The Dragon's Pond

There once lived a young man by the Sungari River. His father had amassed a considerable fortune through fishing, and so the son, though he continued his father’s trade, did so not out of necessity but out of love for the craft. This allowed him to indulge in various whims from time to time. Often, while his workers were out catching fish, he would wander the mountains. One day, he ventured to Luntan Mountain and there discovered a magnificent pool. The fisherman sat by its shore for a long time, and suddenly an idea struck him: what a splendid fishpond this would make!

No sooner thought than done. He returned home, selected two dozen of the finest fish of various species—ones that could coexist peacefully—carried them alive to Luntan Mountain, and released them into the pool. To distinguish his fish from any offspring they might produce, he fastened a copper ring engraved with his name to each fish’s tail.

Several days passed. Once, his workers were taking fish to sell in Ulagai when they noticed that local fishermen had caught a couple of fish with copper rings. The workers took these fish and brought them to their master. He examined them—yes, they were indeed his fish, the ones he had released into Luntan...

The fisherman went with his men to the mountain, cast a net into Luntan, but caught not a single fish. It was clear that there was a passage between the Sungari and Luntan, the very same one that the dragon had once traveled.

Yes, Luntan was a sacred pool, and for good reason. Whenever the governor, twice a year on the days of changing attire (from summer to winter and vice versa), knelt in ceremonial robes before the sacred tree and the pool, all the duckweed on the water’s surface would immediately gather on the opposite shore, even if there wasn’t the slightest breeze...

But the most astonishing thing was the source of the water in Luntan, located at the very summit of a high mountain. A great deal of water must evaporate, especially in the heat of summer—yet the water in the pool never drops by even an inch, even though no stream flows into Luntan...

No, Luntan, say what you will, is a sacred pool—it is the passage to the dwelling of Longwang himself, the Dragon King!

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The Dragon's Pond

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