A vast underwater space, surrounded by transparent waters, with corpses floating everywhere,

yet due to the lower water temperature, their bodies are well-preserved. Their expressions are serene, so serene that it feels as if they've merely fallen into a deep slumber…

Zhou Xuan's divine soul stood at the bottom of the sinkhole, using his perception to envelop the corpses, subsequently condensing in his mind an image—a map pinpointing the precise locations of all the corpses.

Once the map had formed in his mind, Zhou Xuan ascended again in his day trip, reaching the shore. His soul did not manifest visibly but silently transmitted his voice to Si Yuer.

"Yu Er."

"Brother Zhou?" Si Yuer was intimately familiar with Zhou Xuan's voice; hearing just two syllables was enough for her to determine his presence by her side.

"There are too many people here; it's not suitable for me to appear. Take some paper and a pen—I'll hold your hand and draw a map for you, marking the locations of those corpses."

"Oh, Brother Zhou, are you really that skilled?"

Si Yuer was overjoyed. If Zhou Xuan's proposed method worked, today's workload of corpse retrieval would drop to nearly nothing.

There would be no more accidental deaths among the watermen; all she needed to do was deploy her Five Elements Escape Skill to retrieve the bodies.

Of course, with so many corpses brought to shore by Si Yuer, how would the watermen's reward money be distributed?

In a flash of insight, Si Yuer came up with a solution—divide everything equally. She'd distribute the rewards for the retrieved corpses evenly among each waterman; as for herself, she wouldn't take a share. After all, money wasn't an issue for her.

"You've already experienced my skills, haven't you? Stop throwing excessive praise."

Zhou Xuan separated part of his divine soul and wrapped it around Si Yuer's right hand.

Holding blank paper, Si Yuer's hand was guided by Zhou Xuan's divine soul to draw illustrations on the sheets of paper.

Zhou Xuan created two maps in total—one depicting the horizontal cross-section of the sinkhole and the other displaying its vertical cross-section. Both diagrams marked the positions of the floating corpses underwater, making it easier for Si Yuer to comprehend.

Once the maps were completed, Si Yuer cross-referenced the diagrams with the image in her mind, pinpointing the exact locations of the corpses.

"Brother Zhou, your maps are so clear and easy to understand… Brother Zhou, good brother…"

Si Yuer's "good brother" had already embarked on another day trip, returning to the tea house to meet Xu Qing.

...

"Whew!"

His body trembled slightly as Zhou Xuan exhaled a murky breath. His divine soul had already returned to his physical form.

Seeing Zhou Xuan stir at last, Xu Qing promptly asked, "Young Master, how should the divination of the four copper coins be interpreted?"

Zhou Xuan began to fabricate the explanation for the divination.

"Ah, this divination is called the Fortune-and-Sentiment Hexagram. For an ordinary household, fortune refers to the family's financial situation—is it comfortable? Sentiment reflects the harmony of relationships within the family."

Zhou Xuan pretended to calculate the hexagram and said, "According to the positions of my copper coins, I foresee something unfavorable."

"What kind of unfavorable thing?" Xu Qing looked somewhat alarmed.

"Your family's wealth palace has leaked; a great deal of money is gone," Zhou Xuan said. "Based on my prediction, several months ago, your husband was deceived by someone extraordinarily close to him, losing money and consequently incurring heavy debts, though he hasn't confessed it to you."

"My husband never told me… Oh, I remember now! Several months ago, a cousin of his came to the city to learn how to do business. My husband helped out for more than ten days, but after that, I never saw the cousin again, nor did my husband bring him up.

Could it be that the mountain sage's statement about being deceived by someone extremely close was referring to my husband's cousin?"

"Precisely."

Zhou Xuan confirmed and said, "Your husband is burdened with debt and doesn't dare tell you. But deep down, he understands—when you owe too much, raising children becomes impossible. How could there be money to raise them?"

"Then why did he leave? We can still earn money together… This tea house…"

Xu Qing began speaking, but her tone gradually weakened.

This small tea house sold merely thirst-quenching tea daily. It had plenty of customers, yet a bowl of tea cost only two or three pennies. Adding up the total surplus wouldn't amount to more than enough sustenance for her and her husband to scrape by.

Relying on the tea house to pay off debts seemed like an impossibility.

"Your husband left home not to escape reality but to chase after windfall wealth—a gamble with bigger risks than rewards. He didn't dare to tell you openly."

"What kind of wealth?"

"The Mingxi Watermen."

Zhou Xuan lifted his tea bowl to take a sip. Xu Qing, however, covered her mouth, startled, her heart aching for her husband as tears threatened to spill.

Owning a tea house and hosting travelers from all over daily, she was well-informed.

She naturally knew that in recent days, the Mingjiang Prefecture was recruiting skilled swimmers among ordinary folks day and night for corpse retrieval in Mingxi's sinkholes and depressions.

She also understood that though the pay for corpse retrieval was high, the danger was unparalleled.

A hundred watermen might set out, but only forty or fifty would return—those spared by the heavens had luck on their side.

"Mountain sage, can you help me determine which sinkhole or depression my husband is in within the Mingxi District? I want to find him and bring him home."

"According to my hexagram, your husband earned quite a bit during the corpse retrieval."

"No matter how much money he's made, if he loses his life, this family will fall apart… Mountain sage, please have mercy on me and help me divine his location so I can hire a mule cart to bring him back."

Xu Qing's voice trembled faintly as she spoke, revealing hints of sobbing.

Hearing her words, Zhou Xuan felt joy deep down.

This couple seemed to be bonded by love and loyalty; aiding them wouldn't be a loss.

He stood up, pocketing a string of copper coins with a sweeping gesture: "Be it heaven's pity or your husband's resilient fate, he narrowly escaped calamity and turned misfortune into fortune. This journey as a waterman, he managed to survive and even made a small fortune."

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