by Dragon King
“Auntie,” Hao Ren walked into the kitchen.
“You are here, Ren.” Zhao Hongyu smiled at Hao Ren.
“Um,” He rolled up his sleeves and started rinsing the vegetables beside Zhao Hongyu.
Since vegetables took less time to cook and would get cold quickly, she usually prepared them in the end. When the vegetables were done, the meat dishes on the stove were ready as well; that was exactly when Zhao Yanzi and Zhao Guang would arrive, and all of them could have a hot dinner immediately.
All these were carefully scheduled by Zhao Hongyu when she went grocery shopping in advance. Hao Ren thought about how nice his life would be in the future if Zhao Yanzi were half virtuous as her mom.
The two of them working together undoubtedly accelerated the speed. Zhao Hongyu was not only a top architect but also a great cook. Her entire cooking process was as smooth and elegant as a performance.
“Mom! I’m back!”
Zhao Yanzi’s clear and melodious voice came from the living room.
She ran into the steaming kitchen and realized that Hao Ren was already there. She snorted at him; she invited Hao Ren over for dinner on Sunday night when they left Zhao Hongyu’s studio, but Hao Ren didn’t accept the invitation.
“Go wash your hands now that you are back. Rest for a bit in the living room and wait for your dad; the dinner will be ready in a moment,” Zhao Hongyu pinched Zhao Yanzi’s little nose and said with love.
“Oh!” Zhao Yanzi dashed out like a bird in her sky-blue school uniform.
Hao Ren helped Zhao Hongyu and placed the dishes on the dining table. The door opened all of a sudden, and Zhao Guang walked in with his bag. He took off his coat and hung it in on the hanger beside the door.
“Dad!” Zhao Yanzi shouted cheerfully. Then, she immediate zipped her mouth when she noticed Zhao Guang’s gloomy expression.
“Get ready for dinner,” Zhao Hongyu wiped her hands and said softly.
Without saying a word, Zhao Guang walked to the dining table and sat down at the head of the table.
Zhao Yanzi had no idea what was going on. Without hesitating, she walked to the dining table timidly and sat down beside Hao Ren.
From her experience, she could tell that her dad was probably upset about some trouble she had caused. But after recalling the past few days, she felt like she had been behaving pretty well.
“Could it be… Dad learned about us sneaking into Fifth Heaven?” she thought.
Zhao Yanzi slightly turned to Hao Ren, inquiring for more information with caution.
Yet, Hao Ren looked very calm and stiff, which set her off. She stomped hard on Hao Ren’s foot under the table.
She thought to herself sadly, “We went to Fifth Heaven together. We should both be in trouble for it. How come you are so calm!”
But she knew that if she caused trouble with someone else, Zhao Guang would always scold her more in most cases.
Zhao Yanzi picked up her chopsticks carefully, waiting for Zhao Guang to say something.
“Eat first; if there’s an issue, we’ll talk about it after dinner.” Zhao Hongyu eased the situation.
Zhao Guang picked up his chopsticks, thought for a bit, and put them back down.
No one dared to start eating since he put his chopsticks down.
Zhao Yanzi was worried. She nervously put the chopsticks down and looked to her mom, seeking for help.
Although Zhao Guang always looked serious at home, it was the first time that he was this serious.
Zhao Hongyu ignored Zhao Yanzi; she held her breath and looked at Zhao Guang calmly.
“Hem…” Zhao Guang coughed loudly.
“I’ll confess, I’ll confess, Dad,” Zhao Yanzi said quickly, “I shouldn’t have gone to Fifth Heaven! I shouldn’t have asked Hao Ren to take me up there! And… and… I shouldn’t have taken anything from the human cultivators!”
She took out a storage bag from her pocket, placing the short sword Hao Ren gave her onto the table.
She knew from experience that as long as she fessed up, Zhao Guang would lessen the punishment. Therefore, she made a confession before Zhao Guang said anything.
Zhao Guang was surprised by Zhao Yanzi’s words, and Zhao Yanzi was stupefied by Zhao Guang’s reaction.
“Ah? Dad didn’t know about us going to Fifth Heaven?” she got nervous.
“I’ll deal with your issue later.” Zhao Guang looked stern.
She blinked, thinking, “Ah? Even going to Fifth Heaven is not a big deal in comparison?”
