Chapter 2117: The Mermaid Queen
“Stop speaking nonsense!” The woman took out two emeici[1]-like weapons and started to fight with the Yaksha Ocean Patrol.
Zu An nodded. He could tell that her cultivation wasn’t low, and she always made the most rational decisions. But her energies didn’t seem to be uniform and always became a bit sluggish at the most crucial moments, preventing her from taking advantage of her enemy’s openings. As a result, she ended up in danger.
What was even stranger, however, was the Yaksha Ocean Patrol. The madam kicked the Yakshas' vital points several times, and yet they seemed completely fine. Were their defenses really this strong?
The madam finally found an opportunity. With a flick of her finger, a thin needle struck between the brows of a Yaksha that was attacking her. The Yaksha fell to the ground. Her needle was clearly no ordinary item.
Zu An chuckled.
It’s good that this thing didn’t enter my body earlier.
Just then, the situation on the battlefield swiftly changed. The remaining Yaksha Ocean Patrol used the chance to attack at the same time. Several pikes sealed off all routes of escape.
With a twist of the woman’s waist, however, she slipped out past those pikes at an unbelievable angle.
“What a flexible waist!” Zu An sighed in amazement.
On top of that, the madam's body seemed to be using the great dao of the world. It was like a fish waving its tail, or an antelope striking with its horns. It resembled nature itself. However, as soon as she broke out of the encirclement, her body staggered. The Yaksha that seemed to have been killed and was lying on the ground suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed her ankle.
Even though the madam reacted quickly and reflexively kicked his hand away, with that delay, the other Yakshas had already surrounded her. Several pikes aimed at her body’s vitals so she couldn’t dare to move at all. The woman gave the Yaksha on the ground a blank look. She really couldn't understand why it could still move despite being struck between the brows by her weapon.
Even so, she quickly reacted to her current predicament. She looked at the nearby Zu An and exclaimed, “What are you just standing around for? Are you really not going to help?!”
Zu An chuckled. “But these are the Ocean races’ famous Yaksha Ocean Patrol, and we’re just strangers who met by chance. Why do I have to take the huge risk of offending the Ocean races? Of course, if you're willing to help me look for what I told you about earlier, I can consider helping out a bit.”
“For better or for worse, we shared a drink. You really are cold!” the woman snapped furiously. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but rather that there really is no way to obtain that thing.”
Zu An was almost speechless. “Are you really that stupid? Do you know what kind of a situation you're in, and yet you still can’t tell a lie to save yourself?”
The middle-aged woman was speechless.
The Yaksha Ocean Patrol exchanged a look. “What do we do about him?”
The leader said seriously, “Since he saw us capture her, we naturally need to silence him.”
The dismayed woman’s eyes lit up. She watched his sudden misfortune with great joy.
Whose fault is it for just standing around and watching this happen?
Zu An was speechless.
Several Yakshas nodded. With a tap of their feet, they rushed at him from both sides like artillery shells. They were extremely fast and arrived in front of Zu An almost instantly, their glistening pikes only a few inches from reaching his skin. The Yakshas' ugly faces and sinister smiles were extremely striking.
Boom!
Several muffled groans filled the air. The ferocious Yakshas were blown back, their bodies twitching continuously on the ground. Quite a few parts of their bodies were twisted. It was obvious that almost all of their bones were broken.
The woman widened her eyes. After seeing him send the tough-looking Hai Daniu flying, she had felt that his cultivation wasn’t bad, but she hadn’t expected him to be this strong! After all, the Yakshas were far stronger than Hai Daniu! And this black miasma seemed to make them even stronger than ordinary Yakshas. And yet they'd ended up like this from a single exchange? More importantly, she hadn’t even seen how he attacked!
Her expression changed in an instant. She looked at him vigilantly.
Just who is he? What is his purpose in approaching me?
The remaining Yaksha leader harrumphed. A strand of black miasma reached out and quickly surrounded the bodies of his companions. Then, a teeth-aching grinding noise filled the air. The Yakshas that were lying on the sand with all of their bones and meridians shattered actually crawled to their feet again. Many of them fixed their own twisted arms and legs. One even twisted their head back bu 180 degrees.
The woman finally knew why the Yaksha she attacked hadn’t died even though he was struck between the brows by her treasure, and seemed perfectly fine instead. She said, “Be careful. Judging from their current state, they might no longer be the Yaksha Ocean Patrol.”
