Saliva Wine

There is indeed a water palace in the large lake of Gaoyou.

Compared to the Huaihe River Water Palace, which is buried deep at the bottom of the river, the Gaoyou Water Palace is a well-maintained and normally functioning secret water palace.

Stepping on water lilies, Zhang Xuezhou descended from the vast lake, parting the waves, and finally saw the underwater palace nestled deep beneath the water.

I thought your house was full of water!

Zhang Xuezhou looked around haphazardly, then glanced at the pebbles he had thrown down.

His ignorant attitude made Ao Li chuckle.

"Just as you are good at flying but cannot stay in the air all the time, we are good at water but cannot stay submerged in water all the time. It's the same principle," Ao Li laughed.

"Those soaking in the water are all homeless people," Ao Qing said smugly. "Water creatures like us, with homes and families, live in big houses. This is my precious water palace for settling down and building my life!"

"Ninth Route, Gaoyou Water Mansion!"

"You figured it out! I actually picked up a house that someone else didn't want!"

This water palace is similar to the Huai River water palace, employing an underwater cave structure.

Compared to the dilapidated state of the Huaihe River Water Palace, this Water Palace has not only been completely renovated, but also furnished with flowers, trees, and wooden pavilions and towers.

The seventy-two luminous pearls atop the Water Palace illuminated the area as if it were daytime, giving it the magnificent appearance of the legendary Water Palace.

However, the inscription on the stele erected at this water palace had not been changed. Zhang Xuezhou had read the inscriptions of the Huaihe River Water Palace and could guess most of the contents of these ancient inscriptions at a glance, which turned the smug look on Ao Qing's face into an embarrassed one.

"There are only so many secret water palaces in the world, and it's all about new people replacing the old," Ao Li said dismissively. "Even Nine Yin Exalted One's Sacred Land was just a relic of his predecessors; we're all pretty much the same."

"I built my own bird's nest," Zhang Xuezhou said with a grin.

"I built my own water palace, and I inserted each of these beads one by one. I also arranged these little pavilions myself," Ao Qing said Qi Ingestion. "I even planted a tree today!"

"I can dress myself!" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"I will wear those little doll clothes in the future," Ao Qing said.

"His ability to transform is still somewhat lacking; no matter how many clothes he wears, they'll all tear. It's actually more convenient for him not to wear any," Ao Li laughed. "You two seem to get along quite well. I rarely see Qing'er argue with her friends like this!"

I also enjoy being his friend!

Zhang Xuezhou did not choose to deal with Ao Li, as he was well aware of the gap between himself and these great cultivators at the level of Sacred Land lords.

To these people, he was nothing more than a tiny insect; they were being very polite if they even exchanged a few words with him.

Although he was traveling with Ao Li and occasionally exchanging words, he was talking to Ao Qing most of the time.

Moreover, Ao Li is not permanently stationed in this one water mansion; the true owner of this water mansion is Ao Qing.

Feeling the familiar aura of this favored place, Zhang Xuezhou felt it necessary to cultivate a good relationship with Ao Qing so that he could come to this water palace to perform shamanistic rituals and unleash the Dragon Riding Technique in the future.

At the same time, Zhang Xuezhou was also somewhat troubled by the affairs of Dong Zhongshu and others.

This isn't just hitting a wall, it's crashing into an iron wall.

"Are you just repairing houses here every day? What do you eat? Are the little fish and shrimp in the water enough for you? Do you eat people?"

Perhaps having confirmed that Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't cause trouble, Ao Li invited Zhang Xuezhou to the water palace, then instructed Ao Qing to entertain him. Afterward, he pushed against a stone wall and disappeared, preparing to take Zhang Xuezhou away, lest Zhang Xuezhou continue to grumble about people drowning in the water and wanting to fill the lake.

This made Zhang Xuezhou crane his neck.

If these water palaces are all standardized and built to similar standards, then they certainly haven't explored the Huai River water palaces thoroughly.

At least Zhang Xuezhou didn't crawl through any of the stone walls.

He casually struck up a conversation with Ao Qing about various topics, and Ao Qing quickly offered explanations.

"Have you found any hidden treasure in this underwater palace?" Zhang Xuezhou asked. "I found another underwater palace before, but there was nothing inside, just two stone fish at the entrance!"

"I don't know, I didn't find this place," Ao Qing shook his head and said, "Only Father could know the truth about this."

