Chapter 54: Lending a Hand
Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Lending a Hand
The all-night conversation had a cleansing effect, not just on Yu the Scholar, but on Zhu Ge as well.
Anger, hatred, resentment, helplessness...
All of it eventually gave way to a sense of peace.
The sun rose the next day as it always did, seemingly unchanged since the dawn of time.
After Yu the Scholar told Zhu Ge that the Raincoat Fisherman’s Divine Sense had swept over them again, Zhu Ge acted as if nothing was amiss and walked away.
"I slept terribly last night. I wonder if I have a stiff neck."
"Stiff neck my ass! Your snoring was louder than thunder yesterday. It was driving me crazy!"
"Heh heh, a full stomach means a good night’s sleep."
Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui started bickering the moment they woke up.
Zhu Ge walked to the small boat. Hearing the faint sound of bickering in the distance, he looked at the Raincoat Fisherman ahead. "Fisherman, I’m ready."
"Let’s go." The Raincoat Fisherman said with a smile, "I have three more villages to visit. Accompany me and help me handle matters... Oh, by the way, have you loaded the Three Stones of Red Rice?"
"It’s loaded." Zhu Ge nodded slightly, a smile also appearing on his face. "Raincoat Fisherman, the thing you promised me..."
"Hahaha, good, very good! To know when to bend and when to stand firm—you’re destined for great things!" The Raincoat Fisherman’s fair, smooth face was wreathed in smiles.
"Rest assured, if you serve well as a Quanya, I not only have Confucian Daoist Classics, I can even allow you a glimpse of my fisherman’s legacy."
"Though your aptitude is lacking, you are intelligent and sensible. Stay by my side, and in the future, I will promote you to Dongting Prefecture. Once you’ve seen more of how the world works, you will realize that these common, worthless people are nothing but fleeting clouds."
"Beautiful women? From hundred-year-old female Cultivators down to eight-year-old children, whatever your tastes may be."
"Fine wine? The grain of ten thousand men can be distilled into a single sip of ambrosia, and you can drink a thousand cups."
"Precious swords, prized horses, magnificent carriages... you can have whatever you desire! Isn’t that wonderful?"
"The world exists to serve people like us. When that day comes, you will thank me for elevating you today."
The Raincoat Fisherman looked like a renowned master giving earnest instruction, his face a mask of benevolence.
Zhu Ge’s expression was visibly moved upon hearing this, his eyes filled with longing for such a future. "A life like that... It’s truly wonderful."
"Haha, get on the boat!" The Raincoat Fisherman stood at the prow, grasping the oars with both hands.
Zhu Ge obediently boarded the boat, and it began to move.
Yuan Yang City was to the north, but the boat headed south.
"Ah? Scholar, what are you saying?"
"Xianxian? How could..."
Zhu Ge looked back. The voices of Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui drifted faintly on the wind, indistinct, like words spoken in a dream.
"Fisherman, I..." Zhu Ge began softly, turning his head only to find the Raincoat Fisherman’s eyes fixed intently on him.
A chill went down Zhu Ge’s spine.
"What is it?" The Raincoat Fisherman’s smile remained unchanged.
"Can I... really be like you one day?" A hint of uncertainty flickered in Zhu Ge’s eyes.
"Hahaha, so that’s what you’re worried about." The Raincoat Fisherman chuckled. "As I’ve told you, the world is filled with countless peasants and pawns. If you follow the right person, you will naturally distinguish yourself."
"But what if... what if I have a daughter in the future?" Tears streamed down Zhu Ge’s face.
"Zhu Ge!" the Raincoat Fisherman snapped, but Zhu Ge caught a flicker of satisfaction and amusement in his eyes.
"You need to understand something. The reason that Xianxian died is that she and her father were weak. They followed the wrong person. If they had followed me instead of that Yu Wanqian, how could they possibly have been humiliated and killed?"
"It’s the same now. You’re with me. Who would dare humiliate you?"
"But..." Zhu Ge wiped his tears.
SLAP!!!
The next moment, the Raincoat Fisherman slapped Zhu Ge across the face.
Zhu Ge’s body flew sideways, only to slam into some invisible barrier at the edge of the boat and rebound back onto the deck.
"Zhu Ge! I thought you were intelligent. Why are you being so dense now?" The Raincoat Fisherman’s expression was one of feigned anger. "If you wish to be left to fend for yourself with them, then get off this boat!"
The corner of Zhu Ge’s mouth split open, trickling blood, but his eyes seemed to clear in an instant. "I... I... Raincoat Fisherman, I was wrong..."
As he spoke, Zhu Ge dropped to his knees, pressing his face to the floorboards of the boat.
His face was a mask of terror and lingering fear, and his voice trembled.
At that moment, on a level he couldn’t perceive, a tendril of Divine Sense swept across his face.
The Raincoat Fisherman before him narrowed his eyes. A flicker of suspicion passed through them before being buried deep within. "Sigh. Get up, Zhu Ge," he said.
Zhu Ge forcefully knocked his forehead against the floorboards. "I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong! I’m begging you, Fisherman, please don’t abandon me!"
