Wayfarer

Chapter 213: Ao Zhou

A day later, the serpent finally opened its eyes again.

"I'm the crown prince of the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace? And my name is Ao Zhou..." The serpent was dumbstruck by the revelations that it had just uncovered.

"Simmering Porridge? Who gave you that name?" Xiao Nanfeng was taken aback. [1]

"It's Ao Zhou, not Simmering Porridge! The dragon king himself named me. Hold on. Long Jiu's inheritance mentioned that it handed its token to you. There was no mention of any elder skilled with spacetime or the like!" The serpent Ao Zhou stared at Xiao Nanfeng with renewed doubt.

"Didn't I tell you? That elder claimed this newbie gift pack in my name. Are you doubting that elder?" Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Ah, no! If you had obtained Long Jiu's inheritance, you would never have given it to me. Please don't get upset, Elder! I was just joking," Ao Zhou hastily said to the air.

"The elders state that members of the Qitian Alliance should help each other. Now that you've received help from an elder, it's time that you provide some help of your own," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

"Naturally. What may I do?" Ao Zhou replied excitedly.

"Retrieve something from the Ancestral Dragon's Hall."

"What? The Ancestral Dragon's Hall? You're all but asking me to commit suicide! How am I supposed to make it into the hall with so many skeletal dragons standing guard?"

"Don't worry. I'll handle the dragons. You just have to unlock something," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Really? It's that simple? How would you be able to handle the skeletal dragons? You must be joking!"

"You'll see. As for you, didn't you say you were the crown prince of this dragon palace? Aren't you upset to see it in a pile of ruins?"

"What's there to be upset about? Do you think I'm going to take revenge for the draconic clan? I've never met any of them, and they didn't raise me. Why should I be upset? I honor their heritage simply by adopting the name Ao Zhou. That's all I'll do!" Ao Zhou replied.

Xiao Nanfeng suddenly recalled that the serpent was an ingrate; it would take a Herculean effort to change its personality.

Suddenly, Ao Zhou blanched. "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten. With all the dragons dead, I'm the rightful successor to the draconic palace. All the Immortal relics here should belong to me. All these cultivators and spirits here to steal my treasures... damn it, it's all mine!"

Xiao Nanfeng gave the serpent an odd look. Not only was it an ingrate, it was a shameless one at that. It was fortunate that he had made up the Qitian Alliance and was able to use it as a means of manipulating the serpent, or it would never have been willing to head to the Ancestral Dragon's Hall with him.

"How are your injuries?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I'm fine now. That inheritance possessed countless techniques and spiritual power. My spiritual cultivation has advanced immensely. Ha!"

With a pop, a crab-shaped cloud of smoke burst from Ao Zhou's body. It was dissipating the spiritual mark that the crab spirit king had left on its body.

"How dare this crab spirit subdue me and force me to be cannon fodder! I'm going to eat it raw!" the serpent cried out.

"Eat whom?" a voice suddenly asked.

Xiao Nanfeng and the serpent turned to see a group of crocodile spirits surrounding them both—not just crocodile spirits, but also clams, green lobster, and other scattered spirits. There were Spiritsong-realm spirits among them.

"Serpent, it's time to settle our score," the clam spirit ground out.

"For stealing my Immortal relic, I'll skin and eat you!" the green lobster spirit threatened.

"You're dead, serpent!" the largest crocodile spirit shouted.

"Insolence! I'll eat you all!" Ao Zhou retorted. He turned toward Xiao Nanfeng. "I'll handle two of the Spiritsong-realm spirits, and you take the last one."

All the spirits turned to Xiao Nanfeng.

"King, he even used the red rope to lasso me and almost choked me to death! He snatched my precious pearl, too. They're in cahoots with each other!" One small crocodile spirit pointed toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Red rope?" the sea spirits flinched.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The red rope's a cursed effigy. Why would it help them? He must just have a treasure that looks like the red rope." The crocodile spirit king slapped the small crocodile spirit that had spoken.

The spirits turned back to Ao Zhou and Xiao Nanfeng, glaring fiercely at them.

"Which one do you want to take on? You can pick first," Ao Zhou told Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes. The serpent truly was shameless; these were its own opponents! Why should he participate?

"And who are you? I don't know you," Xiao Nanfeng told the serpent.

Ao Zhou: ...

The spirits: ...

"I don't care if all of you fight, but don't block my way. I'm going to be leaving first." Xiao Nanfeng flew off into the distance.

The serpent widened its eyes. It didn't think that anyone could be more shameless than itself, but Xiao Nanfeng had proved it wrong! Was he really just going to leave like that?

The sea spirits didn't stop Xiao Nanfeng. Who would complain about having one fewer opponent? The serpent was already very strong on its own; there would have been no need for them to ally with each other otherwise.

"Attack!" the crocodile king shouted.

The sea spirits leapt toward the serpent.

"You dare? I'll teach you all a lesson!" the serpent howled.

A fierce battle took place in that valley as a cloud of dust and shale was sent into the air. The spirits' eyes turned red with bloodlust.

The other cannon fodder in the valley glanced curiously at the commotion. A fight between Spiritsong-realm cultivators tended to cause a rather large disturbance, after all.

Xiao Nanfeng strolled into a group of cultivators. He knew that the serpent's fight would necessarily draw the attention of the Wingform-realm spirits at the top of the mountain, and he had no intention of exposing himself. Furthermore, his old acquaintance, Prime Minister Turtle, was there as well.

