by Dragon King
“No, it is not. However, it’s quite cold in there. You must activate your cultivation technique to keep warm,” Premier Xia said.
“Ok,” Hao Ren nodded and followed Premier Xia in another direction.
On the way, Premier Xia said, “Fuma…”
“Call me Hao Ren. I’m uncomfortable being called Fuma,” Hao Ren interrupted him.
“I don’t dare to cross the line. Then I…” Premier Xia thought for a moment and asked, “…will call you Gongzi Hao. Can I?”
“Alright,” Hao Ren was exasperated. Anyway, it was better than being called Fuma.
“Gongzi Hao,” Premier Xia said cautiously. Seeing Hao Ren was not displeased with it, he continued carefully, “I heard that the mortal world is now full of houses built with stones, and they are hundreds of meters tall. Is that true?”
Hao Ren was puzzled for a moment before it dawned on him that Premier Xia was referring to the skyscrapers. He chuckled and replied, “Yeah, people all live in the stone buildings now.”
“And I heard that the mortals don’t use carriages and horses anymore. Instead, they use iron and steel boxes which can move by themselves. Is that true?” after some consideration, Premier Xia asked again cautiously.
This time, Hao Ren couldn’t help but laugh, “Right, people are swallowed in there, and they are spat out when they reach their destination.”
Premier Xia raised his head and thought hard for a second. “That must be some kinds of Demon Beast that have weak stomachs,” he murmured.
Hao Ren choked up with laughter.
On a second thought, Premier Xia handled businesses all day long in the Dragon Palace and got all of his news from Elder Lu and Elder Sun. It was a pitiful life.
“If Uncle Zhao, I mean the Dragon King, agrees, I will take you to the mortal world for a tour,” Hao Ren said sympathetically.
“No! No! I have my duties here!” Premier Xia waved his hand, but he was grateful to the young Fuma for the offer.
“After touring the Ice Palace, Fuma will go back. He is kind and amiable, very unusual…” Premier Xia lamented silently and felt a bit reluctant about Hao Ren leaving.
86 Release!!
On the way to the Ice Palace with Premier Xia, Hao Ren thought for a while before asking, “Premier Xia, was Zi very rebellious when she was little?”
Hearing the topic turning to Zhao Yanzi, Premier Xia answered respectfully, “Little Princess rarely comes to the Dragon Palace, and I don’t see her often.”
“Really?” Hao Ren found it strange. “Didn’t Zi grow up in the Dragon Palace?” he asked.
“Little Princess was born on land and was under the guidance of Elder Sun and Elder Lu. I don’t have the honor to see her often.”
“So Zi grew up in the mortal world? She is only 15, and I guess Zhao Guang kept her on the land because he doesn’t want her to be uninformed about the era like Premier Xia,” at this thought, Hao Ren asked again, “Did Su Han grow up in the Dragon Palace?”
“Fuma… Gongzi Hao, do you mean Su Han, the Inspector?” Premier Xia nodded and said, “An Elder of East Ocean adopted her, and this elder taught her cultivation techniques and nurtured her. She left the Dragon Palace when she was 15 years old.”
He added, “Su Han has a rare Metal Water Body Type and is a cultivation genius that was rarely seen even in the past 1,000 years. Her cultivation progress was so fast that she became a Kun-level cultivator when she was only 15. After leaving the East Ocean Dragon Palace, she joined the system of Inspectors and is now in charge of the East Ocean area.”
“She doesn’t come to the Dragon Palace often, does she?” Hao Ren asked.
“Technically speaking, she is not a member of the East Ocean Dragon Clan, but she has the right to patrol the area as an Inspector. However, due to her special relationship with the East Ocean Dagon Clan, she rarely interferes with our business and comes back occasionally to visit her master,” Premier Xia answered.
“Metal Water Body Type … I wonder what body type I have,” Hao Ren asked.
“Gongzi Hao, you have a mortal body which is supposed to be a chaotic Five-Element Body Type. However, you have been cultivating the Spirit Concentration Scroll for a while, and Little Princess’ Dragon Core is inside your body. It should gradually turn into a smooth Water Body Type,” Premier Xia explained to him patiently.
“Compared with Su Han, is my body type inferior?” Hao Ren continued to ask.