Hearing this, the Raincoat Fisherman couldn’t help but nod slightly. He continued, "I’m not blaming you. I’m just disappointed you’re not living up to your potential. Now, get up."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ge cautiously raised his head to look at the Raincoat Fisherman.
The Raincoat Fisherman’s expression was as gentle as a spring breeze. "As I said, I can see you’re intelligent, and I couldn’t bear to see you mired in the muck of Jianshan Village. I hope you’ll think about this properly."
As he spoke, the Raincoat Fisherman extended his right hand, palm open. In it lay a circular, deep-blue leaf that emitted a faint halo of light.
"This is a leaf from a Low-Grade, Spirit Level Deep Blue Fruit. Consuming it will enhance your Blood Qi. I see you’ve just entered the Martial Arts Resentment Realm; taking this will help stabilize your cultivation."
"Low-Grade, Spirit Level?" Zhu Ge repeated, startled. His voice was filled with confusion.
The Raincoat Fisherman smiled. "I can see you don’t understand the grades of these Spiritual Objects. Come back with me to Yuan Yang City in the future, and I’ll teach you how to read. I’ll give you books, and then you’ll understand everything."
"Reading? Studying books? Can a peasant like me really do that?" Zhu Ge stared blankly up at the Raincoat Fisherman.
He seemed to be desperately hoping for the Raincoat Fisherman to say one thing, yet at the same time timidly feared he would say another.
The Raincoat Fisherman took in every detail of Zhu Ge’s expression before nodding gently. "Of course, you can!" he said with a smile.
Zhu Ge’s face lit up with joy. He immediately began kowtowing, his forehead thudding against the wood. THUD! THUD! THUD! "Thank you, Fisherman! Thank you, Fisherman! Thank you, Fisherman!"
"What, you can’t read at all?" the Raincoat Fisherman asked, as if in passing. "Here. I see your eyes are bloodshot and your body is drained. Take the Deep Blue Fruit leaf first."
Zhu Ge stopped, took the leaf, and sighed. "Fisherman, there’s something you don’t know. I did learn a few characters before. I can even write a few names. But I can’t read books."
The Raincoat Fisherman grunted in acknowledgement, then turned his back and focused on rowing. "I’ll teach you later, then."
"Thank you, Fisherman!" Zhu Ge’s voice rose in pitch. He immediately sat cross-legged and joyfully examined the circular leaf in his hands.
’Enhances Blood Qi? This is good stuff! I’d better get a good look. I might run across it again someday.’
Zhu Ge exclaimed in admiration, gave it one last look, and then, without hesitation, tilted his head back and swallowed it.
Seeing this, the tendril of Divine Sense that Zhu Ge had been unable to perceive was fully withdrawn into the Raincoat Fisherman’s body.
At the same time, after Zhu Ge swallowed the leaf, a sharp pain began to well up in his abdomen, soon spreading throughout his entire body.
"Fisherman! Fisherman! I..."
Zhu Ge collapsed onto the boat, curling into a ball with a panicked expression. "I... it hurts!"
The Raincoat Fisherman turned to look, his eyes cold as he stared down at Zhu Ge. "Still putting on an act?"
Zhu Ge’s face was a mask of panic. "Fisherman! Raincoat Fisherman, what’s happening? I’ll submit! I’ll submit! Please, Fisherman, save me!"
"You want to avenge that worthless commoner, don’t you!" The Raincoat Fisherman sneered. "You lowly peasant, your death would be no great loss!"
"No, no, Fisherman, I just want to live!" Zhu Ge shook his head frantically, his face slick with sweat from the pain. "Fisherman, I truly don’t!"
"Last night, you were with that Yu Wanqian, weren’t you? Plotting how to deal with me?" The Raincoat Fisherman let out a dry laugh.
"You’re nothing but an ant. You have no idea. With a single sweep of my Divine Sense, I heard every word you two spoke! I was listening all night long!"
"No! Yu the Scholar wanted to throw his life away fighting you, but I told him not to let Xianxian’s death drag the rest of us down!" Zhu Ge clutched his stomach, tears and sweat pouring down his face.
"Fisherman, I know I’m just a peasant! I know this is the only chance I’ll ever get in my life—a chance for a better life!"
"I genuinely want to be your Quanya! I’m begging you, Fisherman, save me! Don’t let me die from this poison!"
"Please see the truth, Fisherman! Please see the truth!"
Zhu Ge’s voice was shrill and terrified, growing weaker and weaker.
His eyes were filled with desperate pleading as he gazed at the Raincoat Fisherman.
At this, the Raincoat Fisherman suddenly burst into loud laughter. A deep blue fruit shot from his hand, flying precisely into Zhu Ge’s mouth.
The fruit melted the instant it entered his mouth, and a cooling sensation immediately spread throughout Zhu Ge’s body.
"Hahaha, the Deep Blue Fruit requires both the leaf and the fruit to be eaten together. Zhu Ge, since you are truly sincere about following me, then I will grant you a real opportunity to do so!"
"What just happened... was merely a test!"