Fish Market!

Into the fish basket.

The Silver-striped Fish swiftly curled up, stiffened, and within moments froze motionless.

Shen Xiuhan threw a punch, unable to suppress the excitement rising onto his face.

It was real!

The intelligence system really could pinpoint the whereabouts of Treasure Fish!

In his memories, after Shen Sanhuai caught that Silver-backed Fish years ago, he had spent money on wine to ask an old fisherman about the fish's habits.

That old hand loved wine as dearly as life itself. Only after downing three bowls of yellow brew did he reveal the truth:

Silver-backed Fish were not only brimming with vital energy, but possessed a peculiar nature—

They were exceedingly lustful.

Whenever an adult Silver-backed Fish appeared, it would inevitably be accompanied beneath the water by a school of exceptionally fine female Silver-striped Fish bearing at least four stripes.

As for those ordinary specimens with only two or three stripes, most were not qualified even to approach and could only wander alone.

And the one he had just caught bore no fewer than five silver stripes.

That meant...

Beneath the ice.

A Silver-backed Fish truly lay lurking!

"Phew..."

Shen Xiuhan let out a long breath, took several grains of millet from his robes, and rebaited his hook.

The Silver-striped Fish he had just caught weighed at least two jin.

Though Silver-striped Fish were far less valuable than Silver-backed Fish, their tender flesh made them highly sought-after river delicacies in the inner city's restaurants.

At market price, an ordinary Silver-striped Fish could sell for twenty large copper coins per jin.

This one had five stripes, so it might fetch another two or three coins per jin.

That one cast alone had brought in more than forty coins.

In the past, that would have been enough to feed the whole family for half a month.

But for Shen Xiuhan now, it was nowhere near enough.

His severe illness had cost the family nearly a string of cash over the past half month.

He still owed the White Family for the skiff and fishing rent, two taels of silver with principal and interest included.

He also owed Uncle Chen's family two hundred coins...

Not to mention that deep winter had arrived. Their rice jar was nearly empty, and they had not even stockpiled firewood for the winter!

Hunger, cold, debt...

Three mountains pressed down upon Shen Xiuhan, leaving him no moment to rest.

He needed money too badly.

"Keep going!"

Shen Xiuhan licked his cracked lips, flicked his wrist, and cast the baited hook back into the ice hole.

The next instant!

The reed float suddenly plunged without warning!

"So fast?!"

Shen Xiuhan jumped. His body reacted far faster than his mind; both hands gripped the bamboo rod, his waist and stance moved as one, and he jerked upward with force!

Splash!

Amid flying spray, another silvery-white figure burst through the ice!

Smack!

A plump four-striped Silver-striped Fish landed on the ice and thrashed wildly.

As the cold invaded, the moisture on its body rapidly frosted over, and in the blink of an eye, it froze into a stiff ice sculpture.

Shen Xiuhan grabbed it and tossed it into the bamboo basket, letting it stay with its "little sister" from earlier.

Two fish!

Overjoyed, he rebaited the hook and cast again.

About a quarter of an hour later, the float sank sharply once more.

"Another one!"

Lifting the rod, reeling in the line, flinging out the fish—his movements grew more practiced, all in one fluid motion!

The third Silver-striped Fish slammed heavily onto the ice, weighing over three jin.

Even more eye-catching were the six silver stripes running boldly along its back!

"Good stuff!"

Shen Xiuhan's spirits soared as he pressed it into the fish basket.

The old bamboo basket was already getting crowded.

Three plump Silver-striped Fish filled it, heavy and solid.

Yet he had no intention of stopping.

Over the next half hour, the float sank once every quarter hour.

The fourth fish, the fifth fish, the sixth fish...

Besides the Silver-striped Fish, he also caught two Black Bighead Carp, one large and one small.

They had likely been hiding in the shallows and been drawn over by the ice hole to catch a breath.

Shen Xiuhan repeated the motions of lifting the rod and taking in fish. His hands and feet had frozen numb, but his heart burned hot.

Until, half an hour later, the float suddenly stopped moving.

No matter how the millet bait soaked until it turned pale, the water remained utterly still.

"Did they stop biting?"

Shen Xiuhan frowned slightly and looked down at the fish basket by his feet.

