Chapter 27: Sword to Kill the Dragon King
"The top scorers in previous years were either appreciated by the chief examiner or favored by the emperor, and thus they were able to get the first place. However, the winner of this year's special examination is different from previous years. He is the most special."
"Please help me solve my doubts!"
After hearing these words, Judge Wen became even more confused and could not help but say respectfully.
"Have you ever heard of Cangjiang?"
The City God of Yongning did not answer, but asked a question that sounded irrelevant.
"Cangjiang River? Is it the big river in the southeast of the capital? Its widest point is a hundred miles wide, with no end in sight!"
Judge Wen thought for a moment, then looked up and answered.
"Master An is truly well-versed in literature and knowledge!"
"I don't deserve your praise, sir. That river is quite famous. When I was taking the imperial examination, I passed by this river and wrote a poem by it."
Wen Pan answered quite humbly.
"Lord An is really very elegant when he composes poems by the river. However, Lord An has served under me for more than a hundred years, and I have never seen him compose poems!"
"Time has passed, I have entered the officialdom, and now I am a judge. How can I still have the spirit and leisure I had in the past?"
Judge Wen smiled bitterly.
"That's true. Time makes people grow old! Since Lord An knows about Cangjiang River, do you know who is in charge of Cangjiang River?"
After sighing, the City God of Yongning returned to the original topic.
"I heard that he is a Dragon King. I heard that he has a very deep background and a very extraordinary origin!"
Although he was somewhat confused about the topic that Yongning City God discussed with him, Wen Pan still racked his brains to answer.
Although he was a ghost god, he was just a small judge in a county. The water god of Cangjiang River was an existence that he could not even reach, and he knew nothing about his origins.
But his background must be extremely shocking, otherwise, how could he be in charge of the major rivers near the capital?
"What Dragon Lord? He is nothing more than an evil dragon that relied on the power of his father to seize the throne of God!"
The City God of Yongning said with disdain.
"grown ups!"
Wen Pan looked at the City God in shock.
Although a county city god is not bad, he is nothing compared to the Dragon God of the river. Even if the Dragon King leaves the river, he still has the tremendous power to turn the clouds and seas upside down.
Talking about it a little bit is not a big deal, but if you criticize it like this, you may suffer disaster!
"Don't panic, the evil dragon has already surrendered, and it has no power to cause trouble to you and me again!"
Looking at the panic-stricken official, the City God of Yong'an immediately smiled and comforted him.
"The Dragon King of Cangjiang has passed away?"
Wen Pan was extremely shocked. This was a major event that was enough to shake the world of ghosts and gods in Dajin, but everything was calm. He had never heard of it before and only found out about it today. It was probably because his rank was too low and he could not reach that level.
"He was killed by a sword. His death was quite tragic. He was a great river god, but he fell into such a situation. He really deserved to die."
The City God of Yongning smiled with some satisfaction.
"I have only heard of the name of the Dragon King of Cangjiang River, but I don't know much about him. What kind of evil did this god do? Why did you hate him so much? And what was the reason that caused this Dragon King to suffer such a disaster?"
Wenpan asked respectfully.
"I don't know much about him, but I know his origins. He is from overseas and is rumored to be the descendant of a true dragon."
"I see!"
Wen Pan suddenly realized that if the rumor was true, it would be understandable why this Dragon King could hold the position of Water God of Cangjiang River.
"As for the evil deeds this beast has done , I have witnessed them with my own eyes!"
The Yongning City God did not hide his hatred for the Dragon King and his pleasure at his misfortune.
"This beast has a hobby. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he will look for ten beautiful women on both sides of the Cangjiang River, force them to marry him, and on the second day of the second lunar month, he will marry them into the Dragon Palace!"
"That's the nature of dragons!"
Wen Pan responded that he didn't think there was anything wrong. After all, the man was the Dragon God of the Great River. No matter whether it was the mortal family he favored or the woman he married, it was a destiny with the immortals.
"Do you think it is tolerable for this beast to abide by the etiquette of our human race and rape ten decent women every year?"
"Sir, this..."
Wenpan hesitated to speak.
"You don't need to explain to me. I know what you are thinking. But if this beast is really just like this, I don't think he should be killed. But do you know that the woman who was forcibly taken into the Dragon Palace by this beast has never been seen again, without exception!"
"Those women were..."
Wen Pan immediately had some guesses in his mind and his eyes widened a little.
"It is rumored that this beast has a habit of cannibalism!"
The City God of Yongning said coldly.
"Why is it so? Are all the dignitaries in the court not paying attention to this? Is Your Majesty also turning a blind eye to this? Doesn't the City God care either?"
Wen Pan said in disbelief, feeling that some belief in his heart was challenged.
"It's just a rumor. There is no solid evidence. No matter your majesty or the princes, who would propose to take action against the Dragon God of Yijiang? Even if the Dragon King is killed, who will bear the wrath of the real dragon overseas?"
The City God of Yongning asked back, and then laughed again.
"Besides, even if this is true, it doesn't matter. It's only ten women every year. To be able to exchange for a river dragon king to be obedient, in the eyes of some people, it's a perfect deal!"
“This is ridiculous!”
"It is indeed absurd, so this evil dragon was doomed!"
"Is he the number one scholar in this year's imperial examination?"
At this point, Wen Pan couldn't help but blurt out. If he hadn't reacted at this point, he would be too slow. But after he said it, he felt that this matter was too unbelievable and contrary to common sense.
"In the last ten days of the first lunar month this year, a young candidate was staying at a villager's house. The villager had a daughter who was rumored to be extremely beautiful. It happened that on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month this year, the evil dragon spotted her and forced her to marry him. The candidate knew about this."
"On the first day of February, the City God of Chongshan Prefecture and all the ghosts and gods under his command witnessed with their own eyes a young man wielding a three-foot-long green sword and slaying a dragon by the Cang River. When the sword moved, a righteous spirit swept across the land, filling the heavens and the earth. The God of the Cang River has been absent ever since!"
The City God of Yongning spoke slowly, with a leisurely and fascinated look in his eyes.
This was what he had dreamed of doing thousands of times during his lifetime, but unfortunately, even after he was named a ghost god after his death, he still could not shake the evil god even a little . Now, a young man who was not even twenty years old had accomplished what he wanted to do and fulfilled his lifelong wish.
"Thank you, Lord City God, for clearing up my confusion!"
Wen Pan, who had recovered from the shock of knowing that the young man had slain a dragon, quickly bowed deeply.
At this moment, he also understood why Lord City God said that this year's number one scholar was different from previous number one scholars. He also knew how this number one scholar got the top six prizes.
What are the examiner's political views? What are his preferences? What is the meaning of the questions? None of these are important to the top scholar. He just needs to attend and answer the questions.
If there are any mistakes, it must be that there is something wrong with the examiner, the questions he set are wrong, and his political views are also very flawed.
As for the emperor's favor in the palace examination? Oh, to be disrespectful, even if there was a monkey sitting on the dragon throne, it would know who the number one scholar was!
