"Brothers, how long do you plan to entangle this Emperor?" Lu Yu asked with a smile.
"There’s no hurry, tormenting him for a few more days is necessary. How else can we let this haughty Emperor know the power of our Underworld? Besides, there’s still preaching to be done on the other side. Without grinding down the Emperor’s pride, how can we proceed smoothly?"
Lu Yu could only give a wry smile. Indeed, every party had its schemes. It was just unclear what role the sages and saints of the human race would play in this affair and what benefits they were hoping to reap.
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Thus began Li Shimin’s nightmares. As long as he closed his eyes to sleep, the bloody figure of the old dragon would appear in his dreams, preventing him from resting peacefully. Many consecutive days of nightmares severely fatigued the normally energetic Emperor, leaving his face pale and deep dark circles under his eyes.
One day, Qin Qiong and Cheng Zhijie donned their armor and stood at the door. Li Shimin was taken aback, not knowing why these two generals were dressed this way, he hurriedly inquired.
"Your Majesty, we know that you are troubled by wrongful spirits and cannot rest at night. Thus, we have donned our battle armor to guard your door. Normally, we are used to fighting and killing countless on the battlefield, yet we have never encountered ghosts.
If any ghost dares enter through this gate today, we will ensure they will not leave again." The two generals, fierce as they were on the battlefield, made such a declaration, instantly stirring Li Shimin’s heroic spirit. He too was once an unbeatable commander on the battlefield.
"Good, it’s been a long time since we fought side by side. Tonight, I will join you generals in dealing with this old dragon," Li Shimin declared with a hearty laugh. At that moment, he seemed to return to being that invincible commander on the battlefield, full of vigor and battle-ready.
Under the sympathetic response of Heaven and man, the Dragon of Fortune pulsated with life, a great pressure suddenly emerged in Changan City. Lu Yu, who was expecting to be an amused onlooker, staggered under this immense pressure and couldn’t help but exclaim, "My goodness, if it weren’t for the imperial edict to suppress it, that force just now would have injured me.
This is indeed the prosperous land of the human race, the very place where the Fortune and Destiny of humanity is planted."
The old dragon was naturally also oppressed and uncomfortable, but he still had to dutifully fulfill his task. However, before he could even approach the gate, he found his path blocked by two towering vital energies. Looking up, he saw Qin Qiong and Cheng Zhijie armored and brandishing sharp weapons.
"How many people must one kill to possess such an aura of slaughter?" the old dragon exclaimed, somewhat dumbfounded.
The two guards at the door sensed the anomaly. Although they remained mortals who could not see ghosts, they could still feel that something was amiss around them, so they called out, "Who is there!"
With that call, two beams of starlight burst forth from the bodies of the two men. The old dragon quickly dodged, for this was no ordinary starlight, but the light of Heavenly Stars responding to a divine mandate, representing the power of the Heavenly Court Star Lords.
The old dragon had to retreat, and Li Shimin was able to sleep soundly for once. It was from this day onward that the civilians began to worship the two generals as guardian deities of their doors.
Having seen this, Lu Yu turned and left. He knew that soon it would be the Emperor’s turn to take a trip to the Underworld. This would lead to the Water and Land Dharma Assembly and, indirectly, to the quest for scriptures. However, he no longer had time to watch the remaining drama unfold as the Dragon Queen had already packed up to return to the Western Sea in the coming days.
As the last of his promised tasks, Lu Yu naturally hoped to execute it perfectly.
On this day, with fine weather and gentle breezes, Lu Yu rode the clouds with the Dragon Queen and Lao Qi towards the Western Sea. Once they left Changan City, their spirits lifted greatly. After all, Changan was the source of calamity, attracting the attention of many powerful beings. Even without seeing, they could feel the oppressive atmosphere in the air.
Now, away from the vortex, they felt a liberating sense of freedom, as if birds could soar high in the sky and fish could leap in the vast sea. Especially upon seeing the boundless ocean, they felt their hearts open wide, sweeping away the gloom and oppression of the recent past.
The Dragon Queen looked out at the azure sea with a complex expression on her face, never having imagined that she would return to her former home in such a manner.
Just then, a pillar of water rose from the calm surface of the sea, and a young man clad in silver armor stood atop it, surrounded by shrimp soldiers and crab generals.
"Has my aunt arrived?" the young man asked.
"Are you the fourth one? You’ve grown so much," the Dragon Queen said with joy, hastily pulling Lao Qi along and saying, "You’ve met your fourth cousin from your uncle’s family, haven’t you? Come forward and pay your respects."
Only then did Lao Qi reluctantly step forward and greet him, "Good day, Fourth Cousin."
The Dragon Queen had been away helping the Jing River Dragon King manage his territorial waters for many years and had not returned home. However, Lao Qi had visited several times with his older brother.
Their uncle and older cousins were all nice people, except this fourth cousin, who was sharp-tongued and arrogant, always looking down on them, thinking they were country bumpkins who had never seen the world, and hence never showing them any kindness.
The Western Sea Fourth Prince, greeting the Dragon Queen, headed toward the Dragon Palace. Upon seeing Lu Yu, however, he frowned and said, "Who is this human race scholar? Leave at once. How could someone like you enter the sacred grounds of the Dragon Palace?"
Lao Qi immediately took offense and said coldly, "This is my teacher, who has been invited to the Dragon Palace as a guest. Even my uncle has come out to welcome him, so why shouldn’t he be able to go?"
"Fourth one, Mr. Lu has shown my household great kindness and must not be neglected," the Dragon Queen also noticed her nephew’s error and spoke out.
"Aunt, you don’t realize that these humans are the most cunning, always looking to exploit their small favors for big returns. He surely knows of the many treasures in our Dragon Palace and has come to deceive us," said the Fourth Prince, his words filled with scorn as he looked at Lu Yu with eyes that regarded him as a swindler.
"Silence! ’One day a teacher, a lifetime a father,’ if you speak against my teacher again, do not blame me for being impolite," Lu Yu hadn’t even had time to react when Lao Qi was already furious and ready to roll up his sleeves and teach his fourth cousin a lesson.
Lu Yu stopped him with a smile and said, "Xiao Qi, let’s not harm the bonds of kinship over me."
Then he turned to the Fourth Prince and asked, "I wonder what kind of person is worthy of entering your Dragon Palace?"
The Fourth Prince arrogantly replied, "Our guests at the Dragon Palace are all top experts in this world, capable of turning rivers and seas at will. What qualifications do you have to dare to enter our Dragon Palace?"
Lu Yu smiled and said, "Lu is just a scholar, with no significant abilities. But as for turning rivers and seas, I might as well give it a try."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Fourth Prince felt the sea stir, and when he turned his head, he witnessed a scene he would never forget.