Shulong Daojun

Little Bean recently discovered something strange.

The eldest brother stayed on that blue stone in the Stone Forest, neither eating nor drinking from the spring, watching the clouds and gazing at the moon in the morning and sleeping on the stone every night.

It's been four or five days since I last caught fish and played with her, or talked about monsters and strange things.

This is very wrong!

Hmph, she'd like to see what's really going on.

As dawn broke, the sky was in a state of flux, a blur of light and shadow.

Squeak—yah—

Little Bean quietly pushed open the door and peeked out, followed closely by the crane with its curved neck.

"Shh, little white crane, be good and don't make a sound."

With a serious expression, she gently stroked the white crane's back feathers.

The white crane slowly lowered its head and gently pecked at the ground, as if nodding in response.

In less than half a breath, a stealthy figure appeared inside the temple and strolled into the stone forest with practiced ease.

However, Lin Shu had already discovered the man and the crane.

He smiled, then pretended to be stern and said, "Have you finished all five morning tasks, Little Bean?"

"Ah, senior brother, no... not yet."

Upon hearing this, Xiaodou'er blushed and instinctively responded.

Immediately, her eyes darted around, she raised her hand and pointed at the blue stone, then tightly embraced the crane's neck.

The white crane, understanding the situation, spread its wings and flapped them a couple of times. Its slender body lightly lifted off the ground, and then it folded its wings and stood steadily beside Lin Shu.

"The morning lessons are all very complicated, and Xiaodou doesn't understand them."

As she spoke, she leaned closer, and when she saw the pothole, her round eyes filled with curiosity: "Senior brother, what are you doing?"

Lin Shu gently patted Xiao Dou'er's head and said with a light smile, "Hatching dragons."

"Oh~ then, Little Bean also wants to hatch a dragon."

"Senior brother, senior brother, I want to stay here, is that alright?"

He looked on with eager eyes, his gaze sparkling with delight.

"sure."

Lin Shu readily agreed, but then immediately put on a stern face: "However, before that, the five things for morning lessons cannot be omitted."

"Practice the five exercises: clenching teeth, swallowing saliva, absorbing the Qi of the sun and moon, guiding the Qi, and absorbing Qi. Little Bean, what don't you understand? Your senior brother will teach you now."

Everything has its origin.

From the root comes the branches; from the branches come the leaves, and then the flowers and fruits.

Therefore, one should cultivate the Way to strengthen one's foundation.

The five morning practices are the starting point of the path of spiritual cultivation.

Over the course of nine years, he focused solely on honing his foundation, ultimately finding a single word: "solid."

Lin Shu was taught diligently, and Xiao Dou'er studied with exceptional diligence as well.

Time flies like an arrow; the task is completed.

Her face flushed, and she squatted down beside the puddle, blinking her eyes repeatedly. Then she gently tugged at the hem of Lin Shu's robe:

"Senior brother, Xiaodou'er wants to see the dragon egg."

Lin Shu nodded slightly, picked up the lapis lazuli and gold metal from the pit, and placed it aside, revealing the indigo stone inside.

He had already investigated it last night, so it wouldn't hurt to show it to Xiaodou'er now.

The stone remains the same, unchanged in appearance and size, but the dark gold patterns on it have branched out, growing slowly in all directions like intertwined branches.

Little Bean was captivated after just one glance.

"So...so beautiful." Her eyes were filled with gold, and she murmured.

When she came to her senses, she reluctantly rushed into Lin Shu's arms.

She tilted her head back, her round eyes widening, her voice soft and sweet:

"Senior brother, the little white crane's mother was born with two gray-green eggs."

"Then... is Mother Dragon like that too?"

Lin Shu has never been a dragon, so he really doesn't know anything about having offspring.

But he understood what Xiaodouer meant.

They must have seen the pretty pebbles and gotten greedy, wanting one too.

Seeing the expectation in Xiaodou'er's eyes, he shook his head and gently coaxed, "Xiaodou'er, this 'dragon egg' wasn't laid by the dragon mother."

