Is that all?
Eighty cents just like that, in hand? The workload of a fisherman for an entire day?
Liang Qu's expression was exhilarated. It was so easy to earn eighty cents, and he simply couldn't stop wanting more.
But it was indeed tiring, to control a thirty-jin stream's flow felt like running a full kilometer, and his stomach started growling again.
After merging with the Ze Spirit, his physical condition had slightly improved, but his foundation was still weak and frail.
Taking advantage of the deep night, Liang Qu decided to rest for a bit before trying once more.
Uncle Chen found eighty cents hard to come by because he had children and elderly to support at home. Liang Qu, with no family ties, considered this income quite substantial. He wondered if he could score a second wind tonight.
Half an hour later, Liang Qu entered the water again.
Thanks to the Water Monkey's innate talent, he used very little physical energy in the water. Swimming a hundred meters was equivalent to the exertion of walking two or three hundred. His breath-holding time also extended to a good seven minutes. This wasn't static—it was seven minutes while moving, which was nothing short of astonishing.
Unfortunately, it seemed all his luck was used up catching Yellowfish. After changing breaths four or five times and wandering for about half an hour, Liang Qu only saw a Flower Spotted Fish worth around a hundred cents midway through.
The Flower Spotted Fish wasn't as valuable as the Yellowfish. Its hundred-cent value was due to its size—it was a ten-jin fish.
One jin of fish, ten jin of effort. A ten-jin fish could burst with nearly a hundred jin of force.
In his current state, plus his mere thirty-jin water control ability, Liang Qu found it quite challenging to handle the fish and could only watch helplessly as it swam away.
"It seems next time I can bring a long spear. That way I can handle bigger fish, though dead fish sell for less than live ones, and I don't have a fishing net..."
While contemplating in the water, Liang Qu swam further than he realized and came to a shallower area of the riverbed. Though calling it shallow, it was still over ten meters deep.
"Huh, are those lotus roots?"
On reaching the riverbed, Liang Qu's senses suddenly picked up the stem of a plant. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was indeed lotus roots.
Lotus roots at a depth of more than ten meters?
Liang Qu was astonished.
Whether it's floating, emergent, or submerged, plants can't grow without photosynthesis and respiration. The deeper the water, the less favorable the conditions for these processes.
Lotus roots are among the plants that require substantial light and respiration. As far as Liang Qu knew, they usually couldn't survive in water deeper than two meters.
Aware of the abnormal growth conditions for the lotus roots, Liang Qu became excited.
Plants can't grow without photosynthesis and respiration, but that's for ordinary plants. Treasure Plants certainly aren't included in this category.
This world does possess supernatural forces!
The fact that these roots can grow so deep must mean they are extraordinary. He had heard that in the neighboring town, Old Master Zhao possessed a cold pond that was dozens of meters deep with growing Anglemoss, which was said to prolong one's life when eaten. Old Master Zhao used it to win over two Martial Artists. Whether it was true or not was another matter.
Had he stumbled upon something similar himself?
Liang Qu immediately followed the growth pattern of the lotus roots, and upon inspection found that this particular lotus root was quite large. After more than ten meters, he still hadn't reached the end. As he was about to continue exploring, a blurry, large object suddenly appeared in his sensorial perception.
What's that?
It's huge!
Liang Qu quickly stopped and increased the distance between them.
The other party didn't react; it seemed unaware of his presence?
Facing the lotus roots that might be a treasure, Liang Qu hesitated for a moment but didn't choose to leave. Instead, he cautiously circled around, sensing through the water.
The creature was buried in the silt, quite long, at least two meters, but it wasn't a fish. It had four limbs, a long tail, and a slender body...
Three meters away, his perception of its shape was very vague, but the image was clear enough—Liang Qu's eyebrows slightly raised.
It was a Zhupo Dragon!
Zhupo Dragon is a common name, which in plain language meant crocodile. However, Zhupo Dragon is a term fishermen use to refer to all kinds of crocodiles in the Jiang Huai River. Liang Qu didn't know what species was hiding in the silt.
The most common one in the area should be the Taihua Crocodile, right?
The original body had seen a Taihua Crocodile, which Liang Qu felt was similar to the Yangtze Crocodile from his previous life. Not very large, even adults were only about two meters long and weighed over thirty kilograms.
This size wasn't a big deal to an adult, as their weight was the fatal flaw, but that was on land. Under water, especially considering that Liang Qu was just a malnourished teenager, the weight wasn't significant either.
Besides...
"Could it be that this Taihua Crocodile just lies beside the lotus roots because it knows the benefits they bring?"
Liang Qu carefully sensed around and indeed found traces in the mud where it had been disturbed, revealing several chunks of gnawed lotus roots.
Troublesome.
