Cataclysm Chapter 105: The Dragon’s Prison 03

Chapter 105: The Dragon’s Prison 03

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

The doll had pressed itself against the window, showing a ferocious face to the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies outside, scaring away the terrifying ghost faces. However, other windows soon had these Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies stuck to them. Some had beautiful human faces, while others had ghostly faces, making the atmosphere particularly eerie and terrifying. Inside the bus, aside from Chen Yang and the others, everyone else were ordinary people. They didn’t scream upon seeing this, simply because they were familiar with the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies.

The group heard the sound of flapping wings and the echo of a mountain cave, followed by a ‘pop’ sound, as if something was sticking to the outside of the bus window. The bus visibly slowed down, as if it were carrying more weight than it could handle, causing it to be unable to move forward. ‘Pop,’ the terrifying and eerie Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies covered the entire bus, blocking out all light and starting to strike the windows, causing cracks to appear. The driver stopped the bus and tried to calm everyone down, “Everyone, stay calm and don’t be afraid. I’m ringing the bell to ask for help from the Wu leader. They’ll be here to rescue us soon.” He pressed a small copper bell in front of him, but no sound came out.

The doll explained, “The sound bell contains worm larvae, which the Wu leader can hear. The signal in the mountains is poor, so they use the larvae to communicate. But it might be too late, because the windows have cracked. These Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies are attacking more fiercely than usual, even more so than normal.”

Chen Yang asked, “What are Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies?”

The doll responded, “It’s said that they are butterflies that grow from corpses. One wing has a beautiful human face, and the other side has a ghostly face. They are hermaphrodites, so they are called Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies, also known as Yin-Yang Corpse Butterflies. They eat human flesh and are highly aggressive, appearing on the night of a full moon. That’s why on the fifteenth and sixteenth nights, no vehicles from the Wu Clan travel. Even if there are, they usually hide live cattle or sheep in the back of the vehicle. If they encounter Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies, they release the animals to let them feed, and they can leave safely.”

Chen Yang said, “Today is the tenth.” There were still five days until the full moon night, but they had already encountered the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies tonight.

“So, we don’t know what triggered the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies, and we didn’t bring any live cattle or sheep. These ghosts are incredibly greedy. They won’t leave until they’re full. Once they latch on, thousands of them swarm the area, and when they leave, nothing remains but a skeleton.”

Chen Yang asked, “Is there any way to deal with these ghosts?”

The doll replied, “No. I’ve been with the Wu Clan for over ten years, and even the Wu leader can’t do anything. We don’t even know where the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies’ nest is.”

Chen Yang looked at the glass before him, which was almost cracked open, and asked Du Shuo, “Du, do you have any ideas?”

Du Shuo pulled Chen Yang behind him and faced the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies outside the window. The group of attacking Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies froze, too scared to move, but the ones on the other windows were unaffected. A ‘tap tap tap’ sound, like a woodpecker, came from the top and bottom of the bus. A boy let out a sharp cry of pain, realizing his shoe had been pierced, and a drop of blood dripped out.

This drop of blood made the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies outside even more frenzied in their attack. Someone screamed in terror, “There are Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies on the top and bottom of the bus!”

Chen Yang shouted, “Du?!”

“I understand,” Du Shuo said as he turned and walked toward the bus door, pushing Chen Yang back into his seat. “Stay here and don’t move. I’ll go handle it.” He then approached the driver and said, “Open the door.”

At that moment, no one would have opened the door under any normal circumstances. But when Du Shuo spoke, the driver, as if receiving an order from a king, instinctively opened the door. When he heard “Close the door,” he also instinctively shut it, preventing the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies from entering. However, the next moment, he realized the man was still outside. He was shocked and said, “He’ll be eaten by the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies and left with nothing but bones!”

The doll, leaning outside the window, said, “If it’s this gentleman, then nothing will happen to him. So don’t worry, and there’s no need to trouble the Wu leader.”

The driver, though still confused, didn’t understand but felt that the person was as powerful as the Wu leader. However, he wasn’t completely reassured. “The Wu leader can’t do anything about the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies either.”

“He’s more powerful than the Wu leader,” the doll replied, pulling back her gaze. “And besides, once we drive them away, it’s over, right, Yang Yang?”

