27 The Deep Pool

After trudging through darkness for most of the day, Little Hong's stomach let out a loud, gurgling protest as they stumbled upon a pool teeming with fish. He immediately began shouting, "Fish! Fire! Food! Let's eat!" like a man who had been stranded for weeks without a meal.

The fish they'd caught earlier had been set free by Sora, who declared she didn't want to carry "heavy, smelly fish" all the way through the cave. Instead, her herb basket was stocked with dried meat, and she calmly began preparing to boil water for soup.

The cave wasn't entirely oppressive, though—every so often, shafts of sunlight streamed through natural skylights, illuminating the darkness and casting shadows of dangling vines. Taking advantage of the light, Mo Wen crouched by the stream, busy weaving fishing line from vine bark. Little Hong, meanwhile, enthusiastically crafted fishhooks from thorny vines, his hands flying as if he were preparing to catch a sea monster. With his bait of choice—some meager river snails—he squatted at the edge of the pool, staring intently at the water.

"Oh, these fish are done for!" Little Hong muttered confidently, eyeing the white fish gliding leisurely below. "They won't even know what hit them."

Reality, as usual, wasn't so kind.

"Look! Look! It's biting!" Little Hong suddenly yelled, yanking his line with all his might. A ripple spread across the water, and for a brief, glorious moment, a tiny white fish wiggled in the air—before slipping free and plopping back into the pool.

Little Hong froze, blinking at the empty air where his fish had been, then turned to Mo Wen with an exaggerated grin plastered across his face. "Ha! Jealous, aren't you? That was just a warm-up!" Without waiting for a response, he cast his line back into the water with renewed enthusiasm.

Mo Wen glanced over his shoulder, shook his head, and chuckled. "Don't get cocky. These fish are smarter than you think. You might want to ask 'them' for fishing lessons."

"Smarter? Smarter than me?" Little Hong huffed indignantly. "We'll see who's smarter!"

As if on cue, the fish seemed to conspire against him. After several more attempts, none of them even glanced at his bait. Frustrated, Little Hong began mumbling curses under his breath. Finally, he turned and snapped at Mo Wen, "Hey! Maybe it's because you're too close to me! Go over there—way over there!"

Mo Wen raised an eyebrow but obliged, strolling to a quieter part of the stream. As he left, he muttered loud enough for Little Hong to hear, "Yeah, because clearly, *I'm* the problem."

"Darn right!" Little Hong grumbled, glaring at his line. "I'll show you! These fish are practically begging to be caught!"

At that moment, a faint ripple appeared in the depths of the pool. The small fish darted away as if fleeing from an unseen predator. But Little Hong, too focused on his line, didn't notice. He mumbled to himself, "If the small ones don't want it, I'll just go deeper. There's bound to be a big, dumb one down there."

Suddenly, the line in his hand went taut, yanking his arm downward. "It's biting! It's biting!" he yelled, his voice ringing through the cave. He braced himself and pulled hard, only to find that the weight on the other end was unlike anything he'd felt before.

The force dragged his entire arm into the water, his shoulder nearly following suit. Little Hong's grin widened in triumph. "Ha! This is it! A monster fish! Get ready to be amazed!"

Mo Wen jogged over, already suspicious. "What's going on?" he asked, grabbing Little Hong's waist to keep him from falling into the pool.

Little Hong gritted his teeth, his face red from exertion. "This one's HUGE! It's probably big enough to feed us for a week!"

Mo Wen leaned over to get a closer look at the water. His expression shifted as his eyes locked onto something below. His voice dropped, now more serious. "Little Hong, let go. Now."

"What? Why?" Little Hong shot him a confused look. "I've almost got it! Just wait till you see—"

"Let go!" Mo Wen barked, his tone sharp. "I think the fish is catching you!"

"What do you mean?" Little Hong demanded, but his bravado faltered as the line pulled even harder, dragging him another inch toward the water. He let out a nervous laugh. "Okay, maybe it's really big, but I can—"

"LET GO!" Mo Wen shouted, this time with enough force to make Little Hong's hand twitch open. The line slipped free, and Little Hong stumbled back, clutching his wrist, which now bore a bloody groove where the vine had cut into his skin.

A few drops of blood hit the water, blooming like small red flowers. Then, under the faint glow of the pool, something massive began to surface.

At first, Little Hong thought it was a rock, but as it rose higher, his face turned pale. The enormous creature had scales the color of gray stone and a mouth lined with jagged teeth. Two glowing, unblinking eyes stared up at them, like twin ghostly lanterns in the depths.

"Uh… Mo Wen?" Little Hong's voice wavered as he stumbled backward, his legs giving out beneath him. "What… what is THAT?"

Mo Wen, for once, was speechless.

The creature regarded them for a long moment before snapping its jaws shut, severing the vine line with a decisive *crunch*. Then, as slowly as it had risen, it sank back into the darkness, leaving only ripples and an eerie silence behind.

Back at the campfire, Sora was calmly stirring her soup when the two men returned, both empty-handed and looking like they'd seen a ghost. She glanced up at them, her expression amused. "I thought you were going to show me some *big fish*?"

Little Hong immediately launched into a dramatic retelling, complete with wild hand gestures. "It was HUGE! Like this—no, like *this*! I've never seen anything like it!"

Sora listened patiently, nodding in all the right places, while Little Hong's voice grew louder and more exaggerated. Mo Wen, on the other hand, silently sat down by the stream, resuming his task of crafting fishing gear.

This time, he used flexible vine branches to make a better hook, baiting it with thin slices of vine cut to resemble small fish. With careful, deliberate motions, he cast the line into the stream and began lure fishing.

Little Hong, unwilling to be outdone, plopped down nearby with his last river snails. "You'd better not lose that one, Mo Wen!" he called, still jittery.

Mo Wen flicked his wrist lightly, making the lure dance in the water. He smirked. "Don't worry. Unlike some people, I'm smarter than the fish."

"Hey!" Little Hong protested, but before he could say more, Mo Wen hooked a large fish with ease, hauling it up triumphantly.

Instead of taking it straight to the fire, Mo Wen deliberately strolled past Little Hong, letting the fish flop heavily on the ground. "Oops. Too heavy to hold," he said with mock helplessness.

Little Hong glared at him, his jaw tightening. "You—!"

"Better luck next time," Mo Wen added, casually walking away.

Watching the two bicker, Sora shook her head, her lips curling into a small smile. With these two around, it's never boring.*