Chapter 2120: Are you Trying to Flirt with Me?

"Hey, you've come at a bad time," the turtle bartender said, seeing that the man hadn't been scared off. He stood up and explained, "The main reason is that the queen is being hunted across all parts of the ocean these days, and many shipping routes at the docks have been shut down."

"Plus, some patrol yakshas died here yesterday, and there's a rumor that the queen was responsible. So more and more adventurers are rushing over, drawn by the bounty. The Sea Clan officials have also sent many people. If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last ship leaving our dock today. Tomorrow, officials will surely issue a public notice, suspending this route. It's unknown when it will reopen, so naturally, it's expensive."

The turtle bartender then scrutinized the two, his gaze settling on Shang Hongyu: "I advise you two not to act alone recently. Any single woman nearby, no matter what she looks like, will be apprehended and interrogated by adventurers to ensure she isn't the queen in disguise."

Shang Hongyu said with interest, "Aren't you afraid I'm the queen in disguise?"

The turtle bartender scoffed, "Don't mind me speaking frankly, but the queen is much more beautiful than you. She did me a great favor back then and has long held a special place in my heart. Even if she disguises herself, the aura of a peerless beauty cannot be concealed; my sharp eyes can spot it instantly."

"Besides, with the queen's gentle and virtuous nature, how could she be going out in pairs with another man?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Shang Hongyu's bloated, barrel-like waist, practically implying she should look in a mirror.

Shang Hongyu: "..."

For a moment, she didn't know whether to be angry or pleased.

Just then, Zu An pulled out two Heaven-rank elemental stones. "We need two..."

At that moment, Shang Hongyu pulled one Heaven-rank elemental stone back from his hand. "We need one room. Big brother, you should know that when you're traveling, you should save money whenever you can."

Zu An didn't say anything further, simply nodding in agreement: "You're right, one room is enough. This ship ticket is too expensive."

The turtle bartender watched the elemental stone Shang Hongyu took back with some regret, thinking that these two were likely in an ambiguous stage before their relationship was confirmed. The man was a bit foolish, while the woman had everything well-calculated.

Hmph, to save one Heaven-rank elemental stone, he might end up losing his whole life. This lad was going to suffer a huge loss.

In his opinion, although both of them looked ordinary, the man was tall and straight, with a certain demeanor, while the woman had a barrel waist and a bloated figure. If they were together, the man would definitely be at a disadvantage.

While grumbling inwardly, he took out a small, square shell牌牌 (ticket), adorned with a circle of coral that formed a special rune, which must have been the anti-counterfeit mark.

"Here, this is your ship ticket. No replacement if lost."

Shang Hongyu reached out to take it, but suddenly let out a small gasp as her hand slipped, and the ticket fell behind the counter.

The turtle bartender: "..."

Shang Hongyu looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry, could you please pick that up for me?"

Since he was running a business, the turtle bartender, though annoyed, bent down to pick it up and hand it to her. "Be careful. You won't be so lucky next time."

"Thank you, thank you." After securing the ticket, Shang Hongyu pulled Zu An and headed straight for the dock.

After exiting the tavern, Zu An asked with a chuckle, "What did you take from his shell just now?"

It turned out that the other party had deliberately dropped the ship ticket, and while the turtle bartender bent down, quickly pilfered something.

Shang Hongyu opened her palm, revealing a Heaven-rank elemental stone.

Zu An was somewhat speechless. "Even though this ship ticket is expensive, it was for a reason. It's a cash-for-goods transaction. Why steal it back?"

"What do you mean, 'steal it back'? That sounds terrible," Shang Hongyu glared at him. "This isn't the elemental stone for the ship ticket. It's the Heaven-rank elemental stone he swindled from you yesterday. He clearly knew nothing about the Dragon Immortality Elixir, yet he still accepted your elemental stone. How annoying."

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "It's just one Heaven-rank elemental stone. Why would the esteemed Mermaid Queen care so much? Besides, that turtle seems to be a big fan of yours."

"Fan? He said plenty of bad things about me yesterday. That slippery character, don't let his talk of loyalty fool you. If he truly knew my identity, he'd be the first to report me," Shang Hongyu scoffed.

Zu An retorted, "Even if you're right, shouldn't you return the elemental stone to me? Why put it in your own bosom?"

