Chapter 403: Successive Humiliations and the Resentment of Wansheng Gongzhu

Half a month flashed by.

The courtyard was spacious and open, with sparse flowers and trees, and craggy rocks lingering on either side, possessing an indescribable atmosphere.

In the courtyard sat an exquisite and elegant pavilion, octagonal in style, covered with azure Glazed Tile, with a few pines and bamboos providing shade, their emerald green reaching inside.

Coupled with the gurgling sound of a nearby spring, it had a unique, quiet seclusion.

Fang Longye, Niu Mowang, and the other five sat within, a small fire burning in a red clay stove on the table, green plums boiling in wine, looking like a scene of joyful feasting.

"Good heavens, we've left these people out to dry for half a month, and yet only a dozen or so have left~"

Mihou Wang sat on a soft couch, clouds swirling incessantly before him, condensing into an octagonal precious mirror that reflected the scene outside Bibo Tan.

One could see that of the two hundred or so people originally screened, there were hardly any fewer, with only a dozen or so having run off; the rest were still waiting bitterly by the pool.

"These people really have perseverance!"

Peng Mowang also looked at the scene in the mirror; to be honest, he was truly a bit moved by the persistence of these guys who wanted to live off a woman.

Of course, it was mainly because he had never seen so many people fighting to wear a green hat~

"What perseverance?"

Mihou Wang, who was to the side, heard Peng Mowang's exclamation and couldn't help but sneer, saying: "Those who haven't left after being left out to dry by us for so long are either thick-skinned and shameless, or they have psychological problems and enjoy being abused."

"Otherwise, they are burdened with a mission and are determined to become the son-in-law of the Dragon King of Wansheng; in short, they are all a bunch of social climbers, not one of them is any good!"

"That's right," Fang Longye nodded in agreement, "Social climbing isn't shameful, and wanting to live off a woman is understandable, but to lose one's dignity for the sake of a free meal is truly pathetic!"

And honestly, there is nothing a man who can cast aside his dignity to live off a woman won't do.

Don't look at their current cowardly and weak appearance; in reality, who knows how rational and bottomless they are inside! They are truly not worth pitying~

Peng Mowang didn't argue, waving his hand and laughing: "I was just making a casual remark; who would pity a bunch of guys marrying into a family?"

After laughing and joking for a while, the seven continued to drink. Before long, the Dragon King of Wansheng came over, smiling and asking the few of them to continue showing their faces to stand for the assessment of these people.

Following the Dragon King of Wansheng, Fang Longye and the others arrived at a somewhat dilapidated palace in the south of the Longgong.

There, the two hundred or so pretty boys had already been led by others to wait outside the hall.

While the palace was said to be dilapidated, it was only relative; in fact, the materials used were just ordinary, and compared to the magnificent palaces nearby, it was just a bit dim and lacked luster, making the contrast greater.

Of course, because it was a place where palace maids and fish-women lived, the environment was indeed a bit cluttered.

Without anyone needing to explain, as soon as they arrived at this palace, these people understood that they were about to be humiliated again.

"Ahem~"

Seeing that the seven Great Sages and their own Dragon King had arrived, the Turtle Prime Minister coughed and said coldly: "Congratulations to everyone for reaching this stage; now we begin the next assessment~"

After speaking, the Turtle Prime Minister clapped his hands, and immediately someone brought a series of cleaning tools before these pretty boys.

"In this round, your task is to clean this palace inside and out. Anyone who wants to be eliminated can feel free to slack off and cut corners~"

These men who wanted to live off a woman looked at each other; having reached this point, they naturally had no choice but to swallow their pride and take the tools to start cleaning.

Who would have thought that what tested them was not just the simple suffering and toil of cleaning.

One could see many palace maids and matrons suddenly pouring in from inside and outside the palace, each with their hands on their hips, pointing and gesturing at the work in their hands.

"Are you blind, you dog slave? There is still plenty of dust in these wall cracks!"

"You are simply a piece of trash; I let you organize things, and you are all thumbs. What else can you do?!"

"This washroom still has a foul odor! Clean it properly for me! Were you raised on shit!"

"What are you glaring at? Don't you know who the examiner for this round is? Glare again and this old lady will eliminate you immediately!"

"What a coward! I'm scolding you like this, and you can still take it, you spineless wretch!"

"......"

For a time, all kinds of foul language directed at these pretty boys rose and fell.

One could see,

these low-level palace servants of the Longgong, whether they were young and beautiful Fish Maiden and Beinu, or fish-women and old matrons who looked like hags, were all disregarding their image to launch personal attacks on these people.

Especially those fish-women who looked like hags—good heavens, that vicious posture made Fang Longye recall the image of Rong Mama from his past life.

It was truly a viciousness that surpassed even that.

