Chapter -08
Soothing the Berserk Power
A hissing sound echoed through the forest.
Almost instantly, Jiang Xi sensed danger.
She turned sharply—and saw a massive black serpent’s head appear before her, vertical crimson pupils gleaming with murderous intent.
She could feel the killing will emanating from those eyes.
Without thinking, she shouted, “Help—!”
At the same time, she bolted blindly into the trees.
But in the next second, glossy black scales flashed before her eyes. In one swift motion, the snake’s tail coiled around her, trapping her completely.
The serpent was enormous. Jiang Xi didn’t even have the chance to flee—she could only watch in horror as the gigantic head lunged, mouth gaping, forked tongue flicking toward her.
Instinctively, she raised her hand to block.
A soft green light burst from her palm, meeting the serpent’s tongue mid-air.
Then—the huge serpent’s jaws slowly began to close. The crimson pupils glazed over. The massive black snake froze in place, completely still.
When Eve and Nakan arrived with the beastmen, that was the sight that greeted them—
a female whose mental power manifested visibly before them.
A few beastmen gasped aloud.
“A Blessed Female!”
“How could a Blessed Female appear in the Cursed Land?”
Even the warriors of the Lion Roar Tribe were dumbfounded.
“Didn’t they say her manifested power disappeared? That’s why she was exiled here.”
“Then how…?”
Females were precious—but a Blessed Female was even rarer. No matter the crime, such a one would never be cast into the Cursed Land.
And a Holy Female—that was beyond imagining.
Jiang Xi stood there, dazed.
Following instinct, she closed her eyes.
The darkness in her mind cleared. Her consciousness slipped, unhindered, into the serpent’s sea of power.
What she saw was a vast black ocean.
Above it, tempests raged—lightning, thunder, crashing waves like mountains. It felt as if the next surge could swallow the heavens and drown the world.
But the instant Jiang Xi entered, the storm paused.
Soft green light spread across the black sea.
Where the waves met the glow, they slowly calmed. The waters still roiled—but the violence had lessened.
“What… what is she doing?”
“Duns doesn’t look hurt.”
“Wait—his berserk energy… it’s stabilizing!”
“But a Blessed Female’s manifested power can only channel through a Temple’s conduit stone!”
“Even a Holy Female would need a conduit, wouldn’t she?”
Jiang Xi heard none of it.
Her healing energy wove through the black ocean joyfully—until a swelling pressure filled her mind, warning that if she continued, she might burst apart.
She gently reined it back, retreating.
As her consciousness returned, she staggered back a step, leaning against the snake’s cold scales as her eyes fluttered open.
She suddenly felt sticky liquid seeping through the animal hide wrapped around her body.
And at the same time—she could feel it. Her healing ability had risen to Level 2.
The serpent’s massive head drooped. Its vertical pupils slid shut. The great body crashed to the ground, unconscious.
Only then did Jiang Xi realize—the black serpent was none other than her snake-beast husband, Duns—the battle slave of the underground city, the one who lived by the blade.
Rather than fear, her heart filled with complicated emotions.
She hadn’t expected that Duns truly hated her this much.
After all, if the female died, her beast-husbands would die with her.
He had been ready to die with her.
Then a male voice came from outside the coils.
“Lady Duns, are you alright?”
The snake’s body was too large—trapped inside, Jiang Xi couldn’t see out at all.
Confirming that Duns was unconscious, Nakan bent forward cautiously.
He instinctively wanted to lift the female out, but remembering Eve’s warning, he asked,
“May I carry you out?”
Jiang Xi eagerly extended her hand—she’d already tried climbing out several times, but the slick scales made it impossible.
Nakan carefully leaned in, making sure not to brush against Duns and trigger his predatory instincts.
The female was as light as a feather—he lifted her easily.
“Thank you,” she said quickly, hopping down from his arms.
There was no time for embarrassment—because she was instantly surrounded again by serpent beastmen.
This time, they had taken on their half-beast forms: human upper bodies with muscular torsos, snake tails below. Some had gone fully beast, wearing only a hide around their waists—bare-chested, bare-legged—leaving her nowhere safe to look.
Jiang Xi instinctively took a step back, bumping into the cold serpent body behind her before retreating again.
Her whole body felt sticky and filthy; an unpleasant stench clung to her. Were it not for the thick hide she wore, the odor would have been unbearable.
Even with her patience, she couldn’t stand being this dirty another moment.
She turned to the red-haired youth she half-recognized.
“Is there… somewhere I can wash up?”
“Wash up?” Nakan blinked, then realized what she meant. Bathing—something said in the way people from the Holy City would.
“Yes, yes! There is! I’ll take you!”
His eyes lit up as he hurried to introduce himself.
“I’m Nakan, from the Mangcoil Tribe!”
The young, unmarried serpent warriors from his and other tribes all looked at him with envy, while the Lion Roar warriors still looked completely lost.
Jiang Xi followed Nakan away.
Because the female had said she wanted to bathe, and they hadn’t been invited, the other beastmen could only stay behind.
The unmarried ones glanced at each other—then all looked at the basket on the ground, overflowing with strange plants.
“Ahem,” one of them coughed awkwardly. “I, uh, should get going.”
But the “going” he meant was into the woods—to start gathering plants like the ones in that basket.
One by one, the others followed, sneaking into the forest. Whenever two of them bumped into each other, they both pretended it was pure coincidence.
The Hot River Valley lay beside a geothermal volcano, so it also had hot springs.
But since the pools were small—and serpent beastmen preferred to move in full snake form, too large to fit—most simply swam in the river instead.
Nakan led the way, tail swaying, heart pounding.
The female invited him to bathe…
The female invited him to bathe!
And she’s a Blessed Female!
After bathing, maybe he could propose.
After the proposal, the mating contract.
If she didn’t want to live in his Mangcoil Tribe, he’d gladly move to her Lion Roar Tribe instead.
Jiang Xi knew none of this. She only wanted to get clean—the stench from her hides was growing worse by the minute.
Afraid Nakan might smell it, she subtly kept her distance.
The valley wasn’t long; even though the hot spring pools lay at its far end, they reached them quickly.
There were four or five pools of various sizes nestled among the trees, carved into the rock of the mountainside. From there, one could even glimpse the snow blanketing the upper slopes.
When Nakan saw the pools, he snapped out of his daydreams, annoyed that he hadn’t learned more about her on the way.
Jiang Xi spotted the secluded pools behind the trees and felt relieved.
“Thank you,” she said earnestly.
“N-no problem,” Nakan stammered. His red hair and tail hid the blush on his face, lending him a strange, bewitching air.
He had never bathed with a female before.
Taking a deep breath, he was just about to shed his tail and shift fully into human form when the female spoke again—
“Um… I won’t trouble you to stay, then.”
Nakan blinked.
“Huh?”
