Chapter 231: Dragon Lady
“This place is just separated from Du Village by a mountain range. How can there be such a huge difference?”
Wu Jin stared at the cracked, dry yellow soil in front of him, his face full of disbelief.
“Even such a big river has dried up?”
After entering the borders of Chazhou, it indeed hadn’t rained for several days, but it shouldn’t have been so severely dry.
The fields were barren and cracked, and even the large river near the village had dried up, exposing its riverbed.
Yu Guang stood up from a large rock exposed in the riverbed, returned to the shore, dusted off the completely dry dirt from his hands, and walked toward the distant village.
“Something is definitely wrong. Let’s find someone to ask.”
The young and strong men of this village had all gone out to rob and had collapsed under a big tree. The village was empty and eerily quiet.
Yu Guang stepped into a house by the roadside with its door wide open and saw a woman lying on the bed, thin and sallow.
Even when someone entered, her eyes didn’t move at all. If Yu Guang hadn’t sensed that she was still breathing, he might have thought she was a corpse.
“Wu Jin, bring some food and water in.”
Moments later, the woman, who looked like a dried corpse, sat on the edge of the bed, gulping water in desperation. She took a vicious bite of the cold, hard biscuit and choked to the point of rolling her eyes but still refused to put it down.
After regaining her composure, she looked around at the three men in the room and finally began to feel scared.
“There’s no need to be afraid. We just want to know why this place is so drought-stricken.”
The woman glanced cautiously at Yu Guang. Somehow, his youthful, upright appearance and bright eyes made her feel at ease.
She recalled that it seemed to be him who had just helped her up and handed her the food and water she snatched, yet he hadn’t shown any anger.
Although she didn’t know who these people were or what they wanted, she still answered their questions honestly.
“We haven’t had rain for two or three months here…”
This village was Xiahe Village, located near a large river. In the past, even during droughts, the river never dried up, and they could barely survive.
At the beginning of this year, there had been plenty of rain, and no signs of drought. But then, the rain suddenly stopped.
At first, the villagers comforted themselves, thinking that with the nearby river, they could fetch water to irrigate the crops, even if it meant working harder.
However, the great river that had never dried up even during famine years grew shallower by the day.
Crops that couldn’t be watered withered and died, and even drinking water became scarce. Some villagers banded together to head upstream to investigate.
“The villages along the riverbanks are just like ours—completely dried up… They followed the river upstream and found out there’s a new dam blocking the water.”
Yu Guang listened quietly without interrupting, but Wu Jin, who was less patient, furrowed his brows and snapped angrily:
“This is outrageous! Who could be so heartless as to block the river upstream? Didn’t you try to make them tear down that dam?”
The woman let out a sorrowful cry. Her cracked lips revealed raw, reddened flesh, but they were so dry that no blood flowed.
“We commoners wouldn’t dare stop them! Who would dare? It’s the Dragon Lady!”
“They said they were cutting off all tributaries of the Ling River to build a large lake for the Dragon Lady to reside in.”
“Over a dozen of us went to beg for water, but several were beaten to death. Only two returned… My poor child—dead, all dead!”
The woman began wailing, but her body was so dry she couldn’t even shed tears.
The three men left the house. Yu Yin, who was usually indifferent to such tragedies, glanced at his big brother. Seeing no trace of a smile on his face, he noticed a dangerous intensity in his brother’s otherwise calm expression that made him feel uneasy.
Wu Jin’s anger flared even more. “Big Brother, let’s go confront this Dragon Lady and tear down those damned dams of hers!”
Yu Guang swung onto his horse. “Let’s go.”
As the three of them passed the large tree at the edge of the village, they noticed a thin, small figure crouched among the unconscious bodies.
Hearing the sound of hooves, the figure scrambled away in panic, rolling and crawling into a nearby cluster of dead bushes before disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Yu Guang didn’t stop. He simply pulled his water flask and dry rations from his horse and tossed them toward the bushes, landing them neatly at the edge.
The three horses galloped down the dusty road. Riding at the rear, Yu Yin glanced back thoughtfully.
In his view, amidst the frail, grayish figures sprawled across the ground, the figure hiding in the bushes stood out. It was a shade of gray streaked with a faint red glow.
The same chaotic, malevolent red glow that emanated from his own body.
However, this one was far dimmer, indicating it was a weak, newly forming demon.
The Locust God, always hidden within her swarms of locusts, was rarely seen in her true form. But Yu Yin had seen her before.
