by Dragon King
The bedroom in this small palace was luxurious, and there were two beds. The smaller bed was for a maid.
In the Dragon Palace, Hao Ren’s “rank” was lower than Zhao Yanzi’s, and he offered to sleep on the lower and smaller bed.
The rooms in the palace were well-tended even though they were seldom lived in. Premier Xia found the silence between them quite awkward and backed out of the palace quietly.
Hao Ren walked to the smaller bed and found it was made with incense wood. It was a piece of real antique furniture, much more valuable than those pieces of furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
However, Zhao Yanzi was used to sleep on a spring mattress and found it quite uncomfortable to sleep in such an ancient style bed. It would be a miracle if she could fall asleep in here.
“Fuma, Princess, dinner is ready!” Two girls’ voices sounded outside of the room.
Hao Ren walked over and opened the door. Two pretty maids stood there with platters in their hands. On the platters were beautiful sandalwood dinner boxes.
“Ok.” Hao Ren took the platters. When he saw they were still standing there, he waved at them. “You may go back.”
He walked back into the room and handed one platter to Zhao Yanzi.
Zhao Yanzi had been summoned from school by Zhao Guang before lunch and then she had been following Zhao Guang around the Dragon Palace. She was starving.
With a snort, she took the platter.
The dishes and desserts were traditional cuisines. Used to KFC and McDonald’s, Zhao Yanzi found the dishes, not to her taste. She picked some snakes to fill up her belly.
However, Hao Ren found the dishes unique. He savored the delicacies he sure couldn’t find on land. While he finished all the dishes, unsatisfied Zhao Yanzi gave him a dirty look.
“Give me your meal,” seeing Zhao Yanzi had stopped eating, Hao Ren said to her.
“Are you a pig?” Zhao Yanzi accused him immediately.
“I’m not a pig, but there’s a pig in the room,” Hao Ren said.
Zhao Yanzi pouted, “You insulted me!”
“I’m not bold enough to insult the princess.” With a smile, he took out Little White from his hidden space.
The moment Little White landed on the ground, it looked around cautiously. Seeing no danger, it began to roll around like in a circus performer.
“Damn! I’ll send you to a circus if you continue with these antics!” Hao Ren nudged its rump with his toes before placing Zhao Yanzi’s dinner box on the floor.
Smelling the aroma of the meat and vegetables, Little White pounced on the box and began devouring.
By now, Zhao Yanzi had known the “pig” Hao Ren mentioned was not her but Little White. Embarrassed, she gave Hao Ren a dirty look.
Like a pig, Little White devoured the meal in a few seconds!
Zhao Yanzi’s discarded food was not wasted; Little White helped her eat it.
With some food in its belly, Little White was again lively. With a happy grin, Zhao Yanzi clapped her hands at it. “Little White, come here!”
After all, she was a girl and couldn’t be sulky for long. Besides, the cute look of Little White was irresistible for girls.
Jumping up high, Little White leaped into her arms.
Zhao Yanzi laughed. Holding its paws, she began to play with it, ignoring Hao Ren.
“Hey! When will you resume tutoring?” Zhao Yanzi asked Hao Ren abruptly.
“Do you want me to continue tutoring you?” Hao Ren asked.
Zhao Yanzi pursed her lips. “I have lots of stuff that I don’t quite understand.”
“We’ll resume the tutoring session tomorrow. Ok?” Hao Ren said to her.
“Ok.” To his surprise, Zhao Yanzi nodded without hesitation.
“This girl… Really fell in love with studying?” Hao Ren looked at her in surprise.
“Let’s take Little White out for a walk!” Zhao Yanzi put Little White down and suggested suddenly.
She was bored of staying in the room the whole time.
She had been angry with Hao Ren because he ignored her question. Another reason was that he had not contacted her for a while. On second thought, she felt like she would be annoyed if he contacted her too frequently.
Little White skipped happily in front of them without any dignity of being a lion.
