Little Fish

On the bank of the White Dragon River, a flat boulder made a natural fishing platform.

Liu Zhijian put no bait on the hook and simply cast his line.

All was silent, clouds casting their shadows on the cold river.

Liu Zhijian's restless heart gradually grew quiet as well.

The night was deep, and he could no longer make out the hook or the float.

Holding his fishing rod, Liu Zhijian gazed into the distance, his eyes deep and contemplative.

He had no wife or children and had traveled the country alone, fishing as he went. Had he truly never regretted it?!

In truth, he had.

On countless late nights, tossing and turning and unable to sleep, he had wavered and felt regret.

But when he woke the next day, he would forget it all and continue his journey.

The moonlight on those nights seemed no different from the moonlight now.

So much time had passed that it felt like another lifetime.

He had thought those memories had long since faded, yet now he recalled them one by one, as though they had happened yesterday, leaving him with a jumble of emotions.

In particular, whenever he remembered the disappointed, pitying look in his mother's eyes when she died, and how she had held his hand and asked, "What will you do all alone after I'm gone?" Liu Zhijian felt a pain that pierced his heart, and his eyes blurred.

He truly was an unfilial son.

Back then, he had fled his hometown, and now he had even fled Earth.

How much of what he felt now was fear, guilt, regret, or freedom had long since become tangled together like a snarl of hemp, impossible to distinguish.

He had caught no fish, but instead had fished up a host of memories.

Before he knew it, midnight had arrived.

The river lay as smooth as a mirror, and the cold moon seemed close enough to touch.

Liu Zhijian gently lifted his rod.

A fine-scaled fish the size of a fingertip hung from the hook, glowing a pale white in the moonlight.

"The first fish has to go in the keepnet."

"You've got to observe the ritual."

Liu Zhijian unhooked the little fish and tossed it into his fish basket.

He caught nothing else before dawn approached.

Liu Zhijian felt no disappointment or sadness, however. He picked up his fish basket and headed toward Wild Goose Pond Mountain, his steps surprisingly light and carefree.

He returned to the thatched cottage.

Jiang Xiaoyu was humming a tune as she braided her hair. When she saw Liu Zhijian approaching in the morning sunlight, looking bright and spirited, with no sign of fatigue from a night's fishing, her eyes lit up. She immediately plunged her head toward the fish basket. "Let me see, let me see."

Liu Zhijian was used to this routine by now. He simply held the basket carefully, so he wouldn't get the little girl's clothes dirty.

"Tch..."

Jiang Xiaoyu looked thoroughly disappointed. "You didn't catch any fish again."

"Nonsense!"

Liu Zhijian refused to admit it and insisted, "I caught one! And it was a very beautiful, very rare fish!"

Jiang Xiaoyu clung to the basket and peered inside. "There's nothing there!"

Liu Zhijian lifted it for a look. Sure enough, it was empty. Perhaps the fish had been small enough to slip through the gaps in the basket. Refusing to back down, he argued, "What do you know?! The most important thing in fishing is your state of mind!"

"Fretting over how many fish you catch is the Lower Vehicle!"

Jiang Xiaoyu made a face at him, sticking out her tongue and laughing without stop.

Liu Zhijian grew angry from embarrassment. He grabbed Jiang Xiaoyu and casually pulled apart her two crooked little braids.

The lively, mischievous little girl's hair immediately fell in a disheveled mess.

Liu Zhijian snorted, let Jiang Xiaoyu go, grabbed his fishing rod and basket, and ran.

"Wah!"

Jiang Xiaoyu had spent a great deal of effort on those braids. In her fury, she burst into tears for the first time ever, wrapped her arms around Liu Zhijian's leg, and sobbed, "You're not allowed to go! Give me back my braids!"

Hearing her cries, Elder Luo came out of the thatched cottage. He took one look and said nothing.

Liu Zhijian hadn't expected to be caught red-handed by her guardian while bullying a little girl. Mortified and ashamed, he had no choice but to put down his rod and basket and try to soothe Jiang Xiaoyu.

But Jiang Xiaoyu would have none of it and kept crying.

With no other choice, Liu Zhijian promised to make it up to her for the braids and steeled himself to tie up Jiang Xiaoyu’s loose hair.

