River Drifters and Their Identities

This was Xu Feng's first time meeting a Yellow River Corpse Collector.

At the same time, Xu Feng knew that he had completed one of the three tasks in his third act.

Whatever else could be said, this Corpse Retriever truly had strength to spare in that arm of his.

Xu Feng could imagine that if a man like him swung a boat oar, he could easily smash someone's skull.

In the firelight, the Sun family Corpse Retriever's skin showed a dark yellow hue that flickered with the flames.

He sat on the ground with his legs sprawled out.

Xu Feng found a place to sit as well.

Master handed Xu Feng his meat soup and said, "Sit here and listen. Your Uncle Sun and I have some things to discuss."

Xu Feng sat obediently and said, "Got it."

He drank his meat soup, careful not to make a sound. A thought stirred in Xu Feng's mind: this Yin Virtue Protection must have been meant for this moment.

It had been granted for this very conversation.

Sun Dashi saw Xu Feng sit down with them and understood what Old Zhao meant.

He made no attempt to hide anything.

After instructing Xu Feng, Master ladled himself a bowl of soup. As he drank, he asked Uncle Sun, "The work's done, and the body's been taken away. But why bring a corpse you people pulled from the river to me?"

Uncle Sun was Sun Dashi, the Yellow River Corpse Collector.

At this, he set down his bowl and said mysteriously, "Never mind that for now. I didn't come just to settle the payment.

"Do you know who it was that fell into the water?"

Master said, "All I know is that he was the son of a wealthy family. I don't know which one, but he probably wasn't from any family in the city."

Sun Dashi said, "You guessed right."

He grew even more mysterious. "Of course you don't know him. He wasn't from the city. He was A Qing, the cherished son of Fisherfolk Village's chief."

Master's expression shifted slightly. "Someone from Fisherfolk Village? How could it be one of them? How could he die in the water? More importantly, even if he did drown, it wouldn't be your place to pull him out!"

Sun Dashi slapped his thigh. "Exactly! That's what I'm saying!"

Xu Feng knew this was an opportunity. Though he did not understand the implications, he committed every detail to memory.

Just as he had done with Corpse Stitching.

He would practice first, then look for the theory to explain it.

He would listen for now, and once his guest had left, ask Master about anything he did not understand.

It was another way to learn about this world of the Corpse Sewer.

But "Fisherfolk Village"?

Xu Feng opened the [Map]. He had not seen the name "Fisherfolk Village" on it.

Of course, he had not seen Dayuan Town either.

Presumably, neither place belonged to Luoyin County.

But they could not be too far away.

Given how people traveled here, locals would neither reach nor even hear of a place that was too distant. Transportation sharply limited the spread of information.

Fortunately, after Fisherfolk Village came up, Master glanced at Xu Feng and took the initiative to explain. "It's only natural that you haven't heard of Fisherfolk Village.

"We don't make our living from the Yellow River, after all.

"Fisherfolk Village lies upstream of Luoyin County on the Yellow River. Even the authorities have to rely on its people sometimes.

"Every year, Fisherfolk Village must present Yellow River Golden Carp and Yellow River Redtail Carp as tribute.

"Not to mention strange stones, unusual turtles, and all sorts of other things.

"People say the River God rules within the river, and the Fisher God rules beyond it. The people of Fisherfolk Village deny it, but outsiders say that when someone disappears in this stretch of the Yellow River, the River God has taken their soul.

"To bring that person back, you need the help of everyone in Fisherfolk Village.

"You'll understand once you deal with them yourself."

Seeing Old Zhao explain all this to his disciple,

Sun Dashi knew the old man was spoon-feeding him.

It seemed Old Zhao had found a disciple he was pleased with and was teaching him everything.

But Sun Dashi felt no envy.

Corpse Stitchers and Corpse Retrievers were different.

They both made their living from the dead, but even among such trades, crossing from one to another was like crossing a mountain.

Each had its own rules and its own fate!

Corpse Retrievers like them did not pass their craft from master to disciple, but from father to son. Father and son were master and disciple as well. Corpse Stitchers passed theirs from master to disciple. If a disciple's fate was not hard enough, he could not enter his master's door. If it was too hard, he might even doom his master to death.

Difficult! So difficult! Where was anyone supposed to find a fate that was just right?

When Master finished, Sun Dashi cut in with a grin. "You lucky brat. You found yourself a good master.

"There aren't many people as kindhearted as your master. Do you know what that Yellow River Carp I brought was for?

"It was for you. It's good stuff for replenishing your vitality and blood.

"I'd say Old Zhao has gone to a great deal of trouble for you."

Hearing this, Xu Feng immediately thanked Master.

Master said, "Ah, ah, ah!"

But "ah" was all that came out, as though he meant to give a proper reply. Xu Feng's thanks seemed so direct and enthusiastic that they had caught his master off guard.

All he could manage was another "ah, ah."

After a good while, Master finally said, "It was nothing."

Then he turned to Sun Dashi. "Why tell the boy all that?"

Sun Dashi was still grinning. "You put ten parts of effort into being his master. What's wrong with me telling him about three of them?

"Little Zhao, let me tell you, there's more to the fish in the Yellow River than you think.

"During the day, there's nothing to worry about. But at night, the fish in that water might not be fish at all. Anyone fishing at night had better be careful.

"And even if they are all fish, there's the question of which you can eat, which you can't, which will nourish your body, and which will kill you.

"There's a whole art to it—"

At that point, Sun Dashi seemed to get a taste for talking. He addressed Xu Feng in a mysterious tone—he appeared to enjoy speaking that way. "I'm telling you, some Yellow River Carp follow River Drifters.

"Those River Drifters are vicious things. If no one deals with one, it'll eventually sink on its own. But the Yellow River Carp following it won't simply sink away.

"They go down with the River Drifter. But if you catch one of them..."

Master Sun made a grabbing motion in the air. "Eat that carp, and you'll end up buried alongside that River Drifter!

"Even those of us who make our living from the Yellow River can't claim to understand the mysteries of these things. Only the people of Fisherfolk Village can recognize them. That's how they earn their keep."

Xu Feng listened attentively, nodding again and again. Master took out a bowl, poured a little clear liquor from his wine gourd into it, and handed it to Sun Dashi.

Sun Dashi took the bowl and drained it with a slurp, then returned to the subject. "Old Zhao, now you see how troublesome this is. If even someone from Fisherfolk Village has met with disaster, tell me, do we dare get mixed up in it or not? It was the villagers themselves who asked us to retrieve the body at dusk.

"If I hadn't owed them a favor, there's no way I would have gone to the Yellow River to retrieve a corpse at dusk!"