Chapter 526: Bing Fire Rises, Summon the Four Pillars Again!

Splash!

Schools of treasure fish darted in, vying for the blood pills; the waiting soldiers all pulled the ropes together.

The green threads taut as bowstrings, the entire net burst from the mud and sand, surging upward, enclosing the feeding treasure fish in a tight net!

Crackling and popping.

The fish thrashed violently, colliding, spraying water everywhere.

Liang Qu had never seen so many treasure fish caught at once; though he knew the essence from these hundred fish might not match half a Golden Bell Fish, the visual impact still shook him.

The skiffs pulled each other closer, rapidly converging to let the treasure fish slide into the netting, unable to escape.

Blackfish, croakers—ordinary fish were tossed out one after another, leaving only the small-arm-length, club-shaped "Hammerhead Fish."

Hammerhead Fish, one of the common schooling treasure fish of the Jianghuai Great Marsh.

Of equal size, two or three could barely match one Tigerhead Spotted Fish, let alone compare to a Bullhorn Croaker.

"Silver Sand!"

A soldier pulled a large treasure fish shimmering with silver light from the net, his expression elated.

The Field Office Registrar shouted: "Good! Bring it aboard to me for weighing—it's five catties! Credit to all four of you!"

Silver Sand is far superior to Hammerhead Fish; one catty can sell for at least eight taels of silver, accidentally mixed in with the school.

The other soldiers envied the man's luck, fishing with even greater fervor, hoping to find a hidden treasure fish in their own nets.

Truly, life teems, all things strive to flourish.

Liang Qu recalled his past struggles; back then, catching even one Silver Sand would have delighted him for days.

That was probably the happiest time of his life…

Hmm.

Liang Qu's mind flashed with images of the mansion, the delicacies, the water beasts, the Dragon Girl… and suddenly he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Look! The sun!"

"Bing Fire! Bing Fire!"

The soldiers raised their hands, pointing diagonally toward the horizon.

People, as if guided, all looked up.

Brilliant light blazed across the sky.

The massive sun resembled a melting candle, dripping large blobs of wax; the wax quivered several times, then coalesced into a single, radiant, perfect orb, illuminating all directions.

The mortal world was bathed in pure white.

Liang Qu squinted, fixing his gaze on the small sun—noticeably smaller than the usual one—and gripped the railing, his spirits lifting.

"Finally!"

Whether there's a big guaranteed reward—now we'll find out!

"Watch out! A spirit!"

"I've got it!"

Liang Qu ignited his Golden Eyes, drew his bow, and in an instant, a silent, cold beam pierced the sky.

Pfft.

Blood gushed and splattered.

The spirit, pierced through both skull and brain, plunged toward the riverbed.

"A Wolf Fish! Haul it up—extra feast for the brothers today!"

"Good!"

"Lord Liang is mighty!"

Deep within the Jianghuai Great Marsh.

The River Office's fishing fleet reaped a great harvest; the Long Gong's central courtyard was filled with gloom.

The azure serpent flicked its tongue: "You say Chi Lin and the others were captured by a human Wu Sheng?"

The snake demon cowered on the ground, trembling.

"My lord, I gathered intelligence from Pingyang Prefecture, then traveled south to Ningjiang Prefecture, searching for days until I found the Wu Sheng's carriage at a harbor."

It had been moored for several days, with only servants cleaning aboard; I dared not approach, only watched from afar."

In the harbor, Chi Lin and the other three snakes had iron chains piercing their spines, shackled to the front, treated like oxen and horses…"

"Truly a Wu Sheng?" Lord Lin refused to believe it.

"Indeed. The humans call him the King of Xu Yue."

"King of Xu Yue…"

Silence.

Long silence.

"Good you didn't approach."

The snake demon's tense nerves eased slightly.

"What of Bai Yuan?"

"Judging by appearances… he wasn't caught."

"Do you know why? Where did things go wrong?"

"This… I don't know."

Asked three times, answered nothing.

The snake demon trembled all over.

