Mighty Six-Whiskered Catfish

Mighty Six-Whiskered Catfish

The Ze Cauldron shimmered with spiritual light. The fresh blood dispersed through the water gathered under some miraculous force without scattering, slowly etching itself onto the Six-Whiskered Catfish's smooth back.

The River Flow Talisman released a bloody radiance in the dark waters, and the desperately struggling Six-Whiskered Catfish instantly went rigid.

A powerful force of mental energy slammed into his mind. Liang Qu felt as though the back of his head had been struck by a heavy hammer, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

His nostrils grew hot, and he sensed blood flowing out. Subduing the Six-Whiskered Catfish was even more dangerous than subduing Zhu Po Long!

Though the two were nearly the same size, Zhu Po Long, in its semi-hibernating state, had nowhere near the Six-Whiskered Catfish's strength of will!

At last, after more than a dozen breaths of deadlock, the mental will in his mind rapidly weakened.

The River Character sank beneath the catfish's skin and vanished. At the same time, an entirely different Mental Link appeared in Liang Qu's mind.

It worked!

Though deeply exhausted, Liang Qu revealed a delighted smile, though a trace of lingering fear flashed through him as well.

The Six-Whiskered Catfish's resistance had been so fierce. His success with Zhu Po Long last time had truly been sheer luck.

Fortunately, success was success. Once the Mental Link had been established, its life and death were under his control. Betrayal was impossible.

Luck was also part of strength.

The Ze Cauldron radiated light.

Six-Whiskered Catfish subdued. Can evolve.

Eighty points of Marsh Essence can be consumed to evolve the Six-Whiskered Catfish into a Tiger-Head Catfish.

The same evolution prompt appeared, but unfortunately, Liang Qu still did not have that much Marsh Essence. He could only wait until later.

After the struggle, all his strength had been drained. He hurriedly summoned the two beasts, grabbing one tail in each hand and having them carry him to the surface for air.

Splash.

"Hah!"

Liang Qu wiped the water from his face and took deep breaths. His aching, dizzy mind swiftly cleared, like taking a gulp of iced soda in midsummer.

It was still early. By the daylight, Liang Qu, having recovered somewhat, studied the two beasts' enormous and terrifying bodies. Pride and a Sense of Security welled up within him.

With the two beasts assisting him, even someone as big and strong as LaiTou Zhang, if uninjured, would still be at his mercy once they fell into the water.

Only... Liang Qu looked at the torn wound on the Six-Whiskered Catfish's tail and could not help feeling heartache. They were all his own little ones now! Earlier, Cannot Move had fought the Six-Whiskered Catfish. Cannot Move was thick-skinned and unharmed, while the Six-Whiskered Catfish had been bitten badly enough to leave a huge scar. That was also Cannot Move's advantage. Zhu Po Long's agility and endurance were far worse than those of ordinary fish, but it had high attack and thick health! "Since you're so fat, I'll call you Fat Catfish. A Fei!"

Liang Qu casually gave the Six-Whiskered Catfish a name. After receiving a pleased emotion through the link, he brought the two beasts back to the Lotus Root Waters and broke off a piece of lotus root to feed the Six-Whiskered Catfish.

This piece of lotus root contained no Marsh Essence, but it still had healing effects, only much weaker ones.

After Fat Catfish ate it, the wound on its tail visibly began to heal, though at a much slower pace.

A Fei rolled over in the water and began circling Liang Qu.

Figuring one piece was enough, Liang Qu returned to the boat and fed Cannot Move several fish, letting it continue guarding the home. Then, once Fat Catfish had recovered, he had it help him catch fish around the Lotus Root Waters.

The Six-Whiskered Catfish possessed formidable hunting abilities. With one suck of its Open Mouth Wide, it could catch many Small Fish at once, and it would not leave obvious wounds that might make people suspicious of where the fish had come from. That was also why Liang Qu wanted to subdue the Six-Whiskered Catfish.

"Once you catch fish, spit them in here. Be careful not to let anyone see."

Liang Qu lifted the board at the stern and pointed to the empty compartment inside.

Though LaiTou Zhang's skiff was crude, it was small but fully equipped. It was more than three meters long, structured like an ordinary fishing boat, with two waterproof compartments at the bow and stern for storing fish.

Fat Catfish rose and fell on the surface, bobbing its head.

The Mental Link was not without benefits for Water Beasts. At the very least, from Liang Qu's observations, Water Beasts became noticeably smarter after the link was established. They gained a certain ability to think and were no longer mere wild beasts.

