Dong Zhongshu's Good Fortune

Faced with the sharp edge of the Crimson Sky Sword, Ao Li decided to temporarily retreat.

The concept is clear, but the actual implementation is difficult.

This would require dismantling his son Ao Qing's water palace and temporarily leaving the area. The most troublesome thing, however, was dealing with Dong Zhongshu.

Ao Li slightly regretted bringing Dong Zhongshu back to the Water Palace.

Now that Dong Zhongshu in the Water Palace has heard about many things, he has to leave with Dong Zhongshu and also use magic to control the Water Palace to teach King Jiangdu a lesson. This multi-tasking operation will bring him considerable trouble.

However, keeping Dong Zhongshu in custody would inevitably trigger a relentless investigation, while releasing Dong Zhongshu would expose the newly devised scheme.

Among the monsters of Manshui Mansion, Dong Zhongshu was the only outsider.

This troubled Ao Li, and he felt that Dong Zhongshu was quite knowledgeable and could teach Ao Qing.

He wanted to detain Dong Zhongshu to avoid disputes and future troubles with the Water Mansion, but then he wanted to release Dong Zhongshu. However, the other side had discovered their scheme.

"Mr. Dong, what should I do?"

Ao Li himself found it difficult to solve the problem, so he inevitably shifted the blame to Dong Zhongshu, to see how this learned scholar would handle it.

"Taking me with you is inappropriate, not taking me with you is also inappropriate..."

"The easiest thing to do is just die!"

Dong Zhongshu had only been pondering for two or three seconds when he heard the talkative Pi Lan interject, which made his heart tremble.

If Ao Li kills him, and Jiangdu King and others believe that Dong Zhongshu died in an accident while exploring the Water Mansion, then many of Ao Li's headaches can indeed be resolved.

"I remember the Dragon Clan established a rule in the Three Realms: as long as you don't harm a member of the Dragon Clan, the Dragon Clan won't kill an outsider," Dong Zhongshu asked, frowning. "This rule can't be broken, can it?"

"That's right!" Ao Li nodded.

"Dragons don't kill outsiders, so we can ask others for help. As long as the Great Dragon God is willing to give me a few more mouthfuls of dragon saliva, I'd be happy to do it," Pilan volunteered.

"Hey, can you please let this bird demon go!"

Following Ao Li's headaches with Pi Lan, Dong Zhongshu also began to suffer from headaches with Pi Lan.

"We can discuss this matter properly," Dong Zhongshu said.

Dong Zhongshu's goal was simply to get close to the King of Jiangdu, not to kill any dragons or seize any treasures for him. He just wanted to be close to the King of Jiangdu and even trust him. As for anything else, it was not part of Dong Zhongshu's plan.

How does Mr. Dong intend to discuss this?

Seeing that Dong Zhongshu had become the one causing him headaches, Ao Li was relatively satisfied.

He enjoys dealing with reasonable people, as it undoubtedly makes things easier for both of them.

Of course, Ao Li also thought that what Pi Lan said was correct.

If Dong Zhongshu couldn't come up with a solution, it wouldn't be bad for him to spit on Pilan and have someone kill him, except that it would cost him a teacher who had taught Ao Qing.

But compared to the lack of peace in the Water Mansion afterward, Ao Li felt that this price was acceptable; he couldn't expect all the good things to fall on his head.

"The King of Jiangdu's ship has already entered Gaoyou Lake. You don't have much time to think, sir," Ao Li said.

"I can go with you, and I swear I won't reveal anything about this place," Dong Zhongshu said.

"I want to put on a show to bring peace to the Water Mansion, so that my son can use this Water Mansion to grow up steadily and worry-free," Ao Li said earnestly. "If Gongsun Zi doesn't find you, he will likely continue searching and causing trouble. And how can I trust Mr. Dong's guarantee?"

"Only death brings peace!"

Pilan muttered to herself, clearly quite willing to become a wicked demon as long as Ao Li was willing to give her dragon saliva.

She took on a demonic form, occasionally reverting to a human head, and would circle around Dong Zhongshu from time to time, clearly seeking a quick and simple way to eliminate Dong Zhongshu.

"This man is called Dong Zhongshu. You met him at the Wudang Holy Mother's place last time. He has three thousand students; he's a very troublesome person!"

