Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 197 - 181: My Contribution is Significant_1

Chapter 197: Chapter 181: My Contribution is Significant_1

The two brothers of the Li family were both firm and resolute, swift and decisive individuals. After treating his wounds, Li Yan headed directly for the direction of the canal.

Li Xuan employed the Water Style technique and submerged into the water.

The residence of the Dragon King would naturally not be at the river’s bottom. Otherwise, the brutal naval battles during the founding of the Jin Dynasty would have already collapsed these palatial residences of the Dragon Kings.

According to Li Xuan’s knowledge, most of these Dragon Kings construct their palaces in expansive underwater caves, then using offerings from the mortal world, they transform them into entities like the Underground, almost half independent from the world.

However, the entrances to these Dragon Palaces are all underwater.

This is because Jiao Dragons can’t be separated from the water, for their strength severely wanes otherwise. The saying ’dragons in shallow waters are ridiculed by shrimps’ is not merely a folk saying.

Only those True Dragons who have ascended to the heavenly level can roam above the nine heavens.

Following the location in his memory, Li Xuan arrived in front of a wordless stele, which was about thirty feet high, then he bowed with his fists: "Li Xuan of the Earl Chengyi’s mansion has come to pay respect to the Dragon King! I kindly request the Dragon King to take the time to meet."

The first to emerge from the stele, however, was the head of a giant turtle.

"Someone from the Earl Chengyi’s mansion?"

It looked Li Xuan up and down: "A face I’ve never seen before, but this aura, this bloodline, is indeed the descendant of Li Lexing. You must be Li Chengji’s second son, Li Xuan, right? I’ve heard of you. Young man, what brings you here? The Dragon King is busy. If it’s not anything urgent, you’d best not disturb him. You can just talk to me."

Li Xuan was thinking that this must be the so-called ’tortoise minister,’ and there must indeed be a reason behind the folk tales.

"It’s about the impending rebellion of Lin Ziyang, the Zhenjiang Zongbing."

Li Xuan noticed that the giant turtle’s pupils shrank abruptly, but he kept a calm face: "I bear the orders of the second prince of the current dynasty and the Ministry of War of Nanjing, to seek the assistance of the Dragon King."

The giant turtle sighed lightly: "Lin Ziyang? The day has finally come, you may come in."

The stele turned into a giant door at this moment.

Without hesitation, Li Xuan stepped into it. The sights before him were naturally different from what he had seen of the Dragon Palace in TV dramas.

The buildings here were grand and of an exquisite style. Notably, every hall had round holes in its four walls that looked like snake holes.

The space inside was expansive as well, and Li Xuan couldn’t see the end at first glance.

—Out of courtesy, he didn’t dare use his Tao-protecting Eyes to look around.

The giant turtle, fully appeared before him at this moment: "Follow me! It’s right ahead."

Its body was a whopping half an acre in size, and it was now swaying its tail, making its way towards a grand hall.

"This time it’s about your potential father-in-law." The giant turtle sighed softly: "He is now running around this river, looking for Golden Abalones, tiger monsters, Dragon Alligators from three hundred years ago. He has made our turtle species live in fear."

Li Xuan realized who the tortoise minister was talking about and couldn’t help shaking his head: "Uncle Jiang is not my father-in-law, and he is looking for Golden Abalones, what does it have to do with you?"

"He said that if there were no Golden Abalones, an Origin Turtle from three hundred years ago would also suffice."

The giant turtle shivered all over, looking terrified: "I was previously lured over by the bait he placed, and heard him say it with my own ears. He even mentioned your name several times. Isn’t he your father-in-law? It’s strange, why is he so good to you?"

Li Xuan found it tedious to explain, he ended the topic directly: "I will discuss this matter with Uncle Jiang."

The giant turtle seemed quite pleased, and at this point, it had brought Li Xuan to the front of the grand hall. As it extended a claw and knocked on the door, a male voice, panting as if exhausted and full of impatience, came from inside.

"What is it? Don’t you know I’m busy?"

Whether or not it was an illusion, Li Xuan heard a few gasps of seductive breath and thunderous rumbling noises from inside.

"Your Highness, a representative from the Earl Chengyi’s mansion is here." The giant turtle said casually: "He bears the edict of the second prince of the current dynasty, and the order of the Ministry of War of Nanjing, and has come to borrow troops to quell the rebellion of Lin Ziyang."

"Has that guy Lin Ziyang finally rebelled?"

The man’s voice suddenly escalated by an octave: "Wait a little longer for me to finish these official duties. I’ll be out soon, huff, puff - two moments, at most, an hour!"

Half a moment later, the door of the hall was opened.

An odd scent immediately gushed out from within, forming a gust of wind that brushed against Li Xuan’s face. That familiar smell of milk caused him a sense of disarray.

