Chapter 2398: Leave Me Alone

Zu'an looked at the Mermaid Queen with a strange expression, thinking he almost believed she could read minds.

However, considering she was famed for her beauty, her ability to judge men must indeed be excellent.

"I was just thinking about something. My apologies."

"Thinking of your beloved?" Seeing his clear eyes, the Mermaid Queen's cheeks flushed slightly. She realized he wasn't thinking of her.

"Something like that," Zu'an mused. Shang Hongyu's public identity was actually the Queen of the Sea Race, but this was not convenient to explain.

Hearing that he had someone he cared for, the Mermaid Queen felt a strange pang in her heart.

Her initially ruffled heart gradually calmed. "How did you interrupt Mogaard's Incantation Art just now?"

Mogaard's Incantation Art gave her a headache, and she hadn't expected this guy to defeat it effortlessly.

"That's called Incantation Art?" Zu'an asked with a puzzled expression, feigning ignorance of its secrets. "I don't know either. I just casually shouted a provocative dialect from my hometown, and who knew he'd respond?"

"Is that so?" The Mermaid Queen was half-convinced, half-skeptical. This reason seemed too absurd, but she couldn't think of any other explanation. Surely, this young man's true strength couldn't be greater than Mogaard's and hers?

Crucially, she hadn't detected any magical fluctuations just now.

At this moment, Zu'an's thoughts were also racing. He had been extremely shocked when he saw Mogaard here just now. His first thought was that something had gone wrong with Princess Sauron, allowing Mogaard to escape.

However, he quickly realized that this Mogaard was not the one he was familiar with.

This Mogaard exuded confidence in every move, possessing the aura of a powerful figure, almost overwhelmingly dominant.

In contrast, the Mogaard he knew was disheartened, exuding a dispirited aura no matter how he tried to hide it.

Furthermore, their cultivation levels differed greatly. This Mogaard was clearly more powerful, almost on par with the Demon Lord.

No wonder they were once equally renowned in history!

He recalled that the Mogaard he knew had mentioned suffering a severe injury in the past, which damaged his foundation, causing his cultivation to regress instead of progress. Additionally, his brain was damaged, and he lost some memories.

Could this be the reason?

He was also very curious about another point: how could two identical people exist simultaneously in the same timeline?

Why hadn't Mogaard from the future and Mogaard from this timeline, as depicted in some movies and novels, caused one of them to disappear?

Or did they need to meet or become aware of each other's existence for one to be randomly annihilated?

Zu'an's expression grew increasingly solemn at this thought.

He truly dared not be careless when it came to spacetime.

So, even when facing Mogaard just now, he didn't directly intervene, fearing he might accidentally participate in history and cause disastrous consequences for the future.

He felt a pang of regret, wishing he had reminded Manman and the others earlier to hide their presence as much as possible and not to reveal their identities or even names unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, if their traces were left in history and they also existed in the future, he didn't know if it would cause a spacetime paradox, leading to them being erased from existence by spacetime.

Just as he feared, the Mermaid Queen suddenly asked, "By the way, we've known each other for so long, yet I still don't know your name."

Zu'an: "..."

He quickly retorted, "I haven't heard your name either, despite knowing you for so long. As passing acquaintances, it's better to forget each other in the martial world."

The Mermaid Queen raised a delicate eyebrow. "You, a mere guard, must have read too many plays and storybooks, spouting such eloquent words. I, however, prefer not to forget you in the martial world. My name is Suyin. What's yours?"

She didn't understand where this impulse came from. Her true name was known by fewer than ten people in the world, and even fewer among men.

Of course, she was also cautious and didn't reveal her surname, fearing he might associate it with her identity.

"Suyin?" Zu'an looked her up and down. "You look quite ordinary, indeed very plain, which perfectly suits the name."

The Mermaid Queen: "..."

Rage value from Gong Suyin: 999999...

Zu'an had deliberately provoked her to learn her true name using the rage value system.

He couldn't help but be stunned. This woman had actually told her true name to a mere passing guard?

Also, why was her surname Gong, and not Shang?

He secretly blamed himself, realizing his understanding of the merfolk race was too superficial. He had been flirting with Shang Liuyu and enjoying intimate moments with Shang Hongyu.

He rarely inquired about information regarding the merfolk.

He wondered if this 'Gong' surname had any connection to them.

The Mermaid Queen was itching with irritation. After all these years, she had finally taken the initiative to tell a man her given name, only for him to disdain it?

What did he mean by "you look quite plain, which perfectly suits the name"?

Does he have any taste at all?!

She was fuming, but forced herself to ask, "Then what is your esteemed name? Do tell, so I may behold it."

Zu'an hesitated. To avoid affecting history, "A'Zu" was clearly out of the question.

Then he'd use another. "Hello, I'm Eddie Peng."

The Mermaid Queen scoffed coldly. "I thought you'd have some astonishingly brilliant name. Is that all? It sounds like the name of a vulgar martial artist wielding a Five Tigers Severing Blade."

Zu'an: "..."

Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. That wasn't me saying it!

Seeing his somewhat constipated expression, the Mermaid Queen finally felt a sense of relief before saying, "Later, Mogaard will surely come out to search the entire Dragon Palace. You should hide at my place for now."

"That won't be necessary," Zu'an hesitated. To be honest, he didn't want to get too deeply involved.

The Mermaid Queen was a figure of significant historical importance, undoubtedly a darling of fate and one of the world's focal points. He worried that getting too close to her would lead to many unpredictable consequences.

This time, it was to repay her for the information about the Aurora Poison Dragon. Next, he would inquire about the World Law Beacon and the underwater abyss in the Dragon Palace, then it would be time to search for the Aurora Poison Dragon in the North Sea.

"What 'not necessary'? If you're discovered now, it's a dead end!" The Mermaid Queen didn't let go, directly pulling him towards her bedchamber.

"Wouldn't following you make me a bigger target... Wait?" Zu'an hadn't finished speaking when she pulled him, causing him to stumble. "Where are you taking me?"

"The Mermaid Queen's bedchamber," the Mermaid Queen said blandly.

She knew Mogaard had likely guessed it was her from her skills and weapons, so if he couldn't find the assassin, he would immediately go to her bedchamber.

If she wasn't there, it would confirm her guilt, and the entire merfolk race would suffer.

So, she had to return immediately and prepare everything.

Zu'an was immediately dumbfounded. Was this woman trying to play a game of full disclosure with him?

They had just met a few times, chatted a bit, and he had even saved her once, hadn't he?

Surely the Sea Race's foremost beauty wouldn't fall in love with a common guard just like that?

"The Mermaid Queen?" Zu'an quickly said, "I'm not going."

"Why not? Didn't you just say the Mermaid Queen was the most beautiful?" The Mermaid Queen's expression was playful now. She wondered what his reaction would be if he knew her true identity and saw what she truly looked like.

"I'm so charming, I'm afraid the Mermaid Queen wouldn't be able to resist falling in love with me if I went," Zu'an quickly replied.

The Mermaid Queen: "???"

This guard's brain was indeed a bit off!

She couldn't help but scoff. "So many peerless experts in this world haven't managed to win the Mermaid Queen's favor, yet you, a common little guard, where do you get such confidence?"

Zu'an chuckled. "Doesn't that simply mean her standards for liking someone aren't based on their strength? Someone like me, who relies on personal charm, might just be her type. After all, it's hard to predict the taste of beautiful women."

He deliberately pretended to be so arrogant and presumptuous to provoke her disgust and avoid any further entanglement between them.

Sigh, it's truly exhausting.