Chapter Fifty-Seven: Are You Freaking Kidding Me

Wu You and Lu Shengyang’s conversation drifted from the affairs of the current court to the world of wandering swordsmen and sects, and from matters of the jianghu to the suffering of common folk. From there, they wandered to tales of daily life and small amusements. The more they talked, the broader their topics became, and Ji Haoxuan would often interject with his own remarks.

It was clear that Lu Shengyang was a talkative fellow. Wu You, on the other hand, mostly played the role of a listener, especially when it came to descriptions of the world’s animals—he was particularly curious about their forms and whether there were any extraordinary creatures.

...

“You’re saying there was once a blood-scaled flood dragon that terrorized the Tiansha River?” Wu You abruptly stood up when he heard Lu Shengyang’s tale, his face filled with astonishment.

He had never seen the Tiansha River, which supposedly cut across the six provinces, nor did he have any concept of where those provinces lay or how vast they were. But the term “blood-scaled flood dragon” struck a deep chord within him.

Lu Shengyang noted Wu You’s extreme reaction and frowned slightly. The story of the blood python from the Black Cloud Marsh in Bingzhou transforming into a flood dragon and entering the Tiansha River, eventually reaching the sea, sounded fantastical. But for someone who had once held high office, he knew it to be true. After the blood-scaled flood dragon entered the sea, news of it grew scarce, but history is history—exaggerated as it might be, it is still fact. Occasionally, refugees from distant islands who ventured to the Central Plains would mention the tale. It had long since circulated across the land, dating back to just before the founding of the Great Zhou.

Could it be that Young Master Wu’s family had been living in seclusion for over two centuries?

“Young Master Wu, there’s no need to be so agitated. The affair of the blood-scaled flood dragon entering the sea happened more than two hundred years ago. Since then, nothing of the sort has been heard anywhere in the world. There’s no need to worry.”

Lu Shengyang assumed Wu You was simply terrified by tales of the blood dragon and its ilk.

“Mm...” Wu You answered absentmindedly, but a thought struck him, and he quickly pressed, “What did that blood-scaled flood dragon look like?”

Because the event had made such a stir at the time, many top martial artists had banded together to stop its rampage. Though they failed to slay the creature, paintings of it survived.

Lu Shengyang had seen illustrations of it in the palace’s historical records. Seeing Wu You’s interest, he said, “Since you are so concerned, young master, allow this old man to try his hand, though I may not do it justice.”

He fished a lump of charcoal from the blazing fire, rolled it in the dirt to extinguish the embers, and then sharpened it with his fingernail into a makeshift charcoal pencil. With a moment’s concentration, he began rapidly sketching on a nearby boulder.

It must be said, Lu Shengyang’s skill at drawing was impressive. He captured every detail, even the scales, and worked with surprising speed. In no time at all, the likeness of most of the blood-scaled flood dragon had appeared on the stone.

But...

Wu You felt as if a herd of wild alpacas had stampeded through his mind. This was supposed to be a flood dragon? He scrutinized Lu Shengyang’s drawing from every angle. It looked, without question, like a giant snake with a deformed head and a lump on its crown. It was unsightly, and most importantly, it bore no resemblance to a “flood dragon” at all.

If this thing was called a blood-scaled flood dragon, then, for heaven’s sake, his Ao Guang must surely be a true dragon!

“All done. Young Master Wu, have a look. This is the blood-scaled flood dragon as depicted in the historical records, drawn by the grandmaster Xiang Zai Xing himself.” Seeing Wu You staring blankly at the drawing, Lu Shengyang waved the charcoal. “Young master? What do you think?”

Wu You: ...

“Uh... Elder Lu, are you sure your drawing is accurate? Might you have mixed up some details?”

A vein pulsed on Lu Shengyang’s forehead. Was Wu You suggesting he was so senile as to misremember things?

“I may be old, but I’m not so far gone as to forget my own memories.”

Wu You quickly waved his hand. “That’s not what I meant, Elder Lu. It’s just that this creature doesn’t look anything like a flood dragon.”

Lu Shengyang found this rather odd. “Descriptions of flood dragons have varied greatly since ancient times. Surely you haven’t actually seen one yourself?”

Wu You was at a loss for words. He couldn’t very well say that he had seen one—especially since Ao Guang, strictly speaking, was his own creation, marked by his personal bias. Perhaps in this world, flood dragons really did look like this.

System prompt: Aberrant lifeform information detected. Please collect clues.

The prompt from the system appeared so suddenly that Wu You was instantly filled with foreboding.

Aberrant lifeform? Judging by the name, it couldn’t be anything good—and the system never provided useless information. If it wanted him to gather clues, chances were he’d eventually have to face this so-called blood-scaled flood dragon himself—either to capture it as a specimen, or to eliminate it outright. Wu You suspected the latter was more likely.

He’d long wondered why this biological alchemy system existed at all. Surely it wasn’t bestowed by a god who took pity on him and tailored it just to help him reach the heights of life. To be honest, he didn’t think he was any more pitiable than anyone else. His family’s predicament, at its worst, was just a temporary setback—without the system, they would have found a way through eventually.

But now, with the appearance of the term “aberrant lifeform,” perhaps a sliver of the system’s true nature had been revealed.

Wait, something wasn’t right.

Damn, Lu Shengyang had just said the blood-scaled flood dragon ran rampant in the Tiansha River and devoured countless people. Even a group of top martial artists working together had failed to kill it. Damn it, right now the only creatures he could summon were of iron rank, and even with the power of the demon gods, he was far from a match for that beast.

Hopefully, when the time came, the system would grant him higher-level permissions. If he could reach silver rank and send Ao Guang to take down the blood-scaled flood dragon, there might be a chance.

Wu You had absolutely no intention of learning martial arts in this world to deal with the blood-scaled flood dragon. Tempting as martial arts were, Elder Lu had already said that even the top masters, working together, hadn’t been able to slay the thing. Besides, who knew how long it would take to train in the martial arts? And even if he succeeded, it would be useless.

Well, perhaps he was worrying too much for now—the system hadn’t given him a task to handle the blood-scaled flood dragon yet.

...

Lu Shengyang watched as Wu You once again drifted into a daze and sighed inwardly. Clearly, this young master had been secluded for far too long, with no one to talk to for years. He must have spent most of his days in deep thought, alone in the mountains. How pitiful.

...

At that moment, Little Black returned from outside, a freshly killed zhangzi in its mouth. Wu You had only ever prepared chickens, ducks, and fish, never anything as large as a zhangzi the size of a young deer. This time, Lu Shengyang eagerly volunteered to handle the gutting, skinning, and cleaning.

When the two zhangzi legs sizzled on the fire and the fat began to drip, Wu You, Ji Haoxuan, and Lu Shengyang all found their attention fixed on the roasting meat.

Neither the old nor the young had eaten anything substantial all day, and their stomachs were rumbling with hunger. Wu You, too, having just emptied his stomach earlier, now found his hunger returning with a vengeance.

Lu Shengyang’s skill with roast meat was impressive—crispy on the outside, tender within, and with a pinch of salt Wu You had produced from his seemingly bottomless mountaineering pack, the three nearly swallowed their tongues in delight.

What surprised Wu You most was that, having just killed a man and vomited until there was nothing left, he now found himself eating heartily, as if nothing had happened at all.