Ninth Princess

Just as regret began to set in, a faint thump-thump of a heartbeat sounded. It was quiet, but still just barely audible. The princess looked puzzled, tilting her head and leaning closer to listen to the corpse's chest.

"You two, take him back to the palace. I'm going to save him."

"Ah!" The two maids looked bewildered at the princess's words. "Princess, is that appropriate?"

"There's no question of whether it's appropriate or not. Just do as I say."

"Yes, Princess."

The two maids didn't dare refuse any further. They helped Chen Tong up and headed toward the Dragon Palace.

Before long, a magnificent and splendid palace came into view. If Chen Tong had been awake, he would have been amazed: the towering buildings were all made of luminous pearls. Besides giving off a dreamlike glow, the many kinds of sea life added a romantic touch of color to the place.

"Go distract the guards. Remember, if my father asks, you absolutely must not tell him I brought someone back. Understood?" Looking at the palace just ahead, the princess quietly instructed the two maids.

"Yes, Princess."

The two maids hurried off, while the princess carefully brought Chen Tong into her bedchamber. Just as she had laid him on the bed, a deep voice sounded outside the palace.

"Jiu'er! Hahaha, I heard you were back."

Hearing the voice, Ninth Princess drew in a sharp breath, quickly covered Chen Tong with a blanket, and hurried out of the room. When she reached the palace entrance, she saw a tall, imposing figure walking toward her!

"Hahaha, Jiu'er, how was it? Did you have fun out there?" The imposing man gazed at Ninth Princess fondly.

"Father, wh-why did you come all of a sudden?" Ninth Princess tried her best to hide her panic. She didn't dare look her father in the eye.

"You made such a fuss about going out to play, and now you've suddenly come back. Of course your father had to come see you right away."

"Father, you're busy with official matters. You should go take care of them. I'm fine." As she spoke, Ninth Princess pushed the Dragon King outside, then shut the door.

"You... you little rascal. At least let your father come in and sit for a while!" The Dragon King stood outside the doorway, looking helpless.

"Phew..."

A little while later, after she sensed that her father had left, Ninth Princess finally breathed a sigh of relief!

As the Dragon King's daughter, she knew how serious an offense it was to secretly bring an outsider back. Fortunately, she hadn't been found out. Once she had calmed down, she headed back to the room.

"Did your father leave?" Chen Tong asked when he sensed her enter.

"Ah... y-you're awake?" Ninth Princess's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at him as if he were something unbelievable.

"I woke up the moment you laid me on the bed. You saved me, didn't you?"

Chen Tong opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a girl in a pink dress who looked about sixteen. Her eyes were clear and captivating, with an ethereal quality. Her cheeks were white with a faint blush, like snow in bloom, and her lips looked so soft that he couldn't help wanting to bite them.

Chen Tong's mind went blank for a moment. He stared dumbly as she came to the bedside, a delicate fragrance wafting over him. He couldn't help swallowing, having completely forgotten everything else.

"I only brought you back. I hadn't even had time to treat you when you miraculously recovered, so you can't say I saved you." Ninth Princess studied Chen Tong without stopping.

"Uh... you still saved me. If you hadn't brought me back, the fish might have torn me to pieces. I wouldn't have had a chance of surviving."

"Pfft!"

Ninth Princess covered her mouth and smiled. "You're quite the joker. You're a Golden Immortal. It's not that easy to die. By the way, what's your name?"

"Chen Tong!"

"Chen Tong?" Ninth Princess murmured his name, then said with a cheerful smile, "Then I'll call you Brother Chen from now on!"

"Suit yourself." Chen Tong's mind stirred, and a golden, gleaming pill appeared in his hand. The moment it appeared, the room filled with a warm, comforting glow.

"This... this is!" Ninth Princess's eyes widened as she stared at the pill in Chen Tong's hand in disbelief. "Could this be the legendary Nine-Revolving Golden Core?"

"I have no way to repay you for saving my life. I'll give you this Nine-Revolving Golden Core."

"What? You're giving it to me?" Ninth Princess was startled. How precious was this Nine-Revolving Golden Core? Even her father wasn't worthy of possessing one, yet Brother Chen was willing to give it to her. Her cheeks flushed faintly, but she still refused. "No, it's far too precious. You should keep it."

Chen Tong had known she would react this way. He said helplessly, "Princess, we don't even know each other, yet you were willing to risk bringing me here. How could a single golden core compare to such kindness? Take it. Think of it as a keepsake."

Ninth Princess hesitated for a moment, looking at Chen Tong cautiously. Seeing that he seemed sincere, she wavered, then nodded. "All right, I'll take it for now. If you ever need it, you can come to me anytime."

Ninth Princess carefully took it and treasured it as she placed it in her sea of consciousness.

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have triggered a hidden quest: Stop Golden Cicada from entering the mortal world.]

Chen Tong froze, then brightened. At last, he had a quest. After calming himself, he looked at Ninth Princess and said, "We're even now. I should be going."

Ninth Princess froze, then said reluctantly, "Brother Chen, are you leaving now?"

"Yeah. I still have a lot to do, and staying here isn't a long-term solution."

Ninth Princess lowered her head and spoke quietly, as if asking something embarrassing: "Then... could you take me with you?"

Chen Tong froze again and looked at her deeply before saying, "All right. Hold on tight."

"Ah!" Ninth Princess blushed. "Brother Chen, y-you're so bad."

Chen Tong...?

"What are you thinking?" Chen Tong rolled his eyes at her. "I'm telling you to hold on tight because I'm going to use a secret technique. If you don't hold on to me, it won't cover you."

"Oh, oh!" Ninth Princess breathed a sigh of relief and, still not entirely convinced, held tight to Chen Tong. His body shuddered. He had been mentally prepared, but this wretched softness still made his blood race.

With a thought, he vanished from the room with Ninth Princess. When they appeared again, they were already above the clouds.

"My father's Dragon Palace is protected by divine restrictions. I can't believe you can travel through them so easily, Brother Chen."

Chen Tong looked disdainful. "How could those laughable restrictions possibly stop me?"

"Where are we going now?"

Ninth Princess was full of anticipation, eager to know where they would go next.

At that moment, Chen Tong was sensing Golden Cicada's aura. Then his eyes narrowed, because another aura was with Golden Cicada's: Guanyin of the South Sea!

"Come on! I'll take you to a fight."

"Ah!"

Before Ninth Princess could react, Chen Tong had already taken her hand and flown into the distance.

Above the South Sea, atop the clouds, two white-robed figures sat upon a cloud, one man and one woman, one bald and one with long hair. The only thing they had in common was the pure aura that surrounded them.