Chapter 173: Who’s More Like the Bad Guy?
Translator: Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated
Zhao Yanzi was probably really exhausted. She fell asleep in just a little while.
The light on the ceiling was off, but the lamp by the bed was left on. Hao Ren curled up in the dark and looked at the ceiling, thinking about what happened during the day.
West Ocean must have a strong background to back up its att.i.tude. Oldman Zeng, especially, was so arrogant. If it weren’t for Zhao Yanzi’s Third Uncle, he would have kidnapped Zhao Yanzi forcefully even though they were on East Ocean’s turf!
There were other things besides the issue with East Ocean and West Ocean that were giving Hao Ren a headache.
The room was tranquil, and Hao Ren could see some dim lights from the few corners of the room. Those were the array formations that Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu put up when Zhao Yanzi and Hao Ren slept over at Lu Qing’s place.
Hao Ren looked at Zhao Yanzi, who was already deep in her sleep, and sighed. He thought that maybe it would be easier just to be a mortal being.
Tik Tok… Tik Tok…
It was already the next morning, and Hao Ren didn’t sleep at all. He silently cultivated the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll and guarded Zhao Yanzi at the same time; he was unease about East Ocean irritating West Ocean yesterday. Although he was only on Kan-level, he was still stronger than Zhao Yanzi, who lost all her power.
“Ah…” Zhao Yanzi yawned as she stretched in her bed.
She noticed that Hao Ren was staring at her, so she snorted and kicked her blanket on to Hao Ren’s head.
Hao Ren pulled the blanket down, thinking, “So ungrateful. I guarded you for the entire night! If you do not recognize my contribution, you should at least recognize my hard work.”
Zhao Yanzi didn’t know that Hao Ren was awake all night. She hopped into the bathroom to freshen up. She was never concerned about the threat from West Ocean. “What on earth could they do? East Ocean is not afraid of West Ocean at all,” she thought.
When these two got downstairs, Zhao Hongyu had already prepared breakfast for them. Everything was nice and ordered as usual.
“I’m going to see Grandma with Hao Ren today, Mom.” Zhao Yanzi took a bite of her bread.
“How are you going there?” Zhao Hongyu asked.
“Driving over!” Zhao Yanzi pointed at Hao Ren. “Doesn’t he know how to drive?”
Hao Ren nodded and said, “Auntie, you and Uncle should come with us.”
“We can’t. There are a lot of things to deal with after the birthday party,” Zhao Guang said.
“Then… The two of us can go?” Zhao Yanzi asked Zhao Guang timidly.
“Yeah, you guys can go.” Zhao Guang nodded casually.
Zhao Yanzi was delighted, but Hao Ren was surprised by the fact that Zhao Guang allowed this.
“Be careful,” Zhao Hongyu said to them and went upstairs to pack some clothes for Zhao Yanzi.
Then, Hao Ren took Zhao Guang’s black Chevrolet and drove Zhao Yanzi toward the little village in Zhejiang Province where Grandma was at.
As soon as Zhao Yanzi and Hao Ren stepped out of the house, Zhao Guang turned to his study room and said, “Premier Xia, go ahead.”
“Yes, Dragon King,” Premier Xia walked out of the study room in his green robe and said, “According to the new information, amongst the elders who used the Mystic Ice, six of them had leveled up to Kun-level.
“Six…” Zhao Guang looked down slightly as if he was weighing the meaning of that number.
“West Ocean has higher strength than us to start with, and now they have six more Kun-level Masters. No wonder they had the guts to cause trouble at the birthday party,” Zhao Hongyu said.
Zhao Guang nodded with a serious look on his face. “Keep going.”
“Yes,” Premier Xia’s look was serious as well. “There is also the report of the appearance of a Soul Formation Cultivator in our East Ocean City!”
“Soul Formation Cultivator?” Zhao Guang, who had always kept his calm, looked surprised.
“Since it involves a Soul Formation Cultivator, we weren’t able to dig too deep. However, according to Su Han’s remarks during the birthday party and our comprehensive a.n.a.lysis, the reason for Qin Shaoyang’s transfer to Northwest Sky Mountain was that he probably had p.i.s.sed this cultivator off.”
Zhao Guang frowned as he rubbed his chin. “In that case, it does sound like that’s what had happened. Qin Shaoyang belongs to the Metal-Elemental Dragon Clan, and he should have a special status in the Inspector System. He must have gotten on the bad side of an important figure to be sent to the cold and remote Northwest region.”
“Also…” Premier Xia hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “When Fuma Hao was breaking through to Kan-level, a Soul Formation Cultivator who was pa.s.sing by gave him some help.”
“Oh?” Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang were both surprised this time.
