Chapter 398: Playing Both Sides (4k)

The ferocious serpent head was torn and tattered, white bone, dark scales, and red blood rotting into a mass. Under extreme fear, the exploded scales were difficult to smooth out, and the vertical pupils were dull and lifeless, clearly dead beyond any doubt.

But even so, the body, over a hundred yards long, still emitted a terrifying aura!

The villagers swallowed their saliva, their legs going soft. The blood that had surged due to the momentary victory quickly cooled, and they retreated backward.

Thus, wherever the Dragon-men went, it was like boiling water poured on snow; the crowd retreated silently.

"Retreat, everyone retreat!"

"Clear the way!"

The soldiers were afraid of the great serpent, but even more afraid of offending the Magistrate. They mustered their courage to go against the flow, tearing through the human wall and blocking out a path around the rotting serpent head.

At the end of the path, Liu Liu Shiqin was radiant, not feeling even half a bit of the fishy stench of the serpent blood, feeling only the spring breeze and the fragrance of birds and flowers.

He led the two family masters and a group of Wolf Smoke experts, walking forward quickly.

Facing Long Pinghe and Long Pingjiang, who were taller than him by more than half and stood out from the crowd, Liu Liu Shiqin had to look up and cup his hands in greeting.

"May I ask how the two heroes should be addressed? And what is your relationship with Liang the Water-man..."

Long Pingjiang originally wanted to say subordinates, but considering Liang Qu's instructions, he changed his tone.

"Long Pingjiang, friends. We were investigating the great serpent's tracks underwater, so we hadn't come ashore before."

"So it is Hero Long. You have been burdened by the mission; I am deeply ashamed. Lord Liang is a man of his word and acts righteously. It is a great fortune for our dynasty to have heroes like you all!"

Liu Liu Shiqin offered endless compliments.

He had originally thought he was a frivolous aristocratic son who had randomly claimed credit based on an imperial decree, but he never expected that he had already laid a net underwater, easily handling the serpent demon that had plagued Xiangyi for months!

A Great Martial Artist beheading a Perfected Form, a Wolf Smoke killing a water demon.

The River Patrol Office is full of capable people; spreading this out will be a fine story!

The martial artists of the Li and Zhang families echoed him continuously.

After several rounds of pleasantries and flattery, Liu Liu Shiqin looked at the dead great serpent, seeing that the muscles in the wound were still twitching: "I wonder about this great serpent..."

"As the Magistrate sees, the serpent demon has been eliminated, and there is no possibility of it causing disaster again. Right now, it is just dead but not stiff. It is just that Lord Liang still has important matters to handle underwater, so he specifically ordered the two of us to come ashore to report the good news."

"Lord Long, then after today, can we send out boats?"

Long Pingjiang turned his head to look at the bold villager who had shouted.

"No need to wait for tomorrow, you can send out boats now!"

In an instant, the entire pier erupted in cheers that sounded like mountains and seas.

That Water-Regulating Commandant truly has heaven-reaching abilities!

Liu Liu Shiqin felt completely relaxed: "Quick, quick, this official wants to host a banquet at Xunyang Tower! On behalf of the fellow villagers of Xiangyi County, I will properly reward Lord Liang!"

Li Li Xiaoheng and Zhang Zhang Wenhu knew they would have to pay out of their own pockets again, but with the great serpent resolved, neither side felt even half a bit of unhappiness.

It is fitting to celebrate!

Under the Jianghuai River.

The bustle on the shore could not reach here.

The mud and sand settled, and broken water grass flew.

Liang Qu lay on the ground in a sprawling shape.

He was limp all over, his physical strength exhausted to the point of being unable to walk. The Divine Wood Imprint that should have persisted for a quarter of an hour on his back was dim and lusterless, and the bit of blood Qi that had barely recovered was all used to contend with the serpent demon's green poison.

In the battle with the great serpent, Liang Qu had suffered almost no flesh wounds. Apart from being exhausted, he had only been contaminated with a small amount of the constantly eroding serpent poison.

The serpent demon's green poison was abnormally fierce, and the range of its influence was very wide. It was inevitable to be contaminated with some during the fierce battle.

The antidote pills prepared by the Zhang and Li families had a certain effect, but their medicinal properties were ultimately formulated based on the poison of the serpent demon's offspring, so there were discrepancies in the effect.

