From a carp to a dragon god

Chapter 170 Nine-toothed Crowned Pheasant Essence
Guishan is located dozens of miles south of the Huai River. In the past, it was submerged in the Huai River because the river course moved northward over the years.

In ancient times, a fisherman in the Tang Dynasty saw a large iron chain floating out from the foot of Turtle Mountain while fishing. He reported it to the provincial government and sent water officers to dive and investigate.

The ancient water god Wuzhiqi, who was locked up under Guishan Mountain, was discovered. According to later records, after the water official entered the water, he first saw a flesh pillar like a beam.

He continued to dive a hundred feet before realizing that the flesh pillar was actually a finger. He then dived left and right repeatedly, but couldn't see the end of the arm, so he gave up and swam ashore.

This is the last record about Wuzhiqi. From then on, the gods of Guishan and Huaishui seemed to be insignificant, except for the red-chained snake of Zhe clan.

Even though Guishan has left the Huai River and the water god has been replaced by the Dragon God, people still sing the legend of King Yu's flood control and locking up Wuzhiqi.

There has always been a human navy stationed on the Huai River, called the Fuling Lake Navy. Similar to the dragon people in the East China Sea, once they board the ship, they will never come ashore again if they are still alive.

The navy maintains a permanent staff of 10,000 sailors, with 200 naval officers stationed on board, more than 100 large ships, and more than 1,000 small boats.

He wandered along the banks of the Huai River every day, intimidating the monsters along the coast and on the Huai River, while helping to dredge the river and guard the Huai River market.

The Huaishui Market is also called the Water Market. It is one of the four major markets together with the Mountain Market in Linzi in the north, the Sea Market in the East China Sea, and the Ghost Market in Youdu.

Compared with the other three cities, Water City is different in many ways. It is not controlled by any one clan or place, unlike Sea City which is controlled by the East China Sea Dragon Palace and Ghost City which is controlled by Jiuqu Tubo.

The Water Market is open to all merchants, with the Five Associations and Eight Trades jointly governing it, and the Fuling Water Force and the Huaishui Dragon Palace guarding it from the outside.

Yu Shuyang and Li Zhen followed their eighth brother-in-law Huang Wenxun all the way. During the journey of less than a hundred miles, he kept telling stories.

He then realized that his eighth brother-in-law seemed to be particularly fond of telling stories, so much so that he had never been to Danhuang Cave Heaven. The last time he came back for the first time, he found the place by feeling.

It is a place that is both familiar and unfamiliar.

"There are two ways to go to Shui City. One is to pay money and ask the boatmen of the Fuling Navy to take us there. The other is to go directly from the Huai River."

Huang Wenxun stood by the Huai River and took out a boat talisman, which was a magical tool for passing directly from the Huai River to the water city.

He cast a spell with his hand and produced a little light, which shone onto the boat symbol in the Huai River. Then a black-sailed boat appeared on the water, with a boatman with a snake's head and a human body standing on it.

This boat is not real, not even an illusion, it is just a reflection on the water, swaying with the waves.

"What are you two doing standing there? Why don't you get on the boat? Casting Shengguang consumes a lot of mana." Huang Wenxun hurriedly urged Yu Shuyang and Li Zhen.

Yu Shuyang stood on the shore. He didn't feel the slightest bit of a boat. The reflection was no different from an illusion, and there wasn't even a trace of magical fluctuation.

Without waiting for him to hesitate, Li Zhen pulled him and took a step into the water. Miraculously, his feet did not step into the water, but he was standing on the sail boat.

"Two young masters, please stand back for a moment. Mr. Huang hasn't boarded the ship yet." The captain hurriedly reminded.

Yu Shuyang and Li Zhen took a step back and actually went directly into the cabin of the black-sailed boat. It must have been used for magic, as the cabin was as big as a room.

In the cabin there was a middle-aged woman with a cock-head crown, phoenix eyes and willow-shaped eyebrows. It was obvious that she must have been a beauty when she was young.

"You two young men are so damp, you must have come from the sea. Would you like a bowl of tea porridge to wash away the dampness?"

The woman with the cock-head crown spoke in a very heroic and crisp manner, and a pot of tea porridge was cooked on the small red clay stove in front of her.

