Chapter 3

Chapter 3

For a very long time, I was the only Jiao left in the Great Marsh.

I counted the bones of my kin, wondering: who among them had once been a favored daughter of heaven like me? Who among them had been just as fearless of death, just as persistent and diligent?

All of them. They all had been.

And so I wondered, why did the heavens give life to the Jiao of the Great Marsh only to deny us a path to survival?

If we can live, we live; if we cannot, then let us all die together.

My plan was to trigger the greatest flood the Great Marsh had ever seen!

I wanted the tens of thousands of miles of fertile fields in this world to become a vast ocean. I wanted the Nine Provinces to sink and the seas to overflow!

That night, monstrous waves were already surging over the Great Marsh…

And then, a massive, glittering golden thing was washed down from Kunlun.

It was Chang Yuan.

I saved-or rather, picked up-Chang Yuan when he was still a hatchling.

In that moment, I wept bitter tears.

Heavens above, I, Ling Yun, the orphan of the Great Marsh, had finally found my celestial opportunity.

From that point on, I was determined to be a good Jiao.

Since I thought he was just a hatchling back then, I decided to be his foster mother.

I brought him back to Kunlun to raise him.

But he was very much like a human-the things I hated most.

He wanted to eat the grains of the mortal world, live in a human house, and he even needed a bed to sleep on.

At first, I snatched a mortal woman who was still nursing to look after him.

But Chang Yuan secretly let her go!

By the time I realized what had happened, she was long gone!

Then I remembered: I was a good Jiao now, and I had to accumulate merit.

So, I had no choice but to hold my nose and learn to act like a human.

By day, I carried Chang Yuan around the marketplaces at the foot of the mountain, observing how humans raised their young.

By night, I had to coax Chang Yuan to sleep, singing those ragged nursery rhymes I’d picked up down below.

If I stopped for even a second, he would wake up instantly.

During the day, he would start looking for me the moment he opened his eyes!

Who wouldn’t go crazy while raising a kid?

Even if I am a Jiao.

But thinking about my future Dao Attainment and becoming an immortal, I held my nose and endured it!

I endured for an entire century.

And Chang Yuan didn’t grow a single inch!

I did the math. Given his growth cycle, by the time he reached immortality, my own lifespan would likely be exhausted!

My mental state crumbled again. I decided I might as well just eat him.

As a member of the Jiao Clan born in the muck, how many golden opportunities does one get to eat a semi-divine being?

If I ate a semi-divine being, it would trigger a Heavenly Punishment. If it struck me dead, so be it; if it didn’t, I’d become a demon.

Either way, wouldn’t I be as eternal as heaven and earth?

So, early that morning, I was sharpening my knife under the peach blossoms.

Chang Yuan squatted beside me, watching. He asked, “Ah Yun, what tasty treat are you making for me?”

I said, “Roujiamo.”

Chang Yuan was overjoyed. “The crispy kind?”

I replied, “Mhm, the crispy kind.”

It was hilarious; I didn’t actually know how to make them. Every time he’d had one, I’d bought it for him.

Semi-divine children are so easy to fool.

And then, he grew up right in front of me.

Literally.

He became huge!

A giant serpent as massive as a mountain range…

Me: “…”

Then he transformed into a nine-foot-tall, stark-naked adult man.

The knife in my hand hit the ground with a loud clang.

“You, you, you…”

He looked apologetic. “Who are you? My apologies, I have just completed my sixth molting, and I have forgotten some of the past again.”

In that moment, I turned my back to him and wiped away my tears.

He panicked and hurriedly said, “Please don’t be sad…”

I tossed the knife aside and threw my arms around him in excitement.

“I’m not sad, I’m happy!”

It turned out he wasn’t a hatchling! He had just finished his sixth molting!

Thank the heavens, my life has hope again!

I can continue being a good Jiao!

He blushed and said, “Ah, so you are my wife.”

Huh?

That works too.