Fellow Taoists, please respect yourself.

Chapter 94: Dragon in the River
The visitor was a young man, handsome and with great grace in his every move.

He stood opposite Jiang Lin, put down the jar of wine in his hand, and bowed to Jiang Lin.

"I am Longshui, nice to meet you, Master."

Jiang Lin then raised his head, glanced at the man, and asked softly, "Which dragon? Which water?"

"The dragon of Longshui Town, the water of Longshui Town."

Long Shui replied with a smile.

At the same time, he took out two wine glasses like a magic trick, then broke the mud seal on the wine jar, and immediately a mellow aroma of wine hit his face.

This is undoubtedly a good wine.

Jiang Lin didn't even look at it. He just picked up a fish, peeled off the scales, revealing the tender white fish meat, and ate it bit by bit.

"Crash..."

Long Shui poured two glasses of wine, raised one of them and handed it to Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin didn't take it and just ate his fish.

Seeing this, Long Shui smiled helplessly and said, "Master, you are so stingy. This wine of mine is aged for three centuries. I dare not say that it is as valuable as rare treasures, but this cup is at least as valuable as a weight of gold."

"This kind of wine can't even be exchanged for a fish from a wizard?"

Jiang Lin ate very quickly. In the blink of an eye, half of the fish was already in his stomach. After filling his stomach, Jiang Lin stopped and looked at Long Shui in front of him.

"I will not give you my fish in exchange, nor will I drink your wine."

"Whatever you want to do is your business, as long as it does not affect the people on both sides of the strait, you can do it."

Jiang Lin finished eating the remaining half of the fish, picked up the second one, and put it into his mouth in front of Long Shui.

Long Shui's expression froze, but he didn't say anything. He just drank two glasses of wine and then stood up.

Bow deeply and deeply.

"Master, please have mercy and give me a helping hand."

Jiang Lin lowered his head to eat fish and ignored all this.

"I have been practicing for five hundred years, and I am about to transform from a dragon into a dragon. However, there is a dragon-slaying sword hanging on Lingyun Ferry in Longshui Town. I really have no other choice, so I am brazen enough to come and ask for help."

"I pray that the master will have mercy and help me."

After saying that, Long Shui's body twisted, mainly his head changed. Black scales grew on his forehead and sides of his face, and a single horn tilted backwards appeared on his head.

This guy who calls himself Longshui is naturally not a human, but a successful dragon in cultivation.

However, compared to the viper dragon that Jiang Lin had encountered before, the dragon water in front of him seemed very normal.

It is better to say that among all the dragons, the viper is a one-in-a-million species that practices evil magic and follows the ways of the devil. Its fighting power is so strong that it even surpasses the old dragon of West Lake who has been practicing for three thousand years.

The dragon in front of him that calls itself Longshui is actually a dragon that has practiced step by step. It has no great magical powers and is just an ordinary dragon.

If a Jiaolong wants to become a real dragon, it must go from a river into the sea, which is both a way to sublimate itself and a way to overcome the calamity. This process is called walking Jiao.

I wouldn’t say the process is very dangerous, but at least it’s very dangerous in Longshui Town.

When the dragon moved, the river water surged, affecting the people on both sides of the river. This was naturally not a good thing for the people.

Therefore, a long sword would be hung upside down on the ferry bridge, and those who are more particular would ask a master to consecrate and cast a spell on it.

This sword is called Zhanlong, and it is used to kill the dragon.

When a dragon encounters such a dragon-slaying sword, it cannot be said that it is completely restrained, but it will still suffer a loss of skin. Not to mention, in Longshui Town, it is not just about being particular, but extremely particular.

Not only are there dragon-slaying swords hanging upside down on the three bridges above the river, but even the name of this town carries the meaning of cause and effect.

If you read Longshui Town backwards, isn’t it “Zhenshuilong”?
"You want to survive the tribulation. Whether you succeed or not is your own karma. It has nothing to do with me. I don't care about your business."

Jiang Lin finished eating the fish, wiped his mouth, stood up and said, "I don't want to say it for the third time."

Whether the dragon water can be transported successfully or not, it really has nothing to do with Jiang Lin.

If the people on both sides of the strait were affected when it was crossing the calamity, the Four Great Dragon Gods and the local City God would handle it, which would not overlap with Jiang Lin's "business scope".

Jiang Lin was also a little confused. Although Long Shui in front of him did not have any good fortune, it was because he had stayed in the mortal world for a long time.

Conversely, there is no karma or injustice done to him.

He is just an ordinary dragon who practices peacefully.

Logically speaking, if such a being wants to escape, it only needs to report to the City God and promise some benefits to the people on both sides of the strait, provided that it has not harmed the local people in the first place. The City God will be happy to help the people and send dreams to them.

