Others were also curious about this matter. Hearing Liang Ping ask proactively, everyone pricked up their ears to listen.
Although the village records did not mention the gender of the Dragon God, they thought that the villagers, having been protected by the Dragon God for over a thousand years, should at least have some understanding of their deity.
How could a snake man with a body full of muscles truly deceive some villagers into believing that he was their Dragon God?
Long Miaomiao did not mind answering these questions.
"It's quite normal. The village doesn't actually have a proper statue of the Dragon God, no fixed image. Although I often manifest, I don't use my true voice, nor do I easily appear before them. In a thousand years, they've only had a few opportunities to see me, and even then, they've only seen my true form."
"Therefore, it's normal and not surprising that the villagers don't know my true appearance or whether I am male or female."
"Even if they have statues of me, they are made according to what they imagine me to be, which doesn't affect anything."
Upon hearing Long Miaomiao mention her true form, Ye Tiancheng and Nie Chongyang, along with the other two, perked up their ears even more.
Who wouldn't be interested in this?
After all, it was related to whether dragons truly existed in this world.
Nie Chongyang couldn't hold back and directly asked Long Miaomiao, "Have they... seen your true form?"
Long Miaomiao nodded matter-of-factly.
She said to Nie Chongyang, "On several occasions during natural disasters, I transformed into my true form, carried the villagers on my back, and brought them to my territory to save their lives. Naturally, some villagers have seen me."
Nie Chongyang's heart beat faster.
He nervously rubbed his hands together. "Although it might be a bit presumptuous, the outside world only has legends of dragons now, and no one has truly seen a dragon. So, we are quite curious. Do dragons truly exist in this world? Are you, you truly a dragon?"
Liang Ping looked at his captain in surprise.
He asked! He actually asked!
Liang Ping couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Asking such a bold question, wasn't his captain afraid of offending the Dragon God? What if this wasn't a true dragon, but some water snake, flood dragon, or fish pretending to be a dragon?
In that case, if Nie Chongyang directly inquired about her origins and offended her, what would happen?
Especially since Liang Ping looked at Long Miaomiao's skirt, which was very close to a fishtail shape, and strongly suspected that Long Miaomiao might just be a large fish yearning to leap over the dragon gate, thus claiming to be a Dragon God.
Fortunately, Long Miaomiao was not angry. Hearing Nie Chongyang's question, she stroked her chin and provided an answer.
"Of course, there are dragons in this world."
Long Miaomiao did not mind telling the truth, so she directly explained the situation to Nie Chongyang.
She said to Nie Chongyang, "There are indeed dragons in the world, but dragons are not all the same. The first type is the true dragon, born as a dragon. The other type is a snake, fish, or other creature that has crossed the dragon gate."
"I won't hide it from you, I am the second type."
"I was originally a small red fish, raised by the daughter of a wealthy family. By a stroke of luck, I gained sentience and was able to cultivate. From then on, I strove with all my might, hoping to leap over the dragon gate one day. A thousand years ago, I succeeded in my cultivation, and due to my meritorious service in saving people, I successfully crossed the dragon gate. Since I am already a dragon."
Seeing her demeanor and hearing her words, everyone found it quite reasonable.
Liang Ping understood in his heart. No wonder Long Miaomiao looked like a mermaid; it turned out she was indeed transformed from a fish. However, she had truly crossed the dragon gate and was already a dragon, not a fish impersonating one as he had initially suspected.
But it wasn't his fault for thinking that way. Having previously encountered the great black snake impersonating the Dragon God, and now seeing Long Miaomiao resembling a fish so much, it was not strange to have such thoughts.
Moreover, the mention of meritorious service in saving people made it even more plausible. After all, based on various deeds and the fact that Long Miaomiao had now saved Ye Tiancheng, it was enough to show that her character was excellent. She had always been saving people and diligently protecting the villagers in this area. If she didn't attain enlightenment, who would?
Ye Tiancheng praised, "Dragon God, you are truly benevolent."
Long Miaomiao waved her hand dismissively and said, "Since I began cultivating, I knew that cultivation is difficult and opportunities are rare. One should follow the righteous path and not ruin one's cultivation. Moreover, I find people to be quite endearing, and since they are in my territory, I should help if I can. There's no reason to stand by and do nothing. I help whenever I can."
Ye Tiancheng said, "Traditionally, actions speak louder than intentions. Moreover, all your actions stem from genuine kindness, and you have consistently pursued the righteous path. You deserve it."
They wished there were more good fish like her.
And it served that great black snake right, to only be able to impersonate the Dragon God and not become a dragon himself. Just look at what that great black snake had done. If that great black snake had crossed the dragon gate, what chaos would it have caused?
Long Miaomiao also showed her true form to Ye Tiancheng and the others.
Because she had crossed the dragon gate, Long Miaomiao's true form no longer resembled a fish. She had grown dragon horns and possessed many dragon-like features, but she was not entirely like the dragons in legends, still retaining some fish-like characteristics.
For example, Long Miaomiao's true form had a somewhat bulging belly, making her appear very endearing. This was a characteristic left from her original true form.
