Chapter 9: Crossing the Tribulation to Become a Dragon

The matchmaker, upon hearing this, hurriedly left Er Mao and approached the crippled man. She took the vegetable knife from his hand and thanked him repeatedly.

"Little sister-in-law, have you really seen Er Mao's butt?" the crippled man asked in a low voice.

"Is that even in question? When he was just a month old, I held him, and there was a mole the size of a fingernail on his butt," the matchmaker replied.

"Who else have you told about this?" The cripple's eyes flashed with a hint of murderous intent.

The matchmaker laughed, "Ha ha, I haven't told anyone. If I hadn't seen Er Mao today, I would have forgotten all about it."

Hearing her words, the crippled man chuckled, "Little sister-in-law, I raised Er Mao with great difficulty, and I was hoping he would take care of me in my old age. He can't stay in the village. Please, do me a favor and don't introduce him to any girls."

"Oh," the matchmaker replied, disappointed.

"Thank you," the cripple said. "Where do you live? There's a woodcutter's knife by the stove. I'll finish it tonight and deliver it to you in the morning."

"The last row, the house behind the big locust tree," the matchmaker politely declined. "Oh, it's really not necessary."

"No problem. You go back now. Could you also get that woman to leave? Don't let her keep bothering Er Mao," the cripple said.

The matchmaker, having benefited, didn't hesitate, quickly walking over to drag away the woman who had been pestering Er Mao.

Once the people had left, Er Mao felt a bit downhearted. He had expected the villagers to invite him over for a visit, but no one had extended an invitation.

It seemed the cripple had guessed what Er Mao was thinking, as he stepped forward and said, "I told you not to come back, but you wouldn't listen. Disappointed, huh?"

Er Mao silently sharpened the vegetable knife, not responding.

"Don't expect too much from others. You treat others very well, and if they return even a little of it, you're lucky," the cripple said, looking up at the sky. "Alright, it's getting late. Once you're done with the knife, we should prepare to rest for the night."

Er Mao, feeling low, casually hammered the knife to sharpen it, then dropped it into the water bucket to cool and temper it.

When he turned to tidy up, he found the cripple staring at him seriously.

Without needing the cripple to say anything, Er Mao immediately knew what his mistake was. He hurriedly took the knife out of the water, reheated it, and began to hammer it carefully. Though the cripple often joked with him, he never allowed Er Mao to slack off or take shortcuts in his work.

Once the knife was finished, it was almost dark. Earlier, during their conversation with the villagers, Er Mao had learned where his parents were buried, so he planned to go pay his respects. The cripple didn't stop him and accompanied him to the northern cemetery.

Ordinary folk's graves didn't have tombstones. Er Mao could only follow the villagers' descriptions and count three graves to the west of a crooked pine tree. The fourth grave was neglected, overgrown with weeds and shrubs, showing signs of no one tending to it.

With the vegetable knife, he hacked at the trees and used a spade to turn the earth. It took Er Mao half an hour to tidy up the grave. Just as he was about to kneel and bow, the cripple stopped him, saying, "No need, they can't bear it."

Er Mao was confused and turned to look at him.

"Oh, here's the thing," the cripple casually explained, "Da Mao is buried with them. If you bow to them, it's disrespectful to your brother."

Although Er Mao felt the cripple's explanation was somewhat forced, he didn't dwell on it. After a respectful bow, he sat by the grave for a while, and only when the night had fully fallen did he and the cripple leave the mountain.

Though the cripple's legs were weak, his eyesight was sharp. Even in the dark, he could still find the way down the mountain, while Er Mao stumbled repeatedly.

Though there was no moon that night, the sky was dotted with stars. It was the kind of weather that usually meant no rain. They still had some firewood left from earlier, so the two of them camped by the village entrance, lighting a fire to roast salted fish and flatbreads.

"Give me a name," Er Mao said, chewing on a flatbread.

"Don't you have a name?" the cripple asked, tilting his head.

"Er Mao is too common," Er Mao replied.

The cripple laughed. "Country kids usually have names like that. Giving you another one wouldn't make sense."

"Besides, that's just a childhood nickname. Now that I'm grown up, I need a proper name," Er Mao said.

"We'll talk about it later," the cripple changed the subject. "But you reminded me, the government has been strictly forbidding people from leaving their villages to escape disaster in recent years. Before we leave tomorrow, go ask the village head to write a certificate for your origin. This way, if you need to cross a checkpoint, the soldiers won't mistake you for a wandering beggar."

Er Mao nodded in agreement.

After dinner, they lay down in their clothes to sleep. Sleeping outside by the village entrance in summer was actually quite comfortable, as it was usually a windy spot, which not only made it cool but kept the mosquitoes away.

Er Mao had been worried that the cripple might cause trouble in the village, making it hard for him to show his face. However, the cripple behaved quite well tonight and didn't run around causing any trouble.