“Hehe, you are a mortal and thus have been born with a poor body type. However, you can’t rush your cultivation,” Premier Xia comforted him.
Hao Ren agreed silently. Su Han was born with a rare body type, and she has been cultivating very hard, which was why she had reached her current realm.
“As for me, I don’t expect to be unrivaled. As long as I can save myself and protect the people close to me, I’m content,” he thought.
While they walked, their conversation centered on cultivation. Although Premier Xia’s ideas about the mortal world were hundreds of years behind reality, he was a great cultivator.
His patient explanations answered several questions Hao Ren had with the cultivation of the Spirit Concentration Scroll.
“Fuma has quite a different personality compared to the Little Princess. He is smart, curious, calm, and not ashamed to ask questions…” Premier Xia thought to himself while he answered Hao Ren’s questions.
They finally came to the Ice Palace.
In fact, after the long walk and talking with Premier Xia, Hao Ren had lost interest in the Ice Palace. However, he didn’t want to disappoint Premier Xia, so he followed the latter inside.
The Ice Palace was also known as the ice warehouse which was a world of ice and snow. It was quiet and cold inside.
While Hao Ren walked around in there, he wondered if some of the Dragon King’s past concubines were locked in the Ice Palace.
“Premier Xia, how come there are no maids here?” Hao Ren asked.
“The maids used to serve the Dragon King, Dragon Queen, and the Princess. Since they all live on land now, we don’t need maids here. The only females here are the families of the elders who live in the Dragon Palace,” Premier Xia explained.
Windless, the Ice Palace was a bitterly cold place of snow. Hao Ren circulated Nature Essence in his body according to the Spirit Concentration Scroll to keep warm while he looked at the many natural treasures stored in huge ice blocks that were two to three meters high.
Since he knew nothing about the natural treasures, he felt like a curious tourist.
As he was walking in the Ice Palace, he spotted a set of beautiful ancient female clothes stored in one ice block. He was about to pass it when he sensed something unusual about it. He paused and looked again.
“This is…” mustering his courage, Hao Ren asked Premier Xia.
“She is an Immortal Maid sent from the Above Realm. It’s said that she came down to the mortal world without permission and was discovered by an Inspector. She was sent to the Ice Palace in the East Ocean Dragon Palace for a 200-year imprisonment as a punishment,” Premier Xia said.
While they were talking, a rustling sound came from behind the ice block near them.
“Who is it?” alarmed, Hao Ren, who had an excellent hearing, yelled immediately.
A sad and timid-looking girl appeared from behind a huge ice block. She kneeled in front of Premier Xia and said, “Greetings to Premier Xia.”
She looked delicate and charming and was wearing a thin blue dress in this cold, snowy place.
“She is the younger sister of the Immortal Maid imprisoned in the ice block. She came to take care of her older sister,” Premier Xia whispered in Hao Ren’s ear.
Hao Ren looked at her and then at the girl in the ice block and found that they looked identical.
“More than 200 years?” Hao Ren caught the keywords and asked, “Does it mean that the punishment is over?
“I suppose so. But since we haven’t received any new messages about
it from the Above Realm, she is still imprisoned here.”
“They were just two ordinary maids in the Above Realm. I guess no one recalls the 200-year punishment anymore,” Hao Ren thought, “There is another realm above the Dragon Palace? That is interesting.”
“Since she has finished her time, why don’t you release her?” Hao Ren suggested.
“Since Fuma suggested it, I will send a message to the Above Realm in a couple of days. If they have no further instructions, I will release them,” Premier Xia said.
Hearing Premier Xia’s words, the eyes of the girl, who was standing nearby, lit up.
Hao Ren turned his head and glanced at her. He didn’t know what to say, so he turned to the gate of the Cold Palace and suggested, “Well, I should head back now.”
“I’ll walk you to the Dragon King,” Premier Xia followed him closely. He didn’t care about the two Immortal Maids, but he would do it as a favor for Hao Ren.
“Is the Above Realm you mention the Heavenly Realm?” Hao Ren asked Premier Xia as they walked out of the Ice Palace.
