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墨書 Inktalez
Where is the fish?! My head was spinning! My first thought was that the fish had jumped out and run away through the toilet drain, but when I looked back, the mop was still stuck there. What on earth was going on? I considered myself a rational person; I believed that every occurrence had a reasonable explanation, but the current situation truly baffled me.
I squatted down by the large wooden basin to take a closer look. The water inside was murky, and the Azure Dragon Snake was still there, lying motionless with its white belly facing up, its body fully spread out. It seemed to have grown a bit larger since yesterday, floating on the surface. My heart sank; could it be dead? I gently poked its belly with my finger, but there was no response! My heart raced as I quickly reached out to scoop it up, but before I could touch it, it suddenly flipped over with a graceful S-shape and swam away from my hand.
This creature was actually sleeping! Sleeping! Where was the fish? I felt a mix of anger and confusion; it couldn't possibly have been eaten by this snake, could it?! That was absurd—given its size and shape, it made no scientific sense at all. I stood there in shock when I suddenly heard some noise outside the bathroom. Oh no, my parents were up. There was no time to waste; I hurriedly grabbed the Azure Dragon Snake, ignoring its silent protests, and moved the mop blocking the drain out of the way. I shouted at the top of my lungs, "The fish has escaped! Come see!" Then I dashed back to my room with the Azure Dragon Snake in tow.
Before long, I heard my parents arguing outside. "I want to put it on the balcony; how can we keep it safe here? Now there’s not a single one left!" It was my mother's voice.
"How could that be? I saw our son block up the hole yesterday; you saw it too," my father replied.
"Just because it's blocked doesn't mean something can't get through."
"Then how come not a single one is left? That makes no sense."
"Alright, fine. Even if they were released, I'm worried about the drain getting clogged..."
Listening to their escalating argument, I knew I had passed this hurdle again. Letting out a sigh of relief, I sat by my desk and watched as the Azure Dragon Snake wandered around on my computer desk. What exactly was this creature? It seemed incredibly curious about its new environment. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that after just one night, not only had its body grown a bit larger, but it also seemed like its crown had split open slightly—yes, it resembled forked horns. Was this a strange species? Honestly, it somewhat challenged my understanding of things. When I had time in a few days, I'd definitely have to ask that old man who sold pets.
As I continued watching the Azure Dragon Snake explore, there was a knock at the door. "We're off to work now; if you're going out, take an umbrella; it's going to rain," my father's voice called out. Distractedly, I responded and pulled back the curtains. Outside was gloomy and overcast—a stark contrast to yesterday's bright sunshine.
Once my parents left, I took the wooden basin back to the balcony and replaced the water with fresh water before returning the Azure Dragon Snake inside. Watching its lively movements in the water, I said, "Regardless of whether you ate the fish or not, you need to be honest from now on. If you cause any more trouble, I'll have no choice but to send you away!"
Strangely enough, it seemed like the Azure Dragon Snake understood me; it coiled up in the water and raised its head above the surface, giving me a slight nod. We stared at each other for a moment before I finally backed down—what kind of creature was this?
With the Azure Dragon Snake at home and rain starting outside, I didn’t go out at all. Instead, while playing games, I frequently checked on it from the balcony. Outside, dark clouds loomed overhead like layers of heavy blankets pressing down on us; they felt lower and heavier by the minute. The Azure Dragon Snake became increasingly active as it swam around in its basin. Afraid of startling it further, I closed the windows on the enclosed balcony and returned to my room to continue playing games.
By nightfall, heavy rain finally began pouring down—huge raindrops pounded against the window while steam rose in waves through the darkness; nothing was visible outside—not even streetlights could be seen through the deluge. Quickly turning off all electric lights and disconnecting phone lines and internet cables, I nestled into my room to watch some horror films on my computer—the perfect atmosphere for that genre! However, as midnight approached, the rain intensified further with flashes of lightning and thunder rumbling nearby—it felt as if they were right outside my window. Each clap of thunder made the windows vibrate ominously; what was happening? A sense of unease crept over me as horror films often depict events occurring during stormy nights.
Curiosity is a strong instinct in humans—and mine was even stronger; despite feeling anxious while watching horror films, I found myself wanting to continue watching them. Just then, I suddenly heard a loud crash from the balcony—it sounded like glass breaking! My heart raced; this could be terrifying! Quickly turning on all lights again, I dashed into another room that led directly to the balcony.
Once illuminated by light from above, I gasped—there was a large shard of broken glass letting rainwater pour into the balcony! Water pooled everywhere! Looking back at the basin—I realized that there was no sign of the Azure Dragon Snake! Frantically searching around on the balcony yielded nothing! Just then—a flash of lightning lit up everything around me like daylight! Immediately following that came another thunderclap that echoed loudly in my ears—my heart raced as instinctively glanced outside.
