sinovels Chapter 36 Jiangxu River
Chapter 36 Jiangxu River
There is only one river south of Qiantang City, called Jiangxu River, which is named for its resemblance to the beard of the great river.
The Jiangxu River is not wide, its widest point being no more than ten feet. The banks are lined with willows and withered reeds, firmly rooted on either side. Perhaps due to winter, the water is dark and gloomy, giving it an eerie feel.
But the fish here are the fattest, and anglers fish here all year round. However, no one uses a net because if they are caught, the government will fine them enough to eat fish for a year.
Song Quyou stood with his hand on his sword, adjusted his straw hat, and glanced at the river.
The river was lifeless, not a ripple could be seen, and it seemed to understand why the fish here were the fattest.
Perhaps it's because the water here is small, and the fish have all been tainted by evil spirits.
Song Quyou's eyes gleamed with a dark light. After looking at him for a moment, he suddenly raised an eyebrow.
It turned out that an old man with gray hair was fishing by the river. He was wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, and his big, fluffy tail was sweeping behind him. He was surrounded by resentment. He was the old fox who had delivered vegetables to my door that morning.
"Sir, how many have you caught?"
"What? You're asking me how many pounds this three-foot-long, fat fish weighs?"
The old fox, after hearing the mess, replied, "The big, fat fish in my fish basket weighs a full thirty pounds."
Song Quyou glanced at the fish basket hidden under the old man's buttocks by a straw raincoat, and sure enough, there was a huge, fat fish inside.
Strangely, this fish had eyelids, its eyes blinked constantly, and tears kept flowing.
Holding his sword, Song Quyou leaned against a leafless weeping willow and continued, "Old man, name your price. I'll take the fish in your basket."
The old man suddenly transformed into a furry fox face, turned to Song Quyou, and said, "Boy, you can't touch these fish. If you buy them, you're stealing food from the pond owner's mouth."
Song Quyou shook his head and sneered, "How much will it cost you, old man, to deliver vegetables to my house tomorrow?"
"If you buy it, it will take a year to deliver the vegetables; if Miss Well buys it, it will take a year to cleanse your body."
Song Quyou shook his head and chuckled, his expression growing colder, and suddenly pulled his hand away from his sword.
In an instant, a dazzling blue rainbow appeared, and the sword rang out in mid-air.
The sound of the sword, the glint of the sword, startled the withered branches on the riverbank, causing the thatch to bend low.
The old fox slumped to the ground, trembling. His straw hat and raincoat had been torn to shreds by the rising, chilling sword energy, and his glossy white fur, like snowflakes, drifted away in the wind.
Song Quyou's eyes turned cold. He grabbed the old fox by the neck and slammed him against a tree. "You old bastard, if it weren't for the fact that you don't have much resentment, haven't taken any lives, and don't deserve to die, I wouldn't be asking you this in such a polite tone."
The old fox trembled all over and wailed, begging for mercy: "Taoist Master, Taoist Priest, I'm just a laborer, earning some extra money every day. I take all the fish I catch in this river to Tangfang in the east of the city."
Song Quyou smiled faintly, "Do you even know what kind of fish are in your fish basket?"
The old fox stammered, his shrewd old eyes darting around.
With a sudden swing of his sword, Song Quyou shattered the fish basket, and the unstoppable sword energy also cut a gash in the belly of the large, fat fish.
The incision was deep beneath the skin, and not a drop of blood flowed out. But something else inside was trying to bulge out, stretching the fish skin and slowly growing larger until it took the shape of a woman.
The woman looked at her hands and feet, then touched her face, turned around and knelt before Song Quyou, saying, "Thank you for saving my life, Daoist Master."
"Are you that official's concubine?"
The woman, her eyes brimming with tears, choked out, "It is indeed I. My husband is the county magistrate of the city government. He came to visit my grandmother in the south of the city the day before yesterday. On his way home, he was swept into the river by a black mist. When he woke up again, he had turned into the fish in that basket."
The old fox hurriedly retorted, "Taoist Master, this old man has no idea what that fish is, let alone that there is a person hiding inside."
Song Quyou exerted a little force, and the old fox was instantly out of breath. "Tell me everything you know. I'll spare your life because I think you've cultivated with great difficulty and haven't fallen too deeply into evil."
After saying that, Song Quyou loosened his grip and threw the hairless old fox to the ground.
The old fox, panting heavily, knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly with a dull thud.
"explain!"
The old fox stammered, "The pond owner is the head of the ponds in the east of the city. On the surface, whatever the government wants to do in the ponds, they have to get his approval. Rumor has it that he also has close ties with the East China Sea, so all the boatmen and fishermen under him who make a living by the sea have become his people."
And I was entrusted by him to come here from time to time and bring him a fish. Each time I delivered a fish, I was given a day's worth of life.
Song Quyou frowned, sizing up the old fox. "Now that you've got the fish, why haven't you sent it over yet?"
The old fox lay on the ground, his voice trembling: "It's not that I don't want to deliver it, it's just that the pond owner only collects fish at dusk. If it's too early, no one will buy them, and if it's too late, I'll get scolded."
Song Quyou glanced deeply at the Jiangxu River beside him, then glared at the old fox in front of him and said, "After you send this girl home, go to the pond owner and tell him that a Taoist priest stole today's fish and that he is by the Jiangxu River."
The old fox felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He scrambled to his feet, helped the woman up, and left.
As the woman was leaving, she turned around and bowed deeply to Song Quyou, saying, "Daoist Master, please leave your name and address. I will definitely visit you another day."
Song Quyou smiled faintly and said, "Girl, that old fox next to you knows. Go back quickly, don't worry your family."
The woman nodded gently and bowed in farewell.
Song Quyou watched them leave, then turned to face the Jiangxu River.
The Jiangxu River remained lifeless, its dark waters devoid of even a ripple.
Song Quyou sat by the riverbank, the newly sheathed blue-green longsword resting on his lap, his fingertips lightly tapping the scabbard, producing a dull sound.
The river surface remained calm, but Song Quyou knew that what had just happened had disturbed something at the bottom of the river.
Song Quyou took out a paper crane folded from a yellow talisman, held it in his palm, and waited quietly.
As dusk approached and the setting sun turned red, the once calm, dark river suddenly became turbulent. The black water surged as if it had been boiled, with countless bubbles rising from the riverbed, carrying a putrid, fishy stench—the smell of silt that had never seen the light of day for many years.
Song Quyou remained seated, his fingertips still tapping the scabbard, his gaze fixed on the heart of the river, on the churning water.
The river water surged and formed a platform, several feet above the water's surface. Two black figures slowly rose from the water, one in front of the other. The former had a tall and upright posture with a delicate and handsome face, while the latter was hunched over and had a lewd and obsequious face.
"So it was you, Taoist priest, who stole my pond owner's fish today?" the effeminate man said, his voice surprisingly loud, a stark contrast to his effeminate appearance.
"And who are you?"
At this moment, the hunchbacked, lewd man, with a sinister face and green eyes, shouted: "Hey! Where did this wild Taoist come from, daring to disrespect my master?"