Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 36 The Three Realms of Cultivation: Fellow Daoist Ant and Senior

Wang Cheng turned his head with the others and saw a petite girl with a dog crouching furtively by the gate of Fenglinzhai, revealing half of her face.

He couldn't see her exact figure or appearance, but he felt the girl had a strong sense of stealth, which made him instinctively cover his purse.

Then he remembered that he had already paid all his money for tuition, and he didn't have a single copper coin left.

Even if a thief steals it, he has to pity himself and put in two copper coins to help the poor before he can breathe a sigh of relief and put his hand down again.

Shen Yuting, oblivious to his disciple's subtle actions, beckoned affectionately to the girl outside the door:
"It's Shushu, come in quickly. This batch of porcelain has been appraised."

I also introduced it to Wang Cheng later:
"This is Han Shushu, the niece of Han Zechang, the 'River Rat' among the eight ship captains. You are of the same generation, and your situation is similar. You have already lit your heart lamp and will soon be ordained and listed in the ranks."

The batch of Yunmeng blue and white porcelain that I just appraised for you was delivered by Shushu.

Wang Cheng sighed inwardly.

'The stuff already has an owner; my plan to capture a bunch of monkey brain sea urchins is probably ruined.'

He should have realized long ago that the name "Hai Lao Ci" (海捞瓷) sounds like something that was salvaged by those "Hai Lao Zi" (海捞子).

The term "sea salvageer" refers to an official who specializes in salvaging valuables from the sea.

Beneath the vast ocean lie countless treasures sunk by dynasties throughout history, including gold, silver, and rare antiques—all of which are their prey.

In Wang Cheng's view, the "Sea Raiders" are no different from the "Tomb Raiders" and "Mountain Moving Taoists"—they just live on land and live in the water, making them a kind of maritime tomb raiders.

After all, every shipwreck hides dozens or even hundreds of shipwrights and sailors who perished, and perhaps one of the shipwrecks has transformed into an evil spirit.

Like opening a blind box, the level of danger is in no way inferior to those ancient tombs.

Today he had already met Han Da Chuan Tou, who belonged to his own camp and was also the number one sea fisherman in Yuegang.

If he gets involved with this fisherman, how will he ever have a chance to get soup?

As they were talking, the girl walked in.

She was wearing a green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and was quite short, only about 1.5 meters tall, but she was rather pretty.

Judging from her figure and appearance, and even from her name, she seems like a quiet and gentle lady. It's hard to imagine that she's also a prospective "sea fisherman" who deals with shipwrecks, dead bodies, and drifting river creatures all day long.

Shen Yuting then introduced his prized disciple to the girl.

"Shushu, this is my fourth disciple whom I just accepted today, Wang Fugui."

We're all family, you can get to know each other better in the future.

Wang Cheng clasped his hands in greeting first and called out:
"Junior Sister Han."

As officials of the same Water Class Thirty-Six Halls, there is bound to be some bond between them. It is not presumptuous for them to address each other as fellow disciples when there is no conflict of interest.

Han Shushu was a step behind, puffing out her fair cheeks. Out of respect for Shen Yuting, the [Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices], she weakly called out to the young man who didn't look much older than her:
"Senior Brother Wang."

That makes them easier to bully.

Wang Cheng found her reluctant expression somewhat amusing and couldn't help but recall a "rule of the trade" he had heard from some big ship captains in Wufeng Banner.

The imperial court's officials were divided into nine ranks, but in essence, there were only three ranks: upper, middle, and lower.

These also correspond to three more vivid realms: the Ant Realm, the Fellow Daoist Realm, and the Senior Realm, as well as the Lesser Friend Realm, which exists outside of these three realms.

When you're out in the world, no matter what rank you hold, anyone inferior to you is like an ant. Once you reach the vast, uninhabited sea, free from all constraints, crushing and tossing those ants is a piece of cake.

Those of similar strength are at the Dao Fellow Realm; their strength serves as a guarantee for maintaining humility and courtesy.

Those who are stronger than you are considered seniors; respect them but keep your distance. If you can avoid them, do so. If you can't avoid them, greet them with a smile and don't give them an excuse to cause you trouble.

As for the last type of friend, they are those who, although not as strong as oneself, have powerful backers and cannot be provoked casually. The most typical examples are various second-generation rich kids.

When you're away from home, you're bound to fall into these categories.

The ideal world that everyone envisions is one of "strict hierarchy below me, and equality for all above me," which is incredibly ironic.

If neither of them had yet been ordained and were still considered lowly beings, Han Shushu probably wouldn't have been able to call him "Senior Brother" so easily.

No, that's not right! Han Shushu has Han Zechang, the "River Rat," behind her, and he now has his master, Shen Yuting. The two of them can't be considered ants; they should be considered minor friends.

