The water monsters chimed in one after another.
The Crocodile Grand Commander drained a cup in one go and laughed. “Actually, I had someone calculate everything long ago.”
“That boy stands alone, without roots or backing. By sheer luck he stumbled into a treasure land like this. As the saying goes, heaven-sent treasures go to the capable. How could I allow someone without the ability to occupy territory that belongs to the water folk?”
A sea snake sprang to its feet at once, hands on its hips, and spat. “Bah! We’re born of heaven and nurtured by earth. Heaven is our father, earth our mother. Where can’t we go? It’s only those human bastards, who gained a scrap of strength and then turned on us, seizing lakes and seas everywhere, making our lives unbearable!”
“Now the dragon race is withered and fallen, and our water folk are leaderless. That’s why we’ve suffered so bitterly at human hands! Great King, with your prowess, why not claim the title of Lord of the Four Seas? We water folk would bow in submission!”
The Crocodile Grand Commander said nothing.
The clam spirit beside him smiled faintly and spoke in a soft, measured voice. “To rule the Four Seas requires the acknowledgement of all water races. That isn’t something a few words can settle.”
“Besides, the Dragon Palace treasures are still unaccounted for. That stinking turtle and his followers have vanished. No one knows where they’re hiding. We lack troops, lack provisions; above us, the Heavenly Dao does not approve, and below us, the water folk are divided and disloyal. Even if the three of us wished to turn the tide, we truly lack the means.”
Her words struck straight at the heart of the matter. They were cutting and soothing at once, drawing out the simmering resentment among the water folk.
“That traitor would rather cling to a dead dragon pit than adapt.”
“We’ll search day and night on behalf of the Three Great Ones! We’ll drag him out for sure. Great King, Second King, Third Lady, please rest easy!”
“Exactly! Her Ladyship is so righteous and clear-headed! We’re willing to serve with the loyalty of dogs and horses!”
The thirty-six demon kings in the cave, great and small, burst into excited shouts. Seeing the mood sufficiently stirred, the Crocodile Grand Commander chuckled and said,
“Since that’s the case, then each of you should also contribute some provisions. Lend a little strength to the future revival of the water folk. Surely none of you would be stingy. Otherwise the Third Lady might be displeased.”
“Contribute?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t have the Three Great Ones labour for nothing, would you?”
“You’ve lived this long. Do you really not understand such basic courtesies?”
One water creature voiced his doubts, only to be immediately beset by several hot-blooded agitators, cursed until foam gathered at his mouth, leaving him red-faced and ashamed.
The Crocodile Grand Commander cast a glance. Minor leaders immediately stepped forward with trays, going from table to table to collect offerings.
The clam spirit’s gauze sleeves fluttered. Seeing someone hesitate, she let out a cold laugh. “So it seems your talk of reviving the water folk amounts to nothing but empty words.”
The Crocodile Grand Commander replied at once, “That’s not so. Everyone here is our brother or sister, our elders, our kin. Would they really stand by and watch the water folk decline?”
He stepped forward, scanning the room, and clasped the hand of a green turtle with sincere warmth. “I’ve heard that among the turtle clan, every elder is a treasure. Yet why is it that turtles three thousand years old are now so rare?”
“The Dragon King is dead. Humans saw that we were weak and without protection, and began capturing us to refine elixirs. Any water creature with years to their name fell into their clutches.”
The green turtle’s face drained of colour. Memories stirred; he trembled so violently he nearly collapsed.
The Crocodile Grand Commander sighed, tears spilling freely. “How hateful it is. How little power I possess, unable to shelter all our kin!”
“Grand Commander!” the green turtle cried, deeply moved.
After a long silence, he produced a palm-sized, ancient turtle shell. The moment it appeared, the surrounding spiritual energy surged four or five times over. It was clearly a precious treasure.
With the green turtle taking the lead, the rest of the water folk hesitated only briefly before beginning to offer up their belongings. The Crocodile Grand Commander ordered his underlings to collect them.
The minor leaders were thick-muscled brutes. They accepted offerings half-heartedly and seized them half by force. If they spotted anything worn or carried, whether they be ornaments, weapons, magical treasures, they grabbed them outright, half joking, half coercive.