This completely befuddled her little head.
Zhao Guang slowly turned to Hao Ren.
Hao Ren automatically sat up straight as Zhao Guang fixed his eyes onto him.
“Today, we are talking about Hao Ren’s issue,” Zhao Guang said word by word.
Hao Ren’s heart was cold, but he laughed awkwardly since he wasn’t as panicky as Zhao Yanzi.
“Elder Sun told me about your trip to the martial arts dojo today. I believe you are aware of the situation, right?” Zhao Guang continued.
Zhao Yanzi looked at Zhao Guang and then at Hao Ren, having no idea what was going on, “Um…what situation?”
“Yes, I’m aware. I came here today to tutor Zi as well as to hear what you think about it,” Hao Ren said.
“We have two options now.” Zhao Guang pushed his chopsticks forward, demonstrating that he didn’t plan to eat yet. “First, the East Ocean Dragon Clan can call for an early Dragon Tribe Conference. Second, if we could get a Heavenly Dragon Realm grandmaster who could truly dominate over other forces.”
“Dragon Tribe Conference? Doesn’t it happen every two years?” Zhao Yanzi asked, but she immediately shut her mouth when Zhao Hongyu looked in her direction.
“If it were the Dragon Clan Conference, it would be a very tough negotiation. The West Ocean would make a big deal out of this and make us East Ocean pay their loss. Otherwise, East Ocean will be isolated. If we can obtain a Heavenly Dragon Realm grandmaster, they wouldn’t have much to say because we will be much more powerful than the other dragon clans.”
Hao Ren nodded. He understood that the latter option was almost impossible. Therefore, a negotiation seemed to be the only way to save East Ocean.
“What would it be like if we are to call for the early conference?” Hao Ren asked.
“The West Ocean Dragon Palace is one of the four ocean dragon palaces no matter what. They possess almost one-sixth of Qian-level and Kun-level masters in the Dragon Tribe. For us, it is a good thing that the West Ocean Dragon Palace is destroyed. But for the entire Dragon Tribe, our act was nothing but small destruction of our own kind.”
Zhao Guang’s tone was cold, showing his attitude toward this situation.
Hao Ren nodded again. When he went to the West Ocean Dragon Palace with Little Daoist Zhen, he didn’t think enough, and he also didn’t expect the dharma treasure to be that powerful.
It was a great feeling when destroying half of the West Ocean Dragon Palace. However, it put the East Ocean Dragon Clan under the accusation of violating alliance. This trapped East Ocean in an awkward position in the public’s eye.
Now the West Ocean Dragon Clan lost so much resources and face that it was beyond repair, they wanted to drag the East Ocean Dragon Clan down as well. They acted as the weak party and painted East Ocean into an invader.
All the dragon clans could see the damage dealt to the West Ocean Dragon Palace, and it was impossible for West Ocean to destroy half of what they possessed to put on a show as the victim.
Therefore, all the powers made a sudden switch from respecting the East Ocean Dragon Clan to taking precautions against it. They even reduced the number of regular interactions.
Instead of benefitting from the defeat of the West Ocean Dragon Clan, the East Ocean Dragon Clan earned nothing and was isolated by all the other dragon clans.
On the contrary, the West Ocean Dragon Clan obtained sympathy from many other dragon clans, and it secretly became the core
of the ‘Anti-East Ocean Alliance’.
In short, the East Ocean Dragon Clan was faced with the most critical diplomatic crisis.
Once abandoned by the Dragon Tribe, the East Ocean Dragon Clan would sure foresee its decline. Yet, the West Ocean Dragon Palace still had a chance to rise since only the wealth and strength were damaged instead of key diplomatic relationships.
This was what Zhao Guang was worried about.
Hao Ren should never destroy the West Ocean Dragon Clan by turning half of its palaces into ruins.
“Tell me what you are thinking, Uncle,” Hao Ren thought for a bit and asked.
Hao Ren didn’t plan to blame this on Zhen Congming since he was just a little boy. Hao Ren was the one who used the conch and destroyed the dragon palace, and all Zhen Congming did was to offer him the opportunity.
“We will try to save the situation at the Dragon Tribe Conference. The worst-case scenario the elders came up with,” Zhao Guang looked into Hao Ren’s eyes and said, “Is that the East Ocean Dragon Clan will have to sever all ties with you.”
