Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 685 Water Lord (please vote at the end of the month!)

Pei Ye thought that Zhang Zhongcheng was right. He really didn't need to know who was helping him. Everything was just a coincidence. He looked up and tried to remember the figure of the Master of Jing Hall. He wondered if he was a certain Yu Inspector, but he couldn't think of how he could recognize him.

Moreover, Xu San actually had some intention of covering up. Was it worth hiding the truth from Yanwu, who controlled the livelihood of the whole river, for the sake of a few taels of silver?
He was stunned for a moment... Could it be that the feather inspectors were everywhere?
It’s just the first time, but I seem a little confused.

Pei Ye turned around and saw that the small boat was gradually moving away from the big ship. All the fish weighing over 100 kilograms had been sent up, and the people on the big ship were still busy. Pei Ye didn't know what they wanted to do with the fish. The fish were piled up on the deck like a small mountain, and no instructions were given tonight.

Two quarters before midnight, the first strict order was issued from the large ship, requiring all boats to ban all fireworks and not to carry firearms. As a result, the fishing lights on the small boats were extinguished one after another, and this village on the water was buried in the darkness of rippling water.

It was a cloudy night with almost no visible objects. It was hard for six people to sleep well when huddled in a boat. The three young fishermen tried their best to find a comfortable position. For them, this kind of life would last for another seven days and eight nights.

Pei Ye, like them, had no idea what they were here for. According to his uncle, every day he would take the things distributed by Yanwu and sail the boat out, set the nets during the day, and hand in the catches at night. He would do the same the next day.

Pei Ye had no idea what Yanwu would issue. In the dark night, there were still constant noises coming from the big ship, and they were still busy preparing.

Pei Ye leaned alone in the smallest cabin. Separated by a wooden bottom, he could feel the swaying of the waves beneath him. The dark environment would clear one's mind, and those chaotic and realistic things would lose their appeal. One's mind would more easily drift to some pure things.

Pei Ye stared in the darkness for a while. He tried to think about the plans of Yanwu, Shencheng, and Yongji, but finally admitted that it would be better to wait quietly for tomorrow morning. He was silent for a while, hesitated, and clicked on [Knowing Meaning] in his heart.

The text above still lingers on an abrupt question and answer.

"show me."

"No."

Pei Ye unconsciously flipped up twice. Those were some conversations from earlier, but he didn't seem to pay attention to them and scrolled back to the bottom.

After hesitating for a while, he sent a message: "Are you there?"

He stared at the interface for two breaths, then closed [Zhi Yi] and stared into the darkness in a daze. After counting for about dozens of breaths, he opened the Zhi Yi page again and took a look. The words "Are you there?" were still hanging there alone.

No response.

Pei Ye turned it off and stared into the darkness again.

A crisp sound of water was heard nearby. It was Xiao Qi retracting her short fishing rod. At the end of the rod was a crucian carp, half the size of a palm, jumping around.

Pei Ye's eyes were drawn over and he saw Xiao Qi pick it up and throw it back into the water.

She didn't look back and asked, "How's it going? Did you catch anything?"

The sound was very soft, and obviously only Pei Ye, who was closest to it, could hear it clearly, but he ignored it, thinking it was none of his business.

But Xiao Qi had already put away his fishing rod and moved a step towards him. He was no longer squatting on the bow, but hung his legs over the side of the boat. Even under the dark curtain, he could see some outlines. Those clear eyes were actually different from anyone Pei Ye had ever seen, but when he looked at them, his heart suddenly trembled, as if he had grasped something, but it floated away in an instant.

"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?" The girl tilted her head to look at him, her voice was inexplicably gentle, and she was almost a different person from the tomboy under the light just now.

"…Is it your business?"

"Why are you so stingy?" Xiao Qi smiled and looked at him carefully for a while, "Let me guess... did you have a conflict with the girl you like?"

"..." Pei Ye raised his head, "Do you use this to deceive people when you see them thinking about something?"

Xiao Qi smiled and said, "You still don't admit it. If you are thinking about something serious, your eyebrows will be locked inwards, and even if your eyes are looking into the air, it seems that you are looking at something real. But if your eyebrows droop and your eyes are dazed, it means that you are troubled by something that is difficult to solve."

"..."

"If you are facing a setback or a strong enemy, your lips will be pursed into a straight line in a moment. Only when the other party is a girl will you look irritated and confused." Xiao Qi looked at him with a smile, "Well, am I right?"

Pei Yezhen stared at her with a dazed look, paused for a moment and said, "You are the thing that bothers me and is difficult to solve."

