Fifty years had passed since the events of the last chapter.
A dashing and exquisitely beautiful youth in white, with a cold, solemn air between his brows, lay upon the grass by the stream. He rested with one leg crossed over the other, acting like a total lord as he allowed two tiger demons to massage his legs.
Hiding in the shadows, the younger generation of flower spirits and rabbit demons peeked at him, their faces flushed crimson. A flower spirit covered her face and whispered, "Young Master Jing is so incredible... He doesn't even care about those bully tiger demons. He’s so handsome, so masculine!"
A rabbit demon added shyly, "Even if Young Master Jing is a freak, I’d still marry him in a heartbeat!"
While they were lost in their fantasies, the pitiful Leng Qingqing ran over wearing an apron. "Son," he said submissively, "dinner is ready. Come and eat."
Leng Jing spared him a glance and gave a curt grunt. With a wave of his hand, the tiger demons stopped their work and chorused obediently, "Farewell, Boss!"
The "ugly little snake" of the past was now a renowned figure throughout the Bihai Cangtao Valley. Leng Qingqing no longer feared anyone mocking his son, but he also found himself unable to control the boy. Not only that, he was the one being managed by his son at every turn. Leng Qingqing trotted eagerly behind him, feeling a secret sense of self-pity.
Leng Qingqing’s small hut sat by the edge of the Clear Lake. Originally, they had lived in a cave, but ever since his son learned to read and write, he had insisted on a proper house. Thus, the doting Leng Qingqing had built this thatched cottage.
Leng Jing sat at the dining table, eating while reading the *Bihai Express* produced by the valley’s river deer demon.
Having nothing better to do, this deer demon spent his days collecting all sorts of gossip—large and small—from across the valley, compiling it into a newsletter to distribute to the various demon households so everyone could stay informed.
Today’s headline was that the Bihai Valley was to be officially designated as part of the Immortal Realm’s sphere of influence.
The Bihai Valley sat at the junction of the Heaven, Demon, and Human realms—a secluded paradise. However, the local spiritual veins were hidden and the spiritual energy was sparse, producing only simple-minded spirits like Leng Qingqing. Consequently, it had never been highly regarded by either the Heaven or Demon realms. Though the two sides had fought for a thousand years, the flames of war had never reached this place. Occasionally, during a stalemate, envoys from either side would arrive to declare their sovereignty. Thus, it was common for a Demon Realm envoy to claim the valley one day, only for an Immortal Realm envoy to declare it theirs the next. Over time, the residents grew accustomed to it; when the demons came, they hung the demon flag, and when the immortals came, they raised the immortal flag.
This time, however, it seemed the Immortal Realm was serious. Not only did they declare sovereignty, but they also dispatched an immortal specifically to govern this impoverished, lawless land.
It was said the immortal would arrive at the stroke of noon. Bored to tears, the demon residents gathered early at the Welcoming Terrace to watch the spectacle.
Leng Qingqing, also eager for the excitement, was itching with anticipation. He wanted to urge his son to eat faster but didn't dare disturb the "freak" youth. He was quite afraid of his serious, cold son. Leng Qingqing was so anxious he nearly bit his own tail.
Leng Jing glanced sideways at the aggrieved Leng Qingqing and finally spoke: "Let's go watch."
Leng Qingqing immediately cheered, "Long live Xiao Jing!"
He then trotted happily behind his elegant, jade-like son to join the crowd.
In truth, Leng Qingqing hadn't always been like this. Initially, he believed his son was a disabled snake—born with extra horns and claws—and so he had pampered him excessively. But as the years passed, the majesty radiating from Leng Jing grew daily. Leng Qingqing found himself becoming afraid of his own son; one glare from Leng Jing was enough to make him shiver. He wasn't the only one; all the demons in the valley feared him just as much.
At the end of the day, a dragon was a dragon; he was simply not on the same level as these rustic demons.
The Welcoming Terrace was a flat clearing used for gatherings and major announcements. It was already packed with all sorts of country-bumpkin demons. They had brought their families, food, and drinks, claiming spots early to wait.
