Face-Slapping the White Lotus Merman (2.3)
There was another prayer mat next to the monk. Zhou Xu sat cross-legged, his blue robe fanned out on the floor. It distinctly contrasted with the dilapidated and gloomy interior of the tent; as if one was from heaven and the other from hell.
Zhou Xu ponderingly looked at the person in front of him, but he felt something strange as he looked. He had seemingly met this person in the previous world; what was his name?
Ye Qi?
Right, it was Ye Qi, the emperor’s number one shadow guard. He died too early during a mission.
Tens of years had passed and Zhou Xu had almost forgotten his name.
“This humble monk is Xu Yuan. Dare I ask for Young Master’s name?” Xu Yuan’s eyes opened. He had delicate features. His dark pupils seemed to contain something that had been accumulating for a thousand years. Zhou Xu did not know what it was, but he could feel its heaviness.
He blanked for a bit. Zhou Xu felt that this could not be the simple and slow Ye Qi; his eyes definitely would not show this sort of heaviness.
“Zhou Xu”
“Turning up uninvited, what matters does Brother Zhou have?”
“Observing your character.”
“If it is good?”
“Then I’ll help you revolt.”
“Otherwise?”
“I’ll kill you then find someone better.”
“Since Brother Zhou wanted to first check this humble monk’s character before deciding to help or not, why do you not revolt by yourself to benefit the common people?”
“Because I don’t care about the common people. Even if I help you, it is for my own selfish desire.”
“Able to benefit the common people while satisfying your own selfish desire, what is wrong with that?”
“I’ll repeat myself. I don’t care for the common people of this world hence after I reach my goal, I will have no interest in this world’s matters.”
The two silently faced each other. Xu Yuan lightly sighed, “What does Brother Zhou think of this humble monk’s character?”
Zhou Xu faintly smiled, “I don’t know, but I’ve decided to help you no matter what your character is like.”
“Why?”
“In memory of a former subordinate.”
While Zhou Xu and Xu Yuan had officially joined hands, An Si and Zhao Shuxuan had begun to prepare to move.
Ming Chi followed their group, but besides at places where he needed to show his face, he normally did not appear; once he did, he would see An Si and Zhao Shuhuan flirting with each other as if there was no one else around. He disliked this kind of people who disregarded their surroundings to be intimate.
Ming Chi was growing impatient. He realised that until now, he had not seen Zhou Xu. If this continued, he may go directly to the south seas’ Dragon King’s palace.
Just when Ming Chi wanted to give up, An Si finally said, “We really cannot go on. Shuxuan, the drought is too severe; if this continues, the human world will become even more chaotic.”
Zhao Shuxuan furrowed his brows, “But we can’t do anything about this natural disaster. If it doesn’t rain, how can we go on? The later half of this year will have no harvest; our rations may not be enough.”
An Si gently caressed Zhao Shuxuan’s forehead, feeling distressed as he said, “This is what I meant. Why don’t I return to the southern ocean for a bit. I heard that the Dragon Turtle has a piece of spiritual jade called the Thousand Year Chi that can summon wind and rain.”
Ming Chi heard “southern ocean” and suddenly regained his vigour, “I’m going too.”
Zhao Shuxuan shook his head, “An Si, you cannot return. The second prince will not let you off.”
“Nothing will happen. Even if they caught me, they cannot detain me. Have you forgotten that I’m a merman? Mermen can turn invisible and transform their bodies. The previous time they locked me in the deep sea prison, didn’t I still escape?” An Si somewhat proudly said.
Ming Chi went silent. He suddenly realised he went down the wrong path from the start. He should not have gone to find Zhao Shuxuan; directly looking for Zhou Xu would have been a better choice. It seemed that he had placed himself against Zhou Xu. For example, An Si’s purpose for going to the southern ocean was not to chat and reconcile with Zhou Xu, but to steal the southern ocean’s treasure.
He originally thought that Zhao Shuxuan and Zhou Xu were acquaintances since Zhou Xu did not kill him at that time, but he was now aware that he had been mistaken.
He always knew that he was not smart, but it was the first time Ming Chi felt that he was too stupid.
Ming Chi lept away, leaving Zhao Shuxuan and An Si dumbfounded as they looked at the figure flying in midair.
Naturally they did not know that Ke Yuanlin’s body was only being borrowed and more so they would not know that the body hosted the Devil King Ming Chi.
Ming Chi flew for a while before realising he was still in Ke Yuanlin’s body, hence he went back to leave Ke Yuanlin’s body behind.
Ke Yuanlin’s body was fixed by Ming Chi. Thus the original owner woke up after a while and realised he did not have any memory of the past year.
Zhao Shuxuan did not mind and briefed him on the current situation. He realised that the Ke Yuanlin who lost a year’s worth of memory seemed to be the real Ke Yuanlin.
Their goal was to allow the common people to lead better lives. Both of them had pretty much entered the gates of hell before so they had much for appreciation for life, but the fearless spirit they had at the start had also diminished.
An Si smiled faintly as he watched the two speak. He only opened his mouth when they finished, “Shuxuan, I think I will still take a trip to the southern ocean. Look, the great general and you both love the common people; I too want to do something for you.”
“But how would you obtain the Thousand Year Chi?”