“Why so little? Don’t you support the revival of the water folk?”
“Trying to be a traitor, are you?”
“Anyone who doesn’t support the Grand Commander must be a human spy!”
“If you don’t hand something over today, don’t blame me for being rude later. The Grand Commander is good-natured, but I can’t stand seeing him wronged.”
“No treasures? I see you’ve got a daughter. A daughter will do.”
“If you leave the First Palace without paying, and something happens… don’t expect any guarantees.”
The Dragon King perished at the Sea Eye; the dragon race perished with the Dragon Mother. Across the world, the water folk were driven from their homes and subjected to endless suffering. Over ten thousand years, their numbers dwindled, never returning to former glory.
Each of these water creatures had come seeking refuge from somewhere else. Every one of them carried an unspeakable sorrow. Those who fared well hid away in the deep seas, indifferent to the world; those who fared poorly were forced out to scrape by.
They had little to their names. Of the thirty-six cave demon kings, most were titles bestowed by the Crocodile Grand Commander. In truth, they were nothing more than destitute cultivators with a bit of skill. Where would any real riches come from?
But stirred up like this… seeing everyone give, all under the banner of reviving the water folk… they would rather endure hardship themselves than refuse this once.
Hope shone on their faces. The weaker their demonic power, the easier they were to sway. They were eager to follow the Crocodile Grand Commander into struggle, to reclaim the dignity of the water folk.
The more Ao Mu watched, the worse he felt. Beneath the pomp and pageantry, the water folk looked painfully threadbare. There wasn’t a single truly old face, only half-grown demons.
Xuan Zhao asked quietly, “Did you bring anything?”
The minor leader was nearing the last table. Ao Mu said, “I left in a hurry. I brought nothing.”
Xuan Zhao slapped his thigh. “I’ve been dead for over seven thousand years. I don’t have anything either. I do have a clay leg Xue Cuo moulded himself… tsk, that won’t do. Wait, you’re a dragon. Don’t you have any shed dragon scales or dragon horns lying around?”
Ao Mu snapped, “Forget dragon scales. I wouldn’t give them even a fingernail. They’re even taking female demons. That’s outright robbery! Utterly shameless. I won’t give them a thing!”
As the minor leader drew close, Xuan Zhao rummaged about and produced a few pottery shards he’d kept from earlier, tossing them onto the table.
The demon beside them was a dugong. He laid out a heap of jade and magical treasures. Yet, he himself was dressed in rags, trailing behind him several young dugongs still unable to take human form.
Ao Mu exclaimed in surprise, “Why do you have so much?”
The dugong was good-tempered. “I’ve been saving it up for more than two hundred years.”
Ao Mu hesitated. “You’re giving all of it to him? I think he looks like a fraud.”
The dugong shook his head. “No. Why would you think that?”
After a pause, he said, “These were meant for the Dragon King in the first place. But the Dragon King isn’t coming back. If there’s a new Lord of the Four Seas, that’s not a bad thing either. The water folk can’t go on being a scattered rabble, letting others trample us at will.”
The minor leader collecting offerings reached the last table. He arched his brows high, swept Ao Mu up and down with his gaze, and barked, “Where’s your contribution?”
Eyes closed in from all sides like a tightening net. Even the three great demons seated high upon the throne turned to look.
Ao Mu said nothing. He picked up the black half-fragment lying on the table.
The minor leader glared. “You dare show disrespect to the Great King? You’re deliberately holding back the revival of the water folk. Are you trying to become everyone’s sinner?”
Ao Mu rose to his feet. “I’ll be your—”
“Ahem.”
Ao Mu clamped his mouth shut and slowly sat back down.
At that moment, the dugong beside him spoke up in his defence. “Sir, he’s clearly just a young demon. He’s probably spent years hiding and running. How could he have any treasures to his name? Please be magnanimous.”
The minor leader shouted, “So being poor gives him an excuse? Everyone else paid, why shouldn’t he? The Great King is working himself to the bone to revive the water folk, and these people won’t support him. If that’s not ingratitude, what is? Is the Great King doing this for himself? He’s doing it for everyone!”
