"Are you Taoist Priest Feng?" Zhao Ying asked cautiously.
"Who is asking?" the old man said, stroking his beard.
"We are looking for the water dragon," Zhao Ying answered.
"Water dragon? Isn't that a folk tale?" the old man said, raising an eyebrow at them.
"Is it though?" Xiaodan said, looking at the old man. The old man met Xiaodan's gaze and laughed.
"I can see how eager you are, just like me," the old man chuckled and continued to stroke his beard.
"Alright, I will tell you the truth, but first you must all tell me who you all are," he said.
"Ah, please excuse us for not introducing ourselves," Zhao Ying said, slightly bowing her head. Soon, they introduced themselves to the old man.
"So I guess it is time. It has been a long time now," the old man said, stroking his beard once again.
"So are you Taoist Priest Feng?" Zhao Ying asked.
"I am," the old man answered. Zhao Ying's eyes showed a sign of relief.
"How can we be so sure that you are the taoist priest?" Zhang Yuz said, still cautious.
"Why would anyone lie about being a taoist priest?" Taoist Priest Feng said, looking at the man who spoke.
"Easy, to gain our trust and steal from us when our guard is down," Zhang Yuz said, still on guard.
"But wasn't it you all who came to me and started asking me questions? All I did was answer it," Taoist Priest Feng said, neither fast nor slow. He didn't seem bothered by Zhang Yuz's rude remark. He was calmly answering him with patience. Zhang Yuz couldn't come up with another remark and went quiet.
"Taoist Priest Feng, I do apologize for questioning you, but can you please unseal the water dragon. People can barely survive through this drought. We need the water dragon again. We need it to rain," Fu Zhong said, seriously.
"Mmm," Taoist Priest Feng stroked his beard and looked at Fu Zhong. "What you said is correct. Their cries had reached the heavens, and they gave me a sign that it is time to unseal the dragon," Taoist Priest Feng said.
"And she had indeed been sealed for a long time now...," he added. He then reached into his sleeve.
"Here, take this and go to that mountain. At the bottom of the mountain, you will see two big boulders. You will be able to go through the two boulders with this. Once you enter, this will disappear and return to me. Then you can burn the seal to free the water dragon," the old man said, handing a crystal clear circle pendant with a golden dragon carved in it to Fu Zhong.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Jiu Jun asked.
"There is no need for me. I have done my job. I'll leave the rest to you all," Taoist Priest Feng said, turning to leave. "I should start packing the wine that I finished making. Ah, the wine I left to age in the heavens should be ready now. I can't wait to taste it. It should be delicious," the old man mumbled to himself and swallowed his saliva, thinking of his wine.
They all stood there, watching the old man leave them behind. They were still stunned to see him leave.
"I guess..., we should head to the mountain then," Fu Zhong said slowly. They all nodded their heads and headed to Mountain Su.
___
They reached Mountain Su and spotted the two big boulders. Once they were in front of the two boulders, the golden dragon on the crystal pendant glowed brightly before dimming quickly. Fu Zhong stuck his hand out to touch the solid rock, and his hand went through it. It was an illusion, and Fu Zhong was the first one to step in between the two boulders. Soon they had entered and were in a hidden cave, but before they could go deeper, they saw a clear barrier blocking their path and a golden seal on a rock.
"Stinky old man, have you come to visit again? You're not drinking your rice wine today?" A crisp, soft voice spoke from deep in the cave. Soon, footsteps came to meet them.
They meet a pair of cold, clear eyes staring at them.
"This is new. Who are you all?" A beautiful woman in a sky-blue robe spoke in mockery.
"Where is that old man?" The beautiful woman scanned each of them and didn't spot the old man.
"We...are here to free you," Zhao Ying spoke.
"Hah," the water dragon coldly laughed. "Free me? How so? You all are a bunch of morals but I am surprised you are able to get in here. How is that possible?" The beautiful woman raised an eyebrow.
"Taoist Priest Feng gave us a pendant that allows us to get in here," Zhao Ying answered as Fu Zhong showed her the crystal pendant before it gleamed in his hand and disappeared.
"That's ridiculous for him to hand you that. Why would he do such an absurd thing?" the water dragon mocked.
"He wanted us to unseal you," Zhao Ying responded.
Immediately, the water dragon burst into laughter. "Unseal me. You all have been fooled by that old man."
They all stared at her. Fu Zhong and He Jingy didn't speak but stepped forward. They looked at the golden seal on the rock. He Jingy pulled out a flame stick and handed it to Fu Zhong. They ignited it before Fu Zhong burned the seal. They watched it burn into ashes. They waited to see if anything grand would happen and the barrier would disperse, but nothing happened, and the barrier was still there.
The water dragon once again laughed her lungs out, "What did I tell you. You got fooled by the old man, just like me. Can't you see the barrier is still here?"
A sigh appeared behind them, "The barrier is from you, not from the flimsy paper."
YOU ARE READING
Cupid's Assistant
FantasyCupid. A small chubby boy with wings who carries a bow that shoots arrows of love to anyone in his way. Whoever gets struck by his arrows will fall in love with whomever they see. However, time has changed and Cupid no longer works alone. Now he has...