In that brief moment illuminated by lightning not far away—I caught sight of something charging toward the clouds: it was none other than the Azure Dragon Snake! Amidst flashes of lightning and booming thunder—it soared upward into the sky!
"Damn! The Azure Dragon Snake is a dragon!" I couldn't help but shout. At that moment, a flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, accompanied by a thunderous roar. I clearly saw the Azure Dragon Snake turn its head to glance at me before its body began to change, growing longer and more majestic. The crown on its head transformed into horns, and long whiskers danced beneath its jaw. As the clouds parted, I beheld an incredibly magnificent figure soaring upward, so familiar with that S-shaped trajectory!
I stood there dumbfounded, watching the Azure Dragon Snake ascend. My mind was in disarray; I began to question everything I had learned and the entire scientific system. With one final sweep of its tail beneath the clouds, the entire figure disappeared into the mist, and the lightning and thunder gradually subsided. Slowly, the wind and rain ceased as well. I stood on the balcony for quite some time, gazing at the tranquil night outside, feeling as if I were dreaming!
When my parents woke up in the morning, I was mentally prepared and could only admit that I had accidentally broken the glass. Well, this time I couldn't get away with it; I endured an hour of scolding until I finally agreed to pay for the replacement glass out of my own pocket before they let it go.
After that, one thought consumed me: to find that old man and figure out what had really happened. I spent four days at the animal market, and finally around noon, I saw that old man again. Strangely enough, he wasn't setting up his stall but was wandering around the market like everyone else, moving from one shop to another without buying anything or speaking to anyone. Sometimes he would stop to ponder deeply or just take a quick glance. After observing him for a while, I couldn't help but approach him.
"Old man, can you be honest with me? What exactly is your Azure Dragon Snake?"
The old man turned around upon seeing me and showed no surprise at all; he merely smiled mysteriously and pointed his finger, "It has ascended?"
Ascended? Could it be that the Azure Dragon Snake really flew away? I involuntarily released my grip on him. "You know?"
"I figured it would happen soon enough, but I didn't expect it to be so fast. The Azure Dragon Snake transformed into a dragon just after following you home."
"Transformed into a dragon?" I exclaimed in astonishment.
"Buddy, let's find a place where we can talk slowly." Eager to know what had happened, I completely overlooked that the old man had pulled me into a decent restaurant. After he ordered a few dishes, I hurriedly asked, "Come on, what's going on?"
The old man cleared his throat. "Snakes are very special creatures with great spiritual essence. When they absorb the energy of celestial bodies like the sun and moon or other natural substances during their daily cultivation or life processes, their bodies and powers continuously grow stronger. When all conditions are met—put simply, quantitative changes can lead to qualitative changes—or you could say they evolve—they can transform into dragons. But the key lies in this point of evolution; it requires wind, rain, thunder, and all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—none of which can be missing. Among these elements, water is particularly crucial. This water has two meanings: first, they must wait for a heavy rain to come so they can use it to shed their original natural scales that bind them and generate new scales suitable for flight; ultimately evolving successfully with the aid of wind and thunder. Second, during this evolution process, someone needs to catalyze it for them. Snakes belong to fire among the five elements; when they are ready to evolve and have gathered wood, metal, and earth from those elements, they need to find someone whose fate belongs to water to catalyze them. This catalysis is commonly referred to as 'seeking confirmation,' meaning when you see a snake transforming into a dragon, it must be a dragon—this is called confirmation—and all these conditions must be satisfied for it to transform."
I belong to water? Is it really that mystical? "Old man, what exactly do you do?" I couldn't help but press further.
"I have some knowledge of feng shui and occasionally form good connections." The old man continued eating leisurely. "The Azure Dragon Transformation has failed twice due to two reasons: one is the lack of a fated person with the right destiny; two is because each time confirmation was not achieved. Each failure requires waiting thirty years again; this is the Azure Dragon Snake's last chance. However, choosing you was indeed correct; it has a connection with you."
I fell silent for a moment; when our dishes arrived at the table again, I asked anxiously, "Where did the Azure Dragon Snake go?"
"It should be called Qinglong now; however, I don't know where it went. I'm only responsible for forming good connections for those waiting to evolve." The old man continued enjoying his meal.
I thought for a moment and then recounted my experiences in the deep cave at Base River to him in hopes he could help me make sense of it all. "Oh! That could very well be an Underworld Spring! Given your situation there should also be a dragon inside; Huangquan has eyes—it’s unfathomable—a dragon can rise above nine heavens or sink beneath nine abysses."
