Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 119 Winter
This time it was a horizontal rotation, a horizontal rotation from one order to the first order.

This is not surprising, because fishermen start from a very low level, so it is understandable that they cannot advance to the second-tier profession.

Shen He didn't hesitate and immediately started looking up information about the three new professions.

The martial artist, needless to say, is a martial arts profession that is transformed from martial arts training. Apart from the fact that the talent "Dragon Tiger Stance" is slightly more effective than "Still Stance", they are no different from the previous martial artists.

The same goes for Beast Tamers, who are essentially modified versions of Spirit Tamers. Their talent "Water Beast Breeding" is not even as comprehensive and effective as the Spirit Tamer's "Spirit Beast Feeder," so it's not worth considering at all.

So, without much explanation, Shen He directly chose the Spirit Fisherman as his new class.

In this way, his job panel became...

Zhong Chuan (Shenhe)
Occupation: Spirit Fisherman.

Occupational level: Level 1.

Professional Talent: Fate Angler.

Professional skills: None.

Professional items: None.

General skills: Xingyiquan, Yulingjing.

……

Tier 1 professions are simple and straightforward.

Once a fisherman advances to become a spirit fisherman, their development path remains unchanged. They continue to focus on fishing, supplemented by raising spirit beasts, and further enhance their strength through martial arts and spirit control cultivation.

Shen He looked up and saw that it was already bright outside. Boats passed by on the lake in the distance. The fishermen, who had slept soundly all night, were now busy making a living for the day.

He didn't have much time to sigh. He first stretched out the fish scales he had peeled off, tied them to the four corners, and hung them on the top of the cabin. Then he moved the stove into the cabin, lit a small fire, and slowly smoked the fish scales to preserve them as much as possible so that they could be sewn into a soft scale armor.

After doing all that, he took the small water jar that had previously contained the snakehead blood, put the snakehead's gills, bones, and internal organs into it, mixed it with some cooked brown rice, and vigorously stirred it.

He's making fish bait!
There's not much turtle meat left from last night, so if I want to continue fishing for big fish, I need to prepare new bait.

The gills and internal organs of the snakehead fish are just right. After all, it is a spirit fish, and even parts like the gills and internal organs, which are considered undesirable, can be used as bait to lure and catch spirit fish.

However, this is somewhat extravagant, especially considering the more than 30 kilograms of fish bones. If they were used to make soup and extract their essence, it would be even more nourishing than a ten-year-old turtle soup. But now they are being used as bait, which is a real waste.

But Shen He had no choice; the aroma of the spirit fish was too strong. Unless he could solve this problem, he wouldn't be able to cook the spirit fish over a fire for some time to come.

Although the snakehead fish, being a spirit fish, had extremely hard bones, it could not withstand the beating of Shen He's martial arts qi mixed with the strength of dragon and tiger. It quickly mixed with its gills, internal organs, and coarse rice, emitting a pungent, fishy smell.

Shen He didn't care, put it aside, sealed the jar, and let it ferment quietly as bait for tonight.

He then washed his hands, sat down on a stool in front of the cabin, and quietly circulated his inner energy, observing the martial world with a detached air.

the other side……

"Brother Tao!"

"The sun is already high in the sky."

Where shall we go to play today?

"Should we still go and cause trouble for that old geezer?"

Several teenagers, not quite grown up, rowed a sampan to the reed-covered shallow bay where the Zhang family moored their boat, but received no response. Only faint traces of blood and broken planks flowed out.

"what?"

"Strange, where did this blood come from?"

"There's still a lot of broken wood. Could it be that Brother Tao's family is repairing a boat?"

A few boys, puzzled, rowed their sampan into the reeds, and then saw pieces of wood floating in the shallow bay, along with many boatmen's belongings and...

"what!!!"

A boy screamed and fell hard onto the sampan, staring at the half-face and mangled flesh floating in the water: "Tao, Brother Tao!?"

"what!!!"

A single sentence drew everyone's attention, followed by a chorus of screams as they paddled out of their sampans and scattered.