320 A Lean Camel Was Bigger Than a Horse
“Sever all ties.” The words exploded in Hao Ren’s head.
Sever all ties meant that he would no longer be the Fuma of the East Ocean Dragon Clan, Zhao Yanzi’s fiancé, and he wouldn’t be able to visit Zhao Yanzi’s home anymore.
Once all ties were severed, destroying the West Ocean Dragon Palace wouldn’t be connected to East Ocean anymore.
“Dad!” Zhao Yanzi shouted after being stunned for several seconds.
“What do you mean by Sever all ties! I don’t agree! I strongly disagree!” she shouted as her face turned red.
Hao Ren stared at Zhao Yanzi, not expecting her to react this way.
A moment ago, he thought that she would love a decision like that.
Zhao Yanzi pouted angrily, and she suddenly placed her hands on the table and stood up.
“Dad! Who the hell are those elders! They can’t tell you to Sever all ties! They never said anything when Hao Ren did good things for East Ocean, and now they want to kick him away as soon as he caused some trouble? Our East Ocean Dragon Clan can’t be this ungrateful!” she said
Her chest moved up and down rapidly as she held on to her chopsticks. Her eyes were wide open, and she continued, “Which elder suggested it? I’ll burn his house down tonight!”
Zhao Yanzi turned to Zhao Hongyu after getting no reaction from Zhao Guang, “Mom, you said that we dragons need to be virtuous. Hao Ren had never maltreated me; he doesn’t deserve this!”
Obviously, the remark of ‘sever all ties’ touched her most sensitive nerve.
She knocked on the table and shouted for a while until she realized that Hao Ren, Zhao Hongyu, and Zhao Guang were all still sitting calmly at the table. Her face suddenly turned even redder, and she peeked at Zhao Guang, feeling like a deflated balloon and slowly sat down.
“I think Zi is right. Hao Ren never maltreated Zi or the East Ocean Dragon Tribe. If we simply deal with this by getting rid of Hao Ren, it would be inappropriate,” Zhao Hongyu said.
She was on Hao Ren’s side. In other words, she was on Zhao Yanzi’s side. The current situation was giving them a headache, but she was opposed to sacrificing Hao Ren.
Zhao Yanzi looked at Hao Ren after she sat down. She bit her lip and looked down while blushing.
She even dared to shout at Zhao Guang for Hao Ren, who she had always found annoying. As a matter of fact, Zhao Yanzi didn’t even dare to speak loudly in front of the king of the clan.
“We’ll put more thought into it,” Zhao Guang picked up his chopsticks without stating his point of view right away. “Let’s eat.”
Zhao Hongyu pouted reluctantly and picked up her chopsticks.
Tens of millions of lives of the East Ocean Dragon Clan were in Zhao Guang’s control, and his decision would affect the clan’s future decades and even centuries down the road. Therefore, he couldn’t decide on his own and ignore the elders.
Even if he wanted to protect Hao Ren with all his effort, he had to convince the elders in the dragon palace. Otherwise, different points of views might lead to internal disorder. There wasn’t only their family of three in the East Ocean Dragon Clan; he had to be responsible for millions of cultivators and tens of millions of clan members within their territories.
The dishes were a bit cold already and weren’t as tasty as before.
None of the four spoke anymore. All they could hear was the sound made by the utensils hitting the plates and bowls.
Zhao Hongyu said to Hao Ren after dinner, “Ren, you can go tutor Zi upstairs.”
“Um, ok,” Hao Ren stood up and put the dishes together.
Zhao Yanzi walked silently to the staircase, pouting.
As Zhao Hongyu started to clean up, she glimpsed at Zhao Guang. They obviously had something else to talk about.
Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi quietly entered her room one by one.
Zhao Yanzi closed the door and walked to her desk before taking out her homework from her bag.
Hao Ren also took out the tutoring materials.
He then pulled over a chair beside her.
“Let me tell you. Whatever they say, don’t listen to them,” Zhao Yanzi suddenly turned to Hao Ren and said.
Hao Ren laughed.
“What are you laughing about!” Zhao Yanzi got mad all of a sudden. “I’ll sever ties with them if they sever ties with you!”
“Where will you live then?” Hao Ren asked.
“I’ll live…live in your home!” Zhao Yanzi said after hesitating for half a second.
