Chapter 2122: Playing with Fire

"North Sea Kraken?" Zu An's expression was peculiar. He had seen this monster before in a secret realm, and speaking of it, the creature seemed to have a unique ability...

Just then, a nearby window suddenly shattered, and a tentacle swept towards the two of them, clearly having sensed the delicious scent of flesh and blood.

Seeing the tentacle about to reach their table, Zu An casually waved his hand. "Scram!"

The chopstick in his hand shot out like a beam of light. The tentacle, which so many previous guests' attacks couldn't even scratch, was directly pierced and impaled by this single chopstick. The special mucus on its surface seemed to lose all effect.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed. The glass in all the restaurant windows instantly shattered, and the tentacle, in pain, immediately recoiled.

Immediately afterwards, the countless tentacles that had been menacingly covering the ship's hull all withdrew back into the sea as if startled. A massive figure frantically fled beneath the surface.

The sailors on deck and countless cultivators stared at the scene as if having just escaped a disaster.

"Why did that monster suddenly leave?"

"Perhaps our attacks finally took effect. It knew we weren't to be trifled with."

"Heh, I'd rather believe it's full. Who knows how many guests and sailors just had their flesh and blood drained by its tentacles."

In the end, everyone speculated on the most reasonable explanation: that the ship's heavy weapons were about to be deployed. The monster, feeling some apprehension and having eaten its fill, decided to leave.

Only Shang Hongyu knew the real reason. She stared at the man across from her in astonishment.

Although the windows had shattered and debris flew everywhere in the restaurant just now, an invisible force field seemed to surround their table, keeping all the scattered objects at bay. The dishes on the table, even the wine glasses, were all perfectly intact.

Noticing her expression, Zu An smiled. "Wasn't that impressive just now?"

Shang Hongyu's face flushed. She quickly averted her gaze. "Hmph, nothing special, just like the Dragon King. I see such things often."

Yet, she knew very well in her heart that although the Dragon King wasn't afraid of North Sea Krakens either, he primarily relied on the natural suppressive aura of his dragon bloodline. If it came to a real fight, he probably couldn't have handled it with such effortless ease as Zu An just did.

Zu An paid no mind to her comment. He took out a small porcelain bottle, and with a casual gesture, the pool of pink mucus left behind by the wounded tentacle was directly sucked into the bottle.

Seeing this, Shang Hongyu's eyes widened. "You're not a good person, you know that?"

Zu An was taken aback. "What makes you say that?"

Shang Hongyu pointed at his porcelain bottle. "The North Sea Kraken's mucus has a strong aphrodisiac effect. Especially on women and females, it has an incredibly potent effect. Who are you planning to use that on?"

As she spoke, she clasped her hands tightly across her chest and leaned back slightly. "You're not planning to use it on me, are you?"

He said irritably, "If I really wanted to do something to you, I wouldn't need this kind of thing. The reason I collected this is because this mucus is a top-grade alchemical ingredient. It's extremely rare normally, so naturally, I had to keep it when I saw it."

"So you know alchemy too... Wait, what did you mean by that earlier remark? What do you mean, 'if I wanted to do something to you, I wouldn't need this'?" Shang Hongyu looked at him, slightly annoyed.

Zu An smiled and wagged a finger. "Have you forgotten the special effect of my healing energy?"

Only then did Shang Hongyu recall the situation when he healed her. Though it was only for an instant, she probably wouldn't forget that feeling for the rest of her life. With that ability, he indeed wouldn't need the North Sea Kraken's mucus for *those* kinds of things.

"Pfft, vulgar!" Her cheeks flushed, and she spat.

*Here I am, trying to explain myself to this woman. Give me a break.*

Just then, noisy footsteps were heard from outside. The two quickly looked away.

"Let's go out first," Shang Hongyu suggested. If others came in and saw them both perfectly unharmed, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.

"Alright." Zu An stood up, and with a casual flick of his hand, the chairs they had just been sitting on were shattered, as if ravaged by the tentacles. Shang Hongyu secretly nodded; this man was indeed thoughtful.

Soon, a group of sailors entered. They were somewhat surprised to see the two of them. "You two are lucky; you weren't eaten by that monster."

Shang Hongyu patted her chest and said with a look of lingering fear, "Fortunately, we hid in a corner, and the monster suddenly left, so we managed to escape."

Zu An watched with amusement as she fooled the sailors, leaving them completely dumbfounded. *It seems women are born actresses.* Soon, the two went out onto the deck, enjoying the sea breeze. They watched the sailors busily repairing various parts of the ship. Many rooms had been torn apart by the huge tentacles, and even several of the ship's massive ballistas had been destroyed.

