Chapter 193: How Could Fish Swim in a Mirage?

When Chen Changsheng woke again, it was already dark. He lay on a bamboo bed, with candlelight flickering at its head and silence filling the room.

He shook his head dizzily and got up to walk out of the bamboo hut.

Su Junhan sat by the lake now, holding a long fishing rod, waiting for a fish to bite.

Hearing movement behind him, Su Junhan turned to look.

“Mr. Chen is awake?” Su Junhan asked.

Chen Changsheng walked forward and sat down beside him. He lifted his gaze to the withered ancient tree standing within the lake.

“Is she gone?” Chen Changsheng asked.

“Yes.”

Su Junhan nodded. “Elder Sister no longer wished to wait.”

He pulled up the fishing rod, glanced at the bare hook, re-baited it, and cast it back into the lake.

Su Junhan gazed toward the lake’s center. “That tree… Mr. Chen was the one who planted it years ago.”

Chen Changsheng let out a sigh. “Had I come to Yuan Mountain before?”

“That name didn’t even exist back then.”

Su Junhan smiled. “After Elder Sister arrived here, she established it as her grotto-abode. She took in many young fox demons—I was one among them.”

“But the Fox Clan remained weak. She alone couldn’t shield the whole clan. That year’s catastrophe nearly destroyed her.”

Su Junhan chuckled softly. “In the end, it was Mr. Chen himself who came. You prevented that calamity… and planted that tree during that time.”

Chen Changsheng lifted his eyes to meet Su Junhan’s. “I… I’ve forgotten.”

“Forgetting is better.”

Su Junhan said softly, “To remember would only bring pain.”

Chen Changsheng turned his gaze toward the moon’s reflection upon the water. “Elder Sister must have left words unspoken.”

Su Junhan nodded. “Please don’t ask, Mr. Chen. Knowing won’t bring you peace.”

“Very well.”

Chen Changsheng agreed quietly and let the matter rest.

He gestured toward the fishing rod in Su Junhan’s hands. “Are the fish here easy to catch?”

Su Junhan shook his head. “Hardly. The abundant Spiritual Energy makes them clever. Early on, I might snag a foolish one or two. But now it’s grown truly difficult.”

“Fish will bite sooner or later,” Chen Changsheng stated.

Su Junhan disagreed. “My view differs from yours, Mr. Chen.”

“If I fail to catch one today, I’ll wait another day. Should three days pass and no fish rise…”

He looked squarely at Chen Changsheng. “I will drain this lake dry. Then I’ll simply gather them, no need to fish ever again.”

Chen Changsheng glanced back at him and shook his head. “With the lake dried, fish beneath die too. And fishing again elsewhere… that would be the only choice left.”

Su Junhan smiled, gentle yet sharp. “Rules have always resided within you, Mr. Chen. That’s why you remain only ‘Mr. Chen.’ As for me—why am I called the Fox Sovereign? Because I often dare defy rules.”

Chen Changsheng didn’t argue. He merely nodded. “A sound point.”

Su Junhan tilted his head. “And what’s your view?”

Chen Changsheng shook his head again. “If it were me, a fish would surely bite within three days. Draining the lake need not be done.”

Su Junhan said, “Mishaps happen.”

“Perhaps not,” countered Chen Changsheng. “Would you permit me to try?”

Su Junhan paused thoughtfully, then handed him the fishing rod.

Chen Changsheng took it, retrieved the fishing line, re-baited the hook, and quietly breathed out. Then he closed his eyes.

He sat like this for over two hours.

Su Junhan watched the still lake surface, doubting Chen Changsheng would ever catch a thing.

For it was fundamentally impossible.

Forest insects chirped softly. Lake water mirrored the stars. The moon sank, silver upon its depths. Night breezes brushed Chen Changsheng’s face.

He held the rod, motionless as dead wood by the shore, not so much as a flutter disturbing him.

Then—

Without warning, the line stirred, casting ripples upon the water.

Splash!

Chen Changsheng lifted the rod sharply. There, hooked and writhing in air, hung a shimmering Green Fish.

Thump.

The fish landed on shore, thrashing upon the ground.

It trembled, trying to wrench free of the cruel hook.

Su Junhan looked sideways. Frowned.

This should not be…

Chen Changsheng plucked the Green Fish up, removed the hook, and set it back into the water.

Plop.

With a flick of its tail, the fish vanished into deep water.

Turning toward Su Junhan, Chen Changsheng said quietly, “But if Fox Sovereign still doubts me, this Chen… this one could try again.”

Su Junhan looked at him differently now.

He shook his head. “No need.”

“I’m convinced.”

Su Junhan took back the fishing rod, a deep crease forming on his brow. “…but I have another question.”

Chen Changsheng replied, “Ask freely.”

Su Junhan stared hard at him. “And what if… there were truly no fish within this lake?”

Chen Changsheng pondered this. “In that case, Fox Sovereign… perhaps should ask himself: Do you cast the fishing rod just to catch fish?”

Ha… Hahahaha—

Sudden laughter burst from Su Junhan.

Chen Changsheng watched him, momentarily puzzled by this merriment.

Su Junhan just shook his head and offered no explanation.

He’d always fished here… sometimes caught a few… Today it was merely habit, pastime.

But…

This lake never formed naturally!

Back then, Mr. Chen hadn’t merely planted the ancient tree—he forged it all with Daoist Arts: Mirage of Flowers in the Mirror.

So when that ancient tree withered, all swimming life within this lake… dissolved away with it.

Thus from the start—this lake held no fish.

Every moment just now Su Junhan witnessed plainly.

Mr. Chen summoned no Divine Ability… stirred no mystic Arts… Yet still he drew a Green Fish onto the hook.

But from where?

Su Junhan sighed at last. “You speak of rules, Mr. Chen… But truly you are the one least bound by any.”

Chen Changsheng looked perplexed. “How so?”

Su Junhan said, “Whether I catch a fish… depends upon the fish within the lake. But whether you, Mr. Chen, catch a fish… merely depends on whether you choose to cast your line.”

Chen Changsheng replied, “Surely it isn’t absolute…”

“But it is.” Su Junhan cut in firmly. “Absolute.”

“The space between you and me lies here: Rod and bait same… a fish will surely bite your hook. But swap me in? Drain this entire lake? I might see no trace of a living fish.”

Chen Changsheng now frowned deeply. Suddenly the meaning eluded him. Just like that… Su Junhan felt countless knots unravel.

So—

This was why back then, Mr. Chen accepted neither Elder Sister… nor Yu Xuan.

Perhaps… “Heart like Stone”… was never the cause at all…

Su Junhan sighed heavily within himself.

Ah…

It’s helplessness after all…