Anyone who had ever laid eyes on her would be struck by her appearance.
The Locust God, knowing nothing but devouring and destruction, looked like nothing more than a little girl, emaciated to the point of resembling a dried corpse.
Despite consuming countless lives, she was forever starving. The swarms of locusts formed from her power expanded endlessly, driven by insatiable greed to devour everything in their path.
Yu Yin withdrew his gaze and looked ahead at his big brother’s back. A peculiar smile tugged at his lips, but he said nothing.
The process of a human falling into corruption and becoming a demon was slow.
During this transformation, if one retained consciousness, they could retain their human memories and thoughts after becoming demon, allowing them to think and act like a person.
However, if the human side died during the process, consumed entirely by the demon’s instincts, they would lose all memory and reason, becoming nothing more than a being ruled by primal impulses.
In their past life, the Locust God had been just like this.
And now, she stood at that critical threshold.
…
As they traveled upstream, they passed through several villages, most of which were eerily empty.
Occasionally, someone armed with a weapon would peek out from the roadside. Some even rushed out, but they could not keep up with the galloping horses and could only watch the riders’ backs with regret and despair.
The three, pressing on without pause, soon found the source of the problem.
From a distance, they could already see the towering dam that had been constructed and the dense clouds gathering overhead.
It was as if all the rain clouds from the surrounding region had converged there.
Unlike the dry heat they had endured earlier, the air here was humid, with fine raindrops drifting down.
This was the main branch of the Ling River. Several tributaries had been blocked, causing the river to overflow onto the banks, submerging villages and farmland, and forming an enormous lake.
Standing on the dam and looking down, they could see countless people bent over, digging new river channels, while others labored along the riverbank to construct palaces.
The scene was bustling with activity.
People, like ants, moved wood and stone, their mud-streaked figures starkly contrasting with the opulent, gold-and-jade palaces being built.
“Hey, you three over there! Who are you, and what are you doing on the dam?”
A guard holding a whip ran toward them, shouting angrily, “Get down, or we’ll drag you off to sacrifice to the Dragon Lady!”
Wu Jin, still on horseback, clenched his fists tightly.
On a section of the Ling River’s bank, cordoned off with curtains, a group of influential figures from Chazhou City was performing a ritual to honor the Dragon Lady.
At the forefront of the altar stood an elderly man with a flowing white beard, leading the assembly in worship. After completing the ceremony, he surveyed the devout expressions of the crowd below and nodded in satisfaction.
“You are all devoted. With such faith in the Dragon Lady, she will surely bless you in return.”
A middle-aged man dressed in luxurious silks put on a respectful smile. “Lord Lu, you’ve worked so hard. To be able to build a palace for the Dragon Lady is an honor for all of us.”
The elder, addressed as Lord Lu, was surrounded and seated at the head of the group. Stroking his beard, he said, “The Dragon Lady is indeed divine. Since she has graciously accepted your offerings, this palace must be built with the utmost care. Is her golden statue ready yet?”
The middle-aged man quickly replied, “It’s nearly finished. It will be ready for transport in just a few days.”
“Hmm, good,” Lord Lu nodded approvingly. “A golden statue, of course, should be placed in a golden hall to be truly fitting.”
The man’s smile faltered slightly, and he cursed the old fox in his heart for his greed. But outwardly, he dared not show any displeasure and said, “Of course, of course. We’re already having the gold mines worked day and night to build a golden palace for the Dragon Lady!”
At the mention of the gold mines, everyone present couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain.
If it weren’t for the sudden appearance of the Dragon Lady, that vast gold mine would have been split among their families, greatly enriching their coffers.
But there was no choice. The Dragon Lady’s power was too formidable to ignore.
She controlled the Ling River, stirring up storms at will, her massive body spanning a thousand feet. Even more terrifying, she could gather clouds and manipulate rain, just like the mythical dragons of legend.
If she became displeased, she could absorb all the clouds and moisture in their region, leaving them in a devastating drought for a year or more. Death by drought was a very real threat.
The powerful families of Chazhou City, assessing the situation, had decided to bow their heads and offer tribute willingly.
Then there was Lord Lu, an unusual man with countless “eyes and ears,” who seemed to know everything. He claimed to be the Dragon Lady’s emissary, delivering her decrees on her behalf.
Monthly sacrifices of young men and women to the Dragon Lady were already a bitter pill to swallow. The dam-building and lake-creation had also been costly, but constructing her palace had drained an extraordinary amount of their wealth.
