Shang Liuyu quickly changed the topic. “I might have to cultivate in seclusion in the Dragon Palace for some time, so I won’t be keeping you company.”
The inheritance she received would take a lot of time to digest. This was a rare opportunity, and if she waited for too long, the Mermaid Ancestor’s inheritance could disappear. At that point, the knowledge would be gone forever and she would become one of the Mermaid Race’s greatest sinners.
Zu An voiced his understanding and said, “I need to make a trip to the human side to take care of some important affairs.” The first reason was that he had to save Gao Ying, and the second was that he was worried about the safety of Liu Ning and some others.
They both had things they were worried about as they made their way out of the tomb.
Suddenly, Shang Liuyu frowned and kneeled down in place. She was really weak right now, so after walking for a bit, she felt the world spin around her.
Zu An was a bit apologetic as he said, “I was too careless. You need to rest, so I’ll carry you.”
Shang Liuyu’s face reddened and she reflexively refused. “There’s no need. I’ll be fine after just a bit of rest. Sigh…”
Before she even finished, she was already picked up in a princess carry. She pursed her lips, but in the end, she didn’t say anything. The two continued forward just like that.
The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was extremely peaceful. Shang Liuyu could even clearly hear the heartbeat coming from her chest. No matter how much of a free and unaffected life she lived, she was still a young woman who hadn’t gotten married. A man was now sticking to her so intimately that her face couldn't help but turn red.
There seemed to be a strange atmosphere filling the air. The two of them continued silently and unknowingly arrived in front of the Dragon Deity statue, where there were chunks of corpses everywhere. Even the seawater was dyed a bit red as a result of the monsters killing Ao Yong’s group.
Shang Liuyu was a bit hurt. “These are people of the Ocean races, still. It is a bit too pitiful to leave them out here just like that.”
Zu An stopped and used the power of the Crown of the Ocean Deity to surround the corpses. Then, he sent them all into a certain cave in the distant Dragon Burial Mountain. Then, currents swept through the palace and the blood was washed away without a trace. The palace returned to its peaceful and dignified state.
“I’ve already arranged a place for them in the Dragon Burial Mountain, which can be considered a return home,” Zu An said.
“Thank you!” Shang Liuyu knew that Ao Yong and the others deserved to be punished for their crimes. If it wasn’t for her sake, he definitely wouldn’t have done such things.
“Why do we need to use words like 'thanks' between us?” Zu An smiled and continued to lead her out.
At first, Shang Liuyu’s body was still a bit rigid, but she gradually softened up. She leaned naturally into his arms, and it started to seem as though being carried like this wasn’t so bad either…
But the happiest times were always the shortest. Soon after, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.
“Oh, right!” When they saw the door, Shang Liuyu suddenly remembered something important. She looked at Zu An worriedly and asked, “Aren’t you going to change your appearance first and return to being my brother-in-law?”
“There’s no need. This is just fine.” Zu An shook his head. Now that he had just killed the Dragon King in the underworld and knew that he was already dead, he didn’t feel like continuing to impersonate him. He couldn't just do it forever, right? This was a good chance to declare the news of the Dragon King’s death. Shang Liuyu opened her mouth and was about to say something to change his mind, but she suddenly felt as if there was no need. He definitely had his reasons for doing this.
“Then let me go for now,” Shang Liuyu said quietly. The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was so large that there was definitely going to be Ocean race guards outside. If all of them saw him carry her out, that would be way too humiliating.
“You're too weak right now. You might faint after just a few steps.” Zu An rejected her suggestion.
“But…” Shang Liuyu opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.
Meanwhile, Zu An had already opened up the exit of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Light immediately entered from outside, which made him unable to help but close his eyes.
“We welcome the Dragon King’s… return?”
At first, a large number of Dragon race subjects, soldiers, maids, and others kneeled down in respectful greeting. But midway through their sentence, they suddenly saw that the one who had come out wasn’t the Dragon King, but rather an unknown man, and there was even a woman in his arms. Judging from her clothing, she looked like the Mermaid Princess?
What is going on right now?
Shang Hongyu had already heard the news and come over. After she purged the hidden monsters among the Ocean races, she had been waiting outside of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. She had always been nervous about her little sister… and Zu An's safety. She wanted to find out what had happened as soon as possible.
Of course, she recognized Zu An. When she saw that both he and her little sister were safe, she was happy at first, but then she became nervous immediately after.
