Spreading the Word

Zhang Xuezhou made quite a commotion by breaking through the water from a great height.

"Gurgle!"

Pilan opened her mouth, but only closed it again after a mouthful of lake water had filled her throat.

Those skilled in flying and leaping would never rush towards the lake like that; it would be no different from crashing into the ground.

For a moment, Pilan even wondered if Zhang Xuezhou was out of his mind and trying to kill himself, but Zhang Xuezhou seemed to have broken through the water without being injured at all, which puzzled her.

Of course, she wasn't injured either.

Pilan felt that this was somewhat different from the usual situation.

Normally, falling into the water at that speed from a great height would cause her to be injured, not just experience physical pain.

Pilan felt that his already limited brain seemed even more insufficient.

She opened her mouth to ask Zhang Xuezhou a question, but choked on a mouthful of water. She could only shake her body vigorously and thrash around in the water.

In the dark waters, Pilan felt four eerie blue eyes staring at her, and then her body was dragged down.

"Gah... Gah gah!"

As if being dragged into an abyss, Pilan couldn't help but shout a few times.

But she quickly stopped shouting.

In a flash of light, she saw a bright underwater palace.

"You brought this bird demon with you?"

It's common for bird demons to know each other, and Ao Li was happy for Zhang Xuezhou to bring some new friends to Ao Qing, but Pi Lan was an exception.

From a normal psychological and emotional perspective, Ao Li dislikes both noisy people and talkative people.

Today, Pilan learned about the Gaoyou Water Palace; tomorrow, this bird demon might spread the news to others.

Ao Li only regretted that he hadn't seen clearly when he cast his spell to stop the King of Jiangdu's ship, and had sent this troublesome bird demon into the water palace.

"Pilan, my good friend!"

Zhang Xuezhou gave a brief introduction, followed by a direct and straightforward inquiry to see if Ao Li was willing to cooperate in the act.

"Like this? But this makes me feel so ashamed!"

As the chief administrator of the Eight Rivers and the Great Dragon God in charge of rain, Ao Li still had some pride to maintain.

But aside from the issue of saving face, he had to admit that Zhang Xuezhou's method was simple and practical.

King Jiangdu is human and cannot reside in the water palace all the time. As long as he gives the other party some benefits and makes them leave satisfied, the matter can most likely be resolved.

Of course, a certain degree of danger is still necessary, lest the King of Jiangdu come again and again, or even attract other people to come and see the spectacle.

Things can be resolved better if you find the right balance.

The only problem is that Ao Li is unhappy.

If he encountered a powerful enemy, doing this would not be shameful at all, but the King of Jiangdu he encountered was much weaker than him and could be easily dealt with, so his slinking away was indeed uncomfortable.

"You can decide for yourself," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I only remembered this matter after meeting Bilan. If you decide to forcefully assassinate the King of Jiangdu, that's perfectly fine!"

"It's not necessary to snipe him!"

Ao Li shook his head.

His current methods are all extremely gentle.

In reality, as long as it doesn't involve harming the dragon race, he will always exercise restraint and won't kill anyone or resort to violence to solve problems just because he is powerful.

Anyone who relies on violence will not go far and will inevitably be targeted by those with ulterior motives. This is a lesson that the Dragon Clan has learned over thousands of years.

Ao Li felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Father, what my elder brother said makes a lot of sense!"

Ao Qing, who was lying in the pool trying to sober up, looked up and spat out a mouthful of water, then happily interjected.

He drank too much alcohol and blacked out. In his semi-conscious state, he had a head-shaking contest with Zhang Xuezhou. He felt that he hadn't won anything and was completely convinced of his defeat. He even started calling Zhang Xuezhou "Big Brother".

This left Ao Li speechless, realizing that his son was also a fool and that he would have to teach him a lesson in the future.

He couldn't help but glance at Dong Zhongshu was not far away.

Nobody wants to suffer a loss, but if they can gain something from it, things aren't unacceptable.

Ao Li considered Dong Zhongshu's previous suggestion before turning to the talkative Pi Lan.

Pilan is a bird demon with relatively good information in the Three Realms. She is extremely gossipy and can't keep any secrets that are on her lips.

"Pilan, have you ever heard of the Crimson Sky Sword of the Han Dynasty?" Ao Li asked.

