Suijun starts with the principle of rewarding diligence.

The rain has stopped and the sky is clear.

After eating the Ning Shen perch, Bu Qu felt refreshed and not hungry, so he decided not to go home and continued searching for treasure fish in the lake.

After a whole morning of searching, we still haven't found the treasure fish, but we've made another 20 points on the progress.

"We caught two treasure fish in just one day and one night; catching another will indeed be quite difficult."

Buqu shook his head and sat on the sampan, basking in the sun.

Winter is almost here, and it will be warmer with the sun shining.

Water has a much higher specific heat capacity than air, which means that heat is lost from water much faster than from air.

For fishermen, every winter is a tough one.

Fortunately, Buqu possessed the ability to control water, so he did not feel cold in the water.

Every time I jump into the lake, the soft touch feels as warm as coming home.

"After all, I can control water; water is like one of my own."

Buqu stretched, thinking, "But I can't stay in the water forever. So, I'll buy a small covered boat."

With a covered boat, you can not only shelter from the wind and rain, but also cook tea and make meals on the boat.

For some fishermen who can't go ashore, having a covered boat is like having a home.

He had six taels of silver in his pocket, enough to upgrade his small sampan to a covered boat.

But he can't spend the money yet.

Because this money is illicit, we need to find a way to launder it. Or, we can spend it elsewhere.

Most people around Blackwater Lake are aware of his situation.

Li Xian was still alive a few days ago; there's no way he could have any money.

Yesterday, I sold the precious fish for five taels of silver, which I immediately gave to Yan Song. Quite a few people saw this.

If they were to spend the money at this point, it would be tantamount to openly telling everyone: Yan Song was killed by him.

This will cause a lot of trouble.

"There's no rush. Catch two more treasure fish, and the problem will be solved."

Bu Qu bent down and washed his face: "As long as you have enough money, dirty money can naturally be laundered."

He used his water control technique to shake the water off his face, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sampan rowing towards him.

Upon closer inspection, the newcomer, with his thieving eyebrows, was none other than Mei Mu, Yan Song's good brother.

Bu Qu's lips curled into a smirk, thinking to himself, "Another treasure fish has arrived. Does it have any money on it?"

As Mei Mu's sampan drew closer, he noticed that Bu Qu was not running away and became suspicious.

The two boats were a boat's width apart. He turned his sampan sideways and asked, "Hey, have you ever seen Yan Song?"

Bu Qu shook his head: "No."

Mei Mu frowned: "I heard from Lao Xu that he came looking for you yesterday. How come you didn't see him?"

"How would I know? Maybe the water monkeys dragged it away."

"Water monkeys?" Memu's face darkened.

He had also committed murder and disposed of bodies on Blackwater Lake.

Every time he killed someone, he would pin the blame on the water monkey.

This is understandable, since that's how the fishing tyrants in Blackwater Lake operate.

Mei Mu felt a little strange hearing the term "water monkey" repeatedly from Bu Qu's mouth these past few days.

You're not a fishing tyrant, so why do you keep talking about the "water monkey" all the time?

Recalling his conversation with Li Xian earlier, Mei Mu couldn't help but ask, "Kid, you said you saw your godfather being dragged away by the water monkey, did you see that with your own eyes?"

Bu Qu nodded: "Didn't you not believe me?"

Memu raised an eyebrow: "Since you've seen it, you should know what that water monkey looks like, right?"

"This guy's become suspicious."

Bu Qu remained calm. He had already prepared a response in his mind.

"I saw a dark hand emerge from the water, grab his foot, and drag him underwater. He never came out again."

"You only see one hand?"

"It was late at night, and there was only an oil lamp. It hadn't even come out of the water, so how could we see the whole picture?"

Mehmet pondered for a moment.

What Bu Qu said makes no problem.

If he could actually see the appearance of a water monkey in the middle of the night, it would only raise more suspicion.

However, having lived in Blackwater Lake for so many years, Memu had never seen what a water monkey looked like.

How old is Buqu? How could he see water monkeys?

Is this good luck or bad luck?