"It was my senior brother who, through the reliance on heaven and earth, brought forth life in accordance with the law of cause and effect, and thus came into being because of me."

Little Bean often heard the Taoist priest chanting the words "fate and destiny." Although he did not understand the true meaning of them, he knew that they could not be forced.

She pouted, lowered her head, and obediently said, "I understand, Senior Brother."

Seeing this, Lin Shu had an idea. He leaned close to her ear and said softly, "How about I take Xiao Dou'er to see the dragon baby?"

"Baby dragon?" Little Bean suddenly raised her head, her eyes sparkling.

"Okay, okay, senior brother!" She nodded repeatedly, excitedly saying, "Little Bean wants to see!"

Lin Shu smiled slightly: "The time is not yet ripe. Let's wait a few more days."

They need to be raised a little longer before we can see the baby dragon.

After saying that, he picked up the lapis lazuli and gold metal from the side and gently placed it on the stone pebble.

The sun hangs high in the sky, as always; the moon is full and round in the heavens.

Time flies, and more than ten days have passed.

On the bluestone, the shadows of the two people and the crane grew longer and longer until they blurred and blended into the twilight, where they were swallowed up by Xuan Ye.

Soon after, I climbed a branch to gaze at the moon, and its silvery light shone down, illuminating all around.

Little Bean hugged Lin Shu's arm and gently shook it: "Senior Brother, Senior Brother, when can we see the dragon baby?"

"Well..." Lin Shu didn't answer, but instead glanced at the pit.

On the crater, the lapis lazuli and gold metal had shrunk to the size of a pill, losing all their color, revealing the stone egg below covered with dark gold patterns, emitting a faint glow.

The Book of Dragons states: "Where there are patterns on blue stones, there are often dragon molts hidden. If you look at them at night and they glow, there is a dragon embryo inside."

Clearly, a dragon embryo has been conceived within the stone egg, waiting only for it to crack open on its own, at which point the azure dragon will appear in the world.

Siding, Lin Shu gently stroked Xiao Dou'er's head, her eyes smiling: "Very soon, very soon."

The East belongs to the element of wood, which governs growth and corresponds to the sunrise. The dragon baby is a green dragon of the wood element in the East. It will hatch when the yang energy is first generated in the early morning and the wood energy is at its strongest.

According to my senior brother's estimation, it will happen at sunrise this time.

"Hehe, we get to see a baby dragon!" Little Bean was overjoyed.

Even though it was night, she was more energetic and playful than during the day.

Lin Shu couldn't help but smile as well.

In the corner of the eye, the stone pebble trembled slightly, and a thin crack quietly opened, spilling out a little green light, as if it were half-awake.

The sky is like a black fish, turning over and raising its fins, revealing a patch of pure white, which is the sunrise at dawn.

A rosy cloud rises from the east, and light comes from the east, illuminating the mountains, forests, and waters, and awakening the vitality of all things.

But as soon as the sunlight and the stone pebble met, the ten-foot-long blue stone trembled violently, cracking loudly, and then exploded with a deafening roar.

The stone egg shattered with a crack, and a beam of blue light shot into the sky, carrying with it a pure aura. Suddenly, a metallic sound was heard from the ground, and the grass and trees in all directions rustled.

It was a young dragon, about half a foot long, with soft, fine blue scales, the color of tender buds. A dark gold line ran along its back, from its head to its tail, giving it a serene and elegant appearance.

It raised its head towards the rising sun and took a light sniff. The blue scales on its body gradually deepened in color. Then it lowered its small head and began to nibble on the eggshell fragments and stones, one bite at a time.

When it was about eight or nine minutes past, it bent over and darted up, sliding along the ground, climbing up Lin Shu's Taoist robe, and gently resting on his shoulder.

Just then, Lin Shu saw three curled-up claws.

Its color is bluish-green, but the tips of its claws have a hint of dark gold.

At the same time, a strong sense of intimacy and longing suddenly welled up in his heart, the source of which was none other than the little green dragon on his shoulder.