Chapter 2128: Infiltrating Inside
Chapter 2128: Infiltrating Inside
Of course, the reasoning wasn’t actually just that simple. He had actually tested out the fake Dragon King several times along the way. He'd made sure to ask him about the events in the capital. After all, that was the first time he really had interacted with the Dragon King.
There wasn’t anything really wrong about the other things he said, but the reason for why the matter had been left unsettled was wrong. At the time, the Dragon King really had been planning to fight, but because the queen next to him said something, and because of Zu An's relationship with Shang Liuyu, the Dragon King had ultimately decided not to.
Of course, he hadn't really been able to voice that reason publicly, and so the excuse he'd provided was that he didn’t want to ruin the two races’ morale and cause them to go to war. The truth was something only he, the real Dragon King, and the queen knew about. Sure enough, the fake Dragon King had exposed himself there.
Later, Zu An had tried to confirm it again. He'd used the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer to pretend to be Shang Hongyu in order to call him an imposter. Sure enough, the imposter immediately had a guilty conscience and attacked to silence him, the one who knew the truth.
What else was there to say then? Zu An just had to kill him after that. Of course, explaining all of that would be too complicated, so he just casually responded instead.
However, Shang Hongyu was stunned when she heard that. Then, she stared at him in a daze, her expression turning blank.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Zu An showed off his clothes after they were properly put on. “So? Is there anything weird?”
“No... Nothing is wrong?” Shang Hongyu’s face was red. She looked down, feeling slightly alarmed. Then, she snapped out of her daze and came over to examine it for him. “Alright, it’s pretty much perfect. Later, just act like how I taught you, and no one else will be able to tell that you’re a fake.”
“Then let’s go out now.” Zu An held her hand.
Shang Hongyu took a deep breath. She voiced her agreement, and after sorting out her emotions, she then started to walk out.
...
When the two of them left the cave, the guards noticed the activity and turned around. “We greet the Dragon...”
When they saw Shang Hongyu, they were completely stunned.
What is going on?
“She has already recognized her wrongs and is willing to serve this ruler. The Ocean races cannot lack a queen,” Zu An said curtly.
The reason these individuals had been chosen by the fake Dragon King to come here meant that they were his true trusted aides. They could have come from the same place.
The guards exchanged a look. The guard leader said hesitantly, “But...”
Zu An raised his hand. “Don’t worry, she is already under my control. Nothing will happen.”
He made sure to remember this individual’s face. It seemed there was indeed something wrong with these people.
A group of people flew over toward them, and the one in the lead was none other than Ao Yong. He just hadn't been able to hold back his worry, and in the end, he decided to come over and take a look. The others had also noticed that the Dragon King’s aura seemed to have activated twice, which seemed a bit strange, so they'd also come over to see what happened.
The suspicious leader of the guards thus shut his mouth and swallowed his words.
But when Ao Yong saw Shang Hongyu at Zu An’s side, joy immediately burst from his eyes. He exclaimed, “Queen, did anything bad happen to you?”
Zu An gave him a surprised look.
This guy really does have some feelings for his sister-in-law!
Shang Hongyu forced a smile. She shook her head.
Ao Yong’s eyes then landed on Zu An’s hand that was holding Shang Hongyu’s. His expression immediately became extremely complicated.
You have successfully trolled Ao Yong for +520 +520 +520...
Zu An was about to laugh from how ridiculous this was. He hadn’t expected Shang Hongyu to be so charming that she would have a brother-in-law who liked her this much all this time.
Why didn’t she tell me ahead of time?
Zu An then said, “There was a bit of a misunderstanding between me and the queen before. The reason the bounty was placed on her was so that we could find her as quickly as possible. Now that the misunderstanding has already been cleared, the bounty naturally needs to be removed. My queen, if you had explained everything properly earlier, I wouldn’t have had to go this far.”
Shang Hongyu’s face turned a bit pale. She said, “I’ve troubled your majesty deeply.”
Everyone listening had strange expression.
