The straw-caped fisherman known as "Wen Si" posed the first question:
"Beside the Eastern Court Lake, there was once a small village. In that village lived a family, just a husband, wife, and their lazy, good-for-nothing son."
"The couple spent their days scheming how to get their son married into a wealthy family, to collect a generous dowry and boost their social standing, dreaming of soaring to prominence from their backwater village."
"By chance, the husband and wife encountered the daughter of a provincial governor who had secretly run away from home. They concocted a vile plan, having someone kidnap her, only for their son to 'heroically' rescue her and thus win her hand in marriage."
"But halfway through, the plan fell apart. The couple, desperate and vicious, tried to strangle the girl to death."
"Within the Eastern Court Lake lived a Dragon King. Though he had sworn never to step on land and focused only on cultivation, he couldn't bear to watch this cruelty."
"He pretended to demand a virgin sacrifice, threatening to emerge and kill if not appeased. He ordered the couple to bring an offering before noon the next day."
"Fearing divine wrath, the couple complied. They tied up the governor's daughter and ferried her out on a bamboo raft, intending to drown her like a pig in a wicker cage."
"The Dragon King watched and, when they reached the center of the lake, simply swallowed the husband and wife whole. The girl, meanwhile, was rescued by the governor's guards, who had just arrived."
Because the background of this question was quite long, the fisherman, whose speech was already slow and halting, slowed even further, carefully delivering every word with clarity and seriousness.
There was even a strange, meticulous charm in his delivery.
All of his bulging fish-eyes turned toward Chen Kuang, as he continued:
"But this act led to endless disaster. The people believed it was the Dragon King who had stirred up chaos. To seek his favor, they began offering up their daughters willingly, believing that the more they sacrificed, the more sincere their devotion."
"Barely a month after being rescued, the governor's daughter was once again sacrificed, this time by her own father, as a model of virtue."
"People praised this as an act of paternal love and civic duty... but all of it stemmed from one kindhearted decision made by the Dragon King."
The fisherman's tone carried a trace of melancholy:
"Junior Brother, tell me, was the Dragon King right or wrong?"
Chen Kuang fell into thought.
It wasn't that he didn't know the answer, the logic was clear.
He didn't even need to rely on his truth-detection passive. The perspective of the story was obvious.
And when Wen Si said the word "disaster," it had triggered his passive, it was a lie.
Which meant that deep down, Wen Si firmly believed the Dragon King had done nothing wrong.
So all Chen Kuang had to do was agree, and he would pass.
But what made him hesitate was the combination of keywords: Eastern Court Lake... Dragon King... virgin sacrifices...
It sounded far too familiar.
Wasn't this the expanded version of the story behind the Dragon-Gum Zither that the nameless musician had once told him?
Chen Kuang looked at the ancient Zither beside him with a complicated expression. His eye twitched.
According to the musician's version, the legendary Music Sage Xi Mengquan had passed by the Eastern Court Lake, saw people preparing to sacrifice a girl to a dragon, and, without asking questions, jumped into the lake and gave the dragon a serious beating.
He even knocked out its teeth... which he then used to craft the Zither.
There's no way... right?
Chen Kuang cleared his throat and replied carefully:
"The Dragon King meant well but did wrong, yet he himself is not at fault. These ignorant people offered sacrifices not out of genuine fear, but to earn praise as paragons of virtue."
"To gain fame by sacrificing others, to appear noble at the expense of another's suffering, that is evil in its purest form."
"They were cowards who picked an easy target. If they truly believed the Dragon King was malicious, why not raise their swords? Why not resist?"
"As you said, Senior Brother Wen Si, if they had dared to try, they would have seen that the Dragon King never stepped foot on land, never truly killed."
"In truth, the evil lay with them. The Dragon King was merely the scapegoat. He never did anything wrong."
In modern terms, this was like blaming victims while putting on a "righteous" face, it was virtue-signaling at its worst.
As Chen Kuang finished his reasoning, the fisherman was momentarily stunned.
Then, from under his straw cape, his long fish tail slapped against the deck with enthusiasm.
"Good. What a fine 'noble in others' name.' What a perfect 'swords never pointed at oneself!'"
Was that... applause?
Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow. For such an infamous demon, Wen Si was surprisingly cordial. Almost... good-natured?
While Chen Kuang was still puzzled, the fisherman nodded and declared:
"You've passed the first question."
"Now, listen carefully for the second."
This time, Chen Kuang was relaxed. "Please, Senior Brother."
A glimmer of amusement flickered in the fisherman's fish-eyes.
He burbled, and glanced meaningfully at the Zither on the boat:
"If the Dragon King did nothing wrong, then what about someone who, without knowing the truth, thought the Dragon King was forcing people to sacrifice girls, beat him half to death, and then strutted around thinking they'd done something righteous?"
"Would that person be right or wrong?"
Chen Kuang: "..."
Great. Now it was obvious.
The Dragon King in the story... was Wen Si himself.
Which meant that the two conflicting stories about the Zither, the public fairy tale of a sage visiting the Dragon Palace in a dream, versus the musician's violent retelling, well, the wild one was the true version.
And the self-satisfied idiot in Wen Si's story? That was the Music Sage Xi Mengquan.
Now Chen Kuang was in a bind.
The Zither he used was crafted by the Music Sage. If he ever met the guy, he might be able to ride his coattails.
That was a powerful connection.
But if he slandered him now... what if the Music Sage sensed it and got pissed?
On the other hand, given that this Zither was probably made from one of Wen Si's teeth... if someone wore a necklace made from your busted molar and waved it in your face, wouldn't you want to punch them?
The fact that Wen Si was calmly asking questions at all showed remarkable restraint.
So..
"Of course that was utterly wrong!" Chen Kuang said solemnly.
"The Dragon King was terribly wronged, more innocent than Dou E in the snow! He deserves an apology, not a beating!"
Wen Si's fish tail thumped the deck again, clearly pleased.
He grinned:
"Good, good, good! With a Junior Brother like you, this Senior Brother can finally be at peace!"
"And now comes the third and final question."
"It should be the easiest of them all."
Wen Si asked, "When did you meet that old bastard Xi Mengquan?"
Chen Kuang froze.
Wait, this wasn't a true-false question?
But it should be easy enough. He had never met the Music Sage, so naturally he hadn't- wait..
No... something was wrong.
That sentence... hadn't triggered his lie-detection passive?
Wen Si believed what he said?
He truly thought... Chen Kuang had met Xi Mengquan?!
Chen Kuang stiffened as cold sweat suddenly broke out and beaded on his brow.