Chapter 797

Cold tides hit the shore, rolling snow falling back.

As far as the eye could see, it was frost-white and clean, like a rolled-up brocade towel.

Fine snow and the smooth ice surface froze together, branching out like tree branches, condensing into crystal frost.

The winter in Pingyang Prefecture is far from the severe cold of the north; with the volume of the Huai-Jiang Great Marsh, it couldn't freeze at all. Just this scene alone was an eye-opener.

Worthy of a divine ability!

If it were another Jiang Zongshi, there would be no such scene today!

Damn it!

He really found a good wife for Liang Shidi/this kid!

Whoosh.

The winch turned, the iron anchor fell, breaking the water surface and sinking to the bottom; the frost climbed and grew outward along the ice island, turning into an ice groove, perfectly locking the treasure boat.

Wen Wen Shi Yun used his hands and feet, grabbing the railing with Wulong to peek.

"Is the Ice Crystal Palace under the floating island?"

Xu Zishuai rubbed his hands.

"Yes!"

"How do we go down?" Xiang Zhangsong asked.

"There are two roads, two entrances." Liang Qu pointed south with one hand and north with the other, each with a large hole, "There is a slide over a hundred feet long in the big hole on the south side, prepared for Little Shitou and Cao Shixiong Xu."

Xu Zishuai: "?"

Not giving Xu Zishuai a chance to refute, Liang Qu continued: "Our entrance is on the north side, straight up and down; there is a square ice seat inside, sit in it and let the water spiders spit silk to pull it down."

Before the words fell, water poured down.

A large bulge rose from the water outside the ice surface, collapsing into white currents, and two water spiders the size of small city towers paddled out.

"Wow!"

Wen Wen Shi Yun, pressing on the railing, shook his legs and opened his mouth in coordination.

However, just as he was about to arrange the seating batches.

"What ice seat, what ice seat, it sounds troublesome."

Su Guishan dropped a sentence and jumped into the south hole first; the Prince of Yue, the old monk, Yang Dongxiong, Wen Chengyun, and others looked at each other and chose to jump onto the ice surface, standing with their hands behind their backs, sliding gracefully into the south hole.

Cold wind cut like a knife.

Clothes fluttered.

Under the ice layer, human shadows flashed vaguely, "falling" inside in a stream.

"Hahaha, I said it was fancy, making it so complicated."

Xu Zishuai laughed triumphantly and followed directly; Yu Dun, Lu Gang, Cao Rang, and Zhuo Shaoqin were no different. For a time, more than half the people on the boat entered from the slide entrance.

White snow swirled, the water spiders held the ice seat, pushing and pulling back and forth, seemingly waiting for people to sit.

"That works too..." Liang Qu scratched his temple, "Eying, you lead the Mistress, the Prince's wife, and the girls to sit in the ice seat."

Long Eying smiled and agreed.

"Alright, Little Shitou, let's go too!"

Liang Qu was radiant, picked up Wen Wen Shi Yun, jumped dozens of meters from the bow, and fell straight into the slide.

With a whoosh, the airflow exchanged.

The biting cold wind hit his face.

The world suddenly went quiet.

The velvet balls on the tiger-skin hat fluttered and collided; Wen Wen Shi Yun tried hard to open his eyes, not feeling cold at all, only feeling his blood boiling and his heart thumping.

Inside and outside the cave were like two worlds, quiet and soundless.

Deep blue waves flashed continuously; Mermaid mansions, algae jungles, schools of fish, fluorescent plants on the hillside... things never seen before crowded into his eyes at this moment; colorful fish stuck to the ice surface, only to be scared away by the flashing human shadows.

Fantastic and bizarre!

Scratch, scratch.

The little otters and little beavers pushed the boxes into the passage, the iron-wrapped right angles scraping out some hail flowers.

Unlike the standing slide of Su Guishan and others, and not similar to Liang Qu's sitting slide, the little beasts took three steps in two, leaped suddenly, chests against the ground, facing forward, and roared into it like cannonballs.

Wulong, left on the deck, barked twice, hurriedly jumped to the ice surface, slipped twice, and plunged into the slide.

On the bow, the Xu family and the Prince's wife smiled at each other.

They were worried that entering the water would be troublesome, but now they had a few more expectations.

"Let's go too."

Stepping into the ice seat, cushions were stacked; the water spiders spat out spider silk, sticking to the four corners, and the two front feet pinched gently, slowly lowering the entire ice seat at a constant speed.

