The great river was called the Li River, and upstream lay the great city of Lizhou.
The Li River was over three hundred meters wide, and a great number of fishermen made their living on its waters.
As far as the eye could see, the river was dotted with small fishing boats.
On his way here, Jiang Zuo had already considered what he would do once he settled down. He ultimately decided to raise fish.
He was already a great distance from the nation of Da Xi, but raising birds and beasts—even if he didn’t sell them to anyone—could still inadvertently earn him a reputation.
Who knew when that might attract the people who were tracking him.
After witnessing the Great Powers dueling in Red Fox Town, Jiang Zuo wanted absolutely nothing to do with Cultivators for the time being.
’Raising fish would be just fine.’
There were countless fishermen along the Li River. No one would pay him any mind.
The final auction of Great Black had brought Jiang Zuo over two hundred Beast Taming Reputation points.
His Beast Taming Reputation was now over five hundred. If he kept a low profile, that would be enough to last him for a very long time—even decades—without needing to gain any more.
WOOF WOOF!
Great Black looked at the Li River, growing excited and wagging its tail happily.
It had never seen such a massive river before; the sight alone was magnificent.
After making some inquiries, Jiang Zuo soon became a fisherman based outside Lizhou.
To fish on the Li River, one first had to register as a fisherman in Lizhou City. Only after paying an annual tax of three taels of silver could one obtain the right to fish on the river.
The Government Office didn’t care how you fished, but if you caught anything and wanted to enter the city to sell it, you had to pay a tax equivalent to twenty percent of the sale price.
Therefore, to avoid this tax, most fishermen on the Li River chose to sell their catch outside the city.
Every morning and evening, plenty of merchants came to the riverbank outside Lizhou City to buy fish.
The prices were a bit lower than inside Lizhou City, but for the fishermen, it was still more profitable than entering the city to sell.
But the merchants had their limits; once they bought enough or their time was up, they would stop for the day.
That was why the closer one got to Lizhou City, the more fishermen there were.
Since Jiang Zuo didn’t plan to make a living by fishing, he didn’t join the hustle and bustle.
He donned a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, paddled the second-hand fishing boat he’d bought, and traveled downriver until there were hardly any other boats in sight. Only then did he choose a spot and stop.
The fishing boat had a shelter made of woven bamboo strips where one could cook and sleep. To save money, many fishermen ate and slept on their boats.
However, the space inside was cramped, and the boat would rock and drift on the river. It was definitely not a comfortable way to live.
Jiang Zuo had no intention of putting himself through that. He found a grove of trees on the riverbank, spent a few days building a simple wooden cabin, and settled in.
While he was building the cabin, Jiang Zuo also decided what kind of fish he would raise in the Li River.
Great Black’s cultivation was complete, and his bond with the Yellow Thorn Bone had been released.
Jiang Zuo planned to use both of his Cultivation Beast Cage slots to raise Black Stone Fish.
Black Stone Fish had a lifespan of about twenty years. They weren’t very strong, but they had incredible stamina.
If you hooked a Black Stone Fish while angling from the riverbank, you would have to fight it for a long time to exhaust its energy before you could possibly reel it in.
They were also extremely agile underwater, swimming so fast that it was very difficult to catch them even with a net.
Simply put, it was a fish with a low strength attribute but excellent Physique and Agility Attributes.
Jiang Zuo’s strength attribute was currently too high, while his Physique and Agility were lagging far behind. Raising Black Stone Fish was the perfect way to supplement these attributes.
The only uncertainty was the cultivation cycle.
However, from raising the Yellow Thorn Bone in Red Fox Town, Jiang Zuo had more or less figured out the process of cultivating fish. Raising Black Stone Fish shouldn’t be a problem; after a few cycles, he would become proficient.
Black Stone Fish were relatively rare in the Li River, and Jiang Zuo needed juveniles. It was true that fish would actively swim toward him whenever he put his hand in the river...
...but they had to be close enough to see him. From too far away, they wouldn’t pay him any mind.
Finding them on his own wouldn’t be easy, so Jiang Zuo simply went along the river, asking the fishing families one by one.
After spending a little silver, he managed to buy two juvenile Black Stone Fish.
The Black Stone Fish was named for its appearance; its skin looked like black marble, with flecks of gray and white.
Back on the riverbank by his cabin, Jiang Zuo added the Black Stone Fish to his Cultivation Beast Cage.
—Black Stone Fish: Medium-sized fish, juvenile. Gentle personality, high stamina. Possesses one Talent Slot. Current Cultivation Progress: 9%.
Once the two Black Stone Fish were added to the Cultivation Beast Cage, their bond with Jiang Zuo immediately strengthened. They swam happily in the river, circling around his fingers.
The Li River’s current was too strong, so Jiang Zuo had prepared a small water tank on his fishing boat.
While they were still small, he would move them into the tank at night.
Otherwise, if they encountered a strong current, they would be swept away to who-knows-where.
And so, one more fisherman appeared on the lower reaches of the Li River.
