Chapter 386

"I feel drained, Master," Ao Yulie said, his body trembling inexplicably.

The moment he truly stepped into the Water Source Palace, he felt a wave of discomfort, a strange sense of weakness, as if his body had been hollowed out, unable to muster any strength at all.

He wished he could just lie down on the spot and turn into a salted fish.

Master, I don't want to be a dragon anymore!

"Then lie there, don't get sucked dry," Tang Luo said.

"No, no, Master, I'm sticking with you," Ao Yulie said, keeping close to Tang Luo's pace.

The two entered the main doors of one of the sanatorium's buildings; inside, the decor was serene and elegant, not a trace of a hospital feel — purely the style of a resort villa.

This building was clearly for living and leisure; a dedicated medical building stood on the other side.

The lighting in the lobby was rather dim; behind the front desk sat a person, head nodding repeatedly, liable to topple over and fall asleep at any moment, looking on the verge of collapse.

Turning a blind eye to the lake water that had already flooded the lobby.

The water in the lobby wasn't deep, roughly ankle-high; Tang Luo walked straight across, splashing water everywhere.

He reached out and rapped on the marble countertop.

The drowsy receptionist behind it jerked her head up, eyes fixed dead on Tang Luo.

One could see she was a very beautiful woman, around thirty, full of charm, but her current state was extremely poor.

Her face was pale, dark circles and eye bags extremely prominent; in her eyes staring fixedly at Tang Luo, there wasn't a shred of vitality.

She gave the impression of sleepwalking.

The exquisite makeup on her face couldn't conceal her exhaustion in the slightest.

Haggard like a university monk during finals week.

Looking at Tang Luo, the woman's gaze gained a slight focus, and she asked, "May I ask, is there, anything, you need, help with?"

A single short sentence, spoken with great difficulty, pausing several times.

"I'm looking for someone," Tang Luo said.

The woman continued staring at Tang Luo, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm looking for the Empress," Tang Luo stated his purpose just like that; a renunciate does not speak falsehoods.

"I'm sorry, I cannot disclose the Empress's whereabouts." The woman spoke much more fluently this time, refusing outright.

"Oh, so that means she really is here," Ao Yulie sidled over and said.

"Go look then," Tang Luo said.

Ao Yulie and Howling Celestial Dog moved simultaneously.

"Ah—" The woman let out a weak, perfunctory shout, "You, can't, go in."

She reverted to her halting speech; that one complete sentence just now seemed to have exhausted all her strength.

"Don't be nervous, they're just going to the toilet," Tang Luo decided to temporarily return to secular life for a few seconds.

He was a man who had rendered meritorious service to the Great Teaching; the Buddha wouldn't mind such a trivial matter.

The disciplinary monks would mind even less.

Hearing Tang Luo's lie, the woman instantly breathed a sigh of relief, accepting his explanation from the bottom of her heart, and pursued it no further.

Judging by her look, she was happy that she could continue sitting.

Tang Luo wasn't in a rush either, continuing to ask a few questions.

Basically all were refused with reasons like "cannot say," "we must respect guest privacy."

It was clear the woman harbored some suspicion about Tang Luo's arrival and identity; she would occasionally furrow her brow.

But she didn't alert security personnel to come; it seemed even the motion of picking up a phone to notify them was a tremendous burden for her.

If there hadn't been no bed behind her, she probably would have lain down to answer Tang Luo's questions.

After about half an hour, the sound of footsteps approached.

Three uniformed security personnel walked over from the other side, pistols holstered at their waists; they looked professional.

But they were unwilling, practically dragging their feet, wearing leather shoes like slippers — very unprofessional.

"Sir, may we see your identification?" Two of them walked up to Tang Luo and asked.

Their gazes strove to be sharp as lightning, currently battling lazy-cancer.

"Sure." Tang Luo extended his hand, delivering a knife-hand strike to each, knocking them unconscious, and tossed them onto the sofa on the other side.

This scene, the front desk woman completely failed to see.

As the two guards approached, she wore the expression of having finally handed off her work, breathed a huge sigh of relief, slumped back in her chair, too lazy to even lift her head.

So tired, didn't want to move anymore.

Exuding the aura of a salted fish.

Tang Luo shook his head, tapped the back of his hand twice, signaling Ao Yulie to speed up.

They've been gone half an hour and still haven't returned; don't know what they're doing.

After a while, Ao Yulie and Howling Celestial Dog returned together.

Striding leisurely; Howling Celestial Dog even rarely jumped onto Ao Yulie's head and stood there.

Upon seeing Tang Luo, it made a graceful leap, landing on his shoulder.

"Any findings?" Tang Luo asked.

"Yes." Ao Yulie nodded. "That Empress does indeed live here, but she has already gone missing."

"Oh?" Tang Luo asked. "When?"

"One day ago," Ao Yulie said.

"Do these people know?" Tang Luo pointed at the only three staff members in the lobby.

"These few, unclear if they know or not. Others know, but the news shouldn't have leaked out."

Tang Luo said, "They're deliberately concealing it?" The Empress going missing is no small matter.

For things to be this calm, it can only mean the news has been suppressed.

"No." Ao Yulie's expression was strange. "They aren't concealing it, at least not deliberately."