"Luang Pu, stop joking with them. Is there any news now?"

Huang Wenxun walked in from outside. Judging from his tone, he seemed to know him and they seemed to be very familiar with each other.

"You are a local immortal family member. Why don't you ask your own grandfather and come to ask me, an outsider? How can I tell you about this?"

The woman with the cock-head crown smiled and helped the three demons serve three bowls of tea porridge while talking. This tea porridge is porridge cooked with tea, also known as Ming porridge. It is a relatively special kind of tea food and is also influenced by the concept of medicine and food having the same origin.

Huang Wenxun took the lead and took a bowl to drink first. Yu Shuyang and Li Zhen also learned to drink together. There was a sweet aroma of tea and honey, and the rice porridge was very clean.

There is an unwritten rule among spiritual chefs when cooking, which is that the food cannot have more than five flavors, which means that super-stimulating flavors are prohibited.

This bowl of tea porridge has reached the ultimate in perfection - the food has two flavors, tea and porridge are cooked into a heart-warming porridge that can remove cold and dampness.

"This is Long Po from the Shiwandashan Mountains in Shuzhou. He is also a boss in the Salt Association and the head of the tribute salt." Huang Wenxun introduced his wife's brother and cousin.

Then he said to Luang Pu: "These two are my brother-in-law. Come to Water City to see them."

The Salt Association is one of the five associations. Tribute salt, Jie salt and Qing salt are the three major salts in Kyushu and are important components of the Salt Association. The second is sea salt.

Luang Pu is a pheasant that has become a spirit, but she is a nine-toothed crowned pheasant. There is a saying about the crown on the pheasant's head: seven teeth are precious and nine teeth are respected.

The nine-toothed crowned pheasant is also a kind of dragon beast, of the same species and origin as the Jiaolong. The eggs laid by the Canglong and the pheasant, if buried underground for three years, will turn into Jiaolong if they come into contact with water.

Those that are not buried in the soil and are hatched are the nine-toothed crested pheasants. As long as they can fly into the sea, the nine-toothed crested pheasants can transform into mirage dragons.

Obviously, this Luang Pu did not transform into a mirage dragon, and was proud of the nine-toothed crowned pheasant and wore a chicken crown on his head.

"Snake Man, your two brother-in-laws are truly extraordinary and invaluable. When you become successful, don't forget to support me."

Luang Pu's pair of phoenix eyes were half-closed, and he spoke with a sweet smile, which made him look sweeter than tea and porridge to anyone who saw him.

"Luang Pu, please stop making fun of me. My brother has brought a shipload of treasures from the East China Sea and is waiting to sell them so that he can load another shipload of goods back.

Who would have thought that the water market would be closed, and we've been waiting here for over a month. I'm really worried."

Huang Wenxun was half complaining, half grumbling, staring at Luang Pu while speaking. Ever since he came in, he felt that Luang Pu was hinting at something.

"Snake Man, you've waited this long. It doesn't matter if you know the result a day earlier or a day later.

Please stop using these tricks; it really hurts our friendship."

Luang Pu is good at speaking and has been in the business world for a long time. When she says a rejection, it doesn’t make the listener feel uncomfortable.

"Looks like we can only wait for the results tonight. You guys are still the best. No matter what time it is, there's always salt to sell."

Huang Wenxun thought about himself and realized that without the support of the water market, it would be very difficult for him to be independent, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"I've already told you that right now, the Sword Forge on Mount Shu is thriving. You can just go back there. They can afford to support you and won't let you go hungry."

Luang Po joked again that she could see the scent of the Bashe in Huang Wenxun and had always regarded him as a half-fellow villager.

"Luang Pu, you didn't tell me the result and you're making fun of me again. The sword furnace is for refining sacrifices. Should I go back and be used as sword material for them?"

Huang Wenxun complained that the Sword Furnace was just one of the Shushan sword cultivators. There were hundreds of sword cultivators on the mountain. This was told to him by Long Po.

After they got to know each other better, Luang Pu would occasionally tease him about the sword furnace.

　I'm so sleepy that I'll just write this much for now. I can't hold on any longer. I'll write another big chapter when I wake up in the morning. Please vote for me and give me comments. Thank you.

(End of this chapter)