By then, when the people on both sides of the strait have moved away, the wandering dragon will naturally not hurt anyone, and there will be no dragon-slaying sword to hinder it.

It was so heavy that some houses were destroyed.

If he fails to overcome the calamity, his inherent wisdom will turn into sweet rain and fall to the earth, which will be of great benefit to the people on both sides of the strait.

If it succeeds, the Jiaolong will turn into a real dragon, and naturally the people on both sides of the strait will benefit as well.

Moreover, no matter how poor he was, Jiang Lin didn't believe that a dragon that had been cultivating for five hundred years didn't have some family background.

If it really doesn't work, just take out some secular money and give the people on both sides of the strait some "relocation fees".

Therefore, Jiang Lin really didn’t understand why Long Shui would ask for help from someone who had nothing to do with him.

What I don’t understand is why Long Shui doesn’t use a simpler, more direct and more convenient way.

Originally, Jiang Lin thought that the many arrangements made in Longshui Town to prevent the wandering dragons were to prevent the dragon water in front of him.

But this guy has no blood karma at all, so it's not reliable to be on guard against him.

"The wizard looks confused."

Long Shui sat down again and said, "The night is long. If you have nothing to do, why don't you listen to me pour out my troubles?"

"I guess the Master is also wondering why I would ask you for help."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lin nodded and waited for Long Shui's next words.

Long Shui organized his words and said softly, "This Longshui Town was not called Longshui Town five hundred years ago, but Fengbo Town."

"It has this name because this place is often flooded, hence the name."

"And the reason for all this is because of my mother."

Jiang Lin's expression changed and he roughly guessed what was going on.

Long Shui smiled bitterly and said, "Five hundred years ago, my mother was just like me now, standing at the gate of the dragon."

"But my mother is not a kind person. She is also pregnant with me, so her mood is very unstable. Therefore, she often harassed the people on both sides of the strait. When she got angry, she caused floods."

"In this way, a lot of evil consequences and sins have accumulated."

"Therefore, the people on both sides of the strait set up a dragon-slaying sword to prevent the mother from walking away."

"But, my mother was used to being domineering, and she had some talent. She also wanted to give her unborn child a chance to start from a higher level, so she forced herself to become a dragon regardless of everything."

"In the end, he died under the Dragon Slaying Sword, and countless civilians were killed as well..."

Long Shui sighed, raised his head and pointed at himself, then smiled bitterly and said, "At the last moment of my mother's life, she used her last breath of energy to give birth to me."

"The dragon failed to escape, and its body turned into a bloody rain, wetting both banks."

"I was born right under the eyes of countless people at that time."

"They call me the wicked offspring of an evil dragon."

Jiang Lin listened quietly.

In this way, Long Shui in front of him was actually a little wronged, but it cannot be said to be completely wronged. If she wasn't pregnant, the mother dragon wouldn't be so violent.

But in the final analysis, the blame cannot be placed on Longshui, who was not born at the time.

"Later, in order to prevent me from walking away one day, the people on both sides of the strait built Lingyun Ferry and two bridges, each with a dragon-slaying sword hanging on it."

"We even invited a master to consecrate it. A real master."

Long Shui looked at Jiang Lin, pursed his lips, and smiled helplessly: "This is also the reason why I came to ask the master for help." Hearing this, Jiang Lin asked softly: "The master at that time..."

"It's a mage, a black law mage."

Long Shui nodded, confirming Jiang Lin's guess, and said, "That mage is named... Zhong Mingzhen."

Jiang Lin suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Long Shui came to him. So this was what was going on.

The Dragon-Slaying Sword consecrated by Master Heilü, even if it was not blessed with the Tianpeng method and only consecrated with the Golden Light Mantra, is still incomparable to any other consecration.

Because there are only a few Black Law mages, they require their disciples to have more contact with the secular world and gain experience in it.

Therefore, when Master Heilü is consecrating the deity, he can gather the wishes of the mortal world to the greatest extent to bless it.

In other words, the "wishes" of the people in Longshui Town are placed on the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

This is fatal to Long Shui.

"The name of Longshui Town today was also given by that wizard back then."

The bitterness at the corners of Long Shui's mouth became more and more intense, and Jiang Lin looked at him with some pity.

If the probability of Long Shui Zou Jiao's success under the suppression of the three dragon-slaying swords was a nine-to-one chance of death, then now it is a ten-to-no chance of survival.

All holy beings have heavy karma, which cannot be understood by mortals.

An example of this was the cultivator in Prince Song’s palace who tried to spy on Zhong Kui with his Dharma Eyes.

A black law wizard, now he is the fourth-rank censor of the North Pole Exorcism Institute, ranked among the immortals, his name is recorded in the heavenly court, and even reported to the Black Law Wizard of Ziweiyuan.

