Chapter 520: Dragon People Territory

"Goodbye, Master!"

"Goodbye, Little Xiao Shitou!"

The river wind blew vast and mighty, carrying drizzle like cow hair that invaded their collars.

At the riverbank in front of the government office, the Princess Consort's silk scarf fluttered as she held Wen Wen Shi Yun and waved goodbye.

Liang Qu raised his hand in response, a smile appearing.

Ke Ko Wenbin kicked Xiang Fang Su's heel, his body leaning forward.

"The Princess Consort?"

"Should be."

"The one the Princess Consort is holding is the Prince's grandson?"

"Otherwise?"

"The Prince's grandson calls A-Shui Master?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you dead? Give some reaction!"

Xiang Fang Su was indignant: "What reaction should I have? You teach me? Ah, oh, er, eh?"

Ke Ko Wenbin was speechless.

"Do you think... when did this happen?"

"The auction the day before yesterday, A-Shui was called into the private room by the Prince of Xu Yue; it must have been then." Xiang Fang Su didn't think, "After the auction ended, I was busy taking things and forgot to ask A-Shui, and I didn't see him for a day afterward, so I didn't think of it at all."

The only people who knew what the Prince of Xu Yue and Liang Qu talked about in the private room at the auction were the Prince's confidants and several people from Liang Qu's sect afterward.

Neither side were people who loved to spread gossip, so the colleagues at the River Po Office still didn't know that Liang Qu had taken the Prince's grandson as a disciple.

"Quietly and without a sound, A-Shui has brewed up something big again," Bai Bai Yinbin couldn't help but interject.

"A good disciple brings prosperity for three generations. Such a big event as taking on a disciple—he ought to be taught to treat everyone!"

"Wait a minute," Ke Ko Wenbin had a sudden thought. "I didn't see A-Shui yesterday, so I didn't recall it. Did A-Shui not come to sign in?"

"Right, mark him down!"

"Mark, mark, mark!"

"He deserves to be punished!"

Not only the colleagues from the River Patrol Office, but officials from other government offices also had varied expressions.

"The jade tablet is that terrifying? It made the Prince of Xu Yue's grandson take him as a master?"

Some were shocked.

"So that's how you can pull strings?"

Some were learning.

"Ginger really is spicier when it's old."

Some were sighing with emotion.

"The Princess Consort is truly beautiful."

Someone was being highly disrespectful.

They had originally thought that once the Prince of Xu Yue left and the patrolling veteran officials followed, they would be completely relaxed and no more waves would be stirred up by events.

They were too young.

They witnessed the Prince of Xu Yue's carriage disappear at the boundary of water and sky.

"Good for you, Liang Liang Ashui! You've got skills! Did you become the Prince's grandson's master? Did you really become the Prince's grandson's master?"

Xiang Fang Su and the others surrounded Liang Qu.

It was lively and bustling, a great clamor.

Officials who had wanted to climb the social ladder found no way to interject; after waiting a moment and finding no opportunity, they flicked their sleeves and left.

In the end, Ke Ko Wenbin and several other colleagues forcibly knocked two banquets out of Liang Qu's mouth before letting him go, satisfied.

Rainwater washed over the stone slabs.

Wulong stepped on the water splashes, flicking its tail.

Tatta Kai leaned against the corner of the wall, supporting itself in a handstand to temper its arm strength.

"My lord," Long Long Binglin clasped his fists in greeting.

"You're back?" Liang Qu flipped off his horse and pushed aside Wulong's head as it crowded in to lick him messily.

Long Long Binglin, representing the Dragon-Man tribe, had purchased several auction items at the auction, using Liang Qu's ten-percent-off quota.

Afterward, he had returned to the tribe a step ahead, which was why he hadn't been seen for the past two or three days.

"I followed right behind you. Thanks to your great fortune, my lord, I took the waterway and it was smooth and without incident; the items have already been delivered to the tribe."

Long Long Binglin's face revealed respect.

The more he used the vortex waterway, the more wondrous he found it to be.

A distance of thousands of miles, crossed in an instant—it was truly a strategic tool.

It was a pity.

An old toad was entrenched at the mouth of the waterway.

It was fine for an individual to come and go, as the old toad didn't have time to stare all day, but once the number of people increased, the toll was truly a heart-wrenching weapon.

Liang Qu nodded without wasting words: "Pack up. After we finish dinner, we're leaving."

"Leaving?"

Long Long Binglin was puzzled.

He had just returned; where were they going?

Liang Qu paused his steps and laughed: "The Prince of Xu Yue has left the shore, and there are no major matters lately. I might as well go to the Dragon-Man tribal lands to help you all consume Qi. Could it be that you've already finished consuming it?"

Long Long Binglin was ecstatic.

Since the snake demon arrived, half a month had passed, and matters had followed one after another. With such a sudden turn of events, he really hadn't thought of this!

"Thank you for your concern, my lord! I'll go prepare right away!"

Evening.

After the meal.

