Book 11: Chapter 39: Grilled Fish

“Oh, what is that guy doing?” Mastashia’s gaze suddenly sharpened, looking towards another raft behind them.

There were two rafts, splitting the group. Qin Lun, Rand, Mastashia, Iristin, and Idria were on one. Hill and the others were on the second.

Following the Highland Elf’s line of sight, Qin Lun looked up. On the other raft, Lago was fishing, using a shimmering thin wire exactly like the kind he’d used against the Ghostface Squid. Rogues always carried various small tools, and Lago was no different. That wire had many uses; attaching a tiny fishhook made it perfect for angling.

“Probably just hungry. Fishing’s a fine idea!” Qin Lun rubbed his chin, thoughtful.

The dry rations they’d carried were lost to the water during the Ghostface Squid attack. Even before that, supplies had been nearly exhausted. They’d been relying on just a few recovery items drawn from the Apostles’ Storage Spaces for the past few days.

The mountain stream here was two or three meters deep, yet incredibly clear, the bottom seemingly within reach. Large fish were absent, but plenty of silvery-scaled minnows, about four inches long, flickered through the currents. Perhaps unused to disturbance, the shimmering fish displayed no fear of the drifting rafts, darting boldly around them.

“Those silverfish don’t seem dangerous, right?” Qin Lun turned and asked, “No piranhas here, surely?”

He wasn’t just guessing. Earlier, when Iristin and Idria washed their wounds in the river, blood had surely mixed with the water. The silverfish hadn’t swarmed them then. Piranhas would never react that calmly to the scent of blood.

“I don’t know, but look!” Mastashia pointed towards the water, frowning. “Don’t they look strange? Big heads, short bodies, the head almost half the fish. That’s classic for a predator.” Qin Lun focused. Indeed, the fish matched her description perfectly. Under his Staring Aura, he also noticed their mouths were full of sharp, tiny teeth. Why they hadn’t attacked Iristin and Idria remained a mystery, but those teeth weren’t for munching plants.

In truth, neither realized the reason the predatory silverfish ignored the women washing their wounds was simple: they sensed residual Troll essence mixed with the blood. All creatures have survival instincts. Despite their odd looks, the Trolls considered these silverfish tasty prey. Trolls, powerful but clumsy, lacked the skill to weave nets or catch many fish.

They devised a crude solution—carving large stone basins, standing wounded in the streams, luring the fish with their blood. The fish swarmed, excited by blood, yet found Troll hide too tough. The Trolls scooped them up easily with their stone basins. Over time, the fish learned to associate Troll scent with danger. When a stream was fished out, the Trolls moved to a new location.

The stretch where Iristin and Idria bathed had recently been “harvested” by Trolls, so the fish ignored them. Qin Lun and Mastashia, unaware of this, still urgently stopped Lago’s reckless fishing. The Rogue’s hook would inevitably wound a fish. Blood, even from one of their own, could drive the school into a frenzy. If they attacked the raft itself, causing it to break apart, it wouldn’t be worth the risk.

Seeing Lago’s sulking expression on the opposite raft, Qin Lun’s eyes lit up with an idea. “I think I know how to catch them without hurting them,” he said with a smile. He pulled a seed from his Storage Space and held it tight. Magic pulsed as green energy bloomed. The seed sprouted, rapidly growing into a dark vine. This was a minor application of Tree World Descent. Though his raw spirit stat was still below 100, practicing the skill had improved his control significantly. Now was a perfect chance to test it.

He stripped the vine’s bark, making a long green whip. With a flick, he sent it slicing underwater towards a cluster of fish. Unfortunately, the whip felt far too light and awkward compared to his usual Claw Chain. The attempt missed completely, not even startling the fish.

“Let me!” Idria, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

“Alright!” Qin Lun hesitated only a moment before tossing her the vine.

“Watch.” Idria gave him a cool look. With a single deft snap of her wrist, the vine slid silently into the water, an extension of her arm. The tip coiled deftly around a bewildered silverfish. Before it could struggle, she hauled it out of the stream.

“Take it!” Idria flicked the vine. The silverfish arced towards Qin Lun, forcing him into some awkward juggling to catch it.