“Mn,” Chen Yang replied.

Kou Xuanling was also peering outside, and during a lull, asked Lu Xiuzhi, “Do you know about these Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies?”

Lu Xiuzhi answered, “The Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies are born from karmic obstacles. They grow shells from flesh and feed on blood and meat. Their lifespan is one month: they hatch on the night of the full moon and die after laying eggs on the next full moon. Du Shuo is their natural enemy.”

Hearing this, Chen Yang felt relieved. He turned and asked, “The doll said the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies grow from corpses, but you said they come from flesh and grow shells. Which one is correct?”

Lu Xiuzhi explained, “The doll wasn’t wrong. The Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies are born from karmic obstacles, and they need to form in a mountain of corpses. But what comes out is just an egg. The egg attaches to fresh meat, absorbing the essence of the living flesh to hatch, and then feeds on the blood and flesh.”

Chen Yang asked, “Alive?”

“Yes,” Lu Xiuzhi confirmed. The group shuddered at the thought—an egg attaching to a living person to feed on their essence, hatching, and consuming all their flesh. Being used as nourishment in this way must be a fate worse than death.

Lu Xiuzhi’s gaze deepened as he looked out the window toward the distant mountains, piercing through the layers of forest and towering peaks, reaching the most hidden depths of the mountains. “It’s not just any meat; it’s dragon meat. Only the essence of a dragon can nourish these greedy creatures that feed on flesh and blood, and it must be a living dragon.” He turned back to Chen Yang and said, “So the dragon you’re looking for is in the Dragon’s Prison.”

The doll and Kou Xuanling jumped up. “There really is a dragon? Yang Yang, there really is a dragon, and it’s alive?!”

Zhang Qiudao hesitated. “But this dragon has given birth to so many Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies and had so much essence drained. It’s probably running out of power.”

Lu Xiuzhi nodded, “Probably.” The dragon leapt into the sky, soaring to the heavens, or sank into the depths of the sea, its power unparalleled, revered since ancient times as a symbol of the Chinese nation. But now, it was being used as nourishment for these small, yet insatiable Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies, proving the saying, “A dragon in shallow waters is mocked by shrimp.”

At that moment, the roof of the bus cracked open, and several large Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies squeezed through the gap. Other Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies began to pour in as well. Chen Yang and the others protected the others and killed the incoming butterflies. Soon, the attacking ghosts were all slain, and the remaining Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies outside quickly retreated, like a tide, as if they had encountered something terrifying and had to flee in panic.

Du Shuo knocked on the door, completely unharmed. The driver quickly opened it, his eyes filled with admiration. This man was even more powerful than the Wu leader. Cautiously, the driver asked, “Are all the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies dead?”

Du Shuo replied, “They’ve run off.” Then he walked back toward the bus.

Chen Yang rushed over to check, relieved to see Du Shuo was unharmed. Then, noticing something in his hand, he curiously asked, “Did you catch a Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly?”

Du Shuo nodded. “Mn. Do you have a jar to put it in?”

“There was a candy jar.” Chen Yang took an empty candy jar out of his bag and handed it to Du Shuo, who didn’t take it, instead staring at him calmly. Chen Yang, realizing a moment later, explained, “Kui Xuan and the kid ate it. I promise I didn’t.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Du Shuo believed him. If Chen Yang had eaten all the candy in that jar, his fragile teeth would have protested long ago. “Open the jar.”

Chen Yang complied and opened the jar, letting Du Shuo place the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly he caught inside. Du Shuo said, “Catching it will help us draw out the nest.”

Upon hearing this, the kid spoke up, “It’s useless. Wuchang tried using the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly to draw out the nest, but after eating, the butterflies lay eggs and die. Wuchang also tried hatching the eggs, but no meat could make them hatch. But now I know we need dragon meat.”

Du Shuo closed the lid, watching the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly flapping inside, and said, “In the past, the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies only came out on the full moon night. They lay their eggs and die then. Catching them meant delaying their return to lay eggs, so they couldn’t find the nest. Today is the tenth, there are still five days left.”

The Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies had a time limit for laying eggs. They only came out on the full moon night, ate raw meat, and then flew back to their nests to lay eggs before dying. Yi Wu had captured the butterflies and delayed their return, causing them to be unable to lay their eggs on time, and thus, he could never find the nest.

