Chapter 827: Dungeon Barbarians
The crown prince said, “Of course I ran when I heard that the weird snake likes to eat fat people! But for some reason, I kept running into all sorts of beasts. Linglong, I’m never going to leave you again! All of them tricked me; it’s only safe at your side.”
The others had strange looks on their faces. This crown prince really was worthless.
Gao Ying couldn’t continue listening to this and explained after a cough, “At the time, all of you were trapped by the Jade Moon Serpent and we had no way to help you. That was why we wanted to hurry back and ask for reinforcements.”
There were many elites from powerful clans there. They obviously knew what the others had really been thinking. Saying that they were going to ask for reinforcements was just to make it sound a bit better. But they also understood why the others had done what they did. If they had been in that position, they would most likely have chosen to bring the crown prince out first as well.
“Right, where… is that Jade Moon Serpent?” Pei You asked out of curiosity. But his eyes suddenly shifted to the massive serpent corpse, leaving him dumbstruck.
Zhao Xi roared with laughter. “You guys weren’t here to see how Sir Zu heroically and single-handedly fought against the Jade Moon Serpent. Then, he heroically dove into the pool to end its life!”
Meng Pan immediately added, “It was also thanks to the crown princess’ help, or else it would’ve been difficult for Sir Zu to kill that ninth rank beast alone.”
Zhao Xi’s breathing stopped at once. He cursed Meng Pan for being a bootlicker inwardly, but at the same time felt regret. This damn mouth of his… Why hadn’t he thought of that? It would be really bad if he ended up offending the crown princess because of this!
With Liu Xian in the lead, the others began to recount the battle together. Even though they were all wounded and they hadn’t even washed the blood off of their faces yet, they were all excited.
“A ninth ranked beast was killed?” Gao Ying and Pei You looked toward Zu An with shock. They knew that the crown princess’ cultivation was inferior to theirs, yet if they faced a ninth ranked beast, they would only be delivering themselves as food. That was why it was probably Zu An who had taken down the Jade Moon Serpent alone.
What kind of concept was this?! From then on, the capital would have another stunning genius! No longer would people feel that his past accomplishments were a fluke, and the great clans would definitely try to rope him in.
I heard that the Chu clan has already ended their relationship with him. I should contact my uncle later and have him find a suitable young miss to arrange a marriage with him, Gao Ying thought, but he quickly became troubled. The Liu clan’s two most beautiful women had already been taken into the palace. The others all seemed to still be a bit too young.
Pei You was thinking similar thoughts. Which of the Pei clan’s girls are of marrying age… Hm, he seems to have asked me about Little Man, and neither her looks or talent are inferior to Chu Chuyan. She seems to be a good candidate. But I seem to have heard my uncle say that a marriage has already been arranged for her? I need to go back and ask about this properly.
Meanwhile, Liu Xian was thinking about inviting Zu An to Heavenly Abode once they returned to the capital, wishing to introduce some courtesans to him. Even though their appearances might not be comparable to Chu First Miss, in terms of understanding and serving men, those distinguished daughters couldn’t compare at all. That’s precisely why this is one of the three bonds of brotherhood. To run away together, to fight together, and to go to broth… Hahaha, I’m really a genius!
While the others were wondering how they were going to rope him in, Zu An was examining Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun’s injuries. The two of them were the crown prince’s personal guards. Their bodies were covered in injuries, but thankfully, none of them were fatal.
Unfortunately, the other guards weren’t so lucky. After a rough count, he saw that while twenty or so of the crown prince’s personal guards had come inside, now there were fewer than ten. The lives of the others had probably been lost to those beasts.
He took out the medicines Chu Youzhao gave him and treated them. Then he asked, “Why did you guys come back if you already left?”
Piao Duandiao said with a bitter smile, “I don’t know why, but we were just incredibly unlucky. We were already extremely careful when we left. Our group already ran into many beast nests on the way here, so we had that experience, yet for some reason, we kept running into them this time.”
