by Dragon King
“Of course not,” Hao Zhonghua replied casually.
Zhao Hongyu turned around and looked at Hao Ren.
Hao Ren didn’t know where Zhao Hongyu was taking him, but he didn’t ask.
“Yujia, you stay here. Hao Ren, Zi, and I will be back soon,” Zhao Hongyu said to Xie Yujia.
“OK.” Xie Yujia nodded elegantly. Zhao Kuan and Xie Ming needed to find a coffee shop to sit down and chat, so she went along with them.
Zhao Hongyu, Hao Ren, and Zhao Yanzi walked toward the parking lot underground.
Zhao Yanzi also looked confused; she did not know where Zhao Hongyu was taking them as well.
A red Porsche drove out from the garage.
Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi looked at each other and jumped into the car.
Zhao Hongyu didn’t say anything as she drove the Porsche across the Hudson River in New York.
The car drove across bridges and entered a beautiful valley. This valley had many ranches and farms, which was very different from Manhattan that had many skyscrapers.
Zhao Yanzi softly nodded, and it looked like she already knew where Zhao Hongyu was going to take them.
“Where are we going?” Hao Ren asked Zhao Yanzi quietly.
“Humph!” Zhao Yanzi was still mad at Hao Ren for being so close with Xie Yujia.
“Sigh…” Hao Ren bumped into a wall and could only shut up.
He didn’t know what to do with Zhao Yanzi. Every time he tried to be nice to her, she wouldn’t accept it. However, every time he was close with Xie Yujia, she would be extremely jealous.
The Porsche stopped in front of a large mansion, and it had a large and refined black steel gate that automatically opened.
This mansion was situated by the river, and everywhere around it was filled with natural sceneries.
The car quietly drove on the smooth roads, and Hao Ren estimated that this gorgeous land the mansion was situated on was tens of thousands of acres big, which was larger than ten East Ocean University put together!
Besides the mansion, there were several other structures. There was also a private golf course, a small forest, and a few natural lakes!
Zhao Hongyu stopped the car in front of the large white mansion.
When inside this four-story mansion, one could see the entire surroundings from here.
In this beautiful place, one could no longer feel the hot weather of summer. Instead, it could calm one’s soul.
“Azure Dragon Guard! Black Tortoise Guard! White Tiger Guard! And Vermilion Bird Guard! Greetings, Madam!”
Four strong men in suits walked out from the mansion and greeted Zhao Hongyu.
“You’ve done great, four generals.” Zhao Hongyu nodded at them.
She turned around and said to Hao Ren who was getting off the car, “This was Zi’s Grandpa’s living space in New York.”
Hao Ren looked around, and this peaceful scenery calmed him down.
Hao Ren only met Zhao Haoran a few times, but the latter left a vivid impression on his mind.
Even now, there was Zhao Haoran’s 1,000-year cultivation strength in Hao Ren’s body. From the perspective that Hao Ren owed Zhao Haoran and was of a younger generation, he should treat Zhao Haoran like a grandpa as well.
Zhao Hongyu led Hao Ren into the mansion.
The flooring was all marble, so it looked very high-class but was also incredibly cool. The decorations on the first floor made this place look like an art gallery more than a home.
Zhao Hongyu led Hao Ren to the second floor.
Zhao Haoran’s four guards followed closely. They were all Qian-level cultivators. When Zhao Hongyu, Zhao Yanzi, and Hao Ren were still tens of kilometers away, they already knew they were approaching.
Since this mansion was protected by four Qian-level cultivators, even inspectors didn’t dare to go near this mansion by the Hudson River. This area became a restricted area for cultivators in New York.
This area along with Remote Immortal Mountains, Demon Sea, and Kunlun Mountain became the few places even the Dragon God Shrine couldn’t touch.
“This is where Grandpa cultivated,” Zhao Hongyu said as they reached the second floor.
There was a large empty room on the second floor. From the glass walls, one could see the green golf course outside.
Zhao Yanzi followed behind Hao Ren and looked a bit nervous.
“The third floor is Grandpa’s living area,” Zhao Hongyu said as they walked up toward the third floor.
Hao Ren followed Zhao Hongyu, and the footsteps echoed in the mansion as they walked up the stairs.
