Chapter 385: The Legend of the Transforming Dragon! The Golden Carp! The Female Corpse!
At Guanyu Village...
It was said that, long ago, a golden carp passed through this place, attempting to transform into a dragon. Truly, it was a wondrous and divine event.
But such legends were common; at least eight or nine villages near Wei City claimed the same story. Nothing strange about that; they were just trying to make themselves look good.
The tale of the carp leaping the dragon gate had long been told among the people of Wei City, in countless versions.
Some said that the golden carp had cultivated great merit and earned the chance to transform into a dragon, but was stopped by a Daoist, which drew down heavenly tribulation and destroyed all its cultivation.
Others claimed the golden carp was actually a descendant of a true dragon, and that the “Daoist” was no man at all, but a great demon in disguise, who had come to sabotage the carp out of personal hatred.
To speak of this golden carp legend, one had to mention the Wei River.
The Wei River was a branch of the Xia River, and it was said that when the bloodline of a true dragon was scattered, a third of it fell into these tributaries, awaiting a destined soul to awaken it.
The Wei River ran swift and wide. With such favorable waterways, Wei City enjoyed convenient irrigation and thriving dockside trade, with much of the credit going to the Wei River itself.
When the golden carp first appeared in the Wei River, it caused quite a sensation. The elders said it was a child of the dragon, and if it could leap past the Dragon Gate, it would become a true dragon.
Of course, such things were the stuff of folk tales, each retelling grander than the last.
Now, Guanyu Village was nothing more than an ordinary fishing village. Gone were the days when nobles and dignitaries flocked here to witness the “golden carp.”