diskusbooks Chapter 164: Taotie, the Ancient Mythical Beast
Chapter 164: Taotie, the Ancient Mythical Beast
Luo Ying cleared his throat and described it with his hands and feet dancing: "The description of it in the Classic of Mountains and Seas is that it has a human face and a sheep's body, eyes under the armpits, tiger teeth and human claws, and a voice like a baby.
It is said that it is the fifth son of the Dragon King, a hybrid of a dragon and a sheep. The lustful dragons had no bottom line and were lustful for sex, which gave rise to many hybrid offspring. It is unknown which dragon was so excited that it could rain on an ordinary sheep, thus giving birth to Taotie. "
When Shi Juyi and Feng Yequn heard her bold and vivid words, they couldn't help but show surprised expressions at the same time and looked at her in unison.
Shao Hanyue and Xiao Qingxiu seemed a little embarrassed and coughed gently a few times, as if to remind Luo Ying to be careful with his words.
Luo Ying finally woke up from his dream and realized that what he had just said was indeed a bit bold and reckless. He couldn't help but let out an awkward silly smile, scratched his head and said, "I forgot that you two gentlemen were present..."
Feng Yequn looked at her embarrassed yet cute appearance, with a meaningful smile on his face. He put his fist against his mouth, trying to suppress his smile and said, "It's okay! Just treat us as invisible! Keep talking..."
Under his meaningful gaze, Luo Ying's cheeks instantly flushed, and then quietly spread from her ears. She opened her mouth in a panic, and tried to find clues to the topic with a slightly trembling voice: "Um...where was I just now?"
Feng Yequn looked at her embarrassed look, with a wicked smile on his face, and reminded her slowly and seriously: "You can do this to an ordinary sheep..."
When Luo Ying heard this, he was immediately panicked, fearing that he would utter another word, so he interrupted him hastily, cleared his throat, and tried to calm himself down: "Uh... that... what... Oh! I remember! Perhaps it was the influence of maternal blood, Taotie Kong had a mighty and ferocious appearance of a dragon descendant, but inherited a weak body and a pair of horns from a sheep.
Of course it is weak, but with the dragon genes, it is far superior to ferocious beasts like lions and tigers. However, compared with other mythical beasts that roar in the wilderness and are born with various magical powers, it is the weakest existence.
Compared to the pure-blooded princes of the dragon clan, Taotie is the weakest among these mythical beasts! In the prehistoric world, being weak is the original sin, and one is destined to be looked down upon and ridiculed."
Luo Ying was so immersed in her own narration that she was completely unaware that Shi Juyi and Feng Yequn were staring at her with obsessed eyes. She continued to narrate: "What Taotie could not stand the most was the ridicule of other dragons. Those dragons laughed at it and said: Taotie, a guy born by a sheep is also a dragon, no wonder you don't have any magical powers, you are a waste. Another dragon said: I don't have magical powers, but I have tiger teeth! I can bite and eat! Another dragon said: You are a glutton who only eats but doesn't grow any ability. Isn't this a disgrace to our dragon clan?"
When Luo Ying said this, her heart seemed to be suppressed by a huge stone weighing a thousand pounds. Her voice became low and suppressed: "Those ruthless ridicules made Taotie unable to raise his head. He could only keep devouring, diverting his attention, forgetting the ridicule, thinking about swallowing those ridicules and food together, as if biting off the limbs of those mythical beasts, chewing up the bodies of those dragons, and even more as if he really ate the sheep's blood in himself."
Tears flashed in her eyes, and her voice began to tremble with a bit of sobbing: "That is the source of its endless shame. Only when it chews can it forget those cold and mocking eyes, forget its own weakness, and revel in the chewing sound, which is its only comfort. It even specifically picks some hard rocks to chew, even if the chewed rocks scratch its mouth. It doesn't care, only in this way can it release the hatred in its heart and feel extremely satisfied. However, every time it stops chewing and no longer swallowing, what awaits it is a sense of empty loss and more and more fierce ridicule, making it unable to help but lower its head to eat again."
