A stratagem

"Xiao Hei has to come!"

Half a month passed, and Chen Jianghe discovered a pattern to the fry's biting: at the slightest hint of hunger, they would start eating their own kind.

The problem was that these fry did not feed at the same time. Their feeding was extremely irregular.

Some hungry fry would lunge at those that had eaten their fill and tear into them viciously, as though wishing they could swallow their own kind in a single bite.

Absurdly, they refused to eat the small fish and shrimp in the lake, seemingly disdaining them.

"I have to feed them every day and keep them from biting each other. How am I supposed to find time to cultivate?"

He understood that he could prevent the biting if he could get all the fry to feed together on a regular schedule.

But how was he supposed to regulate them?

Every one of these fry was steeped in ferocity, without a shred of intelligence. As a Fisher-Farmer who had rarely dealt with Big Blue Fish directly, he found himself at a loss.

The only solution was to bring Xiao Hei over.

Another half month passed.

Standing at the bow, Chen Jianghe took out a bag of rice bran, tore it open, and scattered it along the boat from bow to stern.

His first time feeding the Small Blue Fish had taught him a lesson.

Scattering the rice bran in one spot would make the hungry fry crash into one another as they fought for food, making accidental injuries highly likely.

Three fry had turned belly-up during that feeding scramble, leaving Chen Jianghe heartsick for a long time.

Three had died just after he took over, and there were still three long years ahead!

After feeding the fish, he dared not delay. He immediately steered his boat out of the Inner Waters and rowed toward Port No. 1.

On the way, he did not stop in the Five-One-Two Lake Channel, as there were other fishing boats along the route.

Once he reached the port, he bought enough daily necessities for a month, then headed straight out through the Five-One-Two Lake Channel.

There were far fewer fishing boats now, with scarcely any in sight along the channel.

When Fisher-Farmers visited the port, they liked to wander around and enjoy the bustle even if they had nothing to do. Some also sought amusement, so most did not leave until after three in the afternoon.

Reaching the lake channel outside the Five-One-Two Waters, he glanced over and saw that a new Junior Fisher-Farmer had indeed moved in.

Even with the situation unstable and the Yun Household tossed about by wind and rain, they still had no shortage of Junior Fisher-Farmers, for life was far too hard for cultivators at the bottom.

Those Junior Fisher-Farmers whom the brokers had talked into leaving had simply spent too many peaceful years at Mirror Moon Lake and forgotten the hardships at the bottom.

Pop~

Chen Jianghe formed a Water-Avoidance Spell, jumped off the bow, and dove to the lakebed, sending a message to Xiao Hei with his Divine Sense through the Spirit-Turtle Mark in his Spiritual Platform.

He soon spotted Xiao Hei.

Without further words, he brought Xiao Hei up to the surface, poked his head out to look around, then grabbed one of Xiao Hei's claws and leaped aboard.

The hundred-foot black-canopied boat moved off, gliding along the lake channel toward the Inner Waters.

They reached Bing District Waters No. 12.

With a splash, Xiao Hei dropped into the water.

Chen Jianghe jumped into the lake right after him and followed him down to the lakebed.

The lakebed in the Inner Waters was much prettier than that of the Outer Waters, with far more varieties of aquatic life.

In the deep-blue water, green water plants swayed, trailing specks of pearly light. Jade-white koi darted past with glowing pearls in their mouths, while translucent jellyfish spread their bells, stirring phosphorescence like scattered stardust.

"Woo~ woo~ woo~"

Xiao Hei cried out excitedly, expressing his delight at entering this "immortal realm." He paddled all four claws and rolled through the water, blowing multicolored bubbles from his mouth.

Chen Jianghe watched quietly, letting Xiao Hei play to his heart's content.

After a while, Xiao Hei swam up to Chen Jianghe, stretched out his enormous turtle head, and nodded vigorously underwater.

He seemed to be thanking Chen Jianghe.

"I told you, as long as you worked hard and raised the fish properly, we'd be able to come to the Inner Waters."

"From now on, just raise the Small Blue Fish well, and our days will get even better. We'll go somewhere with even more spiritual energy."

