"Yunqin, have you ever considered that if you were of the Human Race rather than the Aquatic Race, your future would be far more than this?"
"Chief Superintendent of the Yellow River should never have been your endpoint."
"I had meant to use the Merit of governing the river to unshackle you. Never did I imagine it would instead add another lock. I was never truly trusted either, and you, too, could not escape being closely guarded against."
"Do you feel unwilling to accept it?"
"Keeping you in the palace was not to restrain you, nor to block your path ahead, but to protect you. One day, you will understand."
"Do not harbor resentment. The hatred of the weak is also a reason for slaughter."
"The Milky Way in the heavens, the Long River upon the earth. May we honor ideals; may blessings illuminate rivers and stars. You are the youngest pinnacle of the Aquatic Race. Raising you to this position makes you a monument of virtue. The three words Fuyunqin are the banner of the Aquatic Race. You bear the responsibility of giving the Aquatic Race of the future hope."
"I hope it will not feel too heavy to you. But no matter what, you must keep moving forward."
"Yunqin, I have wronged you."
"Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?"
Yes. Why had he said such a thing?
Fuyunqin was like a strip of dried meat, swaying as he hung there.
Those conversations with the Dragon Lord from long ago were the last clear spring, flowing over the gradually cracking seabed—his mind, empty and barren.
It was not until the Dragon Lord raised the waves of the Long River and battered the ancient Nine Garrisons that he understood where that "I have wronged you" had come