Chapter 13 Furious Progress Bar_1

The silence persisted for a while before whispers began to rise.

"Six taels and five qian!"

"Really, six taels and five qian?"

"Odd, isn't that like striking it rich? All are Treasure Fish; how come Ashui's is so expensive? So good?"

Clearly, everyone had been shocked by Martial Artist Hu's bid.

Li Libo, standing by, did some quick calculations with his fingers and was taken aback.

Chen Jiechang's Red Blood Perch weighed two pounds and seven taels six qian and only earned him three taels of silver, amounting to a little over one tael per pound.

Yet Liang Qu's Bull Horn Pomfret at three pounds two taels one qian fetched a whopping six taels and five qian! That's two taels per pound—nearly double that of the Red Blood Perch!

Wait, why did I say the Red Blood Perch "only" earned three taels?

Li Libo fell into silence.

At the same time, Liang Qu also fell into immense joy.

He had thought that a Treasure Fish would merely significantly shorten his time to join the Martial Arts School, but never did he imagine it would completely fill his progress bar!

With the extra two taels and eight qian of silver he had saved up, Liang Qu's total wealth had now surpassed nine taels and three qian!

Not only had he reached the Martial Arts School's minimum requirement of seven taels, but he also had his autumn taxes covered.

As for not wanting to sell, that wasn't an issue at all.

The martial master offering a clearly different price meant he wasn't taking advantage of the rural fishermen's lack of knowledge about the Bull Horn Pomfret by quoting a random price; otherwise, he could have easily quoted a price similar to the Red Blood Perch.

Moreover, a few taels of silver really wasn't much to a martial master. Take Chen Jiechang for example—with a hundred wen a day, he would make three taels in a month, but his large living expenses made him seem less wealthy.

If they were indeed being low-balled, there was nothing to be done about it. It wouldn't make sense that they wouldn't face the same in Pingyang Town. Fishermen weren't foolish, and neither were martial masters; it was better to just sell directly and save the trip of more than ten miles.

"Sell, of course I'll sell, but I have a question I'd like to ask Master Hu."

Liang Qu calmed his emotions and put forth a small request.

Martial Artist Hu replied concisely, "Ask."

"Why is the price of the Bull Horn Pomfret, which is also a Treasure Fish, double that of the Red Blood Perch?"

The fishermen around all pricked up their ears, equally curious.

The world of martial masters is after all mysterious and alluring, being able to discreetly know something others don't is undoubtedly gratifying.

Upon hearing Liang Qu's question, Martial Artist Hu didn't show any impatience and explained, "The horns of the Bull Horn Pomfret can be used in medicine, made into secret pills that enhance essence and refine qi, which can help break through the Blood Pass. I am at this very stage right now, so it is of great use to me."

So that's how it is!

Liang Qu thought about the pair of small horns he had saved earlier and was relieved he hadn't thrown them away.

Martial Artist Hu was quite sincere indeed.

The rest went smoothly. Liang Qu handed over the live Bull Horn Pomfret, and Martial Artist Hu tossed over a bag of silver coins, not even asking for the cloth bag back before he left.

Before departing, he shouted, "In the future, if anyone catches a similar Treasure Fish with this distinctive feature, come tell me, and I won't let you suffer a loss."

The fishermen at the wharf cheered in unison.

Skin, flesh, bone, and blood, these four stages—based on the information previously revealed, Martial Artist Hu had reached the fourth stage. Once crossed, 'Martial Artist' would no longer be just a respectful title, but a solid capability. Several Treasure Fish were indeed crucial.

Liang Qu secretly thought to himself.

After Martial Artist Hu left, the fishermen on the wharf no longer bothered about keeping their voices down. In an instant, they all congratulated Liang Qu on his good fortune, and some even went so far as to touch him, trying to rub off something mysterious.

In the past half a month, Liang Qu had caught a yellow croaker, a spotted fish, and now a Treasure Fish—it was as if he was a walking lucky charm.

Amidst the crowd's encirclement, Liang Qu held on tightly to his money bag and did not refuse.

