Anglers Never Come Home Empty-Handed, but They Do Haul in the Net

Lin Yuan squatted by the lake, studying the Seven-Colored Glazed Fish in his waterskin for half an hour.

Tang San sat beside him, idly plucking grass.

"Are you done looking at it?"

"Don't interrupt. I'm studying it."

"Studying what?"

"Why this fish can increase the chance of a successful breakthrough." Lin Yuan raised the waterskin to eye level. The little seven-colored fish swam lazily inside. "The system says its rarity is epic, but it's only ten years old. That doesn't make sense. An ordinary Ten-Year Soul Beast would be fine quality at best."

Tang San thought for a moment. "Maybe its rarity comes from its species, not its age."

Lin Yuan turned to him. "You have a point."

"Grandmaster taught me that the value of a Martial Soul or Soul Beast doesn't depend on age alone. Bloodline purity matters too." Tang San snapped off a grass stem. "This fish has so many colors. Maybe it's a surviving breed from ancient times."

Lin Yuan set down the waterskin, stood up, and dusted off his backside.

"All right. Let's run an experiment."

"What experiment?"

"Release it and see if I can catch it again."

Tang San frowned. "Didn't you say you were going to raise it?"

"Before I do, I need to learn its habits." Lin Yuan walked to the lake, crouched, and held the mouth of the waterskin over the water. "If it swims off and doesn't come back, it hasn't taken to this spot. If it comes back..."

He tipped the waterskin. The Seven-Colored Glazed Fish dropped into the lake, flicked its tail twice, and vanished into the depths.

Tang San leaned closer. "Now what?"

"We wait."

"How long?"

"The one thing an angler does best is wait."

They sat beside the lake as the sun moved from overhead toward the west.

Tang San caught three crucian carp. Lin Yuan's float never budged.

"Why aren't you fishing?" Tang San asked.

"There's something in my baited spot. I can't just drop a hook in." Lin Yuan stared at the water. "I'd spook the fish."

Tang San looked at the rod in his hands, then at Lin Yuan's motionless float.

"Who taught you all this, anyway?"

"In my last life," Lin Yuan said casually.

"Your last life?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Lin Yuan waved a hand. "Just say I was born knowing how."

The sun was nearly down when Lin Yuan's float finally moved.

One gentle dip, then another.

Lin Yuan didn't lift the rod.

"Why aren't you pulling?" Tang San grew anxious.

"It's testing the bait." Lin Yuan rested a hand on the rod, his body perfectly still. "It's testing my hook. It remembers me. It knows this hook pricked it yesterday, so it's hesitating."

Tang San watched the float rise and sink, his heart in his throat.

The float plunged beneath the surface.

Lin Yuan lifted the rod.

There was none of yesterday's violent dash. Whatever was underwater swam steadily along.

Lin Yuan reeled in slowly.

A palm-sized seven-colored fish surfaced. Colors rippled across its body, making it look like a living gemstone in the sunset.

Tang San's eyes widened. "It came back?"

"It did." Lin Yuan cradled the fish in his palm. Its mouth opened and closed, and its tail gently patted his fingers. It made no attempt to struggle.

A system notification appeared:

[Ding! Seven-Colored Glazed Fish (bonded to master). Evaluation: This fish has grown clever. It knows you'll feed it if it sticks with you.]

Lin Yuan's mouth twitched. "What do you mean, bonded to master?"

[Seven-Colored Glazed Fish has successfully bonded to master. It may move freely within thirty meters of the host and will automatically attract nearby Soul Beasts of its kind. The host may summon it at any time.]

Lin Yuan froze.

Tang San saw his expression change. "What is it?"

"This fish..." Lin Yuan took a deep breath. "It says it wants to stay with me."

"How can a fish talk?"

"It didn't. I sensed it." Lin Yuan looked down at the seven-colored fish in his palm.

Tang San gave him an odd look. "Your Martial Soul lets you chat with fish too?"

"Looks that way."

Tang San fell silent for a moment. "Now I believe you're a monster."

Lin Yuan returned the seven-colored fish to the waterskin, stood, and stretched his back.

"Come on. Let's find Grandmaster."

"What for?"

"I want to find out what this fish can do now that it's bonded to me."

They packed up and headed back.

As they passed the training ground, Lin Yuan noticed something was wrong.

A crowd stood in the middle of the grounds, more than twice as large as the group Xiao Chenyu had brought that morning.

Someone else led them now: a tall girl with a high ponytail.

Wang Sheng ran over from the side, his face pale.

"Lin Yuan! You're back!"

"What happened?"

"Xiao Chenyu called for help! She's from the junior Soul Master Academy on the east side of the city. Her Soul Power is level twenty-two, and her Martial Soul is the Wind Blade Sword!"

Lin Yuan looked toward the training ground. Xiao Chenyu stood beside the girl with the high ponytail. Traces of his electrocution still marked his face, and his hair hadn't quite settled, but his arrogant expression was back.

"Is that him?" the girl asked. Her voice was quiet but cold. "The one who beat my cousin with a fishing rod?"

Lin Yuan walked over with the rod on his shoulder.

"Your cousin had level-fifteen Soul Power, and I knocked him down with one pull of my hook when I'm only level six. Do you think he's too weak, or I am?"

The girl narrowed her eyes. "You've got a sharp tongue."

"I'm just telling the truth." Lin Yuan stopped five paces from her. "What's your name?"

"Xiao Ruoxue."

"Xiao Chenyu's older cousin. Wind Blade Sword. Level twenty-two." Lin Yuan nodded. "You're a more serious opponent than the one this morning."

Xiao Ruoxue put a hand on her sword hilt. "What's your Soul Power level?"