Mei Mu hesitated, thinking, "If what Bu Qu said is true, that water monkey might be a person in disguise. Seeing Li Xian leave the boat at night, it followed him and planned to kill him."

But who would want to kill Li Xian?

Thinking of this, Mei Mu thought to himself, "We fishing tyrants have offended quite a few people. There are far too many who want to kill him."

He looked up at Bu Qu, his gaze complex: "There's another possibility. He killed Li Xian... If that's the case, Brother Yan is probably dead too. This kid... there's something wrong with him..."

After scrutinizing him repeatedly, Bu Qu had a ruddy complexion, delicate skin, and little flesh on his body, unlike the kind of person who could kill tall, powerful fishermen like Li Xian and Yan Song with his bare hands.

Perhaps he has some strange ability; or perhaps he has conspired with others.

Mei Mu nodded, concealing the apprehension in his eyes, and said to Bu Qu, "Farewell."

After saying that, he rowed away in his small boat.

They weren't going to find Yan Song in the lake, but rather returning to the lakeside.

His years of experience as a fishing tyrant told him: This person is problematic, not to be trifled with, and should not be messed with.

There are hundreds of fishermen in Blackwater Lake; there's no need to focus on exploiting just one.

Bu Qu's lips curled slightly, thinking to himself, "So you're backing down already? You're a fishing tyrant, aren't you? Shouldn't a fishing tyrant ruthlessly exploit the fishermen? Sigh, if I don't get bullied by a fishing tyrant for a day, I feel like something's missing."

Mei Mu had hoped that Mei Mu would take the opportunity to have him lead the way to the Deep Water District to find Yan Song.

In this way, Buqu could have a third chance to sink him as well.

Unexpectedly, he simply ran away.

Boring.

Buqu spent a whole day in his small sampan on Blackwater Lake, but he still couldn't find the treasure fish.

As dusk approached, he went into the water and caught a net full of fish to take home.

Carrying his fishing gear and bucket, Bu Qu thought to himself, "Sharpening my axe won't delay my woodcutting; I still need to buy a covered boat. Otherwise, I won't be able to cook on the boat, and I'll have to go home in the evening."

Although one can fill their stomach with treasure fish, it's impossible to catch them every day.

Eating a giant bream occasionally is fine for a meal, but even the city gentry wouldn't dare to eat it every day.

"Blackwater Lake has more than a dozen kinds of precious fish, but I can only catch two kinds so far. I'm such a failure as a fishpond owner."

Buqu secretly resolved that he must first buy a covered boat.

Even if he obtains a county-level household registration in the future, he will still have to rely on fishing to make a living.

Five taels of silver for a precious fish? Where in the city can you find such a lucrative job for him?

Moreover, learning martial arts or practicing magic is a huge expense.

Without a stable source of income, how can they make ends meet?

Buqu went home and cooked dinner, and ate a full meal.

After taking a nap, Meimei went back to Blackwater Lake to catch fish.

Strangely enough, Mei Mu hasn't come to Blackwater Lake to cause trouble for me these past few days.

It seems they are truly afraid.

Buqu caught another rippled fish and took it to the fish market to sell.

Yan Song has disappeared, and Mei Mu has made excuses.

Xu Kezhou's face was as black as if he had been fished out of charcoal, but he was helpless against him.

He went to the dock to ask about prices.

The other party was very firm on the price; if he wanted to exchange his small sampan for a covered boat, he would insist on six taels of silver.

When Buqu tried to bargain with him, he said that the small sampan had been used for a long time and could not be sold.

Whether it's a small sampan or a covered boat, fishermen can't come to the dock to buy them every day.

For fishermen, boats are like houses—durable goods.

If you don't open for business for ten years, you can live off it for ten years once you open.

Unable to negotiate a lower price, he had no choice but to postpone buying the awning boat.

These days, ordinary fish are no longer selling, and fishmongers won't take them. He didn't want to trouble Uncle Wang.

Catching another treasure fish shouldn't be too difficult.

Several days passed, and although they hadn't caught the treasure fish, their water control techniques had all reached the second level.