"State Preceptor!"
"Liang! I'm leaving!"
"State Preceptor, wait!"
The Old Toad turned back to see Liang Qu holding a wine cup. He flicked a drop of water into it and handed it to him.
"This is..."
"The water of Jiang Huai!" Liang Qu held the wine goblet high. "The mountains are distant, the roads are long. State Preceptor, drink this: better to cherish a single drop from our Marsh than to covet ten thousand taels of gold elsewhere!"
"Ten thousand taels of gold?" The Old Toad's eyes widened.
"State Preceptor!"
"Alright!" Torn with indecision, the Old Toad drank the water, swung his long whiskers, stood up like a fish, "Footless Frog, charge!"
Splash.
Waves crashed against the shore of the Jianghuai Great Marsh.
The Frog King scratched his belly, waking from a long sleep. He looked up; scattered around him, a pile of boat models lay in disarray. Before sleeping, he used to tidy them up to avoid the Elders seeing.
