Chapter 2223: Heart-to-Heart
Chapter 2223: Heart-to-Heart
Shang Hongyu had removed almost all of the ornaments she normally wore on her head, leaving behind only a small white flower decoration. Her eyes were a bit red, as if she had just cried. Her beautiful eyes were full of emotion to begin with, and now that it was paired with the bit of sadness in her expression, there was something of a delicate and shattered air about her that would make others unable to help but feel a sense of pity from deep within.
“Big sis~” Shang Liuyu quickly got up to move away from Zu An, as if she had been caught in an affair with her brother-in-law. Even though he wasn’t the real Dragon King, his and her big sister’s ‘activities’ were too fresh in her mind, preventing her from really treating him as her brother-in-law.
But I was clearly first…
Pah! Pah! What am I thinking? We're clearly siblings!
“Your current appearance is…” As he looked at Shang Hongyu, Zu An was a bit confused, but his eyes were filled with shock.
Shang Hongyu sighed deeply. “We publicly announced the death of the Dragon King, and I am the queen, after all. I have to arrange a funeral for him, and I've been busy with that the entire time.”
Zu An thought to himself, So that was what happened. No wonder she's in a widow getup.
“You seem to have cried too,” Zu An said as he noticed her slightly red eyes.
Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. “For better or for worse, I am known as a virtuous queen. Now that my husband has died, am I supposed to laugh in front of everyone? Of course I have to show them that I am a bit sad. Do you think that since I can even act out these kinds of emotions, I'm a bad woman?”
Shang Liuyu coughed lightly and said, “I’m still here! Can the two of you go somewhere else to have these kinds of talks?”
Her big sister’s words sounded as if she was scared of her lover misunderstanding her or something. She really was something!
Shang Hongyu smiled and took her sister into her arms. “You’re not even an outsider. Who was it that was leaning into his arms in front of the entire Ocean races just now?”
“I’m going to die from embarrassment!” Shang Liuyu couldn't take it anymore and pinched her big sister’s waist. The two sisters quickly began to fight with each other noisily.
Zu An smiled as he watched them. These two sisters were both pretty. Even a fight between them was a delightful sight.
Shang Liuyu was still weak, so how could she be a match for her big sister? She was quickly subdued. Shang Hongyu exclaimed, Little sis, you still have a ways to go!”
“Ah Zu, look at how she's…” Shang Liuyu was being pressed against the bed by her sister's arms. Her current posture really wasn’t that of a graceful lady. The sisters’ clothes were a mess and she couldn't help but reveal a bit too much at times. In the end, she wasn’t as open-minded as her big sister and could only beg for assistance.
Zu An advised in a timely manner, “She was injured and is still weak, so her body can’t take too much. You should get up quickly.”
Shang Hongyu couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. “Just how many days has it been, and yet you’re already speaking up for her? I’m suddenly feeling like an outsider here.”
Even though that was what she said, she still got off her little sister for fear of really accidentally hurting her.
Shang Liuyu got up and sorted out her messy clothes. She couldn't help but retort, “I was clearly first.”
“Ah Zu, did you hear that? She admitted to it,” Shang Hongyu said with a smile, as if her scheme had succeeded.
Shang Liuyu finally realized what was going on and was really embarrassed. “What are you saying? I meant that I met him first, which is a fact!”
“Yeah, sure, sure.” Shang Hongyu didn’t argue back and looked back and forth at the two of them.
“I’m not going to argue with the two of you anymore. I’m going to take a bath first.” Shang Liuyu didn’t even dare to look into Zu An’s eyes and left in a hurry.
When he saw her act flustered, Zu An couldn't help but laugh. She was clearly normally calm and carefree, and yet she became much more sensitive in front of her big sister. Was this the natural dominance a big sister had over her little sister?
“So the two of you still haven't had that happy ending yet?” Shang Hongyu couldn't help but ask mockingly when she saw how startled her little sister was.
“Big sis Shang and I are completely pure and innocent. You better not say random things,” Zu An replied.
“Pure and innocent?” Shang Hongyu laughed as if she had heard something really funny. “The way you carried her out from the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons really looked as if she had just lost her chastity and couldn't move.”
Zu An was speechless.
“Don’t look at me with that kind of shocked expression. I was definitely not the only one who thought that back then. Otherwise, why do you think there were so many people who were unhappy with you?” Shang Hongyu sighed deeply. “Who knows how many men of the Ocean races have dreamed of my little sister, and yet she ended up being ‘defiled’ by you. How could they not panic?”
“She'd just experienced a serious battle and exhausted herself, plus she suffered some other injuries. Just what were you all thinking?” Zu An retorted in annoyance.
