Chapter 363 - 360: Bringing the Giant Octopus Back to the Village

Young men—really, all men—love a bit of excitement.

Daniel and his friends were no exception.

Once they recovered from their initial fear, they belatedly realized just how spectacular that coordinated battle in the sea had been.

"Jiao, you’re incredible! You fought that huge sea monster to a standstill. Is this the legendary Hua Country kung fu they talk about?"

"Jiao, you and the killer whales worked together so perfectly! I can’t believe what I saw. It was better than any movie! It’s a real shame the camera couldn’t capture that moment."

Every one of them was turning into a member of Yun Jiao’s fan club.

The navy sailors felt the same way.

To be honest, even if a few of them worked together in the water, they probably couldn’t match Yun Jiao’s raw power.

After all, they couldn’t just rip a tentacle off a giant octopus that size.

Those things are surprisingly tough.

"WHOOOOOOO..."

The Humpback Whale swam over, towing the main body of the giant octopus.

’That giant head is terrifying just to look at.’

’An octopus really does look like an alien.’

"This is a sea monster," Barry said definitively. "My grandfather’s journals mentioned it. On one of their long voyages, they were attacked by a sea monster late at night. The tentacles that attacked them were just like an octopus’s, like giant pythons. Several crew members were dragged into the sea."

Meng Hui and Zhao Xu translated for the group. After listening, everyone looked at the giant octopus with a renewed sense of fear.

They really never imagined that an octopus, something they usually considered food, could grow this big.

Yun Jiao was curious about where the giant octopus had come from.

But now wasn’t the time to investigate.

"Should we head back now?"

"Yeah, let’s go back."

Everyone’s hearts were still pounding. They were afraid there might be another giant octopus lurking in these waters, so no one felt like playing anymore.

Yun Jiao first retrieved the seafood she had gathered earlier, then started for home with her giant octopus trophy.

The Humpback Whale couldn’t get too close to the coast, or its massive body would risk getting beached.

Getting a behemoth that size back into the water would be a nightmare.

So in the end, it was up to Yun Jiao to painstakingly haul the largest part—the octopus’s main body—back to shore.

’This is exhausting! This thing is slipperier than any prey I’ve ever hunted, and this squishy, limp texture is definitely not pleasant.’

’My current strength isn’t even a third of what it was in my past life.’

The navy sailors all pitched in, and they finally managed to get the thing ashore.

Aside from the two tentacles Yun Jiao had brought up and the three still attached to the main body, the killer whales had eaten all the rest.

When they hauled something that huge onto the dock, it wasn’t like the people there were blind. Of course they saw it.

So everyone started crowding around.

"Good heavens, what in the world is that thing!"

The sight of it gave everyone a fright.

"It kind of looks like an octopus, doesn’t it?"

"No way. Can an octopus even get this big?"

"But look at the tentacles! If it’s not an octopus, what is? I’ve never seen one this huge."

"This thing is bigger than my boat!"

More and more people crowded around. The local fishermen had seen plenty of octopuses in their day, but never one this massive.

"Jiaojiao, did you all hunt this thing?"

"Oh my, Jiaojiao, what happened to you? Don’t tell me this giant octopus did this."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Auntie, could you please go get my dad and the others for me?"

Daniel and his friends got their cameras back and started snapping photos of the giant octopus from every angle. They even hugged a tentacle for a group shot.

"Jiao, hurry, come take a picture with me!"

Eva grabbed Yun Jiao’s hand, pulling her to stand in front of the giant octopus. Then they both flashed peace signs.

"Me too, me too!"

Daniel handed the camera to Meng Hui. "Get a few shots of me and Jiao, too."

Yun Jiao resigned herself to being a photo prop, simply standing next to them and raising a small hand for a peace sign.

Yun Lin Hai and Yun Lin He pushed their way through the crowd, only to stop in their tracks, stunned.

"Good heavens, am I dreaming?"

"Move it, let me through!"

It was just when Yun Xiaowu and the other kids were getting out of school, so of course they came running over too.

"WHOA!!!"

"Little sister, Jiaojiao, did you get this giant octopus?"

"JIAOJIAO!!!"

"What happened to you!"

When the Yun family saw the bruises on her body, their hearts ached.

Yun Xiaojiu, the little crybaby, was already on the verge of tears.

Yun Jiao spent a long time explaining that the bruises just looked scary and that she was actually fine.

She even jumped up and down a few times to prove it.

She puffed out her chest. "I’m a student of Chinese medicine myself. I’ll be the judge of that."

She was surprisingly assertive for her size.

Then she pointed to the giant octopus. "See? This is what I brought back for lunch and dinner."

The Yun family’s lips twitched. ’Can we even finish all that?’

Daniel said, "Ooh, let’s have a barbecue!"

His eyes were sparkling. "You absolutely have to let us taste this sea monster."

"Don’t worry, we won’t be freeloaders."

Eva nodded. "Dearest Jiao, please, you have to let us stay."

Yun Jiao: "Sure, why not."

She wrestled two of the tentacles free and offered them to the sailors.

"Take these two back with you."

"No, no, we couldn’t possibly..."

"Oh, just take them. Everyone who was here gets a share."

Yun Lin Hai and the others helped, pushing the two tentacles, each over four meters long, into their arms.

Yun Jiao said, "We’ve got plenty more. Let’s all eat together."

Just what was left would be hard to finish in a single day.

Just hauling this floppy thing home was going to be a huge pain.

Daniel eagerly volunteered to find a chef.

In addition to barbecue, they had to make all sorts of different dishes with this giant octopus.

Yun Lin Hai said, "I’ll go invite your master and teacher."

Yun Lin He replied, "I’ll go with you."

Mr. Yun said, "Fourth, go get your master, too."

Yun Chenbei grunted in acknowledgment and went to do as he was told.

Yun Jiao raised her little hand. "I’ll go get Grandpa Qingfeng and Yun Sui!"

Shen Yunlian said, "Wait. We’re putting ointment on you first."

No matter how much Yun Jiao insisted she was fine, the constriction marks were truly frightening.

Shen Yunlian said, "Let Xiao Wu go. You just got back, stop trying to run off again."

Thwarted by her mother, Yun Jiao could only hang her head and let herself be led away to have her bruises treated.

Mr. Yun took a puff from his long-stemmed pipe, full of vigor. He clasped his hands behind his back and headed out.

"I’m going to get the village chief, and Ah Wang’s family too."

This was just like the New Year’s pig slaughter. It was a rare and massive creature. If it were whole, Mr. Yun would have insisted on selling it for what would surely be a hefty sum.

But since only half of it was left, and they’d decided to eat it, they might as well invite all their close friends to join the festivities and have a great feast.

As Mr. Yun walked through the village, everyone he ran into would stop him to ask a million questions.

They were all asking about the giant octopus, of course, their voices filled with envy.

The old man just smiled demurely, but Granny Yun knew. That old coot was bursting with pride.

He could have taken the shortcut, but no, he had to take the long way around. All for the sake of shamelessly showing off.