"Release me now! I swear I will kill him today! "No, Frost Sister, this person has done nothing wrong. He was here at this pool first. He didn't know we were coming here, spying on us intentionally..." "Hmph! Even so, he deserves to die. Let go of me quickly!" "I cannot let go! Mother always said that nothing under heaven is greater than righteousness. All living creatures, even a blade of grass or a single tree, have their own destiny. Our clan's survival is difficult enough; we should be more understanding of others. Heaven cherishes life, and we should always keep this in mind, never bullying or slaying casually." "I don't care! Hanhan, Mother has taught your brain wrong. Today, I, Ye Feishuang, will ensure this shameless wretch dies without a burial place!"

By the Black Water Pool, the sword in the hand of the colorful-clad girl swung wildly, desperately trying to break free. However, the purple-clad girl clung tightly to her waist, an expression of helplessness on her face.

Zong Shou, at this moment, didn't know what to say. His entire body was limp, floating on the lake's surface. But the Black Wave Sword, placed on the opposite bank, resonated with his spirit.

If that colorful-clad girl made any move to harm them, with just a thought, he could slay both women before his eyes.

Then, they only heard the purple-clad girl suddenly have an inspiration: "Frost Sister, look closely! He is clearly still a child! He hasn't even fully grown his hair, why are you so angry? Just because a child saw you—must Sister feel like dying? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at? Ooh, this child looks quite cute..."

The colorful-clad girl was startled, gazed intently, and then a trace of embarrassment appeared on her lovely face. The killing intent instantly vanished, and she reluctantly lowered the sword in her hand.

Upon hearing this, Zong Shou instantly became furious. What did she mean by 'not fully grown'? He was almost fourteen in this life! His lower celestial phenomenon had already begun to stir majestically, ready to be unsheathed.

These two girls truly underestimated him!

A faint killing intent flared in his eyes, and the Black Wave Sword seemed to respond to his murderous will, twitching restlessly.

However, acting this way seemed a bit too heartless, didn't it?

After all, he had seen their jade bodies. To turn around and immediately butcher them seemed unjustifiable—too ruthless and cold. Never mind, he would spare their lives for now.

He snorted inwardly. Zong Shou pondered whether he should just push the two girls down to let them witness his majestic power, while leisurely swimming towards the bank, slowly putting on the outer robe he had left there.

Ye Feishuang’s face flushed again. Zong Shou's clothes were clearly right there, and it was indeed their fault for being careless and not noticing.

Yet, unwilling to admit she was wrong, she maintained a gloomy face and coldly snorted, "How did you get here? And why were you lurking underwater? Explain yourselves clearly!"

The corner of Zong Shou's lips curved up slightly. This colorful-clad girl probably never imagined that she had just walked back from the edge of the death god’s blade.

He couldn't be bothered to argue with this woman, so he directly placed the few glowing jade stones he was holding into his pouch.

The purple-clad girl saw this, and her eyes immediately brightened: "Jade Lake Stones? You came here to mine Jade Lake Stones to sell, right? Mother said these things are valuable outside. Are you a stone miner from Water Fairy Lake? Wait, no, I didn't see a boat outside—only something that looked like a raft..."

Her willow brows twitched, and she looked at him with pity: "You don't even have a boat, your family must be very poor, right? How pitiful!"

Zong Shou was stunned, feeling his mind couldn't quite process it.

He knew about stone miners, but most of them lived on the north side of Water Fairy Lake, far from the territory of that Cold Mosquito. The Jade Lake Stones in his hand were indeed valuable, of extremely high grade, their price equivalent to a first-tier beast crystal. They were stones he had casually gathered, intending to give them to Xue'er.

And where did this girl get the idea that he was pitiful?

His current clothes were woven with golden thread. The patterns on his chest and abdomen were exquisitely embroidered. Anyone with some knowledge in the Eastern Lin Cloud Continent could recognize these as robes produced by the Brocade Pavilion of Seaward City, knowing his noble status. How could he be associated with those miners?

Forget it. This girl was probably an ignorant fool who knew nothing of the world. But he supposed her older sister, who looked quite strong and astute, likely had more experience than her younger sister.

Ye Feishuang also sized him up, and then her expression actually softened slightly. She put her sword back into its sheath: "I see. My sister has a keener eye; I misunderstood!"

After a pause, a trace of warning reappeared on Ye Feishuang's delicate face: "However, you had best forget today's events! If you dare to tell anyone, I will personally slay you!"

When she spoke the word 'slay,' killing intent was vividly displayed in Ye Feishuang's eyes. Then, she grabbed the purple-clad girl and turned to leave. Just as she was about to step out of the bamboo forest, she hesitated for a moment, then casually tossed a small brocade pouch over: "Meeting us today is part of your destiny. Take these spirit stones; they should ensure you live without worry. Mother said miners are pitiable folk. Every time they seek Jade Lake Stones, they often have to descend hundreds of fathoms into the deep water. You have no inner breath at all; mining is too dangerous. You shouldn't make a living this way..."