The name given by such an existence himself, and the weight of cause and effect left behind, are simply not something Longshui can bear.

This is Longshui’s biggest obstacle.

As long as Longshui Town still has this name, Longshui will never be able to succeed in his mission, even without the three dragon-slaying swords.

This is also the main reason why Long Shui came to Jiang Lin for help.

Only Jiang Lin, who is also a Black Law Mage, is qualified to communicate with the Black Law Mage from five hundred years ago and have the possibility of unraveling this cause and effect.

but……

"Now it seems that the mage has no reason to help me with this."

Long Shui smiled bitterly and looked at Jiang Lin.

"Five hundred years, Master. Five hundred years."

Longshui raised his head and looked at the lights of thousands of homes in front of Lingyun Ferry.

He said softly, "In the past five hundred years, I have never harmed the people on both sides of the strait, but... I have never rescued the victims who fell into the water."

"I know that my mother did something wrong and suffered karma and injustice. She killed many people and died under the Dragon Slaying Sword. There was nothing wrong with her death."

"So, I have never resented the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but I am not willing to help them either."

"They can resent my mother, but I cannot."

Long Shui lifted up the jar of wine and took a sip, the bitterness at the corners of his mouth became more intense.

"In the final analysis, it was the ancestors of these people who indirectly killed my mother."

"Even if it was my mother who was wrong, in the end..."

Long Shui looked at Jiang Lin and said softly, "That's my biological mother."

Jiang Lin also looked at him and said, "To be honest, you did a good job."

At least, Longshui has a clear understanding of good and evil, and knows that the cause and effect lies with his own mother, not with the people on both sides of the strait.

Being able to do nothing wrong is the limit for a son.

We can't ask more from him, nor can we ask him to do this or that to atone for his mother's sins.

"I have waited for five hundred years. As early as two hundred years ago, I was already qualified to walk on a dragon."

Long Shui smiled helplessly and said, "I also know that the best way is to make an agreement with the people on both sides of the strait through the City God and promise some benefits."

He hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Well, there is nothing to hide in front of the Master. In order to let the people on both sides forget what happened in the past, I waited for another two hundred years."

"But even though five hundred years have passed, and even though the people on both sides of the strait have changed for several generations, these people still remember the original ancestral teachings."

"The sword under the bridge cannot be removed, and the name of the town cannot be changed."

"I have already consulted the City God, and he has also come forward to communicate with the elders of the people on both sides of the strait."

"But, it's no use."

"Ancestors' teachings are greater than heaven."

Long Shui stood up, looked at Jiang Lin, and asked, "If I ignore the safety of the people on both sides of the strait and force myself to walk on the dragon, what will the mage do?"

"A pure spirit stained with blood becomes a demon."

Jiang Lin told the truth, "Except for the thunder axe, there is nothing else."

"Yes, I don't want to be stained with blood either. I want to transform into a dragon cleanly and seek a pure immortal path."

Long Shui looked at Jiang Lin, knelt down and bowed.

"I don't ask the mage to take down the Dragon Slaying Sword, nor do I ask the mage to negotiate peace with the people on both sides of the strait."

Long Shui bowed his head heavily and said in a deep voice: "I only ask the Master to give me a ray of hope and give me a chance to communicate with Master Zhong next time."

"Even just one word!"

Jiang Lin half turned sideways to avoid Long Shui's salute.

He could tell that Long Shui was not lying, because if he was lying, Jiang Lin would be able to find out the truth by simply finding the local city god to verify it.

Never underestimate the City God's control over the area under his jurisdiction.

There was no way Long Shui would tell a lie that would be easily exposed in front of Jiang Lin.

Then, it means that what Long Shui said is true.

Jiang Lin lowered his eyes, a strange thought running through his mind.

Another "accomplice".

But compared to that woman, Long Shui in front of him was more innocent. When his mother caused the flood, he didn't even have his own consciousness.

But in the end, part of the reason was because of him, and he also took on part of the sin that his mother had committed.

Seeing that Jiang Lin didn't react, Long Shui's eyes dimmed.

He knew that his request was abrupt, but he had no other choice. God knew how excited he was when he sensed the fight between Jiang Lin and Wen Jian.

After waiting for five hundred years, a black law wizard finally appeared again.

Time passed little by little, the darkness receded and dawn came.

"Wow..."

A soft sound.

Long Shui stared blankly at the talisman in front of him.

And the back of Jiang Lin who had already walked away and was getting farther and farther away.

"This is an Arctic petition talisman. Whether you can use it properly depends on you."

Jiang Lin's voice came from afar.

"Thank you, Master!"

Long Shui held the talisman carefully, raised his head, and the dawn sunlight shone on his face.

(End of this chapter)