"What do you mean?"

"Master, you've noticed it too — these people are all a bunch of salted fish." Ao Yulie pointed at the two security guards lying on the sofa. "Look, as security guards they're actually sleeping here..."

"I knocked them out." Tang Luo said.

"Cough, cough." Ao Yulie coughed twice, changing the subject. "That receptionist — right, logically speaking, we came straight here to find the Empress, yet she didn't even notify anyone, and answered our questions very perfunctorily."

"I was in the kitchen, and saw a chef just sitting there, not moving at all, the steak in front of him already thoroughly burnt to charcoal."

"Who knows how long it had been burning."

"Master, everyone in the entire Water Source Palace has turned into salted fish!"

The Empress is missing, yet these people aren't deliberately concealing it — they simply can't be bothered to report it, can't even be bothered to search.

Even if they do search, judging by how fast the security guards appeared, at this rate they might not even cover the whole Water Source Palace after a month.

"Does it have something to do with this water?" Tang Luo pointed at the water under his feet.

"Maybe." Ao Yulie, having finished his work, said, throwing himself onto the sofa and letting out a long breath.

So tired, feels like I'll never do anything again, lying like this is most comfortable.

The Howling Celestial Dog on Tang Luo's shoulder had somehow also lain down, sleeping soundly.

"Get up." Tang Luo kicked Ao Yulie's calf.

"Master, let me rest a bit, I just worked hard for over half an hour." Ao Yulie "struggled" a bit, wanting to stand, but gave up decisively after one second.

Felt he still needed to rest a while longer.

Terminal laziness, beyond saving, just wait for death.

"Then did you find the Empress's whereabouts?" Tang Luo asked.

"... No." Ao Yulie yawned, pulling an all-nighter with no overtime pay to boot.

Master is truly black-hearted.

"Go search in the lake." Tang Luo pointed toward the large lake beside the Water Source Palace.

"Now?" Ao Yulie's eyes widened, his tone still holding a shred of hope — he just wanted to be a lazy dragon.

"Yes, now." Tang Luo ruthlessly crushed his hope.

"Can't I rest a little, just a little?" Ao Yulie pleaded, feeling even the journey west hadn't been this hard.

Third Senior Brother, hurry up and recover! Little White Dragon needs you!

Eldest Senior Brother, where are you? I miss you so much!

Second Senior Brother... forget Second Senior Brother.

Tang Luo held out his palm, five fingers spread: "Five."

"Five hours?" Ao Yulie was overjoyed — Master's conscience awakened!

No, Master isn't that kind, so...

"Five minutes it is then." Ao Yulie said dejectedly, feeling life had lost all color.

His future was pitch black.

"Three."

Then Ao Yulie saw Tang Luo fold his thumb and index finger, thumb pressing on index finger, skipping four.

"Two."

Next second, the middle finger also folded, thumb pressing on the two fingers.

"I'm going now!"

Ao Yulie shouted, his terminal laziness cured on the spot, turning into a streak of light that rushed out of the building and plunged into the lake.

Not a splash was raised, perfect entry.

Ao Yulie knew that when Tang Luo called zero, his hand would clench into a fist.

At that time he wouldn't be able to pull off a perfect entry like this.

"Laziness is curable." Tang Luo nodded, saying, "Doggy, you agree, right?"

Howling Celestial Dog's eyes were already wide as copper bells, shooting lightning-sharp alertness, ears pricked like antennae, listening to every suspicious sound.

Transforming into Black Cat Detective, she, Howling Celestial Dog, is a most devoted hunting hound!

No spider-silk trace, no rustle of wind through grass escapes her ears, her gaze, and her nose!

"Looks like you've awakened too." Tang Luo said.

Five minutes later.

Eyes wide, super fierce, Howling Celestial Dog couldn't help but lower her head a little.

So tired, so tired, this isn't right — she's just a cute little kitty, should spend every day lazing about, bullying her can-opener.

That's what they all say online.

Tang Luo, sitting on the sofa, stroked Howling Celestial Dog's head, stood up, and looked toward the outside of the main hall.

There, at some unknown time, a figure had appeared, walking inside.

Completely different from the others exuding a salted-fish aura, her steps were very agile and quick.

She wasn't alone; her right hand slightly behind her, still gripping a leg, and that leg's owner was none other than Ao Yulie.

He had been dragged all the way to the main hall by this person.

His head had even knocked against the steps several times, yet he still slept extremely peacefully, even snoring.

"Disturbing an old lady's rest, you youngsters aren't very polite." Having dragged Ao Yulie in and tossed him down, the woman looked at Tang Luo and said.

She appeared to be around seventy years old, dressed in magnificent robes, wearing a crown, her head full of silver hair, her body somewhat stooped.

But her spirit was exceptionally vigorous, remarkably abundant.

Abundant to the point of seeming like the convergence of a multitude.

The Undying Empress!

"Junior?" Tang Luo smiled. "Come, tell this poor monk how old you are this year?"

He reached out and made a grasping motion in the air.

The Empress instantly flew into Tang Luo's hand.

Her neck seized by his palm, her face filled with shock.

Something was wrong!

Shouldn't this guy have dropped on the spot and turned into a salted fish?