“Did I offend her somehow?” Qin Lun chuckled ruefully, turning to Iristin beside him.

“Hah! Who says you didn’t?” Iristin pinched Qin Lun sharply. “Months ago, you vanished without a word. It affected more than just me! Milleras needed to leave, but Idria got stuck comforting me. Of course she’s irritated seeing you now!” So that was it! Qin Lun could only sigh inwardly. He sure knew how to bring trouble on himself.

“Well, no wonder! Perfect handling of a whip befits a follower of Lady Loviatar!” Mastashia snickered beside them. Loviatar was the Goddess of Pain. Her faithful often practiced self-flagellation, and the whip was a common tool for that.

“Make me a whip like that!” The Rogue on the other raft called out eagerly. Besides daggers, he was quite skilled with fine lines and cords.

“Hand me the fish!” Rand took the wriggling silverfish from Qin Lun. A small, orange-yellow flame sparked on his fingertip, and he began deftly grilling the fish.

Before long, the palm-sized fish turned golden brown. A rich, mouth-watering aroma spread across the rafts, making many stomachs grumble after days of hunger.

“Let me taste it first!” Mastashia snatched the grilled fish from Rand with a grin, unable to wait. “Mmm, good job! No fishy taste at all. Just a little bland though… Hold on… Ah!” She rummaged inside her clothes and pulled out a small oil paper packet. Inside was some brownish powder. She dipped a finger and sprinkled some on the fish before taking another happy bite.

“What is that?” Qin Lun asked curiously.

“My own mix, made from banana root and tuber stems. You serious adventures don’t pack your own seasonings?” Mastashia scolded the white-haired elf like he was foolish. “Right, right…” Qin Lun inwardly sighed, unsure how many times he’d wryly smiled today. Why would an Apostle carry stuff like that? But he couldn’t explain, so he just nodded vaguely.

“Oh no, burnt again!” Winnie threw a charcoal-blackened silverfish back into the water, discouraged. Though skilled in fire magic, her control over delicate flames felt worlds apart from using fireworks like ‘Firecracker’. The magician’s eyes darted shrewdly. She cast a quick gliding spell on herself and floated onto Qin Lun and Rand’s raft to ask Rand for tips on flame control.

As everyone relaxed, Rand and Qin Lun suddenly frowned. Tingling awareness shot through them as their twin consciousnesses linked – their Gargoyles had spotted something! Almost simultaneously, they looked up. There were now three figures against the sky against the two Gargoyles. Fearing Crested Eagles from the cliffs, the Gargoyles flew low. The figure now sharing their height clearly resembled a human woman.

“What is that?” The others grew tense as they followed Qin Lun’s alert gaze upwards.

The figure above seemed to realize she was spotted. She ceased concealing her approach and flew directly towards the rafts.

“Miss Linda?” The Thornblood Mercenaries were the first to recognize her. Qin Lun saw clearly earlier but felt only familiarity, failing to place the Mercenary Guild receptionist. His mind then had been focused on scanning for Umberlee’s Church spies, not observing Linda.

“Hi, everyone! Fancy meeting you here!” Linda acknowledged Rick and his companions with a nod before surveying the others.

“Miss Linda… were you trailing us this whole time?” Rick’s expression darkened. Although the Thornblood Trio had considered Linda a friend, it now seemed the Mercenary Guild receptionist had kept major secrets. “I did recommend this mission to you,” Linda sighed, putting on an air of world-weariness, though it quickly cracked. She licked her lips hungrily. “I’ve had to watch over you folks for days… barely eaten… uh… got any more fish?”

“Hmm.” Rand studied her intently for a second, then tossed over the freshly grilled fish he held.

“Miss Linda, you owe us an explanation!” Rick and Lago exchanged a look, their faces grim. Friendship or not, the Thornblood Mercenaries couldn’t let her avoid this now. Even if the trio trusted her good intentions, Qin Lun’s group needed answers.

“Relax, relax! Guess good deeds really do go unpunished!” Linda muttered under her breath, carefully blowing on the hot fish. She waved a dismissive hand. “Let me fix my starving stomach first, then I’ll explain. Deal?”