As Mo Fan walked away from Tang Yue's apartment, his mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. He paid the taxi driver with a distracted nod, the thoughts of what had just happened, and what could have happened, gnawing at him.
He left the Tang Mansion area and found himself wandering through the quiet evening streets of the residential neighbourhood.
After a while, Mo Fan stumbled upon a park with a massive lake! The park was just a small piece of land by the side of lake.
The cheerful sounds of children playing filled the air, their laughter and shouts creating a lively atmosphere that sharply contrasted with the storm brewing inside him.
He watched as the kids chased each other around, some playing tag while others built elaborate sandcastles in the sandbox. They were in their own little worlds, blissfully unaware of the moral dilemma that had left Mo Fan feeling like a complete idiot.
Spotting a vending machine, Mo Fan decided he needed something to take the edge off. He bought a cold beer, the can cool and reassuring in his hand, and found an empty bench nearby.
He plopped down, sighing heavily as he opened the can with a satisfying Ka-tuck!
Tsss~
He took a long sip, the cold liquid sliding down his throat, providing a momentary relief from the chaotic thoughts in his head. But the peace didn't last long.
"Damn... What the hell was I thinking..." Mo Fan muttered under his breath, the reality of his decision hitting him hard.
He leaned back on the bench, staring up at the sky as if looking for answers in the evening clouds. "Aaagh!! That was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I blew it! Why did I have to be so noble?!"
The memory of Tang Yue's warm, soft body pressed against his flashed in his mind, and he felt a pang of regret so sharp that it almost made him wince.
Her lips, her intoxicating scent, the way she had looked at him with those eyes filled with desire—how could he just walk away from that? He took another sip of beer, this time gulping it down in frustration.
"Damn it, Mo Fan! You're an idiot!" he cursed himself, slumping forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He stared at the ground, lost in thoughts of what could have been. "I could've… I should've… Ugh! What was I thinking?!"
As he wallowed in his self-pity, the sounds of the children playing started to grate on his nerves. One of the kids, a boy with a toy sword, ran past him, pretending to be a hero slaying a dragon.
Another child, a little girl, was chasing a puppy, giggling uncontrollably. Normally, Mo Fan might have found the scene heart-warming, but right now, it just annoyed him.
He took another swig of his beer, only to find it empty. "Great, just great," he grumbled, crumpling the can and tossing it into a nearby trash bin with more force than necessary. "Not only did I mess up with Tang Yue, but now I'm out of beer, too. Perfect."
Mo Fan leaned back against the bench, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why, conscience, why did you have to kick in at that moment? You could've let me enjoy the moment and then guilt-trip me later!" He imagined his inner self as a tiny angel and devil, the angel smugly smirking while the devil shook its head in disappointment.
He sighed deeply, watching as the children's parents started to call them in for the evening. The park was beginning to empty out, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
"At least she'll be grateful that I didn't take advantage of her…" he said aloud, trying to convince himself that he had done the right thing.
But even as he said it, the words felt hollow. He couldn't help but imagine how things could have turned out differently, picturing a version of himself that had seized the moment.
That Mo Fan was probably grinning like an idiot right now, basking in the afterglow of what could have been the most epic moment of his life.
"Argh, forget it!" Mo Fan finally exclaimed, standing up from the bench with a huff. "I'm not going to keep torturing myself over this. What's done is done."
Mo Fan strolled to the edge of the park, where a tranquil lake stretched out before him, its surface reflecting the last traces of daylight.
The scene was serene, yet something about it felt oddly familiar, tugging at the edges of his memory.
"This... Scenery is awfully familiar..." Mo Fan murmured to himself, the faint recollection slowly creeping into his mind.
And then, as if on cue, a ripple appeared on the water's surface, spreading outward like the herald of something ancient and powerful.
"Ah!" The realization struck him just as the water began to stir. The ripple grew more restless, distorting the mirror-like surface of the lake until the calm was shattered entirely.
"It's been a while... Big Guy~" Mo Fan whispered, a mix of awe and familiarity in his voice. His gaze was fixed on the centre of the lake, where the disturbance was rapidly intensifying.
The twilight sky had darkened, casting long shadows across the park, and in the gathering gloom, the ripples in the water grew wilder, as if something colossal was awakening from a long slumber.
SPASH!!!
DWOOSH!!!
Without warning, the surface of the lake erupted in a massive explosion of water, sending waves crashing against the shore. Mo Fan instinctively took a step back as the towering figure began to emerge from the depths.
The creature was beyond enormous. As it rose from the water, Mo Fan had to crane his neck to take it all in. Before him stood a black serpent, its gargantuan body seemingly endless as it uncoiled from the lake.
The creature's scales were as black as the void, each one like a slab of dark metal polished to an obsidian sheen. They shimmered with an eerie, otherworldly glow, reflecting the faint light of the moon like a mosaic of midnight stars.
Blue runic lines, ancient and enigmatic, snaked their way across the serpent's massive form, pulsating with a rhythm that echoed the heartbeat of the earth itself. The markings were like rivers of mystical energy, flowing along the serpent's body, imbuing it with an aura of timeless power.
It was as if the creature was not merely alive but a living embodiment of an ancient deity, a force of nature that had existed long before mankind and would continue long after.
The sheer size of the serpent was staggering—though not as large as the legendary Azure Dragon, it was still a behemoth that dwarfed anything else in its vicinity.
The serpent's body, thick and muscular, stretched out to an awe-inspiring length of nearly 700 meters. Its head, crowned with a set of curved, horn-like protrusions, was the size of a medium sized house, and its eyes—glowing pools of deep amber—held the wisdom of countless millennia, as well as the cold, unyielding gaze of a being that knew no equal.
The thought of Tang Yue which had been lingering in his mind, vanished at the majestic sight of the huge Black Totem Snake! He smiled excitedly while staring at the huge creature!
Similarly, the Massive Snake also stared at Mo Fan. But for some reason, it's stare was not friendly, but that of hostility!
The Black Totem Snake was the guardian of Hangzhou! It resided in the huge west lake and had guarded the territory for thousands of years!
It was a friendly Totem Beast which had decided to protect the humans in it's territory for generations to generations. Tang Yue was the Totem Guardian of the Black Totem Snake!
She knew the Black Totem Snake from when she was but a child, and had already considered it a family! Even now she would often visit it and talk with it for hours and hours!
Mo Fan had come to know of the snake's existence in his past life through Tang Yue. After an incident where he had helped the Snake, he had gained it's trust and became it's friend! That's why Mo Fan was not at all surprised when he saw a Monster in human territory!