Liang Qu, Long Long Binglin, and Long Long Eying, plus the Fat Catfish, Bu Neng Dong, and Yuan Tou—the three beasts—gathered at the pond.

Seeing this formation, the old toad's spirit lifted; it flexed its webbed claws, pondering how much of a toll it would be appropriate to collect.

Liang Qu gave the Fat Catfish a look.

The Wu Zu Frog stood up and rebuked it angrily.

The old toad shrank its head, sighed, and helplessly waved its webbed claws, letting the people and fish leave.

"Frog Elder!"

Before entering the water, Liang Qu shouted out.

The old toad's heart trembled; it subconsciously covered its waist, its two frog eyes rolling wildly: "What is it, Liang Qing?"

"I'm expanding the house lately; is Frog Elder interested?"

"The pond is mine, the house is yours. No, no." The old toad waved its webbed claws vigorously.

"What a pity." Liang Qu feigned regret. "With Frog Elder's participation, the trestle bridge in the backyard's west wing could definitely be expanded to a second floor.

In the future, when Frog Elder goes up to the second floor to look out into the distance, there will be a large lake of lotus flowers before your eyes—wouldn't that be beautiful? And with midsummer coming and the lotus flowers in full bloom, building materials are cheap. If we miss this year, we'll have to wait until next year to see such a magnificent scene. This opportunity must not be missed."

The old toad's face wrinkled into a ball, full of conflict.

Liang Qu said all he had to say and dove into the water.

Long Long Binglin and Long Long Eying secretly admired him.

It had always been the Frog Elder picking other people's pockets; when had anyone ever picked the Frog Elder's pocket?

The last person who could manage this seemed to be the Toad King?

Besides that, they had never heard of anyone else who could do it.

The Toad King, Liang Qu...

Long Long Binglin and Long Long Eying fell into deep thought.

The group of people and beasts arrived at the mouth of the vortex waterway.

The Fat Catfish dove in headfirst to find its big brother and reminisce.

Liang Qu floated in the water, examining the clothing on the Dragon-Men.

In his memory, all the Dragon-Men he had seen wore white, plain clothes.

"Are you wearing Dragon Silk or Twenty Jiaoren Silk?"

Long Long Binglin shook his head: "In reply to my lord, the tribe does have Dragon Silk and Twenty Jiaoren Silk, but few Dragon-Men wear them. The clothing on Long Eying and me is made from the lotus silk of the King Lotus."

"King Lotus?"

"My lord, you have been to the Frog tribe's territory and should have seen a lotus that reaches the sky. This lotus is named the King Lotus. The lotus silk pulled from its stems is similar to Twenty Jiaoren Silk and does not get wet when entering the water.

The disadvantage is that it is too smooth and extremely difficult to dye. Unlike Twenty Jiaoren scales, which can be mixed with various colors when dissolved, lotus silk can only be used for plain clothing. Forcing it to be dyed would instead cause it to lose its property of not getting wet in water.

That King Lotus in the Frog tribe is fertilized by frog dung all year round and grows extremely exaggeratedly. The floating lotus leaves can allow the Toad Great Demon to jump on them, almost no different from creating land again. Its roots are too deep, so other King Lotuses cannot grow around it.

When you go to the Dragon-Man tribal lands, my lord, you will be able to see patches of lotus groups."

"So that's how it is. Then how are your Dragon-Man tribe and the Twenty Jiaoren tribe? Do you usually have contact?"

"Yes." Long Long Binglin did not hide it. "Every year there are Twenty Jiaoren merchant caravans coming and going, exchanging what they have for what they lack. In the past, it was several times a year, but now... even once a year cannot be guaranteed."

"Why?"

"The root cause lies with the Dragon Lord," Long Long Eying said. "A large number of Twenty Jiaoren have moved away from the Great Marsh. As time passes, the Huaijiang Great Marsh has become increasingly unfamiliar to them. Our Dragon-Man tribe has also gradually declined and closed off, and exchanges have decreased year by year."

Splash.

The Fat Catfish drilled out of the waterway and waved its whiskers to greet them to enter.

Long Long Binglin said: "Today, our tribe has Dragon-Men going ashore to take up posts. Given time, relying on your great fortune, my lord, we will surely be able to recreate the grand occasion!"

"Let's hope so."

Liang Qu was noncommittal.

He was very fond of the Twenty Jiaoren tears of the Twenty Jiaoren tribe.

The last time he explored the ruins of the Twenty Jiaoren tribe near Xiangyi County, it was a huge income second only to the boat tickets for the strange phenomena.

With such a rich harvest, whether the other party fled for refuge or retreated in a planned manner had become confusing.

But even if they fled and didn't have time to pack, it still proved that the Twenty Jiaoren were "dripping with wealth."

The three of them passed through the waterway.

They greeted the Toad King.

Liang Qu sat upright on the Fat Catfish's head, heading west all the way.

Crossing underwater mountain ranges and canyon cracks, an open basin appeared before his eyes.

The Ze Ding trembled.

【Absorbed two wisps of Dragon-Seed aura】