Old Acquaintance

Ordinary wooden crates could not last long underwater; they would rot within days. Those that had remained until now had, more or less, undergone special treatment and held some value.

The second one.

A heap of rouge and powder cases. The wood was fairly good—rosewood and nanmu—but unfortunately, a crack somewhere in the crate had let water in. Everything was ruined.

The third one.

It was packed with dried medicinal ingredients. Upon inspection, most were intended for the Galloping Horse Martial Master realm.

The crate itself had been preserved well and had not taken on water. Unfortunately, though the items had no mold when held in hand, they all felt vaguely damp. They did not snap crisply when broken, instead retaining a slight toughness.

Xiang ChangSong asked, "Can they still be used?"

Hu Qi rummaged through them and gave them a sniff. The medicinal scent was faint. "Barely."

"Forget it." Cao Rang waved his hand. "It's not worth using ourselves, and selling medicine with insufficient efficacy would only harm people."

"True enough. Feed them to A Fei as payment for his hard work. Next, next!"

"Whoa!"

Xu Zishuai opened the lid and recoiled backward.

The fourth crate held a pile of white bones and rotten hide. A foul stench shot straight into the sky, the worst-smelling crate so far.

Holding his breath, Liang Qu pulled out a wooden slat from the second crate and used it to stir the contents. A long, narrow skull with fangs rolled out and bounced free. It was roughly cat-sized. Beneath it lay completely rotted cotton wadding and bedding, black as the silt itself.

Lu Gang picked up the skull.

"Not human. It should be some rare exotic beast."

After four crates in a row yielded little of value, the Fat Catfish in the river