Chapter 143: A Floating Corpse Appears in the Heart of the Fengwu River

Chapter 143: A Corpse Surfaces in the Heart of the Fengwu River

*Crack!*

Another bolt of lightning struck down, its white light illuminating the surging, churning river—there, at the center of the now boiling water, great waves tossed two figures up and down.

Though the sky was dim, the two wore white clothing, so they could barely be made out. As the waves lifted and dropped them, they were flung about like two fish flipped belly-up.

"Master, those really are two people!"

With the keen eyes of a martial artist, Luo Bei could tell at a glance that there were indeed two people in the middle of the river, though whether they were alive or dead was unknown.

"I'll go fish them out!"

Luo Yue was about to charge into the rain to rescue them, but before he could move, a bamboo raft suddenly shot out from the river's center. It cut through the wind and rain at incredible speed, narrowly grazing past the dangerous waves.

At the same time, several people ran out from nearby, chasing the raft while shouting, "Haul it up, haul it up! Whatever the price, we'll pay..."

"What are they shouting about hauling up?" He Zhao poked his head out from behind Qin Jiao. "Hauling people up?"

Qin Jiao's expression darkened. "I'm afraid it's bodies."

Though he had only seen him twice, Qin Jiao recognized at once the man poling the raft on the river—it was Cao Gui, the despised body retriever.

With a body retriever showing up here, the situation was already quite clear.

"Hey, isn't that Lu Ming's old mother?"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed, followed by a jumble of voices: "Yeah, and the other two look like Lu Wei's younger sister and older sister!"

"Could the ones in the river really be them?"

"No way, Lu Ming was a great swimmer. Even the dangerous Fortune Cave couldn't stop him from coming and going freely!"

"As the saying goes, you can't hang around the river without getting your feet wet."

"What a shame. Lu Wei wasn't that old either, just had a sharp tongue..."

"Nothing to be done. Maybe the River God wanted them to come keep him company."

Lingbei bordered the water, and the people made their living off the Fengwu River, so everyone here worshipped the River God, holding grand sacrificial ceremonies during festivals.

Qin Jiao and He Zhao listened to the chatter around them, neither looking too happy.

"Could the ones in the water really be those two we saw at Fengwu Tower?" Luo Yue remarked with some dismay.

"No way it's that much of a coincidence..."

As He Zhao spoke, he looked into the distance. By now, Cao Gui had dragged both bodies to the edge of the boardwalk. The wailing family members, overwhelmed by the shock, collapsed to their knees in despair, sobbing:

"Please, pull them up! If you delay any longer, the river water will rot their bodies. We'll pay you whatever you want!"

"A hundred taels. Cash up front, bodies after." Cao Gui's voice was cold, his gaunt frame standing ramrod straight.

"You said fifty taels just now!" One family member clenched his fist, eyes red with rage. "Isn't this holding bodies for ransom? Don't you feel guilty profiting off the dead?!"

"A hundred taels. Not a cent less." Cao Gui's tone was unyielding.

"Not that I care. If you won't pay, go fish the bodies out downstream yourselves."

With that, Cao Gui started to let go of the Body Grapple in his hand, and the family members panicked: "Wait, don't let go! We'll pay, we'll pay!"

Cao Gui was immovable, and though the families burned with hatred, they didn't dare let him release the grapple. The current was fast, and the river was full of hidden rocks—if the bodies got swept downstream, they'd never be found again.

He Zhao couldn't help cursing under his breath: "Thirty taels for body retrieval is already steep, and this Cao Gui charges a hundred—more than triple! He's grabbing with both hands from inside a coffin—greedy as hell!"

Honestly, Qin Jiao and the others had only caught bits and pieces from a distance, but with keywords like "a hundred taels," "dead man's money," and "holding bodies for ransom" strung together, it wasn't hard to piece together what had happened.

"Have the Prefect of Lingbei come see me tomorrow."

Xie Nai's face was cold as frost, a sharp edge showing between his handsome brows.

"Yes." Luo Bei acknowledged. "I'll deliver the order later tonight."

