Chapter 37: Treasure Fish

Chen Qing arrived at the River Bureau.

He happened to run into Cheng Ming and immediately informed him of his breakthrough to the Hidden Strength realm.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Cheng Ming's eyes erupted with a burst of joyful light. He slapped Chen Qing's shoulder hard. "Good! Hahaha, good lad!"

He looked at the young man before him, who was becoming increasingly composed.

How long had it been? This level of progress was truly rare.

"It hasn't even been a full year since you moved from Bright Strength to Hidden Strength, has it?" Cheng Ming counted the time on his fingers.

"No, there are still some days to go," Chen Qing nodded.

"Incredible, truly incredible!"

Cheng Ming praised him repeatedly, his face filled with sincere joy. "With this kind of speed, you would be considered an elite disciple even in a martial arts school."

He then turned serious. "A-Qing, you are now at the Hidden Strength stage, so your subsidies will naturally increase. From now on, your monthly allowance will be increased to thirty catties of fine meat and five Blood Qi Pills. If the Cheng family's situation improves, I will add even more."

He paused slightly, a trace of imperceptible embarrassment crossing his face; after all, the Cheng family was currently struggling to look after itself.

"Don't say such things, Boss,"

Chen Qing said without hesitation. "When I first reached Bright Strength, only you supported me. I have always kept that in my heart."

Moved by these simple, honest words, Cheng Ming felt a surge of warmth in his chest. He squeezed Chen Qing's shoulder firmly. "Come, follow me."

He led Chen Qing back to his somewhat cluttered single room.

Feeling curious, Chen Qing slowly lifted the lid of a box.

A strange fish, only about the length of a palm, lay quietly among supple water weeds. Its entire body possessed a pale golden luster, and a small protrusion rose slightly from the top of its head. Its fine scales shimmered with a gentle light under the candlelight.

The fish's eyes were dark and translucent, and its gills were fluttering—it was actually still alive!

Chen Qing's pupils contracted slightly. "Could this be... a Treasure Fish!?"

Having grown up in Yazi Bay, where life revolved around boats, he naturally knew the secrets of the rivers and lakes.

Deep within these waters, there was a legend of a wondrous creature called a "Treasure Fish."

The size of such a fish was related to the years it had lived; the older it was, the larger it grew. Its rarity was comparable to finding gold in the sand.

Because they were so difficult to catch, their value was staggering.

Old Chu, a fisherman from Yazi Bay, had struck great luck a few years ago when he caught a Treasure Fish in his net, dancing with joy.

The manager of the fish weir was considered a man of principle and gave him a full twenty taels of silver. At that time, that was considered a "fair price" even after being heavily squeezed.

Qian Biao had somehow caught wind of it and used every trick in the book to lure Old Chu into a floating house.

Later, after a rigged gambling session, those twenty taels of silver—soaked in Old Chu's blood, sweat, and ecstasy—instantly fell into the hands of Qian Biao's gang of villains, without leaving a single trace.

"Correct, it is indeed a Golden-Horned Carp, a Treasure Fish."

Cheng Ming lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming. "A-Qing, you come from a fishing family, so you should know that these rivers and lakes hold countless wonders. This fish is a miracle that nourishes the bones and condenses blood and qi."

He took a deep breath and continued, "In this world, treasures—whether precious medicines or Treasure Fish—are what martial artists crave most. The Blood Qi Powder and Blood Qi Pills we use are merely infused with a small amount of 'Moon Orchid Grass' powder, a one-year-old medicinal herb."

"And with these Treasure Fish and precious medicines, the higher the age, the more incredible the efficacy. Seven years ago, a ten-year-old Golden Scale from the Huang family was purchased for a hundred gold pieces!"

A hundred gold pieces!?

Chen Qing's heart jolted.

That was not a small sum, not just for ordinary commoners, but even for wealthy households.