Whether it was the slide or the ice seat, both entrances were clear and transparent.

Thanks to the leisure of riding the ice seat, the Xu family and the Prince's wife saw more clearly.

The entire Ice Crystal Palace was like one big bubble after another attached to the ground. In the center was a super-large transparent round house, over ten feet in diameter; the three sides surrounding the big round house were decorated with three opaque medium round houses, and outside these three medium round houses, there were more than a dozen opaque small round houses connected together, each small house connected by several corridors.

A thought made it clear why the layout was like this.

Divided by number of people, there were roughly three parties today.

Yang Dongxiong's party, the Prince of Yue's party, and Liang Qu's party, corresponding exactly to the medium round houses in three directions.

Big halls for gathering, small halls for splitting up.

The privacy and intimacy of each party were all taken care of.

There was even a small path in the corner of the super-large bubble, leading straight to the Mermaid village!

"Not bad! Ashui! It looks just like the real thing!"

Just after landing with Wen Wen Shi Yun, Liang Qu heard Xu Zishuai's praise and wonder.

Not just Xu Zishuai, the group looked up and watched; schools of fish wandered in the waves, reflecting people's faces, all shocked.

Amazing.

Too amazing.

People could actually live underwater, and so comfortably and beautifully!

To make an Ice Crystal Palace, and a comfortable one at that.

It was by no means just a matter of an Ice Jiang Zongshi, otherwise the dampness problem alone would be enough to make people uncomfortable.

Everyone stayed inside without feeling the slightest dampness, and could even feel a slight breeze on their faces, very refreshing, no different from land.

Needless to say, Liang Qu drained the water vapor, and the reason for making two entrances was precisely to let the two water spiders squat at each one, acting as "blowers" responsible for the air exchange of the entire Ice Crystal Palace.

Otherwise, the entire air would be "dead."

Including the warmth conducted from the ground, the fat catfish had laid "pipes" everywhere, stuffing volcanic algae inside, a disguised floor heating.

Every aspect was exquisite; the only problem was that it troubled Long Eying.

Stuffing volcanic algae easily led to overheating inside the house, causing the ice house to melt; it needed to be reinforced every few days to avoid leaking water.

"Wuhu!"

Wen Wen Shi Yun spread his legs, opened his arms like a roc, and flew from one room to another.

Even as the grandson of a Martial Saint, it was his first time having such a novel experience!

Shoo, shoo, shoo.

Otters and beavers flew out of the cave, sliding against the ground, spinning and whipping past people's calves, one after another hitting the ice wall and piling up into small mounds.

"Stone tables, stone stools, stone beds, all bought by Liang Shidi?" Lu Gang touched a stone stool, "How is the workmanship so good? It's like it was naturally formed."

"The Frog tribe has skilled craftsmen."

"Where is my room?" Xu Zishuai tossed the quilt in his hand, "Where do I put the bedding?"

"If you don't like being watched by Mermaids, any opaque room will do; I'll trouble House Steward Zhang to help."

"Master Liang, rest assured, Little Brother Xu, just pick a room and put your things there."

As House Steward, it was Zhang Xu's duty; he led the servants and maids to tidy up each room and lay down velvet carpets.

There was no shortage of furniture in the Ice Crystal Palace, only various small utensils were still empty; fortunately, the Prince's mansion was rich, so there was no need to worry about details.

Everyone chose their favorite rooms with great interest.

The careful design received the expected feedback, and Liang Qu also felt satisfied.

Blue waves rippled.

Waist-high algae grew, colorful little fish swam and whipped their tails, swimming along the walls, showing curiosity about the shadows inside the ice walls.

Su Guishan lay against a stone stool, looking at the Mermaid village across an ice wall, quiet and peaceful, with an indescribable comfort; just sitting like this, watching the little fish swim outside the ice wall, he could kill a whole day.

Lonely?

Not quite right.

It was the mystery of staying quietly in another world, the throbbing and haziness in the depths of his heart.

Rare.

Liang Qu was clearly a fisherman's son, but when it came to tinkering with things, he was better at enjoying life than him!

What do ordinary second-generation kids play with?

Nothing more than climbing heights, beauties, fancy carriages, fine horses, drinking, drumming, and acting...

Seeing this today.

A hundred years of life, all wasted!

Click.

The ice seat landed.

"It's really beautiful."

"It's better looking inside than outside, and quiet."

The Xu family, the Prince's wife, Long Eying, and others stepped out, looking around with novelty.