It was not long after the celebrations for Zhao Kuo’s success in passing the Heavenly Tribulation, and the Dragon Palace still had many decorations around the place. After the adjustments in the last couple of weeks, Zhao Yanzi was no longer that sad. Looking at the celebratory stuff, she became happy again.
Little White ran in front of them; it looked around curiously and would try to pat the things it never saw before with its paw.
When the Dragon Palace celebrated its holidays, and people would establish a temporary market on the east side of the palace. The maids, families of elders, and some off-duty soldiers would play the role of vendors.
The other people would be the customers of this temporary market. It was a kind of entertainment. Although the East Ocean Dragon Palace had plenty of resources, the market was set up to stave off boredom since many of the people in the palace couldn’t go up to land without permission.
Zhao Yanzi took Little White to the market. Since she rarely came to the Dragon Palace, many people didn’t know her, thinking that she was a family member of an elder.
Strings of lanterns hung on the street walls of the market, and the little shops and booths looked quite real. It was like a cosplay show.
Zhao Yanzi was quite at home in the market. She went to a middle-aged man wearing a torn cotton jacket and asked, “How much is one stick of the Tanghulu?”
(TL NOTE: Tanghulu is sugar-coated haws on a stick.)
“Three cents for one stick!” The man answered her with firmness.
Although he was wearing a torn cotton jacket, his hard muscles and crisp answer showed that he was, in fact, a guard of the Dragon Palace. This low-ranking guard had never met Zhao Yanzi, and it was natural that the guard didn’t recognize her as the princess.
“But I have no money…” Zhao Yanzi looked at him morosely.
“Well, in that case, it’s free.” The guard softened at her cute complaint. He plucked a stick of Tanghulu and handed it to Zhao Yanzi.
The purpose of their “business” was for entertainment instead of profits. People could take the things for free if they liked them.
“Thank you!” Zhao Yanzi said joyously.
“Hehe, no problem.” The man grinned before yelling, “Tanghulu!”
His yelling was so loud and crisp as if he was shouting orders. Oblivious to the fact that he had done a favor to the princess, he turned his gaze to the next customer, a kid of about eight years old.
The red lanterns lined both sides of the streets and the shops and the booths were full of boisterous crowds. Against the dark night, the bright lanterns and lively crowds gave Hao Ren the illusion that he was in an ancient market at the Lantern Festival!
He thought of the holiday activities on land and found that they had nothing traditional in them.
Biting into the Tanghulu, Zhao Yanzi walked happily. Little White looked up at her with greedy eyes, circling around her ankles.
“Haha! I’ll give you one!” In an excellent mood, Zhao Yanzi plucked a haw from the stick and tossed it to Little White.
Little White leaped up and caught it in its mouth. It landed on the ground, wagging its tail and looking more pleased than eating an Essence Replenishment Pill.
Besides food, the booths sold handcrafts which were personally made by the families of the elders. Every piece was pretty, and the materials were pearls and jades that were rarely seen on land.
Zhao Yanzi selected carefully and begged for two sets from the vendors. In fact, if she showed her identity, she could take whatever she wanted. But it would no longer be fun.
Hao Ren followed her around. Occasionally, they tried some snacks; in between they wandered in
to the clothes shop, diner, tea house, and pawnshop…
Although it was only a temporary traditional market, it felt more authentic than those so-called Cultural Streets on land.
Zhao Yanzi pulled Hao Ren with her when she happily visited each shop. Looking at her happy face, Hao Ren knew her sulkiness was long gone.
Boom!
When everyone was immersed in the lively atmosphere, the whole Dragon Palace suddenly shook violently.
“Enemies!” The guard selling Tanghulu yelled.
246 Coming back?!
Everyone was alarmed by his shout. At that moment, the second wave of shaking began.
The Dragon Palace shook so violently that the temporary booths collapsed one by one.
The items on the walls of the booth next to Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi fell to the ground.
Standing upright was difficult. Hao Ren pulled Zhao Yanzi into his arms to protect her from being pushed down by the frenzied crowd or being crushed by the falling items.
