51

Capítulo 17

Before long, everyone started chatting and laughing. A passing clothing merchant even started auctioning off his clothes, which everyone enjoyed. It turned into a mini auction, and the atmosphere became very lively.

"I have clothes to change into." Tang Chen smiled and waved the sportswear in his hand.

I actually envy his optimism.

“There must be a reason why we’re gathered here,” he said.

I've thought about that too, and about that terrible dream. But I can't think of anything in common. These travelers come from all over the world, with all sorts of professions; apart from Arlene, that lunatic, they're all just ordinary people.

We could barely find anything in common: apart from Tang Chen and me, everyone else was traveling alone and they all smoked.

But there is no pattern to it.

"All chaos must have its own rules, you just don't understand them yet," Shuo said.

Watching the endless drizzle, I thought of Shuo's words, "to prepare for a rainy day." Every word she spoke was meaningful. How did all of this begin?

Perhaps from the moment Tang Chen came to me, an event had already been initiated.

What was I doing when Tang Chen came to find me?

I'm braiding my hair with vanilla braids.

This might be confusing to some. Herb braids are made by braiding lemongrass, a type of grass, and are used for purification. The herb braids are lit, and the smoke is spread from the feet up, swirling around the body. It's said to be one of the purification rituals originating from Native American cultures.

…Tobacco was originally part of this kind of ritual. It's just that in modern times it has become an addiction.

I vaguely think I've grasped something, but I can't quite put it into words.

That night, we had a similar dream again. But this time it was much milder. Only the despair was heartbreaking… We both stayed awake, huddled together on the sofa, too afraid to sleep.

Nearby and far, fellow travelers staying at the hotel groaned and cried out in their sleep. But their memories of dreams were always faint.

"What exactly are you trying to tell us?" I muttered to myself. "At least give us some indication, right?"

It was still raining on the fourth day.

The passengers were listless and dispirited; even Tang Chen looked pale. Rainy days easily lead to low spirits, and being stranded only exacerbated the situation, leading to arguments and increasing friction.

By lunchtime, the atmosphere had become unbearably somber.

A sudden scream shattered the silence, followed by a chorus of screams. Even Arlene jumped onto the table.

I stared in disbelief as several snakes slithered leisurely across the floor before disappearing.

This is truly a once-in-a-century spectacle. I don't know where all those snakes came from, but they all swarmed into this motel. A vast, orderly procession gathered in the middle of the driveway, marching in the same direction like a parade.

Standing before the glass window, I was stunned. Blurred patches of emotion, tinged with sorrow, echoed with faint, almost imperceptible impacts.

"Ah, Shuo, you said I'm a sorcerer," I murmured, "but I can't become a sorcerer alone. A sorcerer needs at least two people..."

I turned and ran out.

Huang E shouted, "What are you trying to do?! You know perfectly well..."

"Yes, I know." Yes, I know. But I just couldn't bear to watch an innocent person be imprisoned. He even begged me for help... even though the methods were a bit violent.

We trudged through the heavy rain and through piles of snakes, which had grown high up like a small mountain.

I felt a bit like laughing and crying at the same time. I did say I wanted a landmark, but this kind of oddball is really unusually straightforward. He actually used millions of snakes to create a living landmark that is absolutely impossible to mistake.

"When a dragon travels, it will be accompanied by a violent storm!" I shouted at that living landmark.

A thunderclap immediately struck, making my ears ring. The snakes, like the receding tide, vanished without a trace.

Tang Chen ran over and watched me touching the cement floor.

"What are you looking for?" he shouted, as the sound of the rain almost drowned out his voice.

“There must be a lid or something…” I shouted back, “Go find a shovel or a hoe, I need to break this concrete block!”

The passengers all rushed over, asking, "What are you doing?"

"Don't listen to her! Don't listen to her!" Huang E shouted. "There's a dragon-like creature about to become a dragon down there! It'll cause a great flood!"

