Chapter 63: Chapter Sixty-Three: Water Ghost

Not long after Li Si boarded the boat, he naturally began chatting with the three of them. Two of them were his students, and were already close to him.

As for Boatman Lou, he was respectful toward Li Si’s status as a licentiate scholar, so naturally he offered some flattery as well.

Thus, Li Si quickly blended into the conversation.

From their conversation, Li Si learned that this Boatman Lou was named Lou Qing. He was a fisherman who had lived near Feng River since childhood. He made a living by fishing, and sometimes ferried passengers across the river to earn silver.

Because Lou Qing was a villager from a nearby village and had never dealt with Li Si before, Li Si did not recognize him. However, Lou Qing knew him.

That was because all the things Li Si had done since crossing over had already spread throughout the county city and the surrounding countryside.

In particular, the poem Sympathy for the Farmers had also spread through the villages near Fengmen County. The poor common folk who had heard this poem all had a favourable impression of Li Si.

“Teacher, this is my fishing rod. Here, take it. I will watch you fish from the side.” At this moment, Yu Hu cheerfully handed over a bamboo rod about two metres (~6.6 ft) long.

When Li Si saw the fishing rod, he felt somewhat eager to try. In his previous life, he had only gone fishing once, and had never gone again after that, so fishing this time felt somewhat novel.

After taking the fishing rod, Li Si saw Yu Hu pinching something inside a small jar, causing even the boat cabin to start smelling somewhat foul.

Then he saw Yu Hu take out a bit of something black and wrap it around half an earthworm on the hook.

“What is this?” Li Si asked with some confusion when he saw the black stuff.

“This is cow dung. It came from Big Black at Grandpa Wang’s house. I secretly dug some out of his family’s cowshed yesterday afternoon. It works especially well for fishing.” A proud expression appeared on Yu Hu’s face.

Hearing Yu Hu say this, Li Si’s face immediately stiffened bit by bit. Using cow dung to fish? Was this how disgusting his fishing was?

“Teacher, what’s wrong?” Yu Hu asked with some confusion.

Li Si sighed, then smiled and said, “Then I will go outside to fish.” As he spoke, he walked to the bow.

Although he could extend the fishing rod from inside the boat cabin to fish, and would not be exposed to much sun that way.

Li Si felt that the smell inside the cabin was a little eye-stinging, so he went to the bow to fish.

At the same time, Yu Hu and Sun Zhi also came out. Just like that, the three of them arrived at the bow, leaving only Boatman Lou behind, leisurely propping the boat along with the pole.

Thus, a small boat slowly glided across the dark green lake water. From time to time, birdsong came from the nearby banks, creating a scene of easy leisure.

Li Si and Sun Zhi sat at the bow and cast their hooks far out, leaving only Yu Hu watching from the side.

“Do you want to fish?” Li Si turned his head and said to Yu Hu with a smile.

“Teacher, do not talk. You will scare the fish away.” Yu Hu raised a finger in a shushing gesture, then lowered his voice and said, “Teacher, I cannot catch fish. I will just watch.”

After saying this, Yu Hu smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.

At this moment, Li Si also realized what was going on. Yu Hu was afraid he would fail to outfish Sun Zhi and lose face, so he had given the fishing rod to Li Si.

With a sigh, Li Si shook his head and smiled. He stopped talking and continued waiting for a fish to bite.

“Li Si...” A young voice suddenly entered his ears.

Li Si’s brows furrowed slightly, and he barked in a low voice, “Who is it?”

At this moment, Li Si also noticed that after he made a sound, Yu Hu and Sun Zhi beside him showed no reaction, as though they had not heard anything.

“Yu Hu?”

“Sun Zhi?”

Li Si stood up, called twice, and waved his hand in front of the two of them. In the end, neither of them reacted at all, as if nothing had happened.

“Li Si...” That voice came again.

Hearing the voice, Li Si hesitantly walked toward its source. He reached the side of the boat and looked into the river.

“Li Si...” In the river, a small pale face immediately showed some joy upon seeing him, and could not help grinning. With that grin, his four fangs were instantly revealed.

Li Si looked at the child floating in the water and estimated the child’s position in his heart. He was about one metre (~3.3 ft) below the surface of the water.

Including the height from the water surface to the bow, the child was almost two metres (~6.6 ft) away from Li Si.

After estimating the distance, Li Si gave up on the idea of killing this ghost creature.

Only, he found it rather strange. Neither his predecessor nor he himself had ever provoked a water ghost, so why would a water ghost know him?

“In mid-August this year, you must go to Zetian Prefecture and pass the exam to become a recommended man...” The child’s voice sounded young, yet within it there was also a practised, weathered quality. It was like a seventy or eighty-year-old man speaking in a child’s tone, making it seem extremely strange.

Hearing the child say this, Li Si immediately understood. This water ghost belonged to the Nie family.

“Do you understand?” The child’s face slowly floated upward, staring at Li Si from under the water.

“What did you just say? Why not come up and say it? I cannot hear you.” Li Si rubbed his ear, a troubled expression appearing on his face.

“Hehe...” Hearing Li Si say this, the child laughed. Instead, he sank a little further into the water, his bluish-white eyes staring fixedly at Li Si.

The corner of Li Si’s eye twitched slightly. This ghost creature was actually so careful and cautious.

“Remember. If you do not take part in the imperial examination in mid-August, you will die. Your friends will die too. Everyone you care about will die...” The child looked deeply at Li Si, then slowly sank to the bottom. His face was gradually swallowed by the dark green river water.

At the same time, Yu Hu suddenly cried out in surprise, “Teacher, how did you suddenly change places?”

Hearing Yu Hu’s words, Sun Zhi and Boatman Lou both looked over in puzzlement.

Li Si also looked strangely toward Yu Hu and said, “I walked past you just now. What is wrong?”

“Is that so?” Yu Hu was somewhat dazed, and scratched his head in distress.

He found it rather strange. One moment earlier, he had still seen Teacher fishing, and the next moment, Teacher had changed positions.

Could his eyes have played tricks on him? He immediately began to suspect that perhaps his brain had been damaged during a fight.

“I caught one!” A voice suddenly interrupted Yu Hu’s thoughts. He saw that Sun Zhi had actually caught a palm-sized fish and was shouting excitedly.

When Yu Hu saw this, he immediately felt a lingering fear. If he really had fished together with him, he probably would have lost all face.

Because of this interruption, Yu Hu immediately forgot what had happened earlier.

At the same time, Li Si also breathed out and sat by the side of the boat, continuing to fish. He really had been afraid that Yu Hu would pester him endlessly.

What had happened just now should have been that ghost creature’s ability. He suddenly remembered that the Dismemberment Ghost had an ability called Ghost Covers the Eyes, and what had just happened was clearly much more sophisticated than Ghost Covers the Eyes.

After all, Ghost Covers the Eyes would make one feel that the weight around one’s eyes had increased. Back then, Li Si had been knocked unconscious, and after waking in a moment of urgency, he had not noticed. Otherwise, he would have discovered it long ago.