Chapter 2125: Dragon Palace

“Don’t worry, I understand the fake Dragon King’s intentions well. That kind of situation won’t happen,” Shang Hongyu said with confidence.

Zu An acknowledged her conclusion too, asking, “Do we really not have to capture that fake Dragon King alive? Who knows, we might be able to obtain some useful intelligence from questioning him.”

“Absolutely not!” Shang Hongyu immediately said with a stern and firm expression. “That fake Dragon King is an imposter, but his cultivation can only be stronger than the real Dragon King’s. It was only because I understood the formations and mechanisms of the Dragon Palace well, and also because I sacrificed a lot of immortal-grade treasures, that I was able to just barely escape from his clutches. Even so, I was still seriously injured. Your cultivation is extremely high, but silently restraining him would still be extremely difficult. If we ended up alerting other people, all of our following plans will be done for.”

“Fine, we’ll follow your plans then,” Zu An replied. According to what Shang Hongyu was saying, apart from that fake Dragon King, there were some trusted aides in the palace that were also this imposter’s men. He didn’t have to worry about not having people to question.

After discussing some details, the two chased after the ship to board it again. However, Shang Hongyu refused Zu An’s proposal to take her by air and instead chose to swim by sea.

Zu An let her do what she wanted to. Along the way, he maintained the barrier to prevent her aura from leaking out and being detected by the outside world. Watching that wonderful figure swim through the waters was quite the pleasing sight.

Soon after, the two of them quickly caught up to the ship. Shang Hongyu suddenly realized what was going on and she looked at the man in the sky apologetically, saying, “Sorry, I was a bit too stubborn and forgot that you had to maintain the barrier to protect me. You probably exhausted a lot of energy along the way, right?”

Zu An smiled. “This bit isn’t too big of a deal. Being able to see you happily swim through the sea made it worth it.”

Shang Hongyu was briefly stunned. She looked at him quietly for a long time, and after a while, she said with a sigh, “Ever since my father passed away, there has never been someone else who doted on me so much.”

On the contrary, she had been made to bear the weight of the entire Mermaid race with her delicate shoulders. Her little sister had still been young back then, so she'd had to take care of her too. After she became the queen of the Ocean races, she had then needed to become the mother of the seas. As such, her real self could only be hidden away. In all these years, only recently could that part of her start to surface a bit again.

Zu An said with a smile, “It’s fine, you can just call me daddy in the future. I’ll continue to dote on you.”

Shang Hongyu was dumbstruck. Furious and embarrassed, she grabbed a handful of seawater and threw it at him. “Go to hell!”

...

As they teased each other back and forth, time passed quickly on the journey. The biggest change was that the two of them grew to be on better and better terms with each other, and they also became more and more familiar with each other. On the first night, they had still been a bit embarrassed when they slept together, but later, they eventually started to get out of bed and turn in for rest naturally. Each time, Shang Hongyu curled up into his arms, and she even proactively tugged on his hand to hold her, and she didn’t even mind at all if his itchy hands gave her a squeeze from time to time.

The two of them were as intimate as a real husband and wife. Of course, they knew to strictly adhere to their bottom line.

“We’re going to arrive at the Jadewave Region tomorrow. I’m a bit nervous,” Shang Hongyu said quietly while huddled up against Zu An’s chest. She stared at the stars in the night sky.

“Don’t worry, you have me next to you. I will protect you.” Zu An tightened his arm that was wrapped around her, bringing her a bit closer.

“It’s so strange, but now that I hear you say that, I feel calmer just like that.” Shang Hongyu leaned her head against his arm. She twisted her body around to get into a more comfortable position.

“I’ve said the exact same thing before. What’s the difference?” Zu An even helped her move the long hair around her shoulder naturally so that he wouldn’t crush her hair.

“Of course it’s different.” Shang Hongyu smiled and didn’t explain further.

Just then, she moved her body around a bit, but that place still seemed a bit uncomfortable. She turned around and raised her head to look at him. There was a strange smile on her face as she asked, “Should I help you? You look pretty uncomfortable being like this all the time.”