“The Above Realm refers to the cultivators living above the clouds. They are all powerful, but we Dragon Tribe have the numbers advantage. Overall, we are equal in terms of status. In the ancient times, there were Heavenly Immortals and Earthly Immortals. But now, all the Earthly Immortals had advanced into Heavenly Immortals and thus left all the earthly business to the Dragon Tribe,” Premier Xia said.
Hao Ren nodded and didn’t follow that up with anything.
When they returned to the main palace, Zhao Guang had finished his backlog of work and was having tea.
“Let’s head back,” seeing Hao Ren returning with Premier Xia, Zhao Guang stood up and said.In ancient Chinese history, the concubines who offended the emperors were sent to a place called Cold Palace, which sounds very similar to Ice Palace
87 Futile Struggles
“I will walk Your Majesty and Fuma out,” Premier Xia bowed and extended his hand outward.
“Go back and tell the Elders not to come out to see us off,” Zhao Guang said lightly.
“As you wish, Your Highness. But I must complete my duty,” Premier Xia said while walking them out.
He didn’t stop until they were at the main gate of the Dragon Palace. “I’ll stop here. I wish Your Majesty and Fuma a safe journey!”
Hao Ren turned to face Premier Xia and replied, “Premier Xia, thank you for giving me the tour today. Goodbye!”
“Goodbye?” Premier Xia froze for a moment before he realized that the Fuma was saying farewell to him.
He was so grateful for Hao Ren’s simple farewell that he stared at Hao Ren and was at a loss for words.
“Follow me,” Zhao Guang walked into the protection array formation and said, “Three to the left, one forward, six to the right.”
He started to give Hao Ren instructions again.
Hurriedly, Hao Ren took out the Water Repellent Bead and put it in his mouth. He followed Zhao Guang closely and cautiously.
Standing at the gate of the palace, Premier Xia looked at the back of Hao Ren with tears in his eyes. “What a virtuous, considerate, and kind Fuma! I wonder when I will see him again,” he thought.
In the vast ocean, Zhao Guang strolled forward while Hao Ren followed him anxiously as if he was in an English Listening Test for the College Entrance Examination. He was afraid of mishearing Zhao Guang’s instructions and misstepping due to his nervousness.
They continued to walk for more than ten minutes before they were out of the array formation. Although Hao Ren had the Water Repellent Bead in his mouth, his clothes were soaked, not by sea water but by his sweat.
After they went back on land, Hao Ren spat out the bead and felt a bitter taste in his mouth. By now, the sky had turned dark, and the only illumination was the moonlight reflecting on the surface of the sea.
Hao Ren took out his cell phone and saw it was already ten o’clock. Although the legend said, “One day in the Dragon Palace equals one year on land,” it wasn’t the case here. However, the time had indeed passed quickly.
Zhao Guang went over to start his car, and Hao Ren cleaned the bead and said to him, “Uncle, here’s the bead you loaned me.”
“You can keep it,” Zhao Guang started the car and said, “Get in the car. It’s already late; you can stay the night at our home and go directly to school tomorrow.”
Considering that Grandma and his parents had probably all gone to bed, Hao Ren nodded and replied, “Thank you, Uncle.”
“What do you think of the trip?” on the way back home, Zhao Guang asked Hao Ren.
“Very different from what I had imagined,” Hao Ren answered.
“Hehe. I go back to the Dragon Palace once every month to deal with the backlog of work. Today, I took you with me, so you could look around. Although we don’t live there, the Dragon Palace is an important place for us,” Zhao Guang said.
Hao Ren nodded. He suddenly thought of the incident in the Ice Palace and asked, “Today when I toured the Ice Palace with Premier Xia, I saw an Immortal Maid being imprisoned in an ice block. Did you know about it?”
“I did. She is an Immortal Maid sent down from the Above Realm 200 years ago. Now that I think of it, the imprisonment time has come to an end by now.”
“I asked Premier Xia to release her,” Hao Ren said.
To Hao Ren’s surprise, Zhao Guang was calm. “She is just an Immortal Maid who made a mistake. It is no big deal that we release her. After all, we can’t imprison her in the Dragon Palace forever,” he said.
Zhao Guang wouldn’t deny his son-in-law this little authority and didn’t blame Hao Ren for his interference. Besides, he knew Premier Xia, a cautious man, would handle this issue well.
