Chapter 110: Our Village's Guardian 'Divine Beast'

Perhaps the Black-Scaled Jiao understood what Tang Long meant by "Big Old Black" and showed signs of displeasure. It communicated to Tang Long through telepathic waves: "I am a female jiao!"

A female jiao?

Whether male or female, it was undoubtedly a rare creature, without question.

Tang Long fixed his gaze on the glowing, eerie eyes of the female jiao hovering in midair and spoke solemnly, "You must think carefully. If you choose to become the 'Guardian Beast' of Fish Head Village, you must obey our commands and instructions. From now on, you must clearly understand what you should do and what you must not."

Before the female jiao could respond, Tang Long continued, "Of course, if you become Fish Head Village’s Guardian Beast, we will be like family. You won’t have to worry about food or drink ever again. All your meals will be provided by us."

An exchange of equivalent value—there was nothing to argue about, especially when dealing with a beast. Negotiation was out of the question.

In many ways, beasts were often more loyal than humans.

Their promises, even unto death, were steadfastly upheld. Beasts lived by the ruthless laws of the jungle and survival, but in their very bones, if they considered a pact made with you, the spirit of that pact was etched into their blood and marrow.

"I require a large amount of blood food, and the path from my lair to the underground dark river is blocked. I need you to clear it," the female jiao conveyed.

Tang Long nodded, his eyes gleaming as he said, "Understood. We will do our best, but if we fail, don’t blame us. Rest assured, you will never go hungry. From now on, we are family."

The other matters were trivial.

The female jiao's demands were simple: fill her belly and provide shelter. As she guarded Fish Head Village, she also sought to use the village to protect herself. Did you think she was just a dumb beast?

Naïve.

A creature that had lived for hundreds or thousands of years was no fool.

If she could leave through the ocean, would she still be stuck here starving? Certainly not. As Tang Long suspected, there were many natural enemies in the sea. Wounded and retreating into the ocean, she might have become prey for others.

If there had been any hope, she wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to lure Tang Long here.

"No objections? Then let us swear a blood oath."

Tang Long dropped the playful tone and spoke earnestly.

A blood oath was an ancient vow. Whether human or beast, once sworn, it had to be honored. Breaking it rarely ended well.

In this respect, sometimes beasts had more integrity than humans. Tang Long was human, but he often despised the way some humans behaved; morally, not all people, just certain ones who were unscrupulous.

"Agreed," the Black-Scaled Jiao responded without hesitation. She had summoned Tang Long for a promise. If he could keep it, perhaps she still had a chance at life. If not, fate was sealed.

If an ordinary person had come, communication would have been impossible. Others would not have understood her intent.

By a stroke of luck, she met Tang Long, who did not see her as a cold-blooded monster. This was also Fish Head Village’s fortune—at a time when the village needed a continuous spark of vitality, this "mascot" had been sent.

After swearing the blood oath, the Black-Scaled Jiao became Fish Head Village’s Guardian Beast.

Through ongoing communication, Tang Long learned more. For example, on that thunderstorm night, the jiao was undergoing a tribulation, awakening latent dragon instincts.

Becoming a dragon was not a matter of will alone.

If one lacked great fortune, the heavens—the so-called Way of Heaven—would not allow one to ascend to dragonhood.

After countless hardships, only a sliver of chance remained.

The probability of a jiao evolving into a dragon was roughly one in ten thousand—meaning among ten thousand jiao, only one might become a dragon. This explained why dragons were so rare in the world over eons.

Legend said that besides jiao, only fish could transcend by leaping over the Dragon Gate—those who succeeded transformed into dragons; those who failed perished.

But these were myths. Even Tang Long once considered them mere stories. Dragons were too distant from humanity. Even the mightiest mountain python was rarely encountered by humans.

The "jiao" was perhaps the closest creature to a dragon that humans could see.

That night, lightning flashed and thunder roared, rain relentless. The Black-Scaled Jiao was undergoing the tribulation, bringing considerable chaos to the entire Tao County.

The jiao was fortunate; the heavens did not claim her but destroyed her ancient lair, wiping away her millennia of cultivation. If luck remained, she might yet leap over the Dragon Gate to become a dragon, roaming freely between heaven and earth. If not, she would be utterly finished—obliterated without trace.

For now, she had no hope of becoming a dragon again soon; she first needed to heal.

She estimated that the lightning wounds would take at least a century to recover.

The “Ghost King Cave” had been her old lair, where she had dwelled for unknown years. Now, it was shattered by heavenly thunder, and these humans, for reasons unknown, had taken to exploring it like madmen.

Although their current explorations were shallow, their curiosity meant it wouldn’t be long before they discovered her true dwelling.

Moreover, the route to the underground dark river was blocked, cutting off her hunting grounds.

Gravely injured and starving, the desperate Black-Scaled Jiao emerged, hoping to make a last-ditch effort.

