"The country folk had never seen such a sight, and they were all terrified. It wasn't until someone shouted that it was a gift from the Water God, that the Water God pitied us poor souls, that everyone rushed forward like madmen, picking up treasures, filling their pockets until they couldn't hold any more, then taking off their clothes to fill those too."

"However, not everyone went crazy. Some of the older people in the village stopped people from picking things up, saying that they weren't blessed enough to enjoy these things, that it wasn't a good omen. Maybe the Water God was lonely at the bottom of the lake and wanted people to keep him company. These treasures were all blood money!"

"But good advice is hard to give to a ghost bent on dying. Some people simply ignored the elders' earnest advice. They were terrified of being poor, and they had never seen so many good things. They wouldn't earn as much in a lifetime of fishing as they had tonight."

"The elders, seeing that they couldn't persuade them, hardened their hearts and simply stopped caring, not wanting to see or hear any more, and went home with the help of others."

"As a result, early the next morning, before it was fully light, someone knocked on the door—no, they were pounding on the door. When the door opened, several women rushed in."

"The women were crying their eyes out, their eyes red and swollen, saying something terrible had happened, that all the men in their families had disappeared."

"When they woke up this morning, the person who should have been sleeping beside them was gone."

"The old man, wearing a coat, told them not to worry. He had watched the younger generation in the village grow up and knew what they were capable of, so he asked if these people were greedy and had secretly returned to the lake at night without telling anyone, wanting to steal more of the Water God's treasure."

"But the women shook their heads violently, saying that wouldn't happen. Even if he really went to pick up treasure, he would have woken up his family to go with him, and... and she had checked, the lanterns and torches were all there. It was pitch black outside; he couldn't even see the road, let alone pick up treasure."

"In any case, so many people disappearing at once was a huge deal in the fishing village. The old village chief immediately gathered people and went to the lake where they had picked up treasure the night before."

"When the group arrived, they saw that the exposed mudflat had been completely submerged by the lake, and all the treasures were gone. More importantly, the missing people were nowhere to be found."

"Now everyone understood that the disappearance of these people must be related to the treasure in the lake, perhaps as one of the elders had pointed out earlier, that the treasures were all blood money."

"The missing people had made a fortune in underworld wealth out of nowhere, but underworld wealth must eventually be repaid."

"At this time, an old man with a missing arm came out and earnestly advised the women to return all the gold, silver, and antiques in their homes, otherwise they would still suffer disaster."

"Hearing these words, the weeping women suddenly became strong and spoke with one voice, saying that since the people were gone, it would be useless to return the treasures, and that their men were gone, and their future lives would probably be problematic. Leaving this money would be good for raising their children."

"The old man stamped his feet in anger, scolding the women as a bunch of short-sighted fools, thinking that this was the end of the matter? This might just be the beginning. The Water God's underworld wealth is not so easy to take!"

"Sure enough, late the next night, a strange thing happened again. The missing men actually returned, but strangely, the men didn't say a word and went to bed as soon as they got home."

"The women had doubts, but they just thought their men were exhausted, so they didn't ask any more questions. But as they were sleeping, they were awakened by a strange sound."

"Opening their eyes, they found that the space beside them was already empty, and there was a rustling sound coming from outside the room, as if someone was rummaging for something."

"Getting up and going over to look, they saw their man prying open a hidden hole in the wall and taking something out of it. On the ground were the treasures he had picked up."

"The man took off his clothes, wrapped the treasures he had worked so hard to pick up in his clothes, then opened the door and walked out with stiff steps."

"It was pitch black outside, and he didn't light a torch or carry a lantern for illumination."

"The woman wanted to wake him up, but she tried several times without success. She was also worried about her man's safety, so she had no choice but to carefully follow behind him."

"It was very dark on the road, and she stumbled several times, even spraining her ankle, but the man carrying the treasure walked very steadily. He seemed to be able to see in the dark, and this discovery made the woman's heart even more uneasy."

"Although the night was dark, she had lived in the fishing village for so many years and still had a basic sense of direction. She roughly judged that the man was walking in the direction of Chunshen Lake."

"A gust of night wind came, freezing her and making her shiver violently. She vaguely felt that something was about to happen, that something terrible would happen when they got to the lake."

"Not daring to hesitate any longer, she dragged her sprained leg, took a few quick steps, and tried to stand in front of the man. No matter what, she had to take him home, but gradually, a feeling of inexplicable panic and despair rose in her heart. She was horrified to find that no matter how fast she walked or how loudly she shouted, she couldn't catch up with her man. Clearly... clearly he was walking neither fast nor slow, but he always kept a distance from her, a distance that was neither too far nor too close."

"At this time, she could already hear the sound of water. After walking for so long, they had finally reached Chunshen Lake. At this time, the woman was almost desperate. She watched her man holding the treasure in both hands, as if on a pilgrimage, walking step by step into the waist-deep lake water until he finally disappeared."

"The woman roared hoarsely, and then her body suddenly trembled. The next moment, she suddenly woke up from the bed, gasping for breath, as if someone who had been suffocating for a long time had finally gotten air."

"All of this... was a dream?" Fatty asked cautiously.

Qian Zhanggui hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Yes, it was a dream, and... and that night, more than just the woman had such a dream. Many families with missing people had the same dream."

"The missing family members returned and then took away the treasures they had picked up in the second half of the night."

"Then did those treasures actually disappear?" Jiang Cheng was more concerned about this point. If the treasures disappeared, then this was definitely not just a prophetic dream.

"No, the treasures are all safely placed in the house, they have not disappeared." Qian Zhanggui paused, his expression becoming serious. "But this is definitely not just a simple dream, because... because when the woman woke up, she found that her foot was really sprained, the same foot that was sprained in the dream."