RNP Chapter 18 [Dragon Servant.docx]
Chapter 18 [Dragon Servant.docx]
Just as Li Jiu was lost in his terrifying speculation, Tang Mubai's eyes lit up: "Hey Li bro! Although it means we should run away as soon as it gets light, your reasoning is really interesting. Write me a note later, I'll work on it, and create a super cool strategy guide to post. It'll definitely go viral!"
Tang Mubai's words brought Li Jiu back to her senses, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes: "I suddenly understand why I saw so many strange cloud guides when I was searching..."
Tang Mubai immediately raised his hands to show his innocence: "Hey! I haven't written it yet! Don't wrong an innocent person!"
Li Jiu sighed and asked, "I've guessed so much, Tang Mubai, why don't you tell me why the authorities don't impose so many restrictions on Fulong Mountain?"
Tang Mubai didn't reply directly to Li Jiu, but instead said, "Many of the artists in my dad's company aren't as glamorous as the outside world thinks, but why are they so popular?"
Li Jiudao: "Because of the persona? Because of the hype?"
"And..." Tang Mubai held up one finger, "because of controlling public opinion."
"If small companies are like this, what about government agencies?"
"However, small companies use this tactic to make money, but the government has many more considerations, such as... people's livelihood, or some kind of larger balance."
"The official level is indeed different from that of a company." Li Jiu pondered. "You mean... there must be some kind of problem here at Fulong Mountain, but the government alone can't solve it, so it needs outsiders, and even the help of those who risk illegally entering Fulong Mountain driven by various interests?"
Tang Mubai said, "There's a very popular company that sells 'IQ tax' called 'Bubble Mad,' you should know it, right? They categorize things of similar value into different levels, and then use a wave of scarcity marketing to make ordinary things highly sought after."
"Whether the authorities strictly control the situation or completely let it go, the results will not be better than the current management model."
"A 'limited screening' approach is sometimes more effective than an 'absolute rejection' in identifying people who meet the requirements of Fulong Mountain."
"It's like you can only see what kind of fish are inside if you make an opening and let the water in."
Li Jiu stared wide-eyed at Tang Mubai. The logic and insight that this guy showed when he was unusually serious matched his stereotype of a "rich second generation with money power".
"But saying all that is pointless. I came to summer camp because it's fun. Isn't it great to go to a place with so many mysterious legends?" Tang Mubai shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "But when you find yourself accidentally stepping into the background of a myth, then you should start thinking about escaping."
Li Jiu nodded in deep agreement.
Chinese mythology is so cool, but if you become an ordinary person in the story of Hou Yi shooting down the sun, or a resident of a village submerged during Yu the Great's flood control efforts, then you're in for a lot of trouble.
People are curious about folk legends not because they yearn for them, but simply because they are curious about the unusual.
"Time for bed! Tomorrow we'll jump out of the Mushroom House and leave Mount Fulong!"
Tang Mubai yelled and lay down on the bed to start scrolling through Douyin. Big data pushed one innocent girl after another to his screen, posing seductively.
Li Jiu's gaze fell on his phone screen, where he noticed that He Rouyi had sent several more messages, along with a document.
[Ho Yu-yee: Information about the Dragon Attendant is quite hard to find. Here's some information I found related to the Dragon Attendant; I'm sending it to you in the hopes that it will be helpful.]
[The other party sent you the file "Dragon Servant Related Survey Compilation.docx"]
Li Jiu narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpening slightly. After sending a message saying "Okay, thank you," he accepted the file.
A 13-page Word document slowly unfolded on his phone.
[The Origin of the Dragon Servants of Fulong Mountain...]
[From "The Strange Tales of the White Dragon": "The White Dragon was formerly known as the White Snake, and in ancient times called the Snake Coil. There was a spirit in the mountain, whose form was like a white ribbon, coiled in a secluded valley, breathing in and out clouds and mist. The villagers respectfully called her 'Lady White Snake.' Every year when drought plagued the land, prayers at the foot of the mountain would bring timely rain; if a plague broke out, burning incense and kowtowing would dispel the miasma. The Lady's blessings extended to the region, bringing peace and prosperity for a hundred years..."]
[From "The Ancient Tomb of the White Snake": "That year, a great plague struck, and corpses filled the rivers and streams of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. A woodcutter saw a woman in white carrying a dying man into the mountains. After seven days, the living man staggered back. However, his body was completely limp, his tongue was split into two forks, and he crawled through the undergrowth like a giant python..."]
