The boy and the girl followed behind the Fishing Elder, while the two red fish chattered away with them. Quinn quickly found out that these two fish weren’t caught by the elder—they’d been raised since childhood.
These two fish are already gods, but they’re too lazy to take human form most days, preferring to lounge in the basket and let their master carry them around.
“He’s never caught a single fish!”
The two red fish puffed up with pride. One said, “Whenever he goes fishing, all the other fish run away from us. Yet he still brags that he’s a hundred-percent fishing master, never misses a hook!”
The two red fish burst into a chorus of ‘keh keh keh’ laughter, thoroughly pleased with themselves.
Crystal Blaze laughed brightly; she’d never experienced anything this amusing.
Quinn grinned, "Crystal, little sister, you should laugh more often. You look beautiful when you smile."
Crystal Blaze shook her head. “The Sunwell clan folks don’t smile much. They’re so serious—there’s hardly anything or anyone worth laughing about. Last time I snuck off with you to Everpeace, that was the happiest I’ve ever been.”
She was talking about something that happened more than four years ago. Back then, Quinn came to fulfill a wish and brought Lina the Spirit Fox and Lynn Ling along to the Sunwell. He fished out an artificial sun from the well, rescued Crystal Blaze, and then spirited her away to meet Granny Sue at Heavenly Saint Academy.
But soon after, the invasion of the gods from Above happened; there was a bloody battle at the Godsever Mountains. Crystal Blaze fought, then returned to the Sunwell. For the next four years, she’s probably been stuck in her post as Sun Warden, rarely able to leave.
Quinn was always busy and rarely visited the Sunwell. Only Ariel Skyfeather, Lynn Ling, Lina the Spirit Fox, and a few others would drop by now and then.
“Still haven’t found another Pure Yang Spirit Body to replace you?”
Quinn asked, “A Pure Yang Spirit Body can drive the Solar Ark without having its blood and lifespan drained by the ship. There should be other Pure Yangs among the Sun-Herders, right?”
Crystal Blaze shook her head. "No. Grandpa, the Sun-Herder Chief, says my bloodline is the highest, so maybe I’ll give birth to a Pure Yang one day. But there’s no suitable partner—I can’t do that alone."
The two red fish, who’d been chattering nonstop, suddenly went quiet. Their eyes glinted as they stared at the pair, mouths open, even their gills moving in total silence.
The fish were so excited they nervously twined their fins together.
Quinn thought for a moment, then laughed. "Who says you can just decide to give birth to a Pure Yang? The chief’s probably teasing you." He added, "The Everpeace emperor has already ordered a population census in High-Emperor Heaven—maybe they’ll find some Pure Yangs and Pure Yins out there."
“Hopeless.”
The two fish let go of their fins, flopped from the edge of the basket into the bottom, lying stiff as boards. The female fish whispered, “He’s going to be single forever, isn’t he?”
Seeing the girl a bit downcast, Quinn suddenly tickled her under the arms and laughed, “Cheer up! I’ll definitely help you find a Pure Yang Spirit Body!”
Crystal Blaze was ticklish and burst out laughing, scrambling away. Quinn chased after her, fingers flying. Crystal laughed until tears streamed down her face and finally fought back, tickling him in return. The boy and girl ran wild around the Fishing Elder, their laughter echoing nonstop.
Crystal laughed herself weak, collapsing into the lush grass, flailing her arms and legs like a kitten scared of being tickled. Quinn couldn’t bring himself to keep going and flopped down beside her.
They lay side by side in the grass. Quinn propped his chin on his hand, gazing at the girl next to him. Crystal Blaze blushed under his gaze, her heart pounding. She tucked her hands and feet in, afraid to move a muscle.
“Things are getting a bit... romantic...” whispered the two fish, poking their heads from the basket to peek at the grass.
Crystal grew more and more nervous, her voice barely a whisper: “We’re almost at the Sunwell…”
“Yeah!”
Quinn scrambled up, pulled the girl to her feet, and hurried after the Fishing Elder.
The two fish flopped to the bottom of the basket again. The male fish sighed, “He’ll be single forever. No hope.”
When they reached the Sunwell, the Sun-Herder chief rushed out to greet them. The Fishing Elder didn’t recognize him, nor did the chief recognize the elder, so Quinn and Crystal quickly made introductions.
The Sun-Herder chief was startled to learn this was another Celestial Teacher. He wondered, “The Pioneer Era’s Celestial Teachers—one chopped wood, one fished. Why are they all so… ordinary? Not lofty at all.”
The Fishing Elder reached the edge of the well, set down his little folding stool, and smoothed out his fishing line. “How many suns do you need?” he asked.
The Sun-Herder chief quickly replied, “We still don’t know how many Solar Arks Everpeace can build. And even with the arks, without Sun Wardens, I’m afraid no one can actually pilot these treasures.”
The Fishing Elder thought for a moment. “I’ll fish up a few suns and tie them here for you. Whenever you need one, just come and get it.”
The Sun-Herder chief was dumbfounded. “Tie up the suns…?” he stammered.
The Fishing Elder ignored him, dropped his hook and line into the Sunwell. The two little red fish leapt from his basket—one grabbed the hook in its mouth and dove deep into the Sunwell, towing the line behind it. The other swam back and forth in the blazing well, apparently unfazed by the heat.
Quinn was already numb to it—two talking red fish that could hop around out of water were wild enough, but one biting a hook and swimming into the blazing depths of the Sunwell was even more outrageous.
But then, the Great Ruins was full of outrageous things. In the Yong River, giant fish often jumped ashore and sprinted away, faster than most average cultivators.
In drought years, fish in the Great Ruins would even summon clouds and rain, riding the storm to move house—relocating from dried-up ponds to places flush with water.
Standing at the edge, Quinn watched as the little red fish dove deeper into the Sunwell, growing larger and larger—hundreds of zhang long at least—swimming faster and faster. Soon it reached a heap of god-forged suns, spat out the hook, and latched the line onto one of the blazing spheres.
The Fishing Elder reeled in the line. After a while, a gigantic sun was hauled up from the depths.