"Look Xiao Xin!" Huo Linghun said once he reached the top of the hill. Xiao Xin continued to trudge slowly up the hill, still panting about how it was too tall even after he arrived at the top too. "Isn't it pretty?" Huo Linghun continued.

Xiao Xin perked back up when he saw the beautiful blue lake centered in the dip between all the surrounding hills. "That's Mirror Lake," Huo Linghun explained. "They say it is a mirror of your heart. That it will show you your heart's deepest desire."

"It can really do that?" Xiao Xin asked.

"I'm not sure I believe it," Huo Linghun admitted. "But it sure is pretty."

Xiao Xin, having already forgotten about the arduous trek up the hill, was now running down the other side toward the lake. "I'm gonna go look for frogs!"

"Be careful!" Huo Linghun called after him. It was a good thing there was no bamboo to trip over on the way down the hill...

When Xiao Xin reached the lake he peered into it. He could see why it was called Mirror Lake- it reflected everything above it so perfectly it was like looking directly into the sky. His own reflection had never been clearer in any other water, there was not a single ripple to disturb it.

Huo Linghun appeared beside him and looked into the water too. "It really is like a mirror!" he said.

Xiao Xin reached out his hand to place it flat on the water's surface and still no ripples or bubbles distorted their reflections. "It's so perfect."

"I guess what I heard about it showing the heart's strongest desire was just a myth though," Huo Linghun said.

Xiao Xin stared at their reflections together in the water for some moments. Then he said with a smile, "I think it's true. It is showing my deepest desire." He watched as Huo Linghun's reflection turned to his with a surprised expression, his cheeks turning pink and a little smile slowly forming on his lips.

"My Xiao Xin," he said softly, wrapping his arm around him and nuzzling his head against his. He looked back at their embracing reflections and said, "You're right. It's showing my deepest desire too."