"Feeling great."
"There's just too little meat."
Yun Shou glanced at the pile of fish bones to the side. The spiny finfish had too many bones in its body, and this fish king had evolved this feature to the extreme: in its body, some fish bones even formed plate-like structures, just like crabs, and some meat was hidden between extremely small and hard bone crevices.
In other words, as a martial artist, he could crush even fish bones like this into powder with just two fingers, whereas an ordinary person would have to use a hammer to smash them.
"There are still some fish and bones left. Take some for Uncle Ji, Old Man Wang, and Little Tiger Head."
It was already afternoon. Yun Shou dismantled the grilled fish king, put it in a clean pot and pan, and returned to Qinghe Village.
At the village entrance, they found their first target: four or five children gathered together, listening to the instructions of the leader.
The eight- or nine-year-old boy in the lead puffed out his chest and pointed at a girl, saying, "Er Ya, I've already told you you're the Empress. You need to be more magnanimous and listen to the Emperor. Don't stop doing things just because I ate a piece of your jerky!"
He then pointed to a dim-witted boy and said, "Tiger Head, you are the great general. When I am in danger, you must be the first to rush over to save me, not Er Ya!"
"And you, Santu, you are a Grandmaster rebel. You should be the first to kidnap the Emperor, not the Empress."
"Look at him, Shui Zi is playing the part perfectly. He's bound to be a super cunning and treacherous minister in the future! He'll be my greatest adversary!"
Yun Shou: "..."
To be honest, as a time traveler, he stopped playing house with these kids when he was eight years old, and started playing country instead.
He interrupted the children's role-playing game and beckoned them over: "Little Tiger Head!"
"Ah? Brother Yun Shou?"
The dim-witted boy turned around and saw Yun Shou beckoning. He hesitated and said, "I am a general now. I must protect the emperor. I cannot go."
"Come here, I'll give you some meat."
In a flash, Little Tiger Head forgot his duties as "General" and hurriedly ran over, then led Yun Shou home, leaving some meat and bones in the bowl.
His mother came out from the inner room when she heard the noise. When she saw that Yun Shou had come to deliver food, her gaze was complicated. She snorted coldly and said nothing.
Two years ago, after Yun Shou fell into the water, he lay in bed for more than half a month. Song Xiaohu was worried about his "Brother Yun Shou" and would steal some food from home every day to help him recover.
Although it wasn't much, and Yun Shou wasn't lacking in food thanks to Uncle Ji's care, the sentiment behind it couldn't be ignored.
Song Xiaohu was even hung up and beaten by his parents for stealing two eggs from his home, and his cries echoed throughout half of Qinghe Village...
Song Xiaohu's mother naturally had no good impression of Yun Shou, the man who "tricked her stupid son into stealing her money." When she saw that the gift he gave her was just the most common fish found by the lake, she didn't give him a friendly look.
She didn't know it was the King of Fish.
After Song Xiaohu came Old Man Wang, the old man who saved him.
Little Tiger probably didn't understand what a Fish King was, and his parents didn't like Yun Shou, so Yun Shou didn't explain it in detail, but he could explain it to Old Man Wang.
"Grandpa Wang, you must make a thick soup with these fish bones."
Yun Shou put down the fish meat and bones.
"Is there any other particular reason for this?" Old Wang asked with a smile.
"I encountered the Fish and Dragon Dance, and there was this three-foot-three-inch spiny-finned fish in it!"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Wang's face froze for a moment. He quickly looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was watching. His tone was serious and angry: "Are you out of your mind?! You dare to roast and eat the Fish King on your own? If the Qinghe Gang finds out, you'll be drowned in the lake!"
Ordinary fish, even the most delicious edible fish or the most beautiful ornamental fish, can be handled however ordinary fishermen catch them, as long as they are not sold outside the fish market. You can even play with the fish yourself.
The King Fish, however, is an absolutely controlled fish and the property of the gang!
If you can't catch it, fine. But if you do, you have to hand it over to the Qinghe Gang (the Qinghe Gang will also offer a hefty reward). Otherwise, they won't just kick you out of this area, they might beat you to death!
Outsiders who use the "Qinghe Gang's territory" to fish may not necessarily be killed after the fishing if they are lucky. But for someone like Yun Shou, who has a contract of servitude... being thrown into the lake is certain death!
Old Wang was terrified. The Qinghe Gang was like a mountain pressing down on ordinary fishermen. In some small towns, the gang leader, Xu Ruohai, was a top expert and a renowned figure in the area!
Under such pressure, who would dare to disobey orders?
Faced with Old Man Wang's frightened gaze, Yun Shou smiled mysteriously instead: "Old Master Wang, do you remember what I said yesterday?"
He stretched out two fingers and pinched a fish bone about the thickness of a thumb. Instead of releasing his energy outwards, he amplified his strength, much like the internal energy he possessed during his second-rate martial arts period.
With a quick rub of two fingers, the fishbone snapped open with a crack.
Old Wang was stunned.
"I met my master yesterday. He said my natural talent is incredibly strong, and he'll start training me in martial arts..."
Yun Shou flicked his toe, sending a piece of gravel flying up, which he caught.
The boy clenched his fist, his palm radiating a powerful force.
He loosened his fist, and stone dust scattered across the ground from the gap beneath it.
Old Wang: "..."
He opened his mouth, but said nothing.
Was that joke actually true?
“It’s true.” Yun Shou said with a light laugh, “The rules of the Qinghe Gang no longer apply to me.”
...
The last one was delivered to Uncle Ji's house.
Yun Shou hesitated for a moment on the way.
It's still afternoon, and Uncle Ji probably hasn't returned yet. The two of them always go out on the boat together.
The Qinghe Gang's "shipping organization" is just an idea and has not been formally established yet, so Uncle Ji and his group are still mainly engaged in fishing.
Yun Shou was worried that he would arrive at the door only to find it locked and he wouldn't be able to get in. Fortunately, the place wasn't far from his own home, only a few dozen meters away.
When they were a few dozen meters away from Uncle Ji's house, Yun Shou saw that the door was closed and was about to leave when he keenly heard a noise coming from inside the house, so he strode forward.
As he got closer, he saw that the door was locked properly, and the sounds inside seemed to grow louder as he approached.
"There's a thief?!"
Yun Shou realized what was happening, but what thief would steal from a poor fisherman... Last night, when Uncle Ji was helping him pay off his debts, the sound of copper coins falling startled someone away!
They were fishermen from the same village. They saw the money and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was home, sneaked into the house and ransacked it!
He put down the pot and pan, took a few steps forward, and saw that the window was wide open. There was not just one person in the room, but two people searching around.
"He's really hiding it well." One of them complained and looked up, only to meet Yun Shou's gaze. Both of them were taken aback.
Shao Erdan was the most notorious scoundrel in the village, because he was one of only two good-for-nothings in the whole village who spent his days stealing chickens and dogs.
Many people couldn't understand how this kid had been running rampant in the Qinghe Gang's territory for so many years, but Yun Shou learned something through simulation: he knew at least one official member of the Qinghe Gang (Chapter 5).
One of them is Shao Erdan, and the identity of the other is already obvious.
Of course, it's Shao Erdan's biological brother, another hoodlum in Qinghe Village: Shao Yimao!
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