, but not by much; they could still instill fear in those of the same cultivation level.

Furthermore, the intensity of deterrence can be adjusted, but regardless of its power, it cannot be effective against organisms with overly simple life structures.

For example, mosquitoes.

Creatures without the capacity for thought are completely unmoved by so-called deterrence...

Perhaps being mindless and unable to experience fear is a kind of happiness? Maybe he should ask his Master if the intimidation of the Hunting Tiger Realm is effective against mosquitoes. If it is, he'll feel much more at ease.

It just so happens that recently, after having Aunt Zhang repeatedly adjust the recipe, the hot pot base she's been trying to make is almost perfect, and the taste is extremely close to the original – fresh, fragrant, spicy, and numbing.

Let's have a hot pot dinner together. It's been a long time since we've had a get-together, so let's catch up.

Liang Qu instructed Aunt Zhang to stir-fry several portions of the base sauce and pack them up.

Around 3:45 Shen Time, which is just before 4:00 PM, he carried five or six large cans and rode up Red Mountain to the Martial Arts School.

The sky was overcast and filled with dark clouds. There were still wet stains on the bluestone slabs, and the air was filled with an earthy smell.

A horse's hoof, as big as a bowl, stepped over the stone slab, causing it to undulate and squeezing out a layer of water foam from the gaps.

At the entrance of the Martial Arts School, Xiang ChangSong was introducing the Martial Arts School to the two newcomers.

As Liang Qu got closer, he realized that both of them were women, around fifteen or sixteen years old, youthful and beautiful, which was quite rare.

If it's a request from an elder in the family, she will definitely specify which Martial Arts School to study at, without hesitation. It's probably a rich girl who thinks it's fun.

Xiang ChangSong caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye, turned his head and immediately spotted his junior brother riding a horse at full speed. He waved to him.

"Junior Brother Liang, I haven't seen you at the Martial Arts School for several days. What brings you here today?"

Liang Qu reined in his horse, dismounted, and patted the earthenware pot on the waist of Red Mountain.

"I'm inviting a few fellow disciples to Master's house for dinner. I've prepared some good stuff today."

"Liquor?"

Xiang ChangSong examined the earthenware jar and guessed that it contained wine.

Liang Qu shook his head and denied it. "It's not alcohol. You'll know when Senior Brother Xiang arrives. I guarantee you'll like it."

He doesn't believe anyone doesn't like hot pot.

It's simply a matter of whether it's spicy or not.

Xiang ChangSong nodded. "Okay, I'm free tonight anyway."

"Then please tell Senior Brother Xiang Senior Brother Hu that I won't be going in."

"Become."

The woman who had been listening to the two talking turned her head curiously. "Brother Xiang, I haven't introduced you yet, who is this...?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you, this is my junior brother, Liang Qu." Xiang ChangSong stepped forward and placed a hand on Liang Qu's shoulder. "Don't let my young age fool you, my junior brother is much stronger than me! He's skilled with a spear and an excellent archer! And most importantly, he's quite dashing!"

"I suppose you two will be my junior sisters from now on."

Liang Qu bowed.

The other woman's eyes lit up, her face showing anticipation.

"Will Senior Brother Liang also come to the Martial Arts School to teach?"

"Me? I don't usually..." Liang Qu was about to shake his head when he suddenly felt someone step on his foot. He changed the subject, "Although I'm quite busy working at the River Conservancy Office Management Office and don't have much free time, I often make time to come and check on things."

The two junior sisters, whose names they didn't even know yet, visibly brightened up and immediately decided to pay.

Xiang ChangSong wrote down the two men's hometowns, names, and ages, then led them into the Martial Arts School to collect their identity tags.

Liang Qu always felt that this was not a good idea.

After a while, Xiang ChangSong came out of the Martial Arts School.

"Luckily, I managed to stay, and I earned another 160 taels."

"Eighty taels per person? When did prices become this high?"

"My Master added these in early June. Every ten days, he gives me an extra Blood Qi Pill and a medicinal soup. You have no idea how many rich people there are in Ping Yang County now. They are all rolling in money. They don't want anything low and only want to pay high prices. I really don't understand."

Xiang ChangSong sometimes wondered if there were people who had money but nowhere to spend it.

After saying that, he looked Liang Qu up and down, marveling at him.

"I never expected that my junior brother would have this skill."

"What skill?"

"The two of them talked to me for a long time before they couldn't make up their minds, but as soon as my junior brother came, they immediately agreed. What kind of skill is that? Why don't you come and take my shift? Our Martial Arts School's business will definitely double! We'll have half more female students!"

"Has Senior Brother Xiang received the invitation to the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild auction?"

Liang Qu chose to change the subject, Xiang ChangSong's attention was indeed diverted.

"Received it. Junior Brother Liang should have one too, right?"

"Yes."

"Then everyone should have one, so we can sit in a row. Wait, junior brother, you haven't answered me yet."

"What are you talking about? I don't know anything about that. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. I need to make preparations early."

Liang Qu pretended not to know and quickly slipped away to find his other senior brothers.

Perhaps because the notification was rather rushed, the Second Senior Brother and Sixth Senior Brother were unavailable, but the others all said they could come.

It doesn't matter.

It was just a small get-together, nothing too formal. We can meet again next time.