84: Chapter 84 An Unprecedented Bumper Harvest

Pei Se took a deep breath and recounted everything that happened along the way from the beginning.

From chasing Huang Zu into Guanhai County to encountering that temple in Qin Family Village.

To the day Huang Zu came knocking, purple lightning descended from the sky, and Lord Qinling beheaded a Fourth-Turn great demon with a single sword stroke.

She narrated everything she experienced in Qin Family Village, speaking with extra detail especially regarding Lord Qinling.

Qilianshan did not interrupt her; he only listened while continuing to carve the dragon in his hand, carving very slowly, stroke by stroke.

When speaking of the Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture, Pei Se's voice sank.

"Before Huang Zu died, it said that its position as county magistrate was bought from the Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture."

"It said the Prefect of Zhenhai knows its whereabouts. Now that Huang Zu is dead, the prefect will definitely investigate, and will certainly trace it to Qin Family Village and Lord Qinling."

She paused, raised her head, and looked into Qilianshan's eyes.

"Vice-president, I wish to ask the Demon Slayer Association to make a move and stall the Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture."

"If Lord Qinling is truly a deity, he definitely hasn't restored his strength to his peak yet."

"And the strength of the Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture is far too tyrannical, so we need to prevent him from troubling Lord Qinling for the time being."

Qilianshan's carving knife stopped, the wood carving rested in his palm, and the dragon's head faced the direction of Pei Se, as if staring at her.

Qilianshan thought over what Pei Se had said.

Little Li Dragon, a fourth-tier dragon species creating chaos in the sea, beheaded by Lord Qinling with a single sword stroke.

Huang Zu, a Fourth-Turn great demon who bought the Guanhai County magistracy to greedily devour incense offerings, beheaded by Lord Qinling with a single sword stroke.

He did not believe in deities, but he believed that Pei Se's words were true.

Viewed this way, that Lord Qinling had indeed slain demons multiple times.

And all of those he slain were Fourth-Turn great demons.

Judging by this situation, the existence of this Lord Qinling truly aligned with the tenets of the Demon Slayer Association.

Since that was the case, what Pei Se requested was not entirely impossible to try.

"I understand. I will inform the president of this matter."

Qilianshan spoke.

"If the president is willing to act, he will naturally keep the Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture overwhelmed, as for that Lord Qinling..."

Qilianshan paused for a moment and continued.

"No matter what he truly is, since he has slain two Fourth-Turn great demons, it wouldn't hurt for the Demon Slayer Association to help him once."

Pei Se's lips curled up, and she cupped her fists and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Vice-president."

Qilianshan did not look at her; after waving his hand, he picked up the carving knife again and continued carving the dragon.

Wood shavings curled up from beneath the knife tip, and the room quieted down, leaving only the rustling sound of the carving knife cutting through the wood.

Seeing this, Pei Se sensibly walked out, leaving only the dragon to gradually take shape in Qilianshan's hands.

...

After invoking the deity Lord Qinling, the villagers of Zhou Family Village mobilized the strength of the entire village to repair the fishing boats and then set sail.

Zhou Hu and the crew members had anticipated this day for far too long.

Inside the shrine at the entrance of the fishing boat's cabin was enshrined a miniature statue of Lord Qinling.

For the fishermen going out to sea to fish, Lord Qinling was simply a total charm!

Previously, when Zhou Hu saw that the fishing boats of Qin Family Village enshrined the statue of Lord Qinling, he couldn't have been more envious.

And now, Zhou Family Village's fishing boat could finally have its very own Lord Qinling.

The sun dyed the entire sea a golden red.

The sea breeze was gentle, the waves weren't high, and the boat sailed very steadily.

When the first net went down, Zhou Hu and the other crew members held their breath.

The fishing net sank into the sea, the cables tightened, and the winch began to turn.

Heavy, extremely heavy—heavier than any net they had hauled in their entire lives!