Premier Xie continued, “The entire situation appears to be more complex than we had estimated. West Ocean brought a lot of powerful cultivators this time, but they didn’t do anything at the birthday party. They might be afraid for this Soul Formation Cultivator in East Ocean City.”
Zhao Hongyu shook her head and said, “The Soul Formation Cultivators do not interfere with issues within the Dragon Tribe. Even if the war between East Ocean and West Ocean start, they won’t get involved as long as no human is injured. However, the transfer of Qin Shaoyang was surely a reason for West Ocean to be on alert.”
“You are right, Dragon Queen. All three parties are in a stalemate for now, and we need to wait and see if Third Lord can break through to the Heavenly Dragon Realm. Oldman Zeng is not easy to deal with, and he must be waiting for his opportunity as well,” Premier Xia said.
“You are right. He lost his temper yesterday, but it was just an act. He is extremely sneaky. However, both sides are holding grudges about yesterday. I’m sure that there will be some conflicts in these few days. It’s a good thing that Zi is not here for now,” Zhao Guang looked at Premier Xia and said, “Don’t worry about us. Just go ahead and secretly protect Ren and Zi for the next two days.”
“Yes!” Premier Xia bowed, turned into a dash of green light, and disappeared.
Hao Ren, in the meantime, was driving toward a toll station on the highway.
Zhao Yanzi was a bit nervous since this was the first time that she and Hao Ren went on a trip by themselves. However, she was just happy that she could take this opportunity to avoid doing her homework.
“What? Do I look like a bad guy?” Having sensed her nervousness, Hao Ren asked.
“What do you think?” Zhao Yanzi threw the question back at him.
“I didn’t do anything other than watching over you as you slept, did I?” Hao Ren asked.
Zhao Yanzi pouted, but she didn’t know what to say.
Hao Ren’s tone made her feel like he was going to do more something this time.
“I told you that the condition over there isn’t that good. So, don’t yell and tell me to drive back when you get there.” Hao Ren re-confirmed as soon as they got past the toll station.
“I know! So annoying!” She rolled her eyes at him because she didn’t think of herself as spoiled at all.
The vehicle got on the highway.
Hao Ren drove for a while before he finally asked, “What’s that West Ocean’s Crown Prince’s name?”
“Told you not to speak of him!” Zhao Yanzi was not happy, but she still answered, “Zeng Yitao!”
Hao Ren secretly memorized the name; he knew that this guy wasn’t a good one.
“Do you… Do you have a marriage agreement with him?” Hao Ren asked again.
“Pttf! We never agreed! They were the ones who came up with it on their own, and my dad never agreed to it!” she said.
Hao Ren knew that West Ocean must have proposed a few times, and Zhao Guang rejected using the excuse of Zhao Yanzi’s age.
However, East Ocean suddenly found Zhao Yanzi a fiancé without telling them, and it made West Ocean Dragon Clan furious.
“This is probably why Zhao Guang fought against all pressure and made me, a human, into Zhao Yanzi’s Fuma,” Hao Ren thought.
The road trip on the highway was very boring, and Zhao Yanzi slowly fell asleep. She was busy the day before and didn’t get to sleep well at night. It was normal for her to get sleepy today.
Hao Ren tried his best to drive as smooth as possible.
Sometimes, he felt sorry for her because although everyone catered to her needs as the princess of East Ocean Dragon Palace, she didn’t have much freedom.
Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu probably decided to let her grow up on land to make her happier.
The three-hour-drive took them to the small. The b.u.mpy road woke Zhao Yanzi up from her dream, and she rubbed her eyes and looked outside.
The simple houses surprised her. “Ah? This is it?”
She grew up in the city and would see luxurious palaces if she went to the Dragon Palace. Even when she went on a trip to the GreenStone Mountain, she lived in the best hotel at the foot of the mountain. When did she ever live in a ‘village’ like this?
Hao Ren ignored her because they were already at the destination. Even if Zhao Yanzi protested and screamed, nothing could be done.
The vehicle drove into the yard, and Grandma, who was sunbathing, saw Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi getting out of the black car.
She walked over, surprised. “How come… You are here?”
“Grandma!” Zhao Yanzi ran over to her and greeted in her sweet voice.
“Oh! How come you didn’t tell me that you have such a pretty granddaughter!” that old grandma, Grandma’s good friend, smiled as she also walked over with a fan in her hand.
“Grandma…” Zhao Yanzi greeted her as well.
“Such a pretty little granddaughter…” the old grandma walked around Zhao Yanzi and said.
“This is not my granddaughter. She is my…” Grandma was about to explain.
Zhao Yanzi blushed as she called out, “Grandma!”
Grandma changed up what she was about to say, “Hehe, our little Zi is shy!”
The old grandma didn’t think much. She rubbed her head and said, “Today is Sat.u.r.day, and all my sons who work in the towns nearby are back. There is only one empty room, and we don’t have enough blankets…”