"I don't know how the Huang family consumed that Golden Scale,"

Cheng Ming said slowly. "The nourishing effect of Treasure Fish and precious medicines is extremely potent; most martial artists find it difficult to endure. There was once a mountain dweller who obtained a precious medicine and swallowed it directly. His blood and qi swelled, and his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, reaching the Transformation Strength realm overnight. But he died the very next day. The cause of death was the medicinal power being too strong, causing his blood and qi to surge violently, leading to death by internal bleeding."

"Therefore, the best way to consume precious medicine is to refine it into medicinal soups or pills."

Chen Qing replied thoughtfully, "I've heard the old fishermen mention that catching such a Treasure Fish is harder than climbing to heaven. They are as slippery as silk in the water, moving so fast they leave only shadows. Most importantly, the waters where they appear are often inhabited by 'Sea Ogres'... out of ten fishermen who encounter them, nine and a half never return."

He paused and asked, "Are the precious medicines in the mountains just as troublesome?"

"Sea Ogre" did not refer to a specific type of fish, but was a collective term used by fishermen for the massive, incredibly violent, and dangerous anomalies that lurked in the deep waters.

They were like mountain-sized shadows, the nightmare of every fisherman.

Chen Qing had long heard of them but had never seen one in person.

"That's right."

Cheng Ming said with a solemn expression. "Precious medicines are the same! Natural medicines are almost impossibly picky about their environment. The earth veins, the water source, the timing of the heavens—if there is even a slight error, they will not grow. Low-age ones might be painstakingly transplanted, but once they reach five years of age, they are almost impossible to cultivate artificially. Most are hidden in remote, uninhabited deep mountains, dense forests, or secluded valleys..."

"The older they are, the more terrifying the dangers surrounding them. They are often guarded by fearsome 'Exotic Beasts' that are far more ferocious than ordinary tigers or leopards. The 'Sea Ogres' you mentioned are exactly that kind of existence."

"Some highly skilled 'Blade-Catchers' in the prefectural city sometimes risk entering the mountains to seek medicine, gambling that a single decades-old herb will grant them a lifetime of wealth. Unfortunately..."

Cheng Ming shook his head. "Eight or nine out of ten medicine seekers end up leaving their bones in those nameless, desolate mountains."

Hearing this, Chen Qing shook his head inwardly.

It seemed that while these Treasure Fish and precious medicines were good, they were not easily obtained.

Cheng Ming said slowly, "This is a one-and-a-half-year-old 'Golden-Horned Treasure Fish.' It cannot survive without water and is very suitable for those below the Transformation Strength realm. Take it."

Chen Qing hesitated. "This is too valuable, isn't it?"

A ten-year-old Treasure Fish was worth a hundred gold pieces; a one-and-a-half-year-old one surely wouldn't be cheap either.

"You have just stabilized your foundation in the Hidden Strength realm. Supplementing your diet now will yield twice the result with half the effort!"

Cheng Ming said with total seriousness, "Whatever others can provide, my Cheng family will certainly not fall short. From now on, you will receive one one-year-old 'Golden-Horned Treasure Fish' every month."

If Cheng Ming's previous support was considered semi-assistance, this was now full-scale, formal sponsorship.

The five great clans divided their disciples into upper, middle, and lower tiers based on talent.

A monthly Golden-Horned Treasure Fish, plus meat and Blood Qi Pills, was a level of support that was not even inferior to the upper-tier subsidies of the five great clans.

"Thank you,"

Chen Qing said, cupping his hands solemnly.

His master's focus had always been on Qin Lie, so the resources given to him were limited.

The support from Cheng Ming would undoubtedly become his primary source.

"The martial arts imperial examinations this year will not be easy,"

Cheng Ming said earnestly. "You started a bit late, so just do your best. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The road is long!"

Chen Qing smiled. "I'll give it a try. What if I succeed?"

"Mm, that's the spirit!"