Of course, they weren’t spending all this money for nothing. Each family eagerly sought to curry favor with the Dragon Lady, hoping to earn her blessing and rise above the others.
The Dragon Lady rarely showed herself, so for the time being, they could only try to please Lord Lu.
On the misty, rain-drenched riverbank, the intimate conversation between Lord Lu and the representatives of the prominent families was suddenly interrupted by a commotion.
“What’s going on over there? Why aren’t they working properly and causing such a ruckus? If they disturb the Dragon Lady in the river, we’ll throw them all in to feed her!”
“Master, it’s—it’s someone causing trouble!”
“Who would dare to cause trouble here?”
A young man on horseback rode up the muddy riverbank, stopping directly in front of the group.
“Who came up with the idea to build a dam and create a lake?” Yu Guang dismounted his horse and asked.
“And who are you to dare speak to us this way?” a young man scoffed, eyeing Yu Guang’s plain attire and solitary appearance with disdain.
At the same time, another voice emerged from the crowd—a man with a darkened complexion, his tone betraying surprise and alarm: “It’s you—Yu Guang!”
Yu Guang’s gaze swept over the group and landed on the familiar face of the Zhen family’s patriarch.
Several years ago, that man had fled from Zhuzhou with his remaining kin and some wealth, determined to start anew. Yu Guang hadn’t expected them to have taken refuge here in Chazhou.
The Zhen family seemed to be doing well now, and their close allies in the area knew they had been forced to leave their homeland.
“Yu Guang? Is this the Yu Guang they’ve mentioned before?”
“The one who drove their family out of Zhuzhou? Doesn’t seem like much.”
“What’s he doing here in Chazhou? Looks like he came alone. Does he actually think he can stir up trouble here by himself?”
As murmurs of scorn rippled through the crowd, the Zhen family patriarch felt his unease grow. His lips and cheeks twitched uncontrollably.
Unlike the others present, he alone knew how terrifying this seemingly unremarkable young man truly was.
It had been years, but this harbinger of disaster hadn’t disappeared. Now, he had come here, haunting them like a ghost they couldn’t escape.
Ah, of course—the Dragon Lady!
This was her domain. No matter how formidable Yu Guang was, it was uncertain whether he could prevail against her.
The Zhen family patriarch felt as if he had grabbed onto a lifeline. Steadying his nerves, his eyes darted back to Yu Guang, who seemed uninterested in them. Instead, Yu Guang’s attention was fixed on the river.
Suddenly, the previously calm river roiled, wind and clouds churning as waves surged. From the water emerged a massive human-like face.
The face was attached to a thick, scaly, serpentine body that coiled through the river.
“It’s the Dragon Lady!”
On the riverbank, both the dusty, downtrodden peasants and the finely dressed elites scrambled to kneel.
Some knelt in terror and reverence, while others in delight and longing. Together, they created a scene of absolute submission, adding to her air of majesty.
The enormous, stunningly beautiful face loomed over the water. Its slit-like pupils locked onto Yu Guang at the shore, while a thick, snake-like tongue flicked hungrily from its mouth.
“You smell delicious,” she said, her voice booming like thunder yet carrying a strange allure. “Come here… let me eat you.”
Behind Yu Guang, Yu Yin and Wu Jin, who had stayed hidden among the crowd, raised their heads to look at the colossal creature in the river.
“Why is it a giant snake with a human face? Can Big Brother handle it alone?” Wu Jin muttered, itching to jump in and assist.
Yu Yin lifted a hand to stop him. “Stay back. Don’t get involved.”
The “Dragon Lady” before them was, in fact, someone Yu Yin had known in his previous life—though back then, she had already transformed into the “Dragon Mother.”
She had reportedly been an ordinary woman from Chazhou City. Dissatisfied with her timid husband, she had been caught in an affair and subsequently thrown into the Ling River by her family.
By sheer coincidence, she devoured a water snake and became a demon.
In his past life, she had been one of his subordinates—albeit an unruly one. She had coveted his power, always scheming to overthrow him.
Later, she birthed a horde of bizarre offspring to strengthen her influence, though most of them had ended up being devoured by him.
She had once even dared to suggest offering herself to him, only to have a segment of her body severed as punishment—a lesson that temporarily subdued her.
Among his subordinates, she had been one of the strongest, far more formidable than someone like the Shell Demon.
Still, there was no doubt that his elder brother could handle her.
