Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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While it was supposed to be rest, Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan actually spent the entire night searching for clues on their phones, trying to find similar cases in ancient books and the Baoyang Notes.
There were countless examples of ancestors causing trouble at the ancestral hall, with all sorts of reasons, but none of them involve ancestors causing trouble while refusing to see a Taoist priest to resolve the issue. Instead, Xie Lingya found several instances where ancestors foreshadowed impending disaster, warning their descendants in hopes of receiving help, which he copied down one by one.
Moreover, Xie Lingya recalled that Elder Shang had mentioned a cow being struck dead by lightning near the feng shui pond, struck twice by lightning, not far apart, both times landing—something he found eerie. Furthermore, his ancestral master was associated with lightning and fire; although he didn’t know if there was a connection, he had paid attention to incidents involving lightning strikes while searching.
The two studied late into the night, their eyes bloodshot. It wasn’t until after eight o’clock the next morning, when Pang Yuan’s daughter came to call them for breakfast, that Xie Lingya slammed his hand on the table: “Damn, we found it! It must be this!”
Shi Changxuan also perked up, “What?”
Xie Lingya handed him his phone; it was a travelogue from the Baoyang Notes, detailing the journeys of a certain ancestor.
Two hundred years ago, the patriarch of Baoyang Temple was traveling to seek enlightenment. On his journey, he passed through an open field when suddenly the wind and clouds shifted, and rain began to fall, with distant thunderclouds looming.
The patriarch immediately knew thunder was imminent.
At that moment, he noticed a small ornament hanging from a small tree, its colors vibrant— red, black, and yellow— woven like brocade. The patriarch, learned and knowledgeable, immediately said, “This is a docile dragon. Thunderclouds are approaching, and the surrounding area is open; the small tree may not be able to protect its life.”
With that, the patriarch took out a cow horn from his bundle— something he had saved up for a long time to buy, intending to use it for divination. As soon as the patriarch held out the horn, the little snake, being intelligent, immediately slithered inside.
The patriarch tied the horn to the tree and rested at a distance, holding an umbrella. After a while, the thunderclouds arrived, and sure enough, a bolt of lightning struck, shattering the horn to pieces, but the little snake remained unharmed.
Afterward, the little snake willingly followed the patriarch, becoming his beloved pet.
“A ‘docile dragon’?” Shi Changxuan’s eyes flickered. Although the specific events were different, the core content did indeed seem very similar.
Xie Lingya searched for “docile dragon” in his notes again, finding more information, including accounts and supplements from generations of masters, which were quite detailed.
There was a quote from the *Taiping Guangji*: “It is said that docile dragons are troubled by bringing rain and often hide, only to be captured by the Thunder God. They hide among ancient trees and pillars, or in the wilderness, with nowhere to escape, like the horns of a cow or the body of a shepherd boy. They are often struck dead by this creature.”
There were also accounts of docile dragons hiding in people’s mouths or the knuckles of their middle fingers.
The ancients believed that docile dragons were a type of dragon that did not want to bring rain and hid everywhere, mostly ending up being captured by the Thunder God.
In Taoism, and in the Baoyang Temple, the explanation was even more detailed. Snakes were small dragons, and the so-called docile dragon was actually a snake that had gained sentience through a chance encounter, and this kind of snake was probably of “water attribute,” so it had some abilities in this regard.
Of course, becoming a “dragon” wasn’t something one could do casually. A docile dragon was easily struck by lightning, much like a lightning rod. Therefore, they’ve developed the ability to hide, able to conceal themselves silently, almost without revealing a trace.
—But, but! It’s true that docile dragons feared lightning. The Baoyang Notes say that if a Daoist practicing lightning talismans raises one, their magic will greatly improve, since thunder and rain always occur together.
What happened in Xiaoba Village basically matched up, and this also explained why Xie Lingya couldn’t invite the Shang clan ancestors.
The Shang clan ancestors’ trouble wasn’t because of the Feng Shui Pond; the trouble was caused on the day the ox was struck dead. It was highly likely that after the docile dragon lost its ox horn as a habitat, it turned to…
Xie Lingya muttered to himself, “The Shang clan ancestral hall is over a hundred years old.”