Zu An replied in annoyance, “How would you help me with that?”

“With my hands, of course.” Shang Hongyu sat up straight. She moved closer to his ear and blew gently. “Otherwise, what would you want me to use?”

Zu An immediately became a bit flustered. “Stop causing trouble and go to sleep already. We still have things to take care of tomorrow.”

He suddenly remembered the famous mermaid joke from his previous world. ‘Hy? Ho?’ Of course, there was no way he could ever tell her about that.

“Hahahah~” Shang Hongyu giggled. “You’re even more of a gentleman than I thought. I didn’t judge you incorrectly after all. If you really agreed, I would’ve made sure to teach you a lesson!” After saying that, she waved her fist around a bit to intimidate him, then continued to sleep in his arms in peace.

Zu An was speechless. In the end, this woman had actually been testing him again.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Another night passed just like that.

...

The next day, the ship stopped at a small island. Zu An looked out and saw that the sea was a beautiful jade green. It really was clear and stunning.

They were now in the deep ocean, so in theory, the ocean water should have been darker. However, the water's color was still so pretty.

“This is the Jadewave Region. There are islands like this spread all throughout that serve as the Dragon Palace’s outpost stations; they receive human and fiend guests, as well as guests from other areas of the sea,” Shang Hongyu said to Zu An secretly through a ki transmission. She explained all sorts of things along the way.

Normally, once one left the ship, one would head over to Snail Palace to carry out transferring procedures, and then the island would activate a special transport formation to send them to the ocean depths’ Dragon Palace. But with Shang Hongyu here, the two of them naturally wouldn’t take an ordinary path. They found a chance to quietly separate from the other guests of the ship and enter a small alley.

They snaked left and right through the island. Zu An noticed that there were strangely-shaped creatures everywhere on it. Some were human-shaped, some were half-human and half-beast, but they all shared certain special characteristics. After all, the Ocean races, especially those that were found deeper down, had more unique features.

There were some Ocean race individuals on the island who were going around doing their business, and some who were lying by the beach and chatting idly. From time to time, some people jumped into the water for a swim, then returned ashore. That seemed to be their instinct, as they didn’t like to leave the water for too long.

From time to time, some soldiers patrolled around. Judging from their pointy hats and tail wings, Zu An could tell that they were shrimp soldiers even without any introduction from Shang Hongyu. There were also some higher-ranking military officers that occasionally passed by. They had heavy armor on their backs and sinister pincers in their hands; they were probably crabs.

“They really are shrimp soldiers and crab generals.” Zu An chuckled.[1]

“Don’t look down on them. The sea has a huge number of shrimps and crabs. Of course, there are some species that are more numerous, but they're too weak. When the Shrimp and Crab races join together, they become the best soldiers. They adhere to strict obedience, and their individual strength isn’t too weak either. If not for the fact that our Ocean races prefer the sea much more than land, even the humans and fiends’ soldiers added together wouldn’t compare to us.” Shang Hongyu couldn't help but feel a bit proud when she spoke about these things.

Zu An immediately exposed her and said, “Stop bragging. Not even someone as strong as you can leave the water for a long time. If you really tried to send this shrimp and crab army ashore, we wouldn’t even need to do a thing before they dried up and died.”

Shang Hongyu was still a bit unconvinced. “If you have the skills, why don’t you come over to defeat our Ocean races?!”

“Didn’t I come personally?” Zu An chuckled. “Now that we’re on the topic, your Ocean races have already acknowledged allegiance to the Fiend races, and I'm the Fiend races’ regent. Even your Dragon King needs to greet me respectfully if he sees me.”

“Hmph, what do you mean, acknowledge allegiance? We’re only paying allegiance because we don’t want any meaningless trouble.” Shang Hongyu harrumphed. “Even if your late Fiend Emperor were here, he wouldn’t dare to behave disrespectfully in front of our Dragon King.”

“That's why the late Fiend Emperor was inferior to me. I can even get the Dragon King’s wife to warm my bed every night.” Zu An had a proud smile.

