Through-the-Back Martial Hall

Shen Xiuhan was overjoyed. Every muscle in his body trembled as he jerked the rod upward!

This time, there was scarcely any real resistance.

Splash!

Amid flying spray, a huge fish with its white belly turned up was dragged from the water.

The fish was as long as an adult's arm and as wide as two clenched fists put together.

It looked vastly different from a Silver-striped Fish.

Its back bore no stripes, but an entire expanse of pure silver, like spilled mercury, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.

Most chilling of all, a razor-sharp bone spike about the length of a palm protruded from the tip of its snout!

"Finally got it..."

Shen Xiuhan let out a long breath and was about to drag the Treasure Fish onto the ice.

Then, a sudden change erupted!

The seemingly exhausted Silver-backed Fish launched itself from the water at an unbelievable angle!

The sharp spike on its snout shot toward Shen Xiuhan's face like an arrow loosed from the bow!

"Fuck!"

Shen Xiuhan's scalp exploded with terror, and a layer of cold sweat sprang up in an instant!

It was too close!

He had no time to dodge. Acting purely on instinct, he threw the bamboo rod in his hand crosswise before himself to block!

Crack!

With a crisp snap, the bamboo rod was smashed in two by the bone spike!

A tremendous force traveled through the broken rod and slammed into his chest. Shen Xiuhan's feet slipped, and he crashed flat onto his back on the ice.

Riiip!

A sharp crack of splitting ice sounded beside his ear.

The palm-long spike grazed Shen Xiuhan's cheek and drove to its base into the ice less than two inches from his ear!

Had the bamboo rod not blocked it and thrown off its aim—

The Silver-backed Fish's final desperate strike would have pierced straight through his skull!

Shen Xiuhan broke out in a cold sweat, his heart hammering like a drum.

Before he could even catch his breath from the terror of escaping death—

The Silver-backed Fish, half its body nailed to the ice, began struggling madly, its thick, powerful tail whipping wildly through the air.

Smack! Smack!

Poor Shen Xiuhan ultimately failed to escape the beast's revenge. He took two solid slaps to the face, each one burning with pain.

"You beast!"

Shen Xiuhan flew into a rage!

He scrambled across the ice to the fishing hole. Ignoring the cold, he cupped a double handful of lake water filled with ice chips and splashed it over the still-flopping Silver-backed Fish.

The bitter cold displayed its power at that moment.

In an instant, the icy water froze.

That cunning, vicious Silver-backed Fish was frozen into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye!

After doing all that, Shen Xiuhan panted heavily and collapsed onto the ice on his backside.

As the adrenaline faded, bone-piercing cold surged over him like a tide.

He had felt nothing while balanced on the razor's edge between life and death, but only now did he realize that his hands and feet were frozen numb and his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

Shen Xiuhan did not dare linger. After catching his breath slightly, he struggled to his feet.

He forcefully pulled the Silver-backed Fish from the ice and set it aside.

Then he lowered his head to look at the bamboo rod broken in two, a helpless bitter smile appearing on his face.

Shen Sanhuai's honest, dull-witted appearance surfaced in his mind without warning.

This bamboo rod had been painstakingly carved and polished bit by bit by his father's own hands before his death.

If Shen Sanhuai knew in the underworld that the fishing rod he had made with his own hands had saved his son's life, he would surely be immensely gratified.

Still... it was time to get a new rod. Shen Xiuhan quietly calculated.

This broken rod would do well enough for catching ordinary river fish.

But if he encountered another vicious Treasure Fish like the Silver-backed Fish, it would be utterly incapable of standing up to it.

Wait!

A thought suddenly struck Shen Xiuhan.

With the Silver-backed Fish captured, the Silver-striped Fish below would surely have been frightened. If he did not hurry and catch a few, they would likely scatter soon and become impossible to find again.

He hurriedly baited the hook with millet and cast it back down through the ice hole.

Unfortunately, he was still a step too late.