“Little White!” Hao Ren shouted.
Understanding Hao Ren’s intent, Little White immediately changed into its big version. Hao Ren pulled Zi up on Little White’s back and patted its rump. With flames appearing around its paws, Little White flew up into the sky.
Hovering in the air above the Dragon Palace, they didn’t have to worry about the shaking. Holding tightly onto Hao Ren’s waist, Zhao Yanzi was frightened since she had never seen such a scene before.
In the air, Hao Ren could clearly see that all the rooms in the Dragon Palace were shaking. Obviously, someone was attacking the defense array formation of the palace.
Teams of guards appeared in the square in the middle of the palace. A general wearing gold armor saw a Spirit Beast hovering in the air. He shouted, “Who’s in the air?”
In the East Ocean Dragon Palace, with the exceptions of the Dragon King and Queen, and several core elders, no one could fly in the Dragon Palace.
On Little White’s broad back, Zhao Yanzi stuck out her face.
The general wearing gold armor saw her and immediately cupped his hands, saying, “Sorry! I didn’t know it was you, Princess!”
Under Hao Ren’s steering, Little White lowered slowly, hovering in the air half a meter to the ground.
Zhao Yanzi looked at the general. “What’s happening?”
“The defense array formation is being attacked. We are investigating,” the general answered respectfully.
He couldn’t give her a definite answer without investigating. As the general of the guards, he knew everything that was happening outside the Dragon Palace.
The attack may have come from West Ocean, the cultivators from Fifth Heaven, the Demon Beasts, or some independent master who had a grudge with the East Ocean Dragon Palace.
It was no secret that the East Ocean Dragon Palace enjoyed great resources. Long, long ago, some super powerful masters even came to the East Ocean Dragon Palace to “borrow” stuff. In fact, they came to rob the palace.
Then, the shaking stopped.
Zhao Guang came out of the main palace with the core elders. “What happened?”
Hao Ren steered Little White to the ground and helped Zhao Yanzi get off.
“The defense array formation on the outer edge of the palace was under attack. I’m waiting for the information from the soldiers in the outer range. I’m sorry that Your Majesty was disturbed.” The general wearing gold armor bowed to the Dragon King with cupped hands.
“Do a thorough investigation and find out who dared to attack the East Ocean Dragon Palace!” Zhao Guang looked angry. “From now on, double the patrolling soldiers and kill any intruders who try to break into the palace!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” The general wearing gold armor took the order in a resonant voice.
Zhao Guang then looked at Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi. “You two go back to your rooms and don’t come out without permission. General Zhao, please lead a team of elite guards and station them at Zi’s palace.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” General Zhao took the order.
Then under General Zhao’s escort, Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi returned to their palace. Scolded by her father, Zhao Yanzi stuck her tongue out at Hao Ren.
Hao Ren smiled at her, but he was worried about the attack the Dragon Palace had just received. The Dragon Palace was the home base of East Ocean, so the attack against it was totally different than the battle somewhere else.
Back in the bedroom, Zhao Yanzi yawned and beckoned at Little White which had followed her into the room.
Little White leaped into her arms, and she carried it into her big bed. Lifting its ears, she said, “Turn big!”
Bang! Little White turned into a large lion.
Satisfied, she took the furry lion into her arms and shifted to a comfortable position. Then she slept.
“Well, I didn’t know that Little White could be used to warm the bed,” Hao Ren thought with resignation.
His bed was only half as big as Zhao Yanzi’s, but it was big enough for him to sleep in.
In this super spacious ancient bedroom, incense was burning, reminding him of the ancient times.
Shortly, Zhao Yanzi and Little White were sound asleep. Their breathing was so in sync that Hao Ren highly suspected Zhao Yanzi was also a small demon beast.
He sat down on the bed cross-legged and cultivated the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll.
After circulating the scroll 187 times, Hao Ren opened his eyes and saw the faint morning light leaking into the room through the crack between the engraved wooden doors.
