Su Yu was taken aback for a moment.
Yaya stood before him, speaking of something utterly tragic, yet her lips were curled into a brilliant smile.
"Now that Dad's dead, he doesn't have to suffer anymore." Her tone was cheerful, as if she were discussing some trivial, everyday matter. Then, she pulled a well-worn, shiny copper key from a patched pocket and stood on her tiptoes to hand it to Su Yu.
"Brother Su, here. Before Dad passed, he said you were a good person. He said that as long as Yaya works hard for you, I'll be able to survive."
Su Yu stared at the key, a complex mix of emotions swirling within him.
'In this world, it really is easier for some people to be dead than alive.'
Taking the key, Su Yu walked to his front door with Yaya following behind.
He unlocked the rusty copper lock and pushed open the creaking wooden door to his home.
The desolate, weed-choked yard he'd expected was nowhere to be seen.
In the courtyard, the fishing nets were neatly mended and the water cistern was wiped clean until it shone. Inside the house, the floor was spotless, and even the usual musty, ancient smell in the air had faded significantly.
He glanced back at Yaya and asked, "Did you do all this?"
"Yes, Brother Su."
Su Yu ruffled her hair and continued to inspect the house. His gaze finally landed on the bedding.
The last time he'd been back, the bedding had been damp and clammy, reeking of mildew. He had spent a miserable night, half-convinced a dead rat was hidden somewhere inside.
Now, however, he could feel the warmth from the sun-baked quilt, a comfort that made a world of difference.
'I'll get a comfortable night's sleep tonight.'
"You can go home, Yaya. Come back tomorrow."
Yaya nodded and obediently took her leave.
Su Yu tidied up the house a bit more, paying special attention to his fishing nets and Fish Spear, preparing to go fishing at the Black Water River the next day.
He then went into the courtyard and resumed his stake-walking practice.
[Skill Level +2]
[Skill Level +2]
...
[Martial Arts]: White Ape Six Changes (Skilled 10/1200)
As night fell, Su Yu looked at his latest Martial Arts progress with a pleasant surprise.
'It's true. My White Ape Six Changes is progressing much faster. At this rate, it's not just a pipe dream to attempt breaking the second barrier within three months, even without any Herbal Decoctions.'
'This must be what they call 'success born from steady accumulation.' Once you're over the first hurdle, the path ahead gets much smoother!'
「Early the next morning.」
Su Yu was up bright and early. He was used to waking up early from his days as a fisherman, a habit he'd kept up since he began practicing Martial Arts. He spent another hour on his stake-walking practice in the yard.
[Skill Level +2]
[Skill Level +2]
...
BANG! BANG!
Someone was knocking on the door.
Su Yu went to open it. Yaya was standing there, holding a cracked, coarse porcelain bowl filled with steaming coarse rice.
"Brother Su, time to eat."
Su Yu didn't take it right away. "Is this from the coarse rice I gave you last time?" he asked. "Do you have any left?"
"There's still lots! Enough for several months!" Yaya declared loudly, her eyes darting nervously.
'Several months?'
'How could he not know how much rice there was? It would last a month at most.'
He took the bowl. As it happened, his stomach was growling with hunger, so he quickly devoured the contents.
"Alright, you can go back now. You don't have to work today."
"Okay, Brother Su." Yaya took the bowl, hesitated for a moment to glance at Su Yu, and then turned to leave.
Su Yu shook his head. The little girl had changed quite a bit.
He had only given her half a bag of coarse rice last time out of pity, never expecting her to survive like a blade of grass growing through a crack in a stone.
...
「Black Water River, at the base of the cliff.」
Su Yu expertly dove into the underwater grotto.
The place was as quiet and chilling as ever. Aside from a few startled river shrimp, there were no signs that anyone else had been there.
He climbed onto the stone platform and pulled the two black, honeycomb-like stones from within his robes.
'This damned thing feels so strange. It's chilling to carry around. I'd better leave it here.'
Su Yu found a crevice in the rock, stuffed the black stones inside, and then piled a few smaller rocks over the opening to secure them.
After hiding the stones, Su Yu waited on the platform. Before long, two large red fish swam into view.
Without hesitation, Su Yu cast his net.