Clad in a straw raincoat and bamboo hat, one couldn’t make out Jiang Zuo’s features from a distance.
No one paid any special attention to the plainly dressed Jiang Zuo.
And so, Jiang Zuo resumed his old trade on the banks of the Li River.
His days were spent raising his fish, observing and drawing Beast Patterns, and occasionally spending time on the actual work of a fisherman—casting nets on the Li River or simply angling from the bank. Life was exceptionally peaceful.
When he had a spare moment, Jiang Zuo also took out the stone stele to have a look.
Nearly two years had passed since he’d offered it a drop of his blood and a year of his life. In that time, Jiang Zuo had carefully observed his body but had found no abnormal changes.
The connection between him and the stele remained as faint and indistinct as it was in the beginning.
It had neither strengthened nor weakened.
Jiang Zuo now had 76 incomplete Porcupine Roar Beast Patterns in his possession, and he planned to resume the process of Refining the Stone Stele.
However, Refining the Stone Stele consumed lifespan, so Jiang Zuo was very cautious. He planned to wait until he could successfully cultivate the Black Stone Fish and obtain a stable supplement to his lifespan before he began.
...
「Red Fox Town」
Although the nation of Da Xi had fallen into the great turmoil of a Military Officer’s rebellion, the incident from three months prior had still made Red Fox Town famous, attracting a great number of people.
Besides those who wanted to see the resurrected person with their own eyes, even more people came to Red Fox Town hoping to embark on the path of Cultivation.
As the crowds grew, everyone fantasized that they might be chosen by an Immortal Master and set upon the path to eternal life.
The New County Magistrate suddenly received permission to allow those who wished to pursue Cultivation to pay one hundred taels of silver to have their Spirit Root tested.
The testing went on for over a month. After countless people had their Spirit Roots tested without a single one being found, those who harbored delusions of Cultivation gradually began to give up hope.
Three months after the incident, Red Fox Town finally returned to a state of peace.
Although it was still much livelier than it had been three months ago, it was no longer in a state of utter chaos.
Blacksmith Li was still in his shop, hammering away at his forge.
The nation of Da Xi had fallen into rebellion, but it didn’t affect Red Fox Town, which remained completely untouched by the turmoil.
Even so, Blacksmith Li’s business had visibly improved. The number of people coming to him to order custom weapons had increased dramatically, and many of them were placing large orders.
These days, Blacksmith Li and his apprentices were working overtime every day, but they still had an endless backlog of weapons to forge.
"Master, there’s a customer looking for you!"
Only Blacksmith Li could make the final decisions for the shop’s business. He assumed it was another customer wanting to commission weapons, but the shop was already too busy to take on more work.
He was just about to turn them away, but when he reached the entrance and saw the visitors, he felt a faint sense of familiarity.
The visitors were a man and a woman, accompanied by a girl in her early teens.
Blacksmith Li finally recognized them. Suppressing the shock in his heart, he led them to a guest room.
"Boss Li, I wonder if you still recognize the two of us?"
the man asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"Of course, I do. More than ten years have passed in a flash. I know what you want to ask. Jiang Zuo is fine. He left Red Fox Town long before this incident occurred. But you won’t be able to see him. I’m afraid he won’t be coming back for a very long time,"
Blacksmith Li said, letting out a breath.
This man and woman were none other than Jiang Zuo’s parents, Jiang Rulin and Zuo Qing’e, who hadn’t been heard from in over a decade.
Looking at the couple, Blacksmith Li couldn’t help but sigh to himself.
’Time is cruel. The two vibrant young people from back then have already entered middle age.’
Both of their faces were etched with hardship, a clear sign that their lives had not been easy these past years.
"As long as he’s safe! That’s all that matters!"
"Boss Li, I don’t know when you might be free, but we’d like to hear more about what’s happened with Jiang Zuo."
Upon hearing his words, the couple was both excited and relieved, the heavy weight on their hearts finally lifting.
After hearing the rumors about Red Fox Town, even though they’d heard no one had died, Jiang Rulin and Zuo Qing’e couldn’t put their minds at ease.
They had planned to come much earlier, but two or three months ago, the town was so crowded that entry was restricted, and the identities of all visitors were strictly checked.
Left with no choice, they could only wait patiently.
They finally waited until the crowds thinned and Red Fox Town returned to normal before daring to secretly seek out Blacksmith Li.
"How about you come back in two hours?"
Blacksmith Li suggested after a moment’s thought.
His remaining work was secondary. Blacksmith Li wanted to use this time to go to Jiang Zuo’s old home and retrieve the letter he had left for his parents.
As for the risk of the couple being recognized, Blacksmith Li wasn’t worried.
The couple had only lived in Red Fox Town for a little over two years, and they had spent most of their time with the local hunters. The people who knew them were mostly those same hunters.
But those hunters had either died in the rampaging bear incident years ago or had left town since.
It was only because Blacksmith Li had interacted with them frequently and had a strong impression of them that he was barely able to recognize them now.