Chapter 762: Chapter 245: Am I a male concubine?_2
From their elevated position, they had a wide view, and the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon was fast. After flying ahead, they immediately discovered something.
The river was littered with large remnants of ships and many Bone-piercing Crocodile corpses.
Many of these Bone-piercing Crocodiles were as large as war elephants, emitting a Foundation Establishment level aura.
The most eye-catching was a Bone-piercing Crocodile with its belly up, floating on the river. More precisely, it was a corpse.
This crocodile’s body was heavily scarred, and its blood had already flowed into the river. It was enormous, two to three times larger than the warships dispatched by the Ghost Clan village.
Clearly, this was a fierce battle between humans and beasts.
The outcome of the battle seemed to be a mutual loss.
Ning Zhuo noticed some remaining cultivators panting on the riverbank, trying to rescue comrades lost in the river. Many Bone-piercing Crocodiles were gnawing on corpses in the water, indifferent to friend or foe.
“Little Zhuo, what a great opportunity!” Sun Lingtong suddenly said.
“Boss, you’re saying…” Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong had a perfect understanding and immediately grasped what the latter meant.
The main rescue forces they anticipated moved into the river.
The Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon was very tiny, and none of the cultivators present were at the Golden Core level to notice it.
In the river, many corpses were floating, and Sun Ning selected two with not too obvious injuries and relatively ordinary clothing, and brought their bodies into the Mechanical Dragon.
Sun Lingtong immediately began inside the ship’s cabin, using the Stealing Technique to disguise herself and Ning Zhuo as the two corpses.
A moment later, Ning Zhuo became a yellow-faced freckled youth of the Human Clan, while Sun Lingtong turned into a stout, short Ghost Clan member.
The two emerged from the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon. Ning Zhuo pretended to be unconscious, while Sun Lingtong clutched his waist, posing as a struggling survivor. They were quickly discovered.
“There’s a Ghost Clan person over there.”
“That youth is the Jiao family’s third son, Jiao Ma!”
The survivors worked together to rescue Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo) and the Ghost Clan person (Sun Lingtong) onto the shore.
Ning Zhuo kept his eyes closed, feigning unconsciousness, while Sun Lingtong lay on the ground retching, spitting out gulps of river water.
A compassionate cultivator approached to check their injuries and then patted Sun Lingtong’s back: “You two are lightly wounded, lucky and blessed!”
Someone reached out to Ning Zhuo, awakening him: “Freckles, Freckles, wake up.”
Ning Zhuo’s face hurt from the slaps, forcing him to open his eyes. His expression was confused, his gaze unfocused, and although his lips moved a few times, he failed to utter a word.
“Good acting,” Sun Lingtong observed from the corner of his eye, silently giving a thumbs-up to Little Brother.
No kidding.
Ning Zhuo had been trained by Sun Lingtong from a young age, putting in a lot of effort to disguise himself. Even Meng Kui and others were fooled by him, tricking these rural cultivators was naturally effortless.
Sun Lingtong’s Stealing Technique had also significantly boosted in power thanks to the Evil God Bone Marrow. All these factors allowed Sun Ning to successfully blend in.
The persona of Jiao Ma that Ning Zhuo assumed was recognized by many people, who expressed concern for him.
Meanwhile, the short Ghost Clan role played by Sun Lingtong attracted no attention.
In any case, the surrounding cultivators quickly accepted them without any suspicion.
Soon after, three support warships arrived to rescue them.
The leader had Golden Core cultivation and was a Ghost Clan member. His face was unsightly: “This river section has always been safe, how could such a large group of Bone-piercing Crocodiles suddenly appear?”
He sent someone to investigate but found nothing.
The Golden Core Ghost Clan leader personally interrogated the survivors, including Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong, but no valuable clues were obtained.
It was only when asking Ning Zhuo that this leader personally applied Healing Magic to him and offered some words of comfort.
Ning Zhuo instantly and keenly realized that he had an unusual relationship with this Golden Core Ghost Clan leader.
He first asked a question, then suggested returning to the village and considering further.
The Golden Core Ghost Clan leader glanced at him, noticing the change in his tone from usual but without much suspicion, instead shaking his head solemnly.
