Chapter 13: The Blackwater Affair Resolved

When Bai Xian was a child, she used to watch nature documentaries. She vividly remembered the scenes where crocodiles, after a successful hunt, would perform the infamous death roll to tear apart their prey. The image of zebras and antelopes being ripped to shreds by those powerful jaws left an indelible mark on her young mind. Even after so many years, she would sometimes recall the footage of those helpless animals meeting their gruesome ends.

Never did she imagine that, one day, such a scene would play out with herself as the prey.

Luckily, her reactions were quick. The instant the monster—known as the Pig Dragon—began to roll, she summoned all her strength, dodged aside, and leapt from its broad back.

A heartbeat later, the spot she had just occupied was crushed deep into the earth.

With such a massive body, being caught beneath it would have been no different from being run over by a train.

Not far away, Cai Wei was still frozen in shock.

Scarface was utterly astounded by Bai Xian’s swift and unhesitating movements, especially the sight of her spear—glowing red—plunging down from the heavens and piercing the beast’s hide. She seemed less a mortal woman than a celestial maiden descended to earth.

Rolling off the creature’s back, Bai Xian landed, used a tumble to absorb the force, and, without even looking back, sprinted away.

Scarface, who had been eager to see just how Miss Bai would slay demons and monsters, was momentarily dumbfounded. With a wail, he too turned and fled toward Blackwater Stronghold.

“Miss Bai, this wasn’t what we agreed on!” he cried.

Weren’t they supposed to each play to their strengths—he to kill men, she to slay monsters?

Bai Xian wiped the fragrant sweat from her brow, toppling fire baskets and torches as she ran. “Who knew the thing would be so huge?”

A two-meter spear was no more than a toothpick stuck in its hide.

“So what do we do now?” Scarface called.

Bai Xian kicked over another fire basket and answered in earnest, “Run!”

Blackwater Stronghold was built on an island, with bamboo and reed stalks making up much of its structure. These materials were not only abundant and easy to gather, but also flexible, buoyant, and highly resistant to rot—ideal building materials.

But they shared one fatal flaw.

They burned all too easily.

After years of wind and sun—and with the recent drought—the entire settlement was dry as tinder.

Bai Xian had no idea how many fire baskets and torches she’d sent tumbling in her flight. All she knew was that a line of fire now blazed along the path she and Scarface had taken.

The flames spread ever wider, soon engulfing the whole of Blackwater Stronghold in a sheet of crimson fire.

Having circled the burning compound a few times, Bai Xian at last vaulted over the rim of flames at the village’s edge. Ahead of her lay the icy waters of Blackwater Pool.

Her skirt was aflame, her clothes scorched and pitted. Through the charred holes, fleeting glimpses of her pale skin could be seen. Even her long black hair had curled and frizzed in the heat.

The Pig Dragon, hell-bent on vengeance, never lost sight of Bai Xian, who had struck its skull. It chased her relentlessly, ignoring even Scarface when he fell in its path.

Fortunately, Blackwater Stronghold was a maze of reed-thatched huts and narrow lanes, slowing the beast just enough to give her a slim lead.

No sooner had Bai Xian leapt from the inferno than the Pig Dragon followed, bursting from the flames.

Unlike when it first emerged from the water, the monster’s massive body now had no way to dodge the burning buildings. Fire scorched its scales, glowing red-hot as if it were a block of iron just drawn from the forge.

Bai Xian, spear in hand, her pretty face streaked with soot, stamped out the embers on her skirt with her right foot. “Still chasing me, even with your scales on fire? Go on, keep coming if you dare!”

The Pig Dragon answered with a thunderous roar.

Without hesitation, Bai Xian dove headfirst into the water.

Icy cold enveloped her in an instant. The sudden shift from heat to chill made her shudder uncontrollably, her muscles spasming as though seized by cramp.

A split second later, the great beast hurled itself into Blackwater Pool behind her, its red-hot scales sending up clouds of steam that made it impossible for those on shore to see what was happening beneath the surface.

Both the maiden and the monster had vanished into the water.

The officials on shore grew frantic.

“Chief, why did Miss Bai go into the water? Isn’t that where the Pig Dragon is strongest?”

If they couldn’t handle the creature on land, what chance did she stand in its own element?