Fortunately, these were all minor matters.

Liang Qu had consumed the Two-Life Flower, which had the effect of being immune to all poisons, resisting the poisoning effect to a certain extent. Coupled with the large-scale dilution, with his own strength, he would be fine after enduring for a while.

Not far away, Fist crawled with eight legs, cleaning up the battlefield. According to Liang Qu's instructions, it went to specific locations to rake the mud, turning up the Abyss Wood Bow and the Blood Stone Arm Guards.

Nothing was missing, nothing was broken.

Gathering all the weapons and equipment, Liang Qu let Round Head prop him up, sitting cross-legged to circulate his Qi and recover his mobility as quickly as possible.

Having finally defeated the great serpent, he had to strike while the iron was hot and fish for more.

The sky was high and the clouds were light, the sunlight scorching.

Mid-April, the noon sun made one feel a hint of dryness.

The Great Marsh was dense with birds and beasts, each folding their wings and pecking at the meat threads floating on the water.

The Dragon-men sat in a corner, drinking tea silently.

More and more commoners heard that the great serpent had been eliminated and rushed to the vicinity of the pier. Seeing the long serpent lying across like a high wall in the distance, they all let out exclamations and were even more curious about Liang Qu, who had beheaded the serpent.

Asking around, they only confirmed one point.

The one who beheaded the serpent is a handsome young man!

He has a big white ape by his side!

Liu Liu Shiqin waited and waited, his ears calloused from hearing the commoners' praises, but he still didn't see Liang Qu's shadow. Not wanting to leave early, he simply sent people to drag the entire long serpent ashore, straighten its posture, and measure its length.

Soldiers took foot-long cloth rulers to record and mark them, walking on the serpent's back, measuring back and forth by overlapping the cloth strips in turn, and recording the numbers.

After measuring back and forth three times and confirming there were no errors, they shouted.

"Magistrate, a total of one hundred and twelve yards and three feet and a half!"

The commoners who were watching the fun were in an uproar, and in the word-of-mouth spread, it turned into overlapping waves of sound.

"My goodness, it really is over a hundred yards! It's opened my eyes!"

"I've never seen such a long serpent in my life!"

"The previous two were only a few dozen yards, right?"

"That's for sure, how could the son be bigger than the father?"

"Also, also, did you see, the two people who dragged the serpent up just now were also very tall?"

"Could it be that they are also from underwater? I feel that these things that grow underwater are all much bigger than those on land!"

"That young man is truly a marvelous man! He can tame the white ape and behead the great serpent!"

Beside the desk, the government office servant ground the ink well. Liu Liu Shiqin, having learned the specific information about the serpent demon, licked the brush himself to record it, writing the great serpent's dimensions on the page, then looked up at the sky and wrote down the weather and the season.

For Xiangyi County, killing a serpent demon that harmed the commoners was a top-level major event!

You wouldn't see one in a few decades if you looked back. Naturally, it had to be recorded in detail in the County Annals. Recording the key information now, in two days it would all be written into an article and entered into the County Annals!

Just as his thoughts were flowing, a commotion arose among the soldiers on the shore, and a soldier quickly passed through the crowd.

"Magistrate, Lord Liang has come ashore!"

"Come ashore? Follow me to welcome him immediately!"

Liu Liu Shiqin was dizzy from the sun, but hearing that Liang Qu had come ashore, he immediately put down his brush and moved his legs to welcome him.

Just as he reached the pier, Liu Liu Shiqin saw Liang Qu, who was bare-chested, ignoring his image as he flipped ashore and gasped for breath.

Behind him, the villagers swarmed over, standing on tiptoe to look.

"Liang the Water-man, Liang the Water-man!" Liu Liu Shiqin approached with a face full of smiles, his voice exceptionally intimate.

"Magistrate Liu."

Liang Qu cupped his hands, not even getting up. Having just dispelled the serpent poison, his legs were sore and weak, and he really didn't want to move much.

Liu Liu Shiqin was not annoyed in the slightest, turning around to call people to find a suitable set of clothes and, by the way, lead over a carriage.

The Zhang family and the Li family also successively sent two bottles of Yuan-increasing pills to restore physical strength.

Liang Qu accepted the pills but didn't eat them.

There was no danger right now, so there was no need to eat pills to recover.

After changing his clothes.

"So handsome!"

"So spirited! If only he were my son-in-law!"

