A line of pale golden characters in "small seal script" appeared on his retina.
At the same time, as his eyes moved, they locked onto four distant points of light.
The points glowed pale gold, each bearing a line of tiny text.
[Information ①: One li south, Silver-backed Fish have been spotted in the shallows of Little Path Bay.]
[Information ②: Three li north, inside a hole concealed by dry grass atop the largest dead tree in the withered forest, lies food stockpiled by Golden-Tailed Rats for the winter.]
[Information ③: Three li southeast, in the rear courtyard of Through-the-Back Martial Hall in Longcloud County's inner city, the original copy of the Transformation Force-level stance art "Through-Back Stance" is stored.]
[Information ④: Six kilometers southwest, deep within Cloudwater Lake, lie the belongings and inheritance of a true disciple of Sea-Fishing Tower...]
This was...
A golden finger?
Shen Xiuhan's heart pounded wildly.
Originally, he had planned to rely on his fishing experience from his previous life and try his luck by the lake.
But honestly, he had no confidence.
Fishing was an awfully mystical business.
If it had really been that easy, he would not have pulled a long face whenever he heard the words "empty-handed" in his previous life.
But now that he had a system, things were naturally no longer the same!
"B-Big brother? Big brother, what's wrong?"
Beside him, Shen Momo tugged at the hem of his clothes, her little face filled with worry.
Shen Xiuhan came back to himself, suppressing his churning thoughts. He rubbed her dry, yellowing hair.
"It's nothing... I was just thinking about where to catch a big fish for Momo."
"Really?!"
The little girl's eyes instantly lit up, and she bounced with excitement. But she soon shrank back again.
"But it's so cold outside, and the snow is so thick... Big brother only just got better..."
"So Momo needs to wait obediently at home. Your big brother will be back in no time."
Shen Xiuhan picked up the fishing rod, then dug an old bamboo fish basket out from the corner. It was covered in dust, and its bottom bore obvious patches.
It had once belonged to Shen Sanhuai.
Last year, Madam Zheng had woven a new one, leaving the old basket to gather dust here.
Unfortunately... the new fish basket had gone with Shen Sanhuai and would never return either.
With fishing rod and basket in hand,
he made another trip to the kitchen.
Inside the rice jar,
only a thin layer of millet remained, perhaps half a dou at most—not even a pound...
Shen Xiuhan bent down, grabbed a small handful, and tucked it into his clothes.
When he reached the door, a freezing wind carrying snowflakes rushed into his face, cutting across it like knives.
Shen Xiuhan tightened his collar, breathed out a cloud of white mist, and strode outside.
"Big brother!"
He had only taken a few steps when a cry came from the doorway.
Shen Xiuhan turned around and saw Shen Momo stumbling through the snow, deep step and shallow step, with a grayish piece of cloth clenched in her hand.
Only when he looked closer did he see it was a small pouch sewn from gray cloth. Its stitches were crooked and uneven; one look was enough to tell that she had made it herself.
"Big brother, this is the money Father gave Momo. Momo has been saving it all..."
The little girl's cheeks were frozen red, but her eyes gleamed brightly as she spread her little hand as though presenting a treasure.
There were five or six large coins inside the pouch.
"Father used to say that when you sell fish at the fish market, you have to pay a stall fee..."
When the fish market opened, fees were collected from each stall.
The fish market in the inner city had always been controlled by a gang called the Golden Dragon Gang.
And behind the Golden Dragon Gang stood the Bai clan.
Whenever fishermen set up a stall to sell fish, they had to pay five large coins as a "stall fee."
Warmth rose in Shen Xiuhan's heart. He crouched down, accepted the pouch, and said softly,
"Momo is so smart. Hurry back inside and wait. Tonight, I'll definitely let you eat fish."
"Mhm! Momo wants to eat fishy! Big brother has to catch lots of them!"
The little girl nodded hard, then skipped back toward the doorway. Yet she refused to go inside, simply standing beyond the fence and watching him eagerly.
Shen Xiuhan gently clenched the pouch, drew a deep breath, and headed south.
The freezing wind swept across Little Path Bay by Cloudwater Lake like a dull knife.
Though it was called a "bay," it was really just a stretch of rocky shallows.
Perhaps children played in the water here during summer, but it was now the depths of winter. A thin layer of ice covered the lake, snow blanketed the shallows, and deathly silence filled the surroundings.
Those who could settle nearby were all hired hands and tenant farmers dependent on the White Family in the inner city.
The Shen Family was no exception.
To earn money and keep themselves alive, they had to rent the White Family's boats to go out onto the lake.
And Great Qi had long since laid down an ironclad law:
Those of the lowest farming, tenant, fishing, and lowly household registers were strictly forbidden from privately building boats, bamboo rafts, or skiffs of any kind!
