The Water Mansion Receives Guests

Thirteen days later, Lady Yourong met Zhang Xuezhou again.

After Dong Zhongshu, Gongsun Hong, and Zhang Xuezhou went missing one after another, she ran back to Guangling City to seek help.

The hardships and difficulties involved were immense.

Not to mention meeting the King of Jiangdu directly, they even had difficulty entering the city due to their lack of 'integrity'.

Some things are so difficult that you'll never know how hard they are until you experience them firsthand. Even if it's just a matter of a few words for Zhang Xuezhou and his team, it's hard for others to do.

Fortunately, they were Lady Yourong enough to find the boatmen of the leaky Zhang Changgong, and they eventually brought the news back to Guangling City. After that, the King of Jiangdu sent several search ships to investigate.

Then Dong Zhongshu and Gongsun Hong fled, and then Gongsun Hong ran away alone, eventually bringing the King of Jiangdu with him.

The whole process was that simple, but the Lady Yourong spent more than ten days on this matter and spent a considerable amount of money.

Accustomed to thrift, she originally intended to catch some fish to make dried fish and save some money. When someone came to collect the fish, she disregarded the coldness of the lake water in the early morning and went there with Zhang Changgong.

It wasn't until another pair of hands were putting fish into the basket that Lady Yourong realized Zhang Xuezhou had returned without her noticing.

Compared to before, Zhang Xuezhou now has a six- or seven-year-old child by his side, as well as a talkative peasant woman.

"Don't say anything more now, this isn't over yet!"

Zhang Xuezhou's mouth didn't move, but his voice reached the ears of Lady Yourong and Zhang Changgong.

Zhang Changgong was about to ask another question when Lady Yourong urged him to hurry up and continue fishing.

"They only accept fish that are as thick as an arm; if they're even an inch smaller, they're worthless. Three fish can earn you one and a half taels of silver. The fishmonger said he only has a limited amount of money, so if you deliver late, he can only charge you one and a half taels for five fish!"

Having escaped from Shouchun City, Lady Yourong knew that her son was no longer an ordinary person.

She was able to refrain from communicating with Zhang Xuezhou before, and she can still refrain now.

She has endured hardships over the years, and while her strength has not increased, her patience is better than when she was a hunter.

At this moment, Lady Yourong was even able to remind the impatient Zhang Changgong.

Her gaze swept over the children who were excitedly picking up fish, and then inadvertently swept over Pilan.

Zhang Xuezhou was unable to speak at this moment, obviously because of the two people beside him, but these two people seemed to be quite familiar with Zhang Xuezhou.

Lady Yourong it difficult to guess and did not attempt to.

As long as she saw that Zhang Xuezhou was still alive, she felt relieved and didn't care about anything else.

"Qing, go find your father later. Lan and I are going to Chang'an City to find someone!"

Zhang Xuezhou appeared to be communicating with others, but he was actually informing them about Lady Yourong.

"Aren't you going to have a fish-catching competition anymore?" Ao Qing asked disappointedly. "Who are you going to find in Chang'an City?"

"Let's find an old swindler," Pilan said indignantly, "This thing..."

"Dongfang Shuo!"

"Oh, Dongfang Shuo, please help me seek justice!"

Pilan nodded.

She and Zhang Xuezhou had only met twice, so they were somewhat acquainted.

Just as most people can't remember her name, Bi Lan almost forgot Zhang Xuezhou's name as well.

Reminded by Zhang Xuezhou, Bi Lan finally finished reading Zhang Xuezhou's name haltingly.

"Brother, aren't you called Jingwei?" Ao Qing asked curiously.

"Jingwei is my name in another form," Zhang Xuezhou explained. "Second brother, when you venture out into the world, you should also be careful to give yourself a new name, lest people find out your background!"

"Brother is right," Ao Qing nodded repeatedly. "I'll ask my father to give me another name later!"

"Great idea!"

Zhang Xuezhou praised it.

Their conversation smoothly transitioned from searching for the person to choosing a name.

Zhang Xuezhou has always been haphazard when it comes to naming people; he just uses whatever name is convenient for him.

But in order to stall for time and wait for the matter at the Water Mansion to end, he couldn't help but ramble on about various taboos in naming, and how the five elements of Yin and Yang, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, should be matched with a name.

He spouted a series of nonsensical arguments, and Zhang Xuezhou himself almost began to believe they made sense.

When more than ten boatmen and soldiers gathered around and he saw Ao Li approaching from a distance, he reluctantly stopped talking.

"This naming is really a college question." Ao Qing sighed with emotion, "We choose names very casually. My father saw that I had Qing Jia on my back, so he gave me the name Qing. He also changed his name casually. Hearing many dragons praising him for being so powerful, he changed his name to Li!"

"Being spontaneous and carefree is also an art of naming!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

When he saw Ao Li walk up to him and go into the water to catch fish, he stopped talking.

Some boatmen and soldiers who had been listening to the renowned scholars could no longer hear anything, so they could only chatter about other things, trying to distract themselves from the chill of the lake water.

Ao Li hadn't been in the water collecting fish for very long when he listened to the boatman and the soldier chatting, and his expression changed afterward.

This wasn't just mentioned by Dong Zhongshu and Zhang Xuezhou; even well-informed soldiers in Jiangdu were discussing the Crimson Sky Sword.

Ao Li was in a terrible mood.

He couldn't help but reach out and make a Method Formula seal.

Beneath the cliff, a whirlpool slowly began to appear on the surface of the lake where the Gaoyou Water Palace was located.

As long as they follow the whirlpool downwards, King Jiangdu and his men can enter the Gaoyou Water Palace normally, thereby rescuing Dong Zhongshu and also plundering some of the wealth left in the Water Palace.

Once King Jiangdu and his men had finished looting, Ao Li closed the water palace's restrictions, allowing them to escape hastily. At this point, the matter was practically over.

King Jiangdu enjoyed exploring the underwater palace, Dong Zhongshu achieved his goal of getting close to King Jiangdu, Gongsun Hong rescued Dong Zhongshu and received a promise from Dong Zhongshu, and Ao Li got rid of the plague god and received a guarantee from Dong Zhongshu to teach Ao Qing, while also avoiding conflict with the Great Han Dynasty.

Many things were accomplished in one fell swoop, achieving multiple benefits.

The only price Ao Li paid was to back down, allowing the King of Jiangdu to take some jewels that were of average value to them.

"Bang!"

Seeing Jiangdu King's golden halberd descend and then leap off the cliff into the water, Ao Li couldn't help but slightly rub his forehead.

Even if there were ten such reckless opponents, it would be difficult to deal with him.

It would indeed be disgraceful for the dragon to yield to the King of Jiangdu, but it would not be disgraceful to avoid the ferocity of the Crimson Sky Sword.

"Whether the sword is real or fake, or who wields it, we're not going to gamble with our lives!"

Ao Li whispered a reminder to Ao Qing, which made Ao Qing, who was now mostly sober, nod repeatedly, indicating that she had remembered it.

When it comes to matters of life and death, it's never wrong to be cautious; even being a little cowardly is better than losing your life.

"Great Dragon God... what sword did you say again?"

Having been eavesdropping for a long time, Pilan felt that he had come across another major event.

This wasn't just something for her to talk about; she could also use this information to exchange for necessities if others needed it.

"I have to avenge my husband and also give my child the best possible environment to grow up in. It's so hard for me!"

Pilan muttered a few words, feeling that life as a demon was difficult.

She could only be more careful, eavesdropping around to try and obtain some valuable information.

If she were to strike it rich someday, she would finally be able to settle down from her hectic life.