12. The Jewel's Glow and the Firefly's Radiance Illuminate the Dew

Before long, the county magistrates from the two counties and the regional prefect also arrived. Leaders, after all, must be “punctual.” The patrol inspector and the city mayor were all local officials, but the prefect and county magistrates in some areas could still be appointed officials or at least go through an official appointment process.

After exchanging greetings and arranging seating according to rank, the regional prefect asked about the capture of the dragon. Zhang Xun was not very eloquent, but Li Rang was very enthusiastic, embellishing the story of last night with vivid and colorful details. He claimed that Zhang Xun had shot the dragon’s head and jaw with a single arrow, instantly bringing down the monstrous dragon that had been absorbing the moonlight.

Li Rang even added the usual nonsense about the dragon pearl, saying he had personally witnessed the dragon spitting out the pearl at midnight.

Good heavens! With this kind of story, the regional prefect, who had already planned to squeeze some money and flee, immediately ordered his men to take the dragon hanging in the town square and prepare it carefully for public display.

Seeing his idea met with approval, Li Rang was overjoyed and raised his cup. With him leading the toast, everyone joined in celebration, and the banquet began. During the feast, they discussed the proposal to build a pavilion in Beigang Village dedicated to Zhang Xun.

The prefect expressed that this was an excellent idea—such a pavilion must be built; otherwise, Zhang Xun’s merit in ridding the people of the dragon could not be properly commemorated. He mentioned that during his tenure, he had overseen the revision of the Piliang Gazette two years prior, marking a significant contribution to cultural affairs.

He was also effective in tax collection, having neither been transferred for incompetence nor punished for causing rebellions through excessive taxation.

Now with Zhang Xun added to the team, the shortcomings in local governance and peacekeeping in Fushui Township could be remedied. The prefect just needed to draft a memorial to the capital, reporting the elimination of the dangerous tiger and dragon. Perhaps Zhang Xun could even earn an excellent performance review and return to Hangzhou to serve as a judicial officer.

But there was the matter of money…

Before anyone could bring up the finances, Li Rang jumped in, offering to donate ten bolts of silk. The county magistrates of Wujin and Jinling also pledged to raise twenty strings of cash each for official expenses. In no time, they had gathered several hundred strings of cash. With that, not only could they build the dragon-capturing pavilion, but also carve a commemorative stele and repair the surrounding roads.

The prefect, beaming with delight, immediately promised to write a “Record of Subduing the Tiger and Capturing the Dragon” to commemorate the event.

The sycophants at the table quickly praised the prefect’s literary talent, as well as Zhang Xun’s, promising to present him with a token of appreciation. As they exchanged flattery, the prefect’s family arrived to report that they had indeed produced the “dragon pearl.”

“Huh?”

Had this not been a different era, Zhang Xun would have said a standard “Are you kidding me?” When had crocodiles ever had dragon pearls?

With the crocodile’s nearly invincible digestive power—capable of dissolving even bones—it was impossible for gallstones to remain intact within its esophagus or gallbladder.

But others were not so certain, especially Li Rang, who immediately put down his chopsticks and asked where the “dragon pearl” was. The family member replied it was being cleaned and would be brought out shortly.

Everyone stood eagerly, looking on expectantly. Zhang Xun himself found it hard to believe, leaning on the balcony railing as servants hurried back and forth below.

Soon, Li Da rushed up to the third floor of the inn, holding a red cloth and declaring he had a treasure to present. When the cloth was unfolded, there were indeed two “dragon pearls” of different sizes inside.

Wow!

They really existed!

It was strange for Jiangdong, where such large crocodiles had long been unseen, only the small Yangtze alligator remained. Large crocodiles like the saltwater crocodile and the Chinese alligator had lived since two hundred million years ago, but many of their evolutionary traits had not kept pace with the times.

For example, swallowing large pebbles to help grind food inside the stomach—a trait seen in many herbivorous dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. These dinosaurs would ingest stones equal to about 2% of their body weight to grind plant material in their guts, aiding digestion.

Crocodiles likely followed a similar evolutionary path, finding that swallowing stones helped digestion and thus not evolving more efficient digestive systems.

The crocodile Zhang Xun had just killed had probably lived in the great pond for decades or even a century. Inside it, besides the stones, were two perfectly round, lustrous pearls, polished by its gastric juices and food.

Remarkable, truly remarkable.

Henceforth, the legend of the dragon spitting pearls and absorbing the essence of sun and moon would surely spread even wider. After all, everyone present had witnessed the miraculous birth of these pearls.

Unavoidably, everyone gathered around the two pearls. If they hadn’t just been taken from the crocodile’s belly, still smelling of blood, the prefect and Li Rang might have already reached out to take and examine them carefully.

Someone remarked that since these pearls came from the belly of a ferocious dragon, they must be luminous pearls, glowing with moonlight.

This statement intrigued everyone further. It was already evening, so once night fell, they planned to extinguish all the lamps and close the doors and windows tight to see if these pearls, having absorbed the essence of sun and moon, truly glowed in the dark.

Glow? Zhang Xun immediately stepped back several paces. Hopefully, no radioactive elements were involved—the previous life had stories of people picking up stones by the river, only to have their fish die mysteriously, followed by family members succumbing one by one.

This was no joke; someone needed to take these pearls away quickly.

Definitely not Li Rang. His uncle was over sixty, and it would be terrible if white-haired relatives had to bury black-haired ones.

As night fell and darkness enveloped the room, the red cloth was removed again, revealing that the two pearls indeed emitted a faint glow. In the dim interior, their light was especially striking.

Just as Zhang Xun pondered how to get rid of this curse, the prefect grabbed his hand and said these pearls were worth a fortune. Zhang Xun was no pauper and didn’t usually care for mere trinkets, but the prefect eagerly offered three thousand strings of cash, hoping Zhang Xun would part with them.

Sell?

Any hesitation would be disrespectful to such a sum. Zhang Xun had no doubts and immediately agreed to sell without waiting for Li Rang to speak.

Li Rang, who had been eagerly waiting on the sidelines, was stunned. He had planned to take the pearls home to show his father. These were genuine treasures pulled from the belly of a monstrous dragon—a rare sight indeed.

Overjoyed, the prefect promised to deliver the money to the Zhang family’s estate outside the city gates at Zhu Xia Villa the next day. Without waiting for Li Rang to say another word, he swiftly rolled up the pearls and fled.

Li Rang was deeply frustrated, holding his wine cup and complaining, “Why did you sell both to the prefect? You could have sold the large one and kept the small one as a memento.”

Ha! Zhang Xun only sneered inwardly. “I’m saving you, can’t you see? If there’s even a bit of radiation, and you keep it in your bedroom every day, you might be dead in six months.”