Chapter 1: In Search of Dragon
The Yong Province was distant, but it was the land of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.
A History of Tang: Annals of Yong Province stated: “Rugged mountains and swift waters oft produce extraordinary men and women in abundance.”
Unofficial histories stated: “You can trust barren mountains and wild waters to produce scoundrels.”
Ye County, Fengyuan Commandery, Yong Province.
Ye County, with Mount Min as one border and Tong River as another, was a relatively small county divided by several dangerous mountain ridges. The mountains were not tall, but they were unusually treacherous. Some villages were only tens of li[1] apart, but if a mountain happened to stand between them, their inhabitants might not see one another in their lifetimes.
Two figures appeared on a winding mountain path—a young scholar and his pageboy. The pageboy looked to be twelve or thirteen years old. The scholar wore a scholar’s robe that, though clean, was slightly faded from repeated washings. Patches had been discreetly stitched onto inconspicuous parts of the robe as well.
Despite his somewhat destitute appearance, the scholar possessed an intellectual grace and fair complexion. He held his back as straight as a ruler, and he naturally radiated the innate pride of a man of letters.
The master and servant seemed to be strolling in leisure. From time to time, the scholar would even stop in his tracks and look around as if he was admiring the scenery. But in reality, they were travelling quickly. In just a matter of moments, they had put several li of mountain paths behind their backs and walked from the middle of the mountain to the mountaintop. The journey should have taken them an hour at the minimum, but it didn't.
As they stood atop the mountain, everything within tens of li naturally came into view. The scholar scanned the surrounding mountain ranges, then looked down at the small valley at the mountain’s base. He mused, “Had I not come here in person, how could I have known that the winds and clouds are converging at this place? I was going to spend a whole decade searching for the dragon. To think that I would find it in the very first year….”