Then he saw inside the hall, massive snake tracks. There must have been two giant snakelike creatures, leaving these marks as they twisted and squeezed here.

The point was, there were some suspicious white fluids inside the hall —

Li Xuan’s facial expression was extremely peculiar, but in the end, he still directed his gaze at a middle-aged man standing above, wearing a five-Chapter robe and with a face full of beard.

"Li Xuan from the Liudao Division who slays demons, greets Your Highness, the Dragon King."

The Dragon King cleared his throat, and asked with great dignity, "You are here for Lin Ziyang of Zhenjiang, do you have a warrant?"

Li Xuan pulled out the warrant from his sleeve and held it in front of him. The middle-aged man on the throne beckoned and took it from him.

"There is indeed the seal of the second prince, entrusted by the Emperor to inspect the defenses of Jiangnan, along with the defense seal of the Ministry of War in Nanjing."

Quickly closing the warrant, the Dragon King looked troubled: "But this matter is difficult to handle, the edict just allows you to act as you see fit during the investigation and draw a thousand elite soldiers from the local garrisons as needed. It isn’t clearly stated that you could borrow troops from me. If the Court were to hold you accountable afterwards, this warrant might not be a sufficient excuse."

"The situation necessitates flexibility."

Li Xuan calmly greeted with a salute, "Your Highness, if Jiangsu and Zhejiang fall into disarray, trade within the region of the Yangtze River likely to be affected. Especially the water transportation, which could completely cease for the next year or so. Please assist us in view of the livelihood of the populous in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as countless lives along the runnel banks!"

He then cast a sideways glance, gesturing to the old tortoise.

The latter, suddenly perturbed, exclaimed, "Your Highness! As we possess the second prince’s warrant, it would justify our actions. If trouble stirs in Zhenjiang, our income from the Dragon Palace will likely reduce to one-tenth. When Lin Ziyang rebelled, others could stand idly by, but Your Highness cannot. Have you forgotten how many times that man dressed as a thief and robbed our protected merchant ships?"

The Dragon King silently glared at the giant tortoise, wondering what was wrong with this old tortoise. Usually it was steady and sensible, but today it quickly spilled the beans. Good gracious, he had wanted to hold back a bit and ask for a favor from the Earl Chengyi mansion.

Feeling helpless, the Dragon King could only sigh, "Forget it! You always exploit righteousness to pressure others. Just tell me, what do you want me to do? Well —"

The Dragon King suddenly became alert and his face changed, "Hold on! You, stay right there, don’t move!"

His body transformed, taking the shape of a massive dragon nearly 130 feet long, and his great dragon head approached Li Xuan to take a closer sniff.

Then, as if he had seen something incredibly terrifying, he quickly recoiled his dragon form, his eyes filled with disbelief, "Is it the scent of that woman? You’ve have contact with her? No, this scent... is she about to resurface? She’s coming out soon!"

Li Xuan was wondering who the woman he was referring to was. He saluted, "Your Highness, may I ask...?"

Ignoring him, the man who had transformed back into his middle-aged form paced anxiously atop the throne steps.

"What to do? What should we do? She’s coming out soon! How can she surface this early? I thought she was going to be suppressed for five hundred years, but it’s only been five Wood Rat years."

The tortoise minister was confused at first, yet soon it seemed to understand, "Are you referring to the one from Poyang Lake?"

Its gaze upon the Dragon King turned sympathetic, "Your Highness’s cultivation hasn’t advanced at all in the past three hundred years, and your body is very weak. If she were to find out, she’ll surely apply family law to you. I have advised you many times over these years to spend a little time on important matters, but you’ve never listened."

"Is not giving birth an important task? I’ve produced seven Jiao Dragons in three hundred years, my contribution to the prosperity of our Ao family can’t be underestimated, what does an old tortoise like you know? Even my ancestors praise me, saying that I’m very fertile and have a knack for producing offspring. If all the dragons in the world worked as hard as me, there much would be more than tens of true dragons in our Ao family."

The Dragon King’s voice rose sharply, and then he started banging his head against the wall in distress, "I’m done! I’m done! She would never reason with me, I need to go into seclusion! There’s still time, I can do it! I can."

Listening to this, Li Xuan couldn’t help but interject with a peculiar expression, "Your Highness, Lin Ziyang’s rebellion —"

"I currently don’t have the time to worry about whether he rebels or not!"

The Dragon King waved his sleeves impatiently, but then he stopped, "Wait!"

He looked at Li Xuan, his eyes reflecting doubt, "That female dragon, how did her divine seal end up on you, a mere mortal?"

As if he had thought of something, the Dragon King’s demeanor changed, and he looked at Li Xuan with a friendly smile, "Li Xuan, my dear... dear brother! What do you need this foolish brother of yours to do? Feel free to command me."