HDRDTH -Chapter 77 Scattered Loose Change Outside the Door

“Hey! Sir, what are you doing!” Wang Dafu was startled and quickly reached out to help him up.

The man clung tightly to the door frame, refusing to rise no matter how hard he was pulled. Trembling, he reached into his inner clothing pocket and pulled out a cloth bundle wrapped layer upon layer in plastic.

His shaking hands untied the knot.

Inside—there were no gold bars, no checks.

It was a pile of loose cash warmed by body heat. Hundreds, fifties, mostly tens and fives, even coins and crumpled small-denomination notes.

“Yu… Master Yu…” the man’s voice sounded like rusty sandpaper scraping. “I’m Zhao Laogen, the village head of Chenjiagou in Dashan Town.”

Yu Xian put down his teacup and walked to the door.

Zhao Laogen looked up, tears mixed with rain streaming down his face.

“On TV… they say you’re a living immortal. You can even pull up iron boxes from fifty meters underwater. Our whole village scraped together 32,400 yuan… please, go to Heilongtan!”

Yu Xian looked at the pile of loose change, his brows tightening.

“Catch what?” he asked.

“Catch a person,” Zhao Laogen said, his throat rolling. His voice was heartbreaking. “A child from our village… Chen Qingshan, eighteen years old.”

Inside the living room, Wang Fei removed her headphones. Su Wanyi came out of the kitchen holding a dishcloth.

Everyone went silent.

Zhao Laogen knelt on the ground, repeatedly banging his head.

“Half a month ago, some city businessmen brought their kids into the mountains for a picnic. One child fell into Heilongtan. Qingshan happened to pass by—he didn’t even take off his clothes and jumped in.”

“He pushed all five kids back to shore… but he ran out of strength. A whirlpool came, and he sank.”

He wailed.

“Rescue teams from the city came. Divers went down more than ten times—almost got killed twice themselves! The currents and caves down there are terrifying, freezing cold to the bone!”

“Today they’re withdrawing. They say the body was swept into an underground river… it’s gone.”

Zhao Laogen lifted the bundle of money high above his head.

“Qingshan’s father died young. His mother is deaf and mute—she’s cried until she’s nearly blind. That boy is afraid of the cold… he can’t just be left alone in that black water!”

“Master Yu, please… cast one line! If you bring him home, our entire village will set up ancestral tablets for you!”

Only the sound of rain hitting stone steps remained.

Yu Xian stared at the man’s mud-covered army boots. In both lives combined, he hated trouble the most. All he wanted after reincarnation was a lazy life—fishing, drinking, and peace.

Body recovery work—especially in a death zone where even professional rescue teams gave up—was suicide-level difficulty.

Yu Xian extended his hand.

But he didn’t take the money.

Instead, he pulled out a single crumpled one-yuan note stained with mud.

“One yuan. Appearance fee.”

He stuffed it into his pocket and turned back toward the living room.

Zhao Laogen froze.

“Dafu, take the rod. Bring the Raptor out of the garage.”

His voice carried no emotion.

“Wanyi, prepare a waterproof suit.”

Wang Fei immediately grabbed her phone and called her manager.

“I need a heavy-lift helicopter from the provincial aviation company. Now. Immediate. Coordinates: Chenjiagou, Heilongtan!”

1:00 AM, Dashan Town, Chenjiagou

Heavy rain poured like a waterfall.

Heilongtan looked like a single open eye embedded in a crater surrounded by steep cliffs. The water was pitch black, unnatural, swallowing light completely.

Searchlights hit the surface—but couldn’t penetrate even half a meter before vanishing into darkness.

An elderly woman sat under a blue rain shelter. Her white hair was messy, her body bent. A faded red cotton jacket lay on her lap.

She threaded needle after needle under dim light, quietly repairing the collar.

She couldn’t hear the storm. She couldn’t speak. She just occasionally looked up at the dark lake, then continued sewing.

Chen Qingshan’s mother.

She believed her son was simply lost underwater and would come home.

Dozens of villagers stood in the rain like silent statues.

Nearby, the rescue team vehicles were parked in the mud. Captain Liu Jianjun stood by the door, chain-smoking, cigarette butts covering the ground.

“Captain, the meteorological station says flash floods tomorrow. We have to withdraw,” the deputy said hoarsely.

Liu Jianjun punched the car door, eyes red.

“Withdraw? How do I tell that old woman? That kid saved five people!”

At that moment—

A deafening roar tore through the sky.

A heavy helicopter from the provincial aviation authority hovered above the lake, slicing through the rain.

The door opened.

A man in black tactical waterproof gear jumped directly from over a meter high.

Splash—

Mud and water exploded outward.

Yu Xian landed holding a black fishing tube. Behind him were Wang Dafu, fully equipped, Wang Fei in a windbreaker, and Zhao Laogen.

Liu Jianjun threw away his cigarette and walked forward.

“You’re Yu Xian? The guy who caught a submarine with a fishing rod?”

“I am,” Yu Xian said, looking at the black water.

“This is nonsense!” Liu Jianjun blocked him. “This isn’t a reservoir! It’s a massive underground cave system! Currents reach five meters per second—that’s underwater typhoon level!”

He pointed at the villagers.

“Our sonar and underwater robots were shredded instantly! What are you going to do with a fishing rod? Perform magic?”

Yu Xian ignored him.

He turned toward the elderly woman under the shelter.

She slowly stood up, as if sensing something, and bowed deeply toward him.

Yu Xian looked away.

“Captain Liu,” he said calmly. “Divers can’t go down because humans have limits.”

He tapped the fishing tube.

“But this line has no limit.”

He walked past Liu Jianjun to a protruding rock at the edge of the lake.

Rain slapped his face—but he didn’t blink.

“Dafu, unload.”

Wang Dafu dropped a heavy tactical backpack.

Yu Xian opened the tube and pulled out the T1100 long-distance rod, custom-built by Old Liu. Instead of a spinning reel, he used a full-metal high-capacity drum reel capable of holding 1,000 meters of line.

The main line was deep-sea braided cord with over 150 kg tensile strength.

No float. No hook.

Yu Xian walked to Zhao Laogen.

“Village head. Bring me a piece of clothing Qingshan wore.”

Zhao Laogen hurried into the shelter and handed over a worn school jacket from the mother.

Yu Xian tied it firmly to a 200-gram tungsten sinker.

“People have spirit. No matter how chaotic the underwater currents are—if he’s still here, he’ll know the way home.”

He turned to Wang Fei.

“Lift the helicopter. Shine all searchlights onto the water.”

She immediately issued the command.

Yu Xian stood at the cliff edge. Right foot back. Muscles tensed.

The rod bent into a terrifying arc under his strength.

He locked eyes on the black water.

“You little guy,” he said softly, voice swallowed by wind and rain. “You saved five people. You’re worth this cast.”

He released—

WHOOSH!

The 200-gram tungsten sinker, carrying Chen Qingshan’s school uniform, tore through the rain like a cannon shell and plunged straight into the deepest part of Heilongtan.