Suijun starts with the principle of rewarding diligence.

Buqu rowed his boat back to Blackwater Lake.

It was still early, so he planned to continue searching the lake to see if he could catch another rippled fish.

Suddenly, Buqu's ears twitched as he heard the sound of splashing water behind him.

Looking back, it was Yan Song, with his beady eyes, rowing his fancy sampan after them.

Yan Song was tall and strong, and his boat was naturally faster than Bu Qu's.

When I first saw it, it was a mile away by water, but when I turned back, it was less than half a mile away.

Bu Qu turned his head, a slight smirk playing on his lips, thinking to himself, "Interesting."

Not far from the lake, he inadvertently increased the intensity of his rowing, slightly increasing the boat's speed and heading towards deeper water.

His actions naturally did not escape Yan Song's notice.

However, the further away from the lake, the better it is to get started.

Instead of being in a hurry, Yan Song consciously slowed down his rowing speed to keep the two boats a certain distance apart.

Once they reach a suitable body of water, he will only need to accelerate slightly to catch up with Buqu.

The two boats rowed one after the other for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Neither could shake the other off, nor catch up; it was like a large cat playing with a rabbit.

Yan Song glanced at the water and felt the time was ripe. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly increased the force of his rowing. The two boats quickly drew closer.

Bu Qu glanced back, thinking, "In a rowing contest, no matter how hard I try, I can't outpace him. But when it comes to boat speed, I have a different strategy."

He concentrated, controlling the water flow beneath him to propel himself forward, and with the help of his oars, the distance between the two boats actually increased.

Yan Song assumed that he was rowing hard and chuckled, "You've got some skill. I'd like to see how long you can keep this up."

Bu Qu rowed while controlling the water flow to propel the sampan forward, as if sailing with the current.

In an instant, the distance between the two ships increased considerably.

Looking back at Yan Song, he saw that he was covered in sweat, clearly having used all his strength.

Bu Qu turned around, pursed his lips, and thought to himself, "Is that all you've got? I only exerted a little force."

He subconsciously slowed the current to allow Yan Song to catch up. Then he controlled the distance between the two boats to be about three or four zhang.

This distance is something Yan Song could close with a little effort.

As a fisherman, Buqu was naturally well-versed in fishing techniques.

Seeing it but not being able to bite it—that's the hardest feeling to bear!

Before long, the two ships had passed the shallow water area and entered the transition zone between shallow and deep water.

Bu Qu looked around and saw that there were no other fishermen on the lake. He then stopped trying to control the water flow and quietly began to recover his strength.

Yan Song, sweating profusely from rowing behind, chuckled when he saw Bu Qu's boat slow down: "Out of energy, huh?"

Before long, he rowed the sampan to Bu Qu's side and laughed, "What's wrong, can't row anymore? Keep going!"

As he spoke, he took two deep breaths.

Seeing him panting heavily, Bu Qu chuckled, then let go of the oars, rested his hands behind his head, and lay back on the sampan, asking, "So, what do you want after chasing me for so long?"

His tone was nothing like that of a fisherman being chased away by a fishing tyrant.

Yan Song assumed he had given up resisting, so he wasn't in a hurry. Leaning against the side of the sampan, he asked with a smile, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Basking in the warm sun, Bu Qu replied indifferently, "I don't want to hear any of them."

"That's not up to you."

Yan Song chuckled and continued, "You just sold the striped fish to the Zhong family at the fish market, and Steward Xu is quite dissatisfied with you. He asked me to teach you a lesson."

Bu Qu snorted coldly, thinking to himself, "This isn't anything strange. But why tell me when you could have just taken action?"

Yan Song kept Bu Qu in suspense, deliberately remaining silent and waiting for him to ask a question.

As a result, Bu Qu didn't respond for a long time, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

Yan Song cleared his throat, breaking the deadlock: "Buqu, Manager Xu has been running the fish market for many years, and people in the fish market have to give him some face. Selling the precious fish directly to the Zhong family like this makes him very embarrassed."

Bu Qu curled his lip: "Why not just say what you want to say? Why all the beating around the bush?"

His confident tone made Yan Song somewhat displeased.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that it was precisely because I admired his courage that I came to persuade him.

If it were any other fisherman, why would he bother with all that talk?

Yan Song tapped his fingers on the sampan and laughed, "You've offended Steward Xu and still owe Mei Mu six taels of silver. If you don't have a powerful backer, you might not have a place to stay in the fish market anymore."

Seeing that Buqu did not answer, he continued, "Buqu, you're not that old, and they all want to bully you. I really can't stand by and watch, I can't bear it."

Hearing him speak like that, Buqu turned his head to look.

Yan Song looked heartbroken and acted very convincingly.

Judging by this pace, the map of the Yan Kingdom is almost at the bottom.

"A-Qu," Yan Song feigned intimacy, "how about this? You acknowledge me as your godfather, and I'll speak to Steward Xu on your behalf. I've known him for so many years; he'll surely give me some face. You kowtow to him and admit your mistake. As long as you become my adopted son, he certainly won't make things difficult for you anymore."

He paused, then added, "Oh, right. Don't you still owe Mei Mu six taels of silver? I'll pay that money for you, consider it as redemption."

Yan Song's eyes darted across Bu Qu's face, his small, mouse-like eyes burning with desire.

In his view, Buqu had no reason to refuse the conditions he offered.

"Use my money to redeem me? I didn't sell myself, why would I need to be redeemed?"

Bu Qu's lips curled into a smirk: "What if I don't agree?"

"You won't agree?" Yan Song's face turned cold. "A-Qu, where can you find such a good godfather? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You've been around Blackwater Lake for so many years, don't you know the rules of the fish market?"

Bu Qu chuckled: "What rules? Tell me, I really don't know much about them."

This is just pretending to be ignorant when you know the truth!

Yan Song's expression turned completely cold: "Has Li Xian been too good to you, making you forget the usual ways of this fishing tyrant?"

He straightened up and began to put on airs: "If you don't become my adopted son, I'll stay with you every day from now on. You fish in the lake, and I'll fish on your boat. Even if you manage to catch a treasure fish, so what? It'll all be mine!"

Seeing that Bu Qu showed no fear, he continued, "If one day I don't want to play with you anymore, I'll take your sampan and fishing gear and sell them all. Without a means of making a living, I want to see how you'll survive."

His words became increasingly harsh.

If bribery doesn't work, then resort to harsh coercion.

He's just an ordinary fisherman, can't he handle you?

Bu Qu sat up from the sampan and asked with a smile, "When you came to find me, I told you that Li Xian had been captured by the water monkeys, but neither of you believed me. I heard you went to look for him after you left. Did you find him?"

Bu Qu's sudden change of topic made Yan Song somewhat uncomfortable.

He paused for a moment, then snorted coldly, "It must have run off to another county. How could we possibly find it again?"

Bu Qu smiled, then changed the subject: "The conditions you just mentioned are quite tempting."

Yan Song was delighted upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "This kid's talk is tough, but his actions tell a different story."

Just as he was about to speak, Bu Qu said, "Since you've been so good to me, I should at least repay you in some way, right? You really want to be my godfather... How about this? I'll take you to meet my godfather and see if he agrees?"

"Is he trying to take me to see Li Xian so I can see my godfather? Ha, that renege on his promise is still alive!"

Just as Yan Song was about to speak, he saw Bu Qu press down on the side of the sampan. Before they could react, the boat suddenly capsized, and the two of them fell into the water, ripples spreading rapidly across the lake.