"Drinking too much and daydreaming in broad daylight?"

"Why didn't I see the white ape? Where is the white ape you mentioned?"

The commoners on the shore whispered to each other, and Liang Qu remained calm.

He had heard too much of this in Yixing Town, but he was actually more surprised by the length of the great serpent reported by others.

One hundred and twelve yards, that is a full three hundred and seventy-plus meters, approaching four hundred!

A Hunting Tiger serpent demon has this much; what about those higher up?

Liang Qu couldn't help but think of the great dragon that the Second Young Master beheaded. Most of it was submerged in the water, and without a reference object, it was hard to measure, but just its two eyes were like furnaces; I'm afraid it was at least several hundred yards long.

Demon race skills are all focused on the flesh; their sizes are all more exaggerated than the last.

The carriage arrived, and Liu Liu Shiqin invited him to the banquet.

Liang Qu gladly agreed; he hadn't eaten lunch and had fought a fierce battle with the serpent demon, his stomach empty.

The Dragon-man brothers politely declined and proposed to leave; the two of them really couldn't adapt to this kind of atmosphere.

Liu Liu Shiqin saw Liang Qu's tacit approval and didn't force them.

Everyone followed the transfer and arrived at the banquet. Liang Qu was not polite at all, sitting in the first seat and eating the food in large mouthfuls.

Everyone looked at each other, and while urging the serving of dishes, they all cast their gazes toward the Magistrate.

Liu Liu Shiqin's heart was itching like a hundred claws, and he tentatively asked: "Lord Liang, that great ape... exactly what kind of divine being is it?"

The white ape appeared suddenly, forcefully throwing the great serpent out of the water, its giant strength terrifying to the point of being shocking.

Afterward, everyone personally experienced the great serpent's aura dropping off a cliff accompanied by a muffled sound, until it dissipated!

It truly was one thing subduing another, satisfying and exhilarating, making one feel proud and elated!

Liang Qu's expression didn't change: "I happened to run into it underwater last year and helped it with a small favor. After going back and forth, we developed a friendship. Asking it to help solve a serpent demon is not a big problem."

Liang Qu didn't tell the whole story, only revealing fragmented information in his words, and everyone automatically filled in a big drama in their minds.

Liang Qu saved the white ape underwater, and the white ape repaid the kindness...

No wonder.

Zhang Zhang Wenhu and Li Li Xiaoheng couldn't help but complain in their hearts.

If you had an ape underwater, you should have said so earlier. Giving benefits back then wouldn't have been so painful.

After giving them, it felt like being cheated.

Liu Liu Shiqin continued to ask: "And those two heroes who dragged the serpent demon ashore, they seem..."

"Oh, they are also an alien race from underwater, no need to be surprised."

"An alien race from underwater?"

Sure enough!

Ordinary people wouldn't have such a tall stature, especially with such a well-proportioned body; they are definitely not deformed.

It's an alien race from underwater, and it's a white ape.

This Lord Liang in front of us is very well-connected underwater!

Everyone's awe deepened.

Liu Liu Shiqin said enviously: "Lord Liang has deep blessings!"

On the shore, he has the Son of Heaven's oral decree; underwater, he has the white ape to help.

Why worry about a bumpy official career?

Everyone expressed their envy one after another; no one doubted the relationship between the white ape and Liang Qu.

A human turning into a demon is too outrageous.

Besides, before the current dynasty achieved success, didn't they also interact with the Dragon Lord and cultivate the Dragon-Blood Horse?

That Liang Qu can befriend water demons and attract them to help fight, solving the serpent demon, is a heaven-reaching ability!

Filling his stomach half full.

Li Li Xiaoheng took the initiative to ask: "Lord Liang, how do you plan to handle that serpent demon on the pier?"

Liang Qu didn't hesitate: "Keep the serpent gallbladder separately, refine the serpent bone into pills, and I want all the serpent scales on the side of the spine on the back. Also, give me one-third of the serpent meat.

Leave the rest to you all. I don't know many people in this area, so I need your two families to help me handle it."

From a Great Spirit Monster to a demon, it's not just a change in name; its own value will increase significantly!

Liang Qu wants to take all the benefits he can get.

Compared to the entire serpent, the weight and volume of the gallbladder are almost negligible, but in terms of economic value, it is exactly the opposite.