Although the Dragon Palace was concealed on the bottom of the ocean, it also had night and day. The only difference was the climate; it had no change of seasons, and every day was as warm as a day in spring.
Seeing Zhao Yanzi was still sound asleep with Little White in her arms, Hao Ren stretched and got off his bed.
He leaned over and watched her. She slept with pursed lips, and her delicate little nostrils moved slightly, blowing on Little White’s fur.
With her arms wound around Little White, it looked like a giant fluffy toy. Due to her small size, her whole body snuggled against Little White’s belly.
Leaning closer, he had the urge to pinch her nose, but he controlled himself. At this age, she had a vague understanding of the things between men and women. She was still fascinated with small cute trivial stuff.
Walking out of the bedroom quietly, he breathed in the fresh air of the small garden.
He knew nothing about the strange flowers and herbs in the garden. Suddenly, a mini-sized Little White shot out from the room. It looked around frantically for a while before jumping into a cluster of flowers.
Pu… An intense smell rose from the flowers, neither pungent nor fragrant.
Seconds later, Little White finished its business and trotted out from the flowers to the stone board. It squatted to rub its rump against the board.
“You are shameless!” Seeing Little White doing its business in the garden, Hao Ren was embarrassed for it.
Pretending to be dumb, Little White jumped into Hao Ren’s arms with a fawning expression.
“Damn! You just did your business, and you jumped into my arms!” Hao Ren tossed it back to the ground.
Undaunted, it ran around Hao Ren’s ankles looking cheerful.
“You are shameless…” Hao Ren sighed and walked out of the palace.
On the square outside of the palace, General Zhao was training a team of soldiers.
Seeing Hao Ren, he immediately cupped his hands. “Good morning, Fuma!”
“Good morning, General Zhao.” Hao Ren walked over and saw that the soldiers were practicing. He asked, “What are you practicing?”
“Fuma, it’s a set of military boxing techniques. It has no name; if you must have it, you can call it Fundamental Boxing Techniques,” General Zhao answered.
Hao Ren nodded, finding the movements sharp and tough.
He thought for a few seconds and said, “General
Zhao, can I learn it?”
General Zhao was surprised. “With your high status, I think this set of techniques is a bit crude…”
“No, I think they are very effective. With the current tense situation, I must do my share,” Hao Ren said.
General Zhao looked at him again in surprise. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Ok! I’ll show you the movements!”
He made a horse stance in front of the line of soldiers.
Horse stance punch!
Hao Ren took off his jacket and copied his movement. He had been a long-distance runner when he was in the middle school, and horse stance was a part of the basic training. That was why he had great strength in his legs. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to catch Zhao Yanzi falling from the sky.
Gradually, the soldiers paused their practice and watched the general and the Fuma.
As the leader of the palace guards, General Zhao was not rusty with his fundamental techniques. Each kick and punch were on point.
Hao Ren copied each movement in earnest.
Little White squatted on a nearby stone step and looked at Hao Ren with its black eyes, seemingly baffled.
After he finished the whole set of movements, Hao Ren was soaked in sweat.
However, General Zhao in his heavy armor was breathing as evenly as before.
Cultivation could improve his physical strength, but it couldn’t bring him fortitude!
Zhao Kuo was the kind of person that cultivated both essence and martial arts. Without using his cultivation strength, he could still be able to kill a fierce tiger with one punch.
Su Han paid more attention to the elevation of realms. Hao Ren wondered if she practiced sword techniques in her home or jogged each morning.
“I need to follow your movements three times before I can memorize them. General Zhao, please show me again,” wiping sweat from his forehead, Hao Ren said.
General Zhao was even more surprised. He had thought the Fuma was just curious, but it seemed like he was serious.
The soldiers practiced boxing each day, so they wouldn’t get tired if they practiced it three times in one morning. He wondered if the Fuma could withstand the hardship.
“General Zhao, please!” Seeing General Zhao didn’t move, Hao Ren urged him.