After a year with no progress, William began to think that perhaps he was assigned to Qinshan to keep him safe and out of the way. At least, he had found no signs of demons or those who practiced their cultivation methods. Perhaps the Order sent him to Qinshan to keep him occupied, and was hoping he wouldn’t die from his disease before the war with the Demon King, where he could contribute. Though he knew the Order didn’t like to waste talent or time, he couldn’t help but feel the way he did. That said, he also would have been perfectly safe and still useful if he had stayed training people in soul techniques. They hadn’t asked him to stay when he requested an assignment, but immediately had something ready. Thus, though William was currently discouraged, he still believe that there was something to be discovered in Qinshan. There was also the small possibility that the information the Order had was wrong, but it was better to spend a year or even a few to be sure that there was no demonic influence in the city. Otherwise, it might be open for an easy foothold in Liaoyang, which would have major impact on the war.

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William was fishing. In truth, he had actually caught a fish, and it was currently on the line. However, it was still wriggling about on the line. William was even letting out more line as the fish went even deeper. Finally, the line was fully out, and taut. The fish was dead tired, and William could have pulled it in any time he wanted, but instead he waited. There was something more to be gained, and William could sense it was close.

A giant maw closed around the fish, and the end of William’s line. The line was not strong enough to hold the creature that swallowed the fish, though William thought that maybe there were a few things back on Earth that might have done it. However, what he was working with was not strong enough. Even so, the line held. William’s ki surrounded the line, strengthening it. Meanwhile, the shark he was actually fishing for had swallowed the fish on the hook, and with it the line. William also had to use some ki to keep the hook from just being torn out of the fish and exiting the shark’s stomach and mouth as it violently thrashed about.

William had a hard time shortening the line as well as concentrating on keeping the line hooked and strong. Progress was slow, and the shark began to tire, fortunately faster than William himself.

When he finally got the shark up to his fishing boat, William realized there were two problems. First, there wasn’t really room for the shark. It would fit, but it would have to go over on top of things, including William’s seat. The second problem was that he wasn’t actually strong enough to lift the shark. He used ki to augment his strength and pull it out of the water, but that was a much bigger drain on him than if he could just use his muscles. Even so, he slowly rowed back to shore. Paddled, really, since rowing was impossible with a shark taking up most of the space. He would eat well tonight, and some friends he had made would be quite happy too. Even then, there would be more than they needed.

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One of William’s friends was names Zhu Fang. They met because of William’s job as a fisherman. William sold to a certain store, and Zhu Fang bought from them. Zhu Fang was interested in getting a particular type of fish. It was not too uncommon, but was also not caught in bulk using nets. As for catching and individual with a rod, they were occasionally caught, but they lived in similar environments as some other fish who liked the same bait. Thus, it wasn’t a guarantee that any would be caught on a particular day.

The store William sold his fish to had already made requests to William for particular types of fish. Normally, they would expect him to return with a few of those, and a few other fish from the same area. After all, it was a waste to not keep whatever you caught. William was the same, but he could catch whatever type of fish he wanted, and usually even a particular fish. He didn’t fish for anything that travelled in schools, because those were caught by fishers with nets. There were such fish everywhere in the markets, and the price for them was very minimal. Thus, it was easier to single out particular fish, which usually just involved trying to catch the biggest ones in a particular area. However, upon request he had caught a particular type. The shop realized he really could catch whatever types of fish he wanted, and had hired him to catch some of the rarer but more valuable fish.

When Zhu Fang came into the store asking about the particular fish he wanted, the store asked William to catch one. They didn’t already have any, because although it was rare, it wasn’t considered particularly tasty. However, the Zhu family was rich, and Zhu Fang was willing to pay a good price- worth setting a special commission. The first time, William caught the fish and was paid about what he would normally earn in a day for a few hours’ work. He hadn’t thought much about it, but Zhu Fang returned to the store with another request for a different rare fish. The request then went to William, and he caught one. This continued, and William would catch the requested fish within a day, unless it was one he hadn’t heard of. In that case, he would look up its features and habitats, and catch one as soon as he could find one. Eventually, William realized there was a specific customer making these requests, and Zhu Fang realized there was a particular fisherman who was fulfilling his requests. Though the store wasn’t happy to lose their cut, they still introduced Zhu Fang to William when he asked. Although at first it was just a business relationship with William directly catching certain fish for Zhu Fang, but they eventually became friends.