What should have been a solemn welcoming ceremony had been turned into a "Deity-Watching Tea Party"—after all, these hillbillies had never seen a real immortal. Since a "Goddess" (by their estimation) was about to fall from the sky, they naturally had to get a good look.
Leng Qingqing was the type to get hyper in a crowd. The more people there were, the more excited he became. Pulling his son by the hand, he squeezed to the very front and sat on the grass to wait.
Leng Jing was the exact opposite. He loathed noisy, crowded places. He let out a yawn and rested his head on Leng Qingqing’s belly to sleep.
Leng Qingqing pursed his lips. Usually, snakes only hibernated in winter, but his son loved to sleep in whenever he felt like it. He couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Jing, don't you get bored sleeping so much every day?"
"I am meditating. It is a profound discipline; you wouldn't understand." Leng Jing turned over. "Wake me when the immortal arrives."
Leng Qingqing sighed. The child was grown, and his thoughts had become complicated. As a father, he understood him less and less.
He draped his outer robe over his son and gently patted him to sleep.
Without realizing it, the "ugly little snake" who once couldn't even bite through a piece of fruit and only wanted to curl up against his tail had grown into a majestic "giant snake" whose true form was much larger than his own.
The demons waited from noon until evening, until the clearing was filled with the sound of snoring. Suddenly, someone shouted, "The immortal is here!"
Everyone jolted awake and stared at the sky.
Sure enough, from within the five-colored clouds on the horizon, a peerless beauty dressed in green gauze descended gracefully. His features were as if carved by a master, yet they held an air of infinite sorrow. He landed barefoot on a large, flat stone and spoke only one sentence: "I am Immortal Hua Yun. I have come to reside here."
After that, he said nothing more and walked silently toward the Clear Lake.
At that moment, Leng Jing rubbed his eyes and yawned. Seeing Immortal Hua Yun’s swaying back as he walked away, he wondered, "What is he going to the lake for?"
Leng Qingqing tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Probably to take a bath."
A large group of demons followed behind the immortal to see what he was up to.
They watched as Immortal Hua Yun walked silently into the lake. As the depth increased, the water gradually submerged his waist, then his chest, until finally, he disappeared completely beneath the surface.
None of the demons could guess what he was doing.
After about an hour, circular ripples began to emanate from the center of the lake. The ripples grew more violent, eventually turning into a massive whirlpool.
The demons watched in stunned silence as a colossal object slowly rose from the depths of the vortex.
It was a stone carving, as large as a mountain peak. The carving was an exact likeness of Immortal Hua Yun. His expression was one of wretched misery, and because the statue was so gargantuan, it looked terrifying. Most unsettling of all, tears of blood were continuously streaming from the statue's eyes.
Immortal Hua Yun had turned into a stone statue!
It took the demons a long time to react, but they couldn't understand why he had become a giant stone figure.
Dark clouds began to gather over the valley. For the first time, the Bihai Valley experienced a period of continuous, gloomy rain. An aura of unease began to spread with the appearance of the statue.
Looking at the massive stone figure, Leng Qingqing shivered and hid behind his son.
Leng Jing also stared at the statue, deeply shaken.
The crowd eventually dispersed amidst frantic whispering.
The Leng father and son lived by the lake, so they could clearly see the statue from their window.
That night, Leng Jing sat by the shore, staring boredly at the stone figure. The statue’s eyes looked toward the distance, its brow furrowed.
Leng Jing couldn't resist picking up a stone and hurling it at the statue.
"Get lost! You're taking up space!" he cursed.
In that moment, for the first time in his life, Leng Jing was genuinely startled—the statue’s eyes suddenly shifted to look directly at him.
It was a terrifying thing, especially being stared down by such a massive stone entity.
Leng Jing scrambled back a few steps and involuntarily cried out, "Dad! Dad! Come out and look!"
Leng Qingqing, who was busy making the bed, ran out immediately and witnessed an even more bizarre sight alongside his son.
