Chapter 57: The Dragon in the Water

The slow crawl left me feeling miserable. After two hours of painstaking movement across the steep slope, we finally reached a platform midway up the mountain. Looking out, the Heavenly Lake below appeared before us like a blue mirror.

“Are we still going down?” I asked hesitantly.

Grimace Zhang nodded. Beside him, Kaleidoscope was even worse off than I was, sitting on the ground pale as a sheet.

“Third Brother, let’s rest a while. We can talk about it tomorrow,” Kaleidoscope panted, as if he were on the verge of collapse.

“Wait! What—what is that?!” One of our companions standing on the slope suddenly shouted, startling me.

In the Heavenly Lake, a black spot drifted left and right beneath the clear blue water. The shadow was submerged, shaped like a trumpet.

Everyone was stunned, faces filled with fear. From our vantage point, at least four or five hundred meters up the cliff, the black spot was so clear that whatever it was, it must have been at least twenty meters long!

“A whale? Is it a whale?” Iron-Crutch Liu said, his face stricken.

“Impossible. Heavenly Lake is freshwater; how could it be a whale?” Kaleidoscope mumbled.

Grimace Zhang was drenched in cold sweat, evidently frightened. He steadied himself, looked at Master, and stretched out his hand. “Give me the binoculars!”

Master nodded and was about to hand over the binoculars when suddenly, the black spot flipped and sprayed water like a jet, then vanished beneath the surface.

Everyone was so terrified they fell silent for several minutes. Iron-Crutch Liu, looking dejected, cursed, “What the hell is going on here?”

My mind was in turmoil, nearly suffocating. Was I in “Jurassic Park” or the “Classic of Mountains and Seas”? There were ghost birds and now a lake monster—I could hardly believe in society or life anymore.

Drip, drip… Rain began to fall from the sky. Suddenly, the clear weather turned ominous as clouds gathered.

“What’s happening?” Iron-Crutch Liu seemed on the brink of hysteria, befuddled by all the impossibilities.

No sooner had he spoken than something even more unexpected happened.

Black clouds drifted in, quickly blanketing the sky. Darkness fell, not a single beam of sunlight broke through—it was as if night had descended.

A flash of lightning split the horizon. Amidst the thunderous glow, an unforgettable scene unfolded.

“What is that?!” our companion screamed hysterically.

In the very center of Heavenly Lake, a colossal, sky-reaching object soared through the air, at least a dozen meters in diameter. Its size could only be described as towering to the heavens. The lower part was submerged, while the portion above water pierced straight up into the sky.

“That—that’s a dragon!” I could scarcely believe my own eyes—there was truly a dragon.

Suddenly, torrential rain poured from the heavens, thunder and lightning raged above, and the giant dragon danced amid the storm, spinning and stirring up waves. The lightning seemed to roar with it; the sight was utterly breathtaking.

We were frozen in place, minds blank.

The storm did not last long; the dragon gradually ceased its flight, slowly sinking back beneath the waters of Heavenly Lake. As it disappeared, the sky brightened, the clouds drifted away.

We stood there, drenched and stunned for several minutes. Fatty Lin shivered and said, “Let’s—let’s go back.”

Grimace Zhang, though expressionless, was clearly shaken. After all, a dragon was a legendary creature. To see one and still live was extraordinary.

He hesitated for a moment, took out a cigarette, drew on it twice, steadied himself. “No. I’m determined to go down. Forbidden places always hold rare treasures. If I turn back now, how will our Nine Gates stand in the future?”

Kaleidoscope nudged Grimace Zhang. “Third Brother, is your life less important than your reputation? There’s a dragon in the water—do you dare go down?”

Grimace Zhang was visibly uncertain; encountering a legendary beast was beyond his expectations.

He took another drag, glanced at Master. “Fourth Brother, what do you think?”

Master was calmer than Kaleidoscope or Iron-Crutch Liu, sighing, “I still want to go down and see. We may not run into the dragon, and if there were ghost birds and dragons here from the start, how was the tomb constructed? There must be a way in.”

Kaleidoscope spat, “Fourth Brother, you’re just hoping for luck! Don’t say we won’t meet it—what if we do? We’d all become ‘dragon dung,’ right? If you want to go, go alone. I haven’t lived enough yet.”

His words made everyone waver, but nobody spoke; all eyes were on Grimace Zhang.

Grimace Zhang fell silent for a long time, then looked at Lord Dragon. “Sha Seventh, what about you?”

Lord Dragon shook his head. “I’ll follow your lead, Third Brother. Big Brother and Second Brother sent you for a reason.”

Grimace Zhang nodded, stubbed out his cigarette. “Set camp here. Tomorrow we start down, prepare to enter Heavenly Lake.”

“Damn it, Third Brother, are you crazy?” Kaleidoscope shouted in fury. “Even if Big Brother and Second Brother were here, this tomb couldn’t be handled. Stop acting tough. I’m going back.” He turned to descend the mountain.

“Do you want to die?” Grimace Zhang said coldly, darting behind Kaleidoscope and drawing his long knife. “If you want to die, say so—I’ll oblige you now.”

Kaleidoscope gasped, cold sweat pouring from his forehead. After a moment’s thought, he nodded quietly, and Grimace Zhang withdrew the blade from his neck.

“Don’t be like this, we’re all on the same side—why turn weapons on each other?” Lord Dragon hurried over to smooth things out. “Sixth Brother’s thinking for everyone. With a dragon that size in the water, if we meet it, there’s no way back.”

Grimace Zhang snorted, looking at Lord Dragon. “Aren’t you Lord Dragon? Can’t you handle something like that underwater?”

Lord Dragon forced a smile and lowered his head in silence.

The sun was already setting, darkness approaching. Lord Dragon quickly ordered the men to pitch tents and light the bonfires. Soon, everything was ready, and we rested, ate, and recuperated.

I glanced at Grimace Zhang, who sat by the fire lost in thought. Gone was his usual unruly demeanor; he seemed weighed down, his blue eyes gazing deeply at the mirrored surface of Heavenly Lake, sighing from time to time. He quietly pulled out a cigarette, held it in his mouth, lit it, but didn’t smoke, letting it burn away.

“Uncle Master,” I approached him. “Do you think the dragon will appear tonight?”

Grimace Zhang didn’t turn, sighing quietly. “I don’t know.”

“Looks like the dragon has no intention of attacking us. What do you think?”

Grimace Zhang nodded. “Hmm.” He took a deep drag, exhaled slowly. “I don’t understand. If there really is a water dragon below, it could wipe us out in an instant. Why are we still safe?”

His doubts echoed mine. If there truly was a legendary dragon beneath, our chances of survival would be nil. How could we still be unharmed?

“We’re thinking the same thing,” I whispered. “Think about it—when the dragon appeared, we were at least three or four miles away, and it was pitch dark. Maybe we saw wrong. Maybe what we saw wasn’t some legendary ‘flood dragon’ or ‘dragon’ at all.”

Grimace Zhang nodded. “So what do you think we should do now?”