Chapter 41: Weaving Girl Harvests Lake Silk

The corpulent ghost, dazed and disoriented, stumbled towards the golden light. Then, its shadowy form twisted and plunged into the Soul-Guiding Lamp.

Zhao Xing saw this but didn't intervene. This ghostly fortune was too distant; moreover, to inquire about its whereabouts, he would likely have to help the corpulent ghost fulfill its wish.

That was too much trouble. Zhao Xing's purpose in seeking illicit ghostly wealth was primarily instant riches. If there were too many complications, he might as well go back to farming.

Besides, this also involved the assessment of temple personnel. Putting himself in their shoes, he wouldn't want outsiders interfering either. There was no need to offend people for a small sum.

"No rush, there will be plenty of opportunities," Zhao Xing said. Without a second glance, he quickly returned to the vendor's stall.

Seeing Zhao Xing return, Old Eight Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was genuinely worried that Zhao Xing would leave and not come back, then spread rumors and ruin the reputation of the river scavengers.

"Young Master kept me waiting; you vanished in a flash."

"Oh, I saw an acquaintance. Come on, let's go check out the South Lake District."

It was that same perfunctory remark again. Old Eight Xu didn't press for details. Seeing that they were finally getting down to business, he perked up, grabbed his tools, and followed.

As they reached the South Lake District, it was still brightly lit. However, most of the light came from the lake itself, rather than from the ground.

The atmosphere also became quieter, with much less noise.

"Huh?" While walking along the lakeside promenade, Old Eight Xu suddenly stopped and looked in a certain direction.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Oh, I saw an acquaintance," Old Eight Xu replied, waving his hand.

Zhao Xing looked at him with a half-smile. *So now it's your turn to be perfunctory with me, eh?*

However, he had truly misjudged Old Eight Xu this time.

"Young Master, don't misunderstand, I really did see an acquaintance. Do you see the woman in hemp clothes up ahead? Yes, the pair with the girl in white next to her." Old Eight Xu pointed in a direction.

"I see them," Zhao Xing nodded. A small boat was moored near the shore, with a mother and daughter aboard. A few fishing lamps were lit on the boat, and they seemed to be busy with something.

"That's Lin Sanniang from Pingsiwan; she's from my hometown. Her husband used to do this work as well. Later, her husband had an accident, and she took over his work, becoming the new river scavenger."

"However, ever since her son started his own family and career, she stopped going into the water. She hasn't done this for some years. I'm not sure why she's back at it today." Old Eight Xu sounded puzzled.

Zhao Xing scrutinized them closely. With his Bright Eyes spell, he could tell that Old Eight Xu wasn't lying. The middle-aged woman's attire and tools were also similar to Old Eight Xu's.

As for the young girl, she was neatly dressed. Her plain clothes even carried a subtle shimmer.

"Hmm? A Tier 1 magic robe?" Zhao Xing turned to Old Eight Xu. "Is her daughter a weaver from the Imperial Weaving Bureau?"

Old Eight Xu shook his head, "She doesn't have a daughter. That's her niece, Lin Baiwei, but she's like a half-daughter to her. Lin Sanniang raised her from a young age, and it seems she indeed joined the Gucheng Imperial Weaving Bureau."

Weavers were clerks in the Imperial Weaving Bureau. The Great Zhou Dynasty had always been open-minded; it was common for women to work or hold official positions.

The primary role of a weaver was to 'weave magic robes'. Weavers were even a relatively important magical profession.

Zhao Xing nodded slightly, "It seems Lin Sanniang resumed her old trade for her niece."

Old Eight Xu asked, "How did Young Master know?"

Zhao Xing pointed and said, "Lin Sanniang doesn't seem to be scavenging for treasures; she's preparing to collect lake silk."

"The assessments at the Imperial Weaving Bureau are mostly related to weaving magic robes."

"It's already August, around the 'Limit of Heat' period. Regular first, second, and late silkworms are no longer available."

"Only water silkworms and lake silk can still be harvested, and their quality is superior."

Seeing Old Eight Xu's look of admiration, Zhao Xing, feeling more enthusiastic, elaborated a bit more: "Weavers who haven't yet reached a ranked status can mostly only use this material. The white and fine, tough silk is used to make what's called a 'Heluo magic robe'."

"Wearing it keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer, and can ward off rheumatism and cold-related ailments. It can also help frail children grow up healthy."

"Slightly inferior ones are called 'Chuanwu magic robes', and even less so, 'Feiguang magic robes'."

"Robes made from lake silk are usually Heluo magic robes. However, the conditions for collecting the silk are stringent; it can generally only be found around the River Lantern Festival. And it must be at night; during the day, the lake silkworms retreat and cannot be retrieved."

"That's why I said Lin Sanniang resumed her old trade for her niece. This task is actually more efficient for you river scavengers to handle."

Hearing this, Old Eight Xu couldn't help but give a thumbs-up, "Young Master knows so much."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Since she's an acquaintance, would you like to go say hello? I'm not in a hurry."

Old Eight Xu shook his head repeatedly, "Lin Sanniang has to take off her clothes to go into the water. What if I accidentally saw her...? Am I that kind of person? No, no."

Zhao Xing chuckled softly, reassured by Old Eight Xu's response.

Since the temple was organizing assessments on shore, Zhao Xing rented a small boat and went into the water.

By then, very few people were releasing river lanterns. There were still a few large boats and a dozen small ones on the water. Candlelights dotted the water, and the surroundings were quiet.

Zhao Xing remained silent, listening and observing quietly.

He didn't see a single person, but he saw plenty of wandering spirits.

Some were clinging to the river lanterns, others were swimming beneath, absorbing the incense smoke from the yellow paper.

These wandering spirits weren't necessarily all human. Some were the souls of aquatic creatures, or bizarre combinations of different forms.

For instance, as Zhao Xing's small boat glided past one spot, he saw a wandering spirit with a fish head and a human body.

Even long-lived ones would be regularly cleared away by the temple staff.

He could also hear:

"What are you doing?""I want to pass.""What are you doing?""I want to pass."

Near a large river lantern, two strangely shaped wandering spirits were engaging in a mechanical conversation. They repeated the same two phrases back and forth. One wanted to pass, and the other asked, "What are you doing?" Lacking their 'Wisdom Soul', with only their basic 'soul' remaining, this was how they appeared.

As before, these wandering spirits possessed no offensive capabilities. They were purely a natural phenomenon, and most would dissipate within seven days.

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

Old Eight Xu immediately rowed over, his eyes lighting up. "Young Master, this part of the lake is clear, and there are many fish swimming around. I suspect there's a treasure attracting them. I'll go down and check."

"Mm-hmm." Zhao Xing's Bright Eyes spell easily revealed the lake bottom. There were two Tier 1 high-grade East Lake Pearls down there.

The price was just average; the market value was about one tael of silver. If the quality was good, it might sell for a bit more, but certainly not exceeding two taels.

The main reason was that East Lake wasn't lacking in such items. Only if they reached Tier 2 or Tier 3 would they fetch a good price.

As expected, Old Eight Xu soon surfaced. In his hand, he held a gleaming, egg-sized pearl. "Young Master, I found two lake pearls!"

"Thank you, come up quickly." Zhao Xing took the pearls; both were Tier 1 high-grade, which was enough to recoup his expenses.

Before he could admire them further, a series of faint rustling sounds drifted through the wind.

"Light... such a big light, it's so dazzling.""Turtle... turtle, it's so cold there, I'm freezing to death, I need to get away from it."