Douluo Continent: Speaker above, Dragon God kneels to receive orders

Chapter 22 Sun and Moon Island and the Sound of the Qin

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On the shores of the East China Sea, the waves are huge. Not just ordinary huge, but the kind that roll outwards in layers, crashing against the rocks and breaking into white foam, only to be swept back by the next wave. A thick fog shrouds a solitary island, never dissipating. If you stand on the island and look into the distance, you can't see anything, just a vast expanse of white, as if something has sliced ​​the world away from it.

The first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds, illuminating the beach. The island's shape was strange; from above, it resembled a crescent moon embracing the sun. Xu Tianqi's private place was called Sun and Moon Island. This name had existed for ten thousand years; it was once the birthplace of the Sun and Moon Empire. Now, few people lived there; he was the only one residing there. Tang Wulin was awakened by the sound of a zither.

The sound drifted, hollow, as if it came from a very, very far place, not from inside the house. He sat up abruptly, uncovered, his chest feeling cold. He looked around; the thatched hut was not a place he recognized. Inside, there was only a wooden couch and a stone table, both empty. Hanging on the wall was an old, blue-gray zither, its lacquer faded, but if you stared at it for too long, you felt as if something was pressing down beneath it.

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

He remembered. The laboratory, the cold table, the chains. He remembered the moment his bloodline went out of control, but not much. He knew very well that the Golden Dragon King's killing intent wasn't his. But he couldn't forget the look in Teacher Mo's eyes as he lay in a pool of blood.

"Teacher Mo!" he called out, his throat dry and sore. He tried to get out of bed, but his whole body was weak, and his arms gave way as soon as he tried to support himself. His soul power felt as if it had been drained dry, leaving not a trace. Even the aura of the Golden Dragon King that he both feared and hated was now quiet and still, as if it were dead.

"woke up?"

There was someone outside. Xu Tianqi, dressed in a long blue robe and carrying a bamboo basket, slowly walked in. The morning light shone on him, as if coating him with a layer of light, making even his hair shine. Tang Wulin recognized him. It was him. When things went out of control in the laboratory, it was this person who pulled him back from that predicament with his music.

"Senior Xu."

"Call me teacher." Xu Tianqi placed the bamboo basket on the stone table and picked out a few wild fruits from it. The fruits were purplish-red and still had dew on them, looking like they had just been picked from the tree. "From the moment you left Mingdu with me, Mo Runshu was no longer your teacher. This is not the Federation, this is Sun and Moon Island."

"Sun and Moon Island? This is the Sun and Moon Empire—"

"It used to be." Xu Tianqi didn't let him finish. He turned to look out the window; the direction was the sea. "The birthplace of the Sun Moon Empire, its tyranny and ambition all resided here. Now it's just a desolate wasteland no one wants. People have forgotten it, and it's not marked on maps. I chose this place because the strange magnetic field here can suppress the chaotic dragon power within you."

Tang Wulin lowered his head, his eyes reddening and his nose stinging. He tried to hold back, but couldn't; his throat tightened. "But Teacher Mo is injured. I'm the one who injured him. Am I a monster? They've all said that."

"You're not a monster. You've just been burdened with an excessively heavy gift." Xu Tianqi pulled up a chair and sat down. The chair was made of bamboo, and it made a sound when he sat down. He looked at Tang Wulin, his gaze neither fierce nor soft, just staring. "The Golden Dragon King's bloodline, something given by the divine realm, is also a scourge to the mortal world. Mo Runshu wanted to use technology to wipe it away because he treated you as a work of art, not a living person." Xu Tianqi pointed to his chest. "But he forgot that a tree has roots. Your roots are your blood. If you forcibly cut off the roots, the tree dies."

Tang Wulin looked up, his eyes vacant, seemingly lost in thought. "A work?"

"In his eyes, you are perfect, and dangerous. He wants to cut away everything superfluous from you, keeping only the fruit he desires. In his eyes, you are good, and bad. He'll keep the good and cut away the bad." Xu Tianqi withdrew her hand and placed it on her lap. "But he never considered that everything about you, good or bad, is yours. If you cut it off, you won't be whole anymore."

"Then what should I do?" Tang Wulin's voice was hoarse. He swallowed, feeling like there was sandpaper in his throat. "I can't suppress this power. Every time it surges out, I feel like I'm becoming someone else. That person isn't me."

"So I'll teach you." Xu Tianqi stood up and walked to the door. He paused for a moment, but didn't turn around.

"Mo Runshu teaches you techniques, how to use tools, and how to fight. I teach you the Way, how to live with your bloodline, to make it a part of you, not your master. You need to understand who listens to and who listens to you."

He took a step outside. The hem of his coat was blown by the wind and then fell back down.

"Come with me."

Tang Wulin struggled to get off the bed. His legs were weak, and he stood for a while, leaning against the wall, before finally walking forward. He was still exhausted, but he gritted his teeth. He didn't want to appear like that in front of others.

A cliff by the sea. The rocks were slippery with moss. Below him was a deep ravine, bottomless. The waves crashed against the cliff face, the sound so loud it made your chest tremble. The wind was strong, almost making him lose his balance, and he swayed to the side before regaining his footing.

"Stand here," Xu Tianqi pointed to the very edge of the cliff. The rock was flat, but the edge was hollow. If you stood there, even an inch over your toes, you'd fall.

