Dark Night Lake

From the memories he had inherited from his predecessor, he knew quite a bit about the Dragon Blood Carp.

In fact, his father, Shen Ning, had managed to reach Ninth Grade Tendon-Changing back in the day thanks to the Dragon Blood Carp.

The Dark Night Beast Forest lay over a hundred miles from Cloud Dragon County. It stretched for more than a thousand miles, winding along the land, and bordered the towering Snow Dragon Mountain Range to the west.

In summer, the melting snow from the Snow Dragon Mountain Range gathered into rivers that ran through the entire Dark Night Beast Forest. At last, on the forest's outskirts near Cloud Dragon County, they flowed together into a lake. The lake was unfathomably deep, and its waters were pitch-black, so it came to be known as Dark Night Lake.

A precious fish called the Dragon Blood Carp lived in Dark Night Lake.

Legend had it that more than ten thousand years ago, the Snow Dragon Mountain Range had formed from a black flood dragon that, after transforming into a true dragon, failed to withstand the heavenly tribulation and perished.

The carp in the river had accidentally swallowed its blood. After thousands of years of evolution, they had become the Dragon Blood Carp of today.

Even the Dragon Blood Carp's blood was precious. It could help martial artists who had entered the ranks advance their cultivation, while its firm, succulent flesh could also strengthen their vital energy and blood.

By now, the price of Dragon Blood Carp had been driven up to the staggering sum of ten gold per pound.

Even so, they remained impossible to buy despite their high price. Whenever someone caught one, the major powers in the city would snap it up at a premium.

His predecessor's grandfather, Shen Yuan, had been a skilled angler who had always enjoyed fishing at Dark Night Lake. By a stroke of luck, he had once caught a three-pound Dragon Blood Carp, which he sold for the astronomical sum of three hundred taels.

It was thanks to that money that Shen Ning and Shen Hong had been able to afford to sign up for martial arts training at a martial arts academy...

"Tsk, tsk. I never thought it'd be a Dragon Blood Carp. No wonder so many people have gathered to watch."

Shen Mu couldn't help but marvel.

He had heard the stories about Dragon Blood Carp long ago, but this was the first time he had seen someone catch one.

It was said that Dragon Blood Carp lived at the bottom of Dark Night Lake and rarely rose to feed. They were also incredibly strong. Even after taking the bait, they were extremely difficult to haul ashore. The slightest slip could send the angler on the bank tumbling into the lake.

The lake water came from the melting snow on Snow Dragon Mountain and was bitterly cold. An ordinary person who fell in could easily be left with a lingering illness. Without prompt treatment, they might even lose their life.

So, although many people knew that Dragon Blood Carp lived in Dark Night Lake, very few dared to fish for them—and fewer still managed to catch one.

Dragon Blood Carp were worth a fortune, but losing your life for one wasn't worth it.

Still, with prices so high, there was no shortage of people who spent the whole year fishing at Dark Night Lake, hoping to get rich overnight.

Just then, a young man in fine robes arrived at the city gate, surrounded by several servants.

"I'll buy this Dragon Blood Carp!"

Standing outside the crowd, the young man shouted loudly.

At once, the onlookers parted, clearing a path for him.

Watching the young man's entourage, Shen Mu couldn't help asking, "Uncle, who is this young master?"

"Young man, you don't even recognize him?"

The old man looked at Shen Mu in surprise, then continued, "That's Wan Shunkang, the third son of the Money Gang's second-in-command."

Wan Shunkang?

Shen Mu's brows knitted slightly. He had never met the man, but his reputation was infamous. Supposedly, he was fond of other men's wives. He often wandered the streets, and whenever he spotted a young married woman, he would send his lackeys to investigate her background, then use money to buy his way into her bed...

As for the Money Gang behind him, it was one of the three major gangs among Cloud Dragon County's nine great powers. Its foundations were even deeper than the Firewood Gang's, and its businesses practically monopolized the city's pawnshops, money houses, gambling dens, and brothels.