The statue wasn't just staring; its entire head was slowly turning toward them, emitting a deep, grinding sound like the movement of ten thousand tons of rock.
Then, the statue’s mouth moved, as if trying to say something.
"What is he saying?! Son! Ah?" Leng Qingqing gripped his son’s sleeve tightly.
"He said: Dragon, help me," Leng Jing read the statue's lips, wiping away a cold sweat.
"Son, son! This is too scary! Waaaah!" Leng Qingqing was too terrified to look. He dragged his son inside, shut all the doors and windows, and said piteously, "Son, can we share a blanket tonight?"
Leng Jing replied, "Whatever."
So, Leng Qingqing naturally crawled into his son's bed, shivering. "Son, why did that statue say 'Dragon'?"
Leng Jing picked at his ear. "Because I am a dragon."
"Don't talk nonsense! You're a snake! You're my biological snake!" Leng Qingqing was displeased by this. This was clearly his son; he was just a bit unusual-looking. How could he be one of those "dragons" from the legends?
"I'm not going to argue with you." Leng Jing turned over, his mind still on the statue's strange words.
Why did it need him to save it? What did it want him to do?
While he was lost in thought, Leng Qingqing grumbled, "Son! You've forgotten your roots!"
"Huh?"
"You've even forgotten you're a snake! Tomorrow, I'm taking you to see Third Aunt and the others so they can educate you!" Leng Qingqing asserted his parental authority.
"Third Aunt?! You're going to bring her entire household of over a dozen snake demons here?! That's disgusting! So many snakes all in one place!" Leng Jing recoiled.
"Xiao Jing!! How can you say your own kin are disgusting!" Leng Qingqing grew even angrier.
"Disgusting is disgusting," Leng Jing said dismissively. Suddenly, he felt something slippery coil around his waist. He turned to see that Leng Qingqing had reverted to his true form—a large white snake flicking its tongue at him. "Xiao Jing! Daddy is very angry!"
"Aaaaaah! I hate you!" Leng Jing let out an uncharacteristic shriek, his cool image instantly collapsing. That’s right—he absolutely loathed slippery, long, wiggly snakes.
This was the reason Leng Qingqing still held his throne as "Dad." If he didn't occasionally turn into a snake to gross Leng Jing out, the boy probably wouldn't even bother calling him father anymore.
Leng Qingqing coiled around him aggrievedly. "Xiao Jing, your own true form is also long and wiggly, isn't it?"
"I hate you." Leng Jing buried his head under the pillow.
"Oh... Daddy is bad... I gave you a disabled body... Waaaah..." Leng Qingqing became sorrowful again.
***
"Noodles! Noodles! It's noodles again!"
Loud complaints from the rebellious son, Leng Jing, echoed from the hut by the lake.
Leng Qingqing looked at his son piteously. "Son, noodles are so delicious. They're long and wiggly." As he spoke, he twirled the noodles with his chopsticks.
In truth, his real goal was to increase his son's affection for their species, so he made sure the house decorations, clothes, and even the food were all long and thin. This meant noodles for every single meal.
Leng Jing gritted his teeth at his father’s idiotic face, shoveled a few mouthfuls of noodles, and slammed the door as he headed out.
Outside, the gloomy rain continued.
It had been raining in the Bihai Cangtao Valley for three months straight. Ever since that eerie stone statue rose from the lake, a dark red rain had been falling incessantly. Even the lake water had been dyed a murky crimson.
Trees and flowers began to wither. The demons living near the lake started falling ill. Everyone had moved away except for the Leng father and son.
The usually energetic Leng Qingqing was also starting to flag. His complexion worsened by the day. This morning, after making noodles for his son and forcing a smile to see him off, he collapsed onto the bed, his head spinning.
He didn't know how long he slept, but he only managed to crack his eyes open when he heard his son return.
Leng Jing was holding a palm-sized object. It was crystalline and white, shaped like a fan, and at the base of this "fan," there were faint traces of fresh red blood.