The ship's doctor was relatively idle, only needing to comfort the guests in various rooms, because the previous attack had resulted mostly in fatalities, with no wounded.

Shang Hongyu looked towards her room in the distance and couldn't help but feel a little happy. "It seems we're quite lucky; our room is intact." Was this some kind of divine arrangement?

"If that guy dared to damage our room, it wouldn't have been able to leave," Zu An said casually.

Just then, a few passing guests overheard his words and couldn't help but roll their eyes. "What a load of nonsense." *That woman looks like an idiot too, to be fooled by such a flimsy lie. Well, she's not very attractive, so no wonder she lacks insight.*

Shang Hongyu, however, was doubled over with laughter.

After this little interlude, the two began discussing serious matters.

"That North Sea Kraken just now seemed a bit weak. It couldn't compare to one I saw before," Zu An said gravely.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to have seen a North Sea Kraken?" Shang Hongyu was a little surprised. "Truly worthy of being the legendary Regent! You know, North Sea Krakens usually live tens of thousands of feet beneath the sea; even the Merfolk rarely see them."

"That wasn't a mature North Sea Kraken earlier. It was probably a juvenile." She put away her smile. "But even a juvenile shouldn't be here."

"Oh?" Zu An looked at the heavy weapons on deck. "I thought these weapons were for dealing with monsters like that."

Shang Hongyu explained, "These weapons are indeed for dealing with sea monsters, but in front of a terrifying monster like the North Sea Kraken, it's like a child with a knife facing a vicious bandit. Didn't I tell you before? The deeper you go in the ocean, the stronger the sea monsters become. Normally, creatures of this caliber shouldn't appear here, all the way to the Azure Waves Sea."

Her expression grew serious. "But the North Sea Kraken appeared here nonetheless. This means either there's something here that attracted it from thousands of miles away, or..."

"Or something happened in the deep sea that forced it to leave its home and flee?" Zu An's brows furrowed slightly. He had only intended to come to the Merfolk territories to find the divine dragon's elixir of immortality. Who would have thought it would be so turbulent here? He had a constant feeling that a massive dark net was enveloping the entire Merfolk race, and even he might inadvertently get caught in it.

Shang Hongyu also thought of this point. She looked towards the distant deep sea; although she was wearing a mask, it couldn't hide the palpable worry etched on her brow.

"We have too little information right now, so worrying about this is pointless," Zu An said, reaching out and gently patting her shoulder, comforting her. "Let's return to the Dragon Palace first. As for what comes next, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Shang Hongyu hummed in affirmation. Then a faint smile appeared on her face. "I don't know why, but with you by my side, I feel exceptionally at ease." The constant dread she felt from being hunted and pursued just a while ago was now completely gone, replaced only by peace and serenity.

"It is my honor to serve Your Majesty," Zu An bowed, using the court etiquette Shang Hongyu had taught him earlier, which made her shake with laughter.

The two stood on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze while admiring the starry sky, occasionally chatting. Time passed quickly.

The sailors who had been making emergency repairs on deck gradually returned to rest. The guests, after recovering from their fright, also returned to their rooms. Although many rooms had been destroyed, many people had also lost their lives to the North Sea Kraken, so there were plenty of spare rooms.

Remaining on deck would draw too much attention, so they returned to their room. Once back in their own private space, both instinctively removed their masks, reverting to their original appearances. After all, they were still unaccustomed to those unfamiliar faces.

At this point, they both looked at the single bed in the room. Both felt a little awkward. In fact, the reason they had lingered outside and delayed entering was an unconscious attempt to avoid this very scene.

However, Zu An, having been through many trials and tribulations, soon spoke up. "You take the bed and rest. I'll just meditate beside it. With my current cultivation level, I don't need to be confined to a bed."

Shang Hongyu, however, smiled. "No, you take the bed. I need to meditate and heal anyway. Besides, you've already helped me so much; how could I let you sleep on the floor?"

"Making a woman sleep on the floor, especially a beautiful one, is not the act of a gentleman." Zu An directly moved a stool and sat by the door. Judging by his posture, he absolutely refused to let Shang Hongyu sleep on the floor.

Shang Hongyu hesitated for a moment. Then her red lips parted slightly. "Actually... actually, this bed is quite big. We could both sleep in it."

Zu An: "???"

Seeing his astonished expression, Shang Hongyu quickly waved her hand. "Don't misunderstand. It's just that we'll be pretending to be a married couple from now on. When we return to the Dragon Palace, we'll inevitably have to share a room for sleeping. There will be many maids serving us. If we sleep separately then, it might easily expose our deception. It's better to get used to it now, so we won't be flustered later."