Kui Xuan held his face and said, “But the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterflies are elusive and hard to track, right?” Otherwise, why would Yi Wu go through the trouble of capturing one butterfly to track them? He might as well follow a large group of them to find the nest.

The kid whispered, “Wuchang marks the butterflies she catches and uses a secret method to track them.”

Chen Yang held the candy jar and looked down, saying, “If we release this Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly on the full moon night, we can find the nest, and we can also find the dragon.”

The bus driver started the bus again. Although the bottom and top of the bus had suffered some damage, it was still running. The bus continued on its bumpy way toward the Wu Tribe, passing through the eerie forest, with the warm yellow headlights being the only light in the darkness. Chen Yang noticed a person standing by the side of the road, as if waiting for a ride.

The driver ignored them and drove past. The person stared at the departing bus, and after a few meters, they appeared again, now accompanied by two others. The driver coldly ignored them and didn’t stop to let them board.

Chen Yang knew these were lost souls and wild ghosts from the mountains, waiting for the driver to stop so they could board and find a scapegoat. Usually, after they boarded, there would be an accident.

The kid muttered, “It’s been so long, hasn’t Wuchang arrived yet?”

“She won’t come,” Chen Yang laughed. “She knows we’re on the bus, so she’s safe and hasn’t come.”

The kid replied, “Oh, that’s how it is.”

The bus had been driving through the forest for almost half an hour. Chen Yang, holding the jar with the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly, snuggled up to Du Shuo, resting his head on Du Shuo’s shoulder, watching the treetops rush by outside, slowly closing his eyes and drifting into sleep.

Du Shuo, sensing something, looked down at Chen Yang and adjusted his head to a more comfortable position, so he could sleep better.

Chen Yang was dreaming, falling into an inexplicable dream. In the dream, there was a deep, bottomless water pool. He stood on a cliff, looking down, but couldn’t see the bottom. The water was too deep, appearing black and incredibly profound, the deeper you looked, the darker it became. A strange fear spread up from his heart, as if there was a giant monster hiding in the pool. When he looked down at the deep pool, the monster in the water seemed to be staring at him as well.

Chen Yang wanted to leave the cliff and move to a safer place. Fear uncontrollably swept through his nerves and muscles, causing his legs to go weak and his body to stiffen. He wanted to leave, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t tell whether the fear of the deep pool or the panic of not controlling his body was more terrifying. He could only hear the sound of his heartbeat in the silent space, counting the rapid beats.

Surrounding him was a cave that extended hundreds of meters deep. He stood on a protruding stone in the center, with no way to retreat in any direction—unless he climbed up or jumped into the pool. But the cave walls were smooth, with no safety equipment or tools, and he could fall into the deep pool at any moment. He had a premonition that when he fell into the pool and touched the water’s surface, the giant monster would open its mouth and swallow him whole, like a little fish.

The silence was deafening, and above the cave, there was a circular hole, with a pale, round moon in the sky.

It was a full moon night.

The waters of the deep pool suddenly boiled, raising massive waves that splashed onto Chen Yang, seeping into his clothes and touching his skin. He felt the chilling cold of the deep pool. It seemed as if a giant beast was emerging from beneath the water, and he heard the thunderous roar echoing in his ears, splitting the clouds and cracking the rocks. Fragments of stone rolled down and fell into the depths, disappearing in an instant.

The giant beast broke through the water’s surface, letting out a long roar that resounded through the sky. Its enormous head occupied the entire pool, looking down on Chen Yang. The overwhelming pressure hit him head-on, pinning him in place. Its breath altered the course of the wind, and long, soft whiskers floated in the air. Its yellowish eyes were not malevolent, but stern, as they fixed on Chen Yang.

Its head resembled that of a camel, its horns like a deer’s, its eyes like a rabbit’s, its ears like an ox’s, its neck like a snake’s, its belly like a clam’s, its scales like a carp’s, its claws like an eagle’s, and its paws like a tiger’s. It had the form of nine creatures in one, with the longest of the qilin species. Its back was covered with eighty-one scales, its voice like the sound of clashing bronze, and there were whiskers by its mouth, pearls under its jaw, reverse scales on its throat, and no wooden staff on its head.

