The Nine Dragon Coffin

Chapter 15 – Coffin Tied With Red String (1)

Chapter 15 – Coffin Tied With Red String (1)

Instead of being shocked, Grandpa was overjoyed at hearing this, because Old Blindman had predicted this. 

The snake was actually asking for a title. If Grandpa replied that it was like a man, then the Moongazing Eel could turn into human form. If he replied that it was like a god, then it would turn into a flood dragon and enter the sea after a few more years of cultivation. Of course, if Grandpa said that it was like a worm without a tail, then the hundreds of years of cultivation would disappear in a flash.

Grandpa pointed at his bowl. “Do you think you look like the dragon in my bowl?”

Hearing this, the Moongazing Eel looked inside Grandpa’s bowl. After looking, it seemed to sense something. It turned to escape, but it was too late. The Moongazing Eel started shrinking gradually. Finally, some kind of force sucked it into Grandpa’s bowl. 

Grandpa looked down. There really was a swimming little dragon inside the water now!

It wasn’t the Moongazing Eel anymore. It was a horned dragon!

That tiny dragon struggled with all its might, but it couldn’t escape from the restrictive bowl.

Seeing that a mini Dragon King had appeared in his bowl, Grandpa placed it on the ground. He kowtowed and hurried back toward Old Blindman with the bowl. A dragon was divine, after all. Grandpa felt anxious now.

When he got to Old Blindman, he immediately handed the bowl over. Old Blindman took the bowl and said to the dragon, “Don’t feel unhappy. This bowl is small, but you’ve still turned from a snake into a dragon. You clogged up this village’s fengshui opening, causing three years of drought and famine. I should’ve killed you, but I know your cultivation is difficult. 

“Today, I’m also giving you an opportunity. You can return to the old well and become the well-protecting Dragon King of the village. Ensure that the weather will be smooth and it can wash away the obstacles on you. You can gain good karma too. I’ll have the villagers here build a Dragon King temple. Protect this land for a century and enjoy their incense and worship. After a century, you’ll be able to complete your cultivation. How is that?”

The dragon had been struggling futilely in the bow, but after hearing this, it nodded helplessly. 

“Immortal!” Grandpa cried to Old Blindman. “It agreed! It agreed!”

Old Blindman picked up the bowl. Pointing at it, he said, “The skies and earth move on the left. The sun and moon shine on the right. A line through the middle, a dot of demonic shock. With the bowl in my right hand, I hold up the divine dragon.”

With that, Old Blindman reached into the bowl and took out the tiny dragon. He placed it gently into the well. The dragon glanced at Grandpa and Old Blindman, then ducked into the clear water well.

Grandpa let out a relieved sigh. Old Blindman sat on the ground. Raising his head, he said, “There will be rain tomorrow and the drought will be resolved. Kid, come here and help me do something else.”

Grandpa now thought that Old Blindman was a god. He naturally followed all of his orders obediently. Old Blindman took out some silver ingots and said, “Go find some people in the village and buy food with the silver. After eating and drinking your fill, build a Dragon King temple beside the old well. After that, give offerings on the first and 15th of each month. With the remaining money, find a blacksmith and make me a chain. Make it as long as possible.”

Grandpa immediately told the villagers about this. There was water in the well and there would be long-awaited rain. The villagers all knelt before Old Blindman, treating him as a living god. 

After the rain the next day, the villagers all started building the Dragon King temple as Old Blindman had instructed. Grandpa took the remaining money to a bigger town for a blacksmith to make a metal chain. Half a month later, the chain was done. The Dragon King temple was completed too.

Old Blindman dispersed the villagers after a round of worshipping. Only Grandpa remained. Old Blindman had Grandpa put one end of the chain in the well. The other end was fixed at the mouth of the well.

When this was done, Old Blindman filled a bowl with well water. He burned a talisman and put the ashes in the bowl. Then he picked it up and poured it directly into the well. The chain started shaking violently as if the little dragon would break out again. A voice traveled out, yelling at Old Blindman, “You d*mn wandering Taoist. You haven’t messed with me enough? I already agreed to protect these villagers. Why are you chaining me up too?”