"This Heaven-rank elemental stone was for inquiring about the Dragon Immortality Elixir. Did I not tell you relevant information yesterday? This elemental stone naturally belongs to me."

"I thought you were getting revenge for me, but it turns out you just thought he embezzled your property."

"Didn't I also get revenge for you incidentally?"

"Uh, then, should we settle the fare for the ship just now?"

"That's your own ship ticket fee. I'm just tagging along with you."

"You, the esteemed Mermaid Queen, are truly an eye-opener."

"No choice. A phoenix on the ground is worse than a chicken. I'm a wanted fugitive now. I left in a hurry and have no resources on me. You can't always be by my side, so naturally, I need to save some things now."

Zu An was startled upon hearing this, realizing that her current situation was indeed quite dire. After a moment's thought, he pulled out a pouch of elemental stones from his embrace and handed it to her: "Take these for now. Besides Heaven-rank elemental stones, there are also some Immortal-rank elemental stones inside, which should be enough to support you for a while."

Who knew Shang Hongyu didn't even look at it and just tossed the bag back to him. "Hmph, a boring man."

Zu An was full of questions. Didn't she just say she lacked elemental stones? Why did giving them to her make her unhappy?

He had thought that after all these years, he understood women well enough, but at this moment, he truly doubted himself.

Soon, the two arrived at the dock. Before them lay a huge ship, hundreds of feet long. Its hull seemed to be constructed from the skeleton of a giant sea beast, while the deck and body were made from exotic wood aged a thousand years from the seabed. The entire ship was inlaid with shells, pearls, and coral.

With Zu An's current cultivation, he could naturally tell that these elements weren't just decorative but were cleverly arranged to form various formations.

There were water-affinity formations, wind-acceleration formations, overall reinforcement formations, balance formations...

However, what drew his attention even more were the numerous massive ballistas erected on the ship. Unlike the siege ballistas used by humans, these seemed to use sharp tridents. Of course, there were also many magical ballistas, likely designed to combat different elemental creatures.

As if sensing his confusion, Shang Hongyu replied, "While the ocean is the Sea Clan's domain, it also contains many ferocious sea beasts. Although these sea beasts possess a certain level of intelligence, they cannot transform into human form and are naturally bloodthirsty, unlike the Sea Clan. Both sides frequently engage in combat; individual beasts are powerful and will hunt down isolated Sea Clan members, just as the Sea Clan will organize armies to剿those sea beasts."

"The further one travels from the shore and deeper into the sea, the stronger these sea beasts become. Some are even feared by the Dragon King himself. These massive weapons on the ship are used to defend against potential attacks from sea beasts."

Zu An was somewhat surprised. "I didn't realize your Sea Clan wasn't as carefree as I imagined."

"The law of the jungle, quite normal," Shang Hongyu casually replied, as if long accustomed to it, and quickly boarded the ship.

A sailor checked their tickets and led them to their assigned room.

Seeing the room, which was not much larger than a soft sleeper compartment on a train in his previous life, Zu An was bewildered and couldn't help but curse, "That old turtle, he charged us so much for the fare, yet he gave us such a tiny room?"

He had imagined that seeing how enormous the ship was, the room, if not a presidential suite, would at least be very spacious. He never expected it to be so narrow and cramped.

Shang Hongyu smiled. "You've misunderstood him. The rooms on this ship aren't very big."

Zu An: "???"

Shang Hongyu explained, "Because the ship is loaded with many heavy weapons to defend against those sea monsters, and these heavy weapons take up a vast area and require various large-scale magic formations, for safety reasons, the space left for passengers' rooms isn't very large."

"Then I'll go find the captain and see if I can buy another room." Zu An was about to leave when Shang Hongyu stopped him.

"No, we came up together. If we were to stay in two separate rooms, it would definitely arouse suspicion," Shang Hongyu continued. "And have you forgotten what that turtle said just now? All factions are strictly checking single women. Do you want me to be caught?"

By the end, her eyes were pitiful.

Zu An was somewhat helpless. "But this room is too small. It might be inconvenient for both of us to stay together, and... and there's only one bed."

At this, a wary expression crossed his face. "You're not planning to do anything improper to me, are you?"

Initially, he had thought the room was large, in which case sharing a room would be fine, as they had stayed in the same cave before.