Taking the lotus roots with the Zhupo Dragon sprawled across them would definitely not be an agreement, as it was apparent that it had made its den here.
But perhaps it's not impossible to try?
After some thought, Liang Qu concluded that it was not an unfeasible task.
It wasn't that he was deluded by greed, but in his previous life, he had enjoyed watching a survivalist broadcaster named Bi Fang who gave him a good understanding of many creatures, including a fatal weakness of crocodiles: they have an incredibly strong biting force but very weak opening strength.
An adult could hold a crocodile's snout with a single hand and it would not be able to open its mouth, rendering most of its ferocious combative power useless.
Yet in the animal kingdom, only humans could accurately grasp objects. Even apes, with their short thumbs, couldn't perform such precise manipulations, making crocodiles seem invincible in nature.
With his ability to control water, Liang Qu was confident he could overpower even this "small" crocodile, and with the advantage of his body weight, it wouldn't be able to roll and thrash to death.
It was the end of October, and the water was quite cold, which greatly slowed the movements of cold-blooded animals compared to the summer months. Perhaps the crocodile was too sluggish to notice another creature approaching.
With the right timing, location, and human cooperation, it would be unacceptable not to act.
"If I could control it, that would be great. Such a large beast could help me catch fish on a regular basis, and enjoy the fruits of its labor. It's too troublesome always going into the water to fish. I don't actually want to become an old fisherman."
One always yearns for more. Liang Qu, who thought he could master the Zhupo Dragon, was struck by an even bolder idea.
As if to respond to his thoughts, the Ze Cauldron in his mind vibrated, and a strange rune suddenly lit up on its side, resembling the water character in oracle bone script.
More information flooded in.
Blood... Symbol... Rule over the Water Race... Draw the Water Character Talisman on the body of a Water Race member with fresh blood, and there's a chance of becoming their master?
Awesome, the Ze Cauldron has this ability?
After receiving the information, Liang Qu's eyes sparkled with excitement, thinking to himself that the origin of the Ze Cauldron was truly extraordinary. If it were known to the outside world, it would likely cause a fierce scramble for possession!
Now he was even less inclined to let go of the Zhupo Dragon. An underling would be extremely helpful, and a crocodile with its limbs was much more agile than other fish.
Having made up his mind, Liang Qu found a sharp-edged rock about the size of a human head on the riverbed. He then tried to bring it close to the Zhupo Dragon in the mud, pinpointed the position of its snout, and smashed it down forcefully.
The river water was manipulated to spread aside, reducing resistance and augmenting the rock's momentum as it shattered the turbulent currents and struck the resting Zhupo Dragon.
As the weather grew colder and the crocodile's blood circulation became sluggish, it was inherently slow to react, let alone to an ambush, which left the crocodile frozen for an instant before it felt a shattering pain.
Opportunity!
Liang Qu pounced, rushing to the back of the Zhupo Dragon, holding the stone from its blind spot with his right arm's veins bulging, while his left hand's fingers sliced across the sharp edge, shedding blood in the water.
The scent of Qi and Blood floated in the water, and the smell of blood incited the Zhupo Dragon's ferocity. It straightened its body and twisted vehemently, attempting to open its mouth to bite, but before it could, another current of water wrapped around its upper and lower jaws.
Pressed by the stone and restrained by the water, a pressure and a control, the Zhupo Dragon could not open its mouth and was left to flail its body in a rage, its tail as hard as wrought iron thrashing violently against the rocks.
Every muscle in Liang Qu's body tensed, like a bow stretched to its limit, all muscles knotted together with bulging veins, fiercely suppressing the Zhupo Dragon.
Cold sweat was swept away by the current, and after manipulating the twenty-pound flow of water twice in succession, Liang Qu had greatly exhausted his physical strength, but he dared not rest. With three fingers bleeding, he quickly traced over the Zhupo Dragon's back.
The blood streaked through the water and, under the influence of a strange force, congealed without dispersing, leaving an imprint on the scales!
The brilliance of blood blossomed in the darkness, and in an instant, the Zhupo Dragon's vertical pupils dilated, and a savage spiritual power burst into Liang Qu's mind.
If controlling the flow of water was a physical depletion, then controlling the Zhupo Dragon was a spiritual exhaustion, like having been up for several nights in a row and then being forced to complete several mathematics exams. Liang Qu's head throbbed with severe pain, and he nearly fainted.
Thankfully, a beast was still just a beast and could not outwit a human known for intelligence.
In just a few breaths, a mysterious spiritual linkage formed in his mind.
The Zhupo Dragon's dull eyes became lively again, but without the ferocity, showing a hint of agility.
The Ze Cauldron radiated light once more.
[You have dominated the Water Beast Taihua Crocodile, evolution possible.]
Liang Qu's face beamed with joy—success!
Zhupo Dragon?
Subdued to be my dog!