I had already guessed that Little Mei's father was a corpse fisher. He made a living on the river, doing a grim trade. What else could he be?

The scene before me confirmed my guess. It seemed Little Mei's father had gone into the river to retrieve a corpse and had encountered danger instead.

By now, a crowd had gathered on the shore, pointing and gesticulating at the river. They were pointing at the corpse standing upright in the water, saying it was a *shi sha* (corpse evil). Little Mei's father was likely trapped by the *shi sha*, stuck in the river accompanying the floating corpse, unable to escape.

Little Mei burst into tears upon hearing this, standing on the shore, lost and helpless.

I had heard this saying back in my hometown, that if a floating corpse stood upright in the water, it meant the corpse had risen as an evil spirit, seeking souls. Even the most skilled corpse fisher wouldn't dare to retrieve it.

But as I grew older, I gradually understood the truth. If a floating corpse stood upright in the water, it wasn't some evil spirit. It simply meant there were underwater currents nearby. The currents created a vortex, and the force of the vortex lifted the corpse, causing it to stand upright in the water.

Without a certain level of water sense and skill, and a lack of understanding of the currents, anyone who approached would only be throwing their life away. That's why corpse fishers who tried to retrieve corpses standing upright in the river met untimely deaths one after another. But this had nothing to do with *shi sha*.

I didn't know how my parents had died, and I hadn't been able to save them. Now, seeing Little Mei's father trapped in the current, on the verge of exhaustion and being swept into the river, I couldn't bear to see him lose his life. Without a second thought, I stripped off my clothes and ran towards the river.

Little Mei quickly grabbed me, shouting, "Rongsheng! Rongsheng! What are you doing? Do you want to die?"

Others also tried to dissuade me, saying it was the *shi sha* claiming lives, and touching it meant certain death. I was young, why seek death?

I simply turned back and patted Little Mei's hand, saying, "Little Mei, trust me. I will definitely bring Uncle back."

After saying that, I plunged into the river and swam towards Uncle Mei.

Although the currents were dangerous, and being swept into them meant a slim chance of survival, if one could understand the currents and possessed strong swimming skills, they could move freely within them.

I had grown up in the river since I was a child, encountering countless currents, both big and small. I had faced many dangers, experienced cramps in the water, and had my feet tangled in seaweed. Each time, I had snatched my life back from the gates of hell.

This current before me shouldn't be able to stop me.

As I approached Uncle Mei, I felt the current surging beneath the surface of the river. I didn't rush over. Instead, I let my body drift with the current, silently sensing the direction of the vortex below.

Once I understood the direction, I continued to swim forward, circling around Uncle Mei's position with the current. This would be the most energy-efficient way.

The people on the shore couldn't understand my intentions. They only saw me circling around Uncle Mei. They thought I was also entangled by the *shi sha*, and my chances of survival were slim.

Little Mei cried until her voice was hoarse, shouting for me to come back. I couldn't explain to her, waiting for the opportunity to break into the center of the vortex.

Finally, I found my chance. I found the weakest area of the water and broke in along the tangent of the vortex, grabbing Uncle Mei's body.

At this point, Uncle Mei was exhausted, holding on to the surface of the water with sheer instinct. If I had arrived any later, he would have been swept to the bottom of the river by the current.

While holding him, I followed the direction of the vortex, circling outwards. First small circles, then big circles, like navigating a maze. Circle after circle, I finally escaped from the vortex and returned to the calm surface of the river.

A fishing boat nearby quickly rowed over and pulled us onto the boat. Although Uncle Mei had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, he had ultimately survived.

The people on the shore saw me retrieve Uncle Mei from the gates of hell and applauded me. Little Mei was so scared that her legs had gone weak, and she knelt on the ground, trembling.

I helped Uncle Mei off the boat and laid him down on the shore. I quickly went to Little Mei, who hugged me tightly, unable to catch her breath from crying.

I patted her back and said it was okay. Uncle had been saved. He had just swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, maybe even ate a few small fish for a treat.

Little Mei chuckled through her tears, wiped her eyes, and took my hand tightly, going with me to see Uncle Mei.

Uncle Mei, who had cheated death, was pale. Seeing me approach, he struggled to get up and kowtow to me.

I quickly helped him up, saying it was too much. I was Little Mei's boyfriend, and I would be calling him Old Father-in-Law in the future. Wouldn't a kowtow mess up the generations?

Uncle Mei laughed upon hearing this, grabbing my hand and repeatedly saying it was all fate. We weren't even family yet, and I had already saved his life. This was a marriage predestined by heaven.

He couldn't help but ask me how my swimming skills were so good. He had been on the river for so many years and had never seen anyone who could retrieve someone from such a dangerous vortex.

Little Mei laughed from the side, saying, "Dad, Rongsheng's swimming skills are a gift from God. You don't know, he was knocked unconscious and thrown into the river, and he was fine after floating for the whole night."

Uncle Mei clicked his tongue in amazement, saying it wasn't just good swimming skills, it was a good water sense. Swimming skills could be learned, but water sense was innate. I must be the reincarnation of a prince from the East Sea Dragon Palace to have such a water sense.

He asked me what my parents did and whether they had also grown up by the water.

I said, "I'm afraid you won't believe me if I tell you, but my parents were also in this line of work. They were corpse fishers on the Wu River."

Uncle Mei and Little Mei both laughed upon hearing this. Uncle Mei said our families were a perfect match. Little Mei also said that no wonder she felt a connection with me the moment she saw me. It turned out it was all predestined.

At this time, the people around gradually gathered, also marveling at my swimming skills. Hearing that I was the guy Little Mei had brought back, they eagerly inquired about my background.

Before I could chat with them, a middle-aged man in a sanitation department uniform walked over. He pointed to the floating corpse still standing in the river, bobbing up and down, staring at us with wide eyes, and asked Uncle Mei, "Mei Laosan, are you going to retrieve that corpse or not? If you can't, I'll have to find someone else. We can't let it keep floating on the river and scaring people, can we?"

Uncle Mei shook his head helplessly and said, "Then find someone else. I can't retrieve it."

The man in uniform sighed, turned to leave, but I stopped him and asked, "How much is the reward for retrieving this corpse?"

The man saw me ask, recalling the scene of me retrieving Uncle Mei from the river earlier, and his eyes lit up, realizing I had the ability to retrieve corpses.

He decisively held out a hand, "Five hundred!"

I chuckled upon hearing this.

Five hundred for one job!

I worked hard in the restaurant for a month and only earned five hundred.