The Drunkard's Intention Is Not In The Wine

The sky was a clear blue, and the clouds drifted lazily in the air.

On the Great Marsh where the water and sky meet, under a clear sky and gentle breeze, the river surface surges with waves, startling water birds into circling and refusing to land.

The sailors poured a little vinegar onto the deck and used brushes to clean the remaining bloodstains from the crevices.

"If you don't play for three days, your hands will grow thorns."

Having assumed the position of Elder of the clan, I have long been out of battle and have not yet Melting Hundred Classics. My martial arts skills have progressed but not regressed.

"Now I only have the brute force of my cultivation level, but my strength is far inferior to what it used to be..."

Long Zongyin raised his hand in a bow, his face showing shame.

What a waste of the moment before boarding the ship.

He thought the other party was treating him warmly, but who would have thought they wanted to pull him into battle and use his strength to their advantage.

Really...

Just when I'm feeling sleepy, here's a pillow for me!

"Hey, Elder Long, it's alright." Ran Zhongshi, unaware of Long Zongyin's thoughts, extended a warm invitation, "You haven't yet Melting Hundred Classics, but you've surely completed most of the process of Profound Light Opening, right? Those two mid-level and low-level fish over there, you can just flick your sleeves and they'll tremble! Your unfamiliar skills don't matter! If we join forces, we can crush them!"

Long Zongyin frowned, looked up at the sky, and was caught in a dilemma.

Ran Zhongshi gave Bai Yinbin a wink.

Bai Yinbin stepped forward with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Elder, the Dragonfolk Clan is blessed with unique advantages. Even the Celestial Person Marines are nothing special. Your cultivation level is undeniable. With Brother Zhong Shi's Ink Array, dealing with a bunch of self-satisfied Former Dynasty Remnants, clinging to life, would be a piece of cake. Furthermore, our River Conservancy Office has sent four boats of Old Ice from afar, which is too much..."

"Hey, Yin Bin." Ran Zhongshi's tone was slightly reproachful. He turned to look up at Long Zongyin and spread his five fingers. "How about this? I'll decide to send an extra 50,000 catties of Old Ice to the Dragon Man Tribe! All top-quality!"

The River Conservancy Office brought in a total of 1.2 million catties of Old Ice. The Dragonfolk Clan only bought 1 million catties, leaving 200,000 catties. The River Conservancy Office had no intention of collecting the remaining ice, so it was completely useless. In the end, it could only be taken back and resold, or stuffed into various ice cellars to replenish ice blocks. It was better to do Water Person.

Long Zongyin's brows relaxed slightly, and he looked down at Ran Zhongshi, letting out a long sigh.

"Ran Zuoling, there's no need for 50,000 catties of ice. We already have a million Long Qi of Old Ice to spare. But I have a favor to ask."

An unreasonable request?

Ran Zhongshi's brow twitched, and he took a precaution. "I am just a minor river and lake commander with little real power. The Elder's demands are too excessive; I cannot meet them..."

"Ran Zuoling, rest assured, it's nothing serious. It's just that our Dragonfolk Clan wishes to cooperate with you!"

Colleagues in harmony?

Ran Zhongshi filled with doubt and uncertainty.

"Elder wants to take a position at the River Conservancy Office Administration?"

"It's not for me, but to ask for a few official positions in the River Conservancy Office administration for my second or third juniors." Long Zongyin looked around. "They don't need to be too high, just minor officials of the eighth or ninth rank will do."

On either side, Long Pingjiang and Long Pinghe led several Dragonfolk forward and knelt on one knee.

"I earnestly hope that Ran Zuoling will take me in!"

Wow! The medicine in this gourd is incredibly complicated!

Faced with the kneeling Wolf Smoke Dragonfolk, Ran Zhongshi suddenly felt troubled, knowing in his heart that he had been tricked.

The fact that Dragonfolk wanted to take up a post at the River Conservancy Office was not a spur-of-the-moment decision; it must have been carefully considered and he had been planning it for a long time.

By asking the other party for help in dealing with the Ghost Mother Sect, he inadvertently gave them an opportunity to speak...

What bad luck!

They've collided! Help! The situation is unclear.

The Dragonfolk and Da Shun people are not simply foreign tribes; their every move is involved in politics.

The proposer in particular was Long Zongyin, one of the First Elder of the Dragon Man Tribe.

If the other party is truly inclined to cooperate, that's a great thing, a fantastic achievement!

If it weren't for... it would be as black as a big pot!

I won't help...

This team that's supposed to wipe out the Ghost Mother Sect can forget about it; they should just go back and rest.

He was willing to give up such an easy Great Merit just to be safe, but what about Yin Bin and Kai Yun?

"Elder, your request is quite unexpected," Ran Zhongshi said slowly. "This matter is of great importance, and I'm afraid I can't make the decision alone..."

"There is no need for Lord Ran to make a decision or agree. Just report my idea to the officials of the River Conservancy Office and say a few words in response."

Long Zongyin had no hope that the other party would agree on the spot, and the other party didn't think they had that right either.