“The old dragon king, Zhao Haoran, was a hero of the century. After he retired and started living in New York, he was actually very lonely.” Hao Ren had sympathy for him.
Thinking about Zhao Haoran made him think about his grandma.
Before, Grandma lived in the house by the sea. Although it seemed like life went well, she was actually very lonely.
Even though Zhao Haoran had his gorgeous mansion and was extremely wealthy, he was for sure lonely.
However, Grandma would always nag and try to get Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang to stay in East Ocean City with her. She could also get the girls to spend time with her and chat with her.
Zhao Haoran, on the other hand, couldn’t give up his pride, so he couldn’t keep his children and grandchildren by his side.
Zhao Kuo was aiming for the Heavenly Dragon Realm and was addicted to cultivation, Zhao Kuan was in charge of Mingri Group’s international business unit and was busy with his work, and Zhao Guang was busy managing the domestic operations of Mingri Group as well as the East Ocean Dragon Clan.
Zhao Haoran also didn’t want to disturb his three sons, so he chose to retire in New York. He didn’t want to affect Zhao Guang’s authority in the East Ocean Dragon Clan, and he didn’t let Zhao Kuan’s family come and visit him often.
He had high hopes for Zhao Kuo, but he never called him over, afraid that it would interrupt his cultivation.
Looking through the door, Hao Ren saw that the bed and room were well organized, and he felt a bit sad.
The room was empty… Here lived an old man who used to be a great ruler in the Dragon Tribe.
“The fourth floor is where Grandpa paid respect to the Dragon God.” Zhao Hongyu led Hao Ren up.
The style upstairs suddenly changed to an ancient Chinese theme.
There was a huge statue of the Dragon God on the fourth floor.
The Dragon God was the ancestor of all five-elemental dragon clans.
In front of the statue of Dragon God was a small memorial tablet with the words, ‘Zhao Haoran’, written on it.
Zhao Hongyu went over quietly, picked up three incense sticks, and lit them up before placing them in the incense burner.
Hao Ren also moved forward and lit three incense sticks as well. He was paying respect to the Dragon God as well as Zhao Haoran.
Zhao Yanzi looked at her mom and hesitated a bit before doing the same.
Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and Vermilion Bird stood quietly by the door. They had been by Zhao Haoran’s side for hundreds of years and were the closest with Zhao Haoran.
When Zhao Haoran took them in, they were still children. They had all reached Qian-level under Zhao Haoran’s teaching and instructions.
Time slowly passed by. Zhao Hongyu stared at the incense sticks as they burned down bit by bit. She seemed to be praying quietly.
Hao Ren was also paying respect to Zhao Haoran. He had Zhao Haoran’s 1,000-year cultivation strength and still remembered how Zhao Haoran out his essence dragon soul into the Black Dragon Spike.
“I brought you here today because Grandpa said that if Zi has a Fuma, we should bring him here to let him see,” Zhao Hongyu said suddenly.
Hao Ren turned around and looked at her.
“But it seems like I’ve been too slow. Zhao Guang and I were scared that Grandpa wouldn’t be satisfied with you, so we were trying to find a good time to explai
n this to Grandpa. That was why we didn’t bring you here right away. If it weren’t for him going back to East Ocean, he wouldn’t have seen you,” Zhao Hongyu continued to explain.
Hao Ren stared at the black memorial tablet. He knew Zhao Hongyu regretted things like this; she shouldn’t have kept this secret from Zhao Haoran.
“Wa…” Zhao Yanzi suddenly cried out loud.
When she discovered the news that Zhao Haoran had passed away in the East Ocean Dragon Palace, she was only shocked and didn’t have other thoughts. She was only in her teens, so she didn’t have deep feelings for her grandpa who was far away.
However, now that she was standing in this mansion, she remembered a lot from the past.
Zhao Haoran always looked stern and didn’t smile or say much. However, when Zhao Yanzi visited him twice a year during the summer, she could eat and do whatever she wanted in this mansion. Zhao Haoran satisfied all her desires.
Zhao Yanzi once broke a rare porcelain jar from the Song Dynasty. When she was so scared and tried to hide the broken pieces, Zhao Haoran walked by calming and didn’t scold her at all.