“It really is weird. The beast nests in the mountains are really strange. Not only were they stronger than what the intelligence said, none of the beasts were in their original territories and were instead roaming all over the place,” Jiao Sigun said. “We were chased until there was no way out, so we could only run back here and see if we could borrow the Jade Moon Serpent’s intimidation to scare the Giant White Wolves away.”
Piao Duandiao explained, “Big bro Zu, we wanted to help you, but…” He snuck a glance at the crown prince and the others. He wanted to say something, but stopped.
Zu An patted his shoulder. “Don’t take it to heart. I know how hard you guys have it; you two had no choice.”
When they heard Zu An’s words, the two of them felt relief. “Big bro Zu, you really are incredible. You even managed to kill a ninth ranked beast.”
Zu An smiled. “I was just lucky. Furthermore, it was thanks to everyone fighting bitterly together and taking off some of the pressure.”
The young masters from the different clans all felt warm inside when they heard those words. They were extremely grateful when they looked at Zu An. Sir Zu is so handsome and he speaks so nicely; we love him!
Zu An told the rest of them to get some proper rest, and then arrived at Bi Linglong’s side, asking, “How is the situation looking?”
Bi Linglong felt a bit strange when she looked at him. However, she didn’t let it show in front of so many people and quickly replied, “Everyone has suffered heavy casualties from the battle against the Jade Moon Serpent. A third of our group has died in battle, while another third are seriously wounded. The remainder all have some wounds as well.”
Meng Pan said in an aloof manner, “Crown princess, don’t worry. We joined this mission for the sake of our clans’ glory. Each and every one of us has already resolved to die in battle. Furthermore, regardless of what happened, we managed to complete this mission in the end, and the enemy was even at the ninth rank. King Qi’s side has no excuses this time.”
Zhao Xi also smiled and said, “Indeed. Once we get out, the crown prince’s position as heir apparent to the throne will be solidified. I offer my congratulations to our future empress ahead of time.”
Bi Linglong might have been more than happy to hear these words before, as this was the dream she had always been chasing. But when she heard them now, her first reaction was to look at Zu An nervously. She quickly said, “Please be careful not to say such things. They’re a bit inappropriate.”
Zhao Xi laughed and said, “You’re right. Then I’ll congratulate you again later.”
Bi Linglong didn’t wish to continue the topic and quickly said, “Let’s remove the Jade Moon Serpent’s tendons, and then we’ll return to make a report on the mission’s completion. Danger lurks everywhere in these mountains, so we should leave as soon as possible.”
It wasn’t suitable for them to transport such a massive serpent corpse back. They couldn’t just make Zu An haul it all the way back, right?
“The crown princess is most wise for considering the bigger picture. You aren’t as small-minded as some of us,” Meng Pan added.
Zhao Xi was infuriated. “Say whatever you want, but why are you looking at me?”
Meng Pan rolled his eyes. “They’re my eyes; I can look at whomever I want. What does that have to do with you?”
Bi Linglong felt a huge headache coming on. Could these two buffoons stop arguing for even a single day?
The warriors of the different clans headed over to remove the tendons. But suddenly, a group of barbarians charged over.
“Ji ri gu la!”
“Abu cha cha!”
“Gai Gai ja!”
…
The barbarians’ upper bodies were naked, while their lower bodies were covered in beast skin. Their bodies had all sorts of stripes and diagrams smeared on them, while crowns of different colored feathers covered their heads.
The different clans’ warriors all prepared for battle when they saw the barbarians’ blades and arrows. “Protect the crown prince and princess!”
Zu An was baffled. “This dungeon even has native barbarians?”
Bi Linglong was also bewildered. “I didn’t know that either. There have never been any reports of people living in the dungeon.”
A large and tall man who seemed to be the leader of the barbarians stepped forward from the group. He jumped over to the Jade Moon Serpent’s head, pointed at it and said in a crude manner, “This! Ours… All you, leave!”
Liu Xian rubbed his eyes. He moved closer and gave the leader a look. Suddenly, he laughed and said, “I was wondering who it was. Isn’t this King Qi Manor’s Guardian Wei? When did you become a barbarian?”
The others’ expressions changed when they heard these words.