Although no one else could hear her, I answered anyway. "There's a dragon-like creature down there, almost fully grown. I don't know why it's trapped here... Rescuing it might cause a great flood. But if we don't rescue it, its tears will still cause a great flood! We can't stand being trapped here for more than a few days, but who knows how long it's been trapped!"

The rain poured down, and thunder flashed and roared incessantly.

The passengers were soaked in the rain and remained silent for a while. Tang Chen ran over helplessly, "Hengzhi, the boss won't lend us a shovel, saying we're digging randomly and he's going to sue us."

"If you've got the guts, sue me too." An uncle spat out the betel nut residue in his mouth. "Hey buddy, I have a power drill in the back of my car, let's carry it together."

The passengers all got to work together, and even Arlene, who hated monsters, came to help.

There must be a reason why we've gathered here.

The electric drill couldn't go very deep. Underneath the thin layer of cement was a large, square, black stone, like a lid covering it.

But there was a lock made of a peculiar metal that prevented the black stone slab from being opened. No matter how much it was hammered and smashed, it wouldn't budge.

But the fervent cries and pleas from below had already brought tears to many eyes, mingling with the rain.

Am I really going to be helpless like this? It's gotten to this point! I angrily pulled the slingshot, but it was no use. Just when I was in despair, I touched the small wooden sword my uncle had given me.

He said, "I've interfered too much too."

…Is he referring to more than just Tang Chen?

I tried it, and with a small wooden sword, I sliced the lock open as easily as cutting tofu. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, startling even myself.

With great effort, I pushed aside the large black stone slab, and deep, deep inside, there was a faint glimmer of water.

"You're free!" I shouted.

Cheers erupted from below, yet tinged with a hint of sorrow. His emotions were like a raging tsunami; I truly felt I would drown. He was overjoyed to be free, but having been trapped for so long, he had lost his sense of direction and could no longer distinguish up from down.

Tang Chen peeked out and let out a cry of both pain and joy.

"Arlene! Lend me your dragon!" I yelled at her. "Get your dragon into Tang Chen's hands! And bring Huang'e to me!"

I think that Tang Chen and I are like yin and yang to a dragon that has lost its way and its sense of direction. Doesn't a dragon dance need a dragon ball (a colorful ball) to guide its way? Tang Chen and I play that role, allowing the long-trapped dragon to move forward.

The moment a dragon transforms from a jiao (a type of serpent) is truly, truly, indescribably awe-inspiring and beautiful. Monsters, ghosts, dragons, or jiaos... Speaking the truth is really useless to people. But it is precisely because of this complexity and chaos that the world is filled with ambiguous, dark yet luminous colors.

The newly emerged dragon resembled a giant loach, its body still covered in an unsightly muddy color. But when it let out a dragon roar deeper and more resonant than thunder... those muddy scales peeled away one by one, revealing the blue-golden scales beneath, a beauty that no great painter could capture.

He moved gracefully and nimbly up and down with the gushing water column, letting out a fierce roar of extreme joy. The sound was so powerful that no one could stand up, but everyone seemed to be mesmerized, their faces wet with rain and tears.

"Son of Man, Son of Man!" His tsunami-like emotions were too much for me to bear. "I was trapped in the hands of the Son of Man, and I have escaped from the hands of the Son of Man. All grudges are settled, settled!"

Tang Chen and I bowed our heads to him without prior arrangement, while the others, out of fear of the god, worshipped him in the pouring rain.

The dragon let out a very loud laugh, "But I owe you such respect!"

He asked us what our wishes were, and I said I didn't have any. My wish... well, I don't want to be reincarnated. Tang Chen, on the other hand, said he wanted to go home safely.

“As easy as it gets.” He swept me, Tang Chen, Huang E, and even the car into the sky.

I suddenly felt extremely regretful. I should have reminded Tang Chen sooner that dragons and monsters are essentially the same thing, a very literal interpretation.

He didn't consider that the two of us mortals couldn't withstand such rapid flight; we both passed out halfway through.