Six Silver-striped Fish and two Black Bighead Carp.

But... where was the promised Silver-backed Fish?

With a thought, Shen Xiuhan summoned the intelligence system.

[Intelligence ①: Five hundred meters south (coordinates 381, 513), a "Silver-backed Fish" has appeared in the shallows of Little Mirror Bay.]

Shen Xiuhan clearly remembered that when he had smashed open the ice hole, the pale golden point of light representing the Silver-backed Fish had been directly beneath him.

But when he looked now...

At some point, that point of light had silently shifted over a hundred paces away!

The coordinates had changed as well.

In other words...

The Silver-backed Fish had slipped away!

"..."

Only then did Shen Xiuhan realize...

The Silver-backed Fish had lived long enough to become cunning. Sensing danger, it had simply put oil on its soles and fled!

"A Treasure Fish is a Treasure Fish. It's damn alert."

With a sigh, Shen Xiuhan glanced at the sky and decided to let it go for now.

The fish market closed at the Hour of the Monkey.

If he arrived too late and ended up with a basketful of fresh fish on his hands, he would not get a good price for them.

"The monk may run, but the temple cannot. With the system locking onto you, you won't escape the palm of my hand!"

"Tomorrow! Once I get some better bait, I'll haul you up no matter what!"

Shen Xiuhan snorted coldly, put away his bamboo rod, and slung the fish basket over his shoulder.

After one final glance at the flashing Silver-backed Fish coordinates in the distance, he turned without the slightest hesitation and strode toward Longcloud County's inner city.

Longcloud County covered a considerable area. Relying on tributaries of Cloudwater Lake, canals ran through both its inner and outer cities.

Little bridges and flowing water, boats coming and going—the scenery had once been quite distinctive.

But because people lived there, the inner and outer cities had become as different as heaven and earth.

The outer city, places like Little Mirror Bay and East Creek Ward, was plainly a slum for the poor.

Thatched huts and wooden shacks stood packed shoulder to shoulder, leaning crookedly along narrow alleys.

Icicles hung from the eaves, alongside ragged clothes that never dried.

The roads were muddy, and when the snow melted, the ground became a mess of slush.

Those living here were mostly tenant farmers, corvée households, lowborn households, and other people at the bottom who earned their living through sheer labor.

The inner city was different.

Beyond the city gates guarded day and night by soldiers lay smooth bluestone roads.

The snow had been swept spotlessly clean and piled beside the roadside ditches.

On both sides of the streets stood homes of gray brick and dark tiles.

They were not extravagantly luxurious, but they were still respectable residences that outer-city folk might save for a lifetime and never be able to afford.

Now and then, one could spot deep manor compounds with vermilion gates and stone lions standing guard. Their high walls and deep courtyards looked grim and imposing.

They drew frequent sideways glances from outer-city residents heading to market, their eyes filled with envy.

Further in, the streets widened. Wine banners fluttered, and tea flags swayed.

Inns, cloth shops, grain stores, and general stores stood row upon row. Shop assistants leaned in their doorways with beaming smiles to draw in customers, while abacus beads clattered in a chorus.

Pedestrians brushed shoulders, carts and horses flowed endlessly, and the place buzzed with life.

With the fish basket on his back, Shen Xiuhan turned west and entered the fish market of the western district.

It stood beside the docks, where the waterways led directly to Nanxiang Commandery.

Over a hundred bamboo rafts and skiffs, along with more than a dozen black-canopied boats, lay moored along the shore.

Fishermen in bamboo hats and straw rain capes moved among them, carrying basket after basket of river catch ashore, renting stalls, and shouting themselves hoarse to hawk their wares.

The fish market reeked of fish.

Groups of three to five men, all dressed in brown robes, wandered between the stalls. Wooden plaques hung from their waists, carved with the words "Gold Dragon."

The moment Shen Xiuhan stepped into the fish market, a burly man emerged from the side and blocked his path.

The man's sharp gaze was held deep within his eyes, his temples bulged high, and he radiated a fierce, hardened air. One look was enough to tell that he was a practiced fighter.

At the bottom of the Gold Dragon plaque at his waist, a small character had been engraved with a graver:

"Gao."