Chapter 257: Don’t Blame Me For Not Recognizing You As My Father
“Gurgle gurgle gurgle…”
Accompanied by a low and muffled sound, the calm sea surface suddenly churned violently as if boiling, with countless crystal-clear bubbles continuously emerging.
A scrawny, pale blue little dragon emerged from the water. Its scales were dull and lusterless, appearing listless as if it had lost its soul.
Upon seeing this little dragon, while the old man stared dumbfoundedly, I grabbed the little dragon by the neck and swung it around, chanting, “The Great World, free from attachments and obstacles, goes and comes freely, at ease and unfettered, to be born or not, do not seek alternatives…”
After a good thrashing, I finally brought the little dragon back to its senses.
That’s right, this little dragon was the “Third Son” that I often came to feed when I was bored.
Once the “Third Son” sobered up and saw that it was me in front of him, he was so scared that his legs tensed up, and he “pfft” and defecated.
That stuff stank to high heaven, so I slapped him across the face;
“What the hell are you doing! You dare to shit in front of me?”
After a couple of scolds, I said to the Golden Cloud;
“Ayun, feed that shit back to him!”
The Golden Cloud, hearing my words, reluctantly pinched its nose with one hand and scooped up the feces the “Third Son” had just produced with the other.
Despite the “Third Son’s” desperate resistance, I forcefully pried open his dragon maw, and the Golden Cloud shoved it in;
“Gurgle.” The freshly produced feces was swallowed back by the “Third Son.”
The old man standing nearby, the Eldest, known to the world as the Dragon King, who was the “Third Son’s” father, was so frightened by this scene that he almost spat out his Dragon Pearl; he brought it to his lips but swallowed it back down.
He wanted to step forward to stop me, but he was hesitant.
This is entirely understandable.
Imagine, when I first arrived at the East Sea, the incredibly cool demeanor I displayed then was deeply etched into his memory, causing him to still feel awe and fear when he saw me.
At that time, I happened to be passing over the East Sea and saw the “Third Son” defecating on a beach for tourists. So I came down to advise him, telling him that acting so recklessly was very immoral, especially since he was a dragon. His feces were too enormous, and if he kept defecating like that, how would the children be able to play on the beach in the future? I remember a very long time ago I seemed to have built sandcastles on the beach with someone.
But this brat didn’t listen to my advice, insisting that he would do whatever he pleased and telling me that cultivators should naturally be free-spirited and act according to their nature.
He said he could do whatever he wanted, so no one could control him when he pooped or peed, and he could do as he pleased.
From the perspective of dragons, only after several hundred years are they considered young men. Seeing that he was still young, I didn’t get angry but patiently explained the Dao to him;
“The so-called ‘do as one pleases’ refers to following the desires of one’s original heart. The ‘desire’ here refers to the ‘form’ in ‘form is emptiness,’ which is what ordinary people perceive as ‘appearance.’ It can also be called the ‘ego,’ the realm of inertial thinking. The ‘heart’ refers to ’emptiness,’ the non-discriminating heart that is spotless.
To control the birth and death of the ‘ego’ through the ‘original heart,’ that is, the non-discriminating heart, is called ‘doing as one pleases.’
To put it more simply, it means not being controlled by one’s habitual cognition and desires, but by the ‘true self’ controlling this external ‘heart of desire,’ allowing the ‘heart of desire’ to act according to the ‘original heart’s’ arrangement. This is true freedom.
Acting according to one’s nature does not mean indulging one’s temperament and acting arbitrarily to satisfy one’s desires or achieve certain goals.
In cultivation, it refers to: preserving one’s original nature, aligning with the Great Dao. It emphasizes turning inward for self-reflection, that is, recognizing one’s own original nature, and then acting in accordance with the Dao, preserving one’s original nature, and aligning with the Great Dao, ultimately reaching a state of carefree liberation, which is called acting according to one’s nature.”
The “Third Son” not only didn’t listen to my advice but also said he would eat me.
Could I possibly indulge him? I knocked him out with two quick blows. I just wanted to teach him a lesson, but this brat, unable to beat me, called out to his father, the Old Dragon King. The Old Dragon King, along with his shrimp soldiers and crab generals, insisted on fighting me without understanding the situation. I politely tried to explain for a long time, but he wouldn’t listen.
In the end, having no other recourse, I was so enraged that in my anger, I annihilated a million seafood creatures, preparing them in various ways: braised, boiled, steamed, and even raw and sashimi.
I made these two, father and son, watch me eat for an entire day and night. They were so terrified, while serving me seafood, they asked, “Esteemed Immortal, hey, Esteemed Immortal, is that enough to eat? If not, my family has more. I’ll go catch more for you.” They were afraid that I, being so ferocious, might eat them too.
It was after this incident that the Dragon King started getting headaches whenever he saw me. No matter how much I comforted him, he wouldn’t listen. It’s not that I’m saying anything else; the Dragon King is, after all, a deity who blesses the people with favorable weather. How could I possibly bully him? Not only would I not, but I would also treat him with great respect. If he hadn’t insisted on trying to beat me, I wouldn’t have scared him like that.
I had hit his son, the “Third Son,” so I thought I’d give the “Third Son” some nourishment as a gesture of my goodwill. I had eaten their food, so I had to give their son something delicious in return. Therefore, whenever I encountered an idiot, especially one with some cultivation level who was showing off to me, I would knock him out and feed him to the “Third Son.”
However, this did not include ordinary folk. Even if some idiot child cursed at me, I wouldn’t bother arguing with them. This is because I don’t like getting into endless disputes with ants. Moreover, since they entertained me with seafood, how could I arbitrarily catch people without cultivation to give as gifts?
Most of the people I caught were those with some cultivation who had acted recklessly. Although they were also nourishing, their energy was indeed somewhat lacking, but it was certainly not that toxic.
Today, the Old Dragon King approached me to discuss this matter, so I had to get to the bottom of it.
“You darn brat, tell me honestly, what have you been eating lately? How come you’re having diarrhea everywhere? Your father is blaming me for this, and I can’t be dragged down by you like this without understanding what’s going on. Tell me the truth quickly, or I’ll chop you up and sell fried dragon meat at the tavern.”
The “Third Son,” having just eaten feces, was heaving at that moment. Upon hearing my words, he was so scared that he almost couldn’t hold it in again.
I saw the Old Dragon King, who had been standing by the side and not daring to speak, was now as pale as death, his body trembling slightly with fear as he stared at the scene.
I walked over and patted his shoulder, comforting him, “Don’t worry, Great Dragon Uncle. I respect you so much, I’ll definitely give you face. Don’t worry, if this kid doesn’t tell the truth, you can just pretend you never had this son. Given your old physique, you can definitely have more. If that doesn’t work, just say the word, and I’ll bring you some of these tonics. Have you ever eaten dragon penis? If not, I’ll save some for you to try when I butcher this brat.”
Hearing my words, the Old Dragon King smiled awkwardly, frozen in place, not daring to breathe.
When I turned around, the “Third Son” immediately perked up. With a “thump,” he knelt before me, his voice trembling as he said;
“Big, big, Big Brother, it’s absolutely not your fault. I, I ate that trash food that was thrown into the sea, and it has nothing to do with you at all~!” After the “Third Son” said this,
he turned angrily to the astonished Old Dragon King beside me, “Old man, how can you blame my Big Brother for this? Don’t you know what kind of person my Big Brother is? Could the food he gave me be that poisonous? At most, it would cause a bit of loose stool and a few days of stomach upset, not this severe. I’m telling you, if you dare to slander my Big Brother again, don’t blame me for not recognizing you as my father!”
