"Your subordinate heard that the appearance of the Blue Carp signified fortune, longevity, and auspiciousness. Thus, I wished to obtain one and add to the joy of the Hall Master's sixtieth birthday."
"For the past month, your subordinate has braved the wind and snow, living in a thatched hut at Gorilla Beach."
"Yet after searching the Hundred Depths Cold Pool, I found nothing."
"Until last night, when a Blue Robe Immortal descended into my dream and said: 'I am Seventh Prince Ao Hao of the East Sea Dragon Palace. Knowing of your sincerity, I wish to bestow a blessing upon Elder Tong of Pingding City.'"
"'However, the Blue Carp is a royal species bearing dragon blood, and also my younger brother. Its life and death are subject to fate, so its life cannot be taken lightly.'"
"'Therefore, I bestow upon you sixty-six immortal scales. Each one can extend Elder Tong's life by a year.'"
"After the Blue Robe Immortal finished speaking, he tore sixty-six fish scales from his own body and tossed them to your subordinate."
"When your subordinate awoke, I thought the dream far too fantastical. I assumed it was merely a case of thinking about something by day and dreaming about it by night, but I saw that there really were sixty-six fish scales beside me."
"Your subordinate does not know whether it was real or false. However, since the Blue Robe Immortal in the dream said they were 'a blessing for Elder Tong of Pingding City, with each scale extending his life by a year,' it must be that the Hall Master is blessed with great fortune, and the immortal borrowed your subordinate's mouth to bestow a blessing upon Elder Tong."
Zhang Yu finished in one breath and opened the wooden box. Inside were indeed extremely rare blue fish scales.
The guests in the hall whispered among themselves.
On festive occasions, saying auspicious words and presenting lucky omens to seek favor had been customary since ancient times.
It was just that this story did sound... far too fantastical.
Tong Baixiong laughed. "It was kind of you to show such sincerity. I'll accept it."
Zhang Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He admitted that he had been taking a gamble. The Blue Carp scales were real, while the immortal was something he had invented. How could anyone else know? On such a joyous occasion, surely no one would seriously investigate it.
"Wait!" a voice suddenly rang out.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard outside, a handsome young man stood up and craned his neck to look inside.
"Fun, fun. The last filial son offered scriptures, and this one received scales from an immortal. There really are all kinds of stories. Old Shi, should we join in the fun and come up with a story too?"
The young man had little experience in the martial world, but he was well-read and clever. Seeing the three sons behind Tong Baixiong looking displeased, he thought he had figured out their intentions and could not resist showing off.
"Even if an immortal wanted to bestow a blessing, he should have entrusted the dream to the Tong brothers. Could it be that this outsider was more sincere than their own son? He may have overreached and made things worse."
The man sitting beside him hurriedly tugged at him. "Young Escort Chief, watch what you say."
The young man sat down and complained, "Old Shi, why are you always so cautious? The Sun Moon Divine Cult may be impressive in the northern lands, but our escort agency is no weaker in the southern martial world."
The man surnamed Shi forced a bitter smile. "There... is still a difference."
"How are we any worse? They have twelve branches, while we have ten regional agencies."
"They have elders and hall masters, while we have eighty-four escort masters."
"They have divine techniques, while Father's seventy-two forms of Bixie Swordplay have swept through the martial world undefeated and earned him a formidable reputation."
"Tell me, in what way is Fuwei Escort Agency inferior to the Sun Moon Divine Cult?"
The man surnamed Shi sighed and looked around. Fortunately, there were no members of the Sun Moon Divine Cult nearby. The surrounding people were disciples of minor sects, either drinking and playing finger-guessing games or focused on what was happening inside the hall. They paid little attention to the ramblings of a boy whose hair had not even fully grown in.
He could not bear to shatter the boy's beautiful fantasy, so he said softly, "Young Escort Chief, even if our escort agency is no weaker than the Sun Moon Divine Cult, we still need to act discreetly. The Chief Escort Master has repeatedly warned us that the most important thing in the escort business is to make more friends and fewer enemies. Fuwei means fortune and might—fortune comes first, might second. Drawing resentment by acting ostentatiously is foolish. Keeping quiet and making money is the Righteous Path."
The young man thought for a moment, then laughed. "Old Shi, what you said makes sense. Is this what they call pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger?"
In the hall.
Tong Baixiong looked at the person who had shouted "Wait" and asked in confusion, "What do you have to say?"
Tong Yukang walked into the middle of the hall, glanced at Zhang Yu, and smiled faintly. "Father, please hear me out. If these Blue Carp scales were truly bestowed by an immortal, they would naturally bring fortune and longevity. But if they were merely bought from a dead fish, wouldn't accepting them bring bad luck?"
Tong Baixiong had not thought too deeply about it at first. The claim that an immortal had bestowed the scales was impossible to verify, and he had not intended to investigate. But now that his son had pointed it out, he also felt that Zhang Yu had been far too bold. Most likely, he had sold some dead fish scales and invented a story to deceive him.
If word of this spread through the martial world, wouldn't that be humiliating?
He stared at the young man kneeling on one knee in the middle of the hall and said in a deep voice, "Zhang Yu, do you know what crime it is to deceive this old man?"
Zhang Yu's expression was resolute. He cupped his hands and said, "Please let the Hall Master and Third Young Master judge for themselves. Your subordinate acted with complete sincerity and spoke not a single falsehood!"