While helping his apprentice expand his network, Shen Yuting did not forget his main business.

He took out a personally written appraisal report from the box containing the batch of porcelain, unfolded it, and showed it to Wang Cheng. The appraisal record on it was exactly the same as his description, and there was also an extra hand-drawn new "navigation chart", which was equivalent to a modern "nautical chart".

It indicates information such as the recorded sailing time and distance, compass direction at a specific ship position, and specific landmarks for navigation.

It also includes information such as the positions of the sun and moon, water depth, mud, sand, and rocks used for astronomical positioning.

Others looking at this "Needle Path Diagram" might feel like they're reading a book written in a foreign language.

However, the ancestors of the Cai Shui Wang family were once the chief naval strategist and fire chief of the treasure ship fleet, in charge of the golden compass and responsible for the navigation and positioning of the entire treasure ship fleet, navigating across the ocean by star.

The surviving "Guide to Sending You Off with Favorable Winds" is exactly what it does.

In terms of authentication skills, Wang Cheng's expertise is largely questionable; he only became an expert in the eyes of others by cheating with the Four Seas Tongbao coin.

But if you were to test his star-gazing skills, he would confidently say, "I'm not bragging, but apart from my master, everyone here is a junior!"

With just a glance, I understood the whole map and was ready to find the shipwreck site that was most likely inhabited by a group of 100,000 rare sea creatures, namely the monkey brain sea urchin.

It's about a two-day voyage from Yuegang, heading northeast towards an island far from the usual shipping routes.

This demonstrates the master's exceptional skill in using the Six Lines Coin Divination method; tracing its origins is truly astounding.

I just don't know if he divined that there were monkey brains and sea urchins there.

Shen Yuting taught his apprentice how to appraise porcelain by salvaging it from the sea, and then gave the book of appraisal to Han Shushu.

Upon seeing the needlework diagram, the latter cheered and repeatedly expressed his gratitude:

"Old Shen is indeed amazing. The ritual for Shushu in the twelfth lunar month is finally settled."

Zheng Qian whispered an explanation to Wang Cheng:

“Junior brother, the corresponding season for this group of ‘sea snails’ is the third pentad of the Great Cold, ‘Water and Marsh Belly Firm,’ which falls on the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month this year.”

The advancement ritual is to enable a registered student to independently salvage treasures from a sunken ship.

The situation in Yuegang is delicate now, and Han Zechang, the "River Rat," cannot leave Yuegang.

Since we can't waste a year, Junior Sister Shushu will probably take the Han family's heirloom talisman to sea to perform the ritual and be ordained.

Simply determining the location isn't enough; a shortage of manpower is also a major problem.

Wang Cheng's heart stirred.

Not enough manpower? Come to me!

It's both easy to use and inexpensive.

Sure enough, Han Shushu smiled shyly, her two delicate white fingers nervously tapping together:
"Elder Shen, you know the situation is not good right now. Shushu's promotion ceremony can only be completed independently. She cannot ask other officials to help her cheat. At most, she can find a few talismans and a group of ordinary people to help her."

Even our own people can't be completely trusted. Could you, as the [Director of the Imperial Secretariat], help us arrange an assistant?
As I said yesterday, after the ritual is over, you will get 30% of what we find from the shipwreck. I don't want any extras.

The most crucial thing is

This is a bit difficult to say:

"Shushu is prone to getting lost once she's at sea, so it would be best to arrange an experienced boat captain or fireman for me."

A fisherman who needs to go on adventures everywhere gets lost when he goes out?

Wang Cheng suddenly felt that his idea of ​​going to sea with her might have been a bit hasty.

However, this niece of "Fanjiangshu" always refers to herself as "Shushu," which makes him think he is hearing "Shushu," and he also finds this verbal tic a bit cute and silly.

Add to that the prestige of monkey brains and sea urchins, and it's not entirely unacceptable.

The other party had made this request long ago, and Shen Yuting was somewhat troubled because she couldn't find a suitable candidate. Then, she happened to see Wang Cheng, and her heart immediately settled.
"Fourth brother, those who can serve as the chief of the ship's fire are either 'White Water Gentlemen' or 'Star Chasers.' Your skills in appraising treasures have already been recognized by your master."

How's your star-gazing technique coming along?

Wang Cheng suppressed his excitement at the prospect of gaining an advantage and nodded "humbly" as before:
I know a little bit.

It's only slightly better than epigraphy.

Shen Yuting and Zheng Qian understood at the same time:
"Understood, this one's in the bag!"

Thank you to readers who love reading Xianxia novels and those who support the novel "Heart Tribulation Unparalleled" for their generous donations! Thank you to all readers for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes! Please continue reading and vote, everyone! (orz)
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(End of this chapter)