Behind the Crystal Palace, they found the king's corpse.
The king lay there with a peaceful expression, showing none of the signs of a corpse. His complexion was rosy, as though he were merely asleep.
Everyone was surprised by what they saw.
"Mystic Spirit King, I protected this king's body with the Face-Preserving Pearl, which is why he looks so peaceful, as though he were asleep," the Well Dragon King said.
Uchiha Shin nodded. He remembered that Journey to the West had indeed recorded that the Well Dragon King used the Face-Preserving Pearl to preserve the king's corpse.
"Why did you do this?" Goku asked. "You had no connection with this king. There was no need for you to do such a thing."
The Face-Preserving Pearl was no ordinary treasure. Using it this way was indeed rather wasteful.
The Well Dragon King smiled. "I was somewhat acquainted with this king before. After all, the mouth of my well is within the imperial palace. I once transformed into a carp and swam about within the well. Later, someone from the palace caught me, but the king released me back into it. Otherwise, I might have died that day. So I did this to repay his kindness."
After hearing the Well Dragon King's explanation, everyone understood and said nothing further.
"This king was killed by a demon. You knew that too, didn't you?" Uchiha Shin asked again.
"I knew. That demon pushed the king into the deep well. Once he died, I knew it was the demon's doing. That lion demon was very powerful, and I was no match for him. But for the king's sake, I had no choice but to do this," the Well Dragon King said.
After all, the king had once saved his life, and they were neighbors.