Chapter 1 The Vanishing Old Fisherman

"The moment the door to the inner room opened, the woman let out an ear-piercing scream. The old fisherman was gone, and the once tidy house was completely changed. The room was wet, and the black mud on the floor emitted a pungent, rotten smell. Most importantly, the bed... the bed where the old fisherman had been sleeping was covered with aquatic plants, the unique Mermaid Fragrance of Chun Shen Lake!"

"The woman was supported by several younger relatives to prevent her from fainting. Before she could recover, another group of people arrived. Leading them was a short, hunchbacked old man. The old man was being helped along, his steps faltering. When he saw the woman, he became agitated. He said he had been searching along the lake."

"The old man turned and pointed to the ground in the courtyard. There was a strange, huge mark on the ground, like a giant snake had crawled across it."

"This is the track left by a boat hitting bottom. What crashed through your door last night was a boat!" The old man was clearly agitated as he said this, his chest heaving violently. "I followed the tracks and found a secluded spot by the lake. That boat... that boat came from the lake last night to find your house!"

"Not sailing at night is a rule in the fishing village that has been around for countless years, and what kind of boat can drive on land? This bizarre scene made everyone present feel a chill in their hearts."

"Remembering what the old fisherman had said the night before, the three younger relatives who had stayed at his house were even more terrified. A bizarre and strange scene emerged in everyone's minds: in the dead of night, the wooden boat floated out from the depths of the lake, carrying Wu, the old man, and the others who had already died. These ghostly things rode the boat, drove all the way to the shore, crashed open the courtyard gate, and took the old fisherman from the room in an incomprehensible way."

"No, it would be more appropriate to say 'brought back.' Their purpose this time was to bring the old fisherman back, because the old fisherman should also stay there. His escape was completely an accident."

"The old fisherman's premonition was correct. He really heard the sound, the sound of water, the sound of a boat cutting through the lake. Wu, the old man, and the others were indeed outside the door!"

"At this moment, the young man who had peeked out from behind the door last night suddenly gasped, and then his body began to tremble uncontrollably. He remembered, last night... last night was a cloudy night, there was no moon at all, so where did the bright moonlight he saw through the crack in the door come from?"

"Or rather, what kind of ghostly things created it?"

Shopkeeper Qian took a breath, "In short, after that, no one ever saw the old fisherman again, nor the so-called Wu, the old man, and the others. They completely disappeared from this world."

The story ended there, but Jiang Cheng's doubts were far from being resolved. While listening to the story, Jiang Cheng had a question in his mind, which was very important to him.

"Shopkeeper Qian, how do you know so much about this, as if you were watching him do all this?" Jiang Cheng leaned forward, putting pressure on Shopkeeper Qian. He began to suspect Shopkeeper Qian's identity.

Shopkeeper Qian's face changed in fright, "Sir, sir, you can't joke like that! This kind of thing... this kind of thing can't be said carelessly. I just heard it from others..."

With a "bang," Jiang Cheng slammed his hand on the table, sending the teacups crashing to the ground. "Bullshit! Is there such a detailed 'heard it from others' story?"

Shopkeeper Qian's legs trembled, and he knelt down with a thud, slapping himself in the face. "Sir, I'm sorry, sir. I... I was blinded by greed. I'll tell you, I'll tell you the truth. I specifically asked someone to inquire about this. It's... it's from the old fisherman's nephew. This nephew was one of the three young men who kept watch that night, so he knows everything that happened to the old fisherman, and what he said. I spent five taels of silver just to find out about this."

"You run an antique shop, and you're interested in this kind of strange thing?" Jiang Cheng sneered, as if he had already seen through Shopkeeper Qian's trick.

Unexpectedly, Shopkeeper Qian swallowed and said mysteriously, "Of course I wouldn't dare to be interested in this kind of strange thing, but... but this time is different, this time..." Shopkeeper Qian winked at Jiang Cheng, giving him a "you know, I know" expression.

"What are you looking at me for?" Jiang Cheng didn't understand.

"Sir, don't you understand?"

"Understand what?"

Shopkeeper Qian mysteriously leaned over, bent down to Jiang Cheng's ear, and said in a very soft voice, "I know what you've been looking for all along. There's treasure in Chun Shen Lake, right?"

"The people from your Marquis's Mansion secretly arrested all the fishermen around Chun Shen Lake, and even falsely accused them of being bandits. How dare a bunch of poor fishermen resist? You just want to use them to help you find the treasure left in the lake by General Guo of the previous dynasty before he died."

Previous dynasty, General Guo, treasure, lake – four almost unrelated words were perfectly combined at this moment, and successfully attracted Jiang Cheng's attention. He vaguely felt that he had grasped the key to the problem.

Looking at Shopkeeper Qian's appearance, he clearly regarded himself as a direct descendant of the Marquis's Mansion, and assumed that he also knew about the treasure in the lake. Jiang Cheng calmly played along, guiding him to continue speaking.

"You really know a lot." Jiang Cheng slowly sat back in his chair, giving Shopkeeper Qian a dangerous look, as if telling him to carefully consider every word he said next.

Shopkeeper Qian chuckled twice, trying to excuse himself, "Actually, there are quite a few people who know about this. After all, General Guo of the previous dynasty had been operating in our Luo An City for so many years. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his wealth could rival a country. But when the city was finally breached, guess what? The treasury of his General's Mansion was actually empty."

"Not to mention gold and silver treasures, there weren't even any antiques or paintings. Some people say that General Guo knew his fate in the end, so he had already prepared a way out for himself. He built a large tomb for himself in Chun Shen Lake, and stored all the gold and jewelry in the tomb. Moreover, it is said that this tomb was guided by ghosts and gods, and was built extremely hidden. It is neither on the water nor under the water. Only with the general himself leading the way can it be found."

Jiang Cheng was confused, and asked, "Neither on the water nor under the water, then where is this tomb?"

"I don't know. Everyone is saying that this tomb is... it's alive, because it can constantly change its position, so no one can find it. And it is also said that General Guo and the others did not actually die. They are all living in that tomb, as brave as they were in life, immortal and indestructible, becoming ghost soldiers of the gods."

"Their bodies were not found after the city was breached?" Jiang Cheng frowned. Heads of enemy generals of this level were good things that could be directly used to claim credit. There was no reason not to find them.

Shopkeeper Qian's expression became unnatural, and he said with some fear, "That's not something we little people can know. You have to ask the Marquis about that, after all, General Guo and the others were killed by the Marquis."

"Speaking of which, our Marquis is quite capable. General Guo led his personal soldiers, all of whom were fierce characters possessed by killing gods. They could tear armor with their bare hands in front of the two armies, and a punch would shatter both man and horse. They were so猛 (měng, fierce), but they were all killed by our Marquis in one battle. It was also because of this that he was personally named the Zhennan Marquis by the Emperor, and stationed in Luo An City."