Inner Demons

The torrential Wei River rushes down from the northwest of Weicheng, heading southeast. As it flows past the west side of Weicheng, the Jin River and Luo River, two tributaries, merge into it.

The place where these three rivers converge is called "Three Rivers' Mouth." At Three Rivers' Mouth, the Wei River abruptly turns southeast. This turn creates a large lake, named Dongting.

Dongting Lake is known as the thousand-li Dongting, but it is in fact vast and boundless, almost like a sea. Between Dongting and Weicheng lies a dense forest called the Wild Plains Forest. Although it's called a forest, it is actually vast in area, covering a radius of a thousand li. There are also famous mountains in this forest—though not as tall and majestic as the mountains in the Wild Plains Mountain Range east of Weicheng, they have their own unique charm.

Besides famous mountains like Junshan, Bieshan, and Weishan, there are also some unknown small peaks like South Mountain, East Mountain, and Xiaozhu Mountain.

At the confluence of the three rivers, Three Rivers' Mouth, there is a point that juts out into Dongting Lake, like a sharp blade. Because this "blade's edge" is perennially inhabited by white egrets, it was named Egret Isle. Although it's called an "isle," it is actually a peninsula, with villages, farmland, and a population of about a hundred households.

Decades ago, someone said that this Egret Isle was too sharp and pointed, like a knife plunged into the Wei River and Dongting, ruining the local feng shui. So, a temple was built at the tip of Egret Isle facing the river's heart and the lake's mouth to suppress the feng shui.

This temple is the Three Rivers' Mouth Dragon King Temple.

Li Yunxin now stood outside the temple, puzzled by one thing.

The scenery outside this temple was excellent. The large temple faced the thousand-li misty waves of Dongting, the water glistening, the sky clear for miles, and there was a pale sandy beach where the water met the land.