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Every means of taking to the water across the entire lake was monopolized by the great clans and wealthy gentry of the inner city.
Aside from class oppression,
there was another reason fishermen were unwilling to fish close to the shore at Little Path Bay.
The water here was too shallow, and jagged rocks thrust up beneath the surface, making it all too easy to snag and tear their nets.
Normally, they could catch only small fish and shrimp here, none of which sold for much.
Once winter came, the aquatic life near shore fled the cold and swam early toward the deep waters at the lake's center. Even small fish and shrimp became difficult to catch.
That was precisely why, on days when heavy snow sealed the land, Little Path Bay's shallows stood empty of people—not even a ghostly shadow in sight.
Had the pale golden coordinates not guided him all the way here, Shen Xiuhan would never have come.
Upon reaching the shallows, Shen Xiuhan carefully stepped onto the ice and tested it with his foot.
The ice was frozen solid. No problem.
Thus, braving the bone-piercing wind, he slowly made his way farther out.
After walking roughly two hundred paces, Shen Xiuhan pushed aside some dead reed stalks crusted with frost and stopped before a pool where the ice was slightly thinner.
"This is it!"
Shen Xiuhan looked around.
He found a stone nearby and smashed an ice hole directly beneath the coordinates.
Then he snapped off a dry reed stalk and made it into a float.
After that, he pinched several grains of millet, threaded them onto the iron hook, and cast it into the ice hole.
The float bobbed on the water, trembling slightly.
Shen Xiuhan stared at it without moving, the white mist of his breath freezing into frost.
To be honest, even now, he still felt somewhat uneasy.
His memories told him that Silver-backed Fish were no ordinary fish one could find at will.
Because they were Treasure Fish!
Legend had it that their flesh was crystal-clear, incomparably delicious, melting the instant it entered one's mouth, and containing an immense supply of pure, gentle vital blood.
For martial artists nurturing their vital blood and tempering sinews and bones, this stuff was simply a natural, all-purpose tonic.
Its medicinal properties were even better than the expensive medicinal paste sold at the martial halls in the inner city.
Eating a single fish was enough to equal months of hard training!
Shen Sanhuai had fished for many years, yet had only caught a Silver-backed Fish by chance once in Cloudwater Lake. The moment he returned to shore, a steward of the White Family exchanged it for one tael of silver!
Shen Sanhuai had been thrilled over it for more than half a year.
From time to time, he would cast nets in that stretch of lake, trying to test his luck.
But until he met his watery end, he never caught a second one.
Most of the time, he could only catch "Silver-striped Fish."
They were a kind of silver carp with two to six silver stripes along their backs.
Their flesh was delicious, and they were popular as well.
But in terms of their benefit to martial artists, they naturally could not compare to Silver-backed Fish.
Still, fishermen said that Silver-backed Fish were very likely Silver-striped Fish with many stripes that had transformed and evolved.
Thus, the more stripes a Silver-striped Fish had, the more valuable it was.
And now, the information system had told him there was a "Silver-backed Fish" here...
Before the fish bit, no matter how much confidence Shen Xiuhan had in the system, he could not help feeling uncertain.
Time trickled by bit by bit.
The cold wind on the water crept through his thin shoe soles and trouser cuffs, drilling into the cracks of his bones like fine needles.
Shen Xiuhan's hands and feet gradually froze numb, nearly losing all sensation.
He set down the fishing rod, cupped his hands before his mouth, breathed into them, and rubbed them hard.
After waiting a while and seeing that the reed float remained completely still, he prepared to stand up and move around a little so he would not get frostbite.
Just then!
The reed float, which had been trembling with the waves, suddenly jerked downward without warning!
Then, with a whoosh, it was dragged into the deep water, vanishing completely beneath the surface!
"It's here!"
Shen Xiuhan shuddered from head to toe, brilliant light bursting from his eyes!
Ignoring the ice biting into him, he dropped to his knees on it with a thud.
He gripped the fishing rod with both hands, united waist and stance, and fiercely flicked his wrist upward!
The slender bamboo rod instantly bent into a drawn bow, letting out a teeth-aching groan!
"Come up!"
Splash!
Water burst apart like shattered jade, scattering in every direction!
Accompanied by immense struggling force, a long, silvery-white figure was forcibly hauled from the water, breaking through the ice with freezing lake water in tow!
With a smack, the figure landed on the ice and thrashed wildly.
Panting heavily, Shen Xiuhan lunged forward and pinned it down.
The fish was as long as a pair of chopsticks. Its scales were snow-white, and five silver-white stripes of uneven thickness ran along both sides of its back.
A Silver-striped Fish!
"Good!"
Too excited to care, Shen Xiuhan hurriedly stuffed the fish into the bamboo basket.
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