The elders used to say that after a heavy rain and thick fog, creatures like dragons, found only in legends, would appear deep in the mountains where few people ventured.
They might also be spotted coursing through the Yellow or Yangtze River basins, or even when floodwaters swept past certain villages.
But the elders always warned us to watch from a distance and never go near them.
They were extremely dangerous, especially the jiao-dragon kind.
True dragons give off a sweet scent, while jiao-dragons reek of a fishy stench.
A jiao-dragon must survive a heavenly tribulation to become a true dragon.
A red-eyed koi beast can become a true dragon by leaping over the Dragon Gate.
One legend says that a snake becomes a jiao after five hundred years, and a jiao becomes a dragon after a thousand.
Another says that for a snake to become a dragon, it must pass through seven stages: mang, ran, hui, jiao, chi, qiu, and finally yinglong.