More than half of a serpent's value is in the gallbladder!

Excluding the gallbladder, plus the serpent bone and the hardest part of the serpent scales, Liang Qu alone took away more than 70% of the benefits.

And letting the Zhang family and the Li family handle it is also just a good excuse to linger.

The two families are looking for people to refine pills, which won't be finished in ten days or half a month, just in time to take advantage of this time to search for the Twenty Jiaoren ruins.

"What a pity." Zhang Zhang Wenhu sighed, "It is early summer now. If you had come three months earlier, that gallbladder would be supreme grade."

The efficacy of the gallbladder is best in winter, followed by late autumn and early summer, and the quality of bile is worst in summer.

It is now late spring and early summer. Although it's not the worst, it is worth it.

"It doesn't matter if it's a pity or not. As long as it's not the worst, it's worth it."

Everyone praised Liang Qu's open-mindedness one after another.

Liang Qu echoed a few words and ate the food with an open stomach.

He didn't like drinking, and no one dared to come to persuade him to drink. Only a few family masters, the Magistrate, and the Wolf Smoke experts drank freely.

After three rounds of drinks.

Liu Liu Shiqin was drunk, his face flushed, and he lay on the table to complain bitterly.

"It's really bad luck. It's strange to say, in the past ten or twenty years, it was rare to see Great Spirit Monsters come ashore, but this year they suddenly popped out, and two popped out at once. The small one was beaten, and the old one came. I heard that the neighboring Lianshui County also had them, but they didn't stay long. I think we should let the Wu Sheng attack the Dragon Palace and kill that dragon's arrogance!"

Liang Qu scratched his temples and remained silent.

He certainly couldn't admit the real purpose of these Great Spirit Monsters coming to the south bank...

The four pillars of the Demon Court, the toad and the turtle, listen to the tune but not the announcement, and the other half listens.

If he were in the north or east, the situation might be even worse.

After eating.

Outside, the bustle remained, and the villagers beat drums and gongs, unable to resolve their joy.

The Zhang family and the Li family each sent people to handle the serpent corpse.

In the afternoon, Liang Qu received a dark green serpent gallbladder. Compared to the great serpent's massive body, the gallbladder was much smaller.

It only needed one person to hold it to pick it up, and placed in the air, it emitted a thick, bitter smell.

Liang Qu hugged the wooden box, unable to help but feel some emotion.

Last year, dealing with the sturgeon demon still required his master's help, and now only a year has passed.

He is already able to independently deal with a great serpent demon.

Time flies.

Eat it when I go back.

Liang Qu put away the serpent gallbladder, not in a hurry for a moment.

Compared to the celebration outside, Long Pinghe and Long Pingjiang fell into a rare moment of confusion.

Before today, the two had always believed that Liang Qu was truly the reincarnation of the Dragon Lord. Even if Liang Qu kept denying it, the two just assumed it was because his memory hadn't been restored.

Otherwise, how could a small Galloping Horse martial artist manifest such divine wonders as enlightening spirit monsters and controlling water?

But now, seeing that massive white ape with heaven-shaking divine might, the two were completely confused.

Could it be that they really got it wrong?

Wasted half a year of hard work?

If he really is the Dragon Lord, why would he manifest such vastly different changes?

The Dragon Lord and the ape...

There really aren't many similarities!

"Big brother, you say, will the Dragon Lord really reincarnate?"

"The Elder says he will."

"But even for a human Wu Sheng, I have never heard of being able to reincarnate and be reborn."

Long Pingjiang heard his younger brother's rhetorical question, couldn't answer, and fell into silence.

It is true that the demon race's flesh is naturally tough, but humans are naturally enlightened, and all kinds of martial arts techniques and moves emerge one after another. Although the body is indeed several tiers worse, they can make up for it with techniques and martial arts, and their functionality far exceeds that of the demon race.

Does the Dragon Lord really have things that humans don't?

Thinking of this, the two brothers suddenly didn't know what the meaning of life was, falling into nothingness.

If the Dragon Lord is not here, the extinction of the Dragon-men is only a matter of time...

Just at this moment, the fat catfish that was playing with a nest of lobsters seemed to feel the desolation of the Dragon-man brothers, swam forward, patted the two people's shoulders with its fins, and danced its two long whiskers.

The Dragon-man brothers were stunned.

"Serve another master?" ===== CHAPTER 399 =====