Black Loong#

With iron whiskers and devouring lips, Twin hammers held in fierce embrace, Lightning sparks powerful force, In thunder's roar, he holds his place.

Long had the fishermen beside the River Ji spoken of a black loong, dwelling far beneath the waters in the Nine Depths. Upon its neck rested a pearl of wisdom, said to grant great enlightenment to any who held it, a prize beyond the worth of gold. Many had braved the depths to find this fabled gem, yet few had been fortunate enough to return. With bitter tears, they told of the perils below, of returning with nothing to show for their trials, and worse, of facing the wrath of the fearsome loong prince. Armed with twin hammers that summoned forth the fury of thunder, the prince could smite those before him, leaving nothing but dust.

Long ages passed, yet still, there were those who sought the pearl. Among the people, it was whispered that when the River Jiburst its banks and the waters rose in wrathful flood, it was surely the doing of the loong prince, his wrath roused by the trespasses of those who sought his treasure. In hopes of appeasing him, they built a grand and splendid temple, where they offered worship and tribute to the lord of the watery depths. Then came a day when a young man arrived, clad in a midnight hue, with a necklace of moon-pale stones around his neck. He named himself a master thief with skills beyond compare. Though all cautioned him against earning the loong prince's wrath, he paid no heed. With a single swift dive, he set his course for the loong's palace.

To his surprise, he found the palace strangely silent and empty, with no sign of the soldiers he had expected. A heavy sense of desolation hung in the air. Puzzled, he went to seek the sea treasury and saw a sturdy, tawny- skinned man sitting amid piles of chests, his brow furrowed in worry. At the sound of his approach, that man, who turned out to be the loong prince, stirred, dug a string of pearls from a chest, and tossed them on the ground. "The pearl of wisdom you seek is not mine to give," he said in a weary voice. "Take these if you must, and go."

Surprised, the young man asked, "The people on shore spoke of your fierce temper, of how you strike men with your thunder or flood entire lands for the smallest slight." The loong prince shook his head. "The flesh of mortals holds no savor for me. Think you that I am some petty yaoguai, to wreak havoc at my own whim? No, I would not dare to call forth the smallest storm save at the bidding of those higher. Idle talk, all of it! My own sire was condemned to the bite of steel for one trifling error. We loongs, though our hearts are true as any, are treated with such injustice...

The young man said,"I have heard of the Loong King's plight. A grievous injustice, indeed. Is it for his sake that you find yourself in such reduced circumstances?" Seeing he was no mortal, the loong prince said, "Precisely. I have no wish to meet my end upon the Loong-Slaying Terrace. I asked a fortune-teller, and he said if I hide well and kill some westbound monkey, I may yet atone for my misdeeds and restore my honor."

The young man pondered this. "A fortune-teller, you say? It was the words ofa fortune-teller that led me to this place. There might be some strange design at work in this meeting of ours. Why not go with me to where I come from? It just so happens to be on the very road that leads to the west." The loong prince was overjoyed, but the young man added, "1 ask no small price, however. All the treasures in your hoard, they must be mine."

Since the day of the young man's arrival, fewer and fewer were those who sought to plumb the river's depths in search of the pearl. Later on, the tools of their quests were one by one set aside. And in time, the tales of the loong prince far below and the pearl of wisdom he guarded were no longer spoken of.