"When that time comes, you'll turn your nose up at Qi-Nourishing Pills even if I give them to you as candy."

Chen Jianghe painted Xiao Hei a beautiful picture of the future. As he spoke, even he began to yearn for it, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Squeak~ squeak~" Xiao Hei cried urgently, shaking his turtle head wildly.

"Don't worry. Work hard, and I'll reward you with a Qi-Nourishing Pill in three years," Chen Jianghe said helplessly.

He's almost ready to enter the ranks and become a Spirit Beast. Why can't he stomach a bigger pie in the sky yet?

All he thinks about are little rewards.

No fun at all.

"Woo~ woo~ woo~"

Xiao Hei's expression changed as quickly as turning a page, and he circled Chen Jianghe joyfully.

"Xiao Hei, you must remember exactly what I'm about to tell you. You absolutely cannot make any mistakes."

Chen Jianghe explained the requirements for raising Small Blue Fish to Xiao Hei. He especially warned him about the Immortal Spirit Rice: he absolutely must not compete with the Small Blue Fish for it.

Yun San had previously explained that the Immortal Spirit Rice could only be fed to the Small Blue Fish. They were forbidden to eat it themselves or feed it to their own Spirit Beasts, and the penalties for doing so were severe.

With the abundant spiritual energy in the Inner Waters, Xiao Hei might enter the ranks and become a Spirit Beast in less than a year.

There was absolutely no need to snatch the Immortal Spirit Rice and invite unnecessary trouble.

Xiao Hei nodded his turtle head lightly, indicating that he understood the rules.

Chen Jianghe felt quite reassured about Xiao Hei. After working all these years, Xiao Hei had become a seasoned working turtle who knew his way around the workplace.

Surfacing, he leaped onto the fishing boat.

Now that Xiao Hei was here, he no longer had to worry about raising the Small Blue Fish and had time to practice the Water Escape Technique.

At present, each use of his Water Escape Technique only carried him several hundred meters, far short of the limit for the Qi Refining Third Layer.

The Water Escape Technique was his only means of saving his life.

He had to study it until he mastered it. A single use absolutely had to take him more than two li away.

"Water, conceal my body; water, carry away my form; Water Mother of Myriad Spirits..."

Heart of the Lake Island.

The Yun Household ancestral hall.

The towering ancestral hall stood built of gray-green stone blocks. Ebony beams supported nine tiers of upturned eaves, and glazed chiwen ornaments gleamed coldly in the dusk. Coiling-dragon pillars carved from solid white marble held a mellow luster steeped in a century of incense offerings.

The lapis lazuli floor reflected the red sandalwood spirit tablets.

Daylight slanted through lattice windows patterned with endless interlocking swastikas, illuminating floating dust that gathered like fine golden sand before the ancestral portraits.

The fifth elder led Yun Bufan into the ancestral hall, then into the rear hall.

"Father. Greetings, elders."

Seated inside were Yun Bufan's father, Yun Xiaotian, the current head of the Yun Household, along with four elders.

They were the second elder, Yun Zhongbo; the fourth elder, Yun Zhongwei; the sixth elder, Yun Zhonghui; and the seventh elder, Yun Zhongyong.

"Bufan, if you have any questions, you may ask your father." The fifth elder, Yun Zhonghou, went over to his own seat and sat down.

"Father, why did you have the fifth elder announce that I could successfully reach Foundation Establishment within ten years?" Yun Bufan asked in confusion.

Although he was about to break through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining, he had no confidence that he could successfully reach Foundation Establishment within ten years.

Unless he had a Foundation Establishment Pill.

But the Foundation Establishment Pill had already been snatched away by the Bai Household of Qiyun Mountain, and even their ancestor had been severely injured.

"Because we believe you can successfully reach Foundation Establishment within ten years." Yun Xiaotian's gaze was full of gratification, his tone firm.

Yun Bufan froze, then thought of a possibility.

"Father, the Foundation Establishment Pill the ancestor bought wasn't stolen!"

"Then the ancestor's injuries?"

(End of chapter)