Without the wooden staff, the dragon could not ascend to the heavens.

The wooden staff referred to the dragon’s horns.

Chen Yang trembled, his lips quivering slightly, “A dragon!”

Suddenly, a huge stone fell from above, and darkness engulfed him. His body swayed left and right, but soon light reappeared overhead. Chen Yang opened his eyes, still dazed, and when he saw Du Shuo in front of him, he hurriedly crawled into his arms, his frightened heart finally settling down.

Du Shuo held him and gestured for the others to get out of the car. Soon, only the two of them were left in the car. Du Shuo seemed to know everything, not speaking but silently patting Chen Yang’s back.

After a long while, Chen Yang spoke quietly, “I was scared.”

“Mn. I’m here.”

Chen Yang couldn’t help but laugh a little, “You weren’t here just now.”

“Next time, I’ll enter your dream and accompany you.”

Chen Yang punched Du Shuo lightly, “If you want to enter, I might not be willing.” He stood up and noticed they had reached the entrance to the Wu Clan village. The others had already gotten out, so he followed suit. “Let’s go. The Wu Clan leader is waiting outside.” As he walked, he asked, “Brother Du, if a dragon doesn’t have horns, what would be the cause?”

“A flood dragon has no horns.”

Chen Yang shook his head, “It’s not a flood dragon, it’s a dragon.” He was certain that the hornless dragon he saw in his dream wasn’t a flood dragon. It was a majestic, beautiful creature, an elegant being that symbolized the wonder of the world and people’s hopes and dreams.

“A dragon without horns is called a qilin, or sometimes a chi dragon.” A qilin is a young dragon, and a chi dragon is a mother dragon. “Or, the dragon’s horns may have been broken.”

Chen Yang pondered. The hornless dragon in his dream was an adult, and he felt deep down that it wasn’t a female dragon. So the only remaining possibility was that the dragon’s horns had been broken.

The Wu Clan leader waited outside the car. Her calm, unruffled eyes seemed to hide great wisdom. Her gaze lightly landed on Ji Jiang and Kui Xuan, causing them to feel on edge, as if she could see straight through them. When she saw Chen Yang and Du Shuo, she smiled, “Chen Yang, brother Du, the Wu Clan welcomes you.”

Chen Yang got out of the car and walked up to the Wu Clan leader. Behind her were four attendants, whom she introduced as promising students of the Ghost arts, currently learning from her. “It’s a good thing you’ve come; you can help me teach them.”

Chen Yang declined, “I’m not qualified to be a teacher, I wouldn’t want to mislead the students.”

The Wu Clan leader said, “Don’t refuse. Consider it a favor to me. Recently, there have been some issues in the clan, and I need to resolve them before the Taoist exchange conference begins.”

“What happened?”

The Wu Clan leader said, “The Wu Clan borders the neighboring scenic area. Generally speaking, we keep to ourselves, and the areas don’t interfere with each other. The surrounding mountains and forests are treacherous, and without a clan member to guide them, it’s easy for visitors to get lost and fall into traps. That’s why there’s a strict rule forbidding tourists from crossing into the Wu Clan’s territory. To avoid accidents, we’ve set up formations in the forests; if an ordinary person enters, they will become disoriented and eventually return to the scenic area. However, recently, there have been signs of the formations being damaged because a group of tourists broke into the Wu Clan’s Dragon’s Prison and drowned in the pool.”

Chen Yang asked, “Could it have been an accident?”

The Wu Clan leader replied, “Impossible. We’ve checked the formations, and there are clear signs of deliberate sabotage. Also, the victim was a foreigner, a member of a dragon-hunting suicide squad. Now, that group is staying in the scenic area, demanding an explanation from the Wu Clan. They claim that the Wu Clan killed their comrade and are causing a ruckus. Although there are suspicions, they know the real target was the Dragon’s Prison, but the fact remains that a person died within the Wu Clan’s territory, and we can’t clear ourselves of suspicion.”

Chen Yang asked, “A dragon-hunting suicide squad?”

Kou Xuanling explained, “It’s a self-organized group from abroad, with members from various countries. The group is backed by some of the world’s wealthiest individuals, who provide them with enormous wealth and cutting-edge equipment, with the goal of capturing a dragon.”