When Zhang Xuezhou reminded him, Bi Landou stopped circling and turned his face away.

Rather than remembering the names of those short-lived humans, Pilan remembered the immortals from various places and enjoyed mingling among them.

Pi Lan didn't remember Dong Zhongshu, but when Zhang Xuezhou reminded her, she immediately remembered this great Confucian scholar who had once made even the Holy Mother of Wudang suffer a setback, and she no longer thought about killing Dong Zhongshu.

"This young man appears to be of imposing stature, quite handsome, and intelligent. I wonder if you could act as a mediator?"

As Zhang Xuezhou interjected, Dong Zhongshu inevitably began to seek help as well.

Zhang Xuezhou was able to infiltrate the Demon Race and even gain Ao Li's initial trust, something Dong Zhongshu couldn't achieve.

Dong Zhongshu's abilities weren't top-tier, but he had a great reputation and could easily gain the trust of others.

This trust has clearly been broken, since his reputation, however great, hasn't spread to other races.

To Ao Li and the others, he was simply a cultivator, or at most a learned cultivator, nothing more.

In front of demons like Ao Li, all his words might not be as effective as a few casual words of support from Zhang Xuezhou.

"You have a very pleasant voice!" Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed happily, "Quickly praise my brother!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed at Ao Qing.

It seems that Ao Li is in charge, with Pi Lan interfering and Zhang Xuezhou mediating, but the master of this water mansion is Ao Qing.

The real issue lies with Ao Qing.

Dong Zhongshu's guarantee could not convince Ao Li, but as long as Ao Qing's needs were met, things might not be as difficult as they seemed.

"I observe that your son is handsome and talented, with a blue back and thick claws. He is kind and virtuous, and will surely become a good dragon king who brings peace to the region in the future," Dong Zhongshu praised.

"You have a rather pleasant way of speaking," Ao Qing said softly, lowering his head. "But my name isn't Lingzi, it's Qing!"

Having been so clearly enlightened by Zhang Xuezhou, Dong Zhongshu couldn't help but praise him lavishly.

Clearly, only by taking down the small ones can one take down the big ones.

In this respect, Zhang Xuezhou was a pioneer and achieved success, even becoming sworn brothers with Ao Qing, which in turn earned him Ao Li's kind treatment.

"This Mr. Dong probably wants to live, and my brother wants to live peacefully in the Water Mansion without being disturbed in the future. As long as these two conditions are met, we can discuss everything," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"That's exactly it," Ao Li nodded. "If he and Qing'er get along better, I'd be very happy to see that!"

"You seem to treat this Master Dong differently. Is there something you need from Master Dong?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in a low voice.

Dong Zhongshu quickly cultivated a relationship with Ao Qing, while Zhang Xuezhou subtly probed Ao Li's bottom line.

Things were resolved much faster than he had imagined.

The reputation of the Crimson Sky Sword alone resolved most of the matter; the remaining part could be resolved through discussion.

Once Zhang Xuezhou figured out Ao Li's bottom line, he was certain that Dong Zhongshu would cooperate, since Dong Zhongshu's purpose in investigating the Water Mansion was simply to get closer to the King of Jiangdu.

In this respect, Dong Zhongshu would even fully cooperate with the arrangement of the Water Palace.

"To be honest, I have nine sons. Giving birth was a relief, but disciplining them is incredibly difficult. I'd like to ask someone to help me teach them," Ao Li said. "This Dong Zi is very knowledgeable and of decent character. He should be able to teach my sons. However, this is a difficult matter. Originally, I planned to imprison them for a while and wait until they were willing to live in the Water Mansion to teach Qing'er. But that Gongsun Zi ran away, bringing the King of Jiangdu and dozens of ships with him. Now I'm in a very difficult situation!"

"So that's how it is!"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at Dong Zhongshu, who was flattering him in the distance, and figured out Ao Li's thoughts. Zhang Xuezhou felt that Dong Zhongshu had gotten lucky.

With the likely assistance of Ao Li and Ao Qing for the sake of the peace of the Water Mansion, Dong Zhongshu should be able to maintain his position with the King of Jiangdu, and may even seek to insert himself into the Jiangdu Kingdom in the future.

The only price Dong Zhongshu paid was the need to teach Ao Qing.