Chapter 3, The Rules of the Fish Stall (Part 2)

Upon seeing Chu Tian, the young man chuckled and said, "Brother Tian, is someone causing trouble here?"

On the grand avenue by the dock, a large carriage made of sandalwood quietly awaits. The carriage is drawn by four entirely snow-white unicorns, their coats curling like clouds, strong and powerful, exhaling with a thunderous sound. Each unicorn has a single horn on its head, measuring two feet in length, gleaming with a striking silver light.

"Here, use ten pieces of gold to make a scene. The Ling family, how extravagant, truly wealthy!" Chu Tian squinted, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, with a hint of an inexplicable smile as he softly said, "A Que, what do you think, should we send these ten golden-scaled big carps, or not send them?"

"Then, should we still send it?" Aque blinked her eyes and looked at Chu Tian: "But the White Python River does not allow the catching of carp; this is a rule we established. For the past three years, everyone has acknowledged our rules. If we break the rules, it would be a slap in our face!"

"Get lost, go far away, three hundred miles upstream, it's a good place to make a nest and settle down. Ah, those young and naive ones were caught and sent to the pot, but you are seasoned old ones, how can you still fall for this trick?"

"Scared! Good citizen! You scared me to death!" A Que laughed out loud with a "pfft," pointing at Chu Tian and then at himself. He dropped the pine nuts in his hand, clutching his stomach and laughing heartily, but forgot that he was squatting on a bench, resulting in him toppling headfirst off the bench.

A mysterious brilliance flickered in the eyes of the sparrow

A youth, fair and delicate in appearance, standing half an inch taller than the average person, yet possessing a slender and fragile figure akin to that of a willow branch, squatted on a long bench in the main hall, holding a bag of pine nuts in his left hand, continuously spitting out the shells of the pine nuts from his mouth

Along the way, fishermen occasionally jumped onto the fishing boats, carrying baskets of various sizes filled with fish to present to Chu Tian. Chu Tian casually glanced into the baskets, sometimes nodding and other times shaking his head. By the time he left the fish market, the burly man behind him was laden with fresh river delicacies strung together with willow branches

I am going to the city, everything is ready.

Chutian leaned back in the large chair, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling

Go, go, remember that the Baimao Beach three hundred miles upstream is the most perilous, and fishermen dare not venture there. It is best for you to make a nest. But remember, every year, a few turtle eggs are laid downstream; fishermen also need to support their families, and I too need to eat more of the skirt edges to replenish my vitality and blood, do I not

The sparrow continuously spat out pine nut shells from its beak, scattering them all over the hall.

Two old turtles floated on the water's surface, still in shock, splashing the river and stretching their necks, staring blankly at the sky of Chu.

"It has been sent, but it is only these gold pieces from the Ling family. If we do not send it, we might end up on bad terms with the Ling family," Chu Tian said slowly. "Alas, tell me, why is it so difficult for us to conduct our business honestly and live peacefully as good citizens?"

The fish teeth and the fishermen all burst into laughter, each making faces and squinting their eyes, their smiles filled with various inexplicable and peculiar meanings.

He stretched out his fingers and flicked the heads of the two old turtles, then Chu Tian stood up, swaying with the stick as he walked down the road

Several perch were jumping vigorously, while about ten large crabs were desperately blowing bubbles. Two turtles, the size of grinding discs, stretched their necks with all their might. As they turned around a river bend, Chutian pointed towards the river surface, and the burly man holding the turtles came to the riverbank, placing the two turtles into the water

He tilted his chin towards the large table, while Chu Tian placed both hands on the armrests of the armchair, gently tapping his fingers rhythmically on the armrests

As the sound of laughter echoed, Chu Tian threw ten garlic cloves onto the large table and strode towards the portrait of the Dragon King hanging in the center of the hall. He took three incense sticks from the offering table beneath the portrait, lit them, bowed three times to the image, and placed the incense sticks in the incense burner. Only then did he sit down boldly in the central armchair at the offering table.

Chutian scratched the thin scar on his face, the scar slightly reddened, giving his eyes a faint reddish hue

These four antelopes are clearly divine steeds that can travel three thousand miles a day, each worth more than a thousand gold pieces. Ling Fu is merely the second steward of the Ling family, yet he uses such magnificent steeds to pull a carriage, which demonstrates the extravagance of the Ling family

Five or six robust men, clad in soft armor and wearing swords at their waists, rode on horseback. Upon seeing Ling Fu, they all bowed slightly in greeting from their mounts. Two young attendants in blue caps assisted Ling Fu onto the carriage, and with a light shout from the coachman, the four horned horses began to move, swiftly galloping towards Yaozhou City amidst the company of the five or six strong men.

With a thud, Chu Tian threw the Qimei staff onto the weapon rack at the entrance of the hall, tore open his clothing to expose his chest, and grabbed the teapot from the square table in the center of the hall, downing half a pot of cold tea in one go

Aqiao immediately became excited, and with a light jump, he landed on the largest beam of the roof, looking down at Chutian with a smile and asking, "So, should we prepare our weapons? Do we need to ... ... "

Chutian squatted by the river, pulled out a palm-sized scale from his sleeve, and struck it forcefully on the heads of the two old turtles, saying: "How big is it? How big is it? It must have been around three hundred years of climate, yet how could it still be foolish enough to be teased by fishermen?"

He pulled out the staff stuck in the ground, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and let the red cloth strip at the top of the staff sway gently in the river breeze. Chutian carried the staff, swaying along the stone path as he made his way to his own yard

Swaying slightly, Aque leisurely asked Chu Tian: "If we send it, what benefits do we gain? If we do not send it, what disadvantages do we face?"

Two old turtles looked at each other, stretched their necks to nuzzle, and quickly submerged, swiftly swimming upstream in a flash

With a gentle sigh, Chu Tian waved his hand at A Que and said, "Bring A Gou back, tell the brothers to be prepared, be cautious these days, and avoid being caught off guard and suffering losses."

"What a splendid sight, truly opulent!" Chu Tian gazed at the departing convoy, chuckled softly, and casually picked up ten gold garlic strips.

As Aque's head was less than half an inch from the ground, her body floated up like willow catkins in the wind, effortlessly and lightly rising into the air. She spun rapidly in the air for more than a dozen circles, and her feet landed steadily on the ground without a sound of wind.

"It's over, it's over, go home and play with your own wife, beat your own child." With a glare, Chu Tian shouted to the fishermen around him: "Have some ambition, don't be like Aque, climbing over the walls of widows' houses all day long, it's truly embarrassing."

Therefore, one must be fully prepared. If I am truly forced to break my own rules, I must also gain sufficient benefits to show everyone. The cost of breaking my own established rules is still quite high.

Two old turtles swayed their heads and gazed at the scales in Chu Tian's hand, their eyes unexpectedly displaying a hint of intelligence.

A dozen or so strong men gradually gathered, swinging their arms and carrying clubs, resembling a group of rampaging crabs following behind Chu Tian

Are you ready? Also prepare this. Over the years, our brothers have survived to this day, relying on caution and bold action. " Chu Tian smiled as he stood up, tucking ten cloves of garlic into his waist pouch