Chen Yang was surprised, “Why capture a dragon? Wait, do they believe in dragons?” Even people in Huaguo (China) only revere dragons rather than truly believing they exist. These foreigners were spending their time, effort, and money on capturing something as elusive as a dragon.

Kou Xuanling continued, “Because dragon horns can extend life and cure any terminal illness. In the early 90s, a dragon horn about the size of a palm was secretly auctioned. The person who bought it was in their 80s and suffering from a terminal illness, but they’re still alive today. Not only that, but their appearance and health have been restored to middle age. That’s why dragon horns drive people to madness.”

Zhang Qiudao remarked, “I’ve never heard of this, or this dragon-hunting suicide squad.”

Kou Xuanling shrugged, “I only heard about it from an elder. Apparently, that dragon horn was smuggled out of Huaguo. At first, I didn’t take it seriously, just knew of this notorious group that was roaming Huaguo, looking for dragons, doing all sorts of vile things, and nearly ruining the dragon veins. Huaguo has since banned them from entering, but now that they’ve shown up so openly, it seems the ban has been lifted.”

The Wu Clan leader placed her hands behind her back and said, “When the dragon horn was smuggled abroad, the Taoist priests tracked it down but ultimately missed a small piece of it. At that time, the Taoists had a premonition that once the dragon horn spread, it would attract the greed of countries all over the world.”

People in high positions fear aging, disease, and death. If there were a substance that could sever these fears, they would go mad for it. And the dragon horn has filled that role.

Chen Yang suddenly thought of the hornless dragon in his dream. He hadn’t paid attention to whether the dragon’s horns were damaged due to the shock.

The Wu Clan leader added, “By the way, Deputy Director Ma was also part of the Taoist team that was tracking the stolen dragon horns back then.”

“Wow!” Everyone turned to look at Ma Shanfeng, who was sitting and smiling warmly and gently with his old wife at Kui Xuan, and a child. It was hard to believe that he had once been a powerful figure. Ma Shanfeng looked up at the right moment and said, “That was over twenty years ago. I’m old now and almost forgot about it.”

Zhang Qiudao asked, “Uncle Ma, tell us about it.”

Ma Shanfeng waved his hand, “There’s nothing to say about it.”

“Come on, just tell us. It’s not like we’re doing anything else, and we’re all here. Might as well listen,” someone urged.

“Yeah, Uncle Ma, just tell us who stole the dragon horn back then. Where did it come from? And what happened to the parts of the dragon horn that were recovered?” another added.

“Grandpa, Kui Xuan and the kid want to hear too,” a child chimed in.

Ma Shanfeng, having been pressured, finally gave in. “Alright, alright, let’s go inside and I’ll tell you.”

The Wu Clan leader led everyone to her house. The village was beautifully arranged, with neat streets that had a distinct charm. The road was illuminated by streetlights, making it bright even at night. Every household lived within the mountain walls, having hollowed out the rock to build their homes. These houses were spacious, bright, and well-designed, rivaling urban buildings in both design and modernity.

The Wu Clan leader’s house was built into the largest mountain wall, requiring them to climb up over twenty stories of stairs to reach a wide platform. This area was typically used for clan meetings, and there were herbs and vegetables drying on the platform. The large door at the front of the platform led into the Wu Clan leader’s home, where the living room contained a large sound system.

The child, jumping onto the sound system, shouted, “This is for square dancing! When the music goes ‘bang, bang, bang,’ we’ll all jump up!” The child danced, adding, “Yang Yang, Kui Xuan, tomorrow night we’re going dancing!”

The Wu Clan leader swiftly grabbed the child and threw them into Kui Xuan’s arms. “Shut up.” Dancing like this was completely contrary to her cool and stoic image. She explained, “The sound system is something the villagers left here. They take it out and dance whenever they feel like it. I don’t like the noise, but I can’t discourage their enthusiasm for exercise and entertainment.”

The child, still playful, protested, “Liar! The Wu Clan leader is the one leading the dance—uh? Uh-uh?”

Unable to continue, the child fell silent.

With a perfectly straight face, the Wu Clan leader calmly responded, “I am the one leading the dance.”

The others, understanding the situation, politely gave the Wu Clan leader the dignity of maintaining her serious image.

 

 

 

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