"I've heard from others that the Water Palace has a 'Jewelry Vault,' a 'Water Palace,' a 'Water Prison,' and a 'Sleeping Palace,'" Zhang Xuezhou said. "This Jewelry Vault is where the treasures are hidden. If you know where the Jewelry Vault is, I can even take you to search that abandoned Water Palace."

"These names sound really exciting," Ao Qing said. "No one has ever taken me on an adventure or treasure hunt before. Can you really take me?"

"It's no big deal, don't worry about bringing it. We can go as long as you're willing!"

You're such a good bird!

Ao Qing beamed with delight, clearly very happy to accept Zhang Xuezhou as his new demon friend.

Although their first meeting wasn't particularly friendly, he grew happier the more they talked.

After sitting naked on a stone table, Ao Qing retrieved a bronze wine pot about half a person's height from behind a roof beam.

"Come here, come here, let's sneak a couple of drinks while Father's not around and see who can drink more," Ao Qing said. "Whoever can drink the most is the boss."

"Let me tell you, I've never been afraid of anyone when it comes to drinking. Even the Emperor praised me as a promising candidate to be the boss when it comes to drinking," Zhang Xuezhou boasted.

"Even the Emperor praised me... praised my father as a promising candidate to be a drinking champion!"

Ao Qing thought about it for a moment, and then realized that he had never met the Emperor, which was why he Qi Ingestion to use his own father as a shield.

"Come on, one bite each!"

What is half a person's height to Zhang Xuezhou is a normal height to Ao Qing.

He glanced furtively to the left and right, then aimed his mouth at the spout of the wine pot, and asked Zhang Xuezhou to help push the bronze wine pot.

A pale red liquid poured from the spout of the wine jug and into Ao Qing's mouth.

Zhang Xuezhou took a sniff and noticed that the liquor had a hint of grassy aroma, mixed with a fishy smell like seawater.

"What kind of wine is this?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"This is my father's hidden wine, it's called something like Saliva Wine," Ao Qing said. "My father told me to only take it out to drink when I get married. How am I supposed to know when I'll get married and drink this wine? Let's secretly have a good drink first!"

"That makes sense!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

The kind of liquor that you'd give to your own son wouldn't be too outrageous.

After Ao Qing had drunk about two jin of wine, Zhang Xuezhou also squatted down under the spout of the copper kettle.

"Put the wine in slowly, I feel like I can't drink it as fast as you do," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"You just said you were a promising drinking enthusiast!"

"That's what the Emperor said!"

Zhang Xuezhou argued for a few moments, then downed a mouthful of wine from the copper pot.

He smacked his lips, feeling as if he had just drunk a mouthful of brown sugar water with a fishy taste.

It doesn't taste bad, and it's quite different from regular wine, with only a very slight hint of fermented wine flavor.

Zhang Xuezhou recalled the Nine Treasures Wine of the Venerable One, and then thought about the high-class wines he had drunk at the Pingyang Marquis's residence. He felt that the wines these people talked about were nothing special.

"Let me tell you, as long as I can pee, I can drink this kind of liquor as long as you can, until you can't drink anymore!"

After Ao Qing had fed him two jin of sugar water, Zhang Xuezhou still couldn't resist continuing to boast and strengthen their friendship.

"It's my turn! It's my turn!" Ao Qing urged, "Give me a bigger portion this time, I feel like I can drink the ten catties of wine you mentioned!"

"Ten pounds!"

Ao Qing's demands made Zhang Xuezhou realize the reality in a daze: humans cannot compete with dragons in terms of water volume.

He held up the bronze wine pot and poured the ten catties of wine that Ao Qing had requested, but couldn't help thinking about how he would boast about it to avoid drinking the ten catties of wine.

He had only been thinking for a few seconds when he saw Ao Qing, who was gulping down wine with his mouth wide open, begin to tremble, his eyes rolled back, and his face began to contort.

Zhang Xuezhou rubbed his eyes and saw a tail over a meter long appear behind Ao Qing, and other areas began to transform into demonic forms.

"You're not good enough..."

He was about to complain about Ao Qing's drinking capacity when he felt his vision becoming increasingly blurry.

He rubbed his eyes hard, an overwhelming feeling of heat and release of power suddenly welling up inside him, accompanied by an unbearable dizziness.

Only then did Zhang Xuezhou truly feel the aftereffects of this saliva-infused liquor.