Instead, he only needs to do this small favor to gain the other party's verbal support, so that the whole thing can proceed more smoothly.

When an issue is raised by an insider, there are completely different obstacles compared to when it is raised by an outsider.

"Hmm..."

Ran Zhongshi pondered for a moment, about to utter some official platitudes and try to find a way to back things up.

Liang Qu, who was at the back of the group, stepped past Lu Kaiyun and Ren Yipeng, took two steps forward, and tugged at the corner of their clothes.

Ran Zhongshi glanced to the side and suddenly saw Liang Qu nod slightly. His eyes lit up and he understood immediately.

I almost forgot.

A Shui's extraordinary abilities! He just demonstrated them when dealing with the Ghost Mother Sect scouts; they were truly miraculous!

With Liang Qu's confirmation, Ran Zhongshi's mind was made up.

Merit and political achievements—double benefits—we didn't hesitate.

"Of course, I am willing to introduce Elder Long to Xu Tiling."

"In that case, I would like to thank Ran Zuoling behalf of the younger generation of the clan."

Long Zongyin raised his hand in return, his eyes glancing at Liang Qu who had stepped forward. A vague sense of familiarity welled up in his heart, stirring up a storm of emotions.

E Ying, Binglin was right.

There are truly people favored by the Great Marsh!

Unheard of for thousands of years!

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Long Zongyin's mind, but he forced himself to control his emotions and nodded slightly.

Liang Qu nodded in agreement.

He hid in the back and watched for a long time. When his two old acquaintances, Long Pingjiang and Long Pinghe, came out, he understood most of the situation.

The Dragonfolk entered the River Conservancy Office, the Drunkard's Intention Is Not In The Wine.

I myself am the root cause of all this.

Furthermore, sensing that Long Zongyin meant no harm, he took the initiative to show himself and make contact.

Seeing that the people on the boat were eagerly awaiting the Great Merit, and after finally reaching an agreement, Ran Zhongshi said, "Elder Long, there's no time to lose, let's set off as soon as possible!"

"Wait a minute! Let me ask you one more question: besides the two Hunting Tiger, how many men does the enemy have left?"

"Sixteen Wolf Smoke are more than enough for both of our forces combined!"

How do I get there?

"The large ship is too conspicuous. Let's take a smaller boat first, and then dive closer when we're closer!"

"Good!"

Thus, Long Zongyin, a peak Hunting Tiger and Great Martial Master Profound Light Opening, led twenty Wolf Smoke Expert to assist in the suppression of the bandits.

The situation immediately reversed.

The group no longer needed to each deal with four Ghost Mother Sect Wolf Smoke Martial Master; instead, each Ghost Mother Sect member had to deal with two of them!

Draw Ink Array for the Dragonfolk.

Small boats were lowered from the Broad-bellied Ark before abandoning the ark and going into the water.

Immediately afterwards, Ran Zhongshi awkwardly discovered that they weren't as fast as the Dragonfolk when swimming...

The entire team was slowed down by the speed of Lu Kaiyun, Ren Yipeng and Bai Yinbin, and even he himself could barely keep up and was not much faster.

Long Zongyin, having anticipated the situation, gave an order, and each of his two Dragonfolk, along with officials from the River Conservancy Office, advanced rapidly.

Perfect.

This creates opportunities for contact between Liang Qu and Long Pingjiang, Long Pinghe.

"What's up with your Elder? Is he here for me?"

Long Pingjiang was greatly embarrassed and explained in a low voice.

"And so it went, and so it went... and that's how it ended up."

Long Pinghe added, "Don't worry, sir. Neither of us revealed what your True Spirit Dharma Image is, and the Elder didn't press us for answers."

"Whether you say it or not, it's all the same..."

Liang Qu didn't care, but he hadn't expected the Dragonfolk- people to possess the ability to sense the favor bestowed upon them! The Toad, through sheer observation, deduced that the Dragonfolk relied entirely on their innate talent...

In truth, Liang Qu himself should have one, but he has never encountered anyone with the same Favorability.

The Flood Dragon is one of them, but although they have "encountered each other in spirit" for a long time, they have never seen each other in person.

"Therefore, Elder Zong Yin wanted to meet and talk with Lord Liang, and now his goal has been indirectly achieved."

The Elder appointed us two to serve under you in the hope that it wouldn't seem strange for Lord Liang to maintain close ties with the Dragonfolk in the future.

"Quite meticulous."

The Dragon Man Tribe Elder reacted decisively and swiftly.

"Alright, there's no need to come to me in person to discuss the details. I understand the situation. I'll talk to you two later and transfer you to my command. I'll be promoted to the Hengshui Envoy soon."

"Thank you, sir!"

The group swam for several miles and spotted a small, flat boat moored on the water in the distance. It was painted blue and made of some unknown type of wood, so it was barely noticeable and could be missed if you didn't look closely.

The Martial Master patrolling the ship were completely unaware of the impending disaster.

"Ran Zuoling, how should we attack? Should we take a direct assault or..."

"Elder, please sink the ship so we can go into the water to fight."

Without a word, Long Zongyin stepped forward alone.