Chapter 47: Skyscale Festival
Lingdou City, as the capital of the Douling Empire, is still bustling at night. Although it is not a festival, there are still many people on the streets, walking or chatting. There are also many soul masters picking things in front of various shops and talking loudly.
Wang Nan and Ma Xiaotao walked side by side on the road. It had been almost half an hour since they came out of the hotel, and they hadn't found a place to eat yet, but they ran into a few teammates.
"Xiaonan and Xiaotao, you are here too?" Gong Yangmo was standing at the door of a shop and waving at them, with Xixi and Ling Luochen beside him.
"What are you doing here?"
Wang Nan took a quick look and found that there were only some small wooden carvings in the shop. It was a souvenir shop for ordinary people and there was nothing related to soul masters or soul mentors.
"Oh, you don't understand girls' minds." Gong Yangmo replied, then looked at Ma Xiaotao and pointed to the shop next to him, "Do you want to come in and take a look?"
Ma Xiaotao glanced at Wang Nan beside her.
Now that he was here, Wang Nan became curious about ordinary people's shops, so he nodded and agreed.
A few people walked into the store and the boss quickly came to greet them.
The shop owner did not have any talent for spiritual practice and was just an ordinary person, so he did not realize that the people were soul masters and just thought they were a few young customers.
"Welcome, are you here to pick up souvenirs? You have come to the right place. Every item in this shop is derived from various folk legends of our Douling Empire. They can be said to be the most meaningful souvenirs."
"Did you do all this yourself, boss?"
Wang Nan carefully observed the statues in front of him. Even with his eyesight, he had to admire the craftsmanship of the boss. Each one was lifelike, and some details were also finely polished.
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the guests. I have also awakened my martial soul, which is a carving knife. It's a pity that I don't have innate soul power, so I can't practice. I can only carve some wood carvings to support my family."
Wang Nan glanced at the boss after hearing this. If he could practice, he should be able to become an excellent soul guide.
Gong Yangmo was talking to a few girls in front of a round wooden sculpture, but Wang Nan's eyes were attracted by a crescent-shaped statue at the highest point.
"Boss, you just said that every wood carving here comes from various legends, right? Can you tell me the legend behind this sculpture?"
The boss followed Wang Nan's gaze and said with a smile, "This is the water god worshipped in my hometown."
"Water God?" This was the first time Wang Nan heard that this world believed in other gods, especially those related to water. Shouldn't the most people on this continent believe in the Sea God?
"Yes, the water god." The boss brought a ladder, took down the hands of the "water god" statue, then gently placed it on the table and wiped off the dust on it.
Only then did Wang Nan realize that this "crescent moon" was covered with scales, had a head and a tail, and looked like a carp.
"Boss, seeing you as the water god reminds me of a story. But in my story, the 'water god' has to eat a pair of boys and girls every year to ensure good weather and good harvests in the area."
Wang Nan was just bored and wanted to chat with the boss, but he noticed something strange when he said this. Wang Nan was a soul master after all, and although it was only for a moment, he still caught the unnatural look in the boss's eyes.
"boss?"
"Haha... ha, how could that be? The Water God is a god, how can there be such a god? Haha." The boss laughed, "By the way, sir, you can take away any other wood carvings you like, but forget about this 'Water God', I still need it to bless me with prosperity." "In that case, why don't you tell me the story about the Water God? I'm new in Lingdou City and have never heard of this deity before." Wang Nan glanced at the boss's face, pointed at two wood carvings, and took out a gold soul coin.
"By the way, these two wood carvings look great to me. Can you please pack them for me, boss?"
"Hey, hey, I'll pack it for you right away." The boss' eyes widened when he saw the gold soul coins.
Even though a gold soul coin is nothing to Wang Nan, and he would spend more than ten of them on a meal, in fact, an ordinary family of three would only consume four or five gold soul coins in a year.
As the boss packed up the wood carvings, he slowly spoke, "In fact, the legend of the Water God has been passed down for tens of thousands of years. No one can tell exactly who it was at the beginning. Some say it was a spirit master with a carp spirit, while others say it was a spirit beast. Anyway, it wasn't a god at the beginning, but an elder of the Sky Scale Sect."
"Tianlin Sect?" Wang Nan frowned. He seemed to have no impression of this sect in his mind, whether it was the memories of his previous life or the knowledge he had learned in this life.
"Yes, the Sky Scale Sect is a very special sect. They recruit disciples only if they have beast spirits, and their spirits must have scales. It is said that no matter if it is a fish or a snake, as long as it has scales, the Sky Scale Sect can use a secret method to transform their spirits into real dragons."
Wang Nan listened carefully. He didn’t expect that there was also the saying of turning into a dragon in this world.
"Then how did this water god come from?"
"Well, this water god is the one who failed to transform into a dragon. However, he was lucky. He did not die after failing to transform into a dragon, but fell into a big river. Later, the Tianlin Sect was destroyed, but he survived in the river."
The boss's expression changed and he sighed slightly, "Since then, the weather on both sides of the river has been good and there have been no more floods. It has gradually become the god of water."
Wang Nan stopped asking questions after seeing this. He was not sure if he had the ability to help his boss solve the problem of the "water god". If he continued to ask questions now, it might harm his boss. It would be better for him to go back and explain it to the college and let the college investigate the matter.
"Thank you, boss. Your wood carving is very exquisite. I will come again if I have the chance."
"Thank you for your patronage. I am always welcome."
After Wang Nan exchanged pleasantries with the boss, he looked up at Gong Yangmo and asked, "How do you guys see it?"
After hearing Wang Nan's words, Gong Yangmo and Ma Xiaotao lowered their voices.
“I’ll be right soon!”
After saying that, Ma Xiaotao brought over a chubby wooden sculpture that looked like a chicken and was quite cute.
"Look, does this look like me or him?" Ma Xiaotao said, pointing at Gong Yang Mo on the side.
"Like you, after all, this wood sculpture doesn't look as colorful as his."
Ma Xiaotao snorted softly, but finally bought it.
Thanks to Wang Shiyi_Be, Koscott, a lazy bookworm, Fengxingtianxia_dc for their monthly ticket support
(End of this chapter)