Veins bulged on Zhou Hu's arms as he gritted his teeth, shouting work chants while pulling and retracting, pulling and retracting.

The fishing net rose from beneath the sea surface, bulging and full like a rising mound.

The moment the mouth of the net broke the water's surface, a burst of silver light erupted.

It was hundreds of herrings and mackerels, along with several half-man-long giant groupers, leaping frantically inside the net, their scales flashing with dazzling light in the morning glow.

The deck fell silent for a fleeting moment, and then exploded into an uproar.

"Fish! A full net of fish!"

"We haven't caught this many fish in so many years!"

"Bless Lord Qinling! Bless Lord Qinling!"

Zhou Hu stood by the side of the boat, looking down at the leaping silver lights inside the net.

He bent down and scooped a large fish from the net. The silvery-white big fish was still whipping its tail, its scales shimmering in the morning light.

He lifted the fish high above his head, facing the statue of Lord Qinling at the cabin entrance, and said in a booming voice:

"Lord Qinling! Look! This is the most bountiful harvest of fish our Zhou Family Village has had in so many years! Thank you for your protection, Lord Qinling!"

On the deck, the crew members also successively scooped fish out from the net.

Some held herrings, some held mackerels, and some cradled the half-man-long giant grouper.

Facing the statue of Lord Qinling, they shouted all at once.

"Thank you, Lord Qinling!"

"Thank you for the blessing of Lord Qinling!"

"May Lord Qinling live as long as the heavens!"

The fish whipped their tails in their hands, splashing water droplets from their scales onto their faces.

Not a single crew member wiped away the water droplets; they simply held up the big fish and shouted.

Some crew members laughed loudly, while others had reddened eyes.

Some crew members shouted until their voices turned hoarse, but no one cared.

At the cabin entrance, inside the shrine.

Qin Ling's avatar was leaning sideways against the wall of the shrine, one leg bent, one leg straight, with his hands resting behind his head.

He narrowed his eyes, watching the men on the deck shouting and yelling while holding up fish.

"Making a fuss over nothing."

Qin Ling's avatar yawned and muttered to himself.

Yet his eyes couldn't help but watch Zhou Hu holding up that big fish that was still whipping its tail, shouting "Thank you for your protection, Lord Qinling" toward the statue.

Seeing those crew members holding herrings, mackerels, and that half-man-long giant grouper with grins stretching from ear to ear.

Qin Ling's lips slowly curled upward, unable to be suppressed no matter how hard he tried.

"They're just a few fish."

He couldn't help acting proud and coy.

Today, the offshore East China Sea could practically be said to be his territory.

With Little Li Dragon being driven mad by evil Qi to chase away Third-Turn demons beforehand, and building the Underwater Temple to recruit Second-Turn demons to offer incense afterward.

In the current offshore waters, basically all demons were under his control.

Calling him the Lord of the Offshore East China Sea was by no means an exaggeration.

Under such circumstances, protecting the fishing boats of Zhou Family Village didn't even require Qin Ling to do anything extra.

Unless he ran into evil entities, there might be some variables.

The fish hold quickly became too small to fit everything.

There was nowhere left to put the fish hauled up in the final net.

The crew cleared out the wooden barrels, bamboo baskets, and even their own clothes on the deck, but still couldn't fit them all.

Zhou Hu stood by the gunwale, swallowed his saliva as he looked at the live fish flapping on the deck, hardened his heart, and shouted:

"Return to port!"

On the way back, fish were everywhere—in the cabin, on the deck, inside the wooden barrels, inside the bamboo baskets, and even inside their clothes.

Gleaming with silver light, they flickered under the sunlight like a pile of broken silver pieces.

Zhou Hu sat at the bow of the boat, still clenching a herring he hadn't had time to put down, unable to hold back the smiles on his and the other crew members' faces as they looked at each other.

They knew they were about to bring an unprecedented bumper harvest back to Zhou Family Village!