Chapter 1352: Those In the Mirror

Shi Rong had an excited expression as he replied, “Third brother, this is where I think you’re wrong. You should’ve agreed right away!”

Shi Min turned around and gave the Jade Garden a look, saying, “We were just doing what we did because of eighth brother and the Medusa Queen’s grudge, but apart from that, there was no hatred between us that couldn't be resolved. We would not have gone too far. Furthermore, the Second Imperial Prince is contending against the crown prince, so they were secretly trying to rope us in. I was worried that by helping the crown prince, it would make me seem as if we were being more biased towards him, thus drawing the hostility of the Second Imperial Prince’s side.”

Shi Rong harrumphed. “That bastard Second Imperial Prince is truly hateful. He was helping us when we had the advantage at first, but then he immediately changed sides! He’s so despicable!”

Shi Min glowered and said, “If he wants to be heartless, he cannot blame me for not having any loyalty. Either way, the Golden Crow Crown Prince’s rise to the throne is practically decided. So what if we fully side with the crown prince now?”

Shi Gong said worriedly, “What I’m worried about is that it’ll be difficult for us to do much to the Snake race in the arena, though. The Snake race has always remained rather low-profile over the past few years, and only the clan leader has held a seat. If they don’t choose to participate, it’ll be hard for us to do anything to them.”

“You do not need to worry about that. We just received news that they have sent three of their people to participate. Included among them is that Yan Zu, as well as two women. They should be the two women who were at the Medusa Queen’s side today,” said Shi Min.

Shi Rong cracked his knuckles and said, “Then that’s perfect. I’ll fully cripple that little bastard and make him regret ever acting so cocky.”

Shi Gong also laughed, adding, “The two women at the Medusa Queen’s side do look a bit ordinary, but their figures are top rate. Besides, I find that the more I look at them, the more I sense a unique kind of charm. I’ll take good care of them later.”

“Are you going crazy from sexual frustration or something?” Shi Min said with a laugh. “However, those two ladies are indeed quite special, even though I cannot really say how.”

As they discussed what they were going to do to the Snake race, their mood immediately improved. Their previous gloominess from their time in the Jade Garden was quickly swept clean.

…

Meanwhile, in the Jade Garden, everyone congratulated Yu Yanluo. Yu Yanluo naturally wouldn’t give up on such a great opportunity to get closer to the different races.

Shang Liuyu took the chance to move over to Zu An’s side and said, “Your mask is pretty special.”

“What is the princess saying? I don’t understand,” Zu An replied, glancing around the area. Even though Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue acted indifferent, their ears seemed to be pricked up.

Shang Liuyu had a faint smile as she said, “Look at you… Even after you change your appearance, that shameless side of you will never change.”

Zu An chuckled and replied, “It’s still big sis who knows me best. I didn’t expect to meet you here at all. Even though I had a guess, only now did I learn that you were actually the Ocean races’ mermaid princess!”

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“It’s just an identity of mine. I rarely stay in the Ocean races’ territory. I spend most of my time in the human world.” For some reason, Shang Liuyu’s expression seemed to carry a bit of regret as she spoke. However, it quickly returned to normal again as she continued, “I didn’t think that you would still take the risk of coming to the Fiend King Court.”

“I know your warning earlier was reasonable, but I had a reason for coming here too,” Zu An said, thinking about the Unknown Region in the Imperial Tomb. How was he supposed to get in there?

Shang Liuyu glanced at Yu Yanluo, who was completely surrounded. She asked, “Is it for her sake? Indeed, she’s quite the charming person. Whether in the human world or in the fiend races’ world, she’s always been the focus of people’s attention.”

It was obvious that she had frequently heard about the capital’s former number one beauty when she was in the human world. Zu An knew she had misunderstood, but he didn’t correct her.

Soon afterward, the Little Golden Peng King walked over and asked curiously, “What is the princess talking about?”

“I was curious how he was able to recognize that there was a deity-grade treasure in that stone,” Shang Liuyu replied, making up an excuse

“Oh, now that you mention it, that is something I was curious about too,” the Little Golden Peng King said as his gaze landed on Zu An. Even though the stone had been selected by Yu Yanluo, even the butler had overlooked its contents, and yet this Yan Zu had been able to find the Calamity Gold inside. His level of perception was definitely special.

