Chapter 204

Liang Qu twisted the transparent bead, which was no larger than a thumb, feeling incredulous.

Over two thousand six hundred points of Water Essence?

Compared to its volume, the absorption rate was likely much higher than that of the old giant clam's pearl.

If he could absorb it before today, with a total of over seventeen thousand essence, he might really be able to break through the fifth aperture in one go...

Those who abandoned me, yesterday's days cannot be kept.

Liang Qu extinguished his thoughts and tucked the bead into his pouch, but after a while, he couldn't help but take it out to examine it again.

The more he looked at it, the more it really looked like a teardrop.

The irregularity of clam pearls, conch pearls, and giant clam pearls was caused by the conditions of their birth.

This one, with one large end and one small end, looked irregular at first glance, yet it was very lustrous and full from top to bottom, as if it had naturally dripped down under the effect of surface tension.

Could it be... a Jiaoren tear?

Liang Qu hadn't been to the academy much lately, but he hadn't stopped reading various books or learning; many miscellaneous records clearly documented the existence of Jiaoren, though they had been rarely seen in the last few hundred years.

"Beyond the South Sea there are Jiaoren, who live in the water like fish and do not stop weaving. When their eyes weep, they can produce pearls."

The saying that pearls in the bright moon of the vast sea have tears is not merely a simple projection of beautiful fantasy.

The delicate porcelain they produce is even more impervious to water and as white as snow.

There are even more brutal ones: mix a spoonful of Jiaoren oil into a vat of clear oil, soak a lamp wick, and it can burn for a thousand years without going out.

If it were a Jiaoren tear, it would make sense for such a small bead to contain so much Water Essence.

Liang Qu looked up: "Yuan Tou, ask Scarhead where it got the bead."

He couldn't communicate directly with Scarhead and needed Yuan Tou to "translate" for him.

After some communication.

Scarhead shook its head.

"Doesn't know?"

Liang Qu sighed.

According to Scarhead, the bead was discovered by accident by a little finless porpoise in the tribe a long time ago; they just thought it looked good at the time and had kept it with them ever since.

As for the location, it had long been forgotten.

What a pity; if one Jiaoren tear could have so much Water Essence, wouldn't he be rich if he found a tribe and let them cry every day?

Seemingly sensing that the leader's leader was very disappointed, Scarhead barked twice, came forward to hold the corner of his clothes, and pulled Liang Qu toward a certain place.

"Oh?"

Liang Qu didn't stop it and followed Scarhead into the finless porpoises' cave, seeing many miscellaneous things along the way.

A half-human-tall Buddha carving, a huge figurehead, complete ritual vessels...

All sorts of things, accumulated bit by bit by the finless porpoises over so many years.

Good heavens, do all aquatic creatures with a bit of intelligence like to collect human artifacts?

Liang Qu picked up a Cong-style vase; the inscription on the bottom was from a certain emperor of the Great Qian.

A government kiln from the previous dynasty; it was beautiful, the glaze was lustrous and restrained, the vessel shape was full, and the flint-red patterns were flowing, but it was just hard for him to take this thing out to use or sell.

Looking at the Buddha carving again.

It was lifelike, the wood was unusual, and it had been soaking in water for who knows how many years without the slightest sign of rot; staying beside it even gave him a feeling of peace of mind.

Although it didn't look peculiar on the outside, Liang Qu knew where the good stuff was.

He turned the Buddha statue over and felt along the spine.

The craftsman who made the Buddha carving was a master; it was almost seamless, but with intent, he still managed to find a cover plate that was almost invisible.

Tapping it, it was hollow.

Sure enough, there was something inside.

When traveling, good things have to be earned by oneself.

Without a bit of culture, many things would be missed.

After a Buddha statue is built, to give it vitality, it must be filled with symbolic internal organs and spiritual sense.

Usually, mantras, scriptures, gold, silver, and treasures are placed inside the Buddha statue's body or its pedestal, just like the internal organs in a human body; this is called "consecration."

Consecration is a unique ritual for Buddhist statues and an indispensable procedure.

The consecration of Buddha statues enshrined in temples cannot be dismantled at will, but this one was only half a human tall and a wood carving, obviously kept privately, so there were not so many taboos.

Since they were still underwater, if it turned out to be scriptures, it wouldn't be good if they got wet; he would dismantle it later, and the old monk might like it.

He didn't expect that before he even started letting the finless porpoises go out to search for treasures, there would already be so many unexpected gains.

Scarhead was very happy and pulled Liang Qu further inside.

"There's more?"

Liang Qu glanced at the piled-up "junk heap" and followed Scarhead in surprise.

At the bottom of the cave.

Glowing vines grew and climbed along the stone walls, illuminating the entire cave.

There were many similar glowing vines underwater; the cave where he first discovered A-Wei and the Water Lingzhi had a thick glowing vine.

That big vine was hard as death and had no Water Essence; chewing it was like gnawing on dry grass.

The vine before him was slightly similar and should be of the same species; under the soft brilliance of the intertwined and fused vines, a blue-gold utensil the length of a forearm stood quietly, glowing with a faint metallic luster, very lustrous, as if it had been polished.

Its general image was a simplified tiger head with its mouth wide open, hiding a terrified human head beneath the big mouth, with two feet and a long tail forming triangular vessel feet, and the whole body covered in complex patterns.

The strange thing was that although the tiger head was very rough and extremely simplified, the terror on the human head made one's hair stand on end.

From the details, it should be a You, a type of wine vessel.

But it was made so grotesquely that it was highly likely not meant for use, but very likely a ritual vessel.

Tiger-Eating-Human You?

Scarhead on the left was barking, and Yuan Tou on the right was nodding continuously.

"It's alive? And it can drive away fierce beasts?"

Liang Qu was very surprised; he didn't know how a metal sculpture that looked like bronze, didn't rot in water, and had an unknown material could be alive, let alone be regarded as a totem by the finless porpoises.

"Have any fierce beasts been hurt by it?"

Liang Qu looked at Yuan Tou, Yuan Tou looked at Scarhead, Scarhead was stunned, and it shook its head.

"Just driven away, no substantial harm..."

So miraculous, no wonder the finless porpoises kept it separate from ordinary "collectibles" and placed it specifically in the deepest part of the cave.

After pondering for a long time, Liang Qu stepped forward.

No reaction.

Another step forward.

Still nothing.

Strange, what was its method of judgment?

According to what Scarhead said, it reacted as soon as a fierce beast approached the cave; why was there no movement when he was already face-to-face with it?

It wasn't until he was within one step and reached out to take it.

His five fingers grabbed at empty air.

Liang Qu looked up and realized he was standing in the high sky, with the world empty and nothingness.

Suddenly, a sharp gaze descended from the sky, landing on the top of his head, as if a fierce tiger were looking down.

He didn't look up, but all the pores on his body tightened, the muscles on his spine involuntarily tensed, and he stood straight.

Above and below, the heavens and the earth, were all under mountain-like pressure.

Suddenly, the Ze Ding in his sea of consciousness shone brightly.

【Absorbed a wisp of Tiger-Seed aura, obtained the favor of Tian Wu, and gained one Yu pattern.】

In an instant, everything dissipated without a trace.

Liang Qu staggered against the stone wall, all his pores opened, and cold sweat was expelled at once.

On the ground, the Tiger-Eating-Human You swayed twice, as if it had lost something, and no longer had any charm.