Life's Grand Stage

The strange fish is very similar to the Dunkleosteus in Liang Qu's memory.

The head is covered in plate armor, thick, iron-colored scales, and jagged, interlocking teeth...

It can be described as a combination of spear and shield.

Just as there are differences between people, there are also Spirit Monster Spirit Monster. Many Spirit Monster have great natural advantages. Even if a fathead fish becomes Little Spirit Monster, it is not easy for it to deal with a mortal beast Giant Crocodile.

No wonder a group of Galloping Horse Martial Master couldn't handle it.

The unfavorable underwater environment, coupled with the lack of boundary advantages, meant they could only remain locked in a stalemate on the surface.

Lu Xinqing lay on the side of the boat, gagging and constantly washing his face with floodwater.

The strange fish had an unusually strong, unpleasant smell of blood; even a whiff of it was unbearable.

Red Mountain, inside the ship, snorted, showing his disdain for Lu Xinqing's overreaction.

Lu Xinqing felt Red Mountain's contempt and turned to face him angrily, but dared not speak, a sense of desolation rising in his heart.

Pingyang is bullied by a horse! The Sheepskin Raft drifted by one after another, Galloping Horse Martial Master looked at the Iron Head Fish on the side of the boat with lingering fear.

The Fish Monster, which had been locked in a stalemate with the eight Galloping Horse Martial Master, was actually defeated by the young man in front of them in a single move...

Could it be that he is already Wolf Smoke Expert at such a young age?

The Martial Master were unsettled as they thought about their advanced age.

Ling Shixiong, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed the pattern on Liang Qu's chest and quickly bowed.

"I wondered which hero had made a move, but it turned out to be the water brigade commander of the River Conservancy Office. No wonder he could mobilize the River Dolphin."

Upon hearing Ling Shixiong's words, the other Martial Master abandoned their thoughts and followed suit, bowing and greeting him.

"Thank you for your hard work, sir."

"You are so young, sir."

"With such excellent archery and spear skills, I thought he would be a middle-aged Martial Master."

"Heroes emerge from among the young, we're getting old, haha."

Liang Qu looked around upon hearing the sound.

Ling Shixiong looked to be around fifty years old, but his hair was gray, giving him an inexplicably aged appearance.

Looking back, the other Galloping Horse Martial Master also looked like old men, probably in their eighties or nineties.

Thinking of his subordinates Yan Qingshan and Yan Chongwen, he realized that most of the other Galloping Horse Martial Master in front of him were too old, had no hope of progressing in martial arts, and were unwilling to leave their hometown to seek a future elsewhere.

Several people would follow the fleet to fight the strange fish, mostly in response to the County Magistrate's call to help deal with some of the troublesome Water Beast that came over.

"There's no need for such formalities, esteemed seniors. I went to Hua Zhu County to discuss the flood. I was looking for County Magistrate Yu to learn more about the details and to discuss how to repair the Lord Qiu's Dyke and relocate the people. Please leave this casual conversation for another time. Once the floodwaters recede, we'll have plenty of time to talk."

"Absolutely, absolutely."

"You're right, sir. County Magistrate Yu is on the boat. Let's hurry up and bring this Fish Monster back so someone can deal with it."

"Please go first, esteemed seniors."

Xu Yuelong gave a total of three main tasks.

The top priority is resettling the people, followed by determining the extent of the disaster, with figuring out the root cause of the flood only coming in third.

The disaster has already occurred; the most urgent task is to deal with the flood and resettle the affected people.

Nothing is more important than this.

Liang Qu instructed Lu Xinqing to row the long oars and follow the Sheepskin Raft.

The group boarded the fleet and found the large ship where County Magistrate Yu was located.

Liang Qu went up to the deck and examined the ship under the awe-inspiring gazes of the surrounding people.

The firelight blazed fiercely, turning everything a deep red.

The large ship's mast was flying the flag of a merchant caravan, clearly indicating that Yu Dayi had temporarily transferred it from one of those caravans.

Ling Shixiong looked around and found that Yu Dayi disappeared. He turned to ask his personal servant where he was.

"Where County Magistrate Yu? He was just here a moment ago."

"My husband said that some disaster victims have not yet boarded the ship, and there are not enough seats on the ship. He needs time to coordinate, so he doesn't have time to entertain my husband right now."

The messenger had an awkward smile on his face.

When the King Yama fight, the little devils suffer. I don't know what's gotten into the county magistrate, daring to leave the officials from the River Conservancy Office waiting.

I'm really afraid that the shot that killed the Fish Monster will land on my head.

The servant gripped his sleeves tightly, his forehead glistening with oil and cold sweat in the firelight.

Liang Qu was speechless. With the flood raging, and both being seventh-rank officials, his status undoubtedly surpassed that of the county magistrate!