An Si’s beautiful eyes seemed to hold a myriad of twinkling stars.
“Have you forgotten? I’m a merman and mermen can turn invisible freely so it’s not a problem for me to secretly take it. And after I succeed, it’s likely that no one would suspect me; I’ve left the southern ocean for over a year.”
“That Thousand Year Chi can really call rain?” Zhao Shuxuan asked.
“It should be true. I’ve heard some mermen talk about it before.”
Holding An Si’s hand tightly, Zhao Shuxuan’s expression was earnest as he said, “An Si, thank you. Charitable, kind-hearted and thoughtful; you really are amazing.”
After hearing his words, An Si slowly lowered his head as he blushed. An Si’s appearance made Zhao Shuxuan cannot help but pull him into his embrace, “I really like you too much, An Si.”
An Si’s eyes watered in an instant, “I like you too, Shuxuan. Don’t worry, I will definitely obtain the Thousand Year Chi for you and the common people.”
Mermen were, in fact, very amazing. Even in the southern ocean, apart from the Dragon clan, mermen were second to none. It was just that An Si was weaker compared to other mermen.
An Si’s father An Miao was not from the southern sea but the eastern ocean, and there he was like the second-in-command. An Si’s older brother was also very fierce in the eastern ocean. It was only An Si that did not properly cultivate from his youth and was spoiled to death. He was currently hundreds of years old, but his cultivation only matched that of a mermen of a hundred years old.
When he reached the southern ocean, An Si concealed his body. Apart from the Dragon clan, no one could see him.
An Si transformed his legs into a merman’s tail and quickly moved onward.
The Spirit Turtle lived at the west side of the Dragon King’s palace. In the past few millions of years, he had almost never left that area. His sleep could even last decades.
The Spirit Turtle’s back had an emerald green jade- this was the Thousand Year Chi.
Quietly entering the Spirit Turtle’s abode, An Si lightly walked to the side of the Spirit Turtle and realised that the Spirit Turtle’s body did not have any jade on it.
Could it be that the matter of the Thousand Year Chi being on the Spirit Turtle was a lie? An Si thought, “How could this be? Zhao Shuxuan was still waiting for him to obtain the Thousand Year Chi and rescue the people.”
The more he pondered, the more anxious he grew. An Si almost cried, his face was bright red from anxiety and he bit his lower lip. In the end, he hardened his heart and asked, “Grandpa Spirit Turtle . Hello, I am An Si.”
The Spirit Turtle unhurriedly extended his head. When he heard that the person speaking was An Si, his head shrank back into his shell as if he absolutely did not want to chat with An Si.
“Grandpa Spirit Turtle, come out. I want to seek your help for a matter.”
The Spirit Turtle kept absolutely still; his enormous body was like a mountain, towering and lofty.
“Grandpa Spirit Turtle, the human world is experiencing a great drought and the people are in misery. We cannot be impervious to others’ misfortunes and disasters. Grandpa Spirit Turtle, I heard that you have the Thousand Year Chi that can call rain and snow hence I want to request that you lend it to me. I will return it once I have used it.”
The Spirit Turtle still did not make any movement. In the quiet room, only An Si’s mournful weeping could be heard, “Grandpa Spirit Turtle, please think about it. If humans disappeared from the human world, our lives would also be difficult to lead. Moreover, the common people are all innocent; we cannot remain indifferent just because they have no relationship with us.”
The Spirit Turtle finally came out of his shell. He again looked at An Si, then answered in a hoarse voice, “If you had seen the Thousand Year Chi on my back when you came in, would you not have said a word and just taken it away?”
An Si froze. He nodded his head, “But it’s not that I intentionally did not want to tell you. I will return it after I’ve used it. I don’t have any bad intentions, I just want to save people.”
“Oh, I understand.” The Spirit Turtle’s head went back into its shell.
“Grandpa Spirit Turtle, I’m begging you. I really have no other way…. Ying ying ying….” An Si was so anxious that he started to cry and tears rolled down his face. He was like a tender and lovely flower, wrecked by the wind and rain; he looked beautiful yet pitiful.
“Taking without permission is an act of theft. An Si, considering that I am acquainted with your elders, I’ll advise you to quickly leave. When the Second Prince arrives, you won’t be able to leave even if you wanted to.” The Spirit Turtle spoke from within his shell.
At this moment, a cold voice sounded, “Too late, I’m already here.”
An Si was frightened as he looked at Zhou Xu who was leisurely walking in from the entrance. His facial expression changed to despair. He was far from being Zhou Xu’s opponent and in fact, he did not even match up to the Spirit Turtle either. At present, he could only hope that Zhou Xu would consider that his initial intentions were good and not bother about a small merman like him.
An Si was terrified and despairing. At this moment, a shadow slowly emerged. He was fully clothed in black and had a harsh air about him. But once he spoke, this air disappeared without a trace.
“Hello, I am Ming Chi. I entered with An Si as I had no other way of entering the Dragon King’s palace ”
An Si was shocked; he was completely ignorant of the fact that someone had been following him.
The Spirit Turtle slowly stuck out his head. He paused for a moment before speaking to Zhou Xu, “Second Prince, he is the Devil King which is why we did not feel his presence.”
Zhou Xu nodded and walked up to Ming Chi. He politely gifted him a word, “Scram.”
