Searching for Frogs in the Misty Swamp

On the morning of their departure, Long Tian was slightly surprised when he saw who would be traveling with him outside the courtyard gate.

Chen Hao stood beside the carriage with a gray leather pack on his back and a short staff wrapped in iron wire at his feet. He merely nodded when Long Tian came out. Beside him stood a small, thin old man bundled in thick hemp clothing, his skin tanned dark and a ring of bottles and jars hanging from his waist. It was Uncle Xu, the guide with the missing front tooth from their last trip to Shadow Valley.

Uncle Xu grinned. "Young Mr. Wang wasn't comfortable with you going to the Cloud-Hidden Swamp alone, so he asked me to make another trip. There are more people this time, so the pay's doubled. Heh heh."

Chen Hao added, "I told Mr. Wang I was coming too. I've reached the Third Ring. I can at least block a few things for you."

Long Tian looked at Chen Hao, then at Uncle Xu, and most of the nervousness he felt about the journey melted away. He shouldered his bundle and hopped into the carriage. Chen Hao climbed in after him and sat on the other side. Uncle Xu flicked the whip, and the wheels creaked over the morning frost as they headed north.

The Cloud-Hidden Swamp lay three days' travel north of Bluestone Town, much farther away than Shadow Valley. The farther north they went, the cooler the weather grew. The broadleaf woods lining the road gradually gave way to conifers, and the air began to carry the damp scent of moss. Early on the third morning, the carriage stopped before a vast gray wall of fog. Uncle Xu jumped down and pointed ahead. "We're here."

Long Tian stepped out and looked around. A gray-green swamp stretched as far as he could see. Mist filled the air, pressing down on the water like a thick layer of cotton, with only scattered clumps of dead trees and moss-covered mounds poking through. Most of the ground was soft, rotten mud, covered by a layer of vivid green algae that made it look like grass, though anyone who stepped on it would sink. Now and then, bubbles rose from the mud and popped, releasing a faint smell of sulfur.

Uncle Xu took several small porcelain bottles from the assortment at his waist and gave one each to Long Tian and Chen Hao. "Hold it in your mouth, don't swallow it. It'll counter the miasma. The fog in the swamp is poisonous, and breathing it too long will make you dizzy. Also, remember to test the mud with a stick before you step. Stay away from any spots that are glossy black. That's deep bog, and if you sink in, you won't be able to pull yourself out."

Chen Hao put the medicine bottle in his mouth, picked up his iron-wire-wrapped staff, and led the way. Long Tian followed him, with Uncle Xu bringing up the rear, and the three slowly ventured deeper into the swamp in single file. They placed every step carefully. The staff made muffled plops as it probed the mud, occasionally startling clusters of black water insects that scattered in every direction.

The fog grew thicker and thicker until they could no longer make out a person ten paces away. Long Tian channeled Shadow Dragon Power into his eyes, and a dim light flickered deep in his pupils. Only then did the shapes in the fog gradually become clear: dead trees, mounds, clumps of reeds half submerged in water, and the dark patches of deep bog hidden beneath the algae. He lowered his voice and asked Uncle Xu, "What do Yin-Yang Swamp Frogs look like?"

Uncle Xu answered in a hushed voice, "About the size of your palm, with black-and-white rings on their backs, a bit like the markings on a Yin-Yang Twin-Pupil Python. They sleep in mud holes during the day and come out to hunt water insects in the evening. That's when they're easiest to find. Let's find a higher mound in the fog and crouch there to wait. Don't disturb them."

The three felt their way to an earthen slope rising above the water. A clump of low shrubs grew on it, their branches and leaves withered and yellow, but their roots firmly anchored. Long Tian and Chen Hao crouched behind the shrubs. Uncle Xu huddled farther back, took out some dry rations, and bit into them. "Wait," he said indistinctly. "They'll come out when the sun goes down and the fog clears a bit."

The wait was long and quiet. Time inside the wall of fog seemed to have swollen from soaking, every minute and second flowing past like something thick and sticky. Long Tian's legs went numb from crouching, but he didn't dare move about, only occasionally turning to glance at Chen Hao. Chen Hao never once loosened his grip on the short staff, and his gaze swept through the fog without pause. That focus gave Long Tian a new appreciation of his old rival.

The sky gradually darkened, and sure enough, the fog thinned a little. Scattered signs of movement began to appear over the water and mud: slender water snakes swam past, several drab gray waterbirds skimmed low overhead, and rustling came from the reeds now and then. Long Tian's shadow vision caught sight of a few little creatures emerging from mud holes beside a muddy pool in the distance and lying motionless at the water's edge.

He narrowed his eyes for a closer look. Their backs bore neat, alternating black-and-white rings, and they were about the size of a palm. They were Yin-Yang Swamp Frogs.

"I see them," Long Tian said quietly. "Northeast, about twenty zhang away. At least three."

Chen Hao followed his gaze and could vaguely make out several little black-and-white spots lying close to the mud in the darkness. He tightened his grip on the staff. "How do we fight them? What are their habits?"

Long Tian thought for a moment. "Swamp Frogs are probably the opposite of Twin-Pupil Pythons. Their light and dark attributes might be hidden in the water. I can't tell whether the side above the water is light or dark. To be safe, I'll use Shadow Stealth to sneak over and scout first. Watch for the right moment to flank them. Uncle Xu can back us up from a distance."

Chen Hao nodded.

Long Tian took a deep breath. Shadow Dragon Power covered his body, and he melded into the mist, silently sliding down the slope and approaching the muddy pool along the edge of the reeds. The mud underfoot was soft and slippery, but every step he took was light and steady. Shadow spread around him in a thin black curtain, concealing his figure. When he was about ten paces away, he stopped and lay down at the roots of the reeds, peering out.

