A Bountiful Harvest

"Your skills are impressive!"

Chen Hong strode over to greet Hong Ming as he returned, lavishly praising him.

He didn't forget to check on the Black Bass as he spoke.

Seeing that the arrow had been removed and Hong Ming had placed the fish in a basin, he narrowed his eyes slightly, afraid the Treasure Fish might die.

A moment later, he realized that although Hong Ming's arrow had pierced the fish, it had missed any vital spots. It posed no threat to its life and was, at most, a superficial wound. His expression eased.

Only then did he turn his attention back to Hong Ming and take a proper look at him. He was quite the dashing young man.

His scrutinizing gaze paused briefly on the Black Stone Bow Hong Ming carried.

His smile widened, and he asked tentatively, "Your archery is exceptional, and you're nimble on your feet. Could you be a Water Soldier of the River Bureau?"

"Your insight is as sharp as a torch, Young Master Chen." Hong Ming replied after jumping off the boat.

That was as good as confirming his identity. Chen Hong glanced at him, then cast a sidelong look at Chen Shan, who had followed over.

He said nothing, but his eyes held a trace of reproach.

Why hadn't Chen Shan reported that a Water Soldier of the River Bureau was at the Chen Family Water Farm?

Chen Shan didn't notice the sentiment Chen Hong was conveying. At that moment, he was absorbed in the revelation of Hong Ming's other identity.

He remembered that Su Qiang had recommended Hong Ming. He had assumed he was a country bumpkin, never expecting him to turn out to be a Water Soldier of the River Bureau.

Noticing Chen Hong's gaze, Chen Shan grew flustered and hurried over to quietly explain Hong Ming's situation.

"So you're Brother Hong!" Chen Hong cupped his hands and adopted a more deferential posture, giving Hong Ming due respect. "I didn't know you were coming to my family's water farm earlier, so we failed to host you properly. Please don't take offense, Brother Hong."

Hong Ming returned the courtesy. "You're too kind, Young Master Chen. I was the one who barged in uninvited. How could you have failed to host me properly?"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Hong finally got to the point, asking obliquely, "Brother Hong, what do you intend to do with this Black Bass?"

At that, how could Hong Ming fail to understand what Chen Hong was implying?

He was interested in the Treasure Fish, but wouldn't insist on having it. He replied candidly, "Since the fish was caught at your family's water farm, it's only right that you decide what to do with it, Young Master Chen. I merely did what little I could to help."

In other words, he was willing to hand over the fish, but not without a fee for his efforts.

Chen Hong understood at once and laughed. "Brother Hong is absolutely right. In that case, I'm willing to offer you twenty taels as thanks for your assistance. How does that sound?"

Once again, he made his sincerity clear. A Black Bass Treasure Fish was expensive, with a minimum market value of twenty taels.

But a semi-Treasure Fish was much cheaper. Selling one for ten taels would already be the most anyone could hope for.

He had offered twenty taels right off the bat, doubling that amount. More than anything, he wanted to make friends with Hong Ming.

From Hong Ming's attire and archery skills, it wasn't difficult to tell he was a Water Soldier in the Archery Battalion. That meant he had already become a martial artist.

Whether his future was limitless remained to be seen, but there was no harm in making friends with him.

If they happened to cross paths while Chen Hong was doing business or traveling by boat in the future, their friendship could make the journey easier.

Hong Ming saw that Chen Hong was trying to befriend him and had no objection.

At first, he had estimated that even ten taels would be an exorbitant price and hadn't expected to get more. Now that the other party had raised the offer to twenty taels, there was no reason to refuse.

The two soon reached an understanding and completed the transaction. As they chatted, they began addressing each other as brothers.

Through a few indirect questions, Hong Ming learned from Chen Hong why Black Bass had appeared at the water farm.

It had to do with the approaching fish migration!

Only then did he realize that every year, as autumn turned to winter, fish from all the surrounding waters migrated to the Huai River, converging like a hundred streams flowing into the sea. They stayed there until the weather turned warm again in spring, when they swam back upstream.

This migration was the greatest spectacle of the fishing industry in all of Clear River City, hailed as the biggest harvest of the year for the people of Qing Province.