“Do you want to die right now?!” Shang Hongyu immediately became really embarrassed. She gave him a vicious pinch in the side.

...

They continued to move as they chatted. Under Shang Hongyu’s guidance, they turned left and right through the island and eventually arrived at a remote cliff by the edge of the sea.

With Zu An’s current knowledge in formations, he could tell that they had made a detour around many defensive formations. If any outsiders who didn’t know tried to barge in, they would be quickly discovered by the guards. Forget about the attacks of these defensive formations, they would immediately be surrounded by endless Ocean race reinforcements. Even though Zu An didn’t fear such a situation, it would still be really annoying to deal with.

Shang Hongyu pointed into the distance. “Eight hundred li out is a remote and unmanned island. That place is really barren, and not even the Ocean races have anyone who would go there. It’s perfect for us to use as our base of operations.”

“Sounds good!” Zu An held her waist and flew straight in that direction.

They were deep in the Ocean races’ territory, so Shang Hongyu didn’t stubbornly insist on turning into her original form to swim in the sea. Instead, she cautiously reminded him about which areas in the air had defensive formations. Zu An was good at formations to begin with, so after she reminded him, he was even more sensitive to these formations. Sometimes he flew lower, and other times he rose into the clouds; sometimes he entered deep into the sea to avoid the mechanisms and formations one after another.

As she watched him move around, Shang Hongyu was full of admiration.

If this guy wanted to sneak into the Dragon Palace and harass our women, even we probably couldn’t do anything to stop him.

With Zu An’s speed, they arrived at their destination shortly after. This was indeed a completely desolate island, and it was full of strangely shaped craggy stones. It was barren and lacked plant life. Even seabirds were a rare sight.

Shang Hongyu easily brought Zu An around the island. She quickly arrived in front of a hidden cave and said, “This is a place I liked to play in when I was little. Back then, little sis and I would play hide-and-seek. There were no nannies or maids to bother us... It really is a nostalgic memory.”

When he saw the look of adoration on her face, Zu An thought to himself that one’s memories from youth really were the most treasured and unforgettable things. The scene of two little mermaids playing around on the island appeared in his mind. He couldn't help but smile.

Then, Zu An began to set up formations nearby. When she saw the flickering lights surrounding them, Shang Hongyu was amazed. “I didn’t expect you to also be so good at formations despite your cultivation rank being so high. Sigh, is there still anything in this world that you can’t do?”

Zu An planted a few formation banners in a corner. He smiled and said, “I can’t give birth to children.”

Shang Hongyu sat on a clean rock with her chin propped up on her interlaced fingers. She looked at him and said with a smile, “But you can let other women give birth to your children. I’m sure there are women lining up to do that.”

“Then do you want to as well?” Zu An blurted out while he continued to set up the formations.

Both of them were stunned as soon as those words came out of his mouth.

Shang Hongyu harrumphed. “Hmph, you dare to even take advantage of your big sister.”

Zu An thought to himself,

Which one of our actions these days hasn't gone this far?

Even so, he knew that he'd been a bit too hasty with that comment.

Damn this bad habit of mine, I really just can’t fix it.

In order to fix the awkwardness, he tried to change the topic. “I don’t think you and the Dragon King have had any heirs after all these years, right?”

“I didn’t want to give birth to a child for him, so I said that I was still young and just wanted to have fun as an excuse to say that I didn’t want a child for now. But eventually, I found out my worries were excessive, because the Dragon King’s side had more to consider. In the past, my older sister had already given birth to Chi Wen. If he had another child with the Mermaid race, the balance between the different clans would be broken.” Shang Hongyu laughed in self-ridicule. “After all, he has wives from all different races to dote on.”

Zu An was shocked. “Then wouldn’t it be even easier for me to slip up in front of those other wives?”

“Keep dreaming!” Shang Hongyu glared at him. “I'm the only empress in the Dragon Palace. As for the other wives, they're almost all with their respective clans. That’s also why the Dragon King always runs around all year long. So you won’t be seeing those wives anytime soon.”