The only ones who witnessed the entire affair were the King of Xu Yue, Su Guishan, Liang Qu, the snake demon, and the great spirit.

Dozens of great spirits lay decapitated; four snake demons had been captured by the Wu Sheng—no one could even approach them, let alone question them.

The snake demon racked his brain: "Oh! One thing! I heard that Chi Lin and the three others deliberately swam into the Wu Sheng's carriage and were captured! The villagers all say the River God, seeing the King of Xu Yue's virtue, sent emissaries to assist him!"

"…"

The snake demon instantly regretted speaking—wished he could whip himself with his tail.

Why did I add that half-sentence? Damn River God.

A soft sigh.

"Leave."

The snake demon snapped to attention, hurriedly replied, "Yes," scraped along the floor, and retreated from the hall.

Lord Lin pondered a moment, then turned toward the Long Gong.

In just a moment.

The earth trembled, green scales vibrated; the long-sleeping lord lifted his head, and countless snake demons panicked and darted away.

Then.

Four great serpents surged toward the four directions.

The Dragon Summoned the Four Pillars again!

Cave.

The toad sat up, scratched his rump.

"So annoying."

Splash!

His webbed feet kicked the ground; a furious current roared.

The messenger snake, caught off guard, was swept off its feet and slammed to the ground.

The old toad stood atop Big Fat's head, bouncing up and down, cheering loudly; once the snake departed, he clung to Big Fat's skull and pulled hard backward.

"Those snakes never stop trying to exterminate our frog clan! No wonder I've felt uneasy lately, as if watched by a demon—I finally know why! That snake is plotting some treachery to harm our Great Frog King!"

Big Fat was forced to tilt his head back, meeting the elder's gaze, his expression shocked.

"Is it really so?"

Second Fat's eyes glinted with malice; his webbed claws moved toward his own short, fat neck.

"Elder, if that's true, why don't we strike first? Kill the Dragon!"

The old toad leapt from Big Fat's head onto Second Fat's, hammering him several times.

Second Fat shrank his head, confused: "Elder, why not?"

The old toad's eyes gleamed: "The time has not come! Our Great King lies hidden in the abyss; though his talent is peerless, he still lags half a step behind the Dragon!"

Big Fat and Second Fat exchanged glances.

The time has not come?

"Elder, didn't you always say the time had come? You said we should rise up last year—our Great King refused…"

The old toad clasped his webbed paws behind his back, gazing upward at a lotus leaf at a forty-five-degree angle, sighing deeply.

"Who hasn't been young and impulsive?"

Second Fat scratched his head.

Last year, when forging the divine weapon, you swore you'd slice the Dragon's throat—less than a year ago.

Has the elder aged so fast?

Big Fat asked humbly: "Elder, when should we wait for?"

"Hmph! Wisdom forged by storms tells me: the day our frog clan dominates the marsh is not far off!"

…

Two days airborne.

Heat waves and water waves merged, their boundaries indistinguishable.

"Where's the ice water? Any left? Help us!" Liang Qu shook his water flask—empty.

"Save it for storing fish. Frozen fish. You want to drink it? When you steep it, it reeks of fish. We've been out over ten days—do you think we have that much ice water to spare?" Ke Ko Wenbin sat bare-legged in the shade, blowing on the ice platform.

The whole ship's full of men—doesn't matter.

"Over ten days already…?"

Liang Qu silently counted: thirteen days had passed since departure; the second day of Binghuo had arrived.

Eleven days—Inside Ze Ding remained utterly silent.

I wonder if anything will happen before Binghuo Day ends.

"My lord, we still have plenty of saltpeter aboard, and the kitchen has mung beans. Shall I have the cook make some chilled mung bean soup?" The field secretary bowed.

"Go at once! This is a military order!"

"Yes!"

Plop.

Liang Qu stepped onto the railing and jumped into the water.

Unexpectedly, the surface of the great marsh was scorching hot; only after diving over ten meters did he feel coolness, his whole body exhilarated, pores wide open.

At this moment.

The fat catfish suddenly sent a message.

"Has the dragon called the Four Pillars again?"