He took a few steps, stood on a rock, looked around, and declared, “Your mission was to go to White Paper City for a marriage alliance, but you were ambushed halfway.”
“Although no traces were detected, such events have repeatedly occurred in various villages recently.”
“We cannot turn back, we must continue to White Paper City.”
“This time, I will personally lead and take you further along the journey!”
His prestige was high, and as the only Golden Core cultivator on site, no one opposed his order.
Sun Ning exchanged a subtle glance with each other, feeling a bit disappointed.
They hoped to return to the village, blend in for a time to enhance their disguise, but unexpectedly their new identity complicated matters, and they had to proceed immediately to White Paper City.
“A marriage alliance? Whose marriage? Is the village planning to ally with other forces, hence encountering powerful foes’ attacks?” Ning Zhuo wondered.
Sun Lingtong was also puzzled: “We didn’t even see the bride here to be married, right?”
“It’s not our problem. How about we find a chance to quietly leave later?” Ning Zhuo suggested.
Sun Lingtong slightly nodded: “Sounds good.”
Sun Ning both secretly used Divine Sense to discuss while outwardly following the group onto the warship.
“Jiao Ma’er, come here.” The Golden Core Ghost Clan leader called to Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo, curious, walked up to the Golden Core Ghost Clan leader.
The leader took out a piece of treasure and gave it to Ning Zhuo: “You risked your life to pick a ghost mask banyan fruit for my daughter. Unfortunately, you have been chosen to become the male concubine of the White Paper City Lord.”
“Alas, our village is too small to defy the order of White Paper City.”
“You and my daughter are fated not to be together. That’s it. This is a Bone-piercing Crocodile’s stomach at Golden Core level, I’ve already refined it for you.”
“Afterward, you only need to let your soul out, enter it, endure the corrosion, and regain yourself to greatly enhance your soul’s resilience.”
Ning Zhuo was stunned, not expecting to be the one for the marriage alliance, momentarily speechless: “This…”
The Golden Core leader patted his shoulder: “Do not think about returning to the village or fleeing halfway. You will sit next to me, and I will guide you to cultivate using the crocodile bag.”
Ning Zhuo was speechless, being watched over by the leader just like that.
Given his abilities, he shouldn’t be able to slip away quietly, relying on Sun Lingtong’s Stealing Technique.
Yet Sun Lingtong saw the humor in it and was already laughing internally: “Little Zhuo, your luck is really something. Let’s just go with it, no need to create another fake identity elsewhere.”
Sun Lingtong was unwilling to cooperate, but if Ning Zhuo insisted, even this Golden Core cultivator couldn’t stop him.
However, Sun Lingtong knew him very well and quickly persuaded: “Although this identity came unexpectedly, it should be very valuable.”
“Look, you did nothing and got a Golden Core level crocodile bag.”
“Plus, the White Paper City Lord, who is a Nascent Soul cultivator, surely wouldn’t mistreat her male concubine, right?”
“Little Zhuo, your cultivation technique doesn’t restrict your Origin Yang. Just dual cultivation with her would greatly benefit your level.”
“Imagine, dual cultivating with a Nascent Soul level female cultivator.”
That set Ning Zhuo thinking: “Well, that’s one way to see it…”
Sun Lingtong continued: “Of course, it’ll depend on the exact methods of cultivation. If it harms us more than benefits, we’ll leave then. After all, we have the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon.”
“Plus, even if we don’t engage in dual cultivation, just this identity should yield many benefits.”
Ning Zhuo was gradually persuaded by Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong used Divine Sense Transmission, chuckling: “Don’t you find it exhilarating?”
The old Ning Zhuo might disagree a bit more.
But after the battles in Liangzhu Country, having witnessed Lord Long’s sacrifice and many shedding blood on the field, he gained a lot of courage and boldness.
Ning Zhuo finally nodded secretly: “Indeed, this could turn into an extraordinary adventure.”
“According to what the Golden Core leader said, many were intercepted mid-journey. This indicates a force targeting the White Paper City Lord.”
“It also shows that the City Lord is gathering male concubines, and I am just one among them. This would precisely allow me to navigate through it!”
Sun Lingtong excitedly remarked: “I wonder if we could use this opportunity to sneak into the City Lord’s Mansion’s treasury? Hehe.”