Atop the mountain, the green lobster spirit king and crab spirit king walked out.

"Who dares to fight here? If they have the energy to fight, they should be using it on the skeletal dragons!" the green lobster king spat out.

"It's that black serpent! Damn it. Every time we fight a skeletal dragon, it pretends to be dead. So this is what it does with all its excess vitality? Its antics caused me to fail to kill a skeletal dragon a few days ago, and now it's making a fuss over here?" The crab king was growing incensed.

"Let them fight. If they kill the serpent, we'll have a feast. Black serpents are a rare delicacy, after all," another spirit said from beside them.

Although the Wingform-realm spirits grumbled and cursed, none of them seemed to have any intention of stepping in.

The commotion was so intense that even Prime Minister Turtle stepped out.

"What's going on?"

"Prime Minister, the cannon fodder's fighting with each other. Better to let them continue. Once they expend their excess energy, they'll be more obedient to us in the future," one spirit stated, laughing.

"Prime Minister, look at that black serpent! The draconic race used to prize the nobility of the black dragons. This serpent might not be a dragon, but it's at least a distant cousin to one. If you're interested, how about we slaughter it as a feast in your honor?"

The turtle naturally didn't care about the petty squabbles of these cannon fodder. It was about to nod when its eyes suddenly narrowed. "The resemblance—it's uncanny."

"What?" the spirit kings asked.

"This black serpent looks just like the old dragon king. I almost thought that it was still alive—but no, that's impossible. The Eastern Sea dragons have gone extinct. No longer will they trouble us." The turtle shook its head.

Just then, in outrage, the black serpent cried out, "I am the crown prince of the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace, Ao Zhou! How dare you knaves disrespect me? Die!"

"Hah! If you're the crown prince of the dragons, then I'm the Eastern Sea dragon king!"

"And I'm an ancestral dragon, haha!"

Taunts rang out from all around the black serpent.

Even the Wingform-realm spirits at the top of the mountain were laughing.

Only Xiao Nanfeng sighed. "Are you crazy? Just run if you can't beat them! Exposing your identity like that..."

Atop the mountain, the turtle's eyes narrowed again. "The crown prince of the Eastern Sea dragons...?"

"Prime Minister, are you talking about that black serpent? It's just making things up. I see that type of spirit all the time," one spirit king said, roaring in laughter.

However, the turtle had seen the visage of the old dragon king in Ao Zhou's countenance. This couldn't be a coincidence.

"Seize it! Now!" the turtle commanded.

The spirit kings hesitated, but immediately flew toward the black serpent. The turtle itself joined in the fray.

The appearance of the Wingform-realm spirit kings sent the fighting spirits crashing into the ground.

"What?!" they cried out.

"What's your problem, crab spirit king? Weren't you going to sit back and watch us settle our own business?" Ao Zhou cried out.

A group of spirit kings surrounded Ao Zhou as Prime Minister Turtle flew toward the serpent.

"Prime Minister Turtle?" Ao Zhou exclaimed.

It was clearly still ignorant of the fact that the extinction of the dragon clan was all due to the turtle right in front of it.

"What did you say? That you were the crown prince of the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace?" Prime Minister Turtle asked.

Suddenly, all the cultivators' attention were focused on the black serpent. They knew that this Prime Minister Turtle called the shots, and that all the spirit kings listened to it. Was it interrogating the black serpent?

Sensing that something was amiss, Ao Zhou hastily replied, "I-I was just joking."

"Just joking? Haha, it didn't seem that way to me. I'll ask you again. Are you the crown prince of the draconic palace? If you dare lie to me, I'll kill you at once," Prime Minister Turtle threatened.

All the cultivators gaped at Ao Zhou. There had to be something unusual about the black serpent's identity for Prime Minister Turtle itself to be interrogating it. Could it really be the crown prince of the draconic palace?

Ao Zhou could sense the killing intent in Prime Minister Turtle's tone. It knew that, if its response were inadequate, that the turtle might really kill itself.

However, it didn't despair. It had just joined the Qitian Alliance, and there were a group of elders prepared to back it up. Why would it fear Prime Minister Turtle? He was an old servant of the draconic palace, nothing more.

The black serpent drew a breath and puffed out its chest. "I was prepared to interact with all of you in the guise of an ordinary serpent, but since you're aware of my identity, I won't feign ignorance any longer. That's right. I'm the successor to the draconic palace, the crown prince Ao Zhou."

The cultivators all around gaped at Ao Zhou. Was it telling the truth?

"It really is you, then. You were still a dragon egg back then. Haha, haha! I can't believe it. You were alive all this time?" Prime Minister Turtle suddenly roared in laughter. The crown prince of the dragons would be vital for unlocking the Ancestral Dragon's Hall—and it was right here!

"The crown prince of the dragons?" The cultivators all around were shocked by the pronouncement.

Ao Zhou, not realizing the trouble he was in, preened at the attention. "Prime Minister Turtle, aren't you going to kneel in my presence?"

Xiao Nanfeng palmed his face. Was the serpent crazy? Did it think that turtle was still a loyal servant?

1. A pun. 熬粥 (= "simmering porridge") has the same pronunciation as 敖周 (= "Ao Zhou", the serpent's name). ?