Strange Fish

The glow-in-the-dark float on the opposite bank bobbed and swayed.

It looked as though the angler had hooked a big fish.

The water churned.

A splashing sound carried across the river.

Then things quieted down.

Looks like he didn't catch anything after all.

With that thought, Fang Xian moved slowly through the grass.

The summer wilderness was full of mosquitoes, snakes, and rats. Fang Xian carefully probed ahead with the Fire Axe.

Splash, splash.

The water stirred by the bank.

An animal cry from somewhere startled Fang Xian.

"Xiao Jiu! Are there any wild urban legends nearby?"

Fang Xian kept his voice low.

Xiao Jiu looked confused. She gestured a little, but he couldn't tell whether she understood.

After wandering for about half an hour, Fang Xian's hair was soaked, and his calves were covered in tiny bumps. He knew he couldn't keep this up. Mosquitoes were formidable urban legends in their own right.

"There's... an unattended boat over there."

Fang Xian's eyes lit up.

There, on the bank of the reservoir river, stood a small wooden boat.

It was moored right at the water's edge.

Now Fang Xian could reach the opposite bank. At the very least, he could ask the angler how the fishing had gone today—and whether he'd come away empty-handed.

The boat looked old, its hull worn but undamaged.

Its underside, though, was pitted and dented, as if something had been ramming it.

Fang Xian pushed the boat into the water and checked it. It didn't leak.

"Great!"

"Xiao Jiu, Brother Xian's taking you for a boat ride today."

"Jiu-mi!"

Fang Xian tucked the Fire Axe into his belt, gripped the oar, and began to row.

At first, he was only a meter from shore. A few minutes later, he had reached the middle of the lake.

A light rain began to fall.

Fang Xian's breathing gradually slowed.

The moon shone bright among scattered stars.

Fang Xian rowed alone across the reservoir lake.

Ripples spread over the water.

If anyone saw him doing this in the middle of the night, he might become the subject of an urban legend himself.

"This lake... is deeper than I thought, and the far bank's farther away."

Fang Xian slowed down.

The upstream reservoir hadn't opened its floodgates, but Fang Xian still struggled to steer the boat. He was a beginner, after all.

Hm?

Fang Xian had barely taken two more strokes when he sensed something keenly.

Something on the far side seemed to be watching him.

That gaze—surveillance—made his skin crawl.

But when Fang Xian looked toward it, he saw nothing.

The entire opposite bank lay hidden in darkness and a faint stench of rot.

Splash, splash.

Splash!

The water stirred.

Fang Xian kept his guard up.

He rose carefully, about to take a closer look around.

But Xiao Jiu suddenly cried out.

"Jiu-mi! Jiu-mi!"

The little white-cat-like Obsession tugged frantically at Fang Xian's hand.

Alarm bells went off in Fang Xian's head.

What was that?

Thud!!

Once!

Thud, thud!!!

Twice!

It came from beneath the boat!

Something underwater was ramming his little boat!

The impact nearly knocked Fang Xian off his feet and over the side.

Luckily, he grabbed the gunwale and managed to steady himself.

"What is that?"

Fang Xian switched on his phone's flashlight and aimed it at the water.

A pitch-black shadow was darting beneath the surface!

He couldn't make it out at all.

It was moving too fast.

"An animal?"

"Or..."

Thud!!

Another hit!

This one nearly sent half of Fang Xian's body into the lake.

"Jiu-mi!"

Xiao Jiu was frantic, but that didn't help one bit.

Fang Xian forced himself upright through sheer strength and balance.

Glug, glug.

"Something fish-like, about five and a half feet long."

Fang Xian still wasn't sure.

If it was a fish, it was enormous—at least a hundred pounds.

And...

"This isn't an accident."

"That thing's ramming my boat on purpose!"

Fang Xian's eyes hardened.

Under the moonlight, the reservoir lake remained pitch-black.

The lake and sky seemed to merge into one enormous mouth, ready to swallow him.

"I can barely keep my footing out here. I can't fight that bastard on the water!"

Fang Xian quickly shifted position and slapped the oar against the water.

He had to get to shore, fast!

Fang Xian never hesitated. Once he decided on something, he acted.

"Xiao Jiu, if you can't row, cheer your Brother Xian on!"

Xiao Jiu still seemed only half to understand. She waved her little hands as if cheering him on, though her eyes remained fixed on the water below.

Smack, smack!!

The oar kept striking the water.

But this time, Fang Xian felt resistance.

That thing was attacking his oar!

Holding the oar in his right hand, Fang Xian snatched up the Fire Axe with his left. He lined it up with the shadow and swung.

Clang!

It was like striking something solid.

The shock made Fang Xian's hand ache.

"I hit it! Why is it... hard as a rock!?"

Fang Xian yanked the oar back.

That was when he noticed the dense rows of tooth marks covering it.

They didn't look like fish bites.

They looked more like...

Human teeth!?

A Human-Faced Fish?

Fang Xian jolted.

The black shadow swam beneath his boat.

"Damn it, don't run!"

Fang Xian cursed, then grabbed his oar and started rowing for his life.

The brave young man would brave the rain and conquer the waves!

Fang Xian rowed ahead at full strength.

Underwater, a glugging sound arose.

This time, Fang Xian saw it.

Beneath the surface...

Was a face.

The layer of water blurred its features.

Its pupils glowed white as it stared at Fang Xian with a vacant, uncanny expression.

"Holy shit."

This time, Fang Xian really was startled.

The face was deathly pale.

It looked just like a waterlogged corpse!

Xiao Jiu, beside him, was startled too. She scrambled up onto Fang Xian's neck.

Seriously, Pikachu, what do I even keep you around for!?

Xiao Jiu, you really are something.

Useless at everything except eating lollipops.

"Xiao Jiu, use Interference!"

Fang Xian steeled himself.

A pale aura of decay surged around Xiao Jiu.

Her target was...

The human face underwater.

Here comes the interference!

Instantly, feedback appeared—[Minimal effect].

"Jiu-mi?"

Xiao Jiu froze.

Fang Xian was now completely certain he couldn't beat that thing on the water.

He shut out everything else and headed for the opposite bank.

A few dozen seconds later, Fang Xian staggered aboard the boat. With the bank finally in reach, he launched himself over the side, rolled two or three times, and barely made it onto land.

The stones along the bank scraped several bloody cuts across his skin as he rolled.

"Huff, huff..."

Fang Xian ignored the cuts and gulped down air.

At the same time, he opened the Urban Legend Compendium on his phone.

There was barely any signal out here, yet Fang Xian discovered he could still watch ads.

Those bastards secretly preloaded them, didn't they?

A chibi-style human-faced fish had appeared among the urban legends he'd encountered.

Its entry looked incomplete, though, and a little blurry.

[Urban legend: Human-Faced Fish].

[Type: Insect Beast].

[Rank: Lingering Fear].

[Beneath the calm surface of Thousand-Mountain Lake, a beast that preyed on people waited for travelers to arrive.]

[It was intelligent enough to lurk in the darkness, silently watching every foolish angler.]

[It had once devoured its owner, and someone seemed to be secretly helping raise it.]

[To capture this supernatural entity, its physical body must be captured.]

[Note: Insect Beast-type supernatural entities have high resistance to Obsession-type supernatural entities.]

[Note 2: Someone seemed to be feeding it.]