I Am Supreme

The wisp of smoke ascended into the sky. It was a small strand of smoke, but it made its way up, higher and higher. In only the time it took to take a breath, it had reached the sky, soaring through the clouds and rising to the nine heavens. Nobody knew nor could they imagine that after the smoke went through the clouds, it was then that the incense aroma began to spread. Instantly, wafts of an extremely sweet fragrance permeated the nine heavens, drifting everywhere.

…

In a sapphire-hued plant, beside a picturesque lake, there was a white-clothed youth who was fishing. He spoke confidently, “Look, I’m going to fish a dragon here today without any trickery!”

Beside him were seven to eight youthful ladies who were incredibly beautiful, each minding their own business, all of them at ease. Some were reading laying on a chair, some were resting on a hammock, some were paddling their feet in the water while some were studying tunes while holding on to a flute.

There was only another girl who was similarly clad in white who sat beside the white-clothed youth with a smile.

Another girl could be heard speaking as she rolled her eyes, “How can there be a dragon in such a small lake? Forget this lake, even the entire continent is without a dragon! I’d love to see how you fish one out! Let us see how you toot your own horn!”

“Toot my own horn? How am I boasting? What if I really manage to catch one? Xiao Yi?” asked the young man, “Do you want to make a bet?”

The girl was utterly confident. “How can you catch something that doesn’t even exist? Very well, we’ll make a bet. If you catch a dragon, I’ll do whatever you say!”

The young man chuckled evilly and said, “If you lose, you’ll practice all thirty-six erotic positions with me! How about that?”

The moment the words left his mouth, the few girls around him flushed and gasped abashedly.

The girl who was being spoken to turned crimson as she replied, stomping her foot, “You lecher… Hmph, we’ll bet. I’ve checked that there are absolutely no signs of a dragon on this entire planet. If you lose, you’ll be punished by… punished by… you won’t be allowed to touch me for three years! No – no, that’s too easy for you. I want to make you bark thrice, like a dog!”

She had said that he was not allowed to touch her for three years, but she changed her mind after consideration, blushing even redder.

Watching the shy, innocent girl, the ladies around laughed.

The young man was still confident as he said, “Okay! That’s a deal! This is our wager. Remember, whoever loses must acknowledge defeat! Look now! Something has taken my bait! Let’s see what it is…”

A few girls looked over, focusing their sights on the surface of the lake. They saw a big fish zooming underwater, tugging at the fishing line. They could not discern what fish it was yet, or if it was even a fish.

The girls excitedly urged the young man. “Quick, pull it out of the water! Let’s see the result!”

The baited prey came closer to the water and the group could finally see that it was a large golden carp. The fish was a significant size and wore gold scales all over, looking magnificent, but it was not a dragon after all. Everyone could easily see that.

The girl was promptly victorious, laughing and saying, “This is a carp – you’ve lost! Hahaha… Bark like a dog, quickly!”

“How is this a carp? Look again carefully,” said the young man.

The girl turned skeptically only to hear the young man hollering, “Carp that skips through the dragon gate – transform!”

With that soft cry, the carp on the fishing hook transformed into a dragon immediately. It was still golden but five claws and two horns emerged from the creature as it swam in the water – what else could it be if not a dragon?

“You’re cheating! Aren’t you ashamed to cheat like this? You shameless cheater!” The girl was indignant.

The young man replied triumphantly, “You lost anyway! What I fished out is really a dragon. The legend about the carp jumping through the dragon’s gate and becoming a dragon? This carp has ascended to become a dragon with the doing of karma. How is this cheating?”

“The current situation is that the carp have similar karma of jumping through the dragon’s gate! Understand? The one who lost must acknowledge defeat. This bet is concluded. Young little lady, remember to wash clean and wait for me tonight to complete our wager.”

The girl flushed, stomping her feet in disagreement.

The other ladies could only tease her, the atmosphere livening up immediately.

Then, an aroma drifted over.

Sitting quietly in her incomparable beauty and elegance beside the young man, the white-dressed lady frowned and assessed the situation, pressing her fingers together before she smiled and said, “My disciple is coming. I wonder if it’s a coincidence or not.”

“Your disciple? When did that happen?” the white-clothed young man asked curiously.

The lady scoffed and said, “You’re the root of this encounter. You made me save fatty’s direct descendant then and when I was gone, I found out that the child was already rescued. However, that fatty didn’t even repay his savior in his hurry to escape, so I gave away three joss sticks in anticipation of this fated encounter.”

“I see… Oh, I remember now. That fatty isn’t even human, so lazy like a pig… He didn’t rescue his descendant but came to ask for my help. How could there be someone who’s happy to fight and argue with me all day? I remember now, I recall everything. I haven’t found fault with him on this yet…” The young man in white said after scratching his head, thinking hard.

“Go then,” the youth continued, “Good timing then, that you won’t be here tonight.”

He chuckled wickedly and thought, ‘No one is after me once you leave. I can do whatever I want to that girl tonight right? Wanna skip over my bet? How can it be so easy? You think you’re that varlet, Old Black?”

“Sister Mei, I’ll go with me! I can help you!” The girl who lost the wager begged pitifully.

“Help? What help? Better admit defeat!” The young man in white collected her in one scoop and told the lady clad in white, “Go quickly, go. Go quickly and come back quickly.”

The lady smiled gently and said, “Xiao Yi, I’ll go and come back fast. I’ll save you soon.”

With a twirl, she vanished.

“All of you are bullying me!” The girl named Xiao Yi cried, stomping her feet. Frustrated, she thought and immediately turned her gaze to the others. “Sisters– where are they? Where is everyone?”

The seven or eight girls who were still here just now had somehow disappeared.

“All of you don’t have any sense of sisterhood!” The girl stomped her foot.

The young man laughed. “I say that your elder sisters are obviously creating a chance for you. You must seize it…”

As he spoke, he was suddenly stunned and blurted, “Sh*t! I forgot to tell her something…”

“Never mind. It’s not too late to talk about it after I collect my wager…” he muttered with a tilt of his head.

Then, the young man heaved the girl over his shoulder, ignoring the lady’s vehement struggles, and sang happily, “Come, come. Let’s have fun… What we have is time…”