He thought of the large, thick beams of the ancestral hall. If the docile dragon were hiding inside, the Shang clan ancestors would naturally be dissatisfied and begin warning their descendants. Unfortunately, they couldn’t understand, leading to the Shang clan ancestors’ worst fear coming true.
Thunder struck, and lightning struck their ancestral hall.
Ghosts feared thunder and fire; it was no wonder they couldn’t summon their Shang ancestors.
And thankfully, last night it was just a thunderstorm; if there had been more thunder, wouldn’t the ancestral hall have suffered more than just a collapsed roof?
Xie Lingya mentally reviewed the situation and was basically certain.
Why did the ancestral master hint at coming to Xiaoba Village? Because there’s a docile dragon there; raising it would give him a buff!
“Our ancestor still cares about people, knowing there’s good news and thinking of me.”
Xie Lingya pretended to wipe away tears, then eagerly said, “Senior brother, let’s go catch snakes!”
Shi Changxuan looked at him amusedly, “Get some sleep first.”
Although Xie Lingya had stayed up all night, he was still excited and a little afraid that things might go wrong if he stayed up too long. “I don’t feel particularly sleepy.”
Shi Changxuan calmly said, “I checked, there won’t be any thunderstorms in the next two days.”
“Okay.” Xie Lingya reluctantly lay down, and Shi Changxuan also lay down on the bed, covering his eyes.
Darkness enveloped Xie Lingya, and the only sound was the crowing of roosters in the countryside. Before long, fatigue overwhelmed him, and he fell asleep.
The two didn’t wake up until the afternoon. Xie Lingya was extremely hungry and barely managed to crawl to the main room where he wolfed down a few biscuits before he came back to life. Then he immediately went to discuss something with Elder Shang.
While they were discussing the matter, Elder Shang was supervising the villagers’ roof repairs in the ancestral hall. Xie Lingya told him, “We’ve determined what’s causing the trouble.”
The old man perked up. “What?”
“I can’t say,” Xie Lingya pointed inside, “otherwise they’ll hear.”
The old man nodded knowingly. “Then what should we do? You should fix it quickly.”
Xie Lingya whispered, “That requires you to discuss it with the villagers. There’s a cost issue…”
More than an hour later, as darkness fell, the old man had finished consulting with the villagers.
So, Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan entered the ancestral hall. Shi Changxuan carefully examined the location, using thatch as a guide, and patted a beam.
Xie Lingya smiled strangely. Last night, he had been standing right next to it when a piece of tile struck by lightning almost hit him. Now it suddenly dawned on him— no wonder the lightning hadn’t been kind to Sazu’s disciple; if he hadn’t been standing there last night, it probably would have struck this very beam.
The villagers repairing the roof brought more timber and stone slabs from elsewhere, stacking them to support the ancestral hall’s roof.
Shang Wu had also come; he was the one who had bought all of this. Because of the ancestral hall, he had endured so much scorn; even when he provided timber and stone slabs, people would say, “You know you’re wrong.”
Xie Lingya dissolved realgar powder in varnish and then applied three coats to the beam. At this moment, the villagers chopped the beam off from the top, and several of them together laid it flat on the ground. This beam was one of the main load-bearing pillars; with it fallen, the weight of the roof would naturally fall on the timber they were using as a temporary replacement— and they would have to find an old tree of similar size to make another beam.
After the beam was laid flat, everyone was shocked.
The ancestral hall was built with the finest timber, specially treated so that it shouldn’t rot for hundreds of years and be difficult to infest with insects. However, upon closer inspection, they discovered a hole the size of a teacup’s rim in the middle of the beam! It was a dark, gaping hole, and no one knew how deep it was!
Although only Elder Shang knew for sure why the beam was being cut, the others weren’t stupid and vaguely guessed what was going on. They all looked at Xie Lingya and the other man with awe.
Shang Wu was especially excited; it seemed there was something inside the pillar. If that was the case, then it had nothing to do with him, right? The ancestor was angry because the ancestral hall was infested with insects!
Xie Lingya saw that there was no reaction inside the hole. Elder Shang asked him if he wanted to split it open, but he shook his head. He took a cow horn that Pang Yuan had gotten and placed it by the hole.