“But back then, little sis really looked like that, okay? It’s not as if I didn’t experience it before…” Shang Hongyu mumbled. No one could tell what she was thinking about, but her face became completely red. The white clothes made her look even more alluring.
Zu An was speechless.
“By the way, little sis calls me 'big sis', and you call her 'big sis'. Then shouldn’t you call me 'big sis' too?” Shang Hongyu thought of something interesting and a huge smile appeared on her face.
“I don’t want to.” Zu An immediately refused.
“I knew that you were a bad guy. You always make me call you 'big brother' when we’re doing that…” Shang Hongyu shot him a look, but there was no anger in her voice at all. Instead, there was endless charm in her voice.
Zu An was also a bit worked up and immediately took her into his arms. He had to admit that Shang Hongyu’s body really was soft. No matter what part it was, it was always like cotton.
Shang Hongyu’s eyes became misty. She bit her red lip gently and gently pushed him away, saying, “I’m wearing these clothes right now, so it’s not appropriate.” fr𝚎𝚎𝚠𝚎𝔟𝚗𝚘v𝚎𝔩.𝔠𝚘m
Zu An thought to himself, Are you looking down on the fetishes of my past world? The seductive power of this kind of outfit could rank in the top three, if not number one!
But he knew that there were more important matters to take care of. He collected his thoughts and asked, “Are you feeling broken-hearted now that the Dragon King has died?”
“I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel anything at all. We were still married for so many years. Even if we didn’t love each other, we still shared some affection.” Shang Hongyu sighed. “But if you were to talk about being broken-hearted, then I wouldn't go that far. You know how we kept to ourselves over the years. Rather than calling us a married couple, we were more like partners.”
Zu An nodded. “Then I should tell you everything that really happened in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons…”
Shang Hongyu grew serious. She naturally knew that what they'd told the public was definitely not the entire truth. She just didn’t know how much he had been hiding.
Zu An told her everything that had happened from start to finish. Apart from the few secrets that involved the Necropolis Emperor that would bring her danger if she knew, he told her everything else.
Shang Hongyu’s eyes sparkled as she listened. She'd never expected him to have encountered so many things. Everyone had always been puzzled as to why Zu An was able to have such incredible cultivation despite being so young. But just a few days of his life were already much more dazzling than what countless people experienced in their entire lives.
When he talked about the underworld, she was completely stunned. She was the Ocean races' queen for better or for worse, and she was quite the talented person who had experienced many things ever since she was young. And yet compared to Zu An, it was completely insignificant in comparison.
But when she heard that the Dragon King’s soul had appeared on the stage, her excitement immediately cooled down. Then, when she heard about the Dragon King’s end, she became completely quiet.
“Even though there was a reason for it, I was the one who killed him. I felt I couldn't hide that from you,” Zu An said seriously. After all, since the other side was sincere, he had to to return the sincerity.
Shang Hongyu remained silent for a while. In the end, she said with a sigh, “I thought that even though the Dragon King was a bit frivolous and had some strange addictions, he was still an outstanding hero after all. I didn’t expect his death to be so unsightly.”
“Hell is a place of suffering, after all. To a certain degree, his actions are still understandable,” Zu An replied.
Shang Hongyu shook her head. “For the sake of his own prospects, he abandoned the entire Ocean races and ignored the safety of the world, and colluded with those monsters. I don’t think I would do something like that. I believe that you wouldn’t either.”
Zu An said seriously, “That’s right. Why would I sacrifice all of the world’s beings to satisfy my own desires?”
Shang Hongyu’s expression gradually became firm. “I was still a bit conflicted at first. Even though the Dragon King used to womanize and thatangered me, I was still his queen. When I did that with you… Even though it was to fool those monsters and I had no choice, I still felt as if I let him down. But if I had known he was that kind of person, back then, I…”
Her eyes couldn't help but grow red, but she was worried that Zu An would think that she was saying this to free herself of responsibility, and that couples ought to abandon each other in the face of disaster. At the same time, she couldn't suppress the pent-up frustrations she felt inside. She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for herself. In the end, it was fate that had toyed with her.
Zu An felt a bit apologetic and gently helped her wipe away the tears from her cheek. “I shouldn’t have told you about these things and made you feel so conflicted.”
“What is there to feel conflicted about?” Shang Hongyu actually felt a bit relieved. “The ones who killed the Dragon King were the Lord of Myriad Transformations and the Skin-Flaying King. You even killed them to get revenge for the Dragon King. As for the one in the underworld, it was nothing more than a warped soul that had suffered in Hell. He wasn’t my husband.”
Zu An was stunned, but then he smiled in relief. “It seems I was the one who was too inflexible here.”