Second Soul Skill: Perch Reflection

Shrek Academy, classroom.

Grandmaster stood before the blackboard. A fishing rod and a Soul Ring were drawn on it.

"Your Soul Rings are unlike anyone else's." Grandmaster adjusted his glasses. "Others obtain Soul Rings by hunting Soul Beasts. You get yours by fishing. Your First Soul Ring came from a Black-Scaled Carp. For your Second Soul Ring, you'll need a Soul Beast of premium grade or higher."

Lin Yuan sat in the back row, balancing his chair on two legs. "Premium grade or higher? Be specific."

"Between a hundred and a thousand years old." Grandmaster opened his notebook. "There's a forest outside Suotuo City, and a river runs through it. It's called the Mirror Image River. Legend says a thousand-year Mirror Image Perch lives there."

Lin Yuan set his chair down. "How do you know?"

"I've spent thirty years studying the records." Grandmaster pushed the notebook toward Lin Yuan. A silvery-white fish was drawn inside. "The Mirror Image Perch is a thousand-year Soul Beast, exceptionally rare. But no one has ever caught one."

"Why?"

"Because that fish creates illusions." Grandmaster adjusted his glasses. "Every Soul Master who's tried to hunt it has failed to find its real body. They only ever strike an illusion. The real fish is long gone."

Lin Yuan suddenly smiled.

"Illusions? That's good."

Grandmaster frowned. "Good?"

"Illusions are good." Lin Yuan rose and picked up his fishing rod. "It means the fish is afraid. If it's afraid, it doesn't want to die. And a fish that doesn't want to die is one you can bargain with."

Tang San leaned forward from the back row. "I'm coming with you."

"Let's go."

Mirror Image River.

The water was clear to the bottom, its surface as still as a mirror, reflecting the trees on both banks.

Lin Yuan stood on the bank and glanced into the water. The riverbed was spotless. He couldn't see so much as a fry.

Tang San crouched beside him. "When water is too clear, no fish can live in it?"

"Someone baited this spot." Lin Yuan crouched, scooped up a handful of mud from the bank, and sniffed it. "Someone cast a line here three days ago."

"How do you know?"

"The mud smells of liquor. Same as the Boilie Rice I use." Lin Yuan stood and swept his gaze along the bank. "There was more than one person. At least three."

Tang San's expression tightened. "Xiao Chenyu?"

"Doesn't seem like him. Xiao Chenyu doesn't have the brains to think of Boilie Rice." Lin Yuan shook his head. "Forget them for now. We have more important things to do."

He cast his line into the river. The float stood upright on the surface, which remained perfectly still.

Ten minutes later, the float sank.

Lin Yuan raised the rod and easily pulled in a small perch weighing half a catty. It was silvery-white, with gleaming scales.

Tang San leaned in. "Is that the thousand-year Mirror Image Perch?"

Lin Yuan shook his head. "Too small. It's fake."

He took the fish off the hook and tossed it back into the river.

Another ten minutes passed. A second fish took the bait, weighing a catty and noticeably larger than the first.

Tang San asked, "This one?"

"Still fake."

Ten minutes later came a third. Two catties.

Tang San asked, "This one has to be real, right?"

Lin Yuan glanced at it and threw it back. "Fake."

The fourth weighed three catties.

Lin Yuan didn't even look at it. He unhooked it and let it go.

Tang San grew impatient. "What are you trying to catch? Four fish, each bigger than the last, and you've released them all?"

Lin Yuan reeled in his line and put on fresh bait. "The real one."

"How can you tell which is real?"

Lin Yuan pulled back his rod and pointed at the water. "Watch the shadows. When a real fish swims, its shadow on the riverbed moves opposite to its body at the surface. Fake fish don't do that."

Tang San crouched and watched the water for a while. Sure enough, a perch two feet long swam past, but there was no shadow beneath it.

"That's it," Lin Yuan whispered. "Two feet long. A thousand-year Soul Beast. Its real body won't be too big. Those larger ones were all fakes, meant to fool greedy people."

Tang San looked at him. "Then how will you catch it?"

Lin Yuan took a small cloth bundle from his pocket and opened it. Inside were chunks of meat cut from the small perch he'd caught earlier.

Tang San's eyes widened. "You're using its descendants as bait?"

"Mm. Thousand-year Soul Beasts are territorial." Lin Yuan hooked a piece of meat and gently cast it into the water. "A young fish struggling on a hook would draw it here."

"Won't it know it's a trap when it arrives?"

"It will." Lin Yuan watched the water. "But it'll come anyway."

"Why?"

"Because it rules this river, and a ruler won't allow something else to run wild in its territory." Lin Yuan paused. "Even if one of its descendants is on the hook, it'll come see who has a death wish."

Three minutes later.

The water exploded.

A three-foot-long silvery-white perch burst from the river. Its scales reflected the light like mirrors, tracing a rainbow through the air.

Lin Yuan flicked his wrist. The rod bent into a full moon. The fish didn't struggle. It hung steadily in midair, its eyes fixed on Lin Yuan.