Compared to farming, fishing bore more uncertainties, so the fishermen tended to believe more in mystical forces. There were many sacrificial activities in Yixing City, big and small, but those were typically led by the wealthier families using livestock.

Of course, in a world where Martial Artists exceptional from the common folk existed, whether there were indescribable forces, Liang Qu couldn't be certain.

For a time, nearly all the attention for catching a Treasure Fish at Shangrao Wharf was stolen by Liang Qu alone.

Chen Jiechang, standing outside the crowd, touched the heavy purse of coins and felt unwilling to accept his fate, but he had no choice and could only leave alone.

When the excitement died down and some fishermen had dispersed, Li Libo exclaimed, "Oh, my goodness, six taels! My family could never save up so much money in generations."

"Quit your nonsense. I don't know who it is that's about to go pay respects at the Martial Arts School." Liang Qu secured the money bag, returned to his boat, stealthily stowed away two fish barbels as big as finger bones, and handed Li Libo's fishing net back to him, "Your net was a great help to me."

"Hey, doesn't this mean you owe me a meal?"

"I was planning on it anyway."

Having struck it rich and about to enter the Martial Arts School, Liang Qu was filled with an aura of pride and naturally planned to treat someone.

The two went straight to a tavern, ordered a chicken, a plate of mutton and a plate of pork, along with a jug of warm alcohol, spending a hundred coins, and gave Li Libo a sumptuous meal.

Liang Qu himself didn't drink alcohol and wasn't used to it, but Li Libo could drink—a lot. Fishermen often went into the water, and none of them didn't drink, especially on a day like this where there was reason to celebrate, so he ordered a jug for him as thanks for the loan of the fishing net.

When they had drunk their fill and eaten to their hearts' content, Li Libo, with his face flushed, looked around, and asked in a low voice, "When are you planning to go to the Martial Arts School?"

Liang Qu turned his head, "How did you know I was going to the Martial Arts School?"

The original owner of the body was a loner and didn't have many good friends at the wharf, but Liang Qu was different. He was generous and had even treated Li Libo to two meals, making their relationship a lot closer than at the start.

"Nonsense, you asked me so many questions last time. Even a fool could see what you were thinking, but it's normal. Who hasn't dreamed of practicing martial arts and becoming a martial master? That's someone above others, unlike us, muddy-legged fellows reeking of fish. It's impossible to wash this smell off with soapberry, it's marinated into us."

Li Libo's tone carried envy. Becoming a martial master meant being registered and receiving subsidies from the Imperial Court, no longer being of a lowly class, and not needing to fish every day or carry the stench of fish which couldn't be washed away even with soapberry.

In the Dashun Dynasty, since its founding sixty years ago, recent years had seen good weather for the crops. People weren't starving, but life was still a tiresome struggle for daily sustenance. No one wanted to live this way their entire life.

Every young man in Yixing City under the age of twenty had fantasied about being a boy with extraordinary talent, being recognized by a grandmaster, and becoming one themselves one day.

Unfortunately, the vast majority could not overcome the high threshold of seven Silver Coins. Even those who could afford it knew that, with 'poor in the literary, rich in the martial', they wouldn't make much of a career after all.

Li Libo initially thought Liang Qu was just another young man filled with dreams, but today's Treasure Fish made him look at him anew.

Six taels and five coins, that was almost enough to meet the threshold.

This kid, he might just join me in entering the Martial Arts School, he thought.

But it was all too coincidental; he had only just made inquiries, and then he struck a windfall that could get him into the Martial Arts School. And then there was the matter with Scabby Zhang starting a fight. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen him around for half a month, which was quite odd.

Li Libo felt that something was amiss but couldn't put his finger on what exactly. It just felt like, in the whole of Yixing City, there was no one else like Liang Qu.

"That's right, my father left behind some savings, and that should be enough." Liang Qu felt there was no need to deny it.

Li Libo embraced Liang Qu's neck, laughing heartily with an 'I knew it' expression, "That's great. I was worried I'd be bullied going to the Martial Arts School by myself. Perfect, we can be martial brothers!"

"Hmm."