Brothers in Arms, Beloved Friends

Liang Qu rowed a boat on the lake, then darted into the depths of the Great Marsh. Once no one was around, he cast his line and waited quietly.

The river tide surged, but the boat hovered on a single point, completely still.

About fifteen minutes.

In the distance, the waves break apart, creating unusual ripples that resemble the continuous flow of the surging river tide.

Scarlet Scale arrived with three demons and immediately noticed the new official robes adorning Liang Qu's body.

The Spirit Deer treads on the water, white waves surge, as if the surging river tide is imprisoned within the garment, stretching endlessly, yet it is not the brocade fish and auspicious cloud robe of the Dushui Official.

"The Spirit Deer Treading Waves... He got promoted?"

"A promotion?" The Yellow Scale Great Snake on the left asked in surprise. "Could it be because you killed the Green Viper?"

"..."

The snakes fell silent.

Living underwater year-round, they know little about humans, but promotion requires merit, which is universal, and the younger the person, the greater the merit required.

From April to June, not long afterward, the fishermen of Yi Xing Town never mentioned that Liang Qu had made any Great Merit.

Let's calculate the timeline again...

Azure Viper roared in fury, "What does this mean? Is this a warning to others? A show of force?"

"Azure Viper! It's urgent again!"

Scarlet Scale glared at Azure Viper, reaching the limit of his patience.

After undergoing the body tempering and Body Tempering by Lord Net, one's strength will greatly increase, as if one were wearing full armor.

The pain and itching in between are like ants gnawing at the heart, which is something that no ordinary snake can endure. In addition, the Azure Viper is inherently irritable and too easily impulsive.

After much thought...

Scarlet Scale said calmly, "Azure Viper, go keep watch!"

"Me?" Azure Viper's vertical pupils contracted. "Keep watch? With the Snake Monster?"

Do I need to say it a second time?

By sending Chi Lin away at this moment, Scarlet Scale Azure Viper has undoubtedly lost the opportunity to negotiate with Liang Qu and gain credit for the White Ape's whereabouts!

However, the Yellow Scale and Orange Scale flanked the Scarlet Scale, silently watching.

Azure Viper suppressed his anger.

You'll regret this!

"I am the captain!"

"Snort!"

Even with its fierce temper, the Azure Viper knew the significance of the Flood Dragon's appointment and was no match for the three snakes working together. With a cold snort, it turned and left, preventing nearby ships and people from passing by.

Finally, there was peace and quiet in my ears.

Feeling so good~ Scarlet Scale's scales relaxed, experiencing a long-lost sense of peace, and looked at Yellow Scale and Orange Scale.

"Azure Viper is too stupid, you don't need to pay attention to it. As the human race often says, a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall. The other party knows that he has a feud with the Snake Clan, yet he still dares to come alone. He must have guessed the reason."

But he still came, undoubtedly with the intention of betraying us. Wearing official robes now, he simply wants to fetch a good price and make more profit. Bribing Spirit Monster and bribing Great Demon are two different things.

"Lord Akashi is right."

Yellow Scale and Orange Scale suddenly realized, and a sense of awe welled up in their hearts.

The two snakes, having spent two months with the Scarlet Scale, were deeply impressed by its wisdom.

He truly deserves to be the team leader.

Even if he achieves nothing on this trip, it's only a matter of time before Scarlet Scale has his own side hall in the Dragon Palace.

However, it is most likely to succeed.

From Fragrant Township County to Pingyang Prefecture, and then to the offering of gifts at the River God Sacrifice, everything was perfectly in line with the Scarlet Scale Plan, without any mishaps!

Thinking of how the Flood Dragon summoned the Demon King and then dispatched countless subordinates to capture the White Ape.

In the end, this tremendous Great Merit fell upon their own heads, and the two snakes couldn't help but be excited.

"Let's go."

The stagnant, strange ripples continued to converge, drawing long, winding lines.

Surrounded by snakes, danger lurks at every turn.

Liang Qu seemed to be going to the meeting alone, the black plates on his arm armor twitching as he handed over a small token, which he secretly pinched.

The distance between the two sides was reduced to within half a mile.

Scarlet Scale, Yellow Scale, and Orange Scale break through the water's surface, the water flowing over the scales and creating white foam.

Scan the area.

Each of the Snake Demon demons was no smaller than the dark green giant snake.

The red and yellow snakes were still superior, but the large blue snake from the sacrificial ceremony had disappeared.

Furthermore...

Iron Head Fish often have mutated bodies, wield weapons, and practice martial arts. They are rarely seen among the Snake Clan, who all retain their original appearance.

"Body type characteristics?"

Liang Qu speculated.

At the same level of cultivation, the dark green serpent is over 300 meters long, Sturgeon Fish Demon and the Iron Head Fish are mostly over 60 meters long.

Transforming into human form is undoubtedly much easier for the latter than for the former, who would almost have to be remolded.

While pondering.

The three-headed serpent slithered toward the boat.

