A dou is twelve and a half catties, and two douns are twenty-five catties, enough for him and Jia'Er to eat for a month. But considering Liu Shan and the others, he bought four dou in one go, spending two Spirit Stones.
Reversing his hand to carry the four dou of Spirit Rice, he didn't buy anything else. Instead, he left the market and went to the city market to buy some cellared cabbage and fruit with copper coins, then bought some daily necessities, eventually ending up with two full bags of stuff.
Leaving the city, he first entered the mountains and accelerated his pace back. He didn't walk far when suddenly someone appeared in the forest behind him, quickly catching up.
Shen Wang's gaze was sharp. Could it be that buying some Spirit Rice could lead to robbery and murder?
"Brother Wang, don't be nervous. I'm Wu Jieqi."
The figure passed through a few large trees and stopped three zhang away, smiling kindly,
Shen Wang frowned: "How did you know it was me, and how did you know I was passing through here? Tracking me?"
His face was not good, fearing the other party would find his lair and threaten his family.
"Misunderstanding, truly a misunderstanding. I love fishing, and I was just at the lake up ahead fishing. When returning to find someone, I happened to pass by here, sensed a master passing by, and recognized you, Brother Wang, by your familiar Body Technique."
Wu Jieqi patiently explained: "You're the only Martial Arts Grandmaster with a Treasure Body around here, too easy to recognize."
Shen Wang realized but remained cautious: "Why did you come after me?"
"Just hoping you could help with something."
Wu Jieqi awkwardly said: "This matter is most suitable for you Body Refiners."
"I'm not available."
Shen Wang wasn't willing to take risks.
"Brother Wang, don't be quick to refuse. This matter isn't that risky, just helping us catch something, not very difficult, and the reward is quite generous."
Wu Jieqi hurriedly said: "Looking at your status, Brother Wang, it's not that my vision is high, but you do lack a Body Technique. Otherwise, running like a mortal is indeed a waste of your Treasure Body."
Shen Wang listened, slightly embarrassed. He was previously a Qi Cultivation Cultivator, never considered Body Techniques, usually relying on Magical Artifacts and Talismans to fight or escape, not needing close combat.
Knowing he hit Shen Wang's sore spot, Wu Jieqi smiled and said: "We happen to have a small Divine Technique of the Body Technique type here, quite suitable for you, Brother Wang. If you're willing to help, besides this small Divine Technique, we'll also provide an additional reward of five hundred Spirit Stones."
Shen Wang listened, his eyes slightly moving. Martial Arts Divine Techniques are similar to Magic, except the former is mainly used by Martial Artists and Body Refining Cultivators. They can leverage his Treasure Body's advantage. If cultivated, it could somewhat rival Foundation Establishment Cultivators, not necessarily requiring an immediate boost in Spiritual Power.
And not to mention the five hundred Spirit Stones. He refined Talismans for several days and barely sold one-tenth of the Spirit Stones, not counting costs. If he could get them, it would be worth more than a month of hard work.
However, he's a poser. Now his body is only upgraded to a Treasure Body due to special circumstances, with his essence meeting the standard, but far behind in Qi and Spirit.
Forget it, money can be earned slowly; safety is more important.
He gritted his teeth and said: "I'm unwilling to take the risk; you'd better find someone else."
"Hey, there's no risk, just catching a fish in this Hundred Creeks Lake. Since it requires going underwater, we Qi Cultivation Cultivators really can't do it. We can only rely on those with strong bodies. Otherwise, where would you find such a good opportunity?"
Wu Jieqi smiled bitterly. It's his first time encountering such a timid Martial Artist; usually, Qi Cultivation Cultivators are this cautious. Martial Artists are always bold and bold, daring to swallow rivers and mountains.
After all, without a burst of energy, it's hard for a Martial Artist to break through to a higher realm.
"Catch a fish?"
Shen Wang was stunned: "What kind of fish? It even needs someone of our level to catch it?"
He guessed it was some kind of Demon Beast-like thing. It'd be dangerous to catch fish underwater, and he had to consider it carefully.
"A carp with a bit of True Dragon Bloodline. We happened to discover it by accident and want to catch it to sell it to some big shots as a pet."
Wu Jieqi explained: "This type of carp should have accidentally awakened its Dragon Race bloodline during the Dragon Gate leap, having nothing to do with the Dragon Race. Brother Wang, you needn't worry about causing trouble."
Shen Wang was thoughtful; dragons are the leaders of scales, and carp and such are rumored to have a trace of Dragon Bloodline and could evolve into a True Dragon. The other party probably wasn't lying.
He glanced at the latter: "So many of you can't catch it, and you're only one person short of me?"
"Mainly underwater, the fish is very slippery and even knows some water element Magic and Divine Techniques. We've already tried for two days and haven't caught it. If we don't catch it soon, it'll slip away when the spring rains come."
Wu Jieqi said helplessly: "Not just the rain; I'm also afraid it'll find an underground stream and escape."
"Why don't you just drain the water?"
Shen Wang had many questions.
"No way. The lake water is related to the water supply of Baixi City. If we dare to drain it, those guys in the Sun and Moon Celestial Dynasty will smash our shop."
"Then let's have a look." Shen Wang saw that Wu Jieqi was not lying to him and prepared to take a look, quite interested in the carp with True Dragon Bloodline.
"Brother Wang, please, whether successful or not, there's fifty Spirit Stones as a labor fee."
Wu Jieqi was overjoyed and quickly led the way ahead.
Beyond the small hill was a lake spanning ten li, and at this moment, as water receded, large stones were exposed. The lake was not deep, with water only in the central one li.
It's said the lake water is associated with the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of people around Baixi City, now in the dry season; the surrounding area is relatively short of water, making it indeed unsuitable to drain the water.
Around the lake, one could see hundreds of small streams already dried up, hence the name Baixi.
A group of people blocked the road by the lake, and Shen Wang also noticed an Array fluctuation. It seemed that the entire lake was controlled by Cultivators, preventing mortals from approaching.
Led by Wu Jieqi, they passed through a layer of Blinding Technique, and the originally tranquil lake changed dramatically. Many stakes had been set up, and fishing nets separated them. Fish, crabs, and loaches could be seen in buckets on the shore.
"Steward Wu."
A sturdy man in grey clothes, with high bulging temples and dark circles around his eyes, walked over, looked at Shen Wang, and said: "That bastard is too cunning. It eats the bait but doesn't get hooked, and those who go underwater get beaten black and blue by it."
Shen Wang glanced at quite a few fishing rods on the shore and several soaking wet folks with bruises and even broken bones, astonished: "This fish seems to have some brute force."
"It's strong, very strong. Common fish are already strong underwater. This creature is like a brute ox, breaking several of my Treasure Level fishing rods."
Wu Jieqi said with a bitter smile.
"How big is it?"
Shen Wang felt this task was not easy.
"About one zhang long. Even if we could net it, more than ten people couldn't pull it up."
Wu Jieqi said with a headache.
"…"
A carp longer than a person could probably eat people underwater. Shen Wang didn't think his strength was greater than this carp; his face twitched: "I don't have the confidence."
Wu Jieqi was helpless and said: "Brother Wang, it's not just you going underwater. Everyone here will take action. You mainly have to confine it with a Magic net. Once we can pull it ashore in time, without water, it'll be much easier to handle."