Why is he showing his real appearance?
She quickly reacted and greeted him first. “I greet the regent!”
Zu An praised her inwardly for her wits. He also smiled toward her and said, “Greetings, queen.”
The officials of the Ocean races immediately began to whisper among themselves. Many of them vaguely recalled that this person was none other than the Fiend races' regent; strictly speaking, that made him a superior to the Ocean races. But what they were all curious about was why the regent would appear in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons! Judging from the situation, the queen seemed to have known about it. Furthermore, there was also the question of the Dragon King; where had he gone?
When she heard the chaotic voices from the crowd, Shang Hongyu started getting worried as well. She could only ask, “Is Liuyu fine?”
“Big sis, I just feel a bit tired…” Shang Liuyu couldn't keep up the act and could only turn around to look at her big sister.
All of the Ocean races erupted into another commotion. It really was the Mermaid Princess!
Shang Liuyu and Shang Hongyu had high prestige among the Ocean races. Shang Hongyu was one thing, since she was the Ocean races' queen, so everyone could only respect her and wouldn’t dare to have any other thoughts.
But Shang Liuyu was single! She was also beautiful and noble, and good at music. Her beautiful and mellow song had made countless young officials and guards yearn for her day and night, and she had already become the lover of countless young adults’ dreams. But Shang Liuyu was like a drifting cloud high up above the mountaintops. She looked as if she was in reach, and yet it also felt as if she was as distant as the horizon. Who knew how many outstanding men had confessed their feelings to her, yet they were all refused.
They’d never even seen her let any man approach her. There were even some rumors that the sisters could be lesbians. The Dragon King was so perverted and the queen was so pretty, and yet they hadn’t spent much time together at all. Shang Liuyu had also pushed men far away and only smiled around her older sister. That made it seem as if the Mermaid Queen’s marriage was just to fool everyone else.
Many people had completely given up, and they even shipped the sisters together. After all, they were too beautiful, and just thinking about the two of them was a kind of enjoyment too. But all of that was shattered today. They had never expected that Shang Liuyu, who had always pushed men far, far away, was now lying bashfully in the arms of a young man! Furthermore, judging from her expression and weakness, could it be that they had done something exhausting together? She had been tormented so badly that she couldn't even stand up anymore?!
That scoundrel, he actually treated our goddess like that!
A huge amount of Rage points entered through the system. Zu An was a bit puzzled.
What is going on with all of these people?
Shang Hongyu shared similar thoughts with those people. She had a weird expression when she saw her little sister lying bashfully in Zu An’s arms. She asked, “She’s tired? What were the two of you doing just now?”
At first, Shang Liuyu was stunned, and then she became extremely embarrassed. “Big sis! I just fought against those monsters for many days in a row, and that’s why I’m exhausted! What in the world are you thinking?!”
“Is that so?” Shang Hongyu’s face heated up. After staying around Zu An for so long, she couldn't help but have her thoughts drift in that direction. She felt as if she had learned from a bad example.
Just then, many Ocean race subjects surrounded them. “Your highness the queen, what is happening?”
The three were all chatting happily, as if they already knew each other.
Shang Hongyu reacted quickly and said, “Everyone here already knows about the infiltration of monsters among our Ocean races. The regent hid his identity and was working together with me and the Dragon King to eliminate the monsters in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Regent, why don’t I see the Dragon King and the others?”
After all, he had been pretending to be the Dragon King, so she quickly realized that something was off. How close she had become with the ‘Dragon King’ after she returned was now public knowledge. If they learned that the Dragon King had been an imposter, there would definitely be a huge commotion, so she immediately changed her wording. At the same time, she couldn't understand why Zu An had stopped pretending to be the Dragon King, since that would save all of them a lot of trouble.
Shang Liuyu secretly admired her sister’s move.
Big sis really is amazing. She was immediately able to produce a reasonable explanation even though we didn’t interact with each other at all.
It’s no wonder she and Zu An were able to fool me completely.
Zu An sighed and said, “The Dragon King sacrificed himself in order to eliminate those monsters. He perished together with the Skin-Flaying King. I hope your highness is able to find solace in your sorrow.”
The Dragon King and Skin-Flaying King had indeed died together in that arena. To a certain extent, he wasn’t completely lying.
As soon as those words filled the air, this entire place immediately became silent.
The Dragon King had actually died?