Chapter 207

The Great King had been running east and west on the deserted island for several days, and had already changed from a red‑clothed noble bun into a gray, puffy bun.

He went out without bringing a change of clothes; only Ling Yin was with him, and no one reminded him of this small thing, so he had to secretly change his inner garments and robe; outside, they had been caught on branches and grass until they were a mess.

That day he saw distant mountains appear on the horizon ahead, was about to take a break, and his Meng Meng, which squeaks whenever there's a major matter, sounded again.

【【Prompt】 The lord will reach the territory of a country called Goguryeo in three hundred li ahead; at two hundred li ahead, the gathering function will stop.】

All right, the border line has arrived!

The Great King took out the map again, had a look, and said, "Almost there, this will do. Another three or four hundred li ahead is Goguryeo."

The Great King again ordered them to pick up stones here and pile some stone piles as markers, then lead the team southwest; he automatically gathers within a hundred‑li radius, so the Great King doesn't need to tread every inch of land.

Returning at the same speed, they headed southwest until they met a river marked on the map as the Liao River. The Great King again relied on Meng Meng for navigation, knowing that across the river lay a vassal state of the Liao Dong Xianbei, with some tribes still heeding the Eastern Xianbei's orders.

The Great King studied the map a moment and exclaimed, "Heavens, if we take all this land, it will link up with my Youzhou!"

The Great King smiled narrowly and said firmly, "It's not that I'm greedy; it's that these Liaodong vassal states insist on sticking themselves in the middle of my territory." Once we seize them, we can reach Liaodong Commandery by land, with no need to take a boat.

The Great King silently made a decision: "When the Great Jin stabilizes this time and the population of Youzhou rises, then all those Liaodong vassal states will be my fief."

The situation now is that the Great King has taken it, but no one is sending people here; the Liaodong Commandery is more than he can currently use.

From the mouth of the Liao River, heading southeast diagonally, the Great King returned to the landing site, and the gathering for Mission Four was also completed.

The crew of the Treasure Ship went ashore to gather shellfish; this sea‑reef area has endless mussels and sea snails, and these days they haven't been idle.

Bai Ze was strolling on the beach, basking in the sunset and feeling the gentle sea breeze. Suddenly it heard a sky‑shaking cry coming from afar; turning its head north, it saw a little beggar on horseback leading a group, rushing toward it…

Oh oh, wrong—it's its master.

Bai Ze immediately turned its gaze away, its divine beast eyes a bit fiery.

The Great King had run his horses ragged this way; finally seeing the sea horizon again made him extremely excited. Upon seeing Bai Ze swaying in the sunset on the beach, he became even more excited, really wanting its huge fluffy fur!

The Great King ran straight onto the beach, leapt off his horse with a sprint and landed on Bai Ze's back, gripping its neck with both hands, and shouted, "Bai Ze, I'm back! I've missed you so much!"

Bai Ze saw that the owl rider hadn't come over and asked, "Where are you from, beggar? You look a bit like our Great King."

The Great King snorted, "You dare despise me? I'm quite clean—just my outer clothes are a bit torn!"

Bai Ze carried him along the beach for a while, and the Great King felt wonderful—realizing Bai Ze's back was so comfortable and spacious.

He buried his face in the snowy white fluff—it was truly beautiful!

Bai Ze let him have his way, and only when carrying him back almost to the temporary camp did it say, "Enough, get down! With your current look, no one would believe Bai Ze is yours—it looks like you stole it."

The Great King: ……

So angry.

Fortunately, the team still had normal people; Chen Cang saw his appearance and said, 'Your Highness has suffered.'

The Great King: 'Indeed, I'm exhausted! What's for dinner tonight? It smells so good!'

Bai Ze: …… Getting straight to the point is a bit quick.

Chen Cang: '…… The crew caught some huge octopuses in the reef area and are grilling them.'

The Great King commanded: 'Add some chili powder, grill on the iron plate, then some rice—do we have rice? These days I've surely lost weight!'

Chen Cang: 'The ship's kitchen has millet; may I go get some for Your Highness?'

The Great King: 'Okay, okay, bring more—I'm a bit hungry~'

The Great King ate the millet rice and devoured three whole plates of spicy stir‑fried octopus made by the Treasure Ship's head chef.

Bai Ze stood beside him, shocked: '…… Could it be that you not only look like a savage, but are actually living as one?'

The Great King almost howled and cried out, 'Scout, if you're told to bring rations, just bring rations—no one brings seasoning. Even if I hunt the fattest pheasant, I can only roast it dry and secretly dip it in salt to eat.'

Bai Ze: ……

The soldiers were fine eating their salty‑ bland rations, but the Great King's pampered palate suffered.

That night the king returned, everyone withdrew the treasure ship; the king went back to his long‑unused room, immediately took a bath, changed into fresh clothes, left the Beggars' Gang, and then without pause went to claim the mission reward.