The restaurant’s style was quite unique; it seemed to have been built on the skeleton of a large fish. The walls weren’t made from clay, but rather pieced together from the shells of some kind of mussel. The window was made from a giant shell. Many of the pillars and beams were made of all kinds of brightly colored coral. The building's appearance really made Zu An feel as if he had entered a strange land.
There was a statue of a strange fish perched high on the eaves of the restaurant; it gazed in the great sea’s direction. Zu An knew that the large ships that set out to sea often had such statues mounted on their helms. They almost seemed to represent a kind of prayer for the ship to not encounter strong winds and waves.
When he pushed open the doors, Zu An immediately smelled a fishy scent so strong that he nearly vomited on the spot.
The tables inside seemed to be completely filled with people, quite a few of which seemed to be fishermen. But unlike normal fishermen, there was a tough look in all of their eyes. They were clearly all from the Ocean races.
Apart from that, many of the others were clearly wandering warriors, wearing conical bamboo hats or masks. Some of them were covered in countless scars. They were clearly all fugitives.
Zu An’s arrival immediately drew the attention of everyone present. Even though his appearance was ordinary, he was too clean. Besides that, he seemed to give off a unique presence just by standing there.
“Tsk, it’s actually a human.”
“From the looks of it, some young master probably secretly ran away to play.”
“A young master that looks this ordinary?”
“Who said young masters all need to be handsome?”
...
Even though they were all privately mocking him, none of them dared to actually cause trouble. While most of them were from the Ocean races, there were still quite a few humans and even some fiends. They all lived lives marked by blood-drenched blades. Before getting someone's true measure, none of them would provoke a stranger rashly.
Zu An walked straight to the bar. He discovered that the layout was fairly different from the restaurants on the human side, and was a bit more similar to the bars of his previous world. He sat down on a chair in front of the bar and remarked, “I heard that you have the best information here.”
The bartender had a huge tortoiseshell on his back. Judging from his green skin, he was clearly a member of the Tortoise race.
Zu An's gaze shifted to the lumps that covered the bartender's arm.
Are those tenghu[1]? I really want to dig them out.
“If you have money, then it’s the best. If you don’t, then don’t bring it up,” the turtle bartender said while wiping a wine cup with a handkerchief. He didn’t even give Zu An a look.
Zu An endured the urge to dig the tenghu out and took out a heaven-grade ki stone, replying, “What about now?”
As soon as he took out the ki stone, it drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant. Many of them even began to breathe heavier.
Zu An frowned slightly. The reason he hadn’t brought out immortal-grade or deity-grade ki stones was for the sake of remaining low-profile. After all, information on the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine’s whereabouts would definitely be worth even more ki stones. However, he hadn’t expected to still end up drawing a lot of attention.
Still, he soon understood why that was the case. He now had the greatest status on both the human and fiend sides. A heaven-grade ki stone was ordinary to him, but for these bloodthirsty vagabonds, how could they possibly cultivate with that many resources? They could even end up killing each other over a single earth-grade ki stone. Once he realized that, he only felt a bit of regret before growing calm again. He looked at the turtle bartender.
“Of course, of course.” The turtle bartender almost drooled. He immediately reached out to take the heaven-grade ki stone.
However, Zu An pushed down on the stone and said, “You still haven’t asked about what I want to know.”
“As long as you’re not trying to ask for the Mermaid Queen’s whereabouts, we know everything,” said the turtle bartender with a smile.
“Mermaid Queen?” Zu An frowned, but he still asked what he actually wanted to know. “Do you know where in the Ocean races' territory I can find the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine?”
“I seem to have heard about it before, but I need some time to investigate.” The turtle bartender put away the heaven-grade ki stone with a big smile.
Zu An was stunned. He hadn’t had too much hope, and only asked about it casually. His plan had still been to head to the Ocean races' territory to ask the Dragon King and Shang Liuyu. He hadn’t expected this person to actually know.
Could it be that the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine is actually really famous among the Ocean races?
His mood improved a lot when he thought of that. He was now one step closer to saving Honglei.
“By the way, what's going on with that Mermaid Queen you spoke of?” Zu An asked, still confused. If he wasn’t mistaken, once he met the Dragon King, he would end up meeting the Mermaid Queen too. She was supposed to be Shang Liuyu’s older sister, so having some intelligence ahead of time wouldn’t be a bad thing.
The turtle bartender brought out a glass of alcohol and said, “This guest must have only arrived recently, right? You actually didn’t even know about such important news.”
“Hm? I’d like to hear the details,” Zu An said as he took a sip of the alcohol. It really wasn’t good wine, and had the stench of poor-quality alcohol. This guy really was an unscrupulous businessman.
“Because of this guest’s outspoken and straightforward personality, I won’t be charging you more for this information.” The turtle bartender chuckled. “I might even be providing the guest with a chance to make money.”
“Oh?”
“The biggest thing that's happened lately among the Ocean races is the disappearance of the Mermaid Queen. On top of that, the Dragon King gave the order for her arrest, and the bounty is extremely high. All those who can provide useful information will be generously rewarded. If you can catch the Mermaid Queen, you won’t need to worry about securing glory and wealth even for your next generation,” the turtle bartender said mysteriously.
Zu An’s eyes immediately widened. “What?”
He'd never expected such a development to take place. After all, in the past, both Shang Liuyu and Chi Wen had spoken about the great relationship between the Dragon King and the Mermaid Queen. Why was it that not only had she disappeared, she was even on the wanted list?
“Haha, when they first hear this information, others always have the exact same reaction as you.” The turtle bartender was quite proud of himself when he saw his reaction.
“Just what happened? Why would he order her arrest?” Zu An quickly asked.
“That’s something no one knows. Some say that the Dragon King just wishes to find the Mermaid Queen sooner, and has thus resorted to such an extreme method.” The turtle bartender shook his head as he spoke. “Still, that explanation isn’t too convincing. It's actually another rumor that seems more believable.”
“What rumor?” Zu An asked as he picked up the glass. He needed to digest this shocking piece of information.
Will this affair involving the Dragon King and his wife end up getting in the way of my search for the Dragon King Immortal Medicine?
After all, in the Ocean races, I’m only close to Shang Liuyu, and the Mermaid Queen is her big sister. Will she end up being involved too?
The turtle bartender gave his surroundings a vigilant look, then moved closer to Zu An before quietly saying, “I heard that the Mermaid Queen was with another man behind the Dragon King’s back. Then, the Dragon King returned ahead of schedule to take care of something and caught them in the act. The Mermaid Queen and the adulterer thus ran off together.”
Zu An was speechless.
Just then, the body of a middle-aged woman trembled slightly, as if she'd heard what the bartender said. Zu An couldn't help but give her a look; he'd actually already noticed her when he looked around as soon as he entered. It wasn’t just him, though; many of the other guests couldn't resist glancing at her from time to time. With her thorny hairpin and cloth skirt, she was clearly dressed like a peasant woman, and yet her figure was elegant and wonderful. It was a pity that her face was waxen yellow and her features were ugly. Just what tribe of the Ocean races was she from?
The restaurant’s guests were all well-traveled individuals. They took a careful look at her neck and wrist and saw that they were the same waxen yellow color, and even seemed swollen with pimples. It was quite the unpleasant sight.
What a pity... She has such an amazing figure.
Many people sighed.
Zu An retracted his gaze and gave the turtle bartender an annoyed look, saying, “There’s absolutely no way that’s true.”