I was taken aback—another dragon! "What should we do about that Underworld Spring? It seemed like there were no measures taken by local government when I returned."
"What should we do?" The old man rolled his eyes at me. "The best course of action is simply not to disturb it. Don't worry; there are experts within the government who will handle this matter appropriately." After saying this, he focused solely on his food again and ignored me completely.
Thinking about the massive shadow of the soaring dragon, known as the Azure Dragon Snake, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. After using the restroom and returning, I found that the old man had already vanished. The drink menu was flipped over on the table, and it seemed to have some writing on it. I picked it up and read, "Azure Dragon Transformation, successful enlightenment. Life is unpredictable; we shall repay each other in the future." What did that mean? Instinctively, I flipped it over again, and my eyes were met with a shocking sight: Drinks + a Yellow Crane Tower = 717 yuan for the meal! Damn!
...
When I got home, the first thing I did was open my computer and search for news related to the Base on its Website. Sure enough, I found an inconspicuous article: "Exploration Team encounters deep holes left by sand dredgers while surveying the riverbed; two workers have died. The government has marked the relevant river sections and strictly prohibits residents from approaching."
I also searched online for various literature about dragons. While I couldn't verify distant accounts, I discovered a notable instance from August 8, 194, when a skeleton resembling the legendary dragon was found in Yingkou, Liaoning. Incredibly, local residents claimed to have seen it twice and had prolonged close encounters with it. According to elderly locals, this creature appeared two times; the first time was at a distance of zero kilometers from Haikou. An old woman named Xiao Suqin was only nine years old at the time. She described the "dragon" as having a square head and large eyes that blinked frequently. Its body was grayish-white, curled up on the ground with its tail coiled and two claws extended from its abdomen. This "dragon" appeared weak, with its eyes half-open.
At that time, people believed that encountering such a giant dragon was auspicious. Some used reed mats to create shade for the creature, while others fetched water to pour over it to prevent its body from drying out. Many locals and monks performed rituals for it in temples. Eventually, after a long period of heavy rain, this "dragon" disappeared. However, after more than ten days of continuous heavy rain, the creature reappeared—not as a living being but as a foul-smelling corpse among the reeds ten kilometers from where Liao River enters Haikou. Upon hearing this news, locals went to see it and reported it to the government. Staff from a disease control hospital sprayed disinfectant on the decomposing body before its bones were removed. Some people used four anchors tied with ropes to encircle the skeleton for public viewing. Unfortunately, due to social disorder at that time, the storage location for its bones at Yingkou City Aquatic High School changed multiple times, leading to the loss of those significant remains.
Some people referenced an article from Shengjing Daily dated August 1, 194, which recorded that this "dragon" had claws and had dug a pit nearly 17 meters long and over 6 meters wide—indicating that it had struggled at some point. An August 14 article in Shengjing Daily published photocopies of photos of the dragon's bones; despite being old and limited by photography technology of that era, one could still vaguely see silhouettes of people wearing straw hats observing the dragon bone exhibition. However, a long animal skeleton with two long horns sprouting from its head remained clearly visible in the image. Experts at Yingkou Natural History Museum disagreed: some believed it could have been a beached baleen whale; others speculated that based on its shape, it might have been a dinosaur. Elders who had seen the "dragon," including Cai Shoukang, Huang Zhenfu, and Zhang Shunxi, argued that attributing what appeared in Yingkou back then to a whale was too hasty; drawing conclusions too early was unwise. Whether or not what appeared in Yingkou over seventy years ago was indeed a "dragon" seems like something only future scientific verification can clarify.
Additionally, there is widespread belief online that when encountering large snakes or particularly unusual ones in the wild, one should not refer to them merely as snakes but rather as great dragons or similar terms—this is said to confer legitimacy upon them so they can transform into dragons. If they do not receive such recognition, they cannot become dragons; often those who disrupt their transformation face continuous misfortune or even calamity.
After reviewing much material, I found that academia generally believes dragons are actually cultural concepts or symbols formed by our ancient ancestors' comprehensive abstraction of various animals and natural phenomena; such creatures do not exist in reality. However, folklore persists with claims of sightings of such beings. Regardless of this debate, having witnessed something myself convinces me there must be some form of "dragon" in this world—perhaps not as magical as legends suggest but merely an extraordinary creature unknown to us!
The Soaring Dragon Shadow is complete! Stay tuned for the next chapter: Headshot Death; Love Like the Wind; The Work of Chasing the Wind—tomorrow promises more excitement!
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