Still, there was no reaction. Xie Lingya then took a handful of dried mugwort, lit it, placed it by the hole, and carefully fanned the smoke in with a small palm-leaf fan.
Everyone watched this scene nervously, especially Shang Wu, who was completely mesmerized.
About a minute later, they saw a round snake head emerge from the hole, small and thin, only about the thickness of an adult man’s finger, its body brightly colored.
Having probably imagined it beforehand, seeing it still instilled a sense of fear in them, and they all took a step back.
Although they didn’t know what a “docile dragon” was, they knew that among the most malevolent animals in folklore, besides weasels, foxes, rats, and hedgehogs, snakes were certainly among them! They were prone to causing trouble!
The small snake poked its head out of the hole, flicked its head twice, and then darted into the ox’s horn, coiling itself up!
Xie Lingya, holding the ox horn, said, “These past few days have been because of it. After the beams and pillars are replaced, you should invite the shaman to perform a ritual to appease the ancestors, and everything will be fine.”
The dozen or so villagers present all breathed a sigh of relief. Shang Wu excitedly said, “Master, you’re saying it’s because of it? Then it has nothing to do with filling the pond?”
Xie Lingya smiled, “It has nothing to do with it. A feng shui pond is indeed good for feng shui, but the burial site for this land is actually at the ancestral hall. This is the dragon’s head, and the pagoda outside is the dragon’s horn. That’s why some villagers feel that the village’s luck has worsened after the feng shui pond was filled. Actually, the landmark event wasn’t filling the pond, but the ox being struck by lightning. That snake was hiding in the ox horn that day.”
Shang Wu almost shouted to the heavens, “I’m finally exonerated!”
The other villagers also apologized to him sheepishly, “Lao Wu, this really has nothing to do with you.”
Shang Wu was almost in tears and decided to give the master another red envelope privately.
“Master, then what should we do with this?” Old Shang asked, pointing to the ox horn in his hand.
Xie Lingya said, “It’s alright, I’ll take it with me and raise it. You don’t need to worry about it.”
For a moment, everyone’s gazes towards them became even more complicated. No wonder they were masters; they dared to raise even such a monstrous creature.
Just as Xie Lingya was about to put away the ox horn, he heard Liu Lingtong say in a tearful voice, “Can…can you put it further away? I’m scared—” Liu Lingtong was actually afraid of snakes? So timid! Logically, wood shouldn’t be afraid of snakes; it’s probably a habit of living souls. Xie Lingya switched hands and whispered a few more words of comfort.
….
Because he was in a hurry to settle the docile dragon, Xie Lingya decided to rush back that night.
Old Shang hurriedly sealed two packages for them, and before leaving, sincerely said, “I wish both masters a smooth and prosperous future.”
Xie Lingya: “…………”
Xie Lingya: “…Thank you.”
He accepted Old Shang’s sincere blessings, and at Shang Wu’s volunteering, he hitched a ride with him from the village to the station.
Xie Lingya held the ox horn in his hand and looked inside. The docile dragon, no longer than a baby’s arm and very thin, was coiled within the horn. As Xie Lingya looked inside, it tilted its head back and flicked its tongue.
Then, the docile dragon swam out, its body upright and swaying slightly.
For some reason, Xie Lingya wasn’t afraid it would bite and even reached out to touch it. The docile dragon immediately wrapped its arm around Xie Lingya’s wrist, its tail even looping around his middle finger before rubbing against his wrist.
The “docile” in “docile dragon” should normally mean eccentric or unruly, but in Xie Lingya’s hands, it seemed to mean obedient.
Shang Wu, seeing this in the rearview mirror, was sweating profusely.
Xie Lingya brought his hand closer to the ox horn, but the docile dragon wouldn’t move down; it seemed that Xie Lingya’s hand was more attractive to it than the ox horn.
Shi Changxuan smiled and whispered, “It’s safer with you around.”
Xie Lingya remembered what he read in the book, “That’s right, if you’re going to chop me up, you should first…” He paused halfway through his sentence, then realized what he meant and laughed, “Damn it, who the hell would chop me up?!”
No wonder the little dragon didn’t resist at all. Xie Lingya raised his hand and said, “Focus on following Teacher Xie for buffs, Teacher Xie will protect you!”
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