"Great... Great Dragon God, if you give me just a little bit of saliva, I'll tell you anything," Pilan stammered.

"Another one who wants your saliva," Ao Li said with a headache. "Tell me about the Crimson Sky Sword first. If you explain it clearly, I'll give you some. If you can't, I'm not willing to give it to you!"

"Then I've heard," Pilan said, "Can you give it to me now?"

"Pooh!"

Ao Li took a deep breath and had no choice but to take a porcelain bottle. Then, he spat out a mouthful of saliva as payment to Pi Lan.

He felt that arguing with a fool like Pilan made him unworthy of being a dragon, but he would never ask such a simple question again.

"What other information do you know about the Crimson Sky Sword?" Ao Li asked. "Is the current emperor of the Great Han Dynasty capable of wielding the Crimson Sky Sword?"

"I don't know!"

Pilan happily accepted the porcelain bottle, feeling as if it were a windfall.

If it weren't for the loss of her husband, she felt she would have lived a very happy life.

"You... sigh, Pilan, you see, I'm quite busy here, I really can't entertain you!"

Pilan is very gossipy; if he says he doesn't know, then he really doesn't know.

Ao Li felt that his question was pointless, and after hearing the reply, he even wanted to send Bi Lan away immediately.

"You go about your business, I won't keep you any longer!"

Pilan replied happily, his eyes darting around furtively, clearly harboring some ulterior motives.

Ao Li felt very depressed lately. Ever since he met Dong Zhongshu and Gongsun Hong, he had been depressed, and even more so after meeting Bi Lan, that gossipy old woman.

"I do have some information about the Crimson Sky Sword you inquired about!"

Pi Lan was unable to respond to questions about Ao Li and the Crimson Sky Sword, but Zhang Xuezhou's heart stirred upon hearing this.

He understood Ao Li's mentality. It would be a loss of face for Ao Li to back down to someone as weak as the King of Jiangdu, but if he were to back down to the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty who wielded the Crimson Sky Sword, it would be perfectly reasonable for him to back down, and he wouldn't lose face at all even if others found out.

A tree lives by its bark, and a person lives by their reputation; one needs sufficient reasons to feel resentful and yield.

The Crimson Sky Sword was the reason that made Ao Li back down.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but glance at Bi Lan as well.

The new emperor acquired a fake Crimson Sky Sword, which is quite absurd, but if used properly, the new emperor could wield a fake sword with little difference from the real one.

A real sword needs to be concealed to deliver a heavy blow to the opponent, but a fake sword is best displayed openly.

Only with widespread publicity can we prevent precocious individuals from testing their skills.

Publicity is never an easy task, even in the real world with communication software, let alone in this world.

But Pilan, this gossip-monster, is indeed a qualified disseminator.

Normal communication with Bilan to reveal this matter would not be very effective, but since the matter involves Ao Li, the rain god, and Bilan was eavesdropping, Zhang Xuezhou felt that there was a high possibility that the other party was spreading rumors, and might even be exaggerating.

"The emperor of the Han Dynasty offered sacrifices to Emperor Gaozu at Fengxie Marsh and received a divine intervention from him, thus gaining control of the Crimson Sky Sword," Zhang Xuezhou said. "This matter is not difficult to investigate. If you go to Chang'an City to inquire, you will surely find out the details!"

"Did the spirit of Emperor Gaozu appear?"

Ao Li's heart tightened.

Even though the Qin Emperor was invincible and unified the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, Ao Li was not afraid of him. After all, no matter how powerful the Emperor Qin was, he could not be powerful enough to rule the entire world.

But Ao Li was genuinely a little afraid of Emperor Gaozu.

To put it more bluntly, he was afraid of that unreasonable sword.

Ao Li was willing to try anything, but testing his sword was something he had no interest in.

He's not cerebral palsy, but he's not so stubborn as to insist on seeing if this sword can kill him. He's living a perfectly good life; it's impossible for him to do something so irrational.

Compared to the long lifespan of dragons, humans die in just a few decades; there's no need to get angry with these short-lived creatures.

It's perfectly normal to avoid them to some extent.

After Zhang Xuezhou said that, Ao Li felt that avoiding the King of Jiangdu was not unbecoming of a dragon at all.