Not long after everyone left, several covered boats arrived, and a dozen fishermen in small sampans entered the shallow reed bay to check the situation.

"This is……"

"Have we been attacked by river pirates?"

"Your pirates would gnaw the boats to pieces?"

"It must be that they saw a water monkey."

"What water monkey? It's clearly a pig dragon!"

"Pig Dragon, that thing is like a puppy, it can chew up the Zhang family's big ship?"

"Who knows, there's all sorts of things in Dongting Lake. Maybe there's a big boar dragon or some kind of monster."

"Don't talk nonsense, there are no spirits or monsters!"

Looking at the floating debris and remains, the fishermen discussed amongst themselves, all somewhat terrified.

The Zhang family had two strong laborers and a large covered boat, which was considered quite wealthy among the local fishermen. Yet, their boat was destroyed and everyone perished, demonstrating the terror of that "monster."

As fishermen living on boats, they are inseparable from Dongting Lake and are extremely afraid of it, fearing that there might really be monsters causing havoc.

"All right!"

Just as everyone was in a state of panic, a middle-aged man who was in the lead spoke up, silencing the crowd: "Whatever it is, someone will deal with it. I will report this matter to the authorities later."

"yamen?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances: "Will the officials in the yamen care?"

“They should take care of this kind of thing. The officials in the government have issued strict orders that such things must be reported and no one should hide them. Otherwise, they will be severely punished. The same applies to the Goldfish Gang. So we must report it.”

The middle-aged man shook his head: "Don't touch anything here. And cordon off the area outside the shallow bay. I'll go and notify the yamen officials to come over."

Having said that, he poled the sampan and sailed away.

……

Human desires stir, the clouds and waves are unpredictable, and undercurrents are surging.

But all of this has nothing to do with an old fisherman.

Resting at sunrise and working at sunset, several dozen days passed in the blink of an eye, and the cold winter months arrived.

Although Dongting Lake is located in the south, it is not too far south, and sometimes frost and snow fall in winter.

Now, a rare heavy snowfall has arrived. Snowflakes are falling thick and fast, covering the withered reeds with a layer of frost.

Although the lake water was not frozen, it was still bone-chillingly cold. Even seasoned fishermen chose to rest at this time, mooring their boats in the reed beds or on the mudflats and islands, and lighting fires to dispel the biting cold.

In such a cold winter, few fishermen go out on their boats, as the wind and cold are terrifying and fishermen cannot withstand such illness.

But because of this, fish prices soar in winter, and some fishermen, driven by the need to make a living or tempted by high profits, will take the risk of going out to fish.

But nowadays, the most eye-catching thing on Dongting Lake is not the fishermen's black boats, but a brightly decorated painted boat.

Inside the painted boat, there was a stove, which not only dispelled the chill but also kept the wine, meat, and rice warm.

Several young men and women sat in a circle, all wearing fur coats and cloaks, clearly indicating their high status. Guards stood guard around them with their hands on their swords, further emphasizing their imposing presence.

As the saying goes: Autumn fish are fat, winter fish are delicious!

A young man in green drank the fish soup and then began to speak eloquently to the crowd around him: "Do you all know why?"

"Oh?"

A young girl covered her mouth and chuckled: "Does Grand Scholar Zhou have any more advice to offer?"

"I dare not presume to offer guidance!"

The young man in green shook his head and explained to everyone: "The reason why autumn fish are so fat is because during the autumn harvest season, there is an abundance of produce, and the fish need to store up for winter, so they eat a lot to fatten themselves up and become exceptionally plump. But too much of a good thing is bad; they become too fat and greasy, which is not good!"

"This winter fish is different!"

As he spoke, he picked up another bowl of fish soup and commented to everyone, "After winter sets in, the lake water gets cold, and the fat fish gradually become thinner, but they are not small. They are just right, which allows you to taste the freshness of winter fish. This is the essence of autumn fat and winter beauty!"

"it is good!"

"As expected of Scholar Zhou."