He had actually been turned away? The eldest, Ling Shixiong, sensed something was wrong and quickly smoothed things over. "Since County Magistrate Yu cares about the people, why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea, sir?"

The flood has occurred in less than thirty hours. The adults must have traveled a long way from Ping Yang County; a short rest should allow them to gather their thoughts and devise a plan that will benefit the people.

Liang Qu had no idea what Yu Dayi was up to, and he was not at all comfortable with it, saying bluntly, "County Magistrate Yu is dissatisfied."

Upon hearing this, several Galloping Horse Martial Master on horseback broke out in a cold sweat.

Ling Shixiong opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Liang Qu, "Since County Magistrate Yu is settling the people down, I can't just sit idly by. There's no need for him to come see me; you can take me to see him."

"Ah, this..."

"No?"

"No, no, no, I'll take you to see him, I'll take you to see him."

The servant wiped the sweat from his brow and hurriedly turned to lead Liang Qu along the gangplank between the boats.

After Liang Qu left, Ling Shixiong and his old comrades looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Shixiong..." a Martial Master pointed at Liang Qu's retreating figure, "What's going on?"

Ling Shixiong shook his head.

Should we follow them?

"I won't follow them. I'm too old to think straight. I won't join in the fun. Anyway, whatever they ask us to do, we'll do. We shouldn't get involved."

So what if Galloping Horse Martial Master? He's still just a seventh-rank official.

Regardless of his own abilities, he represents the face of Da Shun.

If you lose face, Great Martial Master, Grandmaster Martial Saint, and so on will help you regain it, one level at a time.

If you can't afford to offend them, you might as well avoid them.

"Have you retrieved Old Li's body? And what about that strange fish? What should we do with it?"

"Old Li... let the County Magistrate make his statement later. Let's leave the strange fish for now and wait for that official to speak."

The springboard bounced.

Liang Qu followed behind the servant and could see the servant winking at several people, signaling them to go out and inform the others in advance, but he did not stop them.

After crossing two gangplanks and arriving at the third merchant ship, Liang Qu opened the wooden door and heard a roar.

"They want the credit, but we have to bear the consequences! Is that fair? Now look what's happened, the flood is here, they can make another killing, but it's the millions of people in Hua Zhu County who suffer!"

The servant's hunchback became even more pronounced.

Lu Xinqing, who was following at the very back, smirked with schadenfreude.

Fight! Fight until the blood is spilled! Let the blood flow like rivers! Liang Qu stood outside the door, his eyes gleaming.

Having failed to understand the earlier rejection, his current deliberate complaints give him a rough idea of County Magistrate Yu's performance.

"Open the door."

The servant trembled, not daring to disobey, and stepped forward to open the wooden door.

Squeak.

Liang Qu stepped in.

In the study, County Magistrate Yu seemed still furious, his chest heaving as he glared at the servant who had opened the door without permission. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liang Qu and realized that an adult had come. He quickly straightened his clothes.

"Several servants failed in their duties and behaved inappropriately. They did not know that the River Conservancy Office Chief..."

"You can't distinguish between friend and foe! You can't distinguish between what's important and what's not! You can't distinguish between right and wrong! You're muddled about important matters! You're unclear about trivial matters! You don't understand the principles! You can't distinguish right from wrong! I really don't know what kind of classic books County Magistrate Yu has read, or if he's just wasted his time! How did he even pass the imperial examination? Did he bribe the examiners?"

Liang Qu spoke rapidly, shouting and cursing, which made everyone's hair stand on end.

Even Lu Xinqing, who was gloating, felt that the intensity seemed a bit too high this time.

Yu Dayi remained calm and composed, saying, "I don't know why you say that, sir. If I have done anything wrong, there is no need to be so rude."

Liang Qu scoffed at it.

"Lord Yu is hiding behind his door, making veiled accusations. Is this the behavior of a true man? He sends his servant to fob me off by saying I need to settle the disaster victims, while he himself is in his study making veiled accusations. Is this the behavior of a true man? With natural disasters raging, County Magistrate Yu can still use settling the people as an excuse to hide in his room and harbor resentment!"

Such actions explain why the Lord Qiu's Dyke collapsed! He's certainly done a good job!

Yu Dayi initially wanted to refute, but then changed his mind and simply said, "Is this really the case? Your River Conservancy Office acted so arrogantly, wiping out a whole bunch of the Ghost Mother Sect and gaining credit, but afterwards, you want my Hua Zhu County to take the blame for the retaliatory breach. Can you do that without saying anything?"

Liang Qu sneered, grabbed Lu Xinqing by the collar, and pulled him in front of him.

"It's absolutely true that Lord Yu's reading has gone to waste; even river bandits know more about things than he does!"

Lu Xinqing was completely bewildered.

Who? Me?