Zu An sighed in relief. “That’s good, that’s good.”

Are you kidding me? With my current identity, how can I just let random women take advantage of me?

Shang Hongyu’s face suddenly heated up. “Look at you, why do you only want to hear about the life between husband and wives? You know even the most confidential stuff now. Why don’t you tell me a bit about your own romance? For example, how it was rumored that you even slept with the Second Empress. Is that true?”

When he saw how interested in gossip she was, Zu An was a bit speechless. He immediately changed the topic. “Ahem, if one day I needed you to pretend to be my wife, I would probably have to tell you all of these secrets too.”

“Annoying! Just tell me, come on~” Shang Hongyu moved closer and tugged on his sleeves while pleading playfully.

No matter how steady Zu An’s will was, he was still a bit stirred up by her sweet and lovable voice.

This woman really is a bit...

In the end, Zu An still managed to focus his mind. He firmly ignored her playful behavior. After setting up the formation, he fastened Shang Hongyu to a rock pillar. While doing so, he asked her, “Is this a bit too tight?”

“No, it’s fine. If it’s not too tight, then the Dragon King will be suspicious.” Now that it was about more important affairs, Shang Hongyu became serious as well.

Zu An nodded and continued the process.

A while later, Shang Hongyu’s face turned entirely red. “Why do I feel a bit humiliated from the way you're tying me up?”

The way the rope was tied up perfectly matched her curves, fully exposing her incredible figure. Since she was a mermaid, her body was even more flexible than usual. Besides that, she had both the dignity of a ruler and an alluring charm. All of that created an extremely powerful work of art. Just looking at her brought a sense of great delight.

Zu An’s face couldn't help but heat up. He had never tied up anyone before, except one time in the sky with Tushan Yu... That was why he had reflexively done it the same way, and also added some stuff he saw online in his previous world.

Those forum users tricked me!

He said with a deadly earnest voice, “This is called the Immortal Eightfold Binding, one of the world’s most profound binding techniques. That way, the Dragon King won’t become suspicious easily.”

“Is it?” Shang Hongyu asked, half-convinced.

Zu An’s heart accelerated a bit. He took out some protective treasures and talismans and gave them to her. “Keep these on you. If you're in danger, you can activate them to ensure your safety.” He taught her how to use them while shoving them into her arms.

Shang Hongyu was a bit absent-minded. She looked at him with a complicated expression. “Do you treat all of your women this well?” She could tell that these treasures and talismans were all things he had made himself, and they were all extremely profound. Even in the Dragon Palace, they would be extremely precious things, and yet he'd just casually taken out so many of them.

Zu An smiled and said, “I only do this for my good friends.”

“Hmph, it seems to me that pretty women are all your close friends,” Shang Hongyu retorted. Despite that, she was still happy inside.

Zu An sensibly chose not to reply. He waved goodbye and said, “I’m going to the Dragon Palace first.”

As she watched him leave through the cave entrance, Shang Hongyu felt a bit reluctant, saying, “You have to hurry back soon! Otherwise, if other men pass by, I might end up being taken advantage of. It’d be too late for regrets then!”

When he saw how pitiful she looked, Zu An was a bit speechless. “Forget about the formations I'll set up by the cave that no one can undo, even if someone really does barge in here, you can just struggle free using the method I told you. Then, with all those treasures, how could anything happen to you?!”

This woman really is good at messing with others!

“I don’t care about that! What if I forget the incantation? You have to hurry back as quickly as possible.” Shang Hongyu stared straight at him.

Zu An could sense that she didn’t want to part with him, so he nodded and said, “I’ll return as quickly as possible.”

...

Once he left the island, Zu An immediately flew into the air. He quickly arrived on the island where the ship had first stopped at. With his cultivation and the Blue Mallard ability, he could have just gone to the Dragon Palace by sea himself. However, that would draw too much attention. The Fake Dragon King and his subordinates would definitely be alerted, and they would mobilize all of the Ocean races’ experts to deal with him. That wasn't a result he wanted to see.