[From "The Transformation of the Dragon": "In the eighth year of the Taijian era of Emperor Xuan of Chen, in the summer, there was a torrential rain that lasted for ten days. The villagers saw a white rainbow split the sky, a giant shadow circle the peak three times, and lightning and fire burned the forest for three days before extinguishing. The next morning, they saw that the mountain ridge had sunk into a deep ravine shaped like a dragon, with scales and claws clearly imprinted on the stone. A snake servant lay in the ravine, weeping, and was renamed 'Dragon Servant.' Those who were brave enough to follow it saw that when it drank from the stream, its scales would fall off, and when it touched the moonlight, its snake eyes would appear, and they realized that it was no ordinary creature..."]
【…】
Besides the original text of the classical Chinese book, He Rouyi also posted the translation on the side. As Li Jiu scanned through it, he roughly understood some of it. It turned out that Fulong Mountain was not originally called Fulong Mountain, but White Snake Mountain.
Legend has it that there is a thousand-year-old snake spirit on the mountain, whom the villagers call the White Snake Goddess. The White Snake Goddess protects the land and water, making the area around Fulong Mountain have good weather and abundant harvests for many years.
Later, an epidemic broke out in the village for some reason. The White Snake Goddess appeared and took the seriously injured and incurable people into the mountains, and their diseases were miraculously cured.
However, these people begin to behave like snakes, appearing boneless and exceptionally flexible. Some even exhibit characteristics completely similar to snakes, just like the human-headed, snake-bodied creatures described in mythology.
But those people still retain human wisdom, and apart from their behavior, they haven't changed much.
However, these people must go into the mountains every once in a while, claiming to "serve the White Snake Goddess".
Because of this, the villagers later called it "Snake Servant".
After the White Snake Goddess transformed into a dragon and ascended to heaven, the villagers renamed the mountain White Dragon Mountain.
The title "Snake Servant" was changed to "Dragon Servant".
Bailong Lake and Bailong Pool were named at that time.
After the White Snake Lady ascended to heaven, it is said that a powerful snake spirit soon appeared in White Snake Mountain. The snake spirit tried to ascend to heaven in the same way as the White Snake Lady, but failed. Later, the snake spirit slowly turned into a demon, and the Dragon Servant became full of eeriness from that moment on.
This disaster lasted for a long time, which led to the later enlightenment of the Buddha of Tranquility, who "eliminated two evils with one Buddha".
One of the two evils is this snake spirit.
After that, Bailong Mountain was renamed Fulong Mountain, and the villagers spontaneously built a temple for the Jiding Buddha, which is the Jiding Temple on the top of Fulong Mountain.
In addition to the origin legends of the Dragon Servant, the document also includes materials related to the Dragon Servant that He Rouyi investigated, such as historical records of the Dragon Servant's appearances, and photos of Fulong Mountain taken by modern people, etc.
[The April issue of the Shanghai News, Guangxu 34th year, in the Strange News section: "White Dragon Appears? Herb gatherer witnesses mountain spirit attendant!"]
Yesterday, a herb gatherer named Chen claimed that he encountered a strange person in a deep ravine in Fulong Mountain: dressed in white with disheveled hair, moving swiftly and slowly, his hands and feet close to the ground, like a snake... He heard him chanting scriptures intermittently, his voice resembling Sanskrit mixed with the hiss of snakes...
……
[BY Ta Kung Pao, October 1935, Science Tidbits: "Geological Team's Pagoda Shocks, Millennium Seal May Be Broken!"]
The Jianghan Geological Team surveyed the Longxing Gorge of Fulong Mountain and discovered a huge crack in the base of the pagoda of Jiding Temple, built during the Sui Dynasty, which is wide enough to fit a fist.
Team member Wang used a candle to probe the crack and saw shimmering scales inside, from which a sweet, sticky, fishy liquid seeped out...
……
[Special Issue of the North China Pictorial, 1937: Photographic Notes]
Strange Shadows at Jiding Temple! Are they immortals or demons?
[Photos][Photos][Photos]
This issue remains a subject of ongoing debate in academia.
【…】
After reading the entire Word document, Li Jiu was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, which made his head spin.
It is undeniable that He Rouyi spent a great deal of effort to find these items, and the collection channels she used were clearly not simple.
But that's precisely why the amount of information is so large and complex, making it very difficult to process.
Li Jiu put down his phone and gently massaged his temples.
Fulong Mountain...
The White Snake Lady...
Dragon Servant...
This mountain forest shrouded in mist truly harbors unimaginable strangeness and secrets; no wonder Professor He is so captivated by it…