He had probably grown tired of playing with the women in his own brothels and wanted something more exciting. The rich often had such peculiar tastes.

The old man beside him glanced at Shen Mu and sighed. "When I was about your age, I once went fishing at Dark Night Lake. One time, a Dragon Blood Carp took the bait. Tsk, tsk, that thing had to weigh at least ten pounds..."

Shen Mu gathered his thoughts and asked, "Then what happened?"

The old man said, "Then it got away."

Shen Mu: "..."

He gave the old man a strange look. The man was probably spinning another tall tale.

Of course, Shen Mu didn't hold it against him. Anglers had always been like that—even in his previous life. They'd practically shove their phones against the fish, making a fish barely an inch long look like it weighed three pounds...

If they really caught a fish weighing over ten pounds, they'd probably get lost on the way home.

By the time Wan Shunkang paid for the Dragon Blood Carp, the crowd had begun to disperse. From a distance, Shen Mu finally got a good look at the fish.

It was about as thick as five fingers, and its entire body was a deep crimson. Its head was covered in a number of irregular, orderly spaced lumps that made it look exceptionally hideous.

Beneath the sunlight, its blood-red scales glittered, making it impossible to look away.

"So this is the Dragon Blood Carp?"

Shen Mu clicked his tongue in amazement. The Dragon Blood Carp certainly looked extraordinary.

At the same time, he couldn't help being surprised by the person who had caught it.

From the seller's appearance, he seemed to be around Shen Mu's age. He wore a robe that had been washed until it had faded white, and now he clutched a bag of silver, his face alight with delight.

"From now on, if you catch another Dragon Blood Carp, come find me at the Money Gang. I'll buy it from you for one hundred and twenty taels of silver."

As Wan Shunkang was about to leave, he turned to the seller and called out with a smile.

"Sure thing. Thank you, Young Master Wan."

The seller smiled as he replied.

After Wan Shunkang and his men left, order returned to the city gate.

"If I'm ever short of money, maybe I should try fishing at Dark Night Lake too. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and catch a Dragon Blood Carp..."

Shen Mu looked away and thought to himself.

He still had one hundred and ten taels of silver on hand. Combined with his monthly salary of nearly ten taels, it should see him through until he reached Fifth Stage Boiling Blood.

If he wanted to keep eating beast meat every day to build up his vital energy and blood, he couldn't just wait for his monthly salary. He needed to find other ways to make money.

Fishing for Dragon Blood Carp was undoubtedly a chance to make a windfall.

If he got lucky and caught one, it would probably be enough to carry him through several stages of Boiling Blood.

Of course, fishing for Dragon Blood Carp was only one way to make money. Once his cultivation improved, he might find other ways as well.

Shen Mu made his way to the Firewood Gang. After showing his token and explaining why he had come, a gang member led him to the Incense Hall.

From an earlier chat with Zhang Bohan, Shen Mu already knew how the Firewood Gang tested its members' Boiling Blood stage.

After reaching Second Stage Boiling Blood, a member had to register again at the Incense Hall.

The Incense Hall would test anyone who registered. The method was simple: a bronze bell stood inside the hall, and it was used to determine a member's cultivation.

A person at First Stage Boiling Blood would strike the bronze bell with all their might, making it ring once with a muffled thud.

A person at Second Stage Boiling Blood would strike the bronze bell with all their might, making it ring twice in succession.

It was precisely because of the bronze bell's remarkable properties that Shen Mu had deliberately refrained from breaking through to Third Stage Boiling Blood while his vital energy was abundant.

Otherwise, if he struck the bell and made it ring three times, wouldn't he expose the fact that he had reached Third Stage Boiling Blood?

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, Shen Mu came out of the Incense Hall. Two markings had also appeared on his Firewood Gang token.

This meant that from then on, his salary would be calculated at the rate for a member at Second Stage Boiling Blood: two taels of silver and five taels of unranked beast meat per month.

At the same time, guarding Origin Mulberry Field earned him five taels of silver a month from Yuan Mulberry Hall. Together, these came to a monthly salary worth twelve taels of silver.