Shen Xiuhan had reacted quickly enough, but that school of Silver-striped Fish no longer had any mind to fight over food.

After casting several times, he caught only three four-striped Silver-striped Fish. Then the water fell completely silent, with no more bites at all.

As for the five-striped fish he had thrown back earlier, it had long since darted off to who knew where.

"Forget it. I can't be too greedy. This Treasure Fish is already the greatest gain."

Shen Xiuhan sighed and decisively reeled in the rod.

He turned to look at the Silver-backed Fish on the ground. After some thought, he did not stuff it into his fish basket.

A common man committed no crime, yet he was guilty of possessing jade.

Since Ma Xianyang had already set watchers on him—

If he swaggered through the city carrying such a Treasure Fish, he would be dead ten times over.

Therefore, the Treasure Fish could not be brought into the city!

Shen Xiuhan's thoughts stirred, and a plan came to him.

He gathered the broken floating ice around the fishing hole and piled it all onto the ice, wrapping the Silver-backed Fish tightly in ice shards.

Then he cupped several more handfuls of freezing lake water and splashed them over it again and again.

The lake water quickly froze.

In only a short while, the Silver-backed Fish had frozen into a massive lump of ice.

Next, Shen Xiuhan carefully hid it deep within a dense reed bed.

He covered it with snow, blending it perfectly into the white landscape. No one would be able to tell what lay inside.

After finishing, his gaze flickered.

On his retina, the pale golden point of light representing the Treasure Fish still glimmered quietly.

"The locator is still there, so I don't have to worry about losing it." Shen Xiuhan relaxed.

He stuffed the three newly caught Silver-striped Fish into his battered bamboo basket, grabbed the broken rod, and strode through the wind and snow toward Longcloud County's city.

Longcloud County, inner city.

The city walls stood lofty and imposing, their blue bricks covered in a thick layer of snow.

The gates stood wide open, with people constantly coming and going.

There were peddlers carrying shoulder poles, women with baskets hooked over their arms, and martial artists with blades and swords at their waists hurrying along.

"Candied hawthorns! Hey, candied hawthorns..."

"Fragrant tea! Come drink fragrant tea! Two coins a pot..."

"Buns, fresh from the steamer! Steaming-hot buns..."

Shen Xiuhan stepped through the inner city gate and walked at an unhurried pace. After only a few steps, he suddenly glanced toward the teahouse on his left.

By the window sat two men facing one another, dressed in the brown robes of the Golden Dragon Gang.

One was rather thin, with high cheekbones.

The other was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, his robe hanging open despite the freezing weather.

The two appeared to be casually chatting over tea, but Shen Xiuhan keenly noticed that their gazes had been fixed on him, seemingly present and absent.

Ma Xianyang's men!

Luckily, I thought one step ahead and didn't bring the Silver-backed Fish into the city. Otherwise...

Shen Xiuhan kept his eyes straight ahead, his expression unchanged, and continued walking into the city without slowing.

Once they saw him go far away, the thinner man set down his tea bowl, wiped his mouth, and said:

"No Treasure Fish aura."

"Mm. Just some ordinary river fish."

"I'll follow him. You stay here and watch whether that kid has someone else bring the thing into the city."

"Got it."

Shen Xiuhan walked unhurriedly to the roadside and cupped his hands toward a vendor selling frozen pears, asking for the location of the Through-the-Back Martial Hall.

Then, with the fish basket on his back, he headed straight for the South Market alleyways, as though he had not noticed the person trailing far behind him.

Before long, an imposing gatehouse appeared before him.

Its vermilion doors were studded with gleaming bronze nails.

Above the entrance hung a black plaque with golden lettering, bearing four large characters—

"Through-the-Back Martial Hall."

The strokes were bold and forceful, carrying an air of sharp fierceness.

After he stepped onto the stone stairs, the prickling sense of being watched at his back vanished without a trace before long.

Shen Xiuhan quickly glanced back. He only caught sight of a thin retreating figure, which flashed around the corner into a side street.