Entering the ocean was a death trap. Being discovered by humans was equally fatal.

Meeting Tang Long might be the only sliver of hope the heavens left her.

Tang Long quietly felt fortunate to have the ability to communicate, albeit simply, with animals. He understood what she wanted. Otherwise, the people of Fish Head Village and the tourists who flocked there would be doomed.

Facing the Black-Scaled Jiao, Tang Long was not confident he could kill her outright.

If the jiao were to go on a rampage before dying, it would spell disaster—not just for the few hundred villagers, but for all of Tao County.

Ordinary weapons were ineffective against her.

"Big Old Black, how long are you?" Tang Long asked curiously.

The jiao conveyed a message: "I am a female jiao, not ‘Big Old Black’!"

She was clearly displeased.

Tang Long chuckled; he found "Big Old Black" a fitting, down-to-earth nickname. After all, now that she was the village’s Guardian Beast, what was there to be picky about?

Her thickness was about the same as a high-speed train, with a large head like a locomotive and a slightly slender body, but hardly thin. She was over a hundred meters long; coiled up, she could tower dozens of stories high.

"Where did you come out from?" Tang Long asked, curious.

The Ghost King Cave’s entrance seemed too small for such a massive body.

"There is an entrance to the cave in nearby waters," the jiao explained.

Tang Long nodded. That made sense; if she had come out through the Ghost King Cave entrance, the people of Liansheng would have surely noticed.

With such a size, a special path had to be made for her, so she wouldn’t roam freely like a derailed train. Such a massive creature could crush anything in human society.

Unconsciously, the man and beast talked and chatted until late at night.

Jiang Xue was not injured, only unconscious. Before losing consciousness, she thought she saw a huge monster’s head carrying her in its mouth into the air, then everything went blank.

She woke up groggy, rubbing her head.

Hearing Tang Long’s voice, she sat up, frowning in confusion. He was muttering to himself—who was he talking to?

She hadn’t noticed the Black-Scaled Jiao hovering five or six meters above.

"Awake!" Tang Long said cheerfully, helping Jiang Xue to her feet. "How do you feel? Are you alright?"

Jiang Xue shook her head. "My head hurts a bit."

She hadn’t lost consciousness due to external force but because the jiao’s telepathic waves had induced it—that was, the jiao had deliberately made her faint.

"It’s nothing, you’ll feel better after resting," Tang Long smiled.

Jiang Xue’s face suddenly paled, fear creeping in. "We need to leave quickly—there’s a monster in the forest!"

"A monster?"

Tang Long winked at her with a teasing smile and pointed toward the dark sky. "You mean this monster?"

Following his finger, Jiang Xue looked up and nearly fainted again.

Good heavens, it was terrifying!

The creature’s glowing green eyes, like lanterns, combined with its massive form under the moonlight, would shake anyone to the core.

Fortunately, Tang Long was quick and caught her.

"It’s okay, that’s Big Old Black. She’s our village’s Guardian Beast now; she doesn’t eat people," Tang Long reassured, patting Jiang Xue’s back to keep her from fainting again.

Guardian Beast?

Jiang Xue wanted to ask if he’d watched too many movies or gone mad. What era was this? This wasn’t some ancient mythical novel—where did such a thing come from?

She glanced at the Black-Scaled Jiao, not an illusion, still there.

Her face drained of color.

Her legs trembled uncontrollably, and... she had wet herself out of fear.

Tang Long’s nose twitched at the urine smell but he only felt a mix of helplessness and amusement. He knew her reaction was normal—who wouldn’t be terrified seeing Big Old Black’s size?

"Don’t be afraid. Big Old Black won’t harm you."

If Jiang Xue reacted like this, how would the other villagers respond?

No, the village needed to accept the jiao first; only then could the tourists accept her.

Otherwise, if the villagers rejected her, chaos would ensue—the Dragon King’s temple flooded and kin failing to recognize kin. That would be a spectacle.

"She, she..." Jiang Xue’s teeth chattered.

Tang Long turned to the jiao, "Come here, let me introduce you. This is an important partner of Fish Head Village. You’ll meet often. Not a stranger. Jiang Xue, Miss Jiang."

Hearing Tang Long, the jiao lowered her body closer to Jiang Xue. Imagine a snake head the size of a high-speed train just two or three meters away—what a feeling!

Jiang Xue’s legs went weak; if not for Tang Long holding her up, she would have collapsed.

"Big Old Black, our village’s Guardian Beast," Tang Long encouraged with a smile, "You can try to touch her."

Touch her?

Had she lost her mind? This monster could swallow her whole in one bite. Why would she risk turning around and running? Now he wanted her to touch it?

Jiang Xue’s head spun.

The jiao sent a message to Tang Long: "I am a female jiao. I don’t like being called ‘Big Old Black’."

Besides Tang Long, she could not communicate with others; ordinary humans could not perceive her telepathic waves.