Feng Yequn saw how sad she was, and he had a strong urge to go up and comfort her. However, Luo Ying stopped him with her eyes.
She calmed herself down and continued, "Taotie fell into a vicious circle, and his inferiority and hatred grew stronger and stronger. Finally one day, he realized that he was a weak outsider, a stain on the dragon clan, and would never be accepted by these dragon brothers. He would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. Taotie decided to bid farewell to his identity as a divine beast and return to the wild beasts. He joined a group of sheep. The sheep were afraid of his ferocious appearance at first, until Taotie killed a group of wolves that came to eat the sheep, and then they felt relieved.
With Taotie's protection, the sheep lived freely and the sheep respected it. Taotie found self-esteem for the first time. The ridicule he had received from the dragons was swept away. He sincerely believed that the sheep were his home. However, one day, Taotie overheard the conversation of several sheep and ruthlessly threw the spiritual satisfaction he had just gained to the ground and crushed it.
As Luo Ying spoke, she recalled her past life, with complex emotions flashing in her eyes, as if she had returned to the shadowy school days. She recalled the bullying she had suffered, and those harsh comments pierced her heart like needles. She couldn't help but sigh, unable to hide her resonance with Taotie's experience. Tears welled up in her eyes, and finally couldn't help but slide down from the corners of her eyes. She continued to describe the story of Taotie: "They whispered about Taotie, a hybrid thing, who thought he was so capable. He couldn't make it with the divine beasts, so he came to our tree to show off. He really thinks he is a big shot, but he is just a security guard who came to our door."
At this point, her thoughts could not help but drift back to the conversation between classmates. Classmate A said with some confusion and sourness: "She, Luo Ying, whose family conditions are so poor and who has no one to rely on, how come she has a better job than us?"
Classmate B responded with a hint of sarcasm and ridicule: "Who knows what means Luo Ying used to win the favor of her boss, hahaha!"
"Her boss looks like that! Uh... fat head, big ears, bucket waist, just like a fat pig! It's really scary that someone could do that to him! This... a child from a poor family can do anything to get promoted! Haha..."
She still remembered her best friend's weird smile and her uncomfortable words: "Girls! As long as you work hard enough, you will always have more opportunities than others!"
Thinking of this, she couldn't control her tears at all, like pearls from a broken string, rolling down, unable to hold herself back. She quietly integrated this deep emotion into her description of Taotie, more like venting the emotional waves deep in her heart. Her voice trembled, as if every word was carrying heavy emotions: "In an instant, Taotie heard the sound of metal rubbing against its tiger teeth, with the hatred of chewing rocks in it. It roared and ferociously pounced on the flock of sheep it had once guarded. Every bite it took seemed to hear the sound of the bones of those divine beasts shattering, and every swallow it took seemed to be drinking the blood of those dragon sons. The sheep were swept away, and Taotie finally found his own pleasure. Go eat, keep eating. It told itself, you are weak among the divine beasts, but you are strong enough among the wild beasts. Yes, I will keep eating, eating every living creature I can see."
When she finished speaking, her emotions were on the verge of collapse, tears fell like beads from a broken string, and she could hardly hold back her sobs. Seeing this, Feng Yequn's desire to protect her was instantly ignited. He could no longer control himself, stepped forward, hugged her tightly, and soothed her with a gentle but firm voice: "Does the story of Taotie bring back the pain deep in your heart?"
Luo Ying buried her head deeply in his arms, letting her tears flow freely. She broke down and cried, her voice trembling as she said, "The fate of Taotie is too tragic. It reminds me of my own past experiences... So what if we were born in a humble family? Can we choose our birth? Why do we try so hard to change ourselves, but still have to suffer unfair treatment, ridicule and mockery? All goodwill is questioned? All efforts are ignored."
Hearing this, Shao Hanyue and Xiao Qingxiu couldn't help but fall into deep thought. From Luo Ying's description, they seemed to see the shadows of themselves who had been bullied. The sadness in their hearts surged like a tide, and tears slid down silently.