A system notification appeared:

[Ding! Thousand-year Soul Beast: Mirror Image Perch. Fishing difficulty: Extremely hard. Assessment: The host has finally caught the real thing.]

Lin Yuan pulled the fish onto the bank. Once it landed, it made no attempt to struggle. It simply lay quietly on its side and watched him.

Tang San stepped back. "Why isn't it moving?"

"It's waiting for me." Lin Yuan crouched until he was eye to eye with the perch. "I know you can understand me."

The perch lightly tapped the ground with its tail.

"You've lived a thousand years. You're smarter than I am." Lin Yuan met its gaze. "Tell me, what will you give me if I let you go?"

The perch tapped its tail once.

A system notification appeared:

[The Mirror Image Perch is willing to participate in a wager-and-release. Condition: The host must promise never to fish for its kind again.]

Tang San came closer. "What did it say?"

"It wants me to leave its descendants alone." Lin Yuan looked at the perch. "Is that your only condition?"

The perch tapped its tail again.

Lin Yuan thought for a moment. "All right. I promise I won't fish for Mirror Image Perch again."

Tang San grew anxious. "You promised? What about the Soul Ring?"

"It'll give me one." Lin Yuan stood. "A thousand-year Soul Beast keeps its word. More reliable than a person."

He cradled the fish, walked to the river, and gently lowered it into the water.

The perch swished its tail twice, then suddenly turned back. It opened its mouth and spat out a silvery-white pearl.

The pearl floated on the water, giving off a soft glow.

A system notification appeared:

[Wager-and-release successful. Thousand-Year Soul Ring condensation progress +40%. Rare Soul Skill acquired: Water Surface Reflection.]

Lin Yuan bent down and scooped up the pearl. It dissolved at his touch and merged into his palm.

He raised a hand and swept it outward.

Three identical versions of him appeared out of thin air on the river. The three Lin Yuans stood on the water in different poses: one carried a fishing rod on his shoulder, one crouched to study the water, and one smiled with his arms folded.

Tang San stared wide-eyed. "Clones?"

"Illusions. They have no substance, but they can fool people."

"For how long?"

"That depends on their mental strength." Lin Yuan lowered his hand, and all three illusions vanished at once. "If their mental strength is lower than mine, I can fool them for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. If it's higher, they'll see through them at a glance."

Tang San stared at the water, then suddenly asked, "How strong is your mental strength?"

Lin Yuan smiled. "Twice that of some Soul Masters."

Tang San looked down at his Blue Silver Grass, then at Lin Yuan's fishing rod. Suddenly, he felt that the gulf between two people could sometimes be wider than the gulf between a person and a Soul Beast.

"Let's go." Lin Yuan put away his fishing rod. "Back to the academy."

The two of them walked back along the river.

As they passed a thicket, Lin Yuan suddenly stopped.

Tang San asked, "What is it?"

Lin Yuan looked at a puddle beside the path, his expression calm. "Someone's following us."

Tang San tensed. "Where?"

Lin Yuan planted his fishing rod on the ground. "No need to hide. Come out. Your reflection in the puddle gave you away."

The thicket stayed quiet for two seconds.

Then someone stepped out from behind a tree.

Xiao Ruoxue.

Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword, her expression conflicted. "How did you find me?"

Lin Yuan pointed to the puddle. "Water Surface Reflection. I just learned it. As long as there's water within ten yards, I can see the reflections in it."

Xiao Ruoxue looked down at the puddle and, sure enough, saw her own reflection.

She was silent for a few seconds. "I came to see you about something."

Lin Yuan asked, "What?"

Xiao Ruoxue said, "Shrek is entering the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament this year. East City Academy is entering too. I want to work with you."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Work together on what?"

Xiao Ruoxue said, "The tournament has team battles. You need teammates."

Lin Yuan looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"Xiao Ruoxue."

"Yes?"

"You finally took the bait."

Xiao Ruoxue's expression shifted. "I'm not a fish."

"I know." Lin Yuan walked past her. "But you came anyway. That means whatever's on your mind matters more than saving face."

Xiao Ruoxue stood there, watching his back.

Tang San passed her and gave her a glance. Without a word, he followed Lin Yuan.

Xiao Ruoxue bit her lip and hurried after them.

"Lin Yuan."

"Mm?"

"Aren't you curious why I came to you?"

Lin Yuan didn't look back. "You're from East City Academy, but you came to me to work together. That means there's something at East City Academy you don't want to be around."

Xiao Ruoxue faltered for a step.

"Got it right?" Lin Yuan glanced back at her. "Then come along. But first, you need to do one thing."

"What?"

"Tomorrow morning at the mao hour, by the lake." Lin Yuan slung his fishing rod over his shoulder. "Join Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu. First, you'll learn how to bait a fishing spot."

Xiao Ruoxue frowned. "What does that mean?"

Lin Yuan didn't answer. He merely waved a hand.

"You'll find out when you get there."

The three of them walked away from the river.

Behind them, a silvery-white perch rose from the depths of the Mirror Image River and gazed quietly toward the bank.

Its mouth opened and closed.

As if it were saying:

"That fisherman is different."

Then it flicked its tail and dived into the depths.