Qin Jiao thought to himself: It's good that Xie Nai is stepping in to clean up this practice of "holding bodies for ransom." It just so happens the Prince of Lingnan is in Lingbei, which is the only reason this "little matter" can be handled. Otherwise, the body retrieval prices in Lingbei would probably keep going up.

"I've heard the folks in Lingbei are well-off. Clearly, there's a reason for that."

Xiao Baiyu's voice remained gentle as ever, though laced with a hint of helplessness and mild mockery.

He Zhao summed it up: "At the end of the day, it's because the second surname on the hundred-family list is missing—'broke.'"

Qin Jiao: "Ain't that the truth."

-

While they were talking, the two families had already paid up and gotten the bodies back.

The rain fell sadly, and the weeping was bitter. The atmosphere around them grew heavy.

The onlookers under the eaves all felt a twinge of emotion. As they say, the dead return to the earth, leaves fall to their roots—so no matter how pricey the retrieval fee, it had to be paid. You couldn't just let your family drift helplessly in the river forever.

Qin Jiao and the others were standing at a fork in the walkway under the eaves. For the families carrying the bodies to get through, they had to walk right past them.

Even though the river water had bloated the skin, Qin Jiao still recognized them as Lu Wei, the attendant from Fengwu Tower, and Lu Ming, the stone panner.

"Didn't think it'd really be that much of a coincidence." He Zhao let out a helpless sigh.

Qin Jiao's gaze wandered into the distance. He watched Cao Gui grab the soaked rooster off the raft, slit its throat in one stroke, and toss it into the river. Then he tied up the boat and walked toward the eaves with a blank face.

"Still putting on a show of sacrificing to the River God. A guy with no conscience like him—the River God will take him sooner or later!"

Someone under the eaves muttered angrily, but Cao Gui walked past as if deaf, like none of it had anything to do with him.

Cao Gui was soaked to the bone, leaving a winding trail of water in his wake. Unlike Lu Ming and Lu Wei's families, he didn't leave right away but found a dry spot under the eaves to wait out the rain.

The people around thought he was bad luck and kept their distance, but Qin Jiao and his group were fairly close to Cao Gui.

And because they were so close, Qin Jiao could clearly see pale scratch marks on the backs of Cao Gui's hands and arms. There was also a faint smell of booze on him.

Cao Gui was sharp. Catching Qin Jiao's stare, he quickly pulled his sleeves down to cover the scratches and lowered the brim of his hat, not letting a hint of emotion show.

Qin Jiao wondered if he'd caught a cold from the rain—why else would he smell booze?

The rain outside was pouring, and Cao Gui had been out in the water the whole way. Even the strongest wine smell should've washed off by now.

Seeing Qin Jiao staring at Cao Gui, Xie Nai also shot a glance his way. And once Xie Nai looked, He Zhao had to get in on it too. He not only stared hard at Cao Gui, but from the way he was standing, he even looked ready to walk up to him—though Xiao Baiyu thankfully pulled him back in time.

Cao Gui had always been a loner and quiet. Suddenly being stared at by so many people, even though his face showed nothing, he was extremely annoyed inside. On top of that, a lot of people around him were pointing and whispering, which made him even more disgusted.

Summer rain came quick and left quick. Before long, the downpour had faded to a light drizzle. The crowd kept murmuring, and Cao Gui shot them a fierce glare, then grabbed his Body Grapple and charged into the rain, disappearing from view.

"He's got a brass face—bulletproof," He Zhao commented on Cao Gui.

Qin Jiao: "The giant snake hisses, 'hiss, hiss, hiss'—which sounds like 'yes, yes, yes' in Chinese!"

He Zhao: "..."

"Holy cow, little Qin Jiao, what nonsense are you spouting? Come! Yours truly will give you a free lesson..."

Under the drizzling rain in the corridor, voices clamored. Because of a "mistake" in his words, Qin Jiao was dragged by He Zhao for a long "wisecrack lesson."

Teacher He was very earnest in his "teaching," covering everything from various allusions to rhyme schemes, from poetry and songs to the technique of veiled allusions...

In the end, the result of this lesson was that Qin Jiao even talked in wisecracks in his dreams at night, leaving Xie Nai to listen to his freewheeling, nonstop jabbering for half the night as well...

----------------------------------------