Qi Zhaogu stepped forward. "Reporting to my adoptive father, Zhang Yu has spent the past month living in a hut by the Cold Pool downstream of Gorilla Beach. That much is true. Although I did not personally see him enter the pool, I believe his sincerity was genuine."
The crowd immediately believed it a little more. In particular, the members of the Sun Moon Divine Cult all knew that when Gorilla Beach was frozen over, the chances of catching a Blue Scale Carp in the Cold Pool downstream were indeed the highest.
Tong Baixiong had not wished to investigate further and spoil the festive atmosphere. Seeing Qi Zhaogu come forward to corroborate the story, a smile returned to his face. "So that's how it is. You have certainly gone to a lot of trouble. Then..."
Tong Yukang cut in, "Blue Scale Carp are rare, but twenty-six of them have appeared in total over the past century. Five years ago, two were even caught. If someone were willing to spend some money, it would not be difficult to buy old fish scales to make up the number and then invent a story."
Zhang Yu glanced at him. He had no grudge against Tong Yukang—in fact, he had only learned the man's identity from Qi Zhaogu today. Why was he being so aggressive, as if they had some deep enmity?
He did not hold back. "Third Young Master speaks with such certainty, claiming that I fabricated this story to deceive the world. Do you have any evidence?"
Seeing everyone in the hall turn toward him, Tong Yukang could not help feeling a little smug. He smiled confidently. "Do you truly think that inventing a story would make Father happy and win you undeserved favor? Do you really think the Tong family has no one with discerning eyes?"
Tong Baixiong's brows drew together even more tightly at those words.
Zhang Yu shook his head. "My sincerity can be witnessed by Heaven and earth. Since Third Young Master insists on accusing me, what more can I say?"
Tong Yukang sneered. "What a glib tongue! You refuse to shed tears until you see the coffin."
The guests in the hall began whispering among themselves. They usually knew that Tong Baixiong had two sons, but they had barely heard of this Third Young Master. Apparently, he did not hold any position in the cult.
Judging by his appearance, he seemed to possess conclusive evidence and intended to expose Zhang Yu's lie in front of everyone. The guests grew even more curious.
At that moment, every gaze at the birthday banquet had gathered here.
Jia Bu's relationship with Tong Baixiong was average, and he was happy to watch the spectacle. Putting on a solemn expression, he said, "Nephew, do you have evidence?"
"Uncle Jia, the evidence will be here shortly."
"Good! I have long heard that Nephew is exceptionally talented in literature and remarkably quick-witted. Today, this old man will certainly broaden his horizons." Yellow-Faced Venerable laughed, making his old face look even more like an orange peel.
Tong Yukang became even more pleased with himself, failing to notice that Tong Baixiong's expression had grown increasingly gloomy.
He walked up to Zhang Yu and looked down at him condescendingly.
"You said the Blue Scale was shed by the Seventh Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace in your dream last night?"
Zhang Yu answered calmly, "That is correct."
Tong Yukang looked as though he had caught him in a trap, and his smile widened. "Do you know that scales from five years ago are different from scales shed last night?"
"Even if special methods were used to preserve them and make their appearance similar, an expert familiar with fish would still be able to distinguish them accurately."
Zhang Yu sighed and fell silent.
Seeing the situation reverse, the guests secretly thought that the play onstage had changed from Magu Presenting Longevity to Judge Di Investigates a Case.
Tong Baixiong looked toward Sima Da, Island Master of Long Whale Island, and Huang Boliu, leader of the Tianhe Gang. His expression was unpleasant as he asked, "Is that so?"
Sima Da hesitated for a moment before standing. "Third Young Master is knowledgeable. That is indeed the case. Scales are originally attached to a fish's body and nourished by its blood and marrow, which makes them shine brilliantly. Once they have been separated from the body for more than three days, those tiny blood vessels will dry up. With careful examination, the difference can be identified."
"I only know that this applies to sea fish. I cannot say for certain whether it applies to Blue Scale Carp as well."
Tong Yukang smiled. "He said that Blue Scale Carp came from the East Sea, so naturally it counts as a sea fish."
Huang Boliu, leader of the Tianhe Gang, also said, "Just as Island Master Sima said. In fact, whether it is a river fish or a sea fish, the principle is the same."
Tong Baixiong fell silent for a moment, then said to the two men, "Then examine them."
The two men walked up to Zhang Yu, each picked up a fish scale, and examined it carefully.
After looking for a while, Sima Da put down the Blue Scale and cupped his hands. "Elder Tong, I understand now."
Huang Boliu nodded. "So do I."
Tong Yukang hurriedly asked, "What is the result?"
Thanks to Yuan Weisay, Nanbeichao2, and the other brothers for the Qidian coins, monthly votes, and recommendation votes. Since I am traveling and it is inconvenient to list everyone's names, please forgive me. I will post a separate chapter of thanks later. I have carefully read every monthly vote, every recommendation vote, and every positive review several times. They are extremely precious to a newcomer.
I have indeed been very busy these past few days and originally had no way to add another chapter. But just now, one brother sent me a recommendation-vote gift packet. I was startled at first, thinking someone had been abusing the system, but after asking around, I learned that it was a recommendation-vote gift packet.
However, I cannot see who sent it from my side, so I can only thank that person here along with everyone else.
For a new author, I believe the most precious thing is actually the brothers' comments. I hope everyone will leave more comments. As long as they are not maliciously negative, I will read them all.
Thank you once again!
Before you continue