"How could this be?"
Witnessing the result, Zhou Zheng's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Reality had slapped his dark cheek hard, leaving it stinging and fiery red.
Wang Jiu, who had been so confident of victory just moments ago, was frozen in place, stiff as a clay statue.
The Second Team stared blankly at the arrows in the distance, unable to come back to their senses for a long while.
Smiles didn't disappear; they simply moved to the faces of the Third Team.
Shen Lin clenched his arrow, replaying the shot Hong Ming had fired earlier in his mind.
After turning it over and comparing it carefully, he reached a conclusion that nearly plunged him into despair.
With his current archery skills, he couldn't possibly shoot an arrow of such a high caliber!
"We won?"
Yu Bin blinked, as if asking himself, or perhaps the others.
No one answered. They, too, couldn't immediately accept such an unexpected result.
"Beginner-level archery!"
Li Mo's gaze shifted, surprise flickering in his eyes.
Hong Ming's shot had undoubtedly reached the level of beginner Piercing Willow Archery.
It might even have surpassed it!
Especially since pulling off a result that achieved two goals at once required astonishing judgment.
Only now did Li Mo belatedly realize that Hong Ming had quietly trained his Piercing Willow Archery to the beginner level!
No wonder he had stood out and managed to hit the Treasure Fish.
At first, Li Mo had thought it was luck, but now it seemed to be mostly skill.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help applauding.
Then he looked at Wang Jiu and said in a firm voice, "Wang Jiu, the winner has been decided. What do you have to say?"
At this point, Wang Jiu had nothing to say. He snorted and swept away.
Hong Ming, meanwhile, returned to his own boat, having lived up to expectations.
The members of the Treasure Fish Team welcomed him with unprecedented enthusiasm.
Every word they said praised the excellence of Hong Ming's skills and the brilliance of his actions.
His victory had finally let them vent their pent-up anger!
"Hong Ming, take this Treasure Fish. I've already done some processing, so it won't affect the sale later."
Once everyone had settled down, Li Mo handed Hong Ming the Red-Horned Pomfret.
Hong Ming took the Treasure Fish and thanked him. "Thanks, Brother Li."
"Don't go back to the Fishing Team later. Come straight to the Treasure Fish Team and hunt Treasure Fish with us!"
Li Mo then dropped the bombshell, transferring Hong Ming to a different team.
The others had no objections. After that archery contest, they all recognized Hong Ming's skill.
Hong Ming readily agreed. He had been eager to focus on hunting Treasure Fish.
For the rest of the day, Hong Ming joined the Treasure Fish Team in battling across the river, with impressive results.
Although they didn't see another Treasure Fish, half-Treasure Fish appeared frequently, and their arrows felled every one.
This wasn't limited to the Third Team; the other teams had the same experience.
Treasure Fish were rare to begin with. Even during a fish tide, seeing one was no easy feat, and they certainly wouldn't appear in schools.
So far, only two Treasure Fish had appeared in the entire Chuan River.
One belonged to their Third Team, while the other had fallen into the hands of the First Team. The Second Team had come away empty-handed.
The most common prey in the Second Battalion's hunts had been half-Treasure Fish, the main source of profit from this fish tide.
The fish tide had lasted three days in total before finally drawing to a close.
Over those three days, every team in the Second Battalion had made a fortune and reaped a rich harvest.
They didn't know how the other two teams had fared, but according to Li Mo's count, their Third Team had netted ten half-Treasure Fish and more than two thousand ordinary large fish.
The General Affairs Department hadn't finished calculating their exact earnings yet, but they were estimated to be no less than a thousand taels.
As a reward, each Water Soldier's monthly pay would be doubled for three months.
This didn't include Hong Ming's Red-Horned Pomfret; the Treasure Fish was considered partly his private property.
"Hong Ming, what do you plan to do with this Red-Horned Pomfret?"
After the fish tide ended and he'd finished his work, Li Mo sought out Hong Ming at the first opportunity to ask.
"I'd appreciate your advice, Brother Li." Hong Ming tossed the question directly to Li Mo.
Li Mo thought for a moment before speaking. "Normally, since you caught the Treasure Fish, you can handle it as you see fit. But there are two things you need to keep in mind."
"Please, go ahead." Hong Ming listened attentively.
"First, whether you use it yourself or sell it, you must pay the River Bureau a five-percent commission, calculated according to the Treasure Fish's market value. Second, if you sell it, the River Bureau has the right of first refusal."
Strictly speaking, neither rule was unreasonable. In fact, they were understandable.
The latter needed no explanation. You didn't let the good stuff go to outsiders.
As for the former, Hong Ming had relied on his status as a Water Soldier and the River Bureau's resources to get the chance to hunt the Treasure Fish. It was only fair to hand over five percent of the proceeds.
Hong Ming had no intention of challenging the rules and readily agreed.
However, he still hadn't decided what to do with it. When Li Mo found out, he guessed Hong Ming planned to wait for the right price.
He didn't press him, but told him that if he decided to sell, he could first sound out Han Ming.
This was a reminder that if Han Ming was interested, Hong Ming could give him first dibs.
After thanking Li Mo, Hong Ming nodded to show he understood.
Just as Li Mo had guessed, Hong Ming did plan to wait for the right price.
"Treasure Fish are divided into different stages. The best are those in their growth phase, which have a significant effect when consumed. Next are those in their juvenile phase, and the worst are those in their declining years. My Red-Horned Pomfret is a Treasure Fish in its declining years—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away." This was what troubled Hong Ming.
If he had never consumed a Treasure Fish, he would definitely have chosen to try it.
But he had not only tasted Treasure Fish, he had also consumed Treasure Medicine, so he wasn't very interested.
There was no point overthinking it. Hong Ming planned to decide based on the circumstances when the time came.
The circumstances presented themselves soon enough. Hong Ming had barely returned to camp when an unwelcome visitor showed up.
It was none other than Huang Chun!
Seeing Hong Ming, Huang Chun greeted him with a smile. "Hong Ming."
He was warm and friendly, like an old acquaintance, as if the earlier incident hadn't affected him in the slightest.
Huang Chun's smiling, knife-hidden demeanor put Hong Ming on guard, but he remained courteous and didn't reveal anything unusual. "Instructor Huang."
"I hear A Ming's been on a lucky streak lately and caught a Red-Horned Pomfret?"
Huang Chun paid no mind to Hong Ming's attitude. He made small talk, steering the conversation toward the subject.
In the blink of an eye, he had even changed how he addressed him, trying to draw them closer.
"I didn't expect the news to reach you too, Instructor Huang." Hong Ming chuckled.
There was no such thing as a free visit. He now understood why Huang Chun had come uninvited.
He was definitely eyeing Hong Ming's Treasure Fish!
Having gone this far, Huang Chun stopped hiding his intentions and spoke frankly. "A Ming, I came here to buy the Treasure Fish from you. In consideration of how well I taught you in the past, would you be willing to part with it and do me a favor? That would be no more than repaying the kindness I showed you as your instructor!"
He kept trying to act familiar, making it sound as if his past lessons had done Hong Ming an enormous favor.
"..."
Listening to Huang Chun's shameless appeal to their supposed bond, Hong Ming was at a loss for words.
It struck him as absurd. How could someone with such a mean-spirited face say something so brazen?
Huang Chun was as thick-skinned as a city wall. Seemingly unaware of anything amiss, he smiled and named his price. "A Ming, I came with sincere intentions. I won't make things difficult for you. How about ten taels of silver for the Treasure Fish?"
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