Also, Zhao Yanzi once suddenly wanted to cultivate so she ran over to the golf course, destroy all the grasses. Not only did Zhao Haoran not scold her, he even taught her how to cultivate in happiness.
She was scared of this stern-looking grandpa and just came every summer to see him because she had to. However, she missed him a lot now after he was gone.
“Madam, the Old Dragon King has something to give to Fuma,” Azure Dragon Guard said.
493 Having Children~ 1.3 for 1 Chapter
Zhao Hongyu turned around and asked, “What is it?”
Azure Dragon took a square box from his storage ring and put it in Zhao Hongyu’s hand.
Zhao Hongyu looked down at it but didn’t open the box. She directly handed it over to Hao Ren.
Hao Ren didn’t think Zhao Haoran would leave things for him.
Surprised, he opened the box right there. Everyone here was close to him; four were Zhao Haoran’s trusted aides, and two were his ‘family’.
In the box, there was a jade slip that was only the size of a palm.
Hao Ren grabbed the jade slip and found that it was blank without a single word.
He tried to inject his nature essence and spiritual sense into it, and he felt some mysterious characters spinning in front of his senses.
Floating atop these densely packed characters were four words, Mystic Water Sword Technique.
Among these characters were some moving pictures.
Hao Ren only observed for a brief moment, and he already felt dizzy. Therefore, he pulled his spiritual senses out of the jade slip instantly.
He had seen all kinds of techniques before, but they were all printed in scrolls or books. This was his first time reading a jade slip which required spiritual senses.
The four guards saw Hao Ren’s facial expression, and they were somewhat surprised that he could read the jade slip.
They didn’t think that with Hao Ren’s low-tier Gen-level realm, he could still read the jade slip. They were loyal to Zhao Haoran and didn’t read the jade slip unauthorized. Still, they knew this kind of jade slip imposed a high requirement on spiritual senses.
Cultivators whose realms were too low couldn’t even open it.
Rumors said that this method of embedding techniques or records into jade slips was once very popular in the cultivation world. But after that great war, this method was slowly lost over time. Some said that it was because spirit stones were becoming more precious, and the sects didn’t want to waste materials. Other said that cultivators were afraid that their descendants and disciples couldn’t access stored techniques due to their low realms, and outsiders might rob the techniques. In sum, jade slips became obsolete.
“Ren, keep it,” Zhao Hongyu said.
“Eh…” Hao Ren put the jade slip into his storage space.
This jade slip initially had dozens of arrays protecting it, but they were all broken. When Hao Ren’s spiritual senses entered the jade slip, he sensed faint layers of resistance, but he still reached the deepest place in the jade slip and saw the floating characters and pictures.
“What did my father-in-law say?” Zhao Hongyu asked them.
“The Old Dragon King said that if Fuma is here one day, hand this to him,” Azure Dragon said.
Zhao Hongyu nodded. She finally knew that Zhao Haoran prepared to die when going back to East Ocean Dragon Palace from the U.S. Depended on whether Zhao Hongyu or Zhao Guang would bring Hao Ren along to where he lived, Hao Ren may or may not receive this treasure.
Zhao Yanzi sobbed, and her eyes turned red as she walked over to Hao Ren and Zhao Hongyu.
She just saw the black memorial tablet with Zhao Haoran’s name on it and got more heart-broken. Although she was willful, she was still a good person. Especially in these months, she got closer with Hao Ren’s grandma and began to understand the feelings of elders. Now, she could only think of Zhao Haoran’s loneliness.
“Third Lord… came a few days ago,” Azure Dragon said after some thought.
“Oh?” Zhao Hongyu was a little surprised.
“Third Lord had been sitting on the hill outside for three days now. He didn’t eat, didn’t drink, and didn’t sleep. There was pouring rain two days ago, but Third Lord didn’t repel it using his cultivation strength.”
Zhao Hongyu went silent, and her expression was sad.
Among Zhao Haoran’s three sons, Zhao Kuo was closest to him and had the highest realm. Zhao Kuo would visit Zhao Haoran three or four times a year and spend some time with his dad.