But now, in such a small space with only one bed, how were they supposed to stay?

At this moment, Shang Hongyu's eyes suddenly reddened, and tears streamed down like broken pearls—this was not a metaphor, but a literal description.

Because her tears, upon hitting the ground, truly turned into pearls!

Zu An had heard legends of mermaids before, but witnessing this firsthand was quite shocking.

"Do you truly think of me as such a wanton and shameless woman?"

Zu An apologized, "I was just joking. Though Your Majesty isn't quite like the legends, you're merely more lively and passionate, not that kind of woman."

In truth, while she playfully teased him every time, whenever he genuinely pretended to do something, she would flee faster than anyone.

Shang Hongyu wiped the tear stains from her face. "What do you think is the biggest challenge in impersonating the Dragon King?"

Zu An replied gravely, "Not resembling the Dragon King's usual words and actions?"

Shang Hongyu shook her head. "Not at all. While those words and actions are troublesome, I believe that with your intelligence, you'll quickly learn them during our time on this ship."

"What else, then?" Zu An was taken aback.

Shang Hongyu gazed at him deeply, and finally said slowly, "Of course, it's the relationship between us."

Zu An paused, then fell into contemplation. He understood what she meant.

Shang Hongyu continued, "After all, the Dragon King and I are husband and wife. Much of a couple's interaction is natural. But between you and me, it's clearly fake. Even the slightest physical contact would reveal awkwardness and flaws. How could we possibly deceive so many clever individuals in the Dragon Palace then? How could we make them stand with us? And your plan to go to the Myriad Dragon's Tomb wouldn't be able to proceed."

Zu An sighed, "You make a good point, but how can I mimic the feelings between you and your husband?"

"That's why I specifically asked for the same room. Our journey to the Azure Ocean will take about half a month. During this time, we'll spend every day together and cultivate intimacy, so at least you won't get nervous just because I link my arm through yours," Shang Hongyu looked up at him, her eyes exceptionally firm. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I must expose that fake Dragon King's plot. For the Dragon King, for the entire Sea Clan, what is this small sacrifice?"

Feeling the stern resolve emanating from her, Zu An felt a bit ashamed. She held great love for the entire Sea Clan in her heart, while he was thinking foolish thoughts. So, he replied seriously, "I was being pedantic. I will cooperate fully from now on and strive to learn without any flaws during these days."

Shang Hongyu finally broke into a smile and raised her hand. "Then I'll teach you the etiquette of the Dragon Palace first. Take my hand."

Zu An walked over. Just as he extended his hand, Shang Hongyu frowned slightly. "This mask is really ugly. You should revert to your true appearance."

Zu An thought that was right. Women naturally disliked unfamiliar men touching their bodies, let alone a queen of a race.

Seeing him restore his original appearance, Shang Hongyu also removed the mask from her face, revealing her beautiful oval face.

However, he quickly composed himself. The other party was burdened with such a noble mission; how could he taint her pure intentions?

Thus, he focused intently, listening to her explanations and correcting his mistakes step by step under her guidance.

After a while, Shang Hongyu was surprised. "Your talent is truly extraordinary. You've learned so quickly and realistically. This set of etiquette only has a few details left to pay attention to. If we practice a few more times, you should completely master it."

"That's good." Zu An wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. Just now, in that short time, all he did was walk, but it was more tiring than practicing sword for several hours on a normal day.

Of course, it was mainly mentally exhausting. After all, with such a beautiful woman so gently close to him, especially given her special identity—not just the Queen of the Sea Clan, but also Shang Liuyu's elder sister—every aspect of her identity told him that he absolutely must not harbor any wicked thoughts.

But sometimes, thoughts are like that: the more you deliberately try to control them, the more likely they are to backfire.

It was only because Zu An's cultivation was high enough now, and his willpower had been tempered countless times, that he could barely resist this temptation.

"Then, let's move on to the next step. Come here, put your arm around my waist," Shang Hongyu said, her heart pounding exceptionally fast, but she tried to keep her voice calm, as if nothing was amiss.

"Huh?" Zu An was dumbfounded, never expecting something like this.

"What 'huh'? Wasn't it easy enough to hold me in the tavern yesterday?" Shang Hongyu glared at him in annoyance.