"Six."

"And you dare talk to me like that at level six?"

Lin Yuan took the fishing rod off his shoulder and held it upright before him.

"I said something this morning. Your cousin might not have passed it on." He looked up at Xiao Ruoxue, his expression calm. "A fishhook doesn't care about Soul Power."

Xiao Ruoxue sneered. "And what do you plan to use? Can that lousy fishing rod of yours withstand one strike from my sword?"

"I'm not going to try." Lin Yuan planted the rod on the ground. "I'm not fighting today."

Xiao Chenyu jeered from behind her. "Scared?"

Lin Yuan glanced at him, then looked back at Xiao Ruoxue. "I really am not fighting today. I just finished fishing, and I'm worn out."

Xiao Ruoxue drew her sword. "Then get on the ground."

"Wait." Lin Yuan raised a hand and pointed west. "Look over there."

Xiao Ruoxue turned instinctively.

The reeds by the lake suddenly rustled.

A school of fish leaped out of the water, all jumping toward the shore.

Everyone froze.

Lin Yuan turned to Tang San. "See that?"

"What?"

"My baited spot has come alive."

Tang San: "..."

Sword in hand, Xiao Ruoxue stared openmouthed at the fish still leaping onto the shore. For a moment, she couldn't decide whether to cut someone down or pick up fish.

Lin Yuan bent to pick up a crucian carp that had landed beside his foot and tossed it into his bucket.

"The academy's back-hill lake hasn't been opened for fishing in three years. Today it has, and the fish are jumping ashore on their own." He set the bucket in front of Xiao Ruoxue. "Either you take some fish home and we call it even, or you draw your sword, I raise my rod, and you pick up fish after we fight."

Xiao Ruoxue stared at the fish thrashing in the bucket, then at Lin Yuan's unreadable face.

"You planned this?"

"Coincidence." Lin Yuan hoisted his rod onto his shoulder. "What an angler fears most is a baited spot coming alive when he has no time to haul in the catch. If you hadn't stopped me here, I'd already have cast my net."

Xiao Ruoxue was silent. Then she sheathed her sword.

"Xiao Chenyu."

"Cousin..."

"We're leaving." She turned and walked away. After a few steps, she glanced back at Lin Yuan. "Next time, I'll come again."

"You're welcome to." Lin Yuan waved. "Let me know beforehand, and I'll save a few more fish for you."

Xiao Ruoxue said nothing more. She left with Xiao Chenyu and the crowd.

Tang San walked over, looking at the fish still flopping on the ground, his expression complicated.

"How did you know the fish would jump out right then?"

"I didn't." Lin Yuan crouched and began picking them up. "But I knew that once I'd tended the baited spot properly, it was bound to come alive sooner or later."

"What about Xiao Ruoxue?"

"Her?" Lin Yuan tossed a carp into the bucket. "She's different from Xiao Chenyu."

"How?"

"Xiao Chenyu's a reckless fish. He bites the moment he sees bait." Lin Yuan looked in the direction Xiao Ruoxue had gone and waggled his brows. "She's a fish in winter. You have to wait."

Tang San crouched to help him gather the fish.

"You think she'll bite?"

"Don't know." Lin Yuan tossed the last fish into the bucket, stood, and dusted off his hands. "But every fish opens its mouth eventually. It's only a matter of time."

A system notification sounded in his mind:

[Ding! Seven-Colored Glazed Fish activated. Host reputation +50. Fish school affinity +30.]

[New quest: Catch five different rare fish species within three days. Reward: Unlock fishing rod evolution path.]

The corner of Lin Yuan's mouth lifted.

Tang San noticed. "What is it now?"

"Nothing." Lin Yuan picked up the bucket and headed toward the dining hall. "We're having extra food tonight."

"All those fish?"

"We'll raise whatever we can't eat." Lin Yuan took a few steps, then called back, "Wang Sheng!"

Wang Sheng poked his head out from a corner. "Yeah?"

"Go bring over every container in the academy that can hold water." Lin Yuan tipped his chin toward him. "Starting today, the academy officially offers a course in fish farming."

Wang Sheng stared for a long moment, then broke into a grin and ran off.

Tang San followed Lin Yuan, looking at the bucket of fish. "Lin Yuan."

"Mm?"

"What you said today, about a fishhook not caring about Soul Power."

"What about it?"

"Then what do you care about?"

Lin Yuan stopped and turned to Tang San, his expression serious.

"I care about bait."

"What bait?"

"Whatever a fish wants, I give it." Lin Yuan walked on with the rod over his shoulder. "Xiao Chenyu wanted to save face, so I gave him a hook. Xiao Ruoxue wanted a way to back down, so I gave her a bucket of fish."

"What about me?" Tang San asked. "What do you want from me?"

Lin Yuan smiled but didn't answer.

Flender's furious shout drifted from the dining hall. "Lin Yuan! Are you trying to bankrupt the academy by catching this many fish?"

Lin Yuan waggled his brows at Tang San. "See? The headmaster's worried."

"You still haven't answered me."

"Tang San." Lin Yuan patted his shoulder. "You're different from the others. They're fish. You're..."

"What am I?"

"The dragon I'm trying to catch."

With that, Lin Yuan carried the bucket into the dining hall, leaving Tang San standing in the courtyard.

Tang San looked down at his hand.

Blue Silver Grass silently emerged from his palm and swayed in the evening breeze.

He suddenly remembered Lin Yuan's words: A fishhook doesn't care about Soul Power.

"Then this dragon..." He clenched his fist, and the Blue Silver Grass withdrew into his palm. "When do you plan to reel me in?"