What are you two playing at right now?
Back then, you ordered for her arrest as if you wanted to kill her as soon as possible, but now it was all just a misunderstanding?
Are we all just actors in your marriage play?
But this was still a good thing. Because of this arrest order, the Ocean races had almost been turned on their head. After all, the queen was beautiful and gentle, so she had accumulated a lot of prestige over the years. She had many loyal supporters too. Now that everyone was happy, there was naturally nothing better.
The Ocean race officials looked around and asked, “Is your majesty alright? We sensed that your respected self seemed to have experienced a battle.”
“Where is that human?”
...
Zu An said indifferently, “That human arranged many formations inside and plotted against this ruler. He has already been killed.”
The subjects looked at each other in dismay, wondering if that human had gone mad. Why would he try to fight against the powerful Dragon King single-handedly? Even if he had prepared formations, that would still be no different from seeking his own destruction!
But everyone present was intelligent. They realized that this affair was full of suspicious points, so that human had probably already been silenced by the Dragon King.
What really happened between the Dragon King and the queen? Why are the things that have happened recently so confusing?
When he saw their expressions, Zu An pointed at the cut by his clothes. “That human hid his strength, and he used the power of the formations. This ruler really was almost injured.”
Sure enough, most of their attention was drawn to that.
“Hm? He was actually able to harm your majesty’s clothes? His cultivation is already quite impressive.”
“For him to be so good at formations, could he be someone from the human side’s academy?”
“Hmph, the humans are getting more and more out of hand. Last time, they killed a Great Golden Dragon, and this time, they tried to assassinate his majesty. Do they really think that we of the Ocean races are pushovers?”
...
When he saw that their attention was successfully diverted, Zu An sighed in relief and said, “You should return to the palace first. I am going to spend some time with the queen nearby.”
He definitely couldn't return with these guys. After all, he couldn't just sweep everyone around him right to the Dragon Palace with the power of the sea like the real Dragon King. Even though he could achieve a similar result with his power and the Blue Mallard skill, there were so many strong cultivators here. They would definitely sense that the skill was different. He couldn't take that risk.
The others were hesitant.
“But...”
Zu An frowned. At the same time, he put his arm around Shang Hongyu’s waist and took her into his arms, asking, “Do you wish to hear our intimate talk between husband and wife?”
“We wouldn’t dare!” All of the subjects laughed in embarrassment.
That makes sense. The two of them already experienced such a huge drama, so they ought to chat with each other to smooth things over.
Shang Hongyu said, “Thank you for your care, all of my beloved officials. These things have inconvenienced everyone.”
Compared to the imposter that was Zu An, she was the real queen. Her interaction with her subjects was smooth and easy.
“My queen speaks too severely.” The subjects all quickly responded courteously to give her a way out.
The queen really is just as lovely as always. Having her continue serving as the queen will naturally be better than those other pretty and flirtatious women.
Only then did Zu An carry Shang Hongyu in his arms and gradually leave.
The Dragon King’s personal guards exchanged a look. Then, the guard leader took a few others to enter the cave and check again. Sure enough, they saw traces of a battle, as well as the leftover clothing the human had worn. Apart from that, there was nothing strange, which finally put them at ease.
Outside the cave, many Ocean race elders sighed as they looked at the two departing figures. “That is how the Dragon King always carried the queen. It seems like they really have made up already.”
Everyone present had gratified looks. Only Ao Yong alone clenched his fists so tightly that his nails were about to dig into his flesh when he saw the two hug so intimately.
You have successfully trolled Ao Yong for +555 +555 +555...
When he saw the huge amount of Rage points coming in through the backend, Zu An laughed involuntarily. He secretly said to Shang Hongyu, “That brother-in-law seems to like you quite a bit.”
Shang Hongyu grinned and replied, “There are many in the Ocean races who like me. Please don’t mind them too much.” Then, she sighed and said, “Actually, it’s not that I didn’t sense how Ao Yong felt before, but back then, he kept it rather controlled. Recently, for some reason, he doesn’t seem to be hiding it all that much anymore.”