“Hm? So you actually knew how to care for me!” Zu An remarked with a chuckle. He didn’t seem surprised by this sudden change at all.
“Pah!” The woman harrumphed. Even though there was no redness on her face, Zu An could sense her embarrassment from her gaze.
Zu An felt a bit of regret. He really just couldn’t fix this bad habit of his. He already owed enough people debts of affection; it was a bad idea to keep willfully teasing others like this.
The Yaksha Leader and a dozen guards surged with thick black energy and attacked Zu An again. Even though this human seemed strong, they currently had undying bodies. The one who died in the end would definitely be him.
Zu An gave them a look and coldly said, “They’re nothing more than mere puppet weapons refined through death energy.”
His body erupted with a gentle white radiance. The Yakshas seemed to have encountered the most terrifying thing in the world and screamed miserably. The black miasma began to dissolve at a visible rate. In just a few seconds, the Yakshas were all lying on the ground with ashen expressions. Many places on their bodies were already rotting. It was clear that they had long since died.
Zu An walked over to the woman and said, “I just saved your life. How will you thank me?”
When she saw how he was bathed in white light, the woman was a bit absentminded. She muttered, “Are you a god?”
Zu An was briefly stunned. He first turned off the Primordial Origin Sutra, and the light gradually faded. He said, "Just a bit of purifying power that’s not worth mentioning.”
The woman finally reacted to what was happening. and asked, “Just who are you?”
“That’s what I should be asking you. Just who are you?” Zu An repeated, staring at her with a pondering gaze. “Or perhaps I should call you… the Mermaid Queen?”
The woman’s expression changed. “How did you know… Wait, I’m not!”
With a wave of Zu An’s hand, the demonic shackles binding her were cut apart. He said, “I’m not an idiot. You have such an amazing figure, and yet you have that ugly face. You might have been able to fool the others in the restaurant, but I know you’re definitely using some incredible magic artifact to hide your appearance.”
There was something else that he didn’t dare to mention. Her presence was completely different from that of the foul-smelling Ocean race customers in the restaurant. Also, perhaps she could fake other things, but the feeling of her waist wasn't something an ordinary woman could have.
“So you already knew who I was from the start, but you deliberately went over and… and treated me with disrespect?” The woman touched her face, revealing her stunning features. Her milk-like, exquisite skin was nothing like her previous yellow and bumpy face! There was a faint blush on her face, perhaps out of embarrassment or anger.
When she recalled how she'd been the one to move closer to him, and even leaned into his arms to avoid the pursuing troops, she really wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide. At the time, she had another appearance and no one had known who she was, which was why she hadn't felt as if it was a big deal for her to go a bit further.
But now, ahhhhh! I want to die…
You have successfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +233 +233 +233..
Zu An had an ‘as expected’ expression when he saw the name that showed up. She did really resemble Shang Liuyu, but the greatest difference was in her temperament.
Shang Liuyu was like the flowing clouds in the sky, a clear spring in the forest. She seemed to have a lofty and unsullied air of disinterest in the mundane world. In contrast Shang Hongyu was a bit more charming. Furthermore, there was a unique air of kindness to her. Could it be because she was already married?
“Wait, are you Chi Wen’s mom?” Zu An thought back to the unlucky kid he'd met in the past. Wasn’t this woman a bit too young?
“Chi Wen?” Shang Hongyu couldn't help but smile when she thought of that mischievous kid who needed a good beating. She explained, “Chi Wen is my big sister’s child. Unfortunately, my big sister died from an illness, so that child lacks a bit of proper teaching.”
Zu An was speechless.
The Dragon King really is a bit ridiculous. He took both sisters in!
Shang Hongyu’s expression suddenly changed. She said, “Stop changing the topic. Did you do that on purpose before?”
“I actually didn’t," Zu An said. When he thought about how this was Shang Liuyu’s big sister, he still felt that he had to do some explaining. “At first, I thought that you were just some distinguished madam who left to travel the world and play. After all, there have been similar examples all around the world, and they were all women who were full of unrealistic fantasies about the world from the books they read.”
The Mermaid Queen was speechless.
“Later,, when the Yaksha Ocean Patrol came looking for you and I saw your nervous appearance, I became suspicious for the first time.” Zu An chuckled. “But your weapon was a needle, and I don’t think I've heard of the Mermaid Queen using such a weapon. That’s why I wondered if you were from the manta ray race.”
