Sacrificing to the River God?

Sacrificing to the River God?

A sacrifice, and they had to pay? At the mention of money, Liang Qu frowned instinctively.

In the old days, fishermen's tools had been primitive. Whenever storms came, their safety on the water was under enormous threat, so they worshipped the legendary gods of the sea as protectors of their lives and bestowers of bountiful harvests.

It happened quite often—roughly twice a year. Once in Winter Spring, and once on June 6th.

Winter Spring had no fixed date. The reasons for holding it were often like what had happened last night.

But when it came to paying, Liang Qu understood. The River God Uncle Li spoke of was that Great Demon they had seen last night. To ordinary people, there was no difference; both were powerful creatures beyond human strength to resist.

He was reluctant, but there was no helping it. Even someone like LaiTou Zhang would not dare refuse to pay for a sacrifice to the River God.

"Uncle Li, about how much will it cost?"

Li Dakang considered it. "I haven't heard of anyone dying this time. A household with one able-bodied adult man should pay around a hundred copper coins, I suppose? It's basically been that amount in past years. Only June 6th is more grand, so they ask for more then."

Liang Qu breathed a sigh of relief. Of the silver Master Yang had given him last time, three taels remained—more than enough.

Still, he had to take the boat out.

Quite a few boats remained moored along the shore, but not all of them. Plenty of people at the docks struggled to make a living and did not care if that so-called River God ate them.

Faced with Li Dakang's goodwill, Liang Qu apologized.

"Hey, kid, why won't you listen? What's wrong with waiting two more days?"

"Uncle Li, you probably don't know. Water Bro went fishing in the heavy rain last night and came back safe and sound, didn't he? He probably even saw what that Great Demon looked like." Lin Songbao came over from the side, raising his voice.

"Song Bao? What nonsense are you saying? It was the River God, the River God!"

One fisherman became frantic and stepped forward to cover Lin Songbao's mouth, but Lin Songbao slipped away and ran off before he could.

"Isn't it all the same? Last year, we saw that huge broad fish. It was taller and bigger than a Tower Ship, and you all called it the River God too. Then there was that Water Tiger Fish the year before last. One of its teeth was bigger than a person—you couldn't even wrap your arms around it.

There's one every year. From the day I was born until now, I've never seen the same kind twice. I'm thinking, how can one river have so many River Gods? If they were all River Gods, wouldn't they start fighting? Aren't they just Great Demons?"

Li Dakang beat his chest and stamped his feet. "No reverence at all, no reverence at all!"

Chen Cheng, standing nearby, came to his senses and hurriedly asked, "A Shui, you went fishing last night?"

"Yeah."

Liang Qu did not hide it. It was no Major Event. There had to be plenty of people who had seen the Great Demon, otherwise word would not have spread so thoroughly by now.

"I was pretty close last night. When that 'River God' fell into the water, the waves were enormous. If I hadn't held on tight, the boat would've capsized. I hurried back afterward and didn't catch a single fish."

Li Dakang said fearfully, "That was too dangerous, truly too dangerous. Good thing you were far away. If you'd been close, wouldn't you have been eaten?"

Lin Songbao burst into laughter. "How could it be that exaggerated? How big is a person, and how big is a Great Demon? Eating a person would be like eating a grain of rice. Opening its mouth that wide would tire me out."

Li Dakang was deeply uncomfortable hearing that. "Kid, how can you talk like that?"

Lin Songbao dug at his ear and pretended not to hear. He stepped forward and leaned close to Liang Qu. "Water Bro, I've been waiting for you forever. If I hadn't seen your skiff at the docks, I would've gone to your house to find you."

Water Bro?

Liang Qu was somewhat surprised.

Lin Songbao had never called him that before. Even when they sold fish that day and Song Bao said he would round up the price for him in the future, he had called him A Shui. After all, Lin Songbao was older than him.

"So you've been waiting for me all this time? Is something the matter?"

"Hehe, I came to ask whether you've got time lately. My dad wants to treat you to a meal. What do you say? He said you can pick the time and place."

"Did you hear some news?"

"I don't know either." Lin Songbao scratched his head. "My dad didn't tell me. He said I've got a big mouth and can't keep a secret, so if it's information you haven't revealed, he won't let me know either. But he told me you'd made a great success of yourself in Ping Yang Town, and that I should call you Water Bro when I see you."