After the figures of the two girls completely vanished from sight, Zong Shou stared at the brocade pouch in his hand, completely dumbfounded.

Thirty second-tier spirit stones, ten third-tier—this Ye Feishuang truly had a generous hand.

However, these spirit stones could easily grant not just a life without worry, but immense wealth, daily fine clothes and delicacies, and hordes of servants. How ignorant could this Ye Feishuang be to say such a thing?

Giving so many spirit stones to a child utterly incapable of self-defense—was she not afraid of others harboring evil intentions and taking his life?

Wait! Perhaps Ye Feishuang didn't want to directly attack him in front of her sister. Thus, she used this method to try and kill by proxy. Truly vicious!

Thinking he had roughly grasped Ye Feishuang's intentions, Zong Shou snorted coldly, tossed the brocade pouch aside, and sat down by the pool.

After a brief period of circulation and adjustment to slightly recover his stamina and true essence, Zong Shou sprang up and leaped toward the bank. He took the raft and headed back.

By the time he returned to the lakeside spot where he was temporarily staying, it was already around midnight. However, Chu Xue was extremely anxious; she had even prepared the raft and was about to go into the lake to search for him with Hu Zhongyuan.

The moment she saw Zong Shou, Chu Xue immediately burst into tears, wailing pitifully. It wasn't until Zong Shou took out a piece of glittering Jade Lake Stone that she stopped crying and smiled.

Nothing remarkable happened that night. By the next morning, Zong Shou was already piloting the raft toward that small island again.

Since he had consumed a Meridian Spirit Pill yesterday, he needed to wait a few days for his meridians to slightly relax before using the pill again. Thus, Zong Shou immediately began executing the Chaotic Scarf Fist technique, churning the water beneath him into a vortex.

He continued for a full two hours until his internal breathing technique could no longer be maintained, and only then did Zong Shou resurface.

It was already noon. It would take at least one or two hours to exchange breath and recover his strength.

Zong Shou felt a pang of hunger; his stamina had been severely depleted. He casually took out dry rations and began to chew, but after a moment, he found it tedious.

"The dry rations of this era are truly awful! Eating them once or twice is fine, but enduring them for ten or eight days? I have to stay here for a full four or five months!"

In his previous life, he greatly enjoyed the finer things. He was meticulous about food, even developing a cooking skill comparable to that of top chefs to satisfy his palate.

The thought struck him now. Since he had nothing else to do, he used his will to remotely control the Black Wave Sword, sending it into the distant great lake. In just a moment, it had speared several large, live fish and dragged them back.

Upon closer inspection, Zong Shou couldn't help but smile. Each fish was nearly ten catties in weight, exceptionally plump. Moreover, they were Snow Carp, a species nearly hunted to extinction in later generations.

"Today is going to be a feast! Such plump Snow Carp—in the future, they would sell for astronomical prices, wouldn't they? This entire Water Fairy Lake is the hunting ground of that Cold Mosquito. Rumor has it sometimes even it goes hungry and has to hunt outside. Looking at the situation now, it must really be asleep. It hasn't been hunted for ten years, and the fish have grown strong—it only benefits me..."

With practiced ease, he sliced open the bellies of the fish, discarding the entrails. The gills and other parts were also cut away.

After thoroughly washing them, Zong Shou started a bonfire. There was plenty of wood here, and Zong Shou's spirit techniques excelled at fire manipulation. In moments, the flames were roaring high.

He skewered the fish and placed them over the fire, excitedly turning them from time to time.

Just as a faint aroma of roasted fish began to drift out, a flash of purple flickered before his eyes. A purple-clad girl suddenly leaped in front of him, smiling cheerily: "So you're the one making a fire here! You haven't left yet? This fish smells wonderful..."

As she spoke, the purple-clad girl's delicate nose twitched repeatedly. Her eyes shone, fixed on the fish over the fire, looking as if she might drool at any moment. Then, she looked at him with a pleading expression, as if begging.

Zong Shou couldn't help but smile, thinking of Chu Xue. This girl resembled Xue'er in some ways—equally innocent, equally naive, and equally fond of food.

He figured he wouldn't be able to finish it all anyway. Zong Shou sprinkled some salt and spices onto a fully cooked roasted fish and tossed it over.

The purple-clad girl didn't mind the heat. She took it, bit down, and the expression in her eyes became even more fervent. She praised it endlessly: "This fish is so tender! Hehe! How can it melt in my mouth? This is the first time I've eaten roasted fish like this. By the way, my name is Ye Feihan, what's yours?"

A slight ripple immediately passed through Zong Shou's eyes. After a moment, tranquility returned. Ye Feishuang, Ye Feihan—these two names, linked together, felt vaguely familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had heard them. After searching his mind for a long time, there were no clues.

He gave a self-mocking smile, his eyes flickering slightly: "My name is Zong Shou!"