The Crocodile Grand Commander stood with his hands clasped behind his back. “Now, now. How can you talk like that, lad? There are times when anyone might be short of means. We understand. Swearing a Great Dao oath or writing an IOU comes to the same thing.”
He beckoned to Ao Mu, his tone exceedingly gentle. “Someone, fetch this young master a brush.”
Ao Mu had grown up in an underground river. After taking human form, the people he met were simple mountain folk. He hadn’t weathered many storms, but he wasn’t stupid.
What he couldn’t understand was how these water folk could be fooled by nothing more than the word revival.
He couldn’t make sense of it. Yet looking at the demons around him, faces alight with hope, an inexplicable sorrow welled up in his chest.
At last, he could no longer hold it in. He kicked over the table and leapt to his feet. “You fraud!”
“I hate liars more than anything in this world!”
“What revival of the water folk? By plunder and smooth words? Do you have a plan? Do you have the strength? What kind of background do you have?”
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. “If my eldest shixiong were here, he’d kill you and hang you up as a warning!”
The Crocodile Grand Commander’s smile vanished. His face turned icy. “Eldest shixiong? A human term. Heh. So you’re a human spy. Seize him!”
Xuan Zhao knew things had gone wrong. He sprang up at once, grabbing Ao Mu. “You hot-headed brat. Can’t you hold your temper? Come with me!”
Ao Mu’s anger flared. He refused outright, flinging seven or eight talismans in one motion and shouting, “Let’s see who dares!”
Those talismans had been custom-made for him by Xue Cuo. Their power was anything but ordinary. Several demon kings were sent flying at once. Still dissatisfied, Ao Mu revealed his true form and roared, “I’ll tear down your palace!”
His dragon tail swept through a sea of glittering treasures, snapping coral pillars and smashing through the hall’s main beam.
Dragon head, dragon body, dragon horns. That familiar figure, seen only in murals, stood before them.
The water folk stared, dumbstruck.
“D-dragon…?”
“A golden dragon.”
Something burned hot in their blood, surging straight to their hearts. “The dragon race has returned! It’s a dragon!”
The Crocodile Grand Commander’s face darkened. He raised his axe and bellowed, “Don’t be fooled! That’s a dead dragon. A mud idol living off incense! He’s no longer one of the dragon race! For all we know, he’s some bird or bug that cultivated its way into this shape!”
“Dead…?”
One water demon staggered forward, unbelieving. He reached out to touch the drooping auspicious cloud-tail, his fingers passed straight through. He froze, then looked up, tears streaming down his face.
“Golden Dragon… who harmed you? Why weren’t you born in the sea? You’ve suffered so much…”
“He’s not a dragon! Get out of the way, let me deal with him!”
Some wept openly. Others burned with fury and refused to recognise Ao Mu. Among sentient water folk, not all revered the Dragon King.
Ao Mu charged wildly, but his faith was thin and his divine power limited. The Crocodile Grand Commander and the clam spirit closed in from both sides, while a shrimp demon covertly disrupted the water currents.
Outnumbered, he struggled briefly. Then, shielded by Xuan Zhao he burst through the roof and shot into the sky.
Xuan Zhao, however, failed to escape. He was seized on the spot by the Crocodile Grand Commander.
Unable to turn back, Ao Mu broke through the water’s surface and circled the great marsh.
The golden dragon’s mournful cry echoed through the mountains: “Eldest shixiong, where are you?!”
—
At that very moment, Xue Cuo stood upon an ancient, desiccated riverbed, an age-old incense burner cradled in his hands.
The riverbed wound in broken curves, its form shattered, only faint traces of its former nine bends remaining.
Within the incense burner flowed a pool of golden water. It was formed when the spirits of Qianyun Marsh first offered prayers and opened the Bridge of Rebirth.
Golden Pool Reincarnation. Like an elixir of immortality.
And the reason Xue Cuo had come here was simple: At the invitation of a goddess, he had come to forge a bond of goodwill.