After receiving A Fei's confirmation, Liang Qu did not close the stern hatch. He simply lay down, covered himself with a layer of straw raincoat, and fell Sound Asleep.

Establishing the Mental Link had consumed far too much. He urgently needed rest. He would see what his harvest was like once he woke.

The sky gradually darkened. River Wind blew, and rippling red light spread across the water.

Liang Qu groggily opened his eyes. Looking at the sun in the west, blazing like fire, he discovered that he had slept all the way until dusk. He had not even woken naturally—rather, a fish had leapt up and slapped him in the face, waking him.

Liang Qu touched the wet, slick mucus on his face in confusion. Sitting up, he stared dumbfounded at the several Big Fish flopping about in the boat.

The waterproof compartment at the stern was actually packed full of fish!

From time to time, fish leapt out through the narrow opening. Some slipped back into the water and escaped, while others jumped into the body of the boat. The fish that had slapped Liang Qu awake had reached his head that way.

Liang Qu was struck by an enormous surprise. Even if all these fish were ordinary fish, they had to be worth a hundred coins!

Was this all A Fei's catch from half a day?

Just then, A Fei surfaced, opened its huge mouth, and spat out another three Big Fish along with water and foam.

Liang Qu asked, "Did you catch all of these?"

A Fei swayed its body and bobbed its head again.

"You worked with Cannot Move, and this isn't even the full harvest? A few fish jumped out?"

Feeling the information in the Mental Link, Liang Qu Suddenly Realized.

Cannot Move lacked agility and was slow, but it could block off escape routes. It complemented Fat Catfish perfectly. The two had caught nearly fifty Big Fish just around the Lotus Root Waters, including a Spotted Head Fish worth thirty coins!

The fish catch filling the whole boat was worth one hundred and thirty coins!

Though Cannot Move had been neglecting its guard duty by joining the Fishing, that was not worth mentioning in the face of such an enormous catch.

"Good! You two did well!"

Liang Qu praised them several times in a row, then hurriedly gathered up the fish in the boat and stuffed them into the compartment before covering it with the partition. He also went into the water and broke off two pieces of lotus root to reward the two beasts. There were more than a hundred pieces of lotus root without Marsh Essence, so he did not feel the slightest heartache.

He also checked Fat Catfish's injury. It had basically healed, leaving only a scar.

The two rewarded beasts rolled and circled in the water, churning up large amounts of white foam. Only after quite a while did they dive away, gathering together near the lotus roots to make a nest and jointly guard the Treasure Plant.

Liang Qu rowed toward the Fishing Wharf with his oar. By the time he arrived, night had fallen. Lanterns hung around the wharf, and many fishermen were returning to their boats in twos and threes, preparing to go home for dinner before heading out again at dawn.

There were too many fish, at least a hundred jin. He could not carry them all at once, so Liang Qu called for a Fishing Wharf worker to bring fish baskets and help.

The worker, Lin Songbao, smiled. "A Shui, selling fish again today?"

Lin Songbao was the second son of Lin Di, the Fishing Wharf manager, and worked part-time as a clerk.

"Otherwise, would I dare use your fish baskets? Wouldn't you skin me alive?"

"Listen to A Shui talk. Who doesn't know our things are..." Lin Songbao started on his merchant's patter, but Liang Qu did not buy it and told him to get the fish already.

"Looks like you had quite a catch today. Three fish baskets." Lin Songbao carried the baskets to the boat. As soon as he opened the hatch and saw the crowded Fish School inside, he was somewhat surprised. "You caught all these?"

"Mm-hm."

Lin Songbao swept his gaze across the catch. By his estimate, it was worth over a hundred coins. At the wharf, only a handful of skilled fishermen could reliably catch this much, much less Liang Qu, who had not even come of age. Even if he had merely stumbled upon a Fish School through good luck, it was still quite remarkable.

"Looks like our wharf is about to gain another skilled fisherman."

Lin Songbao put away his joking manner and offered a flattering remark.

Not long ago, Liang Qu's father, Liang Dajiang, had died. Before long, even their Black Awning Boat had been sold off. Everyone had thought the orphan could only quietly wait to die, yet he had unexpectedly survived on a skiff. Today, he had even made a considerable catch.

There were many orphans in Yi Xing City. They either sold themselves into servitude or begged for a living. Liang Qu was the first to make something of himself.

When Lin Songbao appeared on the Fishing Wharf carrying three brimming fish baskets, quite a few fishermen stopped in their tracks.