"Damn it, this son-in-law business is truly not easy to handle!" Peng Mowang couldn't help but complain.

"These pretty boys are truly fucking useless!"

After complaining, Peng Mowang started cursing again.

It was mainly because seeing these people, who were clearly all grown men, swallowing their pride under the abuse of a group of women, really made one angry at their lack of backbone~

"A son-in-law marrying into a family is supposed to be useless... uh, that's what the Dragon King of Wansheng said." Hearing Peng Mowang's words, Niu Mowang shook his head and laughed.

"Actually, it makes a lot of sense. If a son-in-law has too much ability, it's easy for him to usurp the host's position. One must prevent the situation where he sleeps with the daughter and then kicks the family out."

You're speaking from personal experience, aren't you~

Fang Longye heard this and couldn't help but glance at Niu Mowang. In the original trajectory, didn't this guy take the daughter of the Wansui Fox King as a concubine and claim the entirety of Jilei Mountain along with millions in family assets for himself?

However, what he said did indeed make a lot of sense.

Wanting to be a son-in-law and live off a woman was never that easy, especially when one didn't have much ability.

The Dragon King of Wansheng's approach was also understandable; it could be considered as thinking for his daughter.

If he didn't suppress their self-esteem to the fullest, what if these people became arrogant once they got their way? A son-in-law often has to endure beatings and scoldings; right now, he was training them, cultivating them into punching bags who wouldn't hit back when beaten or talk back when scolded.

It's just that I don't know if Wansheng Gongzhu is willing to accept such a punching bag to wear a green hat~

After all, in this day and age, even if one wants to be a successor, one has to see if they catch the eye of the little fairy!

Deep in the Longgong,

A small bamboo dwelling stood by the water.

The windows on all four sides were wide open, and the water-like hue of the leaves permeated the interior, blending into a single, unified color.

In the center hung a precious mirror, with smoke and cloud patterns behind it and carvings of a Phoenix and a divine dragon, ancient yet magnificent.

A young girl of fifteen or sixteen, dressed in gorgeous attire with a face like a flower and a moon, was watching the entire scene inside that dilapidated palace through this precious mirror.

Every move of those pretty boys, along with the expressions on their faces, was captured in her eyes. This girl was none other than Wansheng Gongzhu, who in the original trajectory dared to sneak into the Heavenly Court and steal the Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma from Wangmu.

At this moment, her face was gloomy, and as she looked at the scene in the mirror, her eyes were filled with haze.

"Is the Princess not satisfied with these people?"

The maid Lühe, who was attending to her, saw her Princess's expression and asked hurriedly.

The maid on the other side, Honglian, could not help but roll her eyes; this was nonsense, she herself wouldn't fancy these pretty boys, let alone the Princess.

But knowing it was one thing, why ask it out loud? Even a fool knew the Princess didn't like those people, but the Dragon King did—weren't you intentionally trying to annoy the Princess?

Thinking of this, Honglian hurriedly gave Lühe a look, signaling her to stop talking—unfortunately, Lühe had always been thick-skinned and lacked any tact; without waiting for Wansheng Princess to reply, she started grumbling to herself: "These pretty boys are indeed not much; although their looks are decent and their cultivation is passable, they are either sissies or cowards, and simply not worthy of you, Princess!"

Honglian closed her eyes, thinking to herself, Sister Lühe, can you be a bit more careful? If the Princess starts a conflict with the Dragon King, wouldn't you become the sinner who fanned the flames? "Hmph!"

Wansheng Gongzhu looked at these pretty boys in the mirror with a look of resentment and said coldly: "Each of them is supposed to be a fine man, yet they are so weak and cowardly. My Father King may be willing to find such a son-in-law, but I am not willing to find such a husband!"

"It doesn't matter if you don't fancy these people, Princess,"

Honglian hurriedly went behind Wansheng Princess, began kneading her shoulders, and said in a soft, gentle voice:

"You can just talk it over with the Dragon King! He loves you the most; even if you wanted the stars in the sky, he would find a way to pluck them down for you~"

Upon hearing this, Wansheng Princess's expression did not improve. She knew better than Honglian why her Father King was recruiting a son-in-law for her so quickly and decisively—"Enough! You two may leave~"

Wansheng Princess closed her eyes and pondered for a moment, finally making up her mind, and waved her sleeves to dismiss the two personal maids, Honglian and Lühe.

Subsequently,

She flipped her hand, and a dark green token appeared in her palm, exuding an indescribable Aura—"Father King, this is what you forced me to do~"

Having said that, Wansheng Gongzhu resolutely crushed the dark green token in her hand.

"You scoundrel,"

Watching the token turn into powder, she muttered to herself: "Didn't you say you were coming to snatch the bride? I agree! Whether you can take me as your wife depends on your ability!"