The Mermaid Queen was speechless again.
“Of course, most importantly, I didn’t think that the Mermaid Queen would proactively lean against the body of another man.” Zu An had a strange expression as he spoke. If the Dragon King found out that he'd taken advantage of his wife, that would be a bit troublesome. Besides, what would he say to Shang Liuyu? Would she really believe his innocence?
“You’re still talking about that?!” the Mermaid Queen exclaimed, feeling a bit embarrassed. She reflexively raised her fists to hit him, but she suddenly felt as if doing so would be a bit too intimate and quickly pulled her hands back.
Zu An coughed lightly and replied, “You can’t blame me for any of this, you know? But later, when the black miasma-shrouded Yaksha Ocean Patrol caught up to you, and I saw that not only were you injured, you also had those high-level combat skills that only the Ocean races' royal family could know, I’d have to be an idiot to still not know who you were.”
Shang Hongyu took a deep breath and calmed down a bit before asking, “Then who are you?” Then, she added, “Don’t play those games with that 'chance meeting, not acquainted' stuff. With your cultivation, there's no way you’re unknown on the human side. You’re definitely someone big.” She frowned as she spoke, musing, “When did the human side become so prosperous? Someone this strong actually came from there.”
Zu An was a bit embarrassed, saying, “Actually, the two of us do have a bit of a relationship…”
Shang Houyu raised her brows and exclaimed, “Are you trying to take advantage of me again?”
“That’s not it…” Zu An felt a bit helpless. He could only tell her who he was.
Shang Hongyu looked at him in shock. “There’s no way. I’ve seen Zu An’s appearance before…”
“You know, I’ve seen your portrait too and you don’t look like that,” Zu An replied. Left with no choice, he could only take off his mask and reveal his true appearance, saying, “I just didn’t want my real face to be known by outsiders.”
Shang Hongyu’s red lips opened slightly when she saw his face. A while later, she said with a complicated expression and a sigh, “So it really was you. That’s fine. At least I wasn’t bullied by an outsider.”
Zu An was stunned. Why did this suddenly sound a bit like ‘keeping the goodies within the family’?
“I’ve offended you considerably thus far, so I hope your highness doesn’t blame me for that.” Zu An put away his frivolousness and bowed toward her.
Shang Hongyu pursed her lips and smiled, saying, “Arrogant at first, and then respect after... Are you worried that I’ll tell on you to Liuyu?”
Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. “Your highness must be joking. I don’t believe you wish for the Dragon King to know what happened either, right?”
Both of them were stunned when those words came out. Zu An felt as if it sounded a bit weird, as if they'd come out of one of those Japanese stories.
Shang Hongyu became dispirited and suddenly sighed deeply.
When he recalled the wanted posters, Zu An couldn't help but ask, “Right, just what happened? Why did you have to run? And why is the Dragon King ordering for your arrest?”
“That’s a long story,” Shang Hongyu said as she looked into the distance. There were many people running in their direction. The sounds of fighting had already startled the people by the restaurant, and they'd all rushed outside to investigate.
“Follow me.” Shang Hongyu grabbed Zu An’s hand and ran off to the side.
After running for a while, Zu An finally couldn't help but ask, “Your highness won’t blame me for taking advantage of you anymore?”
Shang Hongyu harrumphed. “You and little sis are… good friends, so of course you’re my good friend too. What’s wrong with brothers and sisters holding hands?”
Zu An was stunned.
I guess you’re making a bit of sense? It’s my bad for having impure thoughts and thinking random things.
“How about you point toward where we should go?” Zu An suggested; he could tell that she was injured and couldn't run too fast. There were quite a few strong individuals among the restaurant customers. It would be a bit tricky if they couldn't shake them off.
“Over there, there’s a cave near the cliff…” Midway through her sentence, Shang Hongyu suddenly felt herself being taken into the air and couldn't help but cry out. It turned out Zu An had already put his arm around her waist, flying into the air above the ocean.
When she felt his strong and warm arm, Shang Hongyu opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but didn’t in the end. She had just said that it was fine for siblings to hold hands. If she now went back on her word, that would only make things more awkward.
Zu An was incredibly fast. They left the restaurant customers behind in the blink of an eye. Shang Hongyu gave him instructions along the way, so they were able to reach the cave in the cliff quickly.
1. Traditional Chinese martial arts weapons that look like thin metal rods with spiked tips. ☜
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