Zu An was speechless.
The Dragon King really is a bit ridiculous. He took both sisters in!
Shang Hongyu’s expression suddenly changed. She said, “Stop changing the topic. Did you do that on purpose before?”
“I actually didn’t," Zu An said. When he thought about how this was Shang Liuyu’s big sister, he still felt that he had to do some explaining. “At first, I thought that you were just some distinguished madam who left to travel the world and play. After all, there have been similar examples all around the world, and they were all women who were full of unrealistic fantasies about the world from the books they read.”
The Mermaid Queen was speechless.
“Later,, when the Yaksha Ocean Patrol came looking for you and I saw your nervous appearance, I became suspicious for the first time.” Zu An chuckled. “But your weapon was a needle, and I don’t think I've heard of the Mermaid Queen using such a weapon. That’s why I wondered if you were from the manta ray race.”
The Mermaid Queen was speechless again.
“Of course, most importantly, I didn’t think that the Mermaid Queen would proactively lean against the body of another man.” Zu An had a strange expression as he spoke. If the Dragon King found out that he'd taken advantage of his wife, that would be a bit troublesome. Besides, what would he say to Shang Liuyu? Would she really believe his innocence?
“You’re still talking about that?!” the Mermaid Queen exclaimed, feeling a bit embarrassed. She reflexively raised her fists to hit him, but she suddenly felt as if doing so would be a bit too intimate and quickly pulled her hands back.
Zu An coughed lightly and replied, “You can’t blame me for any of this, you know? But later, when the black miasma-shrouded Yaksha Ocean Patrol caught up to you, and I saw that not only were you injured, you also had those high-level combat skills that only the Ocean races' royal family could know, I’d have to be an idiot to still not know who you were.”
Shang Hongyu took a deep breath and calmed down a bit before asking, “Then who are you?” Then, she added, “Don’t play those games with that 'chance meeting, not acquainted' stuff. With your cultivation, there's no way you’re unknown on the human side. You’re definitely someone big.” She frowned as she spoke, musing, “When did the human side become so prosperous? Someone this strong actually came from there.”
Zu An was a bit embarrassed, saying, “Actually, the two of us do have a bit of a relationship...”
Shang Houyu raised her brows and exclaimed, “Are you trying to take advantage of me again?”
“That’s not it...” Zu An felt a bit helpless. He could only tell her who he was.
Shang Hongyu looked at him in shock. “There’s no way. I’ve seen Zu An’s appearance before...”
“You know, I’ve seen your portrait too and you don’t look like that,” Zu An replied. Left with no choice, he could only take off his mask and reveal his true appearance, saying, “I just didn’t want my real face to be known by outsiders.”
Shang Hongyu’s red lips opened slightly when she saw his face. A while later, she said with a complicated expression and a sigh, “So it really was you. That’s fine. At least I wasn’t bullied by an outsider.”
Zu An was stunned. Why did this suddenly sound a bit like ‘keeping the goodies within the family’?
“I’ve offended you considerably thus far, so I hope your highness doesn’t blame me for that.” Zu An put away his frivolousness and bowed toward her.
Shang Hongyu pursed her lips and smiled, saying, “Arrogant at first, and then respect after... Aare you worried that I’ll tell on you to Liuyu?”
Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. “Your highness must be joking. I don’t believe you wish for the Dragon King to know what happened either, right?”
Both of them were stunned when those words came out. Zu An felt as if it sounded a bit weird, as if they'd come out of one of those Japanese stories.
Shang Hongyu became dispirited and suddenly sighed deeply.
When he recalled the wanted posters, Zu An couldn't help but ask, “Right, just what happened? Why did you have to run? And why is the Dragon King ordering for your arrest?”
“That’s a long story,” Shang Hongyu said as she looked into the distance. There were many people running in their direction. The sounds of fighting had already startled the people by the restaurant, and they'd all rushed outside to investigate.
“Follow me.” Shang Hongyu grabbed Zu An’s hand and ran off to the side.
After running for a while, Zu An finally couldn't help but ask, “Your highness won’t blame me for taking advantage of you anymore?”
Shang Hongyu harrumphed. “You and little sis are... good friends, so of course you’re my good friend too. What’s wrong with brothers and sisters holding hands?”
Zu An was stunned.
I guess you’re making a bit of sense? It’s my bad for having impure thoughts and thinking random things.
“How about you point toward where we should go?” Zu An suggested; he could tell that she was injured and couldn't run too fast. There were quite a few strong individuals among the restaurant customers. It would be a bit tricky if they couldn't shake them off.
“Over there, there’s a cave near the cliff...” Midway through her sentence, Shang Hongyu suddenly felt herself being taken into the air and couldn't help but cry out. It turned out Zu An had already put his arm around her waist, flying into the air above the ocean.
When she felt his strong and warm arm, Shang Hongyu opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but didn’t in the end. She had just said that it was fine for siblings to hold hands. If she now went back on her word, that would only make things more awkward.
Zu An was incredibly fast. They left the restaurant customers behind in the blink of an eye. Shang Hongyu gave him instructions along the way, so they were able to reach the cave in the cliff quickly.
1. Traditional Chinese martial arts weapons that look like thin metal rods with spiked tips. ☜