Cheng Ming patted his shoulder, his expression relaxing slightly. "Take this fish back. Stew it in clean water using a clean earthenware pot, and remember to use a low flame. Once it has boiled down into a thick, concentrated soup and the fish bones are soft, divide it into three portions and consume it over the next three days."

Chen Qing carefully put away the wooden box. "I understand."

"With the examinations approaching, you won't need to go on patrol for a while. I'll arrange for someone else. You focus entirely on your martial arts."

"Thank you for your trouble, Boss."

Chen Qing said no more and withdrew.

As he reached the door, his footsteps faltered. He turned back to look at Cheng Ming's figure in the room and said deeply, "Boss, thanks."

Cheng Ming was momentarily stunned, then cursed with a smile, "Now get the hell back and go boil your fish soup!"

Chen Qing said nothing more, turned, and merged into the night, walking toward home.

In the boat mooring area of Yazi Bay, the water rippled gently.

Chen Qing pushed open the creaking wooden door of the boat. The dim oil lamp cast a silhouette of Han's hunched figure; her thin, withered fingers were massaging her aching neck and shoulders.

"Mother, is your old shoulder injury acting up again?"

Chen Qing stepped forward quickly, placing his hands on Han's thin shoulders to massage them.

"It's nothing,"

Han shook her head wearily. "It's just an old injury. A little massage will fix it."

"Stop weaving those nets from now on; it's too exhausting,"

Chen Qing said slowly. "In a little while, we will move off this boat and find a proper place to live."

Hearing this, Han grew anxious and grabbed Chen Qing's wrist. "What's wrong with living on a boat? It's quiet! A house on land, no matter how dilapidated, still costs money..."

Chen Qing squeezed Han's hand and said, "Mother, don't worry about this."

Looking into Chen Qing's determined eyes, Han ultimately said nothing more, merely patting the back of his hand gently. "Alright, I'll listen to you."

After settling Han down to sleep, Chen Qing moved quietly to the small stove in the corner.

He carefully scraped away the fine scales from the Golden-Horned Treasure Fish, revealing the delicate flesh inside that shimmered with a pale golden hue.

The fish was not large, but it was exceptionally heavy.

He placed the cleaned fish into the earthenware pot and filled it with clear river water.

A small fire licked the bottom of the stove. Soon, an indescribable, strange fragrance began to spread, overpowering the usual smell of fish and dampness in the cabin.

The aroma was sweet, rich, and mellow; it seeped into the skin and reached the very depths of the lungs, causing one's blood and qi to stir slightly.

The soup in the pot rapidly turned a thick, milky white, looking like nectar, with a few slender golden threads swirling faintly within it.

Chen Qing scooped up a small spoonful and took a sip.

A surge of scalding heat instantly erupted, sweeping through his entire body.

His blood and qi surged and churned like boiling water.

"As expected of a Treasure Fish; the effect is more than three times better than a Blood Qi Pill."

A sharp light appeared in Chen Qing's eyes. With his current level of vigorous blood and qi, his training of stance work tomorrow would definitely be twice as effective, perhaps even three times.

One session of training would be equivalent to three sessions previously.

Chen Qing thought to himself, *If I have enough of this fish, perhaps I won't need a full year to undergo three breakthroughs.*

Of course, he was only thinking.

This Treasure Fish was incredibly valuable; even the direct descendants of the five great clans in Gaolin County did not receive such treatment daily.

"Whew—!"

Chen Qing slowly exhaled a breath of hot air.

The cabin fell into silence, save for the gentle lapping of the river against the hull.

He walked to the bedside, leaned over, and pulled a blackened booklet from the deepest part of the bed frame, spreading it open at a new crease.

The emotions in Chen Qing's eyes receded into a calm stillness. He then picked up a brush and wrote down Qin Lie's name.

Above Qin Lie's name, several names were marked with red crosses, which could vaguely be identified as "Qian Biao," "Song Tie," and others.