Chapter 5

In the early spring, the weather was still cold, and Orbach sent Qin Shaou back to the small inn. In the bathroom, Qin Shaou adjusted the water temperature, lay in the spacious bathtub, and began to investigate the strange changes in his eyes.

First, he confirmed that the Heart of the Sea God had disappeared, and now only a red string remained around his neck. After several experiments, he found that what had happened before was not an illusion; he could indeed control the underwater movements in Treasure Lake...

He could see everything in the lake, from the surface to the bottom, as if his consciousness could enter the water and grasp the movements of over a hundred cubic meters of water.

Soaking in the warm bathtub, Qin Shaou's consciousness went to Treasure Lake. Within the range of his consciousness, the water was transparent, no matter how deep the sunlight penetrated. Even the dim lake bottom was as bright as daylight in his consciousness!

Treasure Lake was an ordinary inland lake. The lake bottom near the shore was covered with white, fine sand. Occasionally, small grass carp or small carp would happily burrow into the sand. When they emerged, they would stir up some algae and sediment, which they would then swallow.

This piqued Qin Shaou's curiosity. As a marine enthusiast, he immediately recognized these small fish. With their black backs and white bellies, and their robust, short bodies, these omnivorous fish were the common grass carp and carp he had often seen in the reservoirs and ponds of his hometown when he was a child.

Does Canada have traditional Chinese freshwater fish? Qin Shaou was puzzled.

His consciousness moved from the shallow sandy area to deeper water, where some larger fish appeared, but they were mainly grass carp, carp, or black fish.

Some of the carp and grass carp were over a meter long, with fierce and powerful movements, making them the dominant species in Treasure Lake.

A clump of water plants trembled, and Qin Shaou's consciousness shifted over. Two small loaches, about twenty centimeters long, emerged from under the plants.

He observed them; these small loaches were grayish-yellow with black spots, resembling the black-spotted loaches he had seen in the ocean museum. Black-spotted loaches are common freshwater fish in North America, and he had some memory of them.

The two black-spotted loaches opened their mouths to search for seeds in the water plants. Suddenly, a carp about the length of an adult's arm rushed over, its large mouth opening and closing as it devoured clumps of algae.

The black-spotted loaches were startled and fled, while the carp ate most of the water plants and then swam away triumphantly.

It was quite interesting; Qin Shaou could sense the anger in the two black-spotted loaches.

Angry loaches? Qin Shaou couldn't help but laugh.

As his consciousness continued to explore, he saw more fish in the lake, including pike, the common Baikal dace, bass, and black bass. However, the most numerous were still carp and grass carp, and the larger ones were also of these species.

Although the world in the lake was not as diverse as on land, it was still colorful. His consciousness had only explored a small part of the lake, but he had already seen dozens of fish, most of which he did not recognize, let alone the strange water plants.

Qin Shaou had always thought that freshwater fish were less diverse. In Treasure Lake, he gained new knowledge, realizing that freshwater fish were also colorful and varied. It was a pity that he had previously paid special attention to fish, but now he did not recognize most of them.

His consciousness had been in Treasure Lake for over two hours. Qin Shaou changed the water four times. Finally, he moved to the bed and continued exploring the lake from under the covers. When he felt tired, he decided to withdraw his consciousness and rest.

At that moment, a large carp over half a meter long suddenly darted out, pursued by a brilliantly colored rainbow trout. The rainbow trout was extremely angry, baring its teeth and chasing the carp.

The carp, with no place to hide, dove into the lake bottom, possibly trying to burrow into the thick mud. However, when it hit the mud, the lake bottom collapsed, revealing a large hole about three to four meters wide.

The rainbow trout followed closely, and the carp fled to a distance. Qin Shaou was curious about the large hole at the lake bottom and probed it with his consciousness.

This glance made his heart race with excitement, for he saw two oak chests sloping in the mud.

The two oak chests were one large and one small, both cubic in shape. The larger one was about one and a half meters in length, width, and height, while the smaller one was about eighty centimeters. The chests were simple and ancient, bound with iron chains, reminiscent of treasure chests from legends.

The oak chests were almost in the center of the lake bottom. Qin Shaou estimated that the center of Treasure Lake was about eighty meters deep. Diving to such a depth in this weather would require a professional salvage team.

This made Qin Shaou very frustrated. He had no money to hire a salvage team, and even if he did, would a professional salvage team be available in the desolate Farewell Town?

If only his consciousness could lift these treasure chests, Qin Shaou thought regretfully.

However, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, the water around the oak chests suddenly parted, and the chests were lifted by the water flow and the strong water pressure!

Qin Shaou was shocked!

His mind trembled, and his consciousness became disordered. The floating chests wobbled and fell back to the lake bottom, stirring up the mud and creating a chaotic mess.

After taking a few deep breaths, Qin Shaou calmed down. He then tried again to lift the chests, and they slowly floated up once more.

However, controlling the water to lift the chests was much more strenuous than simply exploring the lake with his consciousness.

The chests had only risen about ten meters when Qin Shaou was already too exhausted to continue, and the oak chests fell back into the lake.

The feeling of the treasure chests being so close yet out of reach was maddening. Later, he came up with an idea. After resting and regaining his strength, he used his consciousness to control the water flow, rolling the chests toward the shallow shore.

This way, he saved a lot of effort.

Hiding the chests on the shore, Qin Shaou dressed and ran out of the inn. He saw the inn owner's Ford pickup truck parked in front of the door and said, "Buddy, I need to handle some things at my grandfather's fish farm. Can I borrow your truck? Oh, I'll fill it up with gas."

The chubby white owner chuckled, "Qin, your grandfather was a great man, and I admire him very much. For his sake, you can use the truck whenever you want. Of course, if you fill it up with gas, that would be even better."

Orbach had already introduced Qin Shaou, and when the owner learned he was Qin Hongde's grandson, he gave him a 20% discount on his room.

It was already afternoon, and the town was beginning to get busy. However, Treasure Lake was five kilometers outside the town, and the area around it was still quiet and isolated, which was perfect for Qin Shaou's plan.

Taking advantage of the absence of people, Qin Shaou used his consciousness to control the water and push the two oak chests to the shore, then loaded them into the truck.

After securing the oak chests, Qin Shaou drove directly to the Great Qin Fish Farm. The farm had several buildings, and Qin Shaou found a two-story maple wood house. Orbach had told him that this was his grandfather's former residence, and the two maple trees beside the house were planted by his grandfather when he first arrived at the farm.

Upstairs, Qin Shaou opened the smaller chest. The iron chains that had been wrapped around it had fallen off in the water. He found a hammer in the house and easily broke it open.

When the chest was opened, Qin Shaou's eyes lit up, for inside were several plastic-sealed paintings!

&&&& I hope everyone will add this book to your collection. Although the word count is still low, I will work hard to update and increase it soon. Thank you all for your support!

[Page Break AD Start]

[Page Break AD End]