Chapter 43: Peach Blossoms and Flowing Water, Fat Mandarin Fish

  Little Sanzi hurriedly said: "Sister, haven't you heard? Now on the streets of Purple Jade Hairpin, people are spreading rumors that in the Rouge River, there's a fish with a human face flowing down from the mountains. It can talk! And it can tell what kind of life the person who sees it will have for three lifetimes!"

  "This fish is really extraordinary!" I hastily said: "Being able to speak is already unexpected, and it can even talk about the three lives of past, present, and future?"

  Xiao Sanzi nodded repeatedly: "Isn't that so! This year, there are many legends on Purple Jade Hairpin Street. First, it was the legend of the Night Hag, and now it's the Human-Faced Fish..."

  I remembered the legend of the night hag and said, "Speaking of which, the matter of the night hag has actually died down recently. Could it be that the night hag no longer appears on Zi Yu Chai Street?"

  Xiao Sanzi laughed and said: "Old woman, old woman, it's just a rumor, but can't tell what's true or false. This human-faced fish, someone swore to have seen it before!" Battle of Light and Darkness Cat Girl

  "Oh?" The old woman had never been seen by anyone, because those who had seen her had mostly died unnatural deaths. Those who were still alive, like Jinzhu girl, might not dare to speak out loud. Moreover, the old woman was probably afraid of being ridiculed after meeting Longjing last time and hitting a soft nail, so it's reasonable that the legend faded away. But what about these people with fish faces coming one after another? Are they also related to the entanglement of the three realms in Longjing's mouth?

  I thought of this and remembered that I had promised Longjing to help him find some clues for the lost demon, so I asked Xiaosanzuo: "Third brother, who was it that actually saw that fish?"

  Xiao Sanzi's interest was piqued, and he became even more spirited: "Hmmm, come to think of it, you might have seen him too. Apparently, he's a regular at the Smoke and Rain Pavilion, often going there to drink wine and play tea games. He's Ma Ershao, the young master who runs a grain store on Purple Jade Street." State-owned enterprise flower

  I naturally know Second Master Ma, a man as his name suggests, with a horse face, constantly spewing profanity from his mouth, always rolling his eyes when looking at people, he has always been dissolute and unconventional, doing his own thing, with strange behavior and very coarse speech, I don't particularly like him.

  As soon as I heard it was Second Master Ma, my interest decreased by half. I had to say, "You don't know Second Master Ma, and I'm afraid this is just another nonsense he made up on the spot. Who would believe it?"

  "But Master Ma's words were vivid and detailed, with every trivial matter described as if it were true, so that one couldn't help but believe him. You don't know, this matter has already spread throughout the Zi Yu Chuan Street, and it's said that a high-ranking official from the imperial court is writing an article about street gossip for the empress dowager's amusement, and he even brought him along to ask questions!" Little Sanzi hastily added, seeing that I didn't believe him.

  This high-ranking official must be Shen Shangshu. Last time I hid in Ruoxi's wardrobe, I happened to hear this news.

  Since it's Second Master Ma, I didn't want to ask in detail. Anyway, it was just a fish, nothing harmful, and I thought it had nothing to do with Lord Longshen's affairs. I didn't want to pry, but since I promised Lord Longshen, I still have to go ask and report back to him. I hesitated, wondering how to approach Second Master Ma about this matter.

  Who would have thought that no cleverness can be achieved without a book, on the same day I went to the Smoke and Rain Pavilion to deliver fresh shrimp wontons for Miss Yu Xi's midnight snack. Just as I saw Master Ma Er sprawled out in an eight-trigram posture on the Taishi chair, he was enthusiastically chatting with Miss Yu Xi about something. Master Ma Er was originally tall and thin, with long limbs, but this unrefined sitting posture made him look like a giant spider baring its teeth and claws.