Zu An hesitated. "But men and women are different, after all. Isn't this a bit improper?" If it had been a few years ago, he would have jumped at such an opportunity. But now, having seen countless sights and experienced so many things, his mindset was completely different from what it had been back then. Too many matters awaited his attention; romantic relationships were just one of them, and sometimes, they could even become an emotional burden.

"What's improper about it? I'm not going to take advantage of you," Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. "In my eyes, you're just like a younger brother."

"What if I take advantage of *you* then?"

Shang Hongyu looked at him playfully. "Then I'll tell Liu Yu!"

Zu An: "???"

*What kind of threat is that? Does it have any deterrent effect? It sounds more like encouragement.*

However, both of them were top figures of their time. After talking it out, the awkwardness faded, and realizing it was indeed preparation for impersonating the Dragon King later, they completely let go of their psychological burden.

Zu An no longer refused and got directly into bed.

Shang Hongyu said, "You go to sleep first. I'll meditate and heal my injuries."

Zu An handed her a bottle of spiritual medicine, said nothing more, and lay down fully clothed. Shang Hongyu didn't refuse. She opened the bottle, took one pill, and went to the window to meditate, absorbing the essence of the moonlight from above. The recovery speed of her internal injuries noticeably quickened.

Zu An opened his eyes and took a glance. He saw faint moonlight sprinkling over her, causing a soft, hazy glow to emanate from her entire being. It was exquisitely beautiful, forming a stunning picture with the vast, tranquil sea outside the window. He secretly marveled. *No wonder her status among the Merfolk was so high. She is truly beautiful.*

He closed his eyes again. His mind was as calm as an ancient well. Much beauty was enjoyable enough simply by admiring it.

After meditating for over an hour, Shang Hongyu slowly opened her eyes. With the dual assistance of the spiritual medicine and moonlight essence, she felt her internal injuries had significantly improved. Her gaze fell upon the person on the bed. He lay there naturally, one hand casually propped behind his head. His breathing was quiet and deep; clearly, he was asleep.

She couldn't help but lean against the window sill, propping her chin on her hand as she watched him. His heroic, sword-like eyebrows, his high, straight nose, his lips which always seemed to hold a hint of a smile... She couldn't help but marvel inwardly. *No wonder her usually carefree and aloof younger sister had such a good impression of him, often mentioning him. He is indeed very handsome.*

Especially now that his cultivation had reached a state of returning to simplicity. Simply lying there casually, the Dao flowed from him, subtly aligning with the natural laws of heaven and earth. No, he *was* nature!

As she continued to watch, her cheeks suddenly flushed. She couldn't help but press a hand to her forehead. *Oh dear, have I been playing with fire a bit too much?*

She went to the bedside, bit her lip, and then turned around and went back to the window. After a while, she felt she had a clear conscience again. *Why should I be afraid?* So she returned to the bedside. But looking at the handsome face of the person on the bed and his otherworldly, refined aura, her confidence wavered, and she quickly turned back to the window.

After going back and forth several times like this, Zu An's voice suddenly rang out. "If you keep pacing like that, you're going to wear a hole in the floor."

Shang Hongyu's almond-shaped eyes widened. "You were awake all along? Were you just watching me make a fool of myself?" *That rascal, still pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed. How infuriating! Of course, with his cultivation, how could he not know what was happening around him?*

Rage points from Shang Hongyu +666666...

Zu An opened his eyes. "I really was asleep at first, but you walked back and forth so many times, even if I were sleeping like a pig, I would have woken up."

Shang Hongyu's pretty face flushed, then paled. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Clearly, she was extremely agitated at that moment.

"Who was it just now, so nonchalantly saying they wouldn't take advantage of me?" Zu An found it amusing. A moment ago, he had been the hesitant one. This woman had acted like an older sister teasing her younger brother. *How is it that she's the timid one now?*

"Hmph, who's afraid of whom? You'd better keep your clothes on. If I accidentally take advantage of you, I won't be responsible." Provoked by this, Shang Hongyu directly flopped onto the bed.

A refreshing, delicate fragrance wafted over. Zu An was a little curious. She had been disguised and had undergone a transformation these past few days. He hadn't seen her apply any makeup, so why did she smell so good?

Shang Hongyu had originally been a bit nervous, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zu An huddled in the corner, with a large empty space left between them. She couldn't help but chuckle. "Why are you so far away? Come closer. I'm not going to eat you."

Zu An: "???"

"Woman, you're playing with fire."