SPLASH!
The net descended, precisely trapping the red fish as they tried to flee.
Su Yu dove in after them. With his enhanced strength and the help of his Fishbone Skill, he quickly subdued the two red fish and hauled them ashore.
'They really are Red Oil Fish! Thirty cents a jin! These two together must be over ten jin—I could sell them for more than three hundred cents!'
Su Yu's heart leaped with joy. Red Oil Fish were rare in the outer parts of the Black Water River. The last time he'd seen one was when he was deep in the river with the Qian Family Fishing Team.
'My Net Casting Skill, after Breaking the Limit twice, is really powerful! A guaranteed catch within three casts, and a greatly increased chance of a rare catch within five. I've tested it many times. It's not a hard and fast rule, but as long as I focus when Casting the Net, the Trait always seems to work.'
'Take these two Red Oil Fish, for example. Without the Trait from my Net Casting Skill, the chances of catching them would have been slim. But I had already cast my net four times and only pulled up common fish. That meant this next attempt was almost a guaranteed success!'
Su Yu quickly dispatched the two Red Oil Fish with a few sharp blows, wrapped them in his net, and left the grotto.
Although rare fish appeared in the grotto from time to time, they were all very skittish. After the commotion Su Yu had made catching these, they probably wouldn't be back for a while.
'Still, it's a great spot for a regular harvest of rare fish. It complements my Net Casting Skill perfectly.'
Back on the riverbank, Su Yu inspected his morning's catch.
Two Red Oil Fish, five White-Scaled Fish, and several common river fish. His luck was good today; he'd earned over 500 cents in a single morning.
'If my luck is this good every day, I'll soon save up enough silver for my martial arts training!'
For the rest of the afternoon, Su Yu didn't head back right away. Instead, he continued to grind his White Ape Six Changes and Bibo Fishbone Skill.
His progress in White Ape Six Changes continued its steady climb. He hadn't practiced the Fishbone Skill for a long time; previously, he was always too exhausted and would only squeeze in a bit of practice here and there.
But now, training it in the water, his progress was much faster.
By evening, his progress on the Fishbone Skill was already past the halfway mark.
[Martial Arts]: Bibo Fishbone Skill (Entry-level 60/100)
'My Fishbone Skill is almost at the Skillful Realm. Once I break through, my combat strength in the water will increase again, and my chances of catching rare fish—or even treasure fish—will be even greater!'
'Alright, time to sell these fish!'
Su Yu shouldered his fish basket and headed toward Qingxi Market, following the familiar path.
...
「Evening. Qingxi Market.」
Su Yu went to see Steward Liu at the Fuxian Building to sell his catch.
"Good heavens, kid, your fishing skills are incredible! Two Red Oil Fish, five White-Scaled Fish..." Steward Liu slapped his round belly, his face beaming with delight. "I'll give you 550 cents!"
Su Yu nodded and accepted the Copper Coin String. The price was what he'd expected—fair and reasonable, no haggling necessary.
After taking his leave of Steward Liu, Su Yu did some shopping in the market.
At the grain shop, Su Yu frowned when he saw that coarse rice had risen to eight cents a jin. Though he wasn't in danger of starving anymore, the soaring price of grain was a clear sign that the world was growing more chaotic.
In the end, Su Yu bought fifty jin to stock up.
After that, Su Yu bought a few other necessities: oil, salt, rice vinegar, two jin of pork, and a basket of salted duck eggs...
'Now that I'm not short on money for daily life, and since I need to eat well for my martial arts training, there's no reason to be stingy with myself.'
His shopping done, he was just about to leave when a series of screams erupted from the market entrance.
"They're killing people!"
"The Money Gang is attacking!"
"Run! A fight's broken out!"
The crowd instantly descended into chaos, a cacophony of crying and cursing filling the air.
Su Yu's gaze sharpened. At the market entrance, two groups of men were locked in a deadly battle.
One side, wearing green sashes, was the Water Snake Gang. The other, dressed in yellow robes patterned with copper coins, was the Money Gang.
"Kill them! Leave no one from the Water Snake Gang alive!"
"Hold back those bastards from the Money Gang! Brother Cao will be here any minute!"