It was only after seeing this that Ye Tiancheng and the others realized that Long Miaomiao's original form was likely similar to a goldfish, a small, plump, golden-red goldfish. But it made sense; if she weren't as endearing as such a goldfish, she wouldn't have been kept by a young lady from a wealthy family.
After learning some things about dragons and confirming that Ye Tiancheng was fine, Nie Chongyang finally spoke, "Now that Ye Tiancheng is well and we've learned a lot, and the great black snake impersonating the Dragon God has been dealt with, it's time for Liang Ping and me to leave."
"My team members are still waiting for news outside, and there are many matters to attend to. Liang Ping and I need to get out as soon as possible. Otherwise, if they don't see us appear, they will start to worry."
This was indeed something to be concerned about.
Although Ye Tiancheng couldn't leave now, with the little fox taking care of him and the Dragon God Long Miaomiao present, there shouldn't be any problems. Seeing that everything had settled down, Nie Chongyang and the others should depart.
"That's right. Thank you for your concern. It's more important to attend to your own matters," Ye Tiancheng agreed.
The little fox also said, "I can stay and take care of Big Brother, but I'll have to trouble Captain Nie to inform Sister Mingzhu that we won't be back so soon. However, please don't tell her that Big Brother had an accident, lest she worry."
Ye Tiancheng also thought of Hou Mingzhu and the others. He said, "Yes, Mingzhu and the others will surely worry when they don't see me return. Please tell them that I've made a new discovery and can't rush back, and that where I am, there's no signal, making communication difficult. Please convey my safety to them."
Nie Chongyang said, "Don't worry, I'll pass it on. But won't they suspect it if you say that?"
Ye Tiancheng shook his head and explained to Nie Chongyang, "As long as you don't reveal any flaws, it should be fine. Because such situations have happened before, our journey is perilous, and anything can happen. Just conveying a message of safety will put Mingzhu and the others at ease, at least they'll know I'm safe."
"Alright then, you rest here and recover. I'll tell them when I get back and try to help take care of them as well," Nie Chongyang agreed.
Ye Tiancheng smiled and said, "Thank you very much. I'm sorry to trouble you."
Nie Chongyang waved his hand. "What's there to thank between us? You've thanked me many times already, and besides, you've helped us much more. It's just a small favor. Thanking me would be too polite."
Ye Tiancheng graciously accepted and said no more.
After agreeing, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping bid farewell to Ye Tiancheng and the others, and with the help of Long Miaomiao, they were sent out of the Dragon God's territory.
What Nie Chongyang and the others would arrange or do after leaving is not for now. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, however, would inevitably have to stay in the Dragon Palace for a while.
Long Miaomiao was quite considerate and gave Ye Tiancheng and the others some space, not staying by their side the entire time.
After Ye Tiancheng and the others had arranged their affairs and confirmed that the little fox would stay to care for Ye Tiancheng, Long Miaomiao left the room where Ye Tiancheng was resting and recuperating, allowing Ye Tiancheng and the little fox to have a private conversation.
After Long Miaomiao also left, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox finally had the chance to talk privately about the current situation.
The little fox was still quite worried about Ye Tiancheng. Although he was much relieved to see Ye Tiancheng safe, he couldn't help but be concerned about Ye Tiancheng's injuries.
He looked at Ye Tiancheng and asked with great concern, "How long will it take for these injuries to heal?"
Ye Tiancheng felt his injuries and replied, "It will take about ten days to half a month to fully recover. At least a month of bed rest."
The little fox sighed, "Then I can only hope that Captain Nie and the others can successfully deceive Sister Mingzhu and not let her discover any clues. Otherwise, they will surely be worried sick about Big Brother."
Ye Tiancheng had no good solution. In his current state, he really didn't want Hou Mingzhu to worry about him, but he couldn't leave. He could only try to deceive them and attempt to get away with it.
He also sighed, "Let's hope so."
Thinking of Fatty, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox both felt very complicated. They didn't know how to bring him up, especially Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng had known Fatty the earliest and was the most severely injured by Fatty.
But they couldn't avoid mentioning him. The situation at that time was too abnormal.
The little fox asked Ye Tiancheng cautiously, "Big Brother, the Fatty we saw was impersonated by something, wasn't he? If it were the real Fatty, he would never hurt you like this."
Ye Tiancheng was reluctant to admit it, but precisely because he knew it too well in his heart, he had to force himself to face the truth and try to understand the reason.
He said to the little fox, "Although I don't want it to be so, I'm very sorry, but that was indeed Fatty. It's just that his state was not normal, which led him to do such things. And before... in short, I don't blame him, but I also want to know how all of this happened."
The little fox was slightly stunned, not expecting that it was indeed Fatty who did it, the real Fatty.
He stammered, somewhat incoherently, "But Fatty, why? He did such a thing... it's not right. Was he confused by something?"
What the little fox actually wanted to say was that he remembered what Fatty had said to Ye Tiancheng before. If Fatty had some dissatisfaction with him, why didn't he confront him directly, but instead chose to hurt Ye Tiancheng?
Ye Tiancheng was truly good friends with Fatty and cared about him deeply. Fatty shouldn't have done it, and there was no reason for him to do so.
He couldn't help but blame himself again, thinking that if he hadn't appeared, perhaps such a thing wouldn't have happened between Ye Tiancheng and Fatty.