Xiao Qi smiled and raised a finger to "shush". She didn't respond to his words, but handed him a sweet reed stalk: "Chew one, don't think too much. Sometimes it's actually the girl's problem, and it has nothing to do with you. Just wait for some time, and everything will be fine."

Pei Ye took it and put it into his mouth. As soon as he bit the tender spring stem, a slightly sweet fragrance flowed out, adding some flavor to his dull mouth.

Pei Ye didn't say anything else. He heard the soft snoring of several young people beside him. He adjusted his posture and closed his eyes.

……

Pei Ye was awakened by a whistle at dawn. He opened his eyes and saw the river was covered with morning mist. Thanks to the anchoring last night, the boat did not drift too far. Uncle San stood up and paddled, gathering around the big boat.

At half past the hour of Yin, cold food began to be served from the Yanwu ship, one portion of cold meat and one portion of dry food for each person. Pei Ye took it and heard a loud sound of water coming from the other side of the ship. A huge object was pushed into the water from the deck. Behind the dim mist, there was a vague shape of a sphere tied with ropes and cables, with a diameter of about two or three feet. Pei Ye could see countless fish and some strange scales filling it.

They pushed four of these things into the water, and then there was silence for two moments, about the time it took to get ready for dinner.

At six quarters past the hour of Yin, a whistle was blown again on the big ship, and it sounded three times in a row. All the men on the ship raised their heads and looked in that direction.

A tall and strong figure stood on the deck, wearing a tight suit, with bandages on his wrists, long hair fluttering in the morning breeze, holding a thick and heavy spear in his hand. Pei Ye had never seen a weapon of this shape before, and thought it must be a strange martial art.

There was clearly only a vague figure in the mist, but as soon as he stood there, shouts rang out from all the boats one after another.

"Who is that?" Zhao Bao whispered beside his uncle.

Xu San also stood up, straight, and looked over there with respect: "Master Qiu."

"...That's the owner of Yanwu?! Owner, what's his name?"

Xu San turned around and gave him a cold look, as if he was no longer the elder with easy-going words: "You are not from the Water Gang, so don't ask about water affairs."

"……Well."

"Master Qiu is the master of this river. We will do whatever he says." Xu San looked up at the figure. "There's nothing to be curious about."

Qiu Qianshui, the master of Yanwu, was the undisputed master of this stretch of water. Pei Ye couldn't see his face clearly, but he knew him.

But what Qiu Qianshui said did not seem to be intriguing. "Fifty thousand miles of waters..." A majestic sigh spread to everyone's ears, and then he paused, as if scanning the faces under the boat that were looking up at him, and the entire water surface fell silent.

He whispered, "...Now we have our master."

Not everyone understood, but everyone fell into an inexplicable silence. The river breeze blew with a faint smell of water, and no one spoke on the boat.

"Everyone, today's grand gathering is a grand event for our Water Realm." In the cold mist, Qiu Qianshui's upright figure was very blurry. He did not shout loudly, but only pronounced the word "Water Realm" very clearly.

"Yanwu. We have the trust of Ganlang, Qinglu, Washui, Dongshan, and Hu gangs, and they have gathered under our command. We now have one 40-meter-long ship, five 6-meter-long boats, 262 fishing boats, and more than 2,400 water warriors. Looking around the floodwaters, there is no one who can challenge us." Qiu Qianshui glanced around and said, "There are a total of 18 docks in the eight waters of Chang'an."

The boats were silent.

"Since the morning of Mao, the 800-li water system outside the capital, 18 major docks, 76 large and small gangs, 33 long ships, and countless small boats and fishing boats! Tens of thousands of heroes on the water have gathered like carp crossing the river!" Qiu Qianshui shouted loudly, "All the heroes have gathered for one thing - a seven-day grand sacrifice, a feast for the two water masters, and welcoming the 'Water Lord' to the throne! This is an unprecedented event in a thousand years!"

It seemed that except for a few young men on the boat, no one was surprised by this. Pei Ye glanced over and saw those men with their legs rolled up and their wrists exposed, one foot on the edge of the boat and one hand on the oars, all looking up at the figure.

"Life and death on the water, digging for food in the river, the great river has taken the lives of so many of my brothers, and has also raised several generations of my relatives and children. This is all God's will! Since there is a water god, I should worship him!"

The heroes all shouted, "Since there is a Water Lord, we should pay homage to him!"

Qiu Qianshui called out again: "During the seven days of the grand sacrifice, eighteen docks on the river will bring 30,000 kilograms of water goods to entertain the two water masters! Please post for me!"

