SOLVED. Chinese fantasy, ghost and man travelling together encounter a rain dragon refusing to bring rain, old man calls it "lazy deaf one." (May be short story or novel or collection?) [s]

[Amy (Other Amy)]

I read a short story, but I believe it was an excerpt from a longer work, probably a novel, but I'm not sure. I don't remember when I read it, could have been anytime in the 90s or later. I don't think this is children's or YA, but I could be wrong. I don't remember anything about the author.

It's set in China, I think at some unspecified pre-modern time. Two men are travelling, don't remember where. The narrator is the ghost (it's not immediately clear that he is a ghost but some mention is made of the way people react to the two travelers, I think was what made it apparent). The man he is travelling with is his teacher and/or protector, someone he is respectful of. As the story opens, the narrator is gathering wood for the fire. The other man says something I don't remember in Chinese, which the narrator translates as "lazy deaf one," which he thinks is strange because he might be lazy, but not deaf. (The Chinese words are given phonetically in English, Lung something I don't remember exactly.) Then he sees the dragon and realizes the other man means the dragon is lazy, as dragons are named for being deaf, their only imperfection. The region is apparently in drought because this dragon is refusing to bring the rain.

The only other thing I remember is the end; (view spoiler)[another dragon comes and fights the lazy dragon, who then leaves (to resume his rain bringing, I believe). A single scale falls to the ground during the fight, which the ghost then wears on a necklace, and people are more respectful toward him. (hide spoiler)]

I'd really like to find the rest of this work, or anything else the author has written. Thanks!

[Kris]

A guess - Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was by Barry Hughart?

Amy, why are two men travelling together - what is their initial goal?

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Kris wrote: "A guess - Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was by Barry Hughart?

Amy, why are two men travelling together - what is their initial goal?"

Thanks, Kris, but that doesn't look like the one from the first few pages. Does the narrator turn out to be a ghost later on?

As best I can recall, the story just took it as a given that the teacher and the ghost were travelling from town to town in a rural province of China. No further explanation was given, but what I read was either a short story or and excerpt, so there may have been more to it in the rest of the book.

[Juels]

Is it one of the short stories in Dragons!? Particularly Lan Lung by M. Lucie Chin?

Small excerpt from my google-fu search:

"Lan Lung," he said in a low tone.
The lazy deaf one? I was perplexed. Colloquialisms are confusing in any language. Particularly so in Chinese.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

That sounds really promising, Juels. Thanks. I know what they called the dragon was something with "Lung" in it. I will track down a copy and see if it is a match.

[Juels]

Good luck. A google search shows this short story in other collections too. Such as Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural.

[Juels]

You may want to check out the comments on this page:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!top...

Sounds very promising indeed.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Oh, that's wonderful! This is definitely it. I am a little bummed it is not part of a longer work, but really happy to be able to find it again. I will definitely get the anthology and check out some of her other works. Thank you!

[Kris]

Amy, should we mark Dragons! or Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural as the book with your short story?

[Juels]

You're welcome.

I'd recommend Dragons! as the bookmark. Although a google search indicated the story was included in Masterpiece of Terror and the Supernatural, I wasn't able to confirm it.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Go with Dragons! - that's the anthology I'll be getting.