Lin Xiao looked at the lake before him with hesitation. He didn't know how to fish and obviously, there was no one he could ask in this place.
"If I know I'm going to get confused, I would have asked for some guidance from the villagers."
But most of the villagers also never got this test when they wanted to join the hunting squad before. There were various test and the easiest would be for them to hunt a rabbit. Those who got it were always crying in happiness because it was basically a sure pass.
The hunting squad was the only one who could leave the village in group and helped to contribute. In addition, they could keep half of what they got for themselves, which was the most tempting offer.
No one would reject eating meat.
Lin Xiao looked at the lake before him and then at the basket before him. He furrowed his brows and then chose to just jump into the lake after putting the basket at the edge of the river.
Splash!
"Wah, it's deeper than what it looks like from above!"
Moving his body a bit, Lin Xiao noticed that the water was only around his chess' height. He looked around then dived a bit. There were a lot of fishes, but they were located far from his position.
'How should I catch them?'
Trap them with his basket?
Well, it might work if the basket was designed that way, but Lin Xiao didn't think that it was truly designed like that. That large basket would be hard to bring around when he was inside the lake.
So, he definitely couldn't use that plan.
Time for another method.
Lin Xiao stood up straight and began to walk around. He could feel that the rocks at the bottom of the lake was uneven. It felt weird walking inside the water, but he soon got used with the new sensation.
'How about if I erase my presence and let the fishes get close to me?'
Easier said than done.
Truth to be told, Lin Xiao had never tried to erase his presence before, so he was not totally sure how to do it. However, the fishes were certainly too far and whenever he got too close, they would run away.
How could he get any fish like this?
Holding his breath, Lin Xiao relaxed his body and then submerged into the water once more. He could hold his breath for a few minutes, so staying like this inside the water was not that difficult for a limited period of time.
With his eyes still open, Lin Xiao could see the wonderful world of the sea before him. Everything was clear until a distance away. The fishes were swimming around freely without any fear while the bottom of the lake could be seen full of rocks at various shapes and color.
Towards the middle, the bottom of the lake got deeper and deeper until it was dark blue and there was nothing Lin Xiao could see anymore. He didn't want to get lost in this large lake too, so he would not try to venture deeply.
There were a few fishes not far from him. Slowly but surely, Lin Xiao walked towards them. One step, two steps, three steps.
He made no noise and his body was completely relaxed. The fishes didn't seem to notice his presence as Lin Xiao raised his hand slowly and….
Splash!
"I failed at the last moment," Lin Xiao coughed and looked at his empty hand. When he tried to catch the fish, the fish suddenly moved, so he failed. However, now that he knew this method worked, Lin Xiao was eager to test it out again.
'Let's try again.'
Breathing deeply, Lin Xiao held his breath and submerged into the water once more. He followed the same steps as before while staying careful to not startle the fish. By getting close to them, he was able to make use of his speed to catch them when they were not paying attention to him.
Splash!
"Hahaha, I got a fish!"
Lin Xiao happily moved to the shore and stored the fish. He glanced up and saw that the sun was still on top of his head, a bit to the east, in fact. There was still more than enough time for him to play around in the water.
'We can keep half of our result.'
Thinking about the rules of hunting squad, which also applied to the test, Lin Xiao grinned. Normally, they would only get very few meat, but since he was already here and knew how to fish…
Time to get a lot of fish!
Splash!
Getting into the water once more, Lin Xiao proceeded by using the same method that he had practiced over and over to get more fishes. The basket they handed to him was big enough to store a lot of fishes.
"Wahahaha! I got another one!"
"Call me the king of fish!"
Splash!
While it might not be his intention, Lin Xiao also got better and better at hiding his presence. By letting his body and mind relaxed, he didn't let any of his intent out and startled the fishes. As the result, they only realized that they were hunted when it was too late.
"Woah, this one is a big one."
Slip! Splash!
Due to his excitement, Lin Xiao slipped into the lake once more.