The heroes clasped their fists and shouted in unison: "Yes!"

Qiu Qianshui clasped his fists in return: "Please pass on the food."

Xu San put down his fists, held the two oars, and looked at the majestic figure in the mist. He shouted but did not move, just standing in the morning breeze, as if looking at the heroes under his command.

The so-called "feast" and "invitation" were sent down from the big ship and passed among the boats. When they got closer, Pei Ye could see clearly what it was - a large bag of fish, which seemed to be mixed with some red meat, and had a fresh fishy smell.

Each bag weighed about fifty or sixty kilograms. A man with excellent martial arts skills was carrying six or seven bags and jumping between the boats. During the swaying, a bag of the same thing flew over and landed steadily in the middle of their boat.

Several young men were all amazed at the skill of this craft. Pei Ye lowered his head and saw that the things were also packed - a sturdy net bag and a rope that looked very tough.

"This...what is this used for?" Ermao murmured.

Uncle San did not answer, but just took the oar and said, "Raise the anchor."

Zhao Bao and Da Xi held the cable together and collected the anchor. The small boats that had received the food left one after another. No sound of water could be heard in the distance. One by one, they were seen sinking into the white fog, and fewer and fewer were left.

I don't know when it started raining again, very finely, drop by drop, making nested circles on the water surface.

The coldness continued and the fog seemed difficult to dissipate.

Several young men rubbed their hands and rolled up their trouser legs.

Pei Ye glanced at Xiao Qi. She was still squatting on the bow looking at the water. She didn't speak to her uncle, and it seemed that her uncle had never called her.

But just as Uncle San was about to paddle, a figure ran over on the water.

"Wait, wait!" He jumped between the already sparse boats, occasionally jumping three or four feet away. He was a young man with a clean-looking face and neat clothes. Finally, he stepped on their boat. The boat shook twice and stopped steadily. "Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi! So you are here."

Xiao Qi turned around, smiled and clasped his fists: "Hello, Young Master. I haven't seen you for a few days."

"Alas, I can't find you at all." The young man stood on the boat, sighed, and then looked around, "You are quite relaxed on this boat - ah, hello, everyone, I am Qiu Luo, and I am honored."

His skill just now had already shocked several people, and this was another revelation of his identity. No one dared to say anything, only Pei Ye clasped his fists in return: "I am Zhu Liu, hello, Young Master."

Uncle San opened his mouth and clasped his fists: "Young Master... do you want to board my boat?"

Qiu Luo clasped his fists in return, revealing a pleading look: "I hope you will take me in, senior."

"This... my humble home is honored, my humble home is honored." Uncle San smiled awkwardly and glanced at Pei Ye and the other three. The hidden meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

Qiu Luo looked at the layout of the boat and saw that Pei Ye's seat was closest to Xiao Qi, so he took two steps over and whispered, "Brother, brother, please give up your seat."

Pei Ye moved his butt.

Qiu Luo sat down and just spoke to the figure at the bow. He looked at the young man next to him and said uncomfortably, "Brother, can you go to the back?"

Pei Ye moved to the back.

To be honest, he didn't think Xiao Qi's face was that pretty - except for the look last night that inexplicably shocked him - and now seeing that the young master didn't dare to sit next to her, he couldn't help but feel a little contempt.

At this moment, he imagined himself to be a man who was decisive in emotions, so he held half a reed in his mouth and leaned back against the wall of the boat, looking quite cool.

Uncle San stood at the stern and rowed. The boat gradually left the group and went deeper downstream. This morning was inexplicably colder than yesterday. Several people in the cabin were hugging themselves. Zhao Bao sighed, "I should have put on more clothes earlier."

"Just wait until the sun rises a little."

But in fact, it was already a little past the hour of Mao, and there was no sign of the sun in the gray sky. The mass of water in the cabin was oozing with a faint blood, and the fishy smell had a strange sweetness to it.

"Throw it down." Uncle San suddenly pointed and said, "We've been gone for quite a while."

They had indeed walked for quite a long time. Although there were eighteen large docks and thousands of ships, they were nowhere to be seen scattered in the water. Looking up, there was only the sound of rain, fog, and themselves.

All the fishing boats of the people had been cleared out ten days ago. The small boat was strangely quiet as it sailed alone in the reed marsh. In fact, it was not quiet, but an illusion created by the regular sound of the oars.

Pei Ye stood up on his own initiative and joined forces with Da Xi. The other end had been tied under the boat. The two of them lifted it up together and threw it into the water.

With a splash, it rolled into the soup like a meatball, and the ripples echoed for a long time.

(End of this chapter)