Leng Qingqing took one look and burst into tears. "Son, why did you pull out your own scale? That must hurt so much! My heart is breaking..." He tried to get out of bed to check the injury, but his body wouldn't move.
Leng Jing said nothing. He took out a mortar and pestle and vigorously ground his scale into powder.
Leng Qingqing covered his ears in distress, thinking sadly: *Is it because I made noodles and made him angry? Is he pulling his scales to vent? It hurts! It hurts! Stop pulling them!*
Leng Jing finally ground the scale into a fine powder, then followed the steps for refining medicine to mix the powder with herbs and roll them into several pills. He took one and forced Leng Qingqing to swallow it.
"How is it? How do you feel?" Leng Jing asked.
Leng Qingqing stopped sobbing. He felt the pill in his stomach like a ball of fire, baking away all his previous discomfort and malaise.
After about an hour, Leng Qingqing’s energy returned. He grabbed Leng Jing and wailed, "Quick, let me see if the wound is serious! Will the scale grow back?!"
Leng Jing pushed him away and lay down on the bed. "Go distribute the pills to the other demons, then gather some mulberries and flower dew. I'm heavily injured and can't eat noodles. Make something good to eat." Having said that, he pulled up the covers to sleep.
"Son... you're sleeping again..." Leng Qingqing touched his hair lovingly.
"It's boring! Stuck in this little mountain gully every day, what else is there to do but sleep?" Leng Jing grumbled.
"Son, once your injury is healed, how about we go outside?" Leng Qingqing asked cautiously. Previously, he hadn't allowed Leng Jing to leave because the world was dangerous, but now it seemed his son had grown up and could no longer be contained here.
"My injury is healed!" Leng Jing sat up abruptly, practically grabbing Leng Qingqing by the neck to shake him. "Quick, teach me the art of riding the clouds!"
In truth, Leng Jing had wanted to go out and explore for a long time. It was only because Leng Qingqing had kept it from him and refused to teach him the flight techniques that Leng Jing remained stuck, helpless against the thousands of miles of rugged mountains surrounding the valley.
Unfortunately, Leng Qingqing was the only one in the entire valley who knew how to ride the clouds. Though he was usually silly, he was tight-lipped about this one thing. No matter how Leng Jing threatened or bribed him, he wouldn't speak. Even more frustratingly, despite Leng Jing’s natural brilliance, he couldn't figure out the trick to flight on his own; countless experiments had ended in failure.
Leng Qingqing finally waited for Leng Jing to stop shaking him and said aggrievedly, "Xiao Jing, the truth is, our valley is a place where you can't fly. Even a Daluo Immortal would take a tumble here... That's why neither the Heaven nor Demon realms want this dump!"
Leng Jing’s face stiffened. It took a long time before he could speak hoarsely, "Why did no one tell me?"
"Because nobody knows. I only found out three hundred years ago from an old demon who fell from the sky and was about to die," Leng Qingqing said innocently.
"My youth... wasted for nothing..." Leng Jing’s face fell, and he lay back down in disappointment.
"You're not old yet... son," Leng Qingqing consoled him.
"What do you know... idiot..." Leng Jing huddled under the covers. "Someone said... one must find fame while young... My youth... my youth..."
"Who said that?" Leng Qingqing looked confused. He could only say, "Son, get some rest. Daddy is going to deliver the medicine. I'll make you something delicious tonight~"
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 碧海快报 | Bihai Express | A local newsletter/bulletin in the valley. |
| 画云仙 | Immortal Hua Yun | Literally "Cloud-Painting Immortal." |
| 平湖 | Clear Lake | Literally "Flat/Peaceful Lake." |
| 迎客台 | Welcoming Terrace | A gathering place for the demons. |
| 大罗神仙 | Daluo Immortal | A high-ranking deity in Taoist mythology. |
| 腾云驾雾 | Riding the clouds | A standard method of flight for immortals and demons. |
| 獐子精 | River deer demon | The demon who runs the newsletter. |
***