Liang Qu fell into thought.

Yi Xing City and Ping Yang Town were close, but they were still more than ten li apart. What happened that night had been tightly contained, and only Martial Arts School apprentices knew about it. Most of them lived at the school, so it would take time for word to ferment.

Lin Di, the Fishing Wharf manager, clearly had some information channels of his own.

Lin Songbao urged, "So? Is it a yes or no? Give me an answer so I can tell my dad."

"Tomorrow evening, then. The place doesn't matter. Just come tell me once it's decided."

Liang Qu did not refuse. He missed his own Black Awning Boat a little. Perhaps this was an opportunity.

The skiff was too small and had no canopy. Whenever it rained, the cabin filled with water. No matter what, it could not compare to a Black Awning Boat.

"Alright!"

"I'm taking the boat out, then."

"I'll come find you tomorrow morning."

"Mm."

The river was calm, its waters reflecting the radiance of stars and moonlight.

The oars churned the water, making a rushing splash.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The oars struck the water, their dull sounds traveling far along the Water Waves.

Ripples appeared on the surface. Cannot Move rose from beneath the water, its scales gleaming with a cold, hard blue light that mingled with the shimmering moonlight.

After just one day apart, Cannot Move had grown another section, reaching the astonishing length of nearly three meters. Swimming beside the boat, it was enough to make any Jianghuai fisherman shrink back in fear. Ordinary people would never believe it was a Taihua Crocodile.

Yet Cannot Move now floated placidly on the surface, carrying a little Crab Monster that was tapping its Dual Pincers.

The Crab Monster blew bubbles. Its jade-white shell had hardened considerably, its color beginning to take on a faint blue-green hue. The sound of its tapping had become increasingly metallic, and it had grown much larger. It had once been the size of a Fist, but now it was a full circle larger than one.

After seeing a true Great Demon last night, Liang Qu understood that the Crab Monster was merely at the bottom of the Spirit Monster food chain.

Its young had to grow quickly, especially with sufficient nourishment. Otherwise, they would struggle to survive in the fiercely competitive Deep Water Area.

Perhaps that Crab Monster had come to the Shallow Water Area in an attempt to lay its eggs and hatch its young somewhere safer.

At its current rate of growth, Fist would be useful in less than two months, no longer just an ornament hanging from Cannot Move's head.

Thinking about it, it was rather amusing. Thanks to Cannot Move's scales, Fist's Legs could anchor its body very easily, and the two were almost inseparable.

In contrast, Fat Catfish's blue back was too smooth. Fist could not stand on it at all.

Splash.

Speak of the devil, and the devil arrived. Fat Catfish surfaced, water streaming down its smooth blue back and into the river. It raised its head and spat a jet of water at Fist, knocking Fist into the water.

Seeing its scheme succeed, A Fei rolled over to expose its white belly, as though "laughing so hard it clutched its stomach," its Long Whiskers trembling without end.

Fist, having fallen into the water, swam like a lobster. Curling its lower body, it shot up to A Fei's mouth in a flash and clamped one pincer onto its Long Whiskers.

A Fei's catfish whiskers were fleshy, and it immediately cried out in pain, thrashing wildly in the water.

Already enormous, it had crossed the three-meter mark and reached three meters thirty. Beneath its thick skin lay powerful muscles, and its explosive strength made every fish in the water afraid to provoke it.

As it thrashed, it was like a water dragon, tremendously imposing. Splashes even sprayed over.

Only Cannot Move sat beside them like an old monk in meditation, utterly unmoved.

Seeing the two beasts' play growing increasingly excessive and water already collecting in the cabin, Liang Qu immediately shouted for them to stop. Only then did they cease their horseplay.

"A Fei, help me catch fish. Try to catch as many valuable ones as possible—carp, Yellow Croaker, that sort of thing. Understand?"

A Fei wagged its Long Whiskers to show that it understood.

The two beasts' growth had brought greater intelligence. Now, not only could they identify Treasure Fish with unusual traits, they could even recognize certain expensive species.

As Master Yang's Personal Disciple, it was not too much for Liang Qu to bring in three hundred copper coins' worth of fish on one trip, was it?