Cai Wei’s face was grim. He didn’t know why Bai Xian had jumped into the pool, but he trusted there was a reason behind her actions.

Still, he held out little hope.

If she failed… all they could do was retreat to Jiangzhou County and report the Pig Dragon’s existence to the prefectural authorities.

Assuming, of course, they could even escape.

While they debated, a new commotion arose on the surface of Blackwater Pool.

The water, which had begun to calm, suddenly churned as if boiling, something thrashing violently beneath.

Several tense moments passed before the Pig Dragon, bellowing in agony, burst from the water and scrambled onto the bank.

The pool that had been its lifelong home now seemed a cauldron of torment. Its movements grew more erratic, accompanied by a terrible cracking noise, as though stones were grinding together inside it.

Even on dry land, it writhed and rolled, desperate to rid itself of the water clinging to its body.

“What in the world…?” someone gasped.

Only now did they notice that the Pig Dragon’s invulnerable armor of scales had shattered, revealing blood-red flesh beneath.

“What do we do now, Chief?” Scarface yanked a crossbow bolt from a bandit’s corpse and loaded it.

“What else? Kill the bastard!” Cai Wei barked, loosing a bolt of his own.

This time, with its scales destroyed, the arrow sank deep into the beast’s flesh, burying itself up to the fletching.

The others followed suit, snatching arrows from bodies, forming a circle and peppering the monster with missiles.

Howling in pain, the Pig Dragon turned and charged for the safety of the pool.

But at that very moment, ripples spread across the water’s edge, and a soaked young woman stepped calmly onto the embankment.

She held a spear that glinted with silver light, its tip glowing red, the sound of a dragon’s roar emanating from it.

The Pig Dragon let out a furious roar and, without pause, charged at the woman like a living battering ram.

Bai Xian stood firm, unmoved, spear raised to her brow.

As the beast thundered toward her, she thrust forward, shouting, “Dragon, strike!”

In an instant, red light erupted from the spearhead, the force driving Bai Xian backward. Rank blood streamed down the shaft, pouring from the monster’s forehead.

But its skull was monstrously tough, and Bai Xian’s strength alone was not enough; even unprotected by scales, the iron spear could not pierce through.

Gritting her teeth, she clenched the haft. As she was shoved back toward the pool’s edge, she suddenly slammed the butt of the spear into the ground.

The impact drove the iron spear deep into the earth until it lodged in a buried stone.

With a muffled thud, her backward slide was abruptly halted.

The Pig Dragon’s colossal body crashed into the suddenly immovable spear as if into a city wall.

With the rock’s support, the spearhead finally tore through the beast’s skull, plunging deep into its brain.

...

On the bank of Blackwater Pool, at the dock.

It was from here that Scarface and his group, along with Bai Xian, had first set out by boat—eight of them in straw raincoats and conical hats, long knives at their waists, crossbows hidden beneath their cloaks, ready to infiltrate the bandit den and put an end to its menace.

Bai Xian, too, had been radiant, bold, and dashing.

In just a single day, Scarface had lost three of his men; the rest were all wounded.

As for Bai Xian—her hair was scorched and dry, her clothes in tatters, her face pale as gold leaf from twice unleashing the spear’s power. It seemed even a strong wind could blow her into the water.

As for Blackwater Stronghold in the distance, it had long since burned to ashes.

“What are your plans now, Miss Bai?” Scarface asked, bandaging his wounds and rising. “If you have nowhere to go, you can rest in Jiangzhou County. Let me play the host and repay my debt to you.”

Cai Wei’s expression was earnest.

Though their acquaintance was brief, Bai Xian seemed different from any woman he’d ever met. He truly hoped to befriend someone so remarkable.

Bai Xian shook her head.

“I’ve grown used to wandering alone, never settling down. Whether I visit Jiangzhou County or not, we’ll let fate decide.”

Cai Wei, seeing her decline, didn’t press the matter.

He and his men clasped their fists in farewell. “The roads of the world are long, and we may never meet again. Take care of yourself.”

Bai Xian imitated their gesture, returning the salute. “Take care.”

Scarface glanced at her one last time, gathered his fallen brothers’ ashes, donned his conical hat, and disappeared into the reeds.

Twisting and turning, he vanished from sight.

Bai Xian touched her battered spear.

“With the matter of Blackwater settled, it’s time for me to return.”