He went to the largest building at the very center, which was shaped like a conch shell. He was soon stopped by the shrimp and crab soldiers, who called out, “Halt. Do you have entry permits or other permissions?”

“I don't, but I have this.” Zu An took out a sheet of paper.

The soldiers were about to become hostile when they heard the first half, but when they saw what was in his hands, their expressions changed. That was the Mermaid Queen’s wanted poster. None of them dared to treat anything related to the queen with negligence. The troop quickly escorted him to a room to the side.

Soon after hearing the news, a robust two-meter-tall man rushed over with his subordinates. Judging from his toothy mouth and the special patterns around his neck, it wasn’t hard to guess that his original body was some kind of shark.

“This is Sir Shark who is in charge of our area here,” a shrimp soldier to the side said.

“Youngster, do you have information on the Mermaid Queen?” Sir Shark looked down at Zu An from above, his eyes carrying a bit of surprise. He could tell that this was a human. Why would a human have information on the queen that even so many Ocean races couldn't find?

“That’s right.” Zu An calmly drank the drink the soldiers had prepared. It seemed to contain some kind of coconut juice and other special seagrass, and had a bit of a unique taste.

“Then just tell us. I'm here to judge if your information has any value.” Sir Shark harrumphed. There were many people who came for the reward, but they usually only gave some clues that seemed right but were actually wrong. The soldiers would go and investigate, only to return with nothing at all.

Zu An shook his finger and said, “You don’t have enough qualifications to hear that.”

“What?!” Sir Shark was furious when he heard that, roaring, “You’re courting death, brat!”

You have successfully trolled Shark Diao for +444 +444 +444...

The entire room was surrounded by a powerful pressure. Many of the shrimp soldiers’ blue faces immediately turned red and they backed up. The flower vases and other things in the room were also shaken back and forth by the powerful energy.

However, the drink cup that was within three inches of Zu An sat safely in place, as if it wasn’t affected at all. Shark Diao’s eyes narrowed when he saw that.

This fellow seems to be perfectly fine, so his cultivation is definitely not low. There might actually be useful information this time.

When he realized Zu An’s strength, he immediately became more polite. “May I ask who has the qualifications?”

“The Dragon King. Only he has the qualifications to hear what I have to say,” Zu An said calmly.

When they heard what he said, forget about the ordinary soldiers, even the robust Shark Diao’s expression changed. He almost couldn't resist the urge to teach this human a lesson, but Zu An just sat there casually. He was like a towering and imposing mountain, or a deep and immeasurable sea.

Dammit, there are clearly no ki fluctuations coming from his body, so why am I getting so scared?

As someone who could manage an important location like this island, Shark Diao wasn't stupid. In the end, he still gave up on attacking. “Sir, I can help you contact the Dragon King, but you need to show something that proves what you are saying, right? After all, the Dragon King doesn’t have a good temper. If he finds out that we wasted his time, not even I will be able to escape punishment.”

Zu An thought for a bit, then took out a hairpin from his inner pockets and said, “He’ll know if you give this to him.”

The hairpin was made of extremely high-quality tortoiseshell. There were even some beautiful coral decorations on it. But the most eye-catching part was the massive black pearl embedded in it.

“That’s the queen’s hairpin!” everyone in the room cried out in alarm. Even though none of them had seen it before, the unique aura of the Ocean races’ ruler couldn't be faked. Besides, apart from a woman like the queen, who else had the right to wear such a precious hairpin?

“Sir, please wait a moment! I will immediately pass on the message for you! What are you all still standing around for? Bring out the best stuff to receive this sir!” Shark Diao’s expression became extremely respectful. He found an embroidered case to store the hairpin, then quickly left.

Zu An enjoyed the fruits and snacks that the maids brought in one after another. He thought to himself that the Ocean races really did have a lot of delicacies. He had to make sure to bring back some for his sweethearts to try. However, he suddenly thought of Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei, and his expression couldn't help but darken.

Soon after, Shark Diao hurried over and said, “Sir, the Dragon King wishes to meet with you.”

1. These are the army of the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea in mythology and popular fiction ☜