Chapter 41: The Weaver Collects Lake Silk

The plump ghost, with a soul full of fear, stumbled towards the Golden Light, followed by a twisted shadow, collapsing into the soul-attracting lamp. Zhao Xing observed the situation but did not intervene. This ghostly wealth was far beyond reach, and if he wanted to extract wealth from it, he might even have to help this plump ghost willingly.

Tai was troublesome. Zhao Xing came to catch unconventional ghostly wealth, aiming for a moment of sudden riches. If he had to circle around Tai too much, he might as well go back to farming.

Moreover, this also involved the assessment of the Temple personnel. Thinking from their perspective, he was unwilling to have outsiders meddling, and there was no need to offend people for a bit of small money.

"No rush, there are plenty of opportunities," Zhao Xing said without looking back, quickly returning to his stall.

Xu Laoba, seeing Zhao Xing return, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid Zhao Xing would leave and not come back, then gossip everywhere, ruining the reputation of the river catchers.

"The Young Master told me to wait, and in a blink, he was gone."

"Oh, I saw an acquaintance. Let's go, let's take a look at the South Lake District."

Once again, it was this perfunctory phrase. Xu Laoba didn't ask much, seeing that they were finally doing something proper, he perked up, grabbed his gear, and followed.

Upon reaching the South Lake District, it was still brightly lit, but most of the light came from the lake, not the ground. The atmosphere became serene, without the noisy sounds.

"Huh?" Walking along the lakeside bridge, Xu Laoba suddenly stopped, looking in a certain direction.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Oh, I saw an acquaintance," Xu Laoba waved his hand.

"..." Zhao Xing looked at him with a half-smile, "Now you're the one being perfunctory with me, aren't you?"

But this time, it wasn't Xu Laoba's fault.

"Young Master, don't misunderstand, I really saw an acquaintance. There's a woman in hemp clothes ahead, didn't you see? Yes, the one next to the lady in white," Xu Laoba pointed in a direction.

"I see," Zhao Xing nodded. Not far away, a small boat was docked by the shore, with a mother and daughter on it, busy with something, illuminated by a few lanterns.

"That's Lin San Niang from Ping Si Bay, from the same place as me. Her husband used to do this too. After he had an accident, she took over and became a new river catcher."

"But ever since her son established himself, she hasn't gone into the water for years. I don't know why she's back at it today," Xu Laoba was puzzled.

Zhao Xing took a closer look. Under the Bright Eyes Magic Arts, he saw that Xu Laoba wasn't lying. The middle-aged woman's attire and tools were indeed similar to Xu Laoba's.

As for the young girl, she was dressed neatly, with her plain clothes carrying a hint of elegance.

"Hmm? A First-Class Method Garment?" Zhao Xing turned to Xu Laoba, "Is her daughter a weaver from the Weaving Supervision?"

Xu Laoba shook his head, "She doesn't have a daughter. That's her adopted daughter, Lin Baiwei. But she's practically like a daughter, raised by Lin San Niang since she was little. It seems she did enter the Weaving Supervision in Valley City."

A weaver is an official in the Weaving Supervision. The Great Zhou has always been open-minded, and women going out to work or hold office is quite common.

The profession of a weaver mainly involves 'weaving Method Garments,' and it is even considered a relatively important Magic Arts profession.

Zhao Xing nodded slightly, "It seems Lin San Niang is back at her old trade for her adopted daughter."

Xu Laoba asked, "How does the Young Master know?"

Zhao Xing pointed, "Lin San Niang doesn't seem to be catching any treasures but is preparing to collect lake silk."

"Most of the assessments in the Weaving Supervision are related to weaving Method Garments."

"It's already late August, the end of summer. The usual silkworms, second silkworms, and late silkworms are all gone."

"Only water silkworm lake silk can still be collected, and its quality surpasses the rest."

Seeing Xu Laoba's face full of admiration, Zhao Xing, in high spirits, explained a bit more, "A weaver who hasn't yet entered the ranks can mostly only use this as material. The fine and soft silks are made into what is called the He Luo Magic Robe."

"Wearing it keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer, can ward off wind, dampness, and cold symptoms, and also helps frail children grow healthily."

"The slightly inferior ones are called the String of Five Method Garments, and the next ones are the Fat Light Method Garments."

"Lake silk is mostly made into He Luo Magic Robes, but the conditions for collecting silk are harsh. It can only be found around the River Lantern Festival, and it must be at night, as the lake silkworms shrink during the day, making them impossible to catch."

"So I say Lin San Niang is back at her old trade for her adopted daughter, which in turn makes you river catchers more efficient."

Xu Laoba couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "The Young Master knows a lot."

Zhao Xing smiled, "Since it's an acquaintance, do you want to go say hello? I'm not in a hurry."

Xu Laoba shook his head repeatedly, "Lin San Niang has to undress to go into the water. What if I accidentally see... Am I that kind of person? No, I won't go."

Zhao Xing chuckled lightly, putting Xu Laoba at ease.

Since there was a Temple organizing the assessment on the shore, Zhao Xing rented a small boat to go into the water.

By this time, there were already few people releasing river lanterns. However, there were still a few large boats and a dozen small boats on the water, with scattered lights, quietly surrounding them.

Zhao Xing didn't speak, just listened quietly and watched quietly.

There were no people to be seen, but he saw many wandering souls.

Some were crawling by the river lanterns, others swimming below, absorbing the incense from the yellow paper.

These wandering souls weren't necessarily all human; some were the souls of aquatic creatures, or strange shapes combined together.

For example, as Zhao Xing's small boat passed by, he saw a wandering soul with a fish head and human body.

Even if they lived long, they would eventually be cleared by the divine officials.

He could also hear:

"What are you doing?"

"I want to go over."

"What are you doing?"

"I want to go over."

Not far away, a large river lantern had two strange-looking wandering souls mechanically conversing, repeating these two sentences, one wanting to go over, the other asking what they were doing. Lacking wisdom, only the soul remained, and this was what it was like.

Again, these wandering souls had no attack power, purely a natural phenomenon, most of which would dissipate within seven days.

"Stop here for a moment," Zhao Xing suddenly pointed to a spot.

Xu Laoba paddled over, his eyes lighting up, "Young Master, this part of the lake is clear, but there are many fish swimming. There might be treasures attracting them. I'll dive down and check."

"Alright," Zhao Xing's Bright Eyes Magic Arts easily saw through the lake bottom, where there were two first-class East Lake pearls.

The price was average, market value just one or two silver coins, good quality might sell for a bit more, but never exceeding two.

Mainly because East Lake wasn't lacking in such trinkets. If it were second-class or third-class, then it could fetch a good price.

As expected, Xu Laoba soon surfaced, holding a bright, crystal-clear pearl the size of a chicken egg, "Young Master, I caught two lake pearls!"

"Thank you, come up quickly," Zhao Xing took the pearls, both were first-class, which was almost enough to break even.

Before he could admire them much, a faint sound came from the wind.

"Light, such great light, truly dazzling."

"Turtle, turtle, over there, it's so cold, freezing me to death, I want to stay away from it."

(End of Chapter)