"Mr. Liang, can we go into Jiangchuan County? I see a small path." The Prince's wife asked.

"Yes, that small path leads straight to the market in Jiangchuan County; I have already agreed with County Magistrate Quan, and since the Mermaid tribe is also celebrating the New Year, the market will be open for ten days. You can go straight through the corridor, and there will be Mermaids to receive you; whatever you like, the Mermaids can buy for you."

As soon as this was said.

The Xu family and the Prince's wife immediately found something to do, pulled Long Eying, Zhuo Shaoqin, and the maids to drill into the small path.

"So comfortable..."

On such a beautiful holiday, Xu Zishuai wanted to do something, play cards, crack melon seeds, brag a little, but after a circle, he found that in such a peaceful atmosphere, it was a pity not to lie down quietly and daydream.

A holy place for nourishing the spirit.

Isn't lying down also a kind of fun?

Doing nothing, lying flat comfortably and enjoying, watching the fish swim, the algae float...

Quietly closing his eyes to rest.

"Zishuai, come play cards!"

"Ha, coming!"

"Ho, where did the watermelon come from?"

"House Steward Zhang brought it, it's especially sweet, there are honey tangerines, frozen lychees, all delicious, he said there's plenty."

"Gambling money, gambling money?"

"One tael a round?"

"Come, come, come!"

The quiet atmosphere became noisy, the noisy atmosphere became quiet; chatting, playing cards, acting, ice fishing, sliding... it really injected new vitality into the New Year!

Unknowingly.

The water light turned orange.

Plop, plop.

Bubbles floated up.

Little Mermaids swam over, looking at Wen Wen Shi Yun across the ice wall, making faces at each other.

The Prince of Yue talked happily with the old monk, while Yang Dongxiong and Su Guishan listened.

The Xu family and the Prince's wife returned from the Mermaid market, playing with Mermaid specialty jewelry.

It was already evening.

The sky gradually darkened.

Zhang Xu ordered people to light the Jinming oil lamps.

The little otters followed Liang Qu's orders, taking out many brackets, various miscellaneous small tools, and a thick stack of colored paper from the boxes they carried, and finally opened a super-large "white cloth," spreading and fixing it to the brackets.

The Xu family and others in the conversation noticed the situation and put down the pearl hairpins in their hands.

Long Eying immediately associated it with the "surprise" Liang Qu mentioned.

"Dragon Lingxiao?" Xu Zishuai leaned forward and recognized the material of the white cloth at a glance, "What are you doing unfolding it?"

"Cao Shixiong, have you ever seen shadow puppetry?"

"You're using Dragon Lingxiao as a shadow puppet cloth? Can't you just use leather paper for that?" Xu Zishuai was surprised.

"Hey, it's much more fun than that; today's highlight, I specifically saved it for the evening."

Selling a mystery on purpose.

Liang Qu organized the colored paper and stuffed a few sheets into the pocket transformed by the Dragon Lingxiao.

The little otters were all in place, all kinds of small tools were complete, with clappers, gongs, drums; the little beavers found a spot to squat and watch.

Dragon Lingxiao is ever-changing, regardless of form or color, and the speed is very fast.

Therefore, Liang Qu had a bold idea early on.

A screen!

A big screen!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The paper pages turned continuously.

The entire Dragon Lingxiao turned black.

Behind it, the little otter reached out and stirred the water in the basin; the color of the picture suddenly began to flow like waves, matching the sound, it really seemed like river waves were flowing!

Eh?

Everyone stopped what they were doing, cast their eyes, and focused on watching Liang Qu tinker.

Simple debugging was correct.

Liang Qu stuffed another stack of prepared colored paper into the pocket transformed by the Dragon Lingxiao.

Since it was a screen, naturally it had to show a "film."

What "film" to show was a matter of great importance.

First, it had to fit the festive atmosphere; second, it couldn't be too out of place; third, it needed to be "simple" enough, matching the music, easy to understand, and the picture couldn't be too complex.

He thought about it.

Don't say.

There really was one.

Clang~

The little otter struck the gongs and drums, like the opening of a big play, followed by various drum sounds.

The Otter Band was ultimately not from a proper opera troupe; playing together, it was slightly messy.

Fortunately, they had practiced, and one could roughly hear the tune.

From slow to fast, from gentle to urgent.

Playing to the climax of the drum music.

Bang!

The hammer fell on the drum surface.

In the center of the screen.

A blue cat and a brown mouse jumped out!

(End of chapter)