Liu Zhijian was very good at tying hooks and untangling lines.

But this was his first time ever braiding a little girl's hair.

Liu Zhijian fumbled about and could only manage two crooked little tufts, uneven in size and asymmetrical.

Jiang Xiaoyu finally stopped crying. She felt her braids and choked out, "They're hideous!"

Even so, she didn't undo them or ask Liu Zhijian to redo them.

Having escaped a calamity, Liu Zhijian gave Elder Luo an awkward smile and hurriedly slipped away.

Jiang Xiaoyu ran about with her ugly braids, even sneaking off to play wildly at the market at the foot of the mountain all day. Elder Luo didn't catch her and bring her back until evening.

That night.

Liu Zhijian went fishing by the river as usual.

In the river breeze and moonlight, he savored the memories that came surging up.

Sometimes he caught those fine-scaled fish the size of a finger.

When the morning sun rose, Liu Zhijian would return to rest.

As usual, Jiang Xiaoyu would be at the crossroads, humming with her hair loose. When she saw Liu Zhijian, she would come over and peer into his fish basket, listen to him boast about how rare and beautiful those fine-scaled fish were, then make faces and laugh at him.

Liu Zhijian would then help tie up her hair.

Practice made perfect, after all.

In just half a month, Liu Zhijian could already make her braids look presentable.

A few times, he even tried to recall hairstyles from Earth, but unfortunately he failed, and the results were extraordinarily ugly.

Jiang Xiaoyu didn't mind. Every day, she went out to play wildly with all manner of oddly shaped braids on her head.

If he didn't think about gathering Qi, days like these didn't seem so bad.

Liu Zhijian grilled two skewers of fish and sent Jiang Xiaoyu on her way. Suddenly, he felt a little worried.

Deng Gang had been gone for a full month and still had yet to return.

Deng Gang had entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion and followed the path of body refinement, so he could gain the upper hand even against cultivators at the same realm.

Yet the disaster victims gathered at the foot of the mountain were all on edge.

There were three leaders on Wild Goose Pond Mountain.

Elder Luo cared only about his precious granddaughter, Jiang Xiaoyu.

Liu Zhijian was so absorbed in fishing that he lost all track of time.

Only Deng Gang, the chief, was deeply loyal and the pillar everyone relied on.

Just as Liu Zhijian was considering whether to go down the mountain to look for him, a commotion arose below.

Deng Gang had returned.

Liu Zhijian finally put his mind at ease.

"Brother Liu!"

Deng Gang had been away for a month. Though he looked tired upon his return, he was full of vigor. "I've decided to raise the banner and sweep through Wild Goose Pond Commandery!"

Liu Zhijian was startled at first, then slowly nodded.

In this dog-eat-dog world, a hero truly was needed to step forward and overturn heaven and earth.

Deng Gang looked sincere as he asked, "I often hear you speak of grand strategies for governing a country and its people, Brother Liu, and I've learned a great deal from you. Would you be willing to help me?!"

Liu Zhijian felt a little awkward.

He had barely read any books himself, so how could he know anything about governing a country?!

He had merely recounted the deeds of revolutionary martyrs. He hadn't expected them to shake Deng Gang, a native of the cultivation world, so profoundly.

As for joining Deng Gang...

Liu Zhijian was in a difficult position.

There were five commanderies in all under Supreme Mystery Mountain.

Rejuvenation Commandery, where Rejuvenation Valley was located, had already been taken by the Azure Cloud Sect.

Deng Gang hated Supreme Mystery Mountain bitterly.

If Liu Zhijian joined his rebellion, he would be digging at the foundations of his own sect.

If they lost Wild Goose Pond Commandery too, his master would probably come down the mountain to kill her treacherous disciple.

Liu Zhijian sighed and politely declined. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Brother Deng."

"I still need to gather Qi and cultivate. I'm afraid I can't divide my attention, so I won't get involved."

Deng Gang seemed about to say something, but in the end he held his tongue. He nodded and said, "Don't worry, Brother Liu. Once I've taken Wild Goose Pond Commandery, my next step will be to sweep through the Huang Kingdom and attack the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect!"

"When the time comes, you won't lack the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi you need to enter the Dao!"

"Huh?!"

Liu Zhijian really was getting a headache.