Though the cripple was old, he didn't snore while sleeping. As a result, Er Mao couldn't tell if the cripple was really asleep. Due to the day's fatigue, Er Mao soon fell into a deep slumber.

In the middle of the night, a sudden wind picked up. It came out of nowhere, not gradually but suddenly, howling loudly.

Er Mao woke up and sat up, noticing that the cripple was already awake and standing on a millstone, gazing eastward.

Er Mao rushed to the millstone and looked east as well, but it was so dark that he couldn't see anything.

"Why does it smell so fishy?" Er Mao sniffed the air.

The cripple didn't respond.

Just then, the howling wind overturned a cart, scattering tools everywhere. Their bedding was also blown away by the wind. Er Mao hurriedly ran over to tidy up.

"I'm going to relieve myself, don't run off," the cripple's voice came from the north.

Er Mao scrambled to roll up the bedding and quickly began to gather the tools. The sky was now filled with the rumble of thunder, and flashes of lightning lit up the sky. It was clear that a heavy rain was about to come.

Just as Er Mao was pushing the cart under a tree, a strange, eerie cry echoed from the east. Over the years, traveling with the cripple had broadened Er Mao's horizons, but he'd never heard such a sound before. It sounded like a cow's moo, but also like a tiger's roar—deep and heavy, full of ominous violence.

Er Mao rushed to the millstone and craned his neck to look, but the sound seemed to come from ten miles away. Judging by the distance, it was probably coming from the sea. Whatever it was, it was making quite a commotion, so it was surely no small creature.

At that moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the eastern sky, and in the brief flash, Er Mao saw many people standing on the beach in the distance. He also faintly heard the panicked whinnies of horses.

After the lightning, the heavy rain began to pour, and the eerie cries continued.

The sky had become overcast, and visibility was zero. With the rain pouring down, Er Mao thought about jumping off the millstone to seek shelter under the tree. Just as he was about to do so, another flash of lightning lit up the night sky.

When the lightning struck, Er Mao was left dumbfounded. What shocked him wasn't the blinding flash, but the huge serpentine creature that seemed to be winding through the air. It was a giant creature, twisting upward with the rainstorm, and the lightning struck it directly.

When Er Mao regained his senses, he realized that the creature in the sky was a flood dragon undergoing a tribulation to become a true dragon. Traveling with the cripple had its advantages. At least he had heard stories and seen things, so he understood what was happening.

However, this was the first time he had seen a flood dragon undergoing a tribulation. Just as he silently worried for the dragon, another flash of lightning struck it. Through the flash, Er Mao saw that the dragon had not been struck down, and it was still twisting and climbing higher, defying the lightning.

The rain obscured his view, and Er Mao couldn't see what the people on the beach were doing. However, the dragon was already a hundred feet off the ground. No matter what the people on the beach were trying to do, they couldn't interfere.

The lightning kept striking, and the dragon seemed to struggle against the thunder, letting out painful roars after each strike.

At first, Er Mao could see the dragon every time the lightning flashed, but as it soared higher, disappearing beneath the clouds, it was no longer visible. All that remained were its roars and cries from the heavens.

The lightning intervals seemed to be fixed. As Er Mao wondered why there hadn't been a flash of lightning for a while, a loud, clear dragon's roar suddenly echoed from the heavens. This roar was even more powerful than the earlier growls, no longer filled with violence but with a cold, oppressive aura.

It was clear that the flood dragon had passed the tribulation and successfully transformed into a true dragon.

Er Mao looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the true dragon, but just then, someone on the beach shouted, "The dragon's molt has started to scatter, quick, go find it!"

Er Mao had never heard of dragon's molt, but he knew about snake skins, which were said to have medicinal properties. The people on the beach had come here to wait for the dragon to undergo its tribulation and were now scrambling to collect its shedding scales.

As the dragon successfully passed the tribulation, the wind and rain suddenly stopped. The giant dragon might still be up there, but without the lightning, Er Mao couldn't see it anymore.

Just as Er Mao was about to look away, something fell from the sky, landing on the millstone with a sharp sound, then bouncing off and landing nearby.

Because it was too dark, Er Mao couldn't see what had fallen, but he followed the sound and felt around. Soon, he found a strange object in the mud, about a foot long, smooth and rounded, with one end wider than the other, resembling a small hammer.

Just then, footsteps were heard nearby. Worried that the cripple might take his find, Er Mao quickly hid it. "Where did you go for so long?"

"I had to relieve myself," the cripple said casually.

"There was a flood dragon undergoing a tribulation earlier, and the people on the beach were collecting its scales," Er Mao said. "That thing should be quite valuable. We should go collect it when it gets light."

"Don't go join the chaos. You'll die quickly," the cripple warned.

Just as Er Mao was about to reply, he heard someone in the village crying. At first, he didn't understand, but when the villagers began carrying oil lamps and torches to help, he realized that the big locust tree behind the village had been blown over by the strong wind, smashing houses and killing people…