Hao Ren was relieved because he had been afraid that Zhao Guang would scold him for deciding without consulting with him.
The car drove steadily on the highway. Shortly after, they returned home.
It was already 11 o’clock.
Zhao Hongyu heard the car and came downstairs in her pajamas to greet them.
“You are back together! Are you hungry?” she asked with concern.
“No, I’m not,” Hao Ren shook his head and replied. Having eaten two small red fruits, he was still full. However, he felt a bit tired after walking around for a long time.
“I’m not hungry either. Let’s call it a day,” Zhao Guang took off his jacket and said tiredly. He had spent the whole day working in the Dragon Palace and was exhausted.
Now, Hao Ren understood why Zhao Yanzi was not eager to go back to the Dragon Palace. After all, it was not a gigantic place, and it was always midnight when the trip ended. She didn’t like that.
“You stay the night in Zi’s room. I need to work on some of my designs tonight in the studio,” Zhao Hongyu said to Hao Ren. Tonight, she had her hair up.
“Can I sleep in the room my grandma used?” Hao Ren asked.
“Since your grandma won’t come back soon, I sprayed some bug repellent in that room. It’s not suitable for living right now,” Zhao Hongyu explained with a smile.
“Then I…” Hao Ren stopped speaking when Zhao Hongyu began to tug him upstairs. They stopped at Zhao Yanzi’s door and knocked.
“Going to sleep now!” Zhao Yanzi’s yell came from inside the room.
“Naughty girl!” Zhao Hongyu took out a key and unlocked the door. Sure enough, Zhao Yanzi, in her pink pajamas and a casual ponytail, was crouching in her chair playing games on the computer.
She turned and was displeased at the sight of Hao Ren. “Why are you here?!” she yelled.
“Ren will sleep in your room tonight. Stop playing games and go to bed now!” Zhao Hongyu said as she dragged Hao Ren into the room. She took out beddings from the wardrobe and placed them on the rug before Zhao Yanzi’s bed.
“Mom!” seeing her mom putting Hao Ren into her room for the night without consulting her, Zhao Yanzi yelled in protest.
“Don’t yell. I need the stu
dio in the attic tonight, and I sprayed bug repellent in Grandma’s room. Plus, the living room is too cold for sleeping. He has to stay in your room for the night,” ignoring Zhao Yanzi’s protest, Zhao Hongyu spread out the bedding and said to Hao Ren, “Ren, go to bed soon.”
“Thank you, Auntie,” Hao Ren said sincerely.
“If Zi disturbs your rest, come to me,” with that, Zhao Hongyu walked out of the room and shut the door.
“You!” the moment Zhao Hongyu left the room, Zhao Yanzi jumped from her chair and yelled, “You did this on purpose!”
Hao Ren felt wronged since he had meant to stay the night in the room his grandma had used, and that was why he came back with Zhao Guang. He had not expected that the room Grandma stayed in would be unavailable due to being sprayed with bug repellent.
However, he didn’t want to explain to Zhao Yanzi.
After he unbuttoned his jacket, he walked toward the bathroom.
Seeing his familiarity with her room, Zhao Yanzi was even angrier. “I forbid you from living in my room!” she yelled again.
“Go to bed early. Staying up late playing games and waking up late in the morning is bad for you. You have school tomorrow!” Hao Ren turned and lectured her.
“You have no right to lecture me!” enraged, Zhao Yanzi picked up a pillow and threw it at Hao Ren.
88 Futile Figh
Hao Ren caught the pillow. Instead of throwing it back to Zhao Yanzi, he took it with him into the bathroom.
“Hey!” Zhao Yanzi yelled, but Hao Ren was already in the bathroom and had locked the door.
In the bathroom, Hao Ren took off his clothes and hummed to himself while taking a shower.
Hearing Hao Ren humming in the shower, Zhao Yanzi burned with rage.
Hao Ren didn’t mean to anger her. However, her unfriendly manner made him want to retaliate. After all, she had never uttered a “thank you” in the long period he had been tutoring her.
The shower washed away his fatigue. After putting his clothes back on, he walked out of the bathroom and found Zhao Yanzi standing at the door; she was livid.