At the dilapidated palace, the Wansheng Longgong's test for these pretty boys was still continuing.

After cleaning the palace and weeding out another group of people, before these survivors could even catch their breath, the Turtle Prime Minister immediately announced that the next assessment would begin.

Immediately, he ordered people to give each of these pretty boys a set of worn-out linen robes, demanding they change out of the gorgeous attire they were wearing.

"A son-in-law is not here to enjoy a life of luxury!"

The Turtle Prime Minister threw down this sentence coldly.

After changing their clothes, the gorgeous attire these pretty boys had originally worn was burned clean by the people the Turtle Prime Minister had arranged, right in front of them.

This was actually a form of psychological suggestion, letting them cast aside their past and accept their new identity.

After that, the assessment officially began.

A group of men carrying dozens of large bamboo baskets entered the palace gate and came before these people.

These men placed the dozens of large bamboo baskets in front of the pretty boys, and one could see that the baskets were filled to the brim with a large pile of clothing.

They were colorful and clearly women's clothing, but the smell was unpleasant, exuding an indescribable odor that made one feel nauseated.

"Damn it, where did they find this pile of clothes? It's so dirty and smelly!" Peng Mowang, who had been watching with great amusement from the side, couldn't help but cover his nose and grumble.

"These are the clothes of those old fish-women, and the people under the Dragon Palace specifically selected those who have entered the Five Decays of Heaven and Man."

"Five Decays of Heaven and Man? No wonder~"

Peng Mowang looked enlightened upon hearing this.

One must know that as long as a living being has not entered the Golden Immortal realm, there will be a day when their lifespan ends, and the Five Decays of Heaven and Man is something no one below the Golden Immortal realm can avoid.

Clothes becoming filthy, the flowers on the head withering, sweat flowing from the armpits, the body becoming foul-smelling, dissatisfaction with one's seat,...

Just by listening to the various terms for the specific manifestations of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, one could imagine how unbearable the filth it brought was.

This was not the filth brought by a mortal's old age and death, but the filth produced by cultivators and immortals nearing their demise, which even Golden Immortals would avoid.

"Who came up with the method for this round of assessment? To be honest, it's really vicious~"

Jiao Mowang saw that there were even the foot-binding socks of those fish-women in the large bamboo baskets; just looking at their yellowed color, one knew what kind of smell they had.

One must know that this round was clearly the same as the previous round of cleaning the palace; they were not allowed to use Dharma power and had to do the hard labor by hand.

If it were him, being forced to wash dirty clothes and smelly socks for a group of old hags, he would rather just die.

"In this round, what you need to do is wash all these clothes clean. Don't cover your noses for me; these skills are essential for you to be a son-in-law."

The Turtle Prime Minister pointed at the clothes in the bamboo baskets and said.

It must be said that after several rounds of torment, these guys, who could originally be considered talents, had all their sharpness ground away; without saying a word, they directly divided a batch of clothes among themselves and headed toward the water troughs.

Of course, this was also because by this stage, the sunk costs for these people were already very high, and giving up halfway was really not worth it.

Therefore,

Even if some had not yet been completely smoothed out and still had a shred of pride, they were reluctant to give up and could only grit their teeth and persist; otherwise, it would really be a disservice to the long journey they had made and the suffering they had endured.

But honestly, Fang Longye, Niu Mowang, and the others really didn't think much of these people's outcome. Still the same saying, a free meal is not so easy to eat.

These people were originally weak-willed, otherwise they wouldn't have thought of taking shortcuts; after being slowly PUA-ed, suppressed, and brainwashed by the Wansheng Longgong, it was hard for their minds not to be twisted and affected.

Even if the person who finally won succeeded in becoming the son-in-law, don't expect him to stand tall in the Wansheng Longgong, let alone seek any benefits for himself.

He might even end up becoming a part of Wansheng Gongzhu's play with her lovers, becoming a complete tool.

"Aha~"

Seeing these people taking the clothes to wash, Fang Longye yawned and said to the Wansheng Dragon King: "It's getting late, this should be the last hurdle for today, right? Why don't we go back and rest first? The palace maids are responsible for checking the results of these cowards anyway; shall we come back tomorrow to continue the assessment?"

Since he had said so, what else could the Wansheng Dragon King say? Regardless of his original intentions, he could only raise both hands in agreement with this proposal. Besides, it was indeed late in the day.

As for Niu Mowang, Jiao Mowang, and the others, they shared the same thought as Fang Longye; none of them wished to waste time here accompanying these spineless wretches, so they likewise nodded in agreement.

Thus,

Fang Longye and his group swaggered out of this palace, leaving behind only a crowd of soft-rice men scrubbing away incessantly and the palace maids and fish crones who were evaluating them.

(End of this chapter)