Tang Wulin walked over and stopped. He glanced down, then looked away.

"Close your eyes and listen carefully."

"What are you listening to?"

"Listen to the wind, listen to the sea, listen to the dragon within you." Xu Tianqi sat down cross-legged. The zither had somehow ended up on his lap; his fingers rested on the strings, but he didn't pluck them. "The Golden Dragon King is irritable because you've imprisoned him. He hates it, he's afraid. He thinks you're going to kill him, so he wants to kill you first."

Tang Wulin closed his eyes. He didn't quite understand, but he closed them anyway. The wind howled in his ears. The waves crashed below, one after another, like someone beating a drum. At first, he couldn't hear anything, that was all.

Then Xu Tianqi's zither music began. It didn't start all at once, but slowly, seeped in little by little. You couldn't tell when it started; by the time you noticed, it was already there. Faint and intermittent. Tang Wulin's consciousness followed the sound, like water seeping downwards, through his skin, through his flesh, and into his bones.

A golden sea. His blood was hot. He knew this was the feeling every time the Golden Dragon King appeared.

That violent aura was there again. Restless, wild, like a wild beast long caged. But this time it was different. There were no laboratory needles, no chains, no those unnamed instruments. That aura was still restless, still wild, but something else seemed to be mixed in. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Resentment? Could it possibly feel resentment?

"It's roaring." Tang Wulin's eyes were closed, his lips moving softly. "It's saying it wants to go out."

"Then let it out." Xu Tianqi's voice came from afar, as if emerging from the ground, or perhaps falling from the sky. You couldn't tell which way it came from. "Don't crush it, don't lock it up. Go and catch it. Tell it, this is your land, and it's also its nest. You two can't be separated. If you're good, it's good too."

Accept.

Tang Wulin hadn't always thought this way. Before, he'd be terrified at the slightest stirring of his bloodline, he'd hide, he'd use the things Teacher Mo had given him to shield himself. He'd take medicine, get acupuncture, lie on that platform. He thought that was the right thing to do. Now he's trying not to hide. He doesn't know how to catch a person. But catching something that isn't human is probably about the same.

If it's arrogant, then let it be arrogant.

It's roaring, so just listen.

Once you've listened to it, it will stop barking.

He tried not to block it. Like hugging a stranger, he gritted his teeth and stretched out his arm.

Roar.

The dragon's roar within his body sounded again. But it was different. There was no killing intent; it was low and tentative, like a dog sniffing at a stranger's feet, unsure whether to bark.

Golden light flowed down his arm. It was hot, but not burning. Before, when that current came from the west, it was like fire, threatening to set his veins ablaze. This time, it wasn't. This time, it was hot, but after the heat subsided, it was warm. Scales surfaced, one by one, not growing wildly, but adhering to the skin, densely layered, like a natural armor.

He looked down at the arm. It was golden, not his skin. But he wasn't afraid anymore.

"Alright." Xu Tianqi opened her eyes, looking at the faint golden light surrounding him, and her lips twitched slightly. It wasn't a smile, but it conveyed the meaning. "You've taken the first step. Remember this feeling. This is the embryonic form of the Dao. It's not about subjugation, it's about coexistence. You let it live, and it will let you live."

Tang Wulin opened his eyes and looked at the misty sky. The wind was still blowing, the waves were still crashing, and the music had stopped sometime earlier. He looked at his arm; the golden scales hadn't retracted yet. He was a little scared, but not as scared as before.

"What if it causes trouble again?" he asked.

"It's making a fuss because it's afraid of you. It's afraid too. You're afraid of it, and it's afraid of you. You're both afraid of each other." Xu Tianqi put away his zither, stood up, and walked to his side. He was half a head taller than Tang Wulin, and when he looked down at him, his gaze wasn't fierce.

"From today onwards, I will teach you. I won't teach you how to fight with soul power; you can learn that yourself. I will teach you to cultivate your mind. If your mind is broad enough to contain this dragon, then you will truly have the Golden Dragon King in your grasp. It won't be that it listens to you; it's that you are you. You don't need to listen to anyone else."

He turned around and looked at the sea in the distance. The fog hadn't lifted yet, but it was thinner than in the morning.

"It hurts much more than Mo Runshu's method. Much more. Because you have to fight yourself. The enemies outside are easy to deal with, but you can't handle the ones inside. Can you withstand it?"

Tang Wulin took a deep breath. The mist entered his lungs, cool and refreshing. The energy within him was still there, restless, but no longer pushing outwards. It was there, like someone sitting beside you, neither saying they would leave nor saying they wouldn't. He remembered Mo Runshu lying in a pool of blood, remembered Yue Mianmian holding him and calling out. He never wanted to hear that voice again.

"I can handle it. I want to become stronger. Strong enough to protect people. Strong enough that no one has to get hurt for me."

"it is good."

The zither in Xu Tianqi's hand flashed. A beam of azure light flowed from his fingertips, enveloping the two of them. It wasn't very bright, just the kind of light that, when you're inside, makes you feel like nothing from the outside can get in.

"Alright, welcome to Sun and Moon Island. Some people call this place hell. Call it whatever you like."

Tang Wulin didn't reply. He stood on the edge of the cliff, the wind blowing, the scales still clinging to his arms. He glanced down, then looked up again.