“Could it maybe be because you used to be a queen, but then you became a wanted criminal, so that’s why he felt as if he had a chance?” Zu An asked with a chuckle.
“Perhaps.” Shang Hongyu quickly added, “But I’ve never treated him any differently in the slightest.”
“Are you scared that I’ll get jealous?” Zu An asked with a smile.
“Hmph, aren’t you the one who's my husband right now?” Shang Hongyu clung to his arm and leaned against him. They looked no different from a real married couple as Zu An took Shang Hongyu away from the small island. Wherever they went, the ocean waters parted.
There had been some Ocean race ministers who still weren’t at ease, but when they saw that, they said, “As expected of the Dragon King!”
Zu An said to Shang Hongyu, “Judging from what just happened earlier, there seem to be issues with the Dragon King’s personal guards. I wonder which officials are the fake Dragon King’s henchmen.”
“It seems quite a few of those guys in the Dragon Palace have been swapped out. We might need to investigate secretly and carefully, and we absolutely cannot alert them and scare them off.” Shang Hongyu’s expression was grave. She couldn't tell who was loyal and who wasn’t right now either.
Zu An frowned. “It's one thing that the other side could pretend to be the fake Dragon King, but how could they switch out so many people in the Dragon Palace?”
That level of ability was just too ridiculous. Just a single person being switched out was already a huge headache, but there were so many of them?
“It might not be all of them who can disguise themselves so easily. As far as I could tell, many of the guards were strangers to me. The fake Dragon King disbanded the others at his side and changed them out for his own people. Of course, there are also some that I recognize, and I don’t know if they were switched out. We can’t let them find out what we did,” Shang Hongyu reminded him. “Also, we don’t know how many of those officials might also be on their side.”
When he sensed her deep worry, Zu An held her tightly and said, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Shang Hongyu’s mood immediately improved a lot when she sensed the strength from the crook of his arm. She took the chance to lean in against him. The two strolled around leisurely for a while. After they discussed some more details of their plan, they figured that they'd wandered around for long enough. They dove into the sea and rushed toward the Dragon Place.
When she saw the waters around them part, forming a safe space for the two of them, Shang Hongyu was a bit surprised, asking, “Are you really not from the Ocean races?”
“Why? Are you hoping that I'm from the Ocean races?” Zu An laughed. The woman in his arm was soft and smelled amazing, making the trip much more enjoyable.
“Of course. If you were from the Ocean races, even if the real Dragon King was here, he’d have no choice but to yield the position of King of the Ocean races to you,” Shang Hongyu said with a sigh. Whenever she was around Zu An, she would sometimes feel like she already understood him well enough, only to suddenly be shocked again by something new.
“But then you wouldn’t be the queen anymore,” Zu An teased.
“That’s hard to say.” Shang Hongyu blinked. “Aren’t we husband and wife right now?”
Zu An was a bit stirred inside.
This woman really knows how to provoke me.
“Normal married couples sleep with each other.” Zu An decided to retaliate, or else she could go even further.
“Haven’t we slept together every day as of late?” Shang Hongyu’s face reddened. It was hard for her to hide her embarrassment.
Zu An was speechless. He eventually replied, “Sleeping together isn't the same as sleeping with each other.”
“Oh my, you were actually going after that!” Shang Hongyu looked at him with shock. In the end, she sighed and said, “If you really wanted it, how could others stop you? I’m relying on you for everything, so how can I refuse you?” She had a teary-eyed and pitiful look on her face.
Zu An knew that she was faking it, but he still couldn't take it. “Enough, enough. You really are putting on quite the realistic act. Am I the type to take advantage of someone’s difficulties?”
“That’s what I thought too.” Shang Hongyu’s tears turned into smiles. She blinked her large eyes and looked at him with an extremely bright and moving expression.
Zu An was speechless.