"Indeed, you are very knowledgeable."

"Even eating fish is so complicated."

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

"A minor path, a minor path."

The young man in green smiled faintly and turned to look at the young master in the center, who was wearing a fox fur coat over a white shirt: "Brother Xie's path is the true way, which Zhou Shen cannot reach."

"what!"

The fox-fur-clad young master smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, you flatter me."

The young man in green smiled and said, "Brother Xie is being modest."

"Alright, alright, how long are you two going to keep being so polite?"

Seeing the two men being so modest, a girl in red immediately spoke up: "We've come here to enjoy the scenery, not to watch you two talented men defer to each other. Young Master Zhou, you are a top student from Yueyang Academy, could you please tell us about the scenery of Dongting Lake?"

"The scenery of Dongting Lake?"

The young man in green smiled and said, "Dongting is a legacy of the ancient Yunmeng region, stretching over 800 miles and connecting five prefectures. It is vast and misty, with complex waterways and endless scenery. But for me, the treasures in the lake are the essence of this place."

"Oh?"

The girl in red looked at him strangely: "Is there treasure in this lake?"

"Lake Treasure, it's a fish!"

The young man in green laughed and said, "There are many precious fish in Dongting Lake. They are not only delicious, but also very beneficial to eat. Unfortunately, they hibernate in winter and fishermen rarely go out on their boats, so these precious fish are hard to find. In particular, the king of precious fish, the Seven-Star Dragon Carp, is said to be able to attract even immortals to descend to earth."

"What's so difficult about this?"

A young man in yellow immediately spoke up: "Where there is a great reward, there will be brave men. I will offer a reward of a thousand gold pieces for the treasure fish, and I will make sure you can taste it before sunset."

"what!"

The young man in green glanced at him and said, "Brother Chen is indeed wealthy and powerful, worthy of being the young master of the Goldfish Gang."

"Where, where..."

"Look!"

Just as the young man in yellow was about to be modest, a young girl exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone turned around and looked in the direction of the voice. They saw a girl standing on the edge of the boat, pointing into the distance and asking, "What's that?"

Looking again, everyone saw a small boat moored in the bay in front of a reed bed. An old man sat at the bow, wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, and holding a green bamboo pole, fishing in the cold winter.

At this moment, heavy snow was falling, covering the straw hats and raincoats. Although there was a stove nearby, there was only wisps of smoke, so it didn't seem to provide much warmth. The old man sat there, seemingly frozen solid like an ice sculpture.

"This……"

The group looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Only one young man in white stood up, tapped his folding fan, and said, "Wearing a straw hat and raincoat, fishing alone on a cold lake, quite poetic, quite poetic indeed! Which brother would like to compose a poem?"

"This……"

"Brother Dong, what an elegant taste!"

Upon hearing this, some were speechless, while others echoed it.

But before the poem could be recited, the young man in the fox fur coat in the center sighed softly: "The people's livelihood is difficult, the people's livelihood is difficult!"

Having said that, he summoned a guard and tossed him a silver ingot: "Go and buy him a few fish."

"Yes!"

The guard nodded, then turned and left. Without even setting down the small boat, he leaped out, skimming the water with lightning speed, and landed on the small, awning boat: "Old man, my young master would like to buy a few fish from you..."

"puff!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, a muffled thud was heard. The guard's pupils contracted, and he looked down to see a green bamboo fishing rod piercing his chest, with hot blood flowing out.

"you……!"

"boom!!!"

Before the words of shock could be uttered, the old man suddenly rose up, instantly shattering the frost around him. He then used his lightness technique to tread on the lake water and rush towards the painted boat.

"kill!!!"

At the same moment he moved, several columns of water erupted around the pleasure boat, and several figures flew out from them, crashing directly into the pleasure boat and slicing through a flurry of swords and spears.

"??????"

At the same time, in the withered reeds, on another awning boat, Shen He, dressed in a straw raincoat and hat, looking like a fisherman, had a string of question marks on his head.

what's the situation?
(End of this chapter)