Zu An looked bewildered and replied, “I just made a random guess! Maybe my luck is just too good?”

The corners of Shang Liuyu’s lips curled upward.

The Little Golden Peng King was speechless. He thought Zu An was playing the fool at first, but then Zu AN started to brag about his luck. At that instant, he couldn't even really tell whether Zu An just didn’t want to talk about it, or his luck really was just that good.

…

After the exchange, Shang Liuyu returned to the other side of the room. She worried that staying at Zu An’s side for too long would bring him unnecessary trouble.

Some more time passed before Yu Yanluo bid her farewell to those present, and her group left the Jade Garden. The butler personally saw them out, and he even hinted that if they ever wanted to sell the Calamity Gold, the Jade Garden was willing to offer an extremely generous price.

…

On the way back, the group began to talk about what had happened. Zu An said with a smile, “There really is more to this Jade Garden than meets the eye… They were clearly there when that Second Imperial Prince made his offer, and yet they’re still trying to sneak an offer behind his back.”

Yu Yanluo replied, “This Jade Garden is indeed extremely mysterious. However, based on how things currently look, their attitude toward us is still rather friendly, so there’s no need to worry about them for now. On the contrary, it’s the Tiger race that, because of our conflict with the Lion race, seems to be vigorously trying to rope us in.”

Zu An replied, “The Tiger race and the Lion race have always contended for the title of beast king. Unfortunately, neither side is willing to bow down to the other. Both sides are pretty similar in strength, so it’s not easy to decide a victor. We can become friendly with the Tiger race, as long as it’s not to the point that they’ll use us as a tool to deal with the Lion race.”

Yu Yanluo nodded slightly. She had thought the same thing.

“Compared to Jade Garden or the Tiger race, what I’m more curious about is how you knew there was treasure in that stone!” Yun Jianyue exclaimed, sounding upset. Yan Xuehen had clearly said she would ask him, and yet she hadn’t said a thing even after all this time. She had gotten more and more frustrated, until she finally couldn't take it anymore and just asked directly. This stone cold woman can’t change her damn hypocritical nature after all!

Zu An was about to say something when Yan Xuehen spoke up first. “We do not want to hear you say that you have ridiculous luck or something.”

“But I really am a child of luck…” Zu An began, chuckling in embarrassment. However, he continued, “Don’t worry. That’s just what I used to shake off the others. Everyone here is one of our own people, so I won’t hide it from you guys.”

“Our own…” The three women all thought different thoughts when they heard that.

Yu Yanluo felt that it made perfect sense, while Yan Xuehen’s cheeks flushed red. However, she tried her best not to show anything. Yun Jianyue acted naturally, but ever since he had seen her most private parts, she had always felt a strange and indescribable feeling of shame.

Zu An didn’t notice their different reactions and simply continued, “The ‘Drop of Heaven’s Essence’ I obtained from Lord Sui’s Tomb is a technique for studying the trends of heaven and earth, so of course, it has records on how to study rocks too. After all, these rocks are all products of ley lines.

“According to the records, upon reaching the highest level, one can easily find ki stone veins within a boundless mountain range, let alone seeing through an unpolished stone.

“Of course, my cultivation isn’t high enough, and I just vaguely sensed that something was off with that rock. The reason why I was able to recognize there was a great treasure inside was this.” He took out a bronze mirror while speaking. It was extremely elaborate and unusual.

Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile as she asked, “And which one of your sweethearts gave you this lover’s gift?”

Seeing that Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen were staring directly at him, Zu An’s heart leaped. He cried, “Big sis, you can’t make random accusations like that! This thing is called ‘King Qin’s Mirror of Souls’. It’s something that I found from an Unknown Region, rumored to be the mirror King Qin used to shine on his subjects to test whether they were loyal or not. It no longer has such a ridiculous ability, but it seems to be able to check what the contents of an unpolished stone are. That’s something I only recently learned about.”

“It’s that magical?” When they heard that it came from an Unknown Region, the three women immediately became interested in it. They all moved closer to get a better look.

However, what they saw in the mirror were three exceptional beauties, but to their horror, there wasn’t a shred of clothing on their bodies!