Tang Chen and I were found unconscious in a park in Taipei, both of us soaking wet and clinging tightly to each other, while our car was bobbing up and down in a pond.

Yes, it's less than 100 meters from Tang Chen's house, and his girlfriend lives right across the street. Even more coincidentally, his lioness girlfriend went back to her home country early.

I don't want to talk about that chaos anymore. I was in the hospital for two days when I cried and begged Shuo to come and save me because I heard claws scratching at the door and the low growls of wild animals at night.

"Guan Haifa has taken back her talent." Shuo's voice sounded like he was suppressing a laugh.

"I can't be that sure!" I burst into tears.

But she still came to pick me up. I can only say that Shuo is so kind.

The following summer vacation was utterly bleak. Every day after midnight, there were large feline shadows looming outside the coffee shop, which made me feel a bit like I was going to have a nervous breakdown.

Huang E, having consumed the dragon's energy, was now on the verge of illness, but unfortunately, only his body was sick; his tongue still chattered incessantly. "Such a good opportunity, and you didn't even know to seize it, just devoured him clean, and everything would have been fine. Instead, you saved that dead dragon, making me lie here all day. Don't you have any conscience? Or have you been eaten by dogs…?"

I'll probably lose my hearing in my right ear too.

Things will be better once school starts, I think.

I live here in Shuo, and Tang Chen lives at school. We only bump into each other in class; otherwise, we don't really interact. His awful girlfriend should be relieved now…

A few days before school started, I finally understood why Shuo smiled so beautifully.

She rented another empty room upstairs in the coffee shop to Tang Chen.

…Me, me, me…Will I really survive to graduate? No, don't think that far ahead…I mean, will I survive past the second year?

"Shuo!" I cried out.

“I asked you first, didn’t I?” She winked.

“…You experts are really terrifying.” I burst into tears.

(The rain will stop after seven days)

Wasteland II

Prologue: Late Summer Dragon

In the late summer of the early 21st century, a technologically advanced era, a dragon suddenly appeared in southern Taiwan.

There were numerous eyewitnesses, and many people took photos. It quickly became headline news, and the story was broadcast so extensively it was practically worn out.

Legend has it that the dragon arrived amidst a violent storm, soaring above Lianhu University. Witnesses are swearing, but the photos are obscured by a blinding white light. Some say it was just a simulated lightning strike, while others claim it was a hoax.

But they simply couldn't explain why this silvery-white "lightning" with its blue glow could hover so gracefully in the air for a full two hours, and why the television station even had time to arrive and capture its lifelike image.

This matter caused quite a stir for a long time, and the enthusiasm didn't diminish even after the start of the school term.

Few people know the truth, and I prayed that I would remain completely ignorant. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

When that straight dragon came running, I was curled up in my home in Shuo, faithfully mimicking the ecology of a lobster, while Huang E nestled beside my pillow, fast asleep.

Actually, I should have been mentally prepared when Huang'e fell seriously ill after consuming the dragon's energy, but I was too panicked to do anything. I fled back to my home in Shuo and secretly rejoiced that only Huang'e was sick and that I was perfectly fine... at most, I caught a cold from being caught in the rain.

But I was completely wrong.

Huang'e and I are so deeply intertwined, and she fell ill; how could I possibly be alright? She was originally a demon with a predominantly yin nature, while I developed a constitution prone to weakness. Being struck by the extremely yang and powerful dragon energy... it was only a matter of time.

I don't even want to go into how terrible it was... Anyway, not long after I got back, the lioness's spirit came after me. Although she no longer had the ability to hurt people, this indomitable queen still released a powerful phantom, leaving my spirit scarred... To make matters worse, stimulated by the dragon's aura, I got my period early on the third day, like a flash flood.

Every day after using the restroom, I have to scrub the toilet, and after showering, I have to clean up the "crime scene." Add to that the lioness's fright, and I truly feel tormented both internally and externally, suffering terribly.

But Shuo looked at it for me and just said casually, "Just treat it as a way to boost metabolism." He didn't plan to prescribe any medicine.