She knew that Hao Ren’s grandma was very fond of her, and so were Hao Ren’s parents. She could go to Grandma for shelter if she had nowhere to go.
She felt weird about this herself. If it were before, she would be more than happy for the East Ocean Dragon Clan to sever ties with Hao Ren. However, she got so furious today and sided with Hao Ren firmly…
“Is it because… Hao Ren is my… fiancé?” She wondered to herself.
Zhao Yanzi was a little confused.
She was not in the mood for doing homework at all. Her mind was in a mess since she had just realized that everything was so unreliable. She could not understand why Zhao Guang chose not to protect Hao Ren and why Zhao Hongyu’s attitude was not that firm.
She could not understand why her parents, who used to spoil her and protect her, were now standing on the opposite side.
Anyways, she would be the first one to reject the plan if East Ocean were to sever ties with Hao Ren.
A thought appeared in her mind, “I’ll be Hao Ren’s wife if Hao Ren can’t become East Ocean’s Fuma!”
Hao Ren nudged her with his hand when he saw her facial expression change quickly like TV channels.
“Hey, hey, let’s get to work.”
“You are still in the mood for this?!” Zhao Yanzi lifted her eyebrows.
“Severing all ties and tutoring are two different things. Your final is on the way, right?” Hao Ren stated.
Zhao Yanzi lost her spirit at the sound of the final.
Yes, the final exams were something that had been giving her a headache. She promised herself that she would top Xie Yujia’s record in LingZhao Middle School.
“Our main subject is math today, and I have six geometry questions and six algebra questions ready for you. You will be done as soon as you finish these,” Hao Ren put two pieces of paper in front of Zhao Yanzi.
He stuffed the questions to Zhao Yanzi regardless of her emotions as if he was made of wood.
Zhao Yanzi rolled her eyes harshly at Hao Ren, feeling like severing ties with Hao Ren might not be the worst idea.
However, she only pouted to express her dissatisfaction. She threw herself on the desk and took a ball-point pen out of the container. Then, she flipped out a blank piece of paper and started to work hard on the questions.
Hao Ren started to consider his own situation when Zhao Yanzi focused on
the questions.
He had definitely gone too far by destroying half of the West Ocean Dragon Palace. The West Ocean Dragon Clan didn’t dare to do anything about Zhen Congming, but they sure would take this as an opportunity to point their arrows at the East Ocean Dragon Clan.
When he tore down the West Ocean Dragon Palace’s gate and destroyed the buildings, he felt good about venting all of the piled-up grudges. He didn’t think much at all since he was too busy revenging for the East Ocean Dragon Clan and himself.
As a matter of fact, if Zhen Congming and Hao Ren escaped as soon as Oldman Zeng dashed out of the back mountain, the West Ocean Dragon Clan wouldn’t have any evidence. The entire thing could have been avoided if the East Ocean Dragon Palace chose to not admit to it no matter what.
However, Zhen Congming was too stubborn to run away. On the contrary, he even harshly punished Oldman Zeng by forcing him to hand over treasures. This had obviously set the West Ocean Dragon Clan off, which led to their decision of dragging the East Ocean Dragon Clan down with them.
As the saying went, a lean camel was bigger than a horse, and a cornered beast would do desperate things. It was a natural strategy for the West Ocean Dragon Clan not to let the East Ocean Dragon Clan go. Hao Ren did feel like it was his lack of consideration that put the East Ocean Dragon Clan in this awkward position.
“Hey!” Zhao Yanzi nudged Hao Ren with her arm, “I’m done!”
Hao Ren was so focused on thinking that he had no idea an hour had passed already, and Zhao Yanzi had finished all 12 questions during this time.
“Let me take a look,” Hao Ren took over the paper and started to grade the questions.
“Correct, correct, correct…” Hao Ren was just about to feel happy for her when he realized the latter questions were incorrect, incorrect, incorrect…
She only got four out of 12 questions right. With the total mark being 100, that was 33.3. Even if there were only eight questions, she barely passed.
Zhao Yanzi’s face looked gloomy when she saw the red crosses on her paper. She pouted. “I made mistakes because I wasn’t in a good mood…”
She couldn’t even convince herself by using this lame excuse. She only got four out of 12 questions correct within an hour. On top of that, the questions weren’t tough.