But ever since Zhao Kuo failed to reach the Heavenly Dragon Realm, he thought he didn’t have the face to see Zhao Haoran again, so he had never visited him afterward.
Now, Zhao Kuo must feel immense regret in his heart.
Thinking that Zhao Kuo was silently sitting in the rain to wash away his regret, tears poured down Zhao Yanzi’s face again.
She and Zhao Haoran were separated by generations, and now she finally felt how considerate Zhao Haoran was toward her.
Hao Ren could imagine Zhao Kuo in the pouring rain, clenching his fists, and sitting motionlessly. Perhaps in the rain, this iron-like man could hide his tears with the rainwater.
“Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, aren’t you coming back to the East Ocean Dragon Clan with us?” Zhao Hongyu looked at them and asked.
They all shook their heads.
Zhao Hongyu faced Zhao Haoran’s tablet and bowed deeply.
“Father-in-law, Zhao Guang is not coming because he’s afraid he’d get too heart-broken. You know his personality; he looks cold on the outside but is soft on the inside. Zhao Kuan already left the East Ocean Dragon Clan and is peacefully conducting his mortal business. As for Zhao Kuo, he swore to become a Heavenly Dragon and take you to the Dragon Tomb in the Heavenly Realm,” Zhao Hongyu said calmly.
After that, Zhao Hongyu slowly turned around and took the crying Zhao Yanzi out of this big room that had the statue of the Dragon God.
Hao Ren followed Zhao Hongyu out. However, he turned around and stared at the memorial tablet; he felt like Zhao Haoran was watching him.
“Madam, take care,” Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird stood at the door and said respectfully.
The red Porsche started slowly and leisurely cruised through the road.
Along the private highway, the car passed by a lake.
The car suddenly slowed down and parked on the side of the road.
Zhao Hongyu looked at her hands on the wheel and said gently, “Zi, go ahead.”
Zhao Yanzi opened the car door and ran to the lake.
Sitting in the car, Hao Ren went blank for half a second before hurriedly following her out of the car.
Zhao Yanzi ran forward wildly in her mini-skirt, and Hao Ren stepped on the grasses beside the lake and instantly caught up to Zhao Yanzi’s side nimbly.<
br />
Zhao Yanzi suddenly sat on a patch of grasses beside the lake, and tears rushed out of her red eyes.
Hao Ren stopped and sat down beside her.
Zhao Yanzi wiped her tears with her hands and felt sadder as she cried. Zhao Haoran was her only grand-level family member, and now he was gone.
Thinking of this, her tears slid down her face uncontrollably.
She lived with Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang and didn’t think much of it at the beginning. But now that she was back at Zhao Haoran’s mansion, saw the place where her grandpa used to live, and thought back to the times when she played here as a child, Zhao Yanzi’s tears could not be held back.
“Wa…” Zhao Yanzi turned into Hao Ren’s arms, and her hands pulled on his sleeves and almost tore his buttons.
Hao Ren reached his arms and hugged her around her round shoulders. Then, he patted her back and tried to comfort her.
Zhao Haoran was Zhao Yanzi’s last grand-leveled family member. They had the same type of relationship as Hao Ren and his grandma. The difference was, Zhao Haoran was in the U.S. so that Zhao Yanzi couldn’t always see him, but Hao Ren could always accompany Grandma.
“I used to think he was stern…” In Hao Ren’s embrace, Zhao Yanzi grabbed his sleeves to wipe off her tears.
“Eh…” Hao Ren gently massaged her shoulder.
Her body was soft and gave out a faint fragrance. But now, Hao Ren was hugging her out of pity and sympathy. He didn’t think of anything else.
The scenery here was beautiful with chirping birds and fragrant flowers.
Since Zhao Yanzi’s childhood, she had intermittent memories of this place. Because she thought Zhao Haoran was too scary, she rarely interacted with her grandpa. Therefore, Zhao Haoran mostly watched her play in the yard from the balcony.
Now that Zhao Yanzi thought of these scenes, she felt a pain in her heart.
Actually, this grandpa of hers who always looked expressionless and didn’t say a good word about Zhao Guang wanted to play with her… If she knew this day would come, she would bring out her pettish charm and cling onto her grandpa, try to get him to talk about the past…