Three Swamp Frogs lay side by side at the edge of the pool, varying in size, the black-and-white rings on their backs reflected in the rippling water. The largest was about a foot wide, with especially distinct rings and a faint, dim glow flowing through its markings. Its cultivation was probably between five hundred and six hundred years. The two beside it were smaller, around three to four hundred years old, and rounder in shape.

The largest one was Long Tian's target. He slowly raised his right palm, Soul Power gathering soundlessly in its center. Just as he was poised to strike, the largest Swamp Frog suddenly puffed up its belly, and the black-and-white rings on its back flashed!

This is bad! It had sensed something.

The Swamp Frog abruptly opened its mouth and spat a jet of black-and-white water straight at the reeds where Long Tian was hiding! Every reed in its path snapped cleanly, their severed ends marked by alternating patches of char and frost. Long Tian rolled aside, blasting a Light Bullet from his right palm! The bullet skimmed over the ground and exploded in the mud beside the frog, splattering mud over half the rings on its back. The big Swamp Frog leaped in alarm and plunged into the pool with a great splash, vanishing beneath the murky water in the blink of an eye.

"It's in the water!" Long Tian called in a low voice.

Chen Hao rushed out from the side, Ironback Wolf Soul Power coiling around his staff. He smashed it down on the water at the pool's edge, and the earth-yellow Soul Power sent waves surging in every direction. The impact jolted the Swamp Frog out of the water and into the air, where it somersaulted belly-up. Long Tian seized the moment and snapped open his wings. His gold and black wings spread at once, clearing the surrounding fog for an instant. He shot forward like an arrow, golden light gathering on his right wing into a sharp blade that slashed straight down!

The instant the wing blade struck the Swamp Frog's belly, black and white light exploded together! Long Tian followed up with a Light Bullet from his right palm, blasting it into the ruptured cracks at close range, while shadow followed from his left palm to seal off the last path for his opponent's struggle. Under the double bombardment, the big Swamp Frog collapsed. Its black-and-white rings dimmed, and the glow on its back went out.

A black-and-white Soul Ring rose from its remains, turning faintly in the night mist.

Chen Hao lowered his staff and caught his breath, wiping the muddy water from his face. "Absorb it, quick. I'll stand guard."

Long Tian sat cross-legged, reached out to place a hand on the Soul Ring, and closed his eyes to draw it in. When the third force surged into his dantian, his first and second Soul Rings lit up at the same time. The markings on the inner edges of both rings bloomed with chaotic light. The three forces met in his dantian, merged, and settled into their respective places, far more smoothly than Long Tian had expected. The new Soul Ring slowly took shape beneath the other two, its black and white clearly defined. The halo around its edge was slightly thinner than those of the first two rings, but markings had already begun to grow along its inner wall, fine as the first shoots of spring grass.

The whole process took about half an hour. When Long Tian opened his eyes, the sky was completely dark and the fog had thickened again. He glanced down. All three Soul Rings rose together, their black and white shining against each other, their flowing light joining into one, like a miniature galaxy circling his ankles.

Chen Hao stood some distance away, keeping watch with his back to Long Tian. Hearing the movement, he glanced back. His gaze lingered on the three Soul Rings for a moment before he said, "The Third Ring."

"Mm." Long Tian stood and stretched his limbs. His shoulders and knees were a little stiff, but his Soul Power was abundant, and he felt full of vigor. He looked at the muddy pool below him. The Swamp Frog's remains had sunk out of sight. He pressed his palms together toward the water.

Uncle Xu felt his way over from a distance, carrying a small oil lamp with a dim yellow flame. He swung it around, illuminating the three Soul Rings at Long Tian's feet, and his mouth, missing its front tooth, stretched into a broad grin. "Good lad, you've got three rings. You're only a little over eight, aren't you? When I was eight, I was still catching loaches in the fields."

The three retraced their path in the dark, the little oil lamp bobbing through the fog to guide them, like a floating firefly in the vast swamp at night. Long Tian walked in the middle. He had withdrawn all three Soul Rings, but that solid, abundant feeling still flowed through his dantian. He glanced down at his right hand. Golden scales flickered in and out of sight, far more substantial than they had been a year ago.

He had already gotten a vague sense of the form of his Third Soul Skill while absorbing the ring. It was a form of protection: a thin film of chaotic light drawn from the Soul Ring to cover the surface of his body, capable of offsetting the impact of incoming attacks. He had yet to fully figure out exactly how to use it, but its general outline was already etched in his mind.

The road back was long, and he had plenty of time to work it out.

The wall of fog receded farther and farther behind them, and the carriage was still waiting at the edge of the swamp. Long Tian climbed aboard and sat leaning against the side. Chen Hao sat opposite him with his eyes closed, pretending to sleep. On the carriage shafts, Uncle Xu lit a pipe of dry tobacco and puffed away, its ember flickering like a bean in the night wind. The carriage swayed onto the main road, turning back the way they had come north.

Leaning against the jolting side of the carriage, Long Tian looked up at the night sky. The fog had cleared, revealing a broad expanse of bright stars overhead. He remembered that when he had first set out on this road, he had been a child fresh from home, thinking only, Don't let Mother and Father down. Now three years had passed. He had three Soul Rings, two Soul Skills, and a bellyful of unsolved mysteries. The road kept unfolding ahead of him, and he was simply walking along it, one step at a time.

The stars turned silently overhead, and the wheels creaked as they rolled over the earth on the autumn night.