Chapter 49: Chapter 48: Lake Dragon King, Encountering a Sage

The raincoat fisherman named "Wen Si" asked the first question:

"There was once a village by the Dongting Lake, where a family lived consisting of only a couple and their lazy son."

"All the couple ever thought about was how to get their son to marry a wealthy family’s daughter, to earn a significant dowry, gain social status, and rise above the rural poverty."

"By chance, the couple encountered the governor’s daughter who had eloped, and they conceived a despicable plot to have her abducted, so their son could rescue her, leading to a ’perfect match.’"

"However, unfortunately, their scheme was exposed midway, and the couple, in their wickedness, decided to strangle her alive."

"In Dongting Lake lived the Lake Dragon King, who, upon seeing this evil act, was troubled and remembered his vow to never step foot on land, focusing solely on cultivation."

"Thus, he pretended to need a sacrificial maiden, otherwise he would come ashore and kill, instructing the couple to offer a sacrifice by noon the following day."

"Fearing divine wrath, the couple dared not disobey and indeed by noon the next day, they tied up the governor’s daughter, sailed to the center of the lake on a bamboo raft, and prepared to drown her in a pig basket."

"The Lake Dragon King saw this and immediately swallowed the couple whole, while the girl was saved by the arriving governor’s guards."

Considering the lengthy context of the question, the fisherman, who already spoke slowly, slowed further, speaking deliberately but clearly understandable.

There was a certain earnestness about him.

The fisherman’s fish-like eyes turned to Chen Kuang, and he continued:

"Yet this action led to endless troubles. People believed the Dragon King wreaked havoc, and to seek protection, they competed to offer maidens, thinking the more offered, the more sincere."

"The governor’s daughter was rescued and brought home but less than a month later was sacrificed by the governor himself, as an example."

"People oddly viewed this as loving the citizens like one’s children, whereas the calamity... was initiated by the Dragon King’s compassionate thought."

The fisherman’s tone turned somewhat melancholy:

"My apprentice brother, do you think the Dragon King was right or wrong?"

Chen Kuang fell into contemplation.

He was not hesitating due to uncertainty about the answer; the answer was quite clear.

He didn’t even need to discern if Wen Si was lying, the stance of the story was very apparent.

And when it uttered the word "calamity," it truly was lying.

This indicates that it firmly believes the Dragon King did nothing wrong.

So long as he aligns with it, the issue naturally resolves.

Chen Kuang was hesitant because Dongting Lake, the Dragon King being sacrificed, these two keywords combined were too familiar to him...

Isn’t this the expanded version of what the Nameless Musician told him about the birth of Dragon’s Gums?

Chen Kuang looked at the ancient qin (instrument) before him with a subtle gaze, twitching at the corner of his eyes.

In the version told by the Nameless Musician, the Music Saint Xi Mengquan was passing by Dongting Lake and upon seeing local people sacrificing to the Dragon King, jumped into the lake and pummeled the Dragon King...

He even knocked out its teeth to create Dragon’s Gums.

It surely couldn’t be such a coincidence, could it?

Chen Kuang coughed twice and said:

"The Dragon King acted with good intentions that backfired; naturally it wasn’t wrong. These people are ignorant and foolish, offering sacrifices just to gain a reputation of goodness."

"Sacrificing others to fulfill their own good name, borrowing others’ generosity, is the worst of evils."

"These people bully the weak and fear the strong, venting their grievances, merely finding an excuse. If they truly thought the Dragon King wreaked havoc, why not stand up boldly with swords and defeat fate?"

"As Senior Brother Wensi said, so long as they muster the courage to try, they would find that the Lake Dragon King wouldn’t even step out of Dongting Lake, much less commit murder."

"The actual wrongdoers are themselves, hence they can’t attack themselves with swords and daggers."

"The Lake Dragon King is just an unfortunate excuse, it never did anything wrong."

Such people, in modern times, are referred to as hypocritical saints.

Chen Kuang’s analysis left the fisherman momentarily stunned.

Then, the tail under its raincoat thudded against the deck a few times in admiration:

"Good, well put about borrowing others’ generosity! A great remark about the swords not directed at oneself!"

Was this... um, applause?

Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow, unexpectedly finding this notorious demon surprisingly amiable and even a bit... sincere?

While Chen Kuang hesitated, the fisherman nodded to affirm his answer:

"You passed this question."

"The second question, listen well."

Once unfamiliar, twice comfortable.

Chen Kuang naturally said, "Senior Brother, please continue."

The fisherman’s fish eyes flashed with a hint of amusement.

It blew a bubble, looked at Qin Youyou on the boat, and asked:

"If the Lake Dragon King did no wrong, then if someone, without understanding right or wrong, thought the Dragon King threatened people to sacrifice maidens, beat him half to death, and arrogantly thought he was righteous."

"Then, was this person’s action right or wrong?"

Chen Kuang: "..."

Alright, now he could be sure.

The Lake Dragon King in the story is the fisherman Wen Si in front of him.

This means, the version of the story told by the musician is indeed true.

While the widely circulated dream-like, celestial story of swimming in the Dragon Palace is false.

The seemingly arrogant yet actually silly guy Wen Si speaks of... should be Music Saint Xi Mengquan.

Chen Kuang was a bit troubled now.

The qin he used belonged to the Music Saint, theoretically, if he ever had the chance to meet the Music Saint, he could claim some connection.

This would be quite a significant advantage.

However, if he were to slander him now, what if the Music Saint, with his divine power, senses something?

Yet given the current situation, Wen Si was clearly quite resentful, and not going along with him in anger might result in Chen Kuang’s demise today.

After all... this qin was likely made from the other’s dragon teeth.

In a position swap, if someone wore a necklace made from his teeth knocked out by an enemy, dangling it before him, he’d surely want to punch him...

Wen Si adhering to the rule of three questions was already quite gentlemanly.

"Of course, it’s completely wrong!"

Chen Kuang looked serious and genuine.

"The Dragon King was utterly innocent, even worse than Dou E’s unjust suffering, enough to make snow fall in June, this person should apologize to the Dragon King."

The raincoat fisherman wagged its tail again, clearly very pleased.

It laughed, "Good, good, good! With your words, I am reassured, junior brother!"

"Next is the third question."

"Hmm... it should be the simplest question."

The raincoat fisherman asked, "When did you meet the old Xi Mengquan?"

Chen Kuang was taken aback.

Why is it not a judgment question?

But this question was easy to answer, he definitely hadn’t met the Music Saint, so where comes the ’when met’... wait, that’s not right.

It... didn’t lie with this sentence?

Wen Si was certain this sentence was true, suggesting he thought Chen Kuang had met the Music Saint?!

Chen Kuang stiffened, suddenly breaking into a cold sweat.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com