Countless people who depended on the Huai River waters made a fortune from it.

Some even managed to catch Treasure Fish, creating overnight-wealth legends that caused a sensation far and wide and were celebrated in song for a time.

With the fish migration approaching, all sorts of fish were stirring. The rarely seen Treasure Fish were no exception.

The Black Bass had probably been driven by instinct and couldn't stand waiting, so it had set off early. It had then spent all its luck evolving, only to suffer an accident in the process.

Hong Ming had learned what he wanted to know, and so had Chen Hong.

When Chen Hong learned that Hong Ming was a newly promoted archer who was still in the Preparatory Camp, his expression shifted slightly, but he said nothing more.

The two had traded information, and once they were done, they went their separate ways.

Hong Ming returned with twenty-five taels of silver in his arms. With such a windfall, he wouldn't have to worry about the resources needed for cultivation for the next half month.

Back at camp, he bought a Force-Nourishing Pill and then devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

The next day, Chen Yao came to see him.

Her reason for coming was somewhat unexpected: she had made a special trip to thank Hong Ming.

"So the Chen Family Water Farm belongs to your family, Miss Chen!" Hong Ming exclaimed once he learned the reason.

He had wondered why Chen Hong's features seemed familiar. It turned out the two were siblings.

Chen Yao was also surprised. She hadn't expected Hong Ming to be the one who caught the Treasure Fish for her family.

"I merely took advantage of the opportunity. I didn't do much to help," Hong Ming said. He didn't think what he had done warranted Chen Yao making a special trip to thank him.

Chen Yao disagreed. "A kindness is a kindness. What does its size have to do with anything?"

Thanks to Hong Ming's timely sale of the Black Bass, her family's struggling business had gotten some much-needed relief.

Hong Ming didn't know about that, but she couldn't simply ignore what he had done.

"You're too kind, Miss Chen. If we're talking about help, then given all you've done for me, I should be the one thanking you." Hong Ming chuckled, hinting at what he meant.

He was referring not only to Chen Yao's instruction but also to the documents.

Chen Yao was taken aback. Wen Xin, standing beside her, blurted out, "Oh, you already know?"

"Mm." Hong Ming nodded lightly.

He hadn't been sure before, but now he was certain.

"Good thing you have a conscience!"

Chen Yao hadn't said a word, but Wen Xin had spoken first, her tone relieved.

"One thing doesn't cancel out the other."

Chen Yao insisted. She wasn't surprised that Hong Ming had found out.

She hadn't deliberately told him in order to claim credit, but she had left plenty of traces. It was only a matter of time before he learned the truth.

The main reason she had kept quiet was that she had been left wary by an earlier attempt to help someone.

Now that she had learned Hong Ming kept her kindness in mind, she couldn't help feeling the same sense of relief as Wen Xin.

Seeing how determined Chen Yao was, Hong Ming didn't insist further and accepted her thanks.

Just before they parted, Chen Yao seemed to remember something. She reminded him solemnly, "Hong Ming, now that you're in the Archery Battalion, it's good to practice archery regularly, but don't neglect your boxing either."

Hong Ming nodded slightly to show he understood.

"Chen Yao, why are you telling Hong Ming to keep practicing his boxing? Don't tell me it's because of the Martial Examination?" As the two sisters walked away, their conversation still revolved around Hong Ming. Wen Xin asked, sounding as if she had guessed the reason.

"More or less." Chen Yao neither confirmed nor denied it.

"You're thinking way too far ahead!"

Wen Xin shook her head, thinking Chen Yao was making a fuss over nothing.

The Martial Examination was something Dark Force martial artists at the very least should be thinking about. Hong Ming was still a long way from that.

Besides, no one could say whether he would ever reach Dark Force.

A martial artist could cross the Bright Force threshold through diligence, but Dark Force wasn't so simple.

It was a vast chasm that had stopped countless Bright Force martial artists in their tracks.

Many Bright Force martial artists had spent half their lives honing themselves and their life's blood in arduous cultivation, yet never managed to reach that threshold.

And they still dreamed of taking the Martial Examination!