Chapter 2434: Questioning One's Conscience

The Peacock Princess also wanted to go down with Zu An, but as she had been entrusted with negotiating the alliance with the Sea Clan, she was certainly not a girl who didn't understand the gravity of the situation. She knew very well that given the power demonstrated by those massive monsters, not only would she be unable to help, but they would also have to divert their attention to protect her. It was more appropriate for her to stay above ground rather than be a hindrance, interfere with their mission, and be resented.

Of course, she also wanted to help them, and after much thought, realized that only her Peacock Plume could be useful. Disregarding the numerous warnings from her clan elders before her departure, she decided to hand it over to him for self-defense. When the Sea Clan experts witnessed this, they couldn't help but smile knowingly. After all, the two shared an intimate relationship, and such mutual gift-giving was perfectly normal.

Only Zu An and the Mermaid Queen understood the depth of her sincerity in giving away this clan treasure. Zu An smiled gently, returning the Peacock Plume to her hand. "I have my own magical artifacts," he said, "you should keep this for your own protection." He possessed the Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin, which was, in some ways, similar in function to the Peacock Plume but of a higher grade, so he truly had no need for it. On the contrary, the Peacock Princess needed this item for self-defense in such a treacherous environment.

Seeing his refusal, the Peacock Princess's eyes immediately reddened. This was the only thing she could think of to help him, yet it turned out to be useless to him. In that instant, she felt like a complete failure. She was neither as beautiful nor as useful as the Mermaid Queen, who had fought alongside him in such a perilous situation, while she herself could do nothing.

Zu An was a bit bewildered. Why was she suddenly on the verge of tears? The Mermaid Queen rolled her eyes at Zu An, thinking how clueless he was about a woman's heart. She pulled the Peacock Princess aside, comforting her while secretly transmitting a message: "Sister Qingwu, the reason he's returning this item to you is so you have an extra trump card. Think about it, after we go down, everyone up here will be the Dragon King's people. Although they seemed very grateful just now, they were preparing to defect to the demons not long ago. What if they betray us then? Wouldn't we be trapped down there?"

The Peacock Princess paused, "Really?" The Mermaid Queen smiled. "Of course it's true, but he couldn't tell you directly in front of all the Sea Clan experts." The Peacock Princess's worry immediately turned into joy. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll make sure to be your strong support up here and won't let them cause any trouble." At the same time, she quickly pondered that she might not be able to defend against them by herself. Since he had entrusted her with the alliance negotiation, she could use the opportunity to contact the staunch anti-demon forces within the Sea Clan. This way, even if something unforeseen happened, she would have a power to rely on.

The Peacock Princess approached Zu An. "Be careful on your way," she said, "I'll be waiting for you right here until you return." Zu An looked at the Mermaid Queen with a hint of confusion, curious as to how she had managed to reassure the Peacock Princess so quickly. The Mermaid Queen simply winked at him and offered no explanation.

With the Peacock Princess setting an example, the other Sea Clan powerhouses also began to offer their defensive magical artifacts, hoping to contribute their small part. This time, Zu An did not refuse, accepting all the magical artifacts. Seeing this scene, a sweet feeling welled up in the Peacock Princess's heart. He truly treated her differently from others.

Soon, Zu An bid farewell to the Sea Clan members and, taking the Mermaid Queen with him, arrived at the edge of the trench. Below, it no longer radiated the grand and bright array lights as it had when he visited days ago. Instead, it was ravaged and broken, the entire trench enveloped in a pale gray death aura, with only occasional flickering remnants of the array still visible.

Zu An held the Mermaid Queen's hand, activating the Primordial Chaos Scripture to help her dispel the surrounding death aura. "Don't stray too far from me once we're down." "Understood." Witnessing this scene, the Peacock Princess wept with envy, wishing desperately that she could go down with him as well.

The Sea Clan powerhouses, meanwhile, looked at Zu An with envy. For many years, everyone had pursued the Mermaid Queen, and although she treated everyone with gentle grace, they all understood that they were actually very far from her. This demeanor was a clear sign of her maintaining her distance. Everyone was curious what kind of man would ultimately win the beautiful queen, but no one had an answer. No matter whom the Queen chose, they would not have been convinced, as they didn't believe anyone could truly surpass them. But now, at this moment, they finally had their answer, and they found their hearts surprisingly calm. There was only envy, no jealousy or hatred, for after witnessing these battles, that man was truly formidable. Moreover, everyone present owed him a great debt of gratitude. It seemed that perhaps only a man like him in the entire world could be worthy of her.

Meanwhile, the Mermaid Queen's gaze subtly fell upon his hand holding hers, and a joyous smile instantly bloomed between her brows. Although they were surrounded by an eerie, ghostly white mist on all sides, and strange, unsettling wails of unknown creatures occasionally echoed, both shrill and bizarre, yet, the Mermaid Queen found a unique beauty in everything around them, and this seemed to be the most wonderful memory of her entire life.

With a casual wave of his hand, the magical artifacts he had just received floated around the Mermaid Queen. "These artifacts aren't very useful to me," he said, "and it's full of dangers down here, so you keep them for self-defense." "Thank you," the Mermaid Queen replied, not refusing them. She smiled as she collected the items, thinking to herself, 'These are gifts from him; I must cherish them.' She seemed to have completely forgotten that these gifts had actually been given by the other Sea Clan powerhouses.

"By the way, what did you just say to the Peacock Princess?" Zu An asked out of curiosity. The Mermaid Queen merely pursed her lips and smiled. "That's a girl's secret," she replied, "you don't need to concern yourself with it." Given her response, he genuinely found it difficult to press for more details. He could only continue to descend, holding her hand. The Mermaid Queen could sense many unknown creatures lurking and observing them, but they dared not approach too closely, likely fearing the purifying power of the Primordial Chaos Qi.

Feeling the warmth in her palm, the Mermaid Queen carefully observed his profile before suddenly speaking, "I've already seen your face, and there are no outsiders here. Do you still need to wear that mask?" Recalling how his attempt to show off earlier had nearly backfired, he felt incredibly awkward at that moment. "Shall I help you take it off?" the Mermaid Queen whispered, leaning closer to him. Her voice, usually cool and aloof, now sounded exceptionally sweet and charmingly naive. Zu An was still caught up in the embarrassment of the earlier moment and didn't react immediately. However, the Mermaid Queen took his silence as consent and directly reached over to remove his mask.

Although it wasn't the first time she had seen it, upon seeing his true appearance again, the Mermaid Queen was momentarily lost in thought. "You're clearly so handsome," she mused, "why did you keep pretending to look like that before?" Seeing that his mask had already been removed, Zu An felt it would be self-deceptive to put it back on. However, he found her question difficult to answer. Seeing his hesitation, the Mermaid Queen said with a smile, "Is it perhaps because your charm is too potent, and you're worried about accidentally captivating more young women's hearts?" "Just kidding," the Mermaid Queen quickly added, thoughtfully changing the subject. "It's probably because you're worried that revealing your appearance might affect your original timeline, isn't it?" Zu An finally hummed in affirmation. He did indeed have that concern. "Don't worry," the Mermaid Queen's voice suddenly softened. "I will only keep your appearance in my heart and won't let it spread in any other form." She then added, "Can you tell me the story of you and that mermaid woman from the future?"