The two of them frequently went back and forth like this and never seemed to get tired of it, but they both tacitly agreed to preserve that bottom line. They didn’t truly dive into the deep end.
...
The two unwittingly arrived outside the Dragon Palace. They could feel a faint resistance from the water region ahead of them, as if it was stopping them from entering.
Shang Hongyu took out a token from her inner pocket. It was something that the fake Dragon King had carried on him. The token shone with a faint light, and then the formation in front of them seemed to sense something. The pressure instantly disappeared.
When the two entered the range of the Dragon Palace, Shang Hongyu returned the token and said, “When my arrest order was issued, my token’s authority was removed. Once you return, you have to give the order to reactivate it.”
“Of course.” As he sensed the different formations all around him in the air, Zu An was a bit amazed. There was an ancient and profound aura all around. Even with his current achievements in formations, he still couldn't see through the principles at all. He remarked, “I didn’t expect the Ocean races to have such a profound understanding of formation arts.”
Shang Hongyu replied, “These are all formations left behind from ancient times. The Ocean races have only continued to maintain their operations through the prescribed instructions. Many of the formation principles have already been lost. If these formations break, no one will know how to repair them and they can only be abandoned in place.”
Zu An thought to himself for a bit. The Ocean races’ background seemed to run even deeper than he imagined. There was something else that really caught his attention, which was that the ancient era's Ocean races were even more powerful than the current ones. Many of those formations had even been preserved until now despite the current Ocean races not understanding them. But that wasn’t something unique to the Ocean races.
The humans and fiends also had many legends from ancient times, and they all seemed to be stronger than the present era. However, that didn’t line up with the pattern of civilizational growth! After all, as civilizations continued to exist, they would only make further progress on the foundations of their predecessors, thus becoming more and more developed. Why had they declined instead?
“We pay our respects to your majesty and her highness!” Respectful voices interrupted Zu An’s thinking.
A group of maids welcomed them at the entrance. It was obvious that the Ocean races’ officials and guards had already returned to the Dragon Palace and informed everyone about the two of them. Zu An couldn't help but give the maids a second look. Their skin was especially fair, and their features were good. He wondered just what races they were from.
“Stop gawking at them already, they’re clam ladies,” Shang Hongyu sent an annoyed voice transmission.
Zu An was stunned. No wonder the Dragon King went over to the clam ladies’ race to hunt. If even normal clam ladies were so cute, wouldn’t the real beauties of the Clam race be absolute goddesses? However, he naturally wasn’t jealous of the Dragon King and quickly retracted his gaze. He headed in with Shang Hongyu.
Then, the Dragon Palace prepared a feast as a way of welcoming the Mermaid Queen’s return, as well as celebrating their reconciliation.
Fortunately, they had already practiced the corresponding etiquette before. At the same time, Shang Hongyu secretly told Zu An about the officials that were present. He then skillfully responded and acted without missing any details.
At first, Shang Hongyu was a bit worried. After all, practice was practice, but reality was different. No matter how well one practiced, it was still easy to make mistakes in the real deal. But she hadn’t expected Zu An to perform so well, as if this wasn’t the first time he had done such a thing. It was so good that even she couldn't tell that he was the fake one.
Unlike the human nobles who enjoyed seeing women perform dances, the Ocean races’ nobles liked to go down and dance themselves.
Soon, it was time to invite dancing partners. A beautiful madam walked up to Zu An and raised her skirt. She had an alluring smile on her face as she invited him for a dance. Zu An remembered that Shang Hongyu had introduced this woman as the duchess of an Ocean race, a famous beauty whom countless men dreamed about.
But Zu An refused and said, “For an occasion like today, I would rather dance with the queen.”
Warm laughter resounded from all around. Even though this didn’t match the Dragon King’s usual behavior, no one doubted him for his choice today.
The duchess was a bit stunned, but a smile quickly returned to her face. “But of course, it was I who was too rude. But I hope that this humble one can take a turn after the queen and accompany your majesty in the second dance.”