Scarlet Scale raised his head, but then realized that he was too big and his shadow completely covered the small boat, so he lowered his head slightly so that his line of sight was just level with Liang Qu's, and offered his congratulations.

"Lord Liang birth, and people often say that he has the appearance of Celestial Person being. I had heard of this while living in Great Marsh, but I did not believe it. However, I witnessed it yesterday and found that it was indeed true! Today, I see him again, and he has been promoted. He is soaring to the heavens. Congratulations!"

Hmm? You've studied this before?

The first words spoken by the Red Scale Great Snake surprised Liang Qu. He flicked his fishing rod, met the Scarlet Scale Serpent's vertical pupils in the eye, and said calmly, "Humans and demons are different races. My promotion, even if I become the Water River Governor-General, what does it have to do with you? What is there to be happy about?"

"That being said, aren't the River Dolphin driven by the River Conservancy Office a model of cooperation between humans and demons? Different ethnic groups can still form alliances and coexist."

"A pact to form alliances and coexist?" Liang Qu sneered. "I thought you came here to avenge the giant snake of Fragrant Township County."

"Would you come here if you really wanted revenge?" Scarlet Scale rarely thought to itself. It knew perfectly well that the other party was here and had the intention to betray it, but it had no choice but to play along and maintain a "decent" facade.

"The son of Green Viper destroyed the fishpond and wrecked the boats, and he deserved his punishment. It is not wrong for him to avenge his son. He should just accept what he deserves. Why should he seek revenge?"

Liang Qu became increasingly puzzled.

A Snake Demon, I thought he would keep things brief, but I didn't expect him to be so knowledgeable about human relationships.

So savvy?

Seeing that the other party was not revealing the treasure for a long time, he had no choice but to follow.

"Offering unsolicited favors is not..."

"Hmph, hypocrite!"

The Azure Viper, keeping watch from afar, grew increasingly dissatisfied as it watched the man and snake converse for a long time.

Yellow Scale and Orange Scale servants on either side also seemed pretentious.

One is interested, and the other wants to do it, but neither of them says it outright.

Fortunately, there was Scarlet Scale, otherwise the two snakes would not have noticed.

Go ahead and pretend.

Human hearts are a thousand times more complex than a snake's! They spend half a day feigning compliance and maintaining a facade of "decency."

Scarlet Scale gave a timely wink. "I know that Lord Liang has a deep friendship with White Ape, so he must know his whereabouts... Yellow Scale!"

Yellow Scale quickly flicked its tail and handed over the wooden box.

Scarlet Scale took it, opened the wooden box, and a golden light shone out!

Liang Qu narrowed his eyes slightly and discovered that what was inside wasn't gold, but three small golden sharks! He had previously eaten the Golden Gong Fish, a gift from the Toad King! Each fish cost five thousand essences! "This fish is a specialty of the South Sea, named Golden Gong Treasure. It has a golden gallbladder inside its belly, and its taste is exquisite, making one feel as if they are floating on air. Now, with just one word, all three Big Fish will belong to you, my lord!"

Great, awesome!

After all that talk, we've finally got some real substance! These three aren't as big as the Toad King gave us, but they're still quite large, worth at least ten thousand units of Marsh Essence!

Liang Qu was overjoyed, but pretended to sneer.

"You think I'd betray the White Ape for just three Treasure Fish? Do you take me for someone as cold-blooded and ruthless as the Snake Clan clan?"

"What is betrayal? Frost and dew are distributed equally, and the barren creatures are excluded. The White Ape's friendship with Lord Liang today is nothing more than an attempt to use your power to protect itself and get what it needs..."

Didn't we just say that humans and demons had an agreement to cooperate and coexist? How come in the blink of an eye they're no longer infertile and each takes what they want?

Yellow Scale and Orange Scale scratched their heads.

Scarlet Scale knew it wouldn't be so easy to negotiate. "Orange Scale!"

Orange Scale was startled and quickly presented the second treasure chest. Inside were three Fluorescent Azure Lotus!

"These three Treasure Lotus are worth as much as the Golden Gong Fish. If you, sir, will grant me the three fish and three lotus flowers today, I will offer them to you in full. After the matter is settled, there will be an even greater gift!"

Scarlet Scale spoke with unwavering conviction and earnestness, "Isn't this precisely why you have come today, my lord?"

He glanced down and scanned the area.

Golden Gong Fish, Treasure Lotus.

With a mere flick of the wrist, he conjured 30,000 essences! Truly impressive!

pity...

Whoosh!

The iron hook emerges from the water.

You've misunderstood.

Scarlet Scale was stunned.

"The White Ape is my beloved friend, my brother..."

The goldfish shimmered with precious light, the eagles soared across the sky, extending their sharp claws, and suddenly a giant snake appeared on the river, flapping its wings and flying away swiftly.

Liang Qu put away his fishing rod and glanced sideways at the Scarlet Scale.

"You need to pay more!"