Winter is coming.
In the morning, it crosses the deep abyss and rises into the mist-shrouded sky. The flying dragon following it is no longer Tayechi who died in the battle of Orchid Orchid, but Mulekakun who was born under the cliff of the seventh-floor palace.
This flying dragon was born forty winters later than Tayeqi. It has dark blue and almost purple scales, long and narrow wings, and its front claws are more ferocious and sharp than Tayeqi. It is the strongest and strongest of the four siblings. The quadruplets are all grown up now. Long before Tayech died in battle, it had noticed this litter of outstanding pedigrees, brought them all back from the cliff, and raised them in the cave behind its temple. The place was barren and desolate, just like other areas of the entire royal capital. According to the experience of raising Tayeqi, it fed the young dragon with its own flesh and blood, making it invulnerable to weapons, water and fire. The four young dragons are all strong and strong, Mulekakun is strong and brave, Dongwag is nimble and agile, and Lisrelo is always the quickest to understand orders.
Among the four brothers and sisters, only the broken-winged Stoneborn was difficult to tame. This black-scaled flying dragon had already lost its wingtips in the eyes of its peers when it was young. It was gloomy, violent, and extremely unsocial. He has a smart mind but doesn't follow orders. It had fed the quadruplets its own flesh and blood, but Stoneborn alone refused to eat.
It placed Stoneburn alone in the cave and spent many hours training. It called the name of the dragon, guided Stoneburn out of the cave, and abandoned the flesh to the ground.
"Stonborn," it ordered, "eat."
The flying dragon roared wildly. His front paws swept across the front of the cave, and gravel fell like a shower. The flesh and blood were thrown into the abyss in front of the cave and disappeared with the roar of the dragon. The animal's sudden rage always baffled it.
"Stubborn," it said.
It soon gave up domesticating Stonborn, using only insects and dry moss to deal with it, and spent more energy cultivating Mulekakun. When Tajechi sank into the poisonous swamp forever, Mulekakun put on the war saddle. After the winter frost covered the tree cover, it led the flying dragon to leave the ground and return to the embrace of the sky.
For its next target, or rather, battlefield, it chose the Sky Whale's lair in the far north. There shines the green of the cold ocean and glaciers, filling the entire sea of stars. The pillars of the world surrounded by crystal tallow trees were pulled up from the ice cap that had been cold for thousands of years. The interior was filled with brilliant aurora and penetrated directly to the bottom of the sea of stars. Before the death frost spreads across all lands, it will withdraw the light of creation from the pillar.
They flew through the fog for ten days and nights until they reached the ice cap. On the way, it saw hundreds of mortals fighting, chopping off each other's heads and stabbing each other's chests with swords and spears. Some of them shouted loudly, chanting the name of their second brother, praying for blessing and victory. So it stopped in the clouds and watched the battle unfold. The two sides were evenly matched, one of them cut off his hair and tattooed his eyebrows, and was a barbarian who worshiped evil beasts; the other side wore a leather helmet and had dry golden osmanthus branches hanging around his waist to show respect for his second brother.
Seeing that the situation was like this, it summoned the mist, secretly fell into the battlefield, blew the wind of whispers, and cheered for the family members. He also touched mortals with the point of his spear and his shield, so that they would be refreshed and their strength would be endless. So the family members quickly won, killed all their opponents, cut off their heads and fingers, and praised the name of their second brother.
It escaped through the mist and quietly returned to the sky. Mulekakun circled and waited, and continued to the north with his master. They found the Sky Whale's nest and watched from a distance on the edge of the Star Sea to determine the time of breeding. When the season of song, full of violent desires, is over, it will come with a gun to take away the light of creation from the guardians of these giant beasts.
Everything went as planned. It observed for several days to confirm the final date, and then returned south with the flying dragon. They flew for another seven days and seven nights and arrived at Mulun'en, which used to be like a brocade.
Mulekarn was still young and already tired from the long flight. It released the flying dragon to fly through the forest for hunting, and headed for the ruins of the village. Following the dry stream, it found the willow forest to the west of the abandoned village.
There was still the sound of the wooden flute in the forest, which made his heart happy. It suddenly transformed into the image of a peasant girl and walked behind the dry and stiff willow bushes.
The old man was still sitting in the forest, just like every time he visited. When the peasant girl arrived, he put down his bamboo flute and greeted her.
"My child," said the old man, "winter has come."
He was still wearing the black linen robe, neat and close-fitting, protected from the cold. When the peasant girl asked about this, he smiled slightly and said that he had lived in a colder place. He never mentioned his specific origin, only that he came from a distant country. When he asked about the peasant girl's residence and family background, she only used simple language to prevaricate.
The peasant girl sat down in the forest and chatted familiarly with the old man. Since she first heard the sound of the flute, the old man told her many stories, never repeated, and they were all new and interesting to her. His face is smooth and kind, his moustache is short and soft, his conversation is gentle and humorous, and his knowledge is vast and profound. It makes people feel noble and respectable in their hearts. All the most famous kings, wise ministers and scholars in the world cannot compare with him. He could make birds and beasts tame and obey orders, even if they only met once. In her memory, only her eldest sister could rival him. Every time she came to Willow Grove, the old man would sit there and play the flute, and then talk to her, day and night, always saying goodbye at dawn.
When the cold winter came, she was worried, fearing that the old man would leave due to the harsh environment and no longer come to the increasingly chilly Willow Forest. The old man said that he was used to hardships and was just looking for one thing during the journey.
"What are you looking for?" she asked.
An answer. The old man answered her like this. The topic never went into depth. Most of the time, the old man just told her stories, which were always in line with her requirements. His knowledge was endless, and he never bored her, and he was never late or late for an appointment.
One day, she asked him to tell the origin of the wooden flute, which made the old man laugh.
"This is a magic flute." He said, "If you blow it, the rat, ant, and insect monsters will obey your wishes. In the past, someone took it around the country to drive away worries for the local residents. The price he offered was very high. High, but always within the local people's ability to pay. If the residents are willing to pay, he will blow the magic flute to relieve them from the rat or insect infestation. If the residents are unwilling to trade, he will never force it - but, There's only one thing he can't tolerate."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Cheating," the old man replied.
There was a village that pretended to trade with the Pied Piper, but after the rat infestation was resolved, it refused to pay him and tried to drive him away with violence. In retaliation for this, the Pied Piper plays a tune that has never been played before. The sound of the flute enchanted all the children in the village, and they followed the Pied Piper away and disappeared into the cracks of the closing mountains. From then on, the adults in the village never saw them again.
Are those children dead? she asked. She is closer to children because the fifth sister is the guardian of innocence.
"No," said the old man, "the world says that the Pied Piper took away the children of the village. In fact, he raised them all and placed them in a place isolated from the world. He had become convinced that the village was full of lies and deceit. In the land of sin, only children are still pure and innocent, so he decided to take them away to prevent them from being infected by desire. In my opinion, that is an alternative morality, and his standards are too much higher than the ordinary world. Sometimes, Goodness looks more like evil.”
The peasant girl was confused by this story. She asked why the magic flute fell into the old man's hands. There is some suspicion in it, and I wonder if the old man and the Pied Piper are actually the same person. However, the old man told her that the Pied Piper was dead. Due to the order of a king, his head was cut off by a magic sword and hung in front of the gate of a city that rained all year round. At that time, the peasant girl vaguely felt a little regretful, and she asked the old man to talk more. However, the dawn had already risen outside the willow forest, and she had to stand up and bid farewell to the old man.
"You can stay longer, kid," the old man said.
She told him her home was far away. My mother passed away many years ago, and my father was ill in bed and needed her care. She must return before the agreed time to avoid worrying her family.
"Then I'll still be here next time."
The old man's assurance made her feel much more relaxed. She walked out of the willow forest and returned to the palace under the abyss with Feilong, waiting quietly in her dark palace.
It thought it would be able to set off soon, but it was delayed until winter. The king had been sleeping for too long, and it took a long time to summon him. When winter came, it was able to meet the old man after touring the north. At this time, all the willow leaves have withered, and the dry forest on the winter night is shadowy and covered with ice and snow, showing all kinds of hideous and strange shapes. The old man was still waiting for her at the same place, as if he had never left. He prepared a campfire, dog-eared biscuits, wheat bread, and animal broth stewed with parsley, dill, and milk. Even the gods cannot resist the fragrance. She sat down expectantly and took the bread dipped in soup from the old man.
The old man made no mention of their long separation. He greeted her with his usual leisurely manner.
"We should tell the story of that king," he said.
She had no objection because everything was new to her and she didn't know how to distinguish between likes and dislikes. So the old man told the story of the King of Rain City. He told her that there were two other kingdoms beyond this world, separated by a nightmarish ocean, both close and yet far away. The kingdom to the east is ruled by the mountain people, and most of the residents are as ordinary as here. Among these mortals, there was once a man who grew up hunting. He was born with violence and bravery, and no one in the towns near and far could match him. The warrior who seemed to be cursed was abandoned by his